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Dexter

No "hook" to keep people's interest. Taming, Breeding, Solo Play are terrible

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We can compare this game to Ark for starters because I can point to you file structures that literally come from Ark. Now to the point of this post, what hooks does Ark have that Atlas doesn't that keeps peoples interest for months and even years? 

 

  • Excellent breeding system
  • Do-able taming even for the solo guy
  • Approachable solo play

 

Breeding System 

Before I quit I was solo'ing tons of gigas, yuties, etc 100% on my own. I worked my a$$ off to get 10 tek troughs, a very safe place for them to be raised, a great area for farming meat. This was all on official PVE rates. We had too many dinos on our server but they fixed that, I logged on recently - there hasnt been any dino caps in a long time thanks to capsules. Tek wasn't easy to get from Day 1, it was a progression toward it but once I got it I was able to sleep like a normal person, I was able to raise whatever I wanted to raise yet still had that challenge of farming, perfect imprints, baby phase, and having to fork out astronomical sums of money to get "the best" from the Chinese. The system in the end works. I have friends that refuse to play Atlas because they are still on Ark, breeding. They've been breeding for over a year in the same tribe, to them it never gets old.

 

 

 

Taming System

Wow. At first I liked it, I was like "this is great, it's interactive!" Then after 10 tames in I start to get over it and realize it's worse off than the system we had before. This is an area I think they're not far off from though, it's not bad like breeding is.. it just needs some work. It getting up, knocking it down - having things from various regions to feed it, etc works but there's really stupid crap like having to feed right at its head and if you're unlucky (after the last major update) you cant even feed it at all in a trap. It's less boring than the Ark system but it's not fun either. None of us have fun doing it anymore. 

The other thing is we get that you dont want tames to be OP but half the time they seem totally useless. Unless we get a really nice elephant for example and are farming with bamboo.. it's about the same time to just go hand farm than go through all the taming process, clear the forest before taking the elephant out, farm, alpha comes and kill it, go tame another one. It's as if they know this and want you to keep having to tame more thanks to lack of content in game. 

Tweak the taming system, make tames worthwhile 

 

 

 

Solo Play

Impressed by how bad it is for solo players. It's not just the claim flags, it's the whole system. Ark was hard but fun for solo players.. again, my last Ark days were by design me playing solo. After knowing the game like the back of my hand, I wanted that challenge and it was a really great challenge while it lasted. Seriously, the whole thing was a blast. Even solo'ing hard boss fights game with huge risk, high rewards. 

Atlas on the otherhand, just no. I wouldn't. Why? I mean the game is designed from the ground up for you to either A) be in a company with others or B) be at the mercy of other companies. There's no "this is my plot of land, these are my own rules, these are my tames, these are my ships." You can technically go down that route but it'll be a very difficult ride. We have lost 90% of our tames due to alpha lions/wolves. We cant simply move because of claimed territory. We don't breed our existing good tames because the breeding system isn't remotely worth it thus we have routine setbacks. I can only imagine what its like when it's just you. Solo play is always an important part of a game, something this game severely lacks. 

 

 

 

Make PVE / PVP separate - completely 

One thing I don't like is how just like on Ark, whatever happens on PVP is reflected on PVE so things that do not make sense for us are pushed onto us because it's necessary in PVP. We own lots of flags, lots of territory. We  profit from it a lot, so why do I care about things such as claim flags? When I removed some flags, they were filled in by a much larger company. I removed them so if any small company needed territory, they'd have it. There's literally bragging rights by Grapeshot on who owns the most territory via leaderboards. How in the hell is that good for PVE? 

 

The list goes on and on but the proper separation of PVE and PVP currently does not exist within this game nor Ark. 

 

 

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It feels like they're being different for the sake of being different rather than evolving from what they learned from Ark while making things even worse for the small guys out there. It should be them improving on what people loved about Ark while protecting the small groups - but that's not the case thus every day people are leaving. It's not just that, it's that there aren't proper hooks to keep people playing longterm in the game. It is Alpha basically so I know things will get better but there's things they can do right now to fix some of these bigger issues. Instead favoritism is directed toward the biggest voices (large companies/streamers) with what's fun/unfun to them rather than the small guys that actually like being small (that came out weird) but are also the dedicated players that'll stay around after the streamer fad is over with.

Protect those that don't have a big voice just the same as those that do. Make this game more accessible for all while creating things that keep our interest long term that ANYONE regardless of size can do. #sizematters

 

 

Edited by Dexter
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7 minutes ago, Dexter said:
  • Excellent breeding system
  • Do-able taming even for the solo guy
  • Approachable solo play

I agree. Ark is great. So far Atlas is a huge let down.

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The stupid part is I'd still play the game solo, living off my boat, exploring and be quite happy about it, even with most the flaws like massive NPC spawns (Superior strategy and cheese can overcome any obstacle!), I don't need a particularly big hook, I mean, No Man's Sky is a favourite game of mine. But then they keep adding new obstacles that compound the existing ones, and other irrational choices that make it even worse, often for no obvious payoff.

Like:

  • Why are sloops the slowest ship in the game? Shouldn't their small capacity and weak hull be balanced by speed to escape threats?
  • Every month I'm required to play geriatric-bum-rush-the-fountain, which is nigh impossible solo and adds nothing to the game.
  • Cyclones, whales and overweight Chinese mean my ship isn't safe when I'm logged off even in PvE

It's like, I try my hardest to find workarounds to enjoy the game DESPITE it's flaws, and the devs say 'Oh we can't be having THAT, you don't seem to be playing the game right. Let me find something else to discourage you doing that!'.

 

Edited by RyuujinZERO
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I also compare Ark and Atlas and find Atlas seriously lacking content. In Ark I loved breeding enjoyed solo-duo hard PVE grind. In atlas there's no point in taming and farming by hand is more efficient. Ships are nice but it get's old quickly. Sailing is no fun and and ghost ships are just annoying. Meeting new people and trading was interesting at the begging but now everybody walled off and trading is almost non existent because it's easier to just farm it yourself. 

At the same time I think we should give them some time. It's EA and they need to rotate the dials in different directions. I think I'm ready to give up. It was fun but it isn't the game I was hoping for. 

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Atlas really needs single player mode or LAN server support. Especially now that the devKit is out.

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Maybe try out some singleplayer games?

This is fking early access! Stop making the same QQ-threads and start using the freaking suggestions forums. They are made to make - guess what? SUGGESTIONS!
Feel free to post there.

Dont come here, cry and shout "I dont like that! Change it, so it pleases me!"

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6 minutes ago, Dingiva said:

Maybe try out some singleplayer games?

This is fking early access! Stop making the same QQ-threads and start using the freaking suggestions forums. They are made to make - guess what? SUGGESTIONS!
Feel free to post there.

Dont come here, cry and shout "I dont like that! Change it, so it pleases me!"

I did suggest SP and LAN server in the suggestion section.

 

As people lose interest in Atlas, they will simply quit and the population will continue to drop. Single player mode would provide another alternative to quiting or being at the mercy of private server owners.

 

Maybe try to stay on topic.

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Having tames at all in the game was a mistake. 

The game should be about sailing, and all the taming and breeding mechanics should be there with ships for to you play with. (I don't know what they would translate to, maybe carpentry, and getting special wood etc.).

There's a reason the forums are filled with people talking about tames, but much fewer threads talking about ship design.

That's because sailing and ship design, for a game based on sailing and ships, is woefully underdeveloped.

Edited by Ringo O'Rourke
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46 minutes ago, Dingiva said:

Dont come here, cry and shout "I dont like that! Change it, so it pleases me!"

 

I like how you're telling people what to post on a forum you don't own while QQ'ing yourself about others QQ'ing. 😂

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54 minutes ago, Ringo O'Rourke said:

The game should be about sailing, and all the taming and breeding mechanics should be there with ships for to you play with. (I don't know what they would translate to, maybe carpentry, and getting special wood etc.).

Where would the hook be with that?

 

Ark kept/keeps players interested for thousands of hours.

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Dextar is right on the money!

1 hour ago, Dexter said:

 

I like how you're telling people what to post on a forum you don't own while QQ'ing yourself about others QQ'ing. 😂

Thats so true brother!

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All these things you guys are talking about,  were they available on ARK after the 1st month it was in EA?   No,  give it a little more time damn!

Edited by Gfnjr
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1 minute ago, Gfnjr said:

All these things you guys are talking about,  were they available on ARK after the 1st month it was in EA?   No,  give it a little more time damn!

Why?

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1 minute ago, Lynx said:

Why?

Because it's in it's F'ing 1st month of being released in EA!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!     Why?????     So you expect things that didn't get implemented on Ark after a year or more to be available after a month!   LUL

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55 minutes ago, Gfnjr said:

Because it's in it's F'ing 1st month of being released in EA!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!     Why?????     So you expect things that didn't get implemented on Ark after a year or more to be available after a month!   LUL

This thread isn't about things not yet implemented, except for my SP suggestion. It about the current gameplay not being enjoyable and not providing incentive to continue playing.

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2 hours ago, Lynx said:

Where would the hook be with that?

 

Ark kept/keeps players interested for thousands of hours.

Part of the problem is a lot of people are avoiding the sailing due to the high numbers of ships of the damned that make general sailing/exploring more hassle than its worth and even straight point to point require a ship designed for combat or speed limiting your ability to get creative with design.

Just last night when going from my island to the one next door I had to dodge 4 red SotD and 2 green all in a narrowing straight between the two. They're too common, too powerful and too aggressive a mechanic and while you can deal with them (speed or combst) it actively discourages sailing in a pirate themed game which is not good.

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10 minutes ago, Senkoau said:

more hassle than its worth

It's supposed to be a game and fun. Except it's not.

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2 minutes ago, Lynx said:

It's supposed to be a game and fun. Except it's not.

Jeez enough with the feet stomping my way or the highway.

Did you read the part about only being out for a month or so?

17 minutes ago, Senkoau said:

Part of the problem is a lot of people are avoiding the sailing due to the high numbers of ships of the damned that make general sailing/exploring more hassle than its worth and even straight point to point require a ship designed for combat or speed limiting your ability to get creative with design.

Just last night when going from my island to the one next door I had to dodge 4 red SotD and 2 green all in a narrowing straight between the two. They're too common, too powerful and too aggressive a mechanic and while you can deal with them (speed or combst) it actively discourages sailing in a pirate themed game which is not good.

No SOTD are just fine, went through a couple dozen and if you actually set your ship up correct you just fly by.

And dont start with the I am playing all by myself and its not fair.

Learn how to play.

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3 minutes ago, Nutcutt3r said:

Jeez enough with the feet stomping my way or the highway.

Did you read the part about only being out for a month or so?

I will just play Ark instead. But you would think the devs would want to attract more players instead of losing them.

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1 minute ago, Lynx said:

I will just play Ark instead. But you would think the devs would want to attract more players instead of losing them. 

Translation: If you dont do it how I want its a bad decision.

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2 minutes ago, Nutcutt3r said:

Translation: If you dont do it how I want its a bad decision.

Atlas like Ark has private servers for a variety of settings and modding. So obviously people want different things.

 

Have fun being a white knight.

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5 minutes ago, Lynx said:

Atlas like Ark has private servers for a variety of settings and modding. So obviously people want different things. 

 

Have fun being a white knight.

I am not being a white night, but when all else fails name calling is so fun aint it?

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42 minutes ago, Senkoau said:

Part of the problem is a lot of people are avoiding the sailing due to the high numbers of ships of the damned that make general sailing/exploring more hassle than its worth and even straight point to point require a ship designed for combat or speed limiting your ability to get creative with design.

Just last night when going from my island to the one next door I had to dodge 4 red SotD and 2 green all in a narrowing straight between the two. They're too common, too powerful and too aggressive a mechanic and while you can deal with them (speed or combst) it actively discourages sailing in a pirate themed game which is not good.

I have to agree, sailing is not as fun as it could be.

I tend to start my sailing right after a rain so I can pretty much guarantee that I won't have to deal with cyclones. They really aren't that big a deal, but they can cause you to sink by some secondary thing combined with the cyclones. The only ship I sunk was in low visibility from cyclones and I ran it into rocks in a shallow area. The other way they can sink you is that they make the ship go so slow, a SotD gets you.

I don't see anything fun about the SotD. If they are there to provide some excitement in an otherwise long and boring sailing journey, why not have something that doesn't make you take detours and make the trip even longer than it needs to be? Nothing comes to mind right now though as to what they could have instead. The Flotsam can be interesting to get though.

Ah, how about some magic portals? You could sail your ship into a whirlpool and it pops out into another grid diagonally across the map. This would be a way to fast travel across the map, kind of a shortcut for ships. This would take some of the boredom out of traveling a long ways across the map.

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1 minute ago, wildbill said:

I have to agree, sailing is not as fun as it could be.

I tend to start my sailing right after a rain so I can pretty much guarantee that I won't have to deal with cyclones. They really aren't that big a deal, but they can cause you to sink by some secondary thing combined with the cyclones. The only ship I sunk was in low visibility from cyclones and I ran it into rocks in a shallow area. The other way they can sink you is that they make the ship go so slow, a SotD gets you. 

I don't see anything fun about the SotD. If they are there to provide some excitement in an otherwise long and boring sailing journey, why not have something that doesn't make you take detours and make the trip even longer than it needs to be? Nothing comes to mind right now though as to what they could have instead. The Flotsam can be interesting to get though.

Ah, how about some magic portals? You could sail your ship into a whirlpool and it pops out into another grid diagonally across the map. This would be a way to fast travel across the map, kind of a shortcut for ships. This would take some of the boredom out of traveling a long ways across the map.

The funnest part of almost any trip is sailing in and around something that might wipe you out. Its pretty easy, just make sure you have a combination of speed and control on your ship.

Its pretty boring just looking at the scenery.

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