ARK: Survival Evolved – Unreal Engine 4 and DX12 in an Open World FPS with Dinosaurs

Just a few hours ago I reported on ARK: Survival Evolved, a multiplayer first person survival game coming to Early Access in June 2015, with the PlayStation 4 and Xbox One versions planned for 2016.

Studio Wildcard has revealed that ARK: Survival Evolved will be using a highly customized Unreal Engine 4, with fully dynamic lighting & global illumination, weather systems (rain, fog, snow, etc) & true-to-life volumetric cloud simulation, and the latest in advanced DirectX11 and DirectX12 rendering techniques.

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ARK: Survival Evolved will be powered by UE4 and will support DX12, joining Fable Legends, Ashes of Singularity and King of Wushu as the first DX12 titles.

The game will also support VR devices such as Oculus Rift and Project Morpheus.

ARK: Survival Evolved takes on the survival genre with a unique blend of emergent multiplayer cooperation and competition. Players awake naked and starving on the beach of a mysterious island among a herd of other confused humans. On ARK, they must then hunt, harvest, craft, research technology, and build shelters to protect against scorching days, freezing nights, volatile weather systems, dangerous wildlife, and potential enemies.

Use cunning strategy and tactics to tame and ride the many dinosaurs and other primeval creatures roaming the dynamic, persistent ecosystems across land, sea, air, and even underground. Build your character’s strengths and gain items, skills, and pet creatures using in-depth role-playing systems. Start a tribe with hundreds of other players to survive and dominate competing tribes…and ultimately discover the ARK’s true purpose.

Tame one of 60 amazing dinosaurs and other prehistoric beasts, including gargantuan creatures on a scale never before seen in video games! Fly a Pterodactyl squadron over the snow-capped mountains, race through the deep jungle with your pack of trained Raptors, tromp through a fortified enemy base along a convoy of gigantic Brontosaurus, or chase down prey on the back of a raging T-Rex. Players will quickly learn that dinosaurs aren’t the only dangerous creatures on the island. Other players are organizing rebel tribes to accumulate resources, experience, re-spawn points, and to construct sprawling villages and cities, with technology spanning the primitive stone-age to the modern electric-powered era and beyond. And they will fight to destroy anything they see as a threat.

Planned Core Features of ARK: Survival Evolved include, among many other things:

• Mac and Linux versions
• Procedurally Generated ARK’s
• 40+ more creatures to reach over 70, with essentially every major category of extinct animal represented in some way
• More saddle types including saddle armor tiers and saddles with powerful weapons mounted on them
• Gas-powered Vehicles
• Human/Dino Body-Paints
• Enhanced building mechanics to evolve ARK into one of the best straight-up builder games out there
• More underwater biome/ecosystem complexity, including support for vacuum-sealed underwater bases
• Lots more items, weapons, armors and further advanced tech tiers
• More item skins, limited run event skins
• More bosses and the end-game cycle including the Ultimate Life Form & Ascension
• More biome types, including deserts, snow regions, swamps, and more.
• Steam Economy Support for Statistical Items (Need some Steam API functionality for this from Valve!)
• Way more plants and more detailed plant biology systems/farming systems
• More statistical modelling of status illnesses/diseases (both player and creature)
• Better SFX, more Music, Better UI’s, Better Gamepad support (i.e. UI button shortcut callouts),
• Better VR support (i.e. HMD gun-aim option)

We will bring you any new information on ARK: Survival Evolved as soon as it becomes available. You can apply for the Multiplayer Beta here.