Tribes: Ascend Message Board older than one year ago

Tribes: Ascend went through an extended beta testing period prior to its launch last month. In it, many heavily armored combatants skiied across hilly terrain with deadly weapons. Many were blown up, shot down, and smacked by spinfusor discs...

As free-to-play games are constantly changing, a traditional review can't really do them justice, so Joystiq relies on a series of unscored review diaries to record our experiences with them.
It's been over a decade since I last played PC games with any regularity. Outside of Word Munchers, The Secret Island of Dr. Quandary and The Oregon Trail, I grew up with a controller instead of a keyboard and mouse. There were brief flirtations with Duke Nukem 3D and Doom, but I was busy playing GoldenEye over Quake.

Starsiege: Tribes changed that. It barely ran on my father's computer, and our little 28.8Kbps modem could hardly handle the data stream necessary for online play, but I spent hours tying up our phone line regardless. Its fast pace, enormous outdoor environments, and central gameplay twist - "skiing" down hills and jetpacking up the other side, making for constant air battles with other players - entranced my adolescent brain. It seemed so vastly ahead of anything else available and, in many ways, still does.

Tribes: Ascend has been jet packing and skiing across the newish frontier of high-quality freemium titles for a couple weeks, taking hundreds of thousands of players along on the journey. Speaking to Gamasutra, Hi-Rez Studios COO Todd Harris said the game has over 800,000 registered accounts.

If you're looking for reasons to check out Tribes: Ascend (you know, beyond it being free), our buddies over at Massively have laid out some scientifically tested opinions on the subject. We'll weigh in soon.

Ah, raiding and pillaging – two activities that, like adorable kittens and cuddling, go hand-in-hand. Tribes: Ascend’s Raider is, of course, extremely proficient in both of the former areas (and possibly kitten cuddling as well, though there’s a perplexing lack of discussion surrounding the topic), but he’s now cruising toward handing out even more bruisings. In tomorrow’s update, the Raider will gain the Plasma Gun, the heavy hitting NJ5-B SMG variant, and base-clearing Cluster Grenades. Also en route: a new “Griever” skin that makes him look like an incredibly disgruntled space biker. Sure, he’ll bust some generators and play a crucial role in a flag capture, but will it finally bring him peace?

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If you're looking to learn more about Tribes: Ascend, the free-to-play revival from Hi-Rez Studios, here's an intro video to the series, followed by details about the game's next update.

Hitting a target with a projectile is the most basic goal in every shooter, but Tribes: Ascend might make it the most satisfying. Not because it sounds awesome, or because the guns make you feel powerful (though they do), but because scoring a hit takes a unique set of skills. The movement system in...

Tribes: Ascend is finally out of beta and ready to welcome all-comers in free-to-play jetpack combat. Is it enough to be the series’ true successor though, or just another casualty of its own reputation? We sent Richard screaming through the air to find out.

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Hi-Rez Studios' free to play online first-person shooter Tribes: Ascend has officially launched. If you didn't check it out in open beta testing, you really should now...

After several months of training exercises, Tribes: Ascend has officially launched.

The free-to-play revival from Hi-Rez Studios is the first playable Tribes game in eight years, incorporating futuristic Biathlon-based mechanics with jetpacks and flag-gathering. Also, we're totally over budget on hyphens in this post.

Tribes: Ascend is currently only compatible with Windows. If you want to check it out, hit up the source link below and sign up for a free account.

Well, OK, a diary – largely of the development variety. Surely, though, it’s full-to-bursting its heart-shaped lock with celebratory guns and glory – or at least some juicy gossip about how Tribes is totally gonna ask that dreamboat from the football team to prom, right? Not exactly. But hey, here’s something to get excited about: servers! No, seriously.

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If you’re already part of the Tribes: Ascend open beta, you might not realise that it’s not already out. That 3.8Gb on your hard-drive is nothing more than a game that is pretending to be out. The duplicitous, lying beast will soon be much more moral, though: following a successful beta, that’s had 400’000 players, Hi-Rez are launching, or at least de-betafying, their lovely online free-to-play FPS. Come April 12th, it’ll no longer be able to say “but I’m only a beta” when people point out the code holes the developers have left.(more…)

#tribes Tribes: Ascend officially launches on April 12, a day when llamas will rain from the sky, filling multiplayer maps with fresh corpses until they're nothing but islands of dead... oh! See what they did there? More »

Tribes: Ascend, the free-to-play revival of the classic PC shooter, is coming out sooner than you think. During an interview with Tribes developer Hi-Rez Studios it was revealed to IGN that the game would be releasing on April 12th. That's just barely more than a month from today. To get caught up on what Tribes: Ascend is all about, check out our latest coverage. You can also jump into the game's open beta right now if you want to get a taste for what to expect...

With most of the gang out on assignment, Vinny and Dave join the community for some Tribes Ascend?

So far, 300,000 have played Tribes: Ascend in its closed beta state, Hi-Rez Studios COO Todd Harris revealed. But Hi-Rez wants more players and this Friday, the Tribes: Ascend beta will be open to all.

Before the launch of the open beta, Hi-Rez will add some additional maps and customization options to Tribes: Ascend, plus a new game mode: Arena Deathmatch. These will all be added in a patch coming, well, before Friday, we guess. Hi-Rez hasn't really said when the patch will be live.

If you're worried about player progress, don't sweat it. Your progress and unlocks will carry over to the open beta.

The beta for Tribes Ascend is finally opening up to the public. Also, it's free. We've been playing the closed beta quite extensively for some time, and we think its awesome. And starting this Friday you too can partake in the awesomeness...

“What do we want?” “More people to get access to the upcoming free-to-play shooter Tribes: Ascend, new maps, gametypes, weapons, and bug-fixes!” “When do we want it?” “Sometime on Friday, maybe. It’s really up to you! We’re just keen to get involved!” Well, good news. Tribes: Ascend developers Hi-Rez Studios have crumbled to the pressure I exerted with my catchy protest chant and will be opening the beta of their online shooter on Friday Feb 24th, at exactly 5pm. So far over 300,0000 players have skied the slopes and spammed their spinfusors, and if you missed out then you’re being welcomed with open arms. The current client will be receiving a major content drop as well, details of which are below.(more…)

#tribes If you're not one of the more than 300,000 players that participated in the closed beta test for Tribes: Ascend, your time has come. On February 24 you get to stop reading about what Hi-Rez Studios has done with your beloved Tribes franchise and experience it first-hand. More »

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.

Hi-Rez Studios has outlined major changes to the ongoing beta test for Tribes: Ascend, a fast-paced free-to-play shooter expected to launch later this year. The changes include a reworking of the class system. The 12 classes previously available have been condensed to nine, and if you're a new player, you get three for free. The perk and unlock systems have also been changed significantly...

Gosh, I still haven’t got around to playing on the Tribes Ascend beta, but I really must get on with it because things like this trailer (which I missed earlier in the week and post now for the sake of Saturday) make it look fairly promising. It’s been a while since I’ve been taken with a game like this, but between this and Firefall it seems inevitable for 2012. Anyone playing it?(more…)

Hi-Rez Studios had big plans for the Tribes property after picking it up a few years ago, and hoped to revamp the single-player game with Tribes: Ascend, and develop the franchise into a full-fledged MMO. Things have changed since then -- Hi-Rez's COO Todd Harris says, "right now our Tribes dev team is working only on Ascend."

Speaking to PC PowerPlay, Harris described Ascend as borrowing heavily from the earlier, fondly remembers Tribes games. Focusing solely on an action game means Hi-Rez could make sure to "get the movement and physics and combat feeling right." Some settings and weapons from the first game will return, but there will be new content, new weapons, and frequent releases of cosmetic items ("much the way League of Legends does in the MOBA genre," says Harris).

Both the MMO and single-player content are possibilities for the future, Harris adds, but Tribes: Ascend is the focus for now.

Tribes: Ascend is a game about leaping off a cliff, hitting your jetpack at exactly the right moment to build momentum, then skiing across the whole map while hurling explosive discs at equally zippy pursuers. Backwards. It’s also one of Those franchises. You know the ones I mean. The ones with an army of fans fueled by nostalgia and high-explosives, ready to set fire to anything that dares even think about taking the name of their beloved game in vain.

But is Ascend a brave new start for the series, or just so much free-to-play kindling? I pulled my jetpack out of storage and ventured into the Not-Quite-Closed Beta to find out…

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Are you playing Tribes: Ascend? There’s a surefire method of entering the beta but it involves parting with cash: anyone who pays for a preorder receives automatic access, but simply registering at the site also provides a chance to receive a code. Along with Firefall, Tribes is one of the few upcoming online man-shooters I have a real interest in and it’s not entirely because of my unhealthy jetpack fetish. Ascend, in particular, appears to reward good old-fashioned weapon skills, as highlighted by this new trailer.

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Speed is fun. No, I'm not referring to amphetamine, I am talking about the act of moving at high velocities. And by throwing something explosive into the mix, say, a gun that shoots exploding blue disks, the fun is amplified. That's the general philosophy of Tribes: Ascend at least, which sends players hurtling across vast, hilly fields and breakneck speeds in the hopes of blowing each other to bits and grabbing the enemy flag...

Jim told you all about the beginning of the signup period for the Tribes Ascend beta back when the news was fresh, but now that it’s stale I’m here with a friendly reminder that you only have one day left to apply/pay if you want in. One piece of potentially pertinent information is that no beta wipes will be performed between now and the game’s launch, so you can progress straight through the closed and open betas racking up unlockables. Jetpack antics await. Sign up here and leave fate to decide, or purchase the Tribes: Ascend VIP Starter Bundle for guaranteed access and a heap of in-game currency.

#tribes When Hi-Rez Studios contacted Kotaku about giving away 100 codes good for entry to the Tribes: Ascend beta test, I thought long and hard about the most efficient and fair way to distribute those codes to our readers. More »

Many PC gamers have fond memories of Tribes, a complex online shooter franchise started up in the late 1990s. Hi-Rez Studios is currently working on the next iteration of the series, which will head into beta on November 4...

A closed beta for free-to-play title Tribes: Ascend will launch on November 4. Those interested in participating should sign up on the game's website, after which invites will be sent in waves to selected applicants. It's also possible to guarantee a spot in the beta by pre-ordering the VIP pack.

Developer Hi-Rez previously stated it would "continue to increase the number of beta participants through the end of this year in preparation for a general game release in Q1 of 2012."

Tis the season to launch your closed beta, it seems. Joining in with the flurry of secretive practise goes is Hi-Rez Studios, who have today announced their closed beta is to begin on the 4th November. Those who buy the “VIP Starter Bundle” are guaranteed a way in, and it’s pot luck for the rest. Oh, and there are two new screenshots.

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