A shock trailer for Ark: Survival Advanced teased its new water-based enlargement Aquatica this week and followers are furious. That’s as a result of the video seems to make beneficiant use of AI-generated footage to point out a bland and incoherent mashup of underwater scenes that don’t have anything to do with the sport.
“Uncharted waters await in Ark: Aquatica!” wrote Snail Video games USA within the trailer’s description on YouTube. “Premiering at GDC, this newest enlargement takes survival to the deep blue with new creatures, mechanics, and risks lurking beneath.” The 70-second-long video begins with temporary use of precise Ark gameplay earlier than switching to smoothed-over and cheap-looking CGI footage stitching collectively random context-less scenes together with an octopus springing from the water with solely six arms.
The video has over 7,000 dislikes and greater than 1,800 feedback. “That is disgusting and you ought to be ashamed of yourselves,” reads probably the most upvoted response, from Ark content material creator Syntac. “What even is the purpose of an AI trailer????” reads one other. “You’re exhibiting NOTHING. That is worse than having PowerPoint presentation concerning the DLC.”
The backlash was so swift and detrimental that the makers of the unique recreation, Studio Wildcard, went on social media to distance themselves from the debacle. “Ark: Aquatica is being developed by @SnailGamesUSA Colorado, please comply with them for extra updates,” the workforce wrote on X yesterday. “Studio Wildcard stays totally devoted to the manufacturing of Ark: Survival Ascended & Ark 2, and we’re excited to carry Ark: Misplaced Colony to you later this 12 months!”
For anybody who’s been out of Ark’s survival crafting, dino-hunting orbit for a couple of years now, the sequel was revealed again on the 2020 Recreation Awards with a have a look at Vin Diesel and has barely been heard from since. Ark: Survival Ascended, in the meantime, is a current-gen remake of the unique recreation in Unreal Engine 5. It’s nonetheless in Early Entry on PC and continues to be affected by complaints about bugs and optimization points.
This all leaves the collection as a complete in a really awkward spot in the mean time, and followers proceed accountable the involvement of Chinese language dad or mum firm Snail Video games for each new rake the franchise steps on. “How can each determination y’all make be so horrible…” wrote Ark YouTuber Crowmeda. “So many superb artists and devs work on this IP to make the sport look nice, and y’all disregard every one in every of them.”
.
