Ark Survival Evolved Expansion and How to Access Beta

The rumors are confirmed there is a mega update for Ark Survival Evolved on PC available now and a large update coming to all consoles on January 15, 2019.

What’s new 

Changes:

• Made structure quick pickup time configurable in ini file (ServerSettings -> StructurePickupTimeAfterPlacement, default = 30)
• Added new ini config option to ignore the duration and always allow quick pickup (ServerSettings -> AlwaysAllowStructurePickup, default = false)
• Improved quick pickup HUD text to avoid overlapping other text, and to format durations as timestamps if over 60 seconds to support very long times if configured for that
• Enabled structure quick pickup for ALL structures. For structures that previously had pickup disabled, they now auto-disable quick pickup as soon as the player interacts with the structure in any way (unless AlwaysAllowStructurePickup is set to true)

New structures/variants:

• Added 'smooth' sidewall textures variants (like the stone foundation) to the stock square foundations [Adobe, Metal, Stone, Tek, Thatch, Wood]
• Triangle foundations [Adobe, Metal, Stone, Tek, Wood]
• Triangle ceilings [Adobe, Metal, Stone, Tek, Wood, Greenhouse]
• Triangle roofs [Adobe, Metal, Stone, Tek, Wood, Greenhouse]
• Large (4x height) walls [Adobe, Metal, Stone, Tek, Wood]
• Flexible pipe [Stone, Metal]
• Flexible electrical cable
• Stairs (with freely swappable ramp variant) [Adobe, Metal, Stone, Tek, Wood]
• Double door frames [Adobe, Metal, Stone, Tek, Wood]
• Double doors [Adobe, Metal, Stone, Tek, Wood]
• Dedicated storage (Tek structure that allows storing a large amount of a single resource)
• Fence supports (allows you to build fences that are level along the top) [Adobe, Metal, Stone, Tek, Wood]

Kibble changes that will be in the beta branch:

All eggs have been assigned a value based on the size and rarity of the egg. These sizes include: Extra Small, Small, Medium, Large, Extra Large, and Special. The eggs are used in a recipe to create kibble of a coinciding value: Basic, Simple, Regular, Superior, Exceptional, and Extraordinary.This new system will make it so that creature kibble desires are based on the quality levels instead of specific creatures, which should greatly decrease the number of tamed creatures needed for the purposes of taming.

Regarding previously crafted kibble:

• Old kibbles will not be wiped, and will inherit their new "value/color" appropriately.
• Old kibbles will still work to tame their appropriate creatures.
• Old kibble will no longer be craftable, only the new types will be craftable.

We will be taking your feedback into serious consideration regarding both of these changes so we invite you to communicate with us on our social media, the forums, reddit, etc with your opinions and critique. Once we're happy with where these features are at, we will be bringing them over to the PC main game and then to all platforms (Xbox and PS4).

How to access the Beta necessary introduction

As a quick starting note: Before accessing a beta branch you should create a backup of any single player games, characters, or server files that you may have for ARK to prevent any corruption or loss of player data from occurring. When you’re done playing with the beta you’ll need to navigate back to the branch selection dialogue and opt-out of the beta (choose NONE). You cannot access your official server while on the beta because they are not the same version. Depending on your internet connection this process could take some time so if you’re doing anything time sensitive on your official server, be cautious of swapping!

How to access the beta:
From your Steam games library, right-click on ARK: Survival Evolved and choose Properties. From this new window you’ll click on BETAS at the top. Here is where you’ll swap between the beta version and the live version of the game. 

Choose the beta called qolbeta_public from the drop down list and then close the Properties window once the window says it has successfully accessed the beta. Your Steam client will begin to download the beta (at the time of this post, v290.103). 

Depending on your internet connection this process could take some time. You can tell you are successfully on the beta when [qolbeta_public] appears next to ARK: Survival Evolved on your Steam games list. 

Providing feedback:
In order for us to effectively analyze feedback from beta users we have set up two separate threads, one for Structures Plus related feedback and one for the Kibble changes. Please use these threads linked below when reporting issues, bugs, and feedback to us.