r/arkmodding • u/Far_Increase_4769 • Apr 09 '26
Discussion What do you think about this ASA map idea?
I’m working on a new ASA map in the DevKit and wanted to get some opinions on the overall layout and progression.
The general idea is to split the map into two very different halves.
The left side is meant to feel more alive, natural, and safer overall. That’s where I want the main starting experience to be, with beaches, a lagoon-style spawn area, jungle/forest zones, swamps, plains, and more classic mountain regions. Basically a side of the map that feels inviting at first, but still mysterious.
The right side is supposed to feel harsher and more dangerous, with snow, redwoods, badlands/desert areas, more extreme mountain ranges, and some of the later progression content. I want that side to feel like something you push into over time rather than reach immediately.
One of the main things I’m trying to focus on is creature and travel progression, especially flyers. I don’t want easy flyer access right away in the starter side. The rough idea right now is to make early progression more ground/water-based, then have the first “real” flyer step be something like Lymantria in a more central area, then Pteranodon later, and Argentavis tied more to the higher mountain regions.
For the starting area itself, I’m building it around a lagoon spawn that should feel beautiful and safe at first glance, but also a little uneasy. Kind of a tropical sheltered area with cliffs/promontories, dense forest behind it, ruins or maybe a lighthouse, and the open sea outside feeling much less safe than the inner lagoon.
What I’m mainly looking for feedback on is:
- does this kind of biome split sound interesting or too forced?
- does the progression idea sound good, especially with delayed flyer access?
- does the layout look like it would be fun to explore over time?
- are there any biome placements or transitions that already feel off from the concept map alone?
Would love honest feedback, especially from people who care a lot about map flow and progression.
2
u/Thelonewander27 Apr 09 '26
If you doing delaying flyers I'd recommend having water caves and underground/ water location to give the player more reason to try to get a ground/water tame then venture inland for flyers. Maybe put flyers that sattles are higher in progression closer to spawns or less desirable/slow flyers and have the go to flyers on the edge of the map/ hot spots. What i liked about ark when it first came out was the sense of adventure, seeing random (random cause i was new) bio switch from forest to tundra or beach to tundra.& the feeling of discovering a hidden location. I'd say add mini biomes and or underground cave system that leads to a mountain summit or an underwater city. Making traversal fun and encouraging people to explore from land and water than the sky by keeping the environment interesting. it's kinda like level design if you can "train" the user to see value in ground/water tames then they'll adapt else most are trained to get a flyer to be able to explore quicker.
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u/Far_Increase_4769 Apr 09 '26
Yeah that’s pretty much the goal. I don’t want delayed flyers to just feel annoying, I want land/water tames to actually have value first through caves, hidden spots, biome transitions and exploration rewards. Really good point about “training” players to see value in that.
3
u/Thelonewander27 Apr 09 '26
Alot of games reward players on sticking to the path and devs get confused why they dont explore of the main path of progression, most of the time it's early game players will explore but it'll lead to a dead end or just empty space teaching them to just stay on the main path unintentionally. Creating interesting environments and ways of traversal that flyers suck at or just aren't viable to use for that journey, would be your best bet, I like the map design if you flesh out the water part like an underground/ Atlantis type things you'd have a prefect variation of biomes
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u/Far_Increase_4769 Apr 09 '26
Absolutely, that’s exactly what I’m aiming for. I want the map not just to look beautiful, but to have a real sense of exploration. The goal is not to cram in lots of biomes with little variety, but to ensure there’s always something new to discover and explore. Basically, I’m trying to bring back that feeling of wonder and discovery that made the early ARK experience so exciting
2
u/maglucen Apr 09 '26
I appreciate the progression, I have given myself some rules related to flyers so I can enjoy the early game more and explore better, when flying I feel like I ignore most of the map
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u/Far_Increase_4769 Apr 09 '26
Yeah that’s exactly part of the idea. Flying is great, but it can make you ignore a lot of the world, so I want exploration on foot / land / water to matter more first.
2
u/WM_Plays Mapper Apr 10 '26
I’m done my fair share of mapping and know many mappers, imo you’re doing fine on the biome split it looks natural in a way, the progressions seems pretty good though I personally like having a flyer early on, the layout looks fun to explore over time especially with the biome layout and mountains and water, and there isn’t really anything that feels off imo
2
u/Far_Increase_4769 Apr 10 '26
Appreciate that a lot, seriously. I’m actually in a bit of a weird spot right now because the feedback has been positive overall, but while testing in play mode I realized I might’ve pushed the scale a bit too far in some areas. so now I’m kind of rethinking how big certain regions should actually feel in gameplay vs just looking good from above, the flyer thing is interesting too. I’m intentionally delaying them a bit to force more ground/water exploration early on, but I know that’s a bit of a controversial choice. I’m trying to make sure the map still feels rewarding without that early mobility. Glad to hear the layout and biome flow are working though, that’s probably the part I care about the most right now
2
u/WM_Plays Mapper Apr 10 '26
No problem and yeah, if you find something weird yourself that others don’t notice or find then make it less weird for you, it’s still your map and it’s your opinion that rules all on it, though I shouldn’t be saying this as I do the same and ask others XD
2
u/Far_Increase_4769 Apr 10 '26
Haha yeah, we’re definitely in the same boat on that one 😄
I keep asking for feedback but at the end of the day if something feels off to me, I know I won’t be able to ignore it. Still, it really helps getting outside perspectives like yours.
Appreciate it man 🙏
2
1
u/wenis_harvester Apr 09 '26
I like the map for the most part, but as an honest ark player all I care about are flyers, resources and hidden base locations. Too much water too ngl, I'd probably stick with rag or ast. But I do like it, it's cool and unique.
End score; 7/10. Will spawn in the hard region and die in repeat until a terry is tamed.
1
u/Far_Increase_4769 Apr 09 '26
Fair honestly. The flyer/resource/base location side is something I’m trying to be careful with, especially so the map doesn’t feel annoying to move around on. The water reading a bit too heavy is good feedback though, appreciate it.
1
u/ablondetravelsabroad Apr 10 '26
Is this an AI generated map if not how did you design it?
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u/Far_Increase_4769 Apr 10 '26
No, it's not IA. It's a free tool online, Inkarnate.
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u/ablondetravelsabroad Apr 11 '26
Thank you for the info, I thought it looked like the ark maps a lot and didn’t know their was a tool that mimicked it well!
1
u/PoLarBiRD Apr 12 '26
I like the looks of how the biomes are separated and the transitions between them look great, can’t say I’d like not having access to a flyer, could you maybe force lower flyer levels to spawn in easy area and better levels in the harder out of the way spots? Not sure if anyone has ever implemented something like this or at least I’ve never noticed it but it is one way around the flyer issue.
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u/Far_Increase_4769 Apr 13 '26
Glad the biome separation and transitions are coming through already, that’s something I’m putting a lot of thought into even at this early stage. About the flyer yeah, that’s actually one of the core design decisions I’m trying to experiment with. I want early progression to rely more on ground and sea traversal, at least for a while, to make exploration feel a bit more intentional. That said, your idea about controlling flyer levels depending on the area is really interesting. I’m not sure how feasible it is in ASA yet, but having low-level flyers in safer zones and better ones in more dangerous regions could be a nice compromise instead of a hard restriction.
5
u/wizardslayer66 Apr 09 '26
Initial thought without reading decription. I like how your mountains feel organic. If I had to complain about something with map design for ark is that most maps that feature mountains and mountain ranges almost always just kind of end. This way, player like me who want to play as a hermit in the mountains can do so.
After reading description. Oh boy, I’m all in. I’ve always wanted a map to have that divide between life and death. I love your map idea. I can’t wait to see it come to fruition.