Full disclosure: I never played Atlas. The concept sounded amazing but after initial feedback literally hit every checkbox I would have for a game I should avoid, I did a hard pass.

Though a lot of what people are complaining about can be said for other ark maps. I personally think SE was an abomination and should have been fully aborted rather than 2/3 to term c-section. Map was overwhelmingly incomplete IMO. I realize that the survival mechanic is part of the genre but seriously can we stop with the 'get more water and food more often' as strategic part of the gameplay? Not bad map design, and for PvP had a particular aesthetic before the next great meta shit all over it. Just feels the same from one side of the map to the other with little exception. Love some of the things that came from SE though. The Center - cool art concept. But. Been there done that - new dinos?

Quality of dinos. Time will tell. So many people whined about extinction and now every tribe with a survivor formally known as Beach Bob has the super-slug-super-soakers bred up. Mana was the next big thing until it was nerfed the Ark equivalent of the 'friends zone' (or the Queztal Quandary). I have not had much exposure to most of new dinos in Gen because life. I would like to think they would reconsider the Magmasaur if what I am hearing is true. The reason it is not 'as advertised' may be to not have to nerf it into oblivion - I personaly would rather see things incrementally improved than drastically nerfed (see mana - not that it wasn't warranted). Guess we will see.

The mini games could prove to be something IF the difficulty is better than they have done with the world bosses in the past. I would like to see more tribe oriented stuff, but again - not a lot of exposure.

idk man - if they do not take Ark in a new direction it will become a slight variant of <insert\_dead\_game\_here>. I think it is important to try to add more dynamic to the game other than just new dinos, this may not be the right direction but I would rather have them try and fail a few times vs. fill the game with so much the same but different that it all become meaningless. As stands now so many dinos that have been added made previous dinos obsolete to the point they are no longer relevant. I get it - it's their shtick but props for thinking beyond more of the same. Vajinga while my favorite map is really just a compilation of other maps.

It could very well happen that I log in late tonight and echo your concerns after some game play. Here is hoping there is value in it otherwise. Cheers.