Tribes Universe, the MMO, announced. With Jetpacks!

[Bateluer]

http://www.firingsquad.com/news/newsarticle.asp?searchid=23123

I’m sure many of you have questions, so here are a few quick highlights for Tribes Universe:

* Three Tribes (factions)
* Full clan (agency) support
* First person view (third person for some vehicles)
* Full vehicle support (ground and air)
* Full persistent world with territory control (no instances)
* PvP focused
* Huge outdoor maps (about 10x the area of sonoran desert)
* Large scale fights (100+ players)
* Jetpacks, skiing, lots of weapons, etc

 

[Genx87]

I came.............................................................................

 

[Elcs]

I saw....

I was unimpressed...

When's the Beta?

 

[slag]

I'm in. I played TRIBES when it came out and even re-installed it and fired it up a week ago. Loved the game, loved the light, medium, heavy selections along with skiing, etc. Great great game, I cant wait to see more.

 

[SunnyD]

HiRez... wait a sec... where do I know that studio from...

Oh yeah... Hi Rez!

They're the ones that make... wait for it... Global Agenda!

*yawn*

I had expected big things from Global Agenda. All it turned out to be was another graphical-lobby-based FPS, most definitely NOT a MMOFPS.

Tribes Universe will be more of the same. And it will likely suck and be severely unbalanced just like Global Agenda.

 

[Sentrosi2121]

"SHAZBOT

Here is a brief update on what’s been happening at HiRez Studios.

Those of you that have been playing Global Agenda know that over the last year we have been consistently adding new features/content and releasing it at no charge to the Global Agenda community. We plan to continue doing this on an on-going basis as much as possible and over the next couple of months everyone will see new maps, raids, flair, and weapons (starting with the Halloween event next week).

As most of you know, Global Agenda is an ambitious project that incorporates many different gameplay modes (PvP, PvE, AvA, Raids, Open Zone, DA). Over time we had many requests for additional game play modes, especially larger spaces and fights. Earlier this year we released the Sonoran Desert quest zone as an area that would help players ease into the game while testing our technology limits for having large areas and many players in the same zone. Our plan for a first paid expansion was to continue on that path with Warzones which were designed as large open areas where players can PvP.

As we worked on Warzones we found too many design and programming issues to make it practical. Global Agenda was designed around 10v10 team play and there was no practical path found to scale it up in a significant way (to large scale numbers like 100 players in a single area). As a result we plan to continue releasing more Global Agenda content but only in the formats players are already familiar with. (Special Ops, Raids, Merc Missions, etc)

While we know that some players will be disappointed in the lack of warzones, we also have some good news.

We can’t transform Global Agenda to a large scale battle format but since we liked this concept a lot, we decided to create a new game based on large scale fighting. In order to develop the new game many significant steps had to be taken, including: A significant rewrite to the unreal engine servers to allow for 100+ players to be fighting in the same map, a new UI system that is more efficient, a different implementation of character visuals, a new terrain system, etc. In addition the combat gameplay required many significant changes as well.

While working through the design we kept coming back to one old and loved game that represented many of the concepts we where incorporating into the new game (Jetpacks, vehicles, large open space, three armor types, futuristic weapons, etc). Many of you will know this game as Tribes, the original on-line multiplayer shooter. As of now, HiRez Studios is the proud new owner of the Tribes franchise.

We now have two groups in the studio, one working on continuing to build Global Agenda and a new group working on the Tribes Universe project. We are also moving to a new larger office space in another month that will help us accommodate our growth.

I’m sure many of you have questions, so here are a few quick highlights for Tribes Universe:

* Three Tribes (factions)
* Full clan (agency) support
* First person view (third person for some vehicles)
* Full vehicle support (ground and air)
* Full persistent world with territory control (no instances)
* PvP focused
* Huge outdoor maps (about 10x the area of sonoran desert)
* Large scale fights (100+ players)
* Jetpacks, skiing, lots of weapons, etc

Alpha testing will begin at the start of the year (about 3 months from now) and Global Agenda players with level 50 characters will have priority in entering Alpha and Beta testing

Thanks for your support

Erez.

P.S. More information on Tribes Universe will be coming in the near future along with an Alpha/Beta registration web site."

Global Agenda - Login

While I'm excited about this game, I've been severely dissapointed before. Wait and see, apply for the beta, and see what happens. Anyway, probably should pick up Global Agenda now. Choke down what it is, and get a character up to 50 before the end of the year.

 

[uhohs]

if they manage to recreate the gameplay feel of tribes 1. zomg.

 

[skace]

Well, that write up definitely sounds ambitious. So good luck to them, it sounds like they are trying to do what they want to do and most good projects start out that way.

 

[sash1]

SHAZBOT!

i want play!

 

[KaOTiK]

I had a big grin on my face till I saw HiRez

 

[Sentrosi2121]

TenTonHammer has an interview with some of the developers of Tribes Universe.

Hi-Rez Studios discusses roles, game tech, PvP, and more in the upcoming online shooter.
We here at Ten Ton Hammer love online first-person shooters, so we became delirious with joy when we heard the announcement of Tribes Universe. This online multiplayer shooter is based on the Starsiege: Tribes universe and will probably result in many missed hours of work when it is released. Ten Ton Hammer sat down with Erez Goren, Hi-Rez Studios CEO & Tribes Universe Chief Designer, to tap into Tribes: Universe.


Question: Please tell us a little about Tribes Universe.

Answer: Tribes Universe is an online shooter that features massive PvP battles on large, persistent open spaces where there is an on-going struggle for territory control. The game is set inside the fictional game universe popularized by such classic and beloved titles as Earthsiege, Starsiege, Starsiege:Tribes, Tribes 2 and Tribes Vengeance.

Question: Starsiege: Tribes and Tribes II were favorites to many a LAN party. How do you plan on captivating that feel of a party shooter game and translating it into an MMOG?

Answer: I think that “LAN Party” feeling comes from a few different aspects: Really great game performance, “wow that was awesome” gameplay, the special shoot-em-’up competitive camaraderie that comes from playing with friends, and, of course, Nachos.

In Tribes Universe, we’re seeking to bring you all of those same things, but you’ll still need to bring your own Nachos.

Question: Are you focusing more on the shooter aspect of the game, or are you adding more RPG elements?

Answer: We are focusing primarily on the shooter element. In addition, we expect to add a territory control meta game and a high level of world immersion to ensure that players feel that they are participating in an evolving, persistent world and not just a shooter match.

Question: In terms of development, are you building a new engine, or using existing technology and knowledge from your work on Global Agenda?

Answer: We are using the Unreal Engine and many of the technologies we developed for Global Agenda. The Unreal engine is flexible and allows for many different game implementations.

The major tech work on this project, and it’s very substantial, involves a significant server-side re-architecting to better support very large battles. We’re also switching to Scaleform technology for our user
interface, which will allow for a significantly sexier UI.

"One difference from most typical shooters is that there are more roles to play and all players don’t have to be engaged in pure shooting. ."


Question: Dynamix and Sierra On-Line were powerhouses of development and game publishing in the 80s and 90s. How do you follow a show like that and meet fan expectations?

Answer: We are huge Tribes fans, and we certainly feel honored to own the Tribes Franchise, and are deeply aware of the expectations that carries.

Nostalgia is always a tough thing to work against, especially in gaming, and we certainly know it is a difficult line to toe between honoring the games that made the Franchise what it is, while also working to extend the Franchise into the future.

I think it has really helped us to be doing this right on the heals of Global Agenda, which has given us a solid technology foundation and a reservoir of lessons and experiences to draw from.

Question: We understand that it's a separate team working on the title and not the Global Agenda team. How much has this expanded the Hi-Rez offices?

Answer: We are adding additional people to the company, and are moving into new offices in December that will accommodate our growth. How many total additional people we add will depend ultimately on the progress we see over the next few months, especially as we finalize some of the core requirements.

Right now, we are organizing the Studio into two different teams -- one for Global Agenda and one for Tribes Universe. We have new people on each team, and Global Agenda veterans on each team.

Question: Are vehicles still going to play an important role in the newest Tribes game?

Answer: Yes, vehicles will be an important part of the game. They will mostly be designed for support functions rather than to be primary damage dealers. Support functions include transport, forward spawn locations, ammo replenishment, stationary defenses, etc.

Question: Will the game feature a "holy trinity" of healer, tank and DPS classes?

Answer: No. The game is designed around every player being able to do significant damage in addition to support functions. A player can wear heavy armor and shields and be more of a ‘tank’, or carry more repair devices as an ‘Engineer’, but there are no defined classes. There is also a lot less healing than is typical in an MMORPG game.

Question: Will the game offer PvE or is it primarily PvP?

Answer: Tribes Universe is designed primarily around large-scale PvP. One difference from most typical shooters is that there are more roles to play and all players don’t have to be engaged in pure shooting. For example, a player can specialize in transport of other players, focus on defense repairs, or focus on coordinating groups of players in a large scale attack.

Question: Two words can describe the original Tribes experience: Smooth and Fast. Is this the theme you're aiming for in Tribes Universe?

Answer: Smooth and fast will play an important role. Tribes Universe will also emphasize group strategy, counters, progression, specialization and tactics that are more extensive than anything a Tribes game has had before.

Question: Is there anything else you'd like to share with our readers at this time?

Answer: We’re very grateful and pleased with the reaction to our initial announcement of Tribes Universe. We’ve been flooded by enthusiastic Tribes fans, as well as fans of games like Planetside and, of course, Global Agenda, that are telling us this is a game they have always hoped would be made. We’re working as hard as we can to bring a great game to the Tribes Community and very much appreciate everyone’s support.

Original article can be seen here. Getting pretty geeked about this upcoming game. It'll be interesting to see how they see the 'vehicles' being integrated in the game. This is what the PC Gaming world has been needing for a looooong time.

 

[slag]

TenTonHammer has an interview with some of the developers of Tribes Universe.


Original article can be seen here. Getting pretty geeked about this upcoming game. It'll be interesting to see how they see the 'vehicles' being integrated in the game. This is what the PC Gaming world has been needing for a looooong time.

I didn't ever really care about the vehicles that came in later games. The most fun I had was taking a light with the spinfuser and flying, skiing down hills, getting that jump at the end, launching myself high up in the air, landing on the flag base, hopping out, and finding the right skiing path to get back to my base efficiently. The round trip is what made it fun. Then, after that got old, I'd get into a heavy and launch mortars at people.

SHAZBOT!

 

[Sentrosi2121]

Agreed with the Tribes comparison. The most fun I had in the game was when I was light D, spinfuzer, ELF gun, mini-chaingun, energy pack. Flag capper would come in and I'd launch the disk at the flag, bumping him from his route and slowing him down, then ELF'd him down while my team mate would get the kill. No need for vehicles in T2, except for a couple of maps where the Jericho could be useful.

But from Planetside, one thing that made the game fun was transporting your troops to where they needed to be, and the Galaxy transporter was perfect for this. We used to fly in a Gal with two or three escorts (usually a Mossy/Reaver or 2 Reavers + Mossy) and full compliment of troops inside the Gal. Hotdrop on a tower (after the escorts have made a pass to clear out mines), then fly off to a secure location until the Galaxy was needed. If the fighting was heavy, we'd be sure to matrix ourselves to a Dropship base or tech base. It was always both stressful and fun to load up the Galaxy inside the base and get out before being OS'd.

 

[ViviTheMage]

Good luck, I think they're going to flop, but I HOPE they don't .. the game was fun.

 

[AyashiKaibutsu]

I can say with a fair degree of certainty it'll be terrible, but I won't be mad if it's not.

 

[ivan2]

that mortar gun is gonna be tough to grind for.

 

[Krakn3Dfx]

Another great game series turned into an MMO.

I can't get excited about paying a monthly fee on this one. I haven't paid a monthly fee on a game since I cut off my WoW account years ago, and this doesn't seem like something that would make me want to start again. Kudos to those who do tho.

 

[The Sauce]

Loved Tribes. I'm in for at least a month.

 

[GaryJohnson]

I could live without the jetpacks and skiing - the highpoint of tribes to me was the strategy and not the action.

 

[heat901]

pass......though tribes 1 was sweet.