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ARK: Survival Evolved for Stadia update improves graphics following early backlash

The launch of ARK: Survival Evolved on Google Stadia was long-awaited by many, but it came with a sour note as the game’s port was greatly lacking in graphics compared to the PC version it was supposed to be based on. Now, an update to ARK on Stadia is helping to fix some of those graphics issues.

A new server update for ARK: Survival Evolved PC’s servers, which Stadia uses, brings several fixes including the sorely needed Stadia-specific improvement. On the Stadia port of ARK, players can now adjust the video settings for view distance as well as post-processing. In other words, players can now adjust the game to render out more of the world in view as well as adjust the quality of the textures.

  • Fixed servers not showing up when attempting to transfer between servers on Stadia
  • Adjusted default Stadia video settings to support increased view distance and better texture quality. The following settings can also be adjusted in the options: post processing and view distance.

As we explained earlier this month when the game launched, those two points were major downsides with the port. Textures were lifeless compared to the PC version and the view distance was restricted to a point where gameplay was actually impacted. Now, these changes seem to have made a major impact in the look of the game, as pictured below in a quick sample. Anecdotally, the look of the game overall feels much improved compared to its state at launch.

It’s important to note that this update hasn’t fixed all of the problems with ARK: Survival Evolved on Google Stadia. Private gameplay is still hindered due to the lack of non-dedicated servers, and the animations we’re observing on the animals in the game are choppy compared to other ports. It’s also mentioned, though, that a bug where servers didn’t appear when trying to transfer between servers has been fixed.

While it seems there is still much work to be done, it’s great to see that the developers behind ARK are giving attention to the Stadia port.

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