Rock, Paper, Shotgun

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.

EDIT: Boo, posted this before. Ignore me!

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?
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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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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.

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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The jetpack-powered online shooter everybody’s not calling Tribes Not-Four is, of course, now in the hands of Global Agenda devs HiRez. The vast-levelled reboot/remake was at one point theoretically due for a beta in September, but now we have a minor delay but a hard date: November 4 (according to this interview between Cyberlink and HiRez bigwig Todd Harris). That’s when we’ll get our first solid hint as to whether Tribes: Ascend lives up to its forefather’s great land and sky legacy.
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What we already know about Hi Rez’s Tribes: Ascend is that a) it’s going to be pretty, and b) it’s going to be free. I can’t prove b to you, short of ripping open the heads of the Hi Rez staff, tearing out handfuls of their brains, and searching, frantically searching for the intent. But I can prove a with a new screenshot, which if you’ll click on it will expand in every direction. Plus there’s a few others we’ve not posted below.

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Now I thought we had already posted about Tribes: Ascend being free-to-play. Perhaps it was simply in one of my prophetic game-news dreams, because I can’t find it. BUT ANYWAY, it is going to be free-to-play, and to celebrate that Hi-Rez have revealed the game in action. You can check it out below. It certainly looks like a new Tribes game to me, which is promising! Looking forward to playing this. I will be the dude at 0:26. (Although the wider picture makes Firefall look a lot more interesting.)

Tribes: Ascend is apparently out later this year at some point.
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Holy smokes. PC Gamer reports that Global Agenda developers Hi-Rez Studios have released the first two screenshots of Tribes Ascend on the game’s Facebook page, and they look plenty promising (especially so if that giant ship you can see above is accessible and a part of the level). Hi-Rez would hardly be my first choice to develop a new Tribes game, but fingers crossed they’ll blow this out of the water and prove me for a fool. Full images after the jump.
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