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PAX East: Hi-Rez Studios unveils new Tribes: Ascend title
Way back in October of 2010, we broke the news that Atlanta-based Hi-Rez Studios would be revisiting the Tribes franchise in an upcoming online persistent-world shooter. At the time, Hi-Rez was focused on Tribes: Universe, and our interview with CEO and lead designer Erez Goren shed a bit of light on the company's followup to Global Agenda. Today at PAX East, Hi-Rez officially took the wraps off a second Tribes game, and Tribes: Ascend is set to re-introduce the venerable franchise to gamers all over the world. "Before Halo, before Modern Warfare, and before Battlefield, there was Tribes," says Todd Harris, Hi-Rez Studios COO, before going on to reveal that the new game will be available in late 2011. Hi-Rez will distribute Tribes: Ascend as a digital download and is targeting Windows PCs as well as the Xbox 360 for the initial release. Why a second Tribes title? "We've had tremendous fun play-testing and realized the potential of a multiplayer-focused title ahead of Tribes Universe. The community has been waiting for a multiplayer shooter that is the modern successor to T2. Tribes: Ascend is that game," Harris said. Massively's on the ground in Boston during the weekend of March 11-13, bringing you all the best news from PAX East 2011. Whether you're dying to know more about SWTOR or Guild Wars 2 or any MMO in between, you can bet we'll have it covered!
Infiltrate and destroy: Global Agenda Q&A runs a gauntlet of player queries
"We just did five new hats -- that should keep them busy for a while," Global Agenda Executive Producer Todd Harris cheekily says before launching into a rapid-fire community Q&A video session. In this 10-minute back-and-forth, Harris and the other members of the Hi-Rez crew tackle a multitude of subjects from marriage proposals to jet packs. One of the biggest upcoming goals for the team is to balance existing (and underperforming) devices in the game, which Harris says will be at the center of patch 1.4, while new device creation will be held back for 1.5. For those worried about performance in certain regions, west coast servers are scheduled to be added to help with both that area and Australia. The team also has plans to improve the Demolition game type for the future. Global Agenda recently celebrated its one-year anniversary, so it's great to see the team continue to be this involved and passionate with both the game and the community. You can watch the full Q&A after the jump.
Global Agenda's 1.39 patch is here
Well, technically Global Agenda's latest patch will be here when the servers come back up, which is tentatively scheduled for 5:00 p.m. EST according to Hi-Rez Studio's server status Twitter page. While you're waiting, a run through the extensive patch notes might tide you over. In a nutshell, the update brings four new maps (including Breach and Payload types), new PvP rewards, updates to the /challenge system, tweaks to Dome City, and seasonal flair for the holiday events coming later this month. Don't forget to read up on the new Global Agenda Alienware laptop contest, and also be sure to check out our recent interview with Hi-Rez producer Todd Harris for all the latest info on 1.39 and beyond.
Massively Exclusive: Global Agenda's Todd Harris talks 1.39 to 1.5
Massively's got its share of sci-fi shooter freaks on staff, so we jumped at the chance for a virtual sit-down with Hi-Rez Studios producer Todd Harris. Big things are on the horizon for the Atlanta-based indie developer, and no, we're not just talking about Tribes Universe. Global Agenda is soldiering right along, adding PvP and PvE content to satiate the ravenous trigger-happy hordes of super agents that clutter the plasteel and concrete walkways of Dome City. The latest content drop takes the form of version 1.39, a new patch currently in testing and coming to a live server near you sooner rather than later. Join us after to cut as we chat about 1.39 and beyond, including new Mercenary PvP maps, PvE content, rewards, and in-game event listings.
Global Agenda getting new mercenary PvP maps, high level PvE content
If you're concerned that Hi-Rez Studios might abandon its Global Agenda MMO in favor of the recently-announced Tribes Universe, you can rest easy. In an interview with Lorehound, Hi-Rez executive producer Todd Harris announced several exciting additions coming to Global Agenda over the next few months. First up is the 1.39 patch, which will bring several new mercenary PvP maps to the team-based shooter. After that, the game will be getting its first shot of downloadable content which will focus primarily on high-level PvE content. "It will contain some PvE open zone content, new themed weapons, a new PvE defense mission, and our first 10-person PvE offensive aid. A 10-person team will be able to infiltrate a hive colony node and fight new Recursive Colony bots and bosses," Harris said. He goes on to state that Hi-Rez will be releasing similar DLC expansions every four to five months going forward. Check out the good news over at Lorehound.
Global Agenda offering friends with benefits
Itching to get your frag on with someone you love (or at least, lust after?) Hi-Rez Studios has a deal for you in the form of its Friends with Benefits discount promotion for Global Agenda. If you've purchased the massively multiplayer third-person shooter, you now have a set of coupon codes that can be gifted to a friend, granting him or her 30% off the initial client cost. Your benefits accrue in the form of an in-game referral achievement score, which in turn grants reward items at specific levels (including a mini-warlord pet that resembles an angry Laurence Fishburne bobblehead doll). Todd Harris, Global Agenda's executive producer, outlines the new program on the game's official forums. "Referral achievements and new prestige items will be introduced and visible before the end of October in the 1.38 update. But we invite you to start recruiting now -- you'll earn credit for all referrals going forward as well as any referrals done prior to this campaign launch," he writes.
Global Agenda's Todd Harris talks player loyalty and the future
Global Agenda is fairly unique in the massive genre, not only for its blend of sci-fi setting and shooter mechanics but also for the fact that the development team at Hi-Rez Studios is renowned for actually listening to its playerbase. Producer Todd Harris recently sat down with Lorehound for an interesting interview that shows the Atlanta-based game-makers still have their finger on the pulse of Global Agenda's communal desires. Harris touches on crafting additions, endgame raid content, and new PvP maps as specific community ideas actively being kicked around in the dev cave, and also goes into a bit of detail regarding the team's appreciation for the loyalty shown by Global Agenda's early adopters. "The folks playing AvA are our most dedicated and accomplished players, and we've changed the rules on them a lot! I know that has led to some player burnout or frustration," he says. Harris goes on to illustrate how the title's evolving endgame wouldn't be possible without player feedback, and concludes by dropping a hint regarding the game's forthcoming achievement system. Be sure and check out the full interview over at Lorehound.
Global Agenda's Todd Harris on the newly added open zones
Global Agenda has been making some changes of late. That almost goes without saying -- very few MMOs exist in a static state, after all -- but very few implement sweeping system changes and zone additions so quickly after launch. One of the largest additions with the newest phase of the Sandstorm patch is the Sonoran Desert, an open and persistent PvE zone for players to enjoy. In a new video developer blog, executive producer Todd Harris explains what the zone means for the game and how the systems within work. The desert, which is aimed at providing a complete experience for players between levels 5 to 15, will be familiar in many ways to long-time MMO players. It's not that the idea of quests picked up from an NPC is new, but it's certainly new within the context of the game. Take a look past the cut to see the zone demonstrated in depth, and if the look strikes your fancy, it would be fair to point out that Global Agenda is subscription free.
Global Agenda's newest video diary details Defense Raids
Global Agenda 's Sandstorm patch is pretty sizeable, and the Hi-Rez team recently produced a video developer blog that provided an overview. The newest video follows in that same vein, but is a bit more specific. Executive Producer Todd Harris and Lead Artist Chuk Vinson sit down to explain Defense Raids, 10-man raids in which you are tasked with the protection of your dome city. Every now and again, the city's alarms will go off to indicate that an attack by robots is imminent. High-level players can work together to prevent it from happening by trying to keep the enemy from breaching the defenses and destroying the power core. If you succeed, you get a big boss fight and big loot at the end. Follow along after the jump to see the video firsthand.
Global Agenda's newest dev blog talks Sandstorm
The development team at Hi-Rez Studios has released a new dev blog focusing on the upcoming changes to their Global Agenda MMOFPS. Codenamed Sandstorm, the updates will begin reaching the live servers in early June. Phase I of the patch, now in public testing, features a host of additions and improvements including new epic weapons, a new loot and token system, new PvP maps, new PvE missions, and new social features. "So if you're looking at the patch notes for 1.3, you're probably saying to yourself 'holy crap they changed every aspect of the game,'" says Executive Producer Todd Harris. "We wanted to preserve all the good balanced combat, but also add a layer of device variety and new variety that our MMO players are looking for." Check out the dev blog over at the official site or embedded after the cut.
Global Agenda's Todd Harris spills the beans on Sandstorm
Since its release a few months ago, nobody can claim that Global Agenda has merely sat back to rake in sweet kudos, particularly with the rapid additions and fixes shot through the development pipe. As we sit on the verge of Global Agenda's 1.3 patch -- aka "The Big Patch of Awesome" or "Sandstorm" -- Hi-Rez Studios' Todd Harris sat down with Massively to share how this patch will live up to its name and then some. Sandstorm will be rolling out in several phases, each housing a different chunk of content and polish for Global Agenda, and it's no small patch at that. It's a genuine game-changer, taking out what wasn't working right and putting in a lot more that hopefully will. As more gear with varying stats drops, the concern of balance -- or imbalance -- arises. What happens when a warrior enters the scene with uber-leet gear and stares down Mr. Newbie, fresh from the farm? While GA does have an "anything goes" type of PvP with AVA, Harris points to their selective matchmaker system: "Matchmaking does a good job at taking a look at win percentage, player skill, and classes, and certainly does the best job it can based on who's online to make it a fair match."
Global Agenda takes aim at bots, aimbots specifically
There are beasts out there that are far worse than a simple macro auto-pilot program, a la Glider. In the FPS community, beasts like the notorious aim bot, capable of auto-targeting your enemies in a game of shooting skill, exist to ruin everyone's fun. And when you cross your MMORTS with the battles of an FPS... well you start getting people using the latter program. Global Agenda finally has one such program out for it, and yes, it does work. Snipers are accurately killing people from across the map, assaults are using chainguns that never miss, and all other types of havoc are being let loose. However, we don't recommend that you use any of these programs, unless you want to be targeted by Hi-Rez Studios.
Developer round table: MMO betas, page 3
What defines a successful MMO beta? The two main reasons being that final scalability testing requires lots of people and MMOs require better balance than single-player games. The team needs to have enough bandwidth to actually implement changes based on feedback (they can't be so completely swamped trying to put in the rest of the scheduled features that they don't have time to even read, much less implement, player feedback).
Better know Global Agenda's Assault class
In an interview with Hi-Rez Studio's executive producer Todd Harris, Ten Ton Hammer discusses Global Agenda's Assault class at considerable length. For those looking for a simple analog, the Assault is like a meaty tank class wielding huge weaponry such as mini-guns. The interview covers such topics as ammo concerns -- as the aforementioned mini-guns chew up ammo like a man on a desert island drinks fresh water -- and several other matters that dig deep into the earth center of the class. Then again, if blowing stuff up is your preference, that's offered as well. Much of what we've seen of the Assault class tells us that it's going to be a favorite with players who generally enjoy inflicting damage in the most terrible of ways. And really, that's a whole lot of people; those who drool at rocket launchers and chain-fed ballistics weaponry.
Global Agenda interview breaks down PvP game mechanics
A game we've had our eyes on from Hi-Rez Studios is Global Agenda, a cross between a class-based shooter and an MMO. Given its first person shooter roots, the game is heavily PvP-oriented. This match-based combat is the focus of an interview by Jon Wood at MMORPG.com with Global Agenda Executive Producer Todd Harris. Harris relates that PvP in Global Agenda happens both in small squads and "AvA" (agency vs. agency), where players will participate in a "massive meta-game to control land and resources involving hundreds of territory locations and tens of thousands of player agents."
Global Agenda video interview gives a closer look at the game
Massively has been keeping an eye on Global Agenda, a title on the way from Hi-Rez Studios that's one of the new breed of shooter MMOs. Our own Shawn Schuster recently visited their Atlanta studio for a video tour as the Hi-Rez team prepped for closed beta. We see that BarnGamerz also got an early look at Global Agenda and scored some face time with the developers, who explained a bit about their respective roles in creating the game. They put it all into a video, with Lead Technical Artist Mick Larkins discussing a bit about his work, and an interview with Executive Producer Todd Harris. If you haven't been following the coverage of Global Agenda across the various MMO sites, this might serve as a good primer on the game. Harris sits down with Jaimie from BarnGamerz to discuss the basic concepts behind the title, including Global Agenda's classes and how they'll be employed, illustrated with some in-game footage. You can see the Global Agenda Studio Tour at BarnGamerz or check out the video embed after the jump.
Preparing for beta: A video tour of Hi-Rez Studios
Last week, we made the trek down to Hi-Rez Studios in Atlanta, Georgia to get a look at how Global Agenda is shaping up just before the closed beta goes live. As you may remember, we were one of the first MMO news sites to visit the studio in October of last year, and we're happy to see the popularity that the game has enjoyed since then.In the video embedded just after the jump, you'll see a bit of the inner-workings of the studio, as well as a few interviews with members of the Hi-Rez team, asking the question, "How are you preparing for the closed beta?"
Pro tip: Getting into MMO closed beta Mongbat style
We're sure you've heard about the No Elves! movement in Global Agenda by now. If you haven't, it all started with a hilarious machinima promotional video showing how Elven magic is no match for future technology and that players can be rest assured that no Elves will appear in the game.Well, a quick-thinking guild recently decided to capitalize on this movement and it earned them a spot in Global Agenda closed beta starting July 24, 2009. Mongbat, famous for other closed beta shenanigans, decided to gift wrap a couple bruised and bloodied plush toy Elves and send them off to Global Agenda headquarters with a note. Hi-Rez was so impressed they took a picture of Executive Producer Todd Harris and CEO Erez Goren welcoming the hostages to their new prison.This wasn't the first time Mongbat pulled such a prank. Back in June 2008, they marched into Mythic's head office and firmly planted their guild banner, claiming the development studio of Warhammer Online. They made it into a funny video podcast featuring a number of developers and earned quite a bit of community spotlight. So, the next time you want to get into a closed beta, you might want to ask yourself, "What would Mongbat do?"
Global Agenda producer interview explains Players vs. Playable Environments
How can we describe a game like Global Agenda? "It's like a sci-fi Team Fortress 2 with elements of territory and resource control." That works. Or we could say, "It's an MMO that's gene spliced with a first person shooter." That's pretty accurate as well. But whichever way you look at it, Global Agenda is a game that's hard to define with any single, existing label. You'll play as an "agent" in one of four classes -- Assault (heavy weapons), Recon (stealth and melee), Robotic (gadgets galore), or Medic -- in a game that's as much about fast-paced combat as it is about controlling territory and tapping resources on an alliance (guild) level. The title is in development at Hi-Rez Studios, and I4U News recently spoke with Global Agenda executive producer Todd Harris about what makes this game unique. Harris discusses Global Agenda's elements of world control and says, "When a player alliance successfully claims an entire zone, anticipated to take approximately 45 days, that group will be rewarded with prestige items, public display of their alliance banner, and permanent notation within the lore of the world."
E3 2009: Global Agenda hands-on with executive producer Todd Harris
Global Agenda is coming right along nicely -- we last saw the game in action at GDC, and today at E3, executive producer Todd Harris was nice enough to sit down and show us a never-before-seen part of the game: PvE gameplay.We started off by checking out the character creator, which has come along quite a bit. They've built a very in-depth face creator -- there are about eight or ten different factors to switch between (eyes, mouth, and so on), and for each one, there are seven or eight sliders to adjust and tweak. Which allows for quite a few different variations, as you might imagine. Hair and skin color can also be edited, but Harris told us that body shape will generally be determined by the armor you wear (which is more or less determined by the class you choose).%Gallery-35351% Massively is on the ground in Los Angeles this week and covering all the latest E3 MMO news coming from the convention. Check out our breaking coverage (or all the Joystiq network E3 reporting) and keep your eye on Massively's front page for the latest developments.
