Shadow(of)Death
Veteran X
Only temporarily - Like BF online.
You have to fork out real cash if you want to have items permanently.
Tribes : Ascend
- Thread starter Got Haggis?
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Only temporarily - Like BF online.
You have to fork out real cash if you want to have items permanently.
Got Haggis?
Veteran XX
and private server rentals
What's really dumb is when you think of every possible weapon/armor/pack/deployable/grenade combination possible, there are literally thousands of potential loadouts. It's completely illogical to limit the number of weapons in a loadout to expand the possible number of loadouts (there are in fact, fewer loadouts that way).
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Guest
and butchering tribes
Not really. You make money by people continuing to play the game and purchasing new content. That content can be fluff items like new animations or skins for the same well balanced weapons. With a 3 weapon set up, 3 armor types and 10 balanced weapons, that's already 360 different possible loadouts (not counting armor restrictions on certain weapons).
Throw in packs and whatnot and you're into 1000+ loadout combinations easily. Is that not enough to generate revenue?
Throw in packs and whatnot and you're into 1000+ loadout combinations easily. Is that not enough to generate revenue?
99% positive somewhere they said in game points will do both renting and permanent unlocking.
It will be fairly easy to accumulate enough points to rent loadouts, but to unlock permanently it will take a lot more. My guess is something along the lines of ~2 hours of play will give you enough to rent for a day, but it might take 2 weeks of normal play time to save enough to unlock one permanently.
If you play fairly regularly for a few months I'm guessing you'll be able to permanently unlock all non-cosmetic stuff without paying a dime.
Got a chance to play T:A at PAX with Enigma, MadAssassin, Pubbin, and Operon.
My Background (So you know whether or not to trust my opinion)
I played T1 from 1998 to 2001, T2 from 2001 to ~2009 (on/off since then), T:V for a short spurt when it came out, and now Legions movement has ruined me when I want to play any other Tribes game - the rest just feel soupy and slow (but I still <3 them!). I've played competition in all of them, with my most successful bouts being in the T2 CTF/Duel/Arena and Legions CTF spaces.
My primary concern is for the longevity of the Tribes series and that style of gameplay, not the preservation of any one mechanic from any one Tribes game.
I enjoyed the following Tribes/Tribes-like games (in order, grouped by mechanic):
CTF - T2 Classic > Legions > T1 > T2 Base > T:V
Duel/Arena - T2 Base > T2 Classic > T1 > Legions > T:V
Movement Alone - Legions > T2 Classic > T1 Base > T:V > T2 Base
At the Hi-Rez booth at PAX, I watched for a few hours and got in probably 5-7 games. With that said, consider this my review:
Movement
Getting around the map felt a bit like a chore, but I'll attribute most of that due to the low number of games I got in and because I'm used to Legions movement recently. I did notice, however, that there is a steep loss in momentum when going up hills and things when you're not jetting. It's for this reason that it primarily feels weird. T1/T2 veterans will notice that you have air left/right air control and will need to learn how to adapt. T:V and Legions veterans will be used to that mechanic, but it will be slightly different - no big deal in adjusting.
Map Design
The folks at Hi-Rez have opted to make more aesthetically pleasing maps over the miles of rolling hills commonly seen in T1/T2. This means there are cliffs, rocks, trees, and big structures in the middle of open areas. Visually, it makes the maps interesting and enjoyable, in fact, I'd say the the environments are stunning and extremely well done. Functionally, the maps become harder to move around and appear to have fewer capping routes on initial inspection - which makes sense given that instead of a steep hill like in the Tribes series, you're going to have a jagged cliff.
At the booth, Hi-Rez had a couple of their devs playing the entire show on the machines plugged into the big-screen, so they could show all the features of the game to the spectators. In watching the devs, they ran probably 3 or so routes over and over again on any given map, with one of them usually being a shrike cap route. In playing myself, I did find one or two routes I did not see them use, but I didn't have a lot of time to play either. I don't know if this is an indication that there are a low number of viable routes or the devs are just bad/not cappers.
It's an interesting exchange of aesthetic for functionality, and I'm a bit torn about it. I want the rolling hills for tons of route and more dynamic gameplay but the game looks beautiful and frankly, the T1/T2 level design visuals are out of date and would turn more vain players away - players we need if the Tribes series is to live on.
Vehicles
So in T:V you buy vehicles with credits that you earn in a round. So in a 25 minute CTF map, you will earn and spend credits. I'm not sure if the credits carry over from your meta-character or between games. This mechanic is interesting because it means your average newb will take a while to earn enough credits for a vehicle, reducing the vehicle clutter on the map. It also means you may need to be careful with your purchases and only use vehicles in key situations. I'm curious to see how this changes competitive play. I didn't get a chance use the vehicles myself, but I saw others using them.
The shrike looked completely dominant, firing a spread of missiles with a decently high explosion radius. Unless you had a rocket launcher, the thing was hard to take down. My initial impression is it's a bit overpowered, but I imagine most of the balance issues - if they really are issues and not just a new player's lack of experience - will get taken care of during testing.
The grav cycle looked fun, but fairly hard to use and easy to kill since it's on the ground with lots of splash damage. It fires and explosive round and appears to be largely ineffective.
The tank appeared to be a good, powerful vehicle, but since it's slow and on the ground, it seems easier to take down than the shrike. There's a gunner's seat that I never saw utilized.
Weapons
Didn't get a chance to try all the weapons, but here's what I remember of the ones I did:
The disk launcher feels slow to me, but I'm used to 100% inherited velocity since I most recently played Legions. I hit maybe a couple MA's at closer range, but was having troubles hitting them at mid-range. I will attribute this to air control and inexperience with leading a slower projectile. The disk jumping is lackluster, but you can do more of it since you regen health after being out of combat for 12(?) seconds.
The shotgun is a good finisher and is a close-range hitscan weapon.
The pistol was fun and is a rapid-fire hitscan weapon. Was nice for a mid-range finishing weapon.
The mortar felt solid and reminds me of the power/devastation of the old Tribes-series mortars, no complaints there.
The sword is a melee weapon on all characters. I like it. It's fun to try and use and it's more effective than the T:V energy sword. It certainly makes body-blocking more exciting. Someone around me at one point mentioned it was one-shot for a light, one or two for a medium, and two for a heavy. I don't know if it's true or not, but I killed a light at below mid-health with it once.
The chaingun appears to be a heavy-only weapon and is extremely powerful. Lights get torn to shreds by it. I didn't use this weapon but saw people using it.
The sniper rifle appeared to be very effective and probably OP. You can fire it at a very rapid rate compared to the T1/T2 laser rifles. It uses ammo and does not depend on your energy pool. I consider this weapon to be overpowered.
Loadouts
The loadouts, as you've already seen posted, are predefined and contain 2 weapons per loadout. It certainly streamlines the game, but with the side-effect of making an individual player less effective. I'll be frank - I don't like it. I like to fill multiple roles with one loadout. Not all, but more than "you are only effective at close range" or "you are only effective at causing a large explosion."
There is no chasing at mid-long range in T:A without a sniper rifle. Since the chaingun is a heavy-only weapon as I mentioned earlier, and so powerful, it simply cannot be put on the light/medium chasing classes without completely unbalancing the game. Being a chaser in T1/T2/T:V/Legions, something needs to change if chasing is to be effective in T:A.
TL;DR - Final Thoughts
I think it has potential and will certainly make a splash as a free game. A lot of new players to the Tribes series were playing it at PAX and really enjoyed it. The visuals were amazing, the movement/gameplay mechanics were kinda there, and the loadouts/weapons definitely need some modifications and tweaking. Vehicles were mostly very powerful and used somewhat sparingly compared to T2 due to the credit system.
If you're a Tribes ___ prude you will not like Tribes: Ascend. If you're a fan of the series and similar types of games, I think Tribes: Ascend will not disappoint, especially at its price point (free).
If anyone has any questions I'll be happy to answer/update this post. <3
My Background (So you know whether or not to trust my opinion)
I played T1 from 1998 to 2001, T2 from 2001 to ~2009 (on/off since then), T:V for a short spurt when it came out, and now Legions movement has ruined me when I want to play any other Tribes game - the rest just feel soupy and slow (but I still <3 them!). I've played competition in all of them, with my most successful bouts being in the T2 CTF/Duel/Arena and Legions CTF spaces.
My primary concern is for the longevity of the Tribes series and that style of gameplay, not the preservation of any one mechanic from any one Tribes game.
I enjoyed the following Tribes/Tribes-like games (in order, grouped by mechanic):
CTF - T2 Classic > Legions > T1 > T2 Base > T:V
Duel/Arena - T2 Base > T2 Classic > T1 > Legions > T:V
Movement Alone - Legions > T2 Classic > T1 Base > T:V > T2 Base
At the Hi-Rez booth at PAX, I watched for a few hours and got in probably 5-7 games. With that said, consider this my review:
Movement
Getting around the map felt a bit like a chore, but I'll attribute most of that due to the low number of games I got in and because I'm used to Legions movement recently. I did notice, however, that there is a steep loss in momentum when going up hills and things when you're not jetting. It's for this reason that it primarily feels weird. T1/T2 veterans will notice that you have air left/right air control and will need to learn how to adapt. T:V and Legions veterans will be used to that mechanic, but it will be slightly different - no big deal in adjusting.
Map Design
The folks at Hi-Rez have opted to make more aesthetically pleasing maps over the miles of rolling hills commonly seen in T1/T2. This means there are cliffs, rocks, trees, and big structures in the middle of open areas. Visually, it makes the maps interesting and enjoyable, in fact, I'd say the the environments are stunning and extremely well done. Functionally, the maps become harder to move around and appear to have fewer capping routes on initial inspection - which makes sense given that instead of a steep hill like in the Tribes series, you're going to have a jagged cliff.
At the booth, Hi-Rez had a couple of their devs playing the entire show on the machines plugged into the big-screen, so they could show all the features of the game to the spectators. In watching the devs, they ran probably 3 or so routes over and over again on any given map, with one of them usually being a shrike cap route. In playing myself, I did find one or two routes I did not see them use, but I didn't have a lot of time to play either. I don't know if this is an indication that there are a low number of viable routes or the devs are just bad/not cappers.
It's an interesting exchange of aesthetic for functionality, and I'm a bit torn about it. I want the rolling hills for tons of route and more dynamic gameplay but the game looks beautiful and frankly, the T1/T2 level design visuals are out of date and would turn more vain players away - players we need if the Tribes series is to live on.
Vehicles
So in T:V you buy vehicles with credits that you earn in a round. So in a 25 minute CTF map, you will earn and spend credits. I'm not sure if the credits carry over from your meta-character or between games. This mechanic is interesting because it means your average newb will take a while to earn enough credits for a vehicle, reducing the vehicle clutter on the map. It also means you may need to be careful with your purchases and only use vehicles in key situations. I'm curious to see how this changes competitive play. I didn't get a chance use the vehicles myself, but I saw others using them.
The shrike looked completely dominant, firing a spread of missiles with a decently high explosion radius. Unless you had a rocket launcher, the thing was hard to take down. My initial impression is it's a bit overpowered, but I imagine most of the balance issues - if they really are issues and not just a new player's lack of experience - will get taken care of during testing.
The grav cycle looked fun, but fairly hard to use and easy to kill since it's on the ground with lots of splash damage. It fires and explosive round and appears to be largely ineffective.
The tank appeared to be a good, powerful vehicle, but since it's slow and on the ground, it seems easier to take down than the shrike. There's a gunner's seat that I never saw utilized.
Weapons
Didn't get a chance to try all the weapons, but here's what I remember of the ones I did:
The disk launcher feels slow to me, but I'm used to 100% inherited velocity since I most recently played Legions. I hit maybe a couple MA's at closer range, but was having troubles hitting them at mid-range. I will attribute this to air control and inexperience with leading a slower projectile. The disk jumping is lackluster, but you can do more of it since you regen health after being out of combat for 12(?) seconds.
The shotgun is a good finisher and is a close-range hitscan weapon.
The pistol was fun and is a rapid-fire hitscan weapon. Was nice for a mid-range finishing weapon.
The mortar felt solid and reminds me of the power/devastation of the old Tribes-series mortars, no complaints there.
The sword is a melee weapon on all characters. I like it. It's fun to try and use and it's more effective than the T:V energy sword. It certainly makes body-blocking more exciting. Someone around me at one point mentioned it was one-shot for a light, one or two for a medium, and two for a heavy. I don't know if it's true or not, but I killed a light at below mid-health with it once.
The chaingun appears to be a heavy-only weapon and is extremely powerful. Lights get torn to shreds by it. I didn't use this weapon but saw people using it.
The sniper rifle appeared to be very effective and probably OP. You can fire it at a very rapid rate compared to the T1/T2 laser rifles. It uses ammo and does not depend on your energy pool. I consider this weapon to be overpowered.
Loadouts
The loadouts, as you've already seen posted, are predefined and contain 2 weapons per loadout. It certainly streamlines the game, but with the side-effect of making an individual player less effective. I'll be frank - I don't like it. I like to fill multiple roles with one loadout. Not all, but more than "you are only effective at close range" or "you are only effective at causing a large explosion."
There is no chasing at mid-long range in T:A without a sniper rifle. Since the chaingun is a heavy-only weapon as I mentioned earlier, and so powerful, it simply cannot be put on the light/medium chasing classes without completely unbalancing the game. Being a chaser in T1/T2/T:V/Legions, something needs to change if chasing is to be effective in T:A.
TL;DR - Final Thoughts
I think it has potential and will certainly make a splash as a free game. A lot of new players to the Tribes series were playing it at PAX and really enjoyed it. The visuals were amazing, the movement/gameplay mechanics were kinda there, and the loadouts/weapons definitely need some modifications and tweaking. Vehicles were mostly very powerful and used somewhat sparingly compared to T2 due to the credit system.
If you're a Tribes ___ prude you will not like Tribes: Ascend. If you're a fan of the series and similar types of games, I think Tribes: Ascend will not disappoint, especially at its price point (free).
If anyone has any questions I'll be happy to answer/update this post. <3
Last edited:
Shadow(of)Death
Veteran X
Thanks for the disclaimer that your opinion is invalid.
Rooster128
Veteran XV
Besides some numerous spelling errors and the continued mentioning of Legions, I enjoyed this review- thanks Bugs! <3
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