Ark Survival Evolved Split Screen on Xbox One

Hurray!  I can play Ark Survival Evolved with my kids via the split screen on Xbox One.   Well sort of, only in Non Dedicated Multiplayer Sessions .  There are several draw backs to playing split screen.  Keep in mind I’m writing about this in the early access version of the game.  The first thing you’ll notice is the graphics are much lower than the regular version.  It does have some effect on gameplay because it is harder to make out objects in the distance, which can mean you don’t see resources, or the T-Rex headed your way.  You’ll still have time to avoid the rex, but you probably would have taken a different route had you seen it, so it will add to your walking time.  There is also increased, but not game breaking lag.  The very wide view of the split screen makes it hard to read menus that are not optimized for that view.  If someone has never played the game before they are going to have a very hard time navigating the menu.  The last problem is the second player must stay close to the host.  If they stray too far they will be teleported back to the host.  It’s pretty annoying. 

Split Screen Drawbacks

-          Reduced graphics

-          Increased lag

-          Very wide and narrow view

-          Hard to impossible to read text in menus

-          Second player must stay close to the host

    

How to Play Ark Survival Evolved Split Screen

It isn’t obvious at first on how to play split screen, but it is easy to do.

-          At the Ark main menu select Host/Local

-          At the bottom of the next menu select Host Non Dedicated Multiplayer Sessions

-          Once the host is playing the second player hits the menu button on the controller

-          Second player signs in creates new character or downloads an old one.

The Xbox just doesn’t have the processing power to deliver a smooth split screen experience, but it is playable.  It’s fun to be able to share the Ark Survival Evolved experience with family and friends so it’s worth giving it a go just keep in mind that you are going to have to start completely over in XP, stats etc.

Ark Survival Evolved: Xbox One Early Access

Currently you can only get Ark Survival Evolved for one console, the Xbox One, but there are plans to make it available for PS4 in the not so distant future.  I would much rather play a game like Ark Survival Evolved on the PC, but my computer is in the crapper, and I currently don’t have the funds to upgrade or replace it, so Ark Survival Evolved Early Access on the Xbox for me.  The main reason for me to play on PC vs. console is the interface is much easier to navigate with a mouse than move through each option in the menu with a controller.  It is still worth playing on console if you can’t on PC.

The menus of Ark Survival Evolved are slow to navigate on Xbox One.

Ark Survival Evolved Xbox One Glitches

There are a few glitches and bugs on the Xbox One for this early access version.  Most of the bugs I have encountered in single player so far are just a bit annoying, but not game breaking.  There is one however that is both a blessing and a curse.  I’m not sure if it’s only in single player or if it also occurs in multiplayer.  Quite often animals get stuck on, or in rocks and trees.  This is a gift from the gods of Ark, especially if you are starting out, because you basically get free raw meat and hide, or the ability to tame some tough beasts on day one.  The tame dinos, and kills will get you lots of XP you couldn’t get otherwise in the first few hours on the island. 

For example, within one small area of the beach I found two Dilophosaur (Dilos) stuck in driftwood, and a Triceratops stuck in a tree.  The dilos I could just punch out and then tame.  The Trike took some more work to knock out because it can still strike you, even in its compromised position, so be careful to avoid the front end of the trike if you don’t want to get Triceratops horns in your gut.  After the tame begins you can free the animals by destroying the wood or rock they are stuck in, but occasionally the act of knocking it out is enough to free them.  Be very careful when taking down the trees they are stuck in because you can harm the dino if you hit it by accident.  I use my fists to hit the tree because they are more precise and will do less damage to the animal in case you hit it by accident.  I even encountered a Brontosaurs stuck in some rocks, but I wasn’t ready to deal with an animal that size. 

Building a dock for my raft in Ark Survival Evolved

The tree glitch in the early access version is like getting mana from heaven, but it is also a real pain when traveling with your new friends, because the large ones such as the trikes and Parasaur get stuck frequently.  This is can be fatal for you and your tame animals if you have to flee from a dangerous dinosaur.  I lost my first Parasaur when it got stuck in tree while we were fleeing a Spinosaur.  I also lost my highest level dilo at the time, which was a bummer.  I assume the developers will get this fixed before the full version is launched, but in the meantime tame some animals and get some food and hide. 

Game Breaking Bug

After writing the rest of this post a few days ago I have encountered a very big problem that is going to halt my progress with this game.  Every time I use my engram points and learn a new skill, that skill does not show up in my craftables tab. In my current game I am stuck on  nice little stretch of beach with few major problems, but not too far down on each side are some major dinos that I can't deal with without upgrading my weapons, armor etc., and I can't do that right now.  I'm pretty much stuck walking down the beach collecting wood etc. and when I get to a certain point I have to look at the spino and the glowing alpha raptor, and head back home to build up my base.  That will get boring pretty soon.  Hopefully this bug gets fixed soon.  

The other main glitch is more annoying than anything is the lag I experienced.  On one of the multiplayer servers it was pretty bad, but even on the single player it stutters occasionally, but only for a brief period of time.  There are also some minor rendering bugs, but they are no big deal. 

Hopefully by the time you read this, these early access bugs will have been fixed.I’m finding Ark Survival Evolved to be very addicting.  Currently I am playing the single player, and have the Ark world all to myself, but sooner or later I’ll probably be renting a server and playing with a few friends PvE.  I really have no desire to play PvP right now.