# ARK: Survival Evolved Community Crunch 381: Sunsets on ASE, New Horizons on ASA and FAQ - Product: ARK: Survival Evolved (https://whatsnew.fyi/product/ark-survival-evolved) - Vendor: Studio Wildcard - Date: 2023-09-30 - Original notes: https://store.steampowered.com/news/app/346110/view/3707081777773332602 - Permalink: https://whatsnew.fyi/product/ark-survival-evolved/releases/2023-09-30-community-crunch-381-sunsets-on-ase-new-horizons What's New is an index, not a publisher: every entry below links to the vendor's own release notes, which are the authoritative source. Entries are labelled where they are hand-curated sample data, pre-releases, or drawn from a secondary source such as a developer blog. Reuse: the summaries, labels and curation here are © What's New. Quote freely with attribution and a link back; wholesale republication of the corpus is not permitted — terms: https://whatsnew.fyi/terms. The vendors' own release notes remain their publishers'. --- - **added** — ARK: Survival Ascended is a next-generation remake of ARK: Survival Evolved built on Unreal Engine 5 - **added** — New creature Shastasaurus, a Late Triassic sea monster with ultrasonic echolocation abilities that can disorient prey or create concussive waves - **added** — Cross-platform modding experience through Overwolf allowing mods created on PC to be delivered to consoles via custom modding backend and in-game user mod browser - **added** — Full cross-platform multiplayer support - **added** — Eleven brand-new creatures to be released over time - **added** — New mini-map system with pan, zoom, and ping functionality - **added** — New structures including display cases, smaller TEK Teleporters, and additional building pieces - **added** — Major building-system overhaul - **added** — New gameplay items - **added** — Photo Mode - **added** — New camera systems for players and dinosaurs with option to revert to old systems - **added** — New player character assets with revamped and improved customization - **added** — Gamepad virtual-cursor UI input system - **added** — New Dino-Manager system to view real-time status and track locations of all creatures through unified menu - **changed** — Codebase has been rewritten and artwork recreated by hand to take full advantage of Unreal Engine 5 including Lumen and Nanite systems - **changed** — Advanced graphics features including dynamic water with Custom FluidNinja integration and complete interactive physical foliage - **changed** — Total UI revamp - **changed** — Dynamic navigation mesh and creature pathfinding overhaul for improved AI pathfinding - **removed** — Official support for ARK: Survival Evolved with transition to community-run unofficial servers As we stand on the horizon between the ending of an era and the dawn of the next, we'll take a moment to reflect on the extraordinary journey we've shared. Your exuberance, sense of community, and the vivid tapestry of experiences you've woven in the world of ARK: Survival Evolved have truly brought our creation to life. You’re the beating heart of our “little” dinosaur game. Some might consider the upcoming transition a bittersweet occasion punctuated by a sense of loss and sadness. We feel otherwise. Unofficial ASE is in great hands. Yours. But, as one chapter concludes, another unfolds – and again our stories will mix with yours to create something greater than the sum of two parts. Remember, it's not farewell, it’s “see you real soon” with more ASA news, reveals, gameplay and, ultimately, the launch of ARK: Survival Ascended near the end of October! So, Survivors, thank you for eight incredible years and here’s to many more. With heartfelt gratitude and dino-sized enthusiasm, The Studio Wildcard Team [Download in full resolution](https://drive.google.com/drive/u/0/folders/10eDgKXiqSbzhCXY-s1nG8lmC-3cxmIZl) **Species:** _Shastasaurus carmentellum_ **Time:** Late Triassic **Diet: **Carnivore **Temperament: **Curious This odd variant of Shastasaurus seems as curious about humans as its distant relative Ichthyosaur. It sure got my attention when one of these sea monsters swam up to have a look at me! Luckily, its bulk turns out to be worse than its bite. Shastasaurus has weaponized the ultrasonic chirps it uses for echolocation. It can focus those sounds into a tight cone that disorients prey, or widen the effect to blast apart a school of fish in a concussive wave. Taming a Shastasaurus was one of the most rewarding experiences of my life. I brought along some Ichthyosaur pals to entertain their larger cousin while I scraped some of its itchy barnacles off with a sickle. From then on, I had a gigantic escort in deep water. Some tribes manage to kit out their finny friend with a periscope, torpedo bays, and even a cargo hold… Those Shastasaurs end up looking like something from the old kids’ cartoon with cavemen who turned dinos into cars and submarines! ​ Hey Survivors! We’re going to recap some of the information we’ve shared regarding ARK: Survival Ascended in this crunch, along with touching on some topics that haven’t been covered and expanding on some that have! If you’ve been following along for the last few months, you might already know some of this information, but we’ve seen a lot of questions lately, so let’s start with the basics before diving into some of the more frequently asked questions from the community. **IF YOU ALREADY KNOW ABOUT ASA, FEEL FREE TO SKIP THIS BIT :-)...** **What is ASA?** ARK: Survival Ascended (ASA) is a next-generation remake of our beloved ARK: Survival Evolved, harnessing the power of Unreal Engine 5. **When is it launching?** The launch is just around the corner! We’ll reveal the launch trailer screenshots and set the game live near the end of October. **Where can you play it?** You’ll be able to play ARK: Survival Ascended on Xbox Series S/X, PlayStation 5, and PC (Windows/Steam). **Why are you doing it?** There are various reasons we’ve decided to take this approach. One is to refine the development team’s skills on UE5 and how far it can be pushed for next-generation titles (ARK 2).. Another factor is for business reasons. Developing a next-generation sequel while no longer releasing paid expansion packs has proven difficult for our Studio’s long-term survival, so we need to continue generating revenue while we develop ARK 2. And finally, the ultimate reason: whereas ARK2 is being designed as a Souls-like adventure, we want to provide the community with an evergreen classic-ARK experience, one that can continue to grow over time on a cleaned-up code base, leveraging new technological advancements not only in the industry but also what we’ve been working on with the A _[Truncated at 4000 characters — full notes: https://store.steampowered.com/news/app/346110/view/3707081777773332602]_