Astraeos
With the release of Astraeos, the German modder Nekatus has further established himself as a key figure in the ARK community. Following his successful work on Valguero, Fjordur, and Svartalfheim, he is now launching his first official, paid map for ARK: Survival Ascended. But how did the development process unfold? What makes Astraeos special, and what plans are there for the future?
In a conversation, the map developer Nekatus gave the well-known German YouTube streamer KAY insight into his work, his collaboration with Wildcard, and the challenges he faced (see the video below).
Nekatus, who has made a name for himself as a modder and level designer, began his work on Astraeos in April 2023. Unlike his previous maps, which started as free mod projects, it was clear from the beginning: Astraeos would be a premium mod. Developing a map of this size is a mammoth project. Even with full-time work, Nekatus estimates a development time of two to three years if he wants to do it right.
Astraeos stands out primarily due to its Greek mythological setting compared to previous ARK maps. The world is filled with ancient temples, ruins, and powerful statues. Particularly, the unique bosses differ from earlier ARK maps. Instead of the familiar creatures from The Island or other DLCs, there are two completely new opponents: the Medusa and the Cyclops. A third boss is already in planning. However, the addition of the Maeguana (as a modified Maewing) was not Nekatus's decision but was made by Wildcard at short notice – also based on community feedback on Discord. Presumably, one reason for this was that a fast travel creature is needed for such a large map. And even though the creature is part of a paid DLC map, it does not prevent anyone from breeding it on other maps or integrating the animals on Scorched Earth or another map on a dedicated server.
A special highlight for Kay is the ship graveyard – a breathtaking location that recalls the legends of ancient seafaring. It is one of the places that not only impress visually but also awaken the players' sense of exploration. And this is just the beginning – large parts of the map are still incomplete and will be further developed in future updates. Particularly, an upcoming area with floating islands is expected to overshadow the entire map, according to Nekatus. While he did not want to reveal specific details, his enthusiasm for the idea suggests great things to come.
But how does the collaboration with Wildcard actually work? Surprisingly, the processes for Astraeos are not much different from his earlier projects. Even though the direct connection to Wildcard is closer today, the control over design and implementation still largely remains with him. His advantage over the official Wildcard teams is that he can act much more flexibly as an individual. While an internal studio must go through various departments and QA tests for every change, Nekatus can release updates directly and fix errors more quickly. However, this also means that if he makes a mistake, it is solely his problem. Therefore, his focus is on continuously improving Astraeos, fixing errors, and implementing community feedback. He also mentioned that he wants to pay a bit more attention to PvP in the new areas, even though he will remain a PvE player himself. However, no adjustments could be made to the already released part of the map, as he had promised existing mod map players that all structures (bases) could be transferred.
When asked whether modding is financially worthwhile, he answers clearly with yes – but only if one is willing to invest years of work and learning processes. Today, he can live off his work as a map designer, works full-time for Nitrado, and has thus created an independent foundation. However, for newcomers in the modding field, it is difficult to earn money right away. Like with YouTubers or streamers, one must first make a name for oneself before a real career can develop from it.
And what’s next? New maps are not out of the question. While a Japanese or Maya setting does not particularly excite him, a medieval scenario could certainly find its way into the ARK universe. He is especially fond of water maps or floating islands – even though he emphasizes that a fully underwater map will probably never come, as ARK is simply not optimally playable underwater. Nevertheless, an underwater city like Atlantis could still become a reality in a future map.
Many thanks for the interesting video from Kay and Nekatus.
Links:
- YouTube Channel of Kay: https://www.youtube.com/@FroschAim
- X (Twitter) of Nekatus: https://x.com/Nekatus
- DLC Map Astraeos:
