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Reviews Digital Foundry || The NEW Ark Port For Nintendo Switch - a MASSIVE Improvement

I

ILikeFeet

Warpstar Knight

A proper redemption story here as the new Ark Ultimate Survivor Edition for Nintendo Switch turns out to be a completely new version of the game, producing one of the most radical improvements in game quality we've ever seen. It may not be perfect, but one of the worst ports ever is transformed - and the Ultimate Survivor Edition is actually a technically competent, accomplished game.
Click to expand...
  • the new port is by Grove Street Games (of Grand Theft Auto Trilogy fame)
  • this port is based on the xbox code base from 2021
  • made on UE4.26
  • uses TAAU, compared to the original's TAA
  • targets 1080p/720p
  • dynamic res, scales to 55% on each axis
    • averages 70% on each axis
  • uses runtime virtual textures
    • keeps textures close to the camera high quality while lowers the memory footprint
  • utilizing adaptive texture compression, textures are compressed to ⅔ the original texture size
  • original loading was so long, you could play levels of Contra 3
  • new version's loading is 24s
  • uses signed distance field shadows, allowing for shadows in the far distance
  • lods work unlike the previous version
  • updated the UI to be more console friendly, still PC-like in that there's a cursor
  • you can increase the poop frequency on switch!
  • one of the better looking UE4 games on switch
  • performance is around 24-27fps on average, can hit 30fps in some areas
  • it's still Ark, you're probably will never get a stable framerate
  • still a cpu-limited game
  • on custom servers, you can drag the framerate low
  • captures an accurate nighttime in that it's fuckin dark with no moon
  • there's a retail version of the original that has the game on a card and one that's download only
 
Got the update and can say it's one the best comeback stories I've witnessed. Game is definitely worth it on switch as far as being ARK
 
Very impressive stuff!
From possibly the worst port on Switch to a genuinely impressive conversion that can stand alongside many of the system's famous "impossible ports" in terms of how well it translates an experience from much more powerful hardware to the Switch's mobile chipset.

Really goes to show that while people are quick to blame the hardware, a lot of the time when a game performs badly it can be due to other factors.
 
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