Gaming

That would have at least been entertaining. But no, I downloaded the dumber and more annoying one.

EDIT - I am about to give it one more chance, but it had better pull something amazing out to avoid being removed permanently.

what exacty is it that's so bad about it? Besides the trying to survive thing?

Perhaps Banj was just too good and didn't experience the joy of dying every five seconds.
My early experience was very similar to Morrowind (which I almost gave up on.) It's awkward, frustrating and unforgiving but does reward the effort if you commit to it.
I think it would be a better experience if it had either A: a manual quick save (which I know you never have in an MMO) or B: the ability to keep your inventory after death.
The combination of those two things is an even bigger shock than Morrowind's stamina problem.

But as for taming, I would definitely use bolas for the Parasaurs. They're much faster than you and I ended up chasing it down for ages. (And that was my second attempt after losing the first one.) I started bashing it across the water and up that hill in the west and conveniently it ended up running me all the way back to the spawn point.
The actual taming didn't take as long as I'd feared. It was just one big batch of purple berries and a handful of narcos.

They could certainly have a save option in single player. And a mini-tutorial. My first ever spawn was in an area without shrubs which is why I could find nothing to eat....

Seriously though Banj, it should be enough that there are DINOSAURS (not to mention dodos living right among them, apparently not all being etted at once by dilophosaurs and compies).

I planned to not play ARK so much today but since it was mentioned here I couldn't resist...
And I've now scoured all areas I feel i dare go, looking for female dodos. There are none. There are 2-3 males and several party hats. I killed a party hat in the hope that that'll cause a new dodo to spawn. Not sure how that all works... Anyway I also got one of those inedible cakes. I put it in my fridge anyhow. Might be nice to have something that doesn't spoil, in there....

Oh and I also killed a sarco earlier! Admittedly I was safe upon a big rock while it was busy trying to kill a party hat (took it surprisiingly long) but I'm still proud of myself. And I got 39 hides plus one piece of.... croc skin? Can't recall the exact term, but I'm sure it'll come in useful in about 50 levels or so, so it's in storage.

You've got a fridge?

*crafts another.... box*

well, it's called something else, but... effectively yeah. Or perhaps ineffectually...

*Wonders if Banj's busy playing ARK after all, or if he's working on compiling a list of complaints about the game*

EDIT; darn my lousy orientation skills. I was taking a "shortcut" through the trees, ended up someplace I'd never been (saw my first stegos!), killed a tek something that was attacking a stego and then actually managed to kill a raptor! (I think I had some help from nearby herbivore(s)). Unfortunately I was then immediately killed by a giant dragonfly. Now reading up on them, 1) they want your kill (now what's the correct term for corpsivores, again?) and 2) if you enter the water they'll lose interest. This was right on the beach. *sigh* It was also very far from home....

Probably both. But I can't be bothered with listing everything wrong with it.

They managed to make every aspect of the game as tedious and annoying as they could. Having to un-equip a tool or weapon in order to be able to pick up stuff is stupid and completely unnecessary. Having to re-select any building component like a wall every single time I want to place one (unlike pretty much any other game of this type which leaves them selected and usable until you select something else) makes building a painful chore. I am too cold and need to light a torch or make a fire to keep warm, except equipping a torch immediately makes me too hot

Not to mention the fact that yesterday my characters clothes just removed themselves, and I died from nothing that I am aware of. Today I had a load of stuff in a chest that just vanished even though there was no perish time on them. But it's OK, because I have a party hat and a sparkler .

Charlotte wrote: Oh and I also killed a sarco earlier! Admittedly I was safe upon a big rock while it was busy trying to kill a party hat (took it surprisiingly long) but I'm still proud of myself. And I got 39 hides plus one piece of.... croc skin? Can't recall the exact term, but I'm sure it'll come in useful in about 50 levels or so, so it's in storage.

Sarcosuchus skin? I have some after I shot a big crocodile in the face with arrows.