Hi-Rez have announced some significant changes to their beta of Tribes: Ascend. The next patch will overhaul the UI and change the class options, making the focus more on customisation and less on existing class-based loutouts. They explain: “We will be collapsing the total number of playable classes from 12 to 9, but adding the ability for players to unlock new weapons for each class and further customize their loadout. Three of the nine classes will be available right away so a new player will have access to a Light, Medium, and Heavy class in his or her first match.” These are some big changes to the ongoing testing of the game, and a sign that the devs are as responsive to feedback as they have been claiming. The full patch notes are here.