Today we thought we’d introduce everyone to some of the changes and additions we’ve made for mobile, including the new interaction menu, Pursuits, and creature interactions.
Undo Button
This is a quick button we’ve added to make building a little more simple. For example, pretend you’re building a base. You’ve just placed a wall in the middle of your foundations due to a mistap, when you were intending to place it as part of the outer wall. No problem! Simply target the wall, then tap the undo button. You will regain your wall, without loss of resource or having to destroy it, and be able to place it again! This undo button runs on a short timer which lasts until A) 30 Seconds have passed since you placed the structure or B) you’ve placed another structure.
Interaction Windows
Interactions have been changed, rather than the wheel, we have added interaction menus, customized to the creature/structure that you’re looking at, with options such as setting Follow Distance, Aggression, Wandering status, or to set locked and unlocked status on structures.
Creature Revival
We have added a new mechanic to the game, in which creatures spawn with a Creature Implant, similar to that of players, that can be taken and stored for later use. In the event of the death of the creature the Implant can be brought to an Obelisk or the new Revival Platform structure (learned at Level 65) with Ancient Amber (a new precious resource, with many ways to obtain) to allow players to bring back their prized tames, or to provide a more secure environment for more difficult tames.
Craftable Bee Hives
Because our game does not feature Giant Bees, but does feature the Direbear, Liopleurodon, and Leedsichthys, we have added a custom craftable beehive that functions similar to the Tree Sap Tap. The Hive can only be placed on the side of a tree in the Redwoods, and must have Rare Flowers inside of it to create Giant Bee Honey.
Flow and On-Screen Menus
For mobile, we offer players two different styles for their hotbar. The Flow Menu provides a slide-out access to hotbar items and opens up the screen for increased visibility, whereas the On-Screen menu functions similar to the PC/Console versions, enabling quick button access to the hotbar items.
Pursuits
We’ve added a new system called pursuits! They function similar to quests in that doing objectives earns survivors rewards. For example completing a special hunt may reward you with a rare item. Completing a wayfinding pursuit may give you a small boost in experience. Pursuits from single player to multiplayer modes differ because single player offers a more tutorialized set of basic pursuits to help introduce new players to the world of ARK. Multiplayer jumps straight into the fun of hunting, taming, and exploring!
Additional Meters
To provide more visual feedback to players, a few small meters have been added throughout the game. For starters, when taming a creature, a small white bar will fill up just beneath the taming percentage meter. This meter fills as the creature gets closer to being hungry, so that players will know when the next time a taming creature will eat. Another meter we have added is within cooking and crafting structures, especially those that have no manual starters (IE: Preserving Bin, Compost Bin, etc.). A meter will display with a timer showing how long it will be until something is done crafting or cooking.
Stay tuned for more, we’ll be talking about various features on our Youtube channel here, and more announcements are to come!
Thank you all, see you on the Island!