ArkCo News - 11/3/14

Hey, ArkCoNauts! We have good news, and bad news today, so I'll start us off with the good news. The patch isn't far off now! November 13th will be here before we know it, and the team is hard at work filling it with more and more new content. Even this far out, the “new features” section of the patch notes contains more than in any previous patch! We are so excited to get this done, and we'll be working right up to the deadline to bring in as much as possible. Got a couple stressful weeks ahead to be sure as crunch time is never fun, but the end result is going to improve the game experience so much. So what is the bad news? Well, with this much new content coming in, much of it making drastic changes to the game, we have no choice but to do a complete character and world wipe for this one. It's never something we take lightly, but in this case, the changes are too extensive to preserve old data. http://i.imgur.com/aXvtZFm.gifv To ease the sting of that last bit of news, let's talk about one of those sweeping changes. Several months back, we released the research system, to provide a more constant and consistent character progression, and to guide the release of the schematics to the character throughout the game. Initially we felt it was a good system, but it definitely came with drawbacks. We've heard plenty of feedback from the community on the grindy feel of farming mobs for data drops, and while we tried to adjust to find a point where the amount you got would justify the work involved, progress continued to feel like a chore to the community. So to address that, we went back to the drawing board, and looked for a new way to approach it without taking away the positives of the system. Our answer is coming in the form of Science Points. Science points will be a new method of advancement, and will be gained from everything you do. Fighting, mining, crafting, and simply playing the game will grant SP. These points can then be used in research schematics. You can craft a consumable item to gain knowledge in ANY category available to you, allowing you to have complete control over how and when your character learns each schematic type. Want better weapons? Simply craft weapon data and consume it. Want better armor now, rather than later? Craft armor data and consume it. The science point system comes along with the three early armor progression paths that branch out over time, to give a much greater degree of control over your playstyle. As always, thanks for reading, and we'll see you next time for ArkCo News! Stay awesome!