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Global Agenda 2's closed beta expected 'before the end of the year if all goes well'
When last we heard about Global Agenda 2, we learned the promised sequel to 2010's Global Agenda was in line behind profitable MOBA SMITE for attention, and that announcement was made while its developers were admitting Tribes: Ascend was unlikely to ever get more love. But Hi-Rez Studios CEO Erez Goren broke radio silence on GA2 with a slew of spoilers on Reddit yesterday (apparently before he was shadowbanned for "vote manipulation" by angry Tribes players). The highlights? It is in fact a "spiritual" successor to GA. It'll have objective-based, 5v5 PvP with stats leveling during matches. E-sports will be supported, as will spectator mode. Viewpoint is first- and third-person. "Shooting is from first person mostly." There are "no strict classes." There is "no dedicated healer class." You just "select the way you want to play and join the queue." A "dome city area" might serve as a gathering point for players. He rattles off a whole list of weapons and off-hand items. Clever Redditors surmise that the game might actually be named Global Assault. Closed beta is expected "before the end of the year if all goes well." [With many thanks to Sorenthaz for the great tip!]
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!
Tribes Universe looking for a few good alpha testers
Earlier this week we reported on Hi-Rez Studios acquiring the Tribes license for the purposes of making a Tribes Universe MMOFPS. We also sat down to talk with company CEO and lead designer Erez Goren to get the inside scoop on the game. The original announcement, as well as our interview, indicated that alpha testing would initially be restricted to level 50 Global Agenda players. Happily, Hi-Rez has opened the process up a bit, and any interested parties can apply at the game's official website. Alpha testing is currently scheduled to begin in early 2011, and the team is looking for experienced testers and FPS players. "Because the game will be focused around huge battles on huge landscapes, we need a solid group of very dedicated testers that can help us from the game's earliest stages to validate the scalability and performance of the game, while also helping tune and refine gameplay," said executive producer Stewart Chisam.
Massively Exclusive: Hi-Rez talks Tribes Universe
It's been a huge couple of days for Hi-Rez Studios, the Atlanta-based indie developer behind Global Agenda and now, the forthcoming Tribes Universe. Massively sat down with company CEO and lead designer Erez Goren for an exclusive world-first interview about the game. Follow along after the cut for more information about the new title's development direction and time frame, as well as how it may impact Global Agenda.
Hi-Rez Studios announces development of Tribes Universe MMO
reddit_url = "http://massively.joystiq.com/2010/10/23/hi-rez-studios-announces-development-of-tribes-universe-mmo/"; reddit_target="gaming"; Tweet The developers of Global Agenda have been taking a long look at player feedback over the past months, particularly that regarding Warzones in the game, and they've come to a decision. It's certainly not one that players were expecting, though. Hi-Rez Studios CEO Erez Goren announced today that the company is the "proud new owner of the Tribes franchise." The company now has two teams in the studio, one devoted to Tribes Universe, which is expected to enter alpha testing at the beginning of 2011. While some of the community worries that this news means the end of Global Agenda, Erez is clear that Hi-Rez will continue to develop and support GA. You can read all the details on the Global Agenda forums. [Thanks to everyone who sent in this tip!]
Global Agenda going subscription free
Yes, you read that correctly. Members of the Global Agenda community received a survey recently that hinted at a change to the business model, and it looks like a decision has been made. Hi-Rez founder and CEO Erez Goren tweeted the news just a short time ago: "Global Agenda going subscriptions free," and the information was followed up quickly with a forum post that began "Hi-Rez Studios announced today that Global Agenda is now 100% subscription free. Purchasers of Global Agenda can enjoy the game's full current content, including all current Player-vs-Player combat, Player-vs-Environment solo and co-op content, and Agency-vs- Agency seasons, without a monthly subscription payment now or in the future. Future content updates will be delivered via optional paid expansions." You can view the full post on the official Global Agenda forums.
E3 2010: Erez Goren talks to Massively about Global Agenda's future, part 2
It seems some people are worried that Global Agenda has low player activity and may be on its last legs. When asked about that, Erez gave some useful statistics from the deployment of Sandstorm Phase 1 that suggest they're definitely on the right track. "We're only starting our marketing now," Erez told us, adding that "It was better to start early, work through with our user base about what people want to see and how and then market it and push it out." Not deterred by doom-sayers, he suggested that "as long as there's enough people to play with, it's OK" and affirmed his belief that Global Agenda couldn't drop below that level.
E3 2010: Erez Goren talks to Massively about Global Agenda's future
Sci-fi MMOFPS Global Agenda took last year's E3 Expo by storm, securing awards and impressing attendees. Launching earlier this year, the game has been rapidly updated and evolved based on player feedback. The Sandstorm Phase 1 patch recently overhauled huge areas of gameplay and delivered a lot of new content. The Global Agenda team are back at E3 this year, hoping to impress with a look at their up-coming Sandstorm Phase 2 patch. We sent our very own E3 reporter Sera Brennan to get the details from Erez Goren, founder and CEO of Hi-Rez Studios. In this bumper two-part feature, we get to grips with Global Agenda's new open zones, warzones and game-mode updates. We tackle the issues you asked for as we quiz Erez Goren on whether the game may be on its last legs, the game's shift in focus to PvE and what new game mechanics the team have up their sleeves.
Anti-Aliased: Eye candy leaves a bad taste in my mouth
Global Agenda is one of those games that's really dividing people. Some people love the game for whatever reason, other people bash on the game for whatever reason, and that's fine by me. While I personally love the game and have been playing it a bunch as my permanent side game, I gave it a less than stellar review that I thought was fair of the game at the time I wrote the review. Of course, since then, many changes are coming (many of which I approve of) and I think Hi-Rez has a pretty good roadmap for their game in place. However, one of my twitter followers recently pointed me to an editorial posted by Kyle Bennett, founder of HardOCP -- a website dedicated to hardcore gaming. Kyle's going for a full blown boycott against the indie company for one simple reason: they won't let him rock his multi-monitor setup because it could "give him an unfair advantage." While Kyle's entitled to his opinion and dissatisfaction, I have two problems with his editorial. The first lies in a misconstruction of the facts and the second lies in the nature of his request.
Hi-Rez fleshes out their plans for Global Agenda, includes open world MMO zone
Last we heard, Hi-Rez Studios was considering adding more "open" mission areas around Dome City, giving players an open-world feel to their game. Well, Hi-Rez's Erez Goren stopped by the forums on Saturday to lay out the full plans for not only the areas outside of Dome City, but also for some new weapons appearing in the game, new maps in AvA, and new options to help agencies compete and hold ground in AvA. All of this is scheduled on a very ambitious timetable -- available by the end of March. If certain features become pushed back or delayed, Hi-Rez will also reconsider extending their current "free subscription" policy. However, it was surprising to find that the open-world areas mentioned in the last newsletter literally will be open world areas. Multiple mission teams and players will find themselves on one gigantic map, completing PvE and PvP objectives for experience and loot. Missions on these maps will be for a varied number of players, starting out at the solo player and going all the way up to a 10 man strikeforce. And, of course, some areas of the map will be "unsafe" and open for agents to beat on other agents. Now you too can gank in Global Agenda.
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 influences include City of Heroes and Team Fortress 2
Global Agenda is an upcoming 'spy-fi' shooter MMO that's garnering a fair amount of attention as it gets closer to release. It's the brainchild of Erez Goren, an entrepreneur who channeled his successes in the IT industry (including Point of Sale systems with game-like interfaces) into his own dream project, becoming its founder, CEO, and lead designer. Global Agenda will be the first game to be released by Hi-Rez Studios.The title is a blend of sci-fi shooter and MMO where player actions can impact the game's world. Goren tells PC Gamer's Evan Lahti: "We were inspired by the fluid, action combat feel of [Tribes and TF2], but wanted even greater diversity of classes and devices and set our game within a persistent world of player-driven conflict where the results of combat matches really affects the world."
