For a best-case scenario future, generative AI must put creators at its heart

What happens if everything to do with generative AI goes right?

Image credit:Rock Paper Shotgun

In Part 1, Our Generation , we looked at what we mean when we say ‘generative AI’.

In Part 2, The Art Of The Steal , we investigate the issues of how generative AI is currently trained to produce art and creative work.

Part 3, Better Living, indulges in some blue sky thinking about what life could be like if the best case scenario for generative AI comes to pass.

One of the most controversial and often-cited criticisms of modern AI systems is that they’re built from, and dependent on, the stolen work of other people. It’s far from the only criticism people have of this new technology, which might make us wonder exactly why anyone wants it in the first place. Today, I’d like to talk about some of the brighter futures that might come out of generative AI for us, as well as why the path toward them might be a tricky one to walk cleanly.

Someone asked me the other day what I love most about my job, and after a decade my answer is still basically the same: being surprised by weird things. That goes for generative AI, too. One of the best ways to use generative AI in games is to lean into the strangeness that AI can offer, rather than trying to make it as human-like as possible. A nice example of this is iNNk , a game developed by some colleagues of mine at ITU Copenhagen. iNNk is a drawing game you play in a team against an AI: one person tries to draw a word, and their friends must guess the word before the AI does. Playtests showed people developing all sorts of wild strategies, from scribbling over the image to cover up what they were doing, to using visual jokes and wordplay to trick the AI’s more literal brain. This is a great example of how AI can enable new kinds of game experience, rather than encroaching on the human presence in the games we can already make.

AI can also provide new routes for accessibility. One of my favourite papers on the use of AI in games, “ Your Buddy, The Grandmaster ”, is about how so-called ‘superhuman’ AI systems might be used to support players at every level of ability and access needs, rather than simply trying to beat the world champions. The paper describes several different games based on the hardcore platformer Celeste , in which a superhuman AI enables new ways of playing the game. In one, the player’s control over the game is reduced down to pressing a single button – the jump button – and the AI takes control of all other aspects of the game. The AI’s high skill level means it can adapt to the player’s jumping, but it won’t play the game on its own, so both parties have to co-operate to finish it. In another version, the player can ask the AI to show a ghost how it would complete the level in a way it believes the player is capable of doing. None of the new games are supposed to be better than Celeste – Celeste is its own, beautiful thing. But they are all unique and interesting variations that might be more accessible or appealing to people of different skill levels, accessibility needs or interest.

Celeste is a challenging platformer at the best of times, but AI-assisted versions of it can make it more accessible to players of all types of skill level. |Image credit:Maddy Makes Games

This kind of application – live AI systems reshaping our games or playing with us – aren’t what you mostly hear about when generative AI comes up. More often the dream we’re sold is more straightforward. Nvidia’s recent demo at CES , where people had conversations with game characters by speaking into a microphone, is billed by the tech giant as “the future of games”. A lot of generative AI products try to sell us on a vision of a future that is entirely open and free, which plays into a lot of dreams kids have of a game where they can go anywhere or do anything.

The reason we often end up hearing this kind of pitch is, I think, because of where generative technology has ended up. In the early 2010s, generative systems were about the kind of procedural content generation techniques you’d see in games such as Minecraft or Spelunky . Although they were treated as technical processes, what these techniques became were ways for designers to express themselves through algorithms. Spelunky’s level generator is an extension of game designer Derek Yu’s own sense of how to design levels ; Minecraft’s sweeping landscapes are painted with a brush that’s been refined and trimmed over years of updates from Mojang’s developers. Traditional procedural generation techniques were an extension of the person who made the system.

Generative AI, however, struggles to pin down its guiding hand. A lot of its guidance comes from its dataset, but as we saw in the previous part of this series , data often comes from a confusing array of sources, many of which are legally unsteady. Nvidia’s NPC scripts didn’t all come from the same set of data by your favourite author – it’s a mish-mash of all sorts of things. This is perhaps why many of these generative AI pitches swing the other way, and present the player as the guiding hand. If there’s no human author, and the generative system doesn’t have a coherent voice, then the selling point has to come from the only human left in the process: you.

But is that really what we want? Looking at the big hitters of 2023, and the joyful social media fun with actors from Baldur’s Gate 3 or Final Fantasy 16 (and sometimes both of those games together ), I can’t help but feel that losing this would be unsatisfying for most people. If I thought I was cool enough to write and act out the protagonist role in a video game, I’d have taken my one-man theatre adaptation of Mass Effect to the stage already.

Spelunky’s level generator is an integral part of why its design has resonated so deeply with its players. |Image credit:Mossmouth

I don’t think this is insurmountable, though. I think generative AI systems can get past this, if we re-centre them on creators. It’s not just about having people donate their data to build models from it; it’s about giving those creators the ability to control, edit, shape and remake those models to achieve their own goals, and to do so without using data from millions of other unwitting and uncredited collaborators. If we can find a way to put generative AI back firmly in the hands of creative people, then we can begin to discover what artistic and empowering uses this technology might have.

Some of the touted benefits of AI are hiding other problems, which makes it tricky to talk about upsides. For example, AI could have a profound impact on localisation. AI translation has come on a lot in the last decade, which raises the possibility of translating games that would otherwise never be localised – games that have been abandoned, games only available through emulation, or the many hundreds of thousands of games made through hobbyist communities around the world. These are all games that are highly unlikely to ever result in paid translation work, so it’s potentially a powerful application of the technology.

Yet there’s a tension here, too. AI translations often lack the cultural understanding or poetry or a human-authored work. Translation work – even, or perhaps especially, unpaid fan translations – are an important way that people gain experience, build communities of translators, and keep languages alive and changing. Not to mention that AI translation is much better at some languages than others, and particularly languages under threat are often very poorly supported. Leaning more into AI translation could help bring a lot of new games to a lot of new audiences, and help preserve the history of the medium for more people, but it might also have unforeseen consequences for other parts of our community.

One of the difficult things to navigate when thinking about AI’s benefits is that it’s hard to distribute those benefits to people equally. If we were to make a little robot that helps to make your game better, that might be a huge benefit to the thousands of independent game developers struggling around the world to compete with the likes of Ubisoft and Activision. But there also wouldn’t be anything to stop studios like Ubisoft and Activision from building a thousand of those little robots and setting them loose in their company to widen the gap again. Nor would it help the tens of thousands of aspiring independent developers who can’t make enough money to afford the one robot in the first place.

AI benefits tend to be double-edged swords. But that doesn’t mean we can’t identify optimistic and positive stories at the same time, because thinking about these outcomes can help to guide us towards technologies and futures that we’re happier with, and that maybe don’t have these drawbacks. In the next and final part of this series, we’ll try to thread the needle through some of these ideas, and ask how AI is actually being used today by game developers, for better or worse.

In Part 4, A Short Distance Ahead , we look at what the near future of AI promises, and what we can do with it.

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All 75 Arc Raiders Blueprints and where to get them

These areas have the highest chance of giving you Blueprints

Image credit:Rock Paper Shotgun/Embark Studios

Looking for more Arc Raiders Blueprints? It’s a special day when you find a Blueprint, as they’re among the most valuable items in Arc Raiders. If you find a Blueprint that you haven’t already found, then you must make sure you hold onto it at all costs, because Blueprints are the key to one of the most important and powerful systems of meta-progression in the game.

This guide aims to be the very best guide on Blueprints you can find, starting with a primer on what exactly they are and how they work in Arc Raiders, before delving into exactly where to get Blueprints and the very best farming spots for you to take in your search.

We’ll also go over how to get Blueprints from other unlikely activities, such as destroying Surveyors and completing specific quests. And you’ll also find the full list of all 75 Blueprints in Arc Raiders on this page (including the newest Blueprints added with the Cold Snap update , such as the Deadline Blueprint and Firework Box Blueprint), giving you all the information you need to expand your own crafting repertoire.

In this guide:

• What are Blueprints in Arc Raiders?
• Full Blueprint list: All crafting recipes
• Where to find Blueprints in Arc Raiders Blueprints obtained from quests Blueprints obtained from Trials Best Blueprint farming locations

What are Blueprints in Arc Raiders?

Blueprints in Arc Raiders are special items which, if you manage to extract with them, you can expend to permanently unlock a new crafting recipe in your Workshop. If you manage to extract from a raid with an Anvil Blueprint, for example, you can unlock the ability to craft your very own Anvil Pistol, as many times as you like (as long as you have the crafting materials).

To use a Blueprint, simply open your Inventory while in the lobby, then right-click on the Blueprint and click “Learn And Consume” . This will permanently unlock the recipe for that item in your Workshop. As of the Stella Montis update, there are allegedly 75 different Blueprints to unlock - although only 68 are confirmed to be in the game so far. You can see all the Blueprints you’ve found and unlocked by going to the Workshop menu, and hitting “R” to bring up the Blueprint screen.

It’s possible to find duplicates of past Blueprints you’ve already unlocked. If you find these, then you can either sell them, or - if you like to play with friends - you can take it into a match and gift it to your friend so they can unlock that recipe for themselves. Another option is to keep hold of them until the time comes to donate them to the Expedition.

Full Blueprint list: All crafting recipes

Below is the full list of all the Blueprints that are currently available to find in Arc Raiders, and the crafting recipe required for each item:

Note: The missing Blueprints in this list likely have not actually been added to the game at the time of writing, because none of the playerbase has managed to find any of them. As they are added to the game, I will update this page with the most relevant information so you know exactly how to get all 75 Arc Raiders Blueprints.

Where to find Blueprints in Arc Raiders

Below is a list of all containers, modifiers, and events which maximise your chances of finding Blueprints:

• Certain quests reward you with specific Blueprints .
• Completing Trials has a high chance of offering Blueprints as rewards.
• Surveyors have a decent chance of dropping Blueprints on death.
• High loot value areas tend to have a greater chance of spawning Blueprints.
• Night Raids and Storms may increase rare Blueprint spawn chances in containers.
• Containers with higher numbers of items may have a higher tendency to spawn Blueprints. As a result, Blue Gate (which has many “large” containers containing multiple items) may give you a higher chance of spawning Blueprints.
• Raider containers (Raider Caches, Weapon Boxes, Medical Bags, Grenade Tubes) have increased Blueprint drop rates. As a result, the Uncovered Caches event gives you a high chance of finding Blueprints.
• Security Lockers have a higher than average chance of containing Blueprints.
• Certain Blueprints only seem to spawn under specific circumstances: Tempest Blueprint only spawns during Night Raid events. Vulcano Blueprint only spawns during Hidden Bunker events. Jupiter and Equaliser Blueprints only spawn during Harvester events.

Raider Caches, Weapon Boxes, and other raider-oriented container types have a good chance of offering Blueprints. |Image credit:Rock Paper Shotgun/Embark Studios

Blueprints have a very low chance of spawning in any container in Arc Raiders, around 1-2% on average. However, there is a higher chance of finding Blueprints in particular container types. Specifically, you can find more Blueprints in Raider containers and security lockers.

Beyond this, if you’re looking for Blueprints you should focus on regions of the map which are marked as having particularly high-value loot. Areas such as the Control Tower in Dam Battlegrounds, the Arrival and Departure Buildings in Spaceport, and Pilgrim’s Peak in Blue Gate all have a better-than-average chance of spawning Blueprints somewhere amongst all their containers. Night Raids and Electromagnetic Storm events also increase the drop chances of certain Blueprints .

In addition to these containers, you can often loot Blueprints from destroyed Surveyors - the largest of the rolling ball ARC. Surveyors are more commonly found on the later maps - Spaceport and Blue Gate - and if one spawns in your match, you’ll likely see it by the blue laser beam that it casts into the sky while “surveying”.

Surveyors are quite well-armoured and will very speedily run away from you once it notices you, but if you can take one down then make sure you loot all its parts for a chance of obtaining certain unusual Blueprints.

Blueprints obtained from quests

One way in which you can get Blueprints is by completing certain quests for the vendors in Speranza. Some quests will reward you with a specific item Blueprint upon completion, so as long as you work through all the quests in Arc Raiders, you are guaranteed those Blueprints.

Here is the full list of all Blueprints you can get from quest rewards:

• Trigger Nade Blueprint: Rewarded after completing “Sparks Fly”.
• Lure Grenade Blueprint: Rewarded after completing “Greasing Her Palms”.
• Burletta Blueprint: Rewarded after completing “Industrial Espionage”.
• Hullcracker Blueprint (and Launcher Ammo Blueprint): Rewarded after completing “The Major’s Footlocker”.

Alas, that’s only 4 Blueprints out of a total of 75 to unlock, so for the vast majority you will need to find them yourself during a raid. If you’re intent on farming Blueprints, then it’s best to equip yourself with cheap gear in case you lose it, but don’t use a free loadout because then you won’t get a safe pocket to stash any new Blueprint you find. No pain in Arc Raiders is sharper than failing to extract with a new Blueprint you’ve been after for a dozen hours already.

One of the best ways to get Blueprints is by hitting three stars on all five Trials every week. |Image credit:Rock Paper Shotgun/Embark Studios

Blueprints obtained from Trials

One of the very best ways to get Blueprints is as rewards for completing Trials in Arc Raiders. Trials are unlocked from Level 15 onwards, and allow you to earn rewards by focusing on certain tasks over the course of several raids. For example, one Trial might task you with dealing damage to Hornets, while another might challenge you to loot Supply Drops.

Trials refresh on a weekly basis, with a new week bringing five new Trials. Each Trial can offer up to three rewards after passing certain score milestones, and it’s possible to receive very high level loot from these reward crates - including Blueprints. So if you want to unlock as many Blueprints as possible, you should make a point of completing as many Trials as possible each week.

Best Blueprint farming locations

The very best way to get Blueprints is to frequent specific areas of the maps which combine high-tier loot pools with the right types of containers to search. Here are my recommendations for where to find Blueprints on every map, so you can always keep the search going for new crafting recipes to unlock.

Image credit:Rock Paper Shotgun/Embark Studios

Dam Battlegrounds

The best places to farm Blueprints on Dam Battlegrounds are the Control Tower, Power Generation Complex, Ruby Residence, and Pale Apartments . The first two regions, despite only being marked on the map as mid-tier loot, contain a phenomenal number of containers to loot. The Control Tower can also contain a couple of high-tier Security Lockers - though of course, you’ll need to have unlocked the Security Breach skill at the end of the Survival tree.

There’s also a lot of reporting amongst the playerbase that the Residential areas in the top-left of the map - Pale Apartments and Ruby Residence - give you a comparatively strong chance of finding Blueprints. Considering their size, there’s a high density of containers to loot in both locations, and they also have the benefit of being fairly out of the way. So you’re more likely to have all the containers to yourself.

Buried City

The best Blueprint farming locations on Buried City are the Santa Maria Houses, Grandioso Apartments, Town Hall, and the various buildings of the New District . Grandioso Apartments has a lower number of containers than the rest, but a high chance of spawning weapon cases - which have good Blueprint drop rates. The others are high-tier loot areas, with plenty of lootable containers - including Security Lockers.

Spaceport

The best places to find Blueprints on Spaceport are the Arrival and Departure Buildings, as well as Control Tower A6 and the Launch Towers . All these areas are labelled as high-value loot regions, and many of them are also very handily connected to one another by the Spaceport wall, which you can use to quickly run from one area to the next. At the tops of most of these buildings you’ll find at least one Security Locker, so this is an excellent farming route for players looking to find Blueprints.

The downside to looting Blueprints on Spaceport is that all these areas are hotly contested, particularly in Duos and Squads. You’ll need to be very focused and fast in order to complete the full farming route.

Image credit:Rock Paper Shotgun/Embark Studios

Blue Gate

Blue Gate tends to have a good chance of dropping Blueprints, potentially because it generally has a high number of containers which can hold lots of items; so there’s a higher chance of a Blueprint spawning in each container. In my experience, the best Blueprint farming spots on Blue Gate are Pilgrim’s Peak, Raider’s Refuge, the Ancient Fort, and the Underground Complex beneath the Warehouse .

All of these areas contain a wealth of containers to loot. Raider’s Refuge has less to loot, but the majority of the containers in and around the Refuge are raider containers, which have a high chance of containing Blueprints - particularly during major events.

Stella Montis

On the whole, Stella Montis seems to have a very low drop rate for Blueprints (though a high chance of dropping other high-tier loot). If you do want to try farming Blueprints on this map, the best places to find Blueprints in Stella Montis are Medical Research, Assembly Workshop, and the Business Center . These areas have the highest density of containers to loot on the map.

In addition to this, the Western Tunnel has a few different Security Lockers to loot, so while there’s very little to loot elsewhere in this area of the map, it’s worth hitting those Security Lockers if you spawn there at the start of a match.

That wraps up this primer on how to get all the Blueprints in Arc Raiders as quickly as possible. With the Expedition system constantly resetting a large number of players’ Blueprints, it’s more important than ever to have the most up-to-date information on where to find all these Blueprints.

While you’re here, be sure to check out our Arc Raiders best guns tier list , as well as our primers on the best skills to unlock and all the different Field Depot locations on every map.

ARC Raiders

PS5 , Xbox Series X/S , PC

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