ARK: Survival Evolved... HOLY CRAP, I'M IN LOVE!

[Drak0rex]

Last night I stumbled on this game while watching Draegast's let's play videos, and I've decided, I MUST have this game. The premise of a survival game where you get to tame all kinds of dinosaurs is freakin awesome, not to mention the game is freakin gorgeous!

So now, since this is the first time I'm going to get a platform just for one specific game, I need to know, which platform is the best to run it on? From what I read, it's available on Steam, but is scheduled for release on Linux, Microsoft Windows, OS X, PlayStation 4 and Xbox One.

Right now I have a seriously bogged down Dell XPS M1530 with Windows 7. I'm not a big fan of using a keyboard to play games. Would a Steam Machine be a viable option? Or would it be better to wait for multiplatform release in June? If so, which one would be the best option, in terms of performance and price?

 

[Tom Bombadildo]

The PC version is utter trash, it's completely unoptimized and has tons of bugs. I tried to play the game multiple times since it first released, the last I tried was a few weeks ago and it still ran like garbage despite my rig being more than capable (running an i5 3470, GTX 970, 16GB of RAM etc). It's also on early release for the Xbox One, were apparently it runs even worse.

If you're going to wait for a release, try a console version, but wait until it comes out and people actually play it before buying it and report on how it plays. Unless the devs do some major optimization work between now and it's release, it probably won't be that great.

 

[Zephir1991]

I can recommend it. Playing it on PC for over 500hours now, it´s an amazing game for around 25bucks. Taming/breeding Dinos and Mammals, building stuff, exploring the island and caves, or even fight giant boss monsters like a dragon or King Kong - it´s awesome.

 

[Drak0rex]

Anyone know if it can be played on Steam Machine and how it does?

 

[Tom Bombadildo]

There's no singular Steam Machine, they're all different hardware with different specs so it's impossible to say. However, it's noted that the Linux version runs worse than the Windows version, so SteamOS isn't recommended.

 

[Pedeadstrian]

The PC version is utter trash, it's completely unoptimized and has tons of bugs. I tried to play the game multiple times since it first released, the last I tried was a few weeks ago and it still ran like garbage despite my rig being more than capable (running an i5 3470, GTX 970, 16GB of RAM etc). It's also on early release for the Xbox One, were apparently it runs even worse.

If you're going to wait for a release, try a console version, but wait until it comes out and people actually play it before buying it and report on how it plays. Unless the devs do some major optimization work between now and it's release, it probably won't be that great.

My computer is worse than yours in all three categories that you mentioned but I don't have a problem running the game at all. I have to tweak the settings, so it's not as pretty as I want, but then again I'm used to that so it doesn't give my eyes ulcers like it does some elitists.

Drak0rex, your laptop sucks for this game and I wouldn't imagine you'd be able to run the game well, but you could always just try it and get a refund if it doesn't work. But before you get excited, let me just say this... while the prospect of taming giant dinosaurs is amazing, the reality doesn't match. I think that level 100 Bronto I tamed took 9 hours of standing by it while feeding it berries. Of course, there are some servers and mods that greatly reduce that time, in addition to adding tons of modifications and new features, which I'm not sure the Xbox One version is compatible with, so if keeping a dinosaur company for 9 EARTH hours just to make it friendly doesn't sound fun to you, I'd go for the Steam version (when you get a new computer or Steam Machine).

 

[Tom Bombadildo]

No idea then, because I've never gotten a stable framerate ever playing this game, nor has anyone I've played with and people are still complaining about it on Reddit and steam reviews. Doesn't matter if I run it at all low settings or if I attempt to tweak them. It wouldn't be so bad if it were just a stable low framerate, but it's not, it's erratic nearly all the time.

 

[Pedeadstrian]

No idea then, because I've never gotten a stable framerate ever playing this game, nor has anyone I've played with and people are still complaining about it on Reddit and steam reviews. Doesn't matter if I run it at all low settings or if I attempt to tweak them. It wouldn't be so bad if it were just a stable low framerate, but it's not, it's erratic nearly all the time.

Have you tried Low Memory (4GB) mode? I can play Medium-High settings in that mode with a near constant framerate (unless I'm on a private server riding a Pteranodon with 600% Movement Speed).

 

[Tom Bombadildo]

Have you tried Low Memory (4GB) mode? I can play Medium-High settings in that mode with a near constant framerate (unless I'm on a private server riding a Pteranodon with 600% Movement Speed).

I don't think I've ever tried it, but I stopped bothering with the game since I last played.

Not to say that the game itself is bad, it's a rather fun game and stuff (which is why I kept on trying it after it's launch), it just runs like total ass and the devs are fully aware of it and have yet to do anything about it. Granted, they've stated they won't bother with optimization until closer to release anyways, it's still rather bad practice (IMO) to let the game run so terribly for the past ~year since it's been out.

 

[Drak0rex]

I don't think I've ever tried it, but I stopped bothering with the game since I last played.

Not to say that the game itself is bad, it's a rather fun game and stuff (which is why I kept on trying it after it's launch), it just runs like total ass and the devs are fully aware of it and have yet to do anything about it. Granted, they've stated they won't bother with optimization until closer to release anyways, it's still rather bad practice (IMO) to let the game run so terribly for the past ~year since it's been out.

What about using using ReadyBoost on a usb stick or HDD to speed up your system?

 

[Pedeadstrian]

What about using using ReadyBoost on a usb stick or HDD to speed up your system?

Disk read times isn't the problem. Well... at least I wouldn't imagine it is.