Many ARK1 players are devastated by the decision to discontinue support and retract offering ARK1.5 as a free update. 

This means that thousands of players who play on official servers --who have been constant stalwart supporters and genuinely invested their time [and money] to support Wildcard Studios-- will lose access to their progress, tames, bases and content.

Let us band together and save ARK1 to protect the vibrant community that makes it truly special. Hopefully ARK 2 is amazing and everyone moves over naturally and the curtains can close gradually on ARK1 then. As opposed to the current approach that callously halts all official servers for ARK1, in the perceived hope that holding a gun to ARK's proverbial head will allow a king's ransom to be extracted from the player base just to play the very thing they already paid for in the first place.

I'm committed to collecting our feelings and presenting them to Studio Wildcard before the October deadline. But I need your help. Please sign this appeal and share it with anyone who loves ARK1. Also, join our SaveARK Discord group to take part in a poll and share your opinions. Your input will be included in this petition to Wildcard.

Read on for more context and join the fight to save ARK1!

But it's not over yet. We must act now to save ARK1 and protect the community that makes it truly special. I would be more than happy to collate our feelings and present them to Studio Wildcard ahead of the October deadline. But I will need your help, so please sign this appeal and send it to any of your friends who are impacted by this decision. There is also a poll on our SaveArk Discord Group and a page for you to leave your opinions that will be forwarded with this petition to Wildcard.   

Feel free to read on for more context. 

Causes for Concern

The announcement of discontinuing support for ARK1 has deeply concerned many players of the game. This decision also means that the planned ARK1.5 update, which was promised as a free update to current players, will no longer be available. As a result, players who have invested countless hours and money into this game will lose access to their progress, tames, bases, and content. This sudden move has left many players feeling betrayed by the developers, who they supported and trusted.

The issue with this decision is not just the loss of access to progress and content, but the impact it will have on the community that has built around this game. Many players have dedicated themselves to the official servers, forming friendships and communities that go beyond just the game. This decision jeopardizes that community, as players will be unable to access their progress and continue their gameplay on the official servers they have invested in.

Furthermore, the decision to force players to pay for content they have already purchased is a significant concern for many. This feels like a cash grab by the developers, as they attempt to make more money from their loyal player base by threatening to discontinue support for the game they already own. This is an unfair burden on the players, many of whom may not have the financial resources to upgrade to the new version or purchase the same DLC maps all over again.

The impact of this decision is felt most deeply by the poorest players, who have relied on ARK as a source of entertainment and a way to connect with others in the community. Wherever they are in the world, many of these players may not have the resources to upgrade their copies of the game or invest in new hardware to play the upgraded version(s) as intended.

In conclusion, the community concerns surrounding the discontinuation of ARK1 go beyond just the loss of access to progress and content. It is a betrayal of loyal players, and the forced payment for existing content only adds insult to injury. This decision impacts the vibrant community that has built around this game, particularly those who have invested countless hours and money into the official servers. It is time for the developers to hear our voices and work towards a better solution that takes into account the concerns of the community.

Proposed Solutions

There are of course a myriad of options, just like shutting it all down is an option. These are just some other options. For the benefit of character limits, herein ARK:SE will be ARK1 - ARK Ascended is ARK1.5 - and ARK2, respectively.

Possible Solution #1: Finish Him! ARK Legacy 

ARK1 provides Wildcard with the first opportunity to finish ARK. With a LTS version that will not be changing anymore, modders can come back to modify and rework their mods; cutting their teeth in ARK modding again right before you could benefit from them working on ARK1.5 and ARK2 experiences. Some of their great mods could keep ARK1 around in the niche circles for decades. You really can have your cake and eat it. 

The Legacy Update could have a minuscule part-time dev team assigned to ARK Legacy around their work on the sequel, with the mission of squashing as many of the bugs and glitches as possible. Try out solutions you intend to use in ARK2 for stopping cheaters/undermapping and see if you can squash some of those holes and bring that to bear in the ARK1 Legacy Update. If you can then you have an extra viable product for sale, with all the physical copies in stores around the world already, still being a valid product for sale.

Other things include but are not limited to:
- fix that rifle reload glitch for crying out loud.
- A new and more robust set of tools for really fine-tuning a private server. 
- Perhaps open up to a wider range of server options/providers, or make it even easier to host your own Ark server at home. 
- Trim some of the fat out - the game is so massive it boggles the mind. 
In short, Finish Him! Finish this thing you promised so it is as close to perfect as the engine will let you can make it in such a short time. Bug test it and hand it over and watch the community expand anew for players you have took money from and now decided to leave behind.

How do you solve a problem like Official Servers?

You dramatically exterminate more than 90% of the servers. Say for instance you choose to keep Servers 1 to 40, allow for players to migrate to these servers with their tames and possessions before you shut the remainder. This could serve to make PVP and PVE on ARK1 super vibrant again. In the event that ARK2 isn't someone's cup of tea, and ARK1.5 isn't for them, or maybe people just want to play Legacy Ark! The game can continue to be an asset for you. Just because it's not Unreal Engine 5, doesn't make it bad or evil suddenly. And ensure server providers are committed to continue operating servers for ARK1 into the future. 

Paying for DLC we already paid for?

The way in which Wildcard Studios presented the purchase of ARK1.5 and ARK2 has left many players feeling misled and deceived. The announcement made it seem like ARK1.5 was a standalone update that cost $49.99 and came with ARK2 as a free bonus. However, this framing of the purchase is incorrect. In reality, purchasing ARK1.5 is a pre-purchase of ARK2, with ARK1.5 being included as an added bonus.

This misrepresentation of the purchase has caused confusion and frustration among players, who feel like they were tricked into spending money on what they thought was an update to the game they already owned. It's not just the framing of the purchase, but the price point as well. Wildcard Studios is charging players for the DLC maps they already own, and at a price point that many find to be unreasonable.

Many players believe that once they have purchased a DLC map, they should not have to pay again to access it in a new version of the game. If Wildcard wants to charge for new DLC maps, that's understandable, but to expect players to pay for maps they already own is seen as exploitative. In order to rectify this situation, we propose that players who already own the DLC maps should be able to access them in the new version of the game for no more than $5.00 per map bundle. For new customers, the DLC maps can be sold at the current price point of $20.00 for a bundle.

Overall, the way in which Wildcard Studios has handled the release and framing of the ARK1.5 and ARK2 purchase has left many players feeling deceived and frustrated. It's time for the developers to listen to the concerns of the community and work towards a better solution that takes into account the needs and desires of their player base.