‘ARK: Survival Evolved’ Xbox One Update Targeting September 1 With New Servers
ARK: Survival Evolved players on the Xbox One will have to wait at least a little more than two weeks to get their hands on PrimitivePlus and other updates to the open-world dinosaur survival game. Studio Wildcard released preliminary patch notes late Sunday along with a release date that is either an “estimate” or a “hard release date” depending on who is speaking.
Patch 739 for ARK: Survival Evolved is listed with a release ETA of September 1 on the official ARK: Survival Evolved website. Meanwhile, other members of the Studio Wildcard team called this an “estimate” or “anticipated” release date. Lead Designer and Co-Creative Director Jeremy Stieglitz stated this is a “hard release date” when touting the patch notes on Twitter. He later gave himself some wiggle room by adding, “Well, as much as anything can be absolute in computer engineering.”
As with any console release, the ARK: Survival Evolved patch has to first get through Microsoft’s certification process for the Xbox One. This process usually takes one to two weeks for the company to ensure any release meets certain standards for the Xbox One and does not break the console. Studio Wildcard Community Manager Jen confirmed patch 739 has not yet been submitted to Microsoft’s QA via her Twitter account.
“It’s turned out to be significantly more complex to properly package up [PrimitivePlus] for console release than we anticipated. Basically, can’t have 5 minute load times on console,” the Stieglitz explained.
The good news is PrimitivePlus will be released with brand new official servers on both The Island and The Center maps, per Stieglitz. How many is not confirmed yet, but it does not appear Studio Wildcard is ready to begin re-purposing little used servers yet.
The PC launch of PrimitivePlus came with a host of issues that Studio Wildcard immediately began working on fixing. The 1.1 version of the official mod was released Friday with lengthy patch notes posted to the ARK: Survival Evolved forums by its lead designer, Ced (aka ComplexMinded). These fixes will be included in the Xbox One release.
For now, the 739 patch notes for the Xbox One mention the following as coming on September 1:
- Primitive+ Total Conversion!
- TheCenter update!
- Approximately ~10% framerate improvement
- Cross-ARK Official Transfer Gates
- All PC Content up thru v245 (Pelagornis, Allosaurus, Fishing, etc.)
- Something else very big…
- MORE NOTES TO COME!
The Center map update comes with “massive optimizations,” per patch notes shared by developer Ben Burkart, along with various fixes for dinosaur and animal spawns, plus other glitches. So far, there is no mention of fixes to disconnects that have plagued Xbox One players since the 737 update delivered at the beginning of July. Players have dealt with constant disconnect issues while playing on The Center and The Island. The effect has been a noticeable decrease in players on official servers as console Survivors grow weary of dealing with disconnects.
On the creature front, the Allosaurus will stalk Survivors in packs as another predator to be wary of. The alpha of the pack is noted by a slight orange mist along its back, as covered in this guide. It will be joined by the Pelagornis, a rideable bird that can both fly and float on the water.
The Industrial Grinder is coming to grind out items into their simpler components as a sort of reverse crafting method. For example, a Pike could be placed into the grinder to return the one-quarter of the Metal Ingots, Wood, and Hide that was used to create it. A Spiral Staircase is also coming to provide a more decorative approach to ascend structures.
[Image via Studio Wildcard]
