Tribes: Ascend has launched

[pwilson316]

And it's Free to Play.


http://www.hirezstudios.com/hirezwp/?p=1936

 

[Genx87]

I will try it out this weekend. Hopefully it is closer to the original tribes than the sequels.

 

[KaOTiK]

I played a little bit yesterday. Had fun, got a tank and started laying down the law at our base

 

[Shmee]

Yup, fun. Played it since closed beta.

 

[MajorMullet]

Downloaded it yesterday, having a lot of fun. The only thing that's annoying is I love to fly around in the attack fighter but it seems there's always some heavy dude camping in a tower with the AA launcher.

I can't ever seem to shoot down the stupid rockets either. It is fun to go back on the next respawn and sneak up behind them though. There was one match where all I did was hunt down the dude with the AA. He was always on a hill behind a forcefield so it was so easy to spot him. I think he got me once vs. the 5 or so times I got him, good times

 

[Infraction Jack]

How do you jump using the controller in this game?

 

[Karstein]

Yeah, quite a few play on the forum, there's a thread going here.

 

[CottonRabbit]

Got back to it for the first time in several months. It's much improved and actually fun now. The unlock progression isn't a total grind anymore.

 

[ViRGE]

Hi-Rez can bite my shiny metal ass. This is a joke of a Tribes game, and the payment model is exploitative of free and paying players alike.:|

 

[gorcorps]

Hi-Rez can bite my shiny metal ass. This is a joke of a Tribes game, and the payment model is exploitative of free and paying players alike.:|

Not that I'm surprised in a F2P game, but what specifically is so bad about it?

 

[ViRGE]

What's so bad about it? As a Tribes game it's 2 weapons per class, with a large focus on machine guns; Tribes is supposed to be 3-5 weapons per class with a large focus on things that aren't machine guns. As a F2P game you're cannon fodder (i.e. grind) for richer players that outright buy things. And if you are a rich player, then they'll be constantly releasing new weapons so that you keep having to pay up to stay current (a F2P arms race, if you will).

 

[Visaoni]

What's so bad about it? ... As a F2P game you're cannon fodder (i.e. grind) for richer players that outright buy things. And if you are a rich player, then they'll be constantly releasing new weapons so that you keep having to pay up to stay current (a F2P arms race, if you will).

I've been playing for awhile now, and I don't see it like that at all. Generally I'm wary of F2P games for just such things, but I don't see it as being bad at all in Tribes Ascend.

The unlockables are often sidegrades more than anything, and and allow you to better fit specific niches. For example, the default Pathfinder utility pack is really the best for capping, while the unlockable one is best for chasing. There exist some exceptions, like the default Doombringer belt item which is pretty pointless (grenade on a class that will probably be using a chaingun), while the unlockable (deployable mines) really helps with defense. But none of those are really required to do well in pubs.

Maybe, maybe, with the new infiltrator items you might have a point. But I'm not that familiar with playing infiltrator, the weapons haven't been out long, and they do seem to still be in the process of fine tuning them. It seems fair to give them some time and see what happens with future additions.

 

[Karstein]

The F2P system really isn't that bad. I have something like 400k XP saved up and have hardly felt the need to unlock anything on any of the other classes. I maxed out the Pathfinder and play that primarily (about 40-50 hours since they started recording profile stats).

You really don't need to buy EVERYTHING depending on how you want to play the game. Capping is my thing, so I really don't change to any other classes often (maybe the Soldier if I want to do some defense/base harass). Just try things out in the training mode, be sensible with your XP and save it to unlock things that you really want.

 

[Genx87]

Hmm this is nothing like the original. More or less turning into a spam fest of mortars, grenades, and chainguns. It is fast paced and can be enjoyable at times. But the spamming gets old really fast. I am also sad they put in ski by pressing a button. The original took some real skill to master skiing. Or a script for those less skilled.

 

[ImpulsE69]

Downloaded it and played a few games. Wtf do all FPS's now have to have the whole "exp" BS? Turns me off so fast. Anyway, the actual gameplay is fastpaced kinda fun.

 

[AVP]

HiRez did a great job with the game.

The game had a lot more potential but the Tribes vets (^) ruined it all. They are clueless about what it takes to make the game enjoyable and enticing enough for pub players to commit their time and money to the game... and more importantly to become a part of the competitive community. They played a different game for 10 years and are clueless about the hurdles facing new players.

 

[KaOTiK]

I do enjoy the game. This is how to do F2P right imo. Everything can be earned by playing and getting exp, if you want to unlock stuff sooner you can pay to unlock that item or you can pay to double your exp earned from playing and exp isn't that hard to get as long as you aren't horrible. I played like 8-10 matches and a lot of that was simply learning stuff the first few games and I still had a fair amount of exp and was able to buy a few more classes and some upgrades with like half the exp left to spare still.

 

[sigurros81]

Hmm this is nothing like the original. More or less turning into a spam fest of mortars, grenades, and chainguns. It is fast paced and can be enjoyable at times. But the spamming gets old really fast. I am also sad they put in ski by pressing a button. The original took some real skill to master skiing. Or a script for those less skilled.

This is more like crying than a fair assessment of the game. Seems like you got owned so hard anything you're being killed with is to you considered spam. What's even more stupid about your inane blathering is how you cry that skiing is a one button push yet talk about how you can just download a script in the original...talk about contradictory.

 

[JeffMD]

Downloaded it and played a few games. Wtf do all FPS's now have to have the whole "exp" BS? Turns me off so fast. Anyway, the actual gameplay is fast paced kinda fun.

Although you do get a separate set of points during matches that can be used for base upgrades and orbital strikes, the EXP system here is not so much like consoles (cod, bf3) and more like planetside. It is also required as an alternative method to the pay model.

The game does a great job of giving everyone the basic classes, you have a light class for flag runs, a medium class for attacking, and a heavy class for defensive measures. Each of the 3 classes you get can pretty much handle all roles if need. You gain xp in matches that you can then use alternative to the IAP currency, gold coins. These can be to upgrade equipment (generally 3 levels, 2 give more ammo, one increases refire rate or adds damage), open up the new classes, and buy new weapons.

The classes are fairly well priced, after a night of gaming I had enough to unlock any one class so within a week you could have unlocked every class if you wanted. Perks (think, glyphs from WoW or implants from planetside) cost a lot to unlock but not so much to upgrade, so you will find it realistic to max out your fav ones but not realistic to unlock even most of them.

The unlocked weapons are not upgrades nore are they side grades, but rather offer a new utility for special circumstances. For instance the juggernaut has a replacement for the motor that explodes in the air and showers the target with a much wider spread of weaker projectiles. It's nice for dispersing up the flag area but useless indoors and on heavy armors. They are pretty expensive too and are really there for something to shoot for when you have nothing more you want to spend xp on.

In the end there is not a feeling of overpower between you and someone with a lot of unlocks. You can kill if you have the skill and you play a role that you can cover. Jugs are a very efficient flag/gen defense, and pathfinder is pretty much what is used to cap flags and harass the enemy. Work on up from there. Planetside was the same way, your level translated into how many points you could use to unlock the other armors and weapons.

I was a big tribes 1/2 player and while things have changed (you sort of had a choose your own load out based on the 3 armor types, so now you are more restricted by what class you choose) the game doesn't feel any worse or better because of it. I suggest that if you want to be cheap, but you plan to play alot of it, spend $10 to get the %50 permanent xp bonus and also to help unlock some of the expensive perks for your main class choice.

Since no other game has really been like tribes, this is a wonderful version of it unlike tribes 3 and is a shooter I can spend many hours on. Call of duty and battlefield simply never did it for me.

 

[Markbnj]

This game's a lot of fun. The graphics are nothing to write home about, and the maps don't strike me as all that inspired, but it's just an all-out fragfest in low-g with jetpacks. What's not to like? I haven't played CTF in ages. Was a blast.

 

[imaheadcase]

What's so bad about it? As a Tribes game it's 2 weapons per class, with a large focus on machine guns; Tribes is supposed to be 3-5 weapons per class with a large focus on things that aren't machine guns. As a F2P game you're cannon fodder (i.e. grind) for richer players that outright buy things. And if you are a rich player, then they'll be constantly releasing new weapons so that you keep having to pay up to stay current (a F2P arms race, if you will).

What are you talking about, its easy to level up and get all the weapons. you don't have to pay for a single thing in the game. I have not paid a cent and i'm %60 done with all the Juggrtnaught upgrades.

 

[Jaskalas]

I... think Battlefield spoiled me. :|

Used to be quite a Tribes 2 fanatic 11 years ago, don't think I can go back though.

 

[Infraction Jack]

It is a nice looking game but they have half ass controller support.

 

[ivan2]

It feels like a less smooth version of tribes 2 with more eye candy. i mainly used the disc and feel that it doesnt feel as precise somehow. what i hate is the leveling system, i understand they have to make money somehow, but i rather pay $20 (how much i think this game should worth) and have access to all weapons instead of the grind. The grind is disgusting, new to light armor? oh you just lost a disc dual because the other guy has more hover, you like to fight another heavy as a heavy? camp the flag for a few days and come back with a mortar.

 

[JeffMD]

ivan, err, so why don't you spend $20 and buy the weapons? you can do that you know.

Also there is nothing locked except maybe class specific (perk slot 2, I think maybe sentinal/sniper has it? I havnt seen it) to increase energy. Almost every class gets the basic level 1 perk that gives a flat 10 energy increase.

Infraction jack, and thank GOD for that. The last thing I want is some jackass on my team playing with a game pad. There is no auto aim here, you won't hit crap.

Mark, tribes 2 was sort of like that. I mean the large maps were impressive to see but not many high res textures and complicated bases. This works well to keep the game running and playing fast imo. I think they touched on the right amount of detail.