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Hi-Rez Studios offering exclusive Tribes and SMITE demos at PAX East
With the excitement and craziness of PAX East just a couple of days away, studios are clamoring for your attention with promises of candy and sweet, sweet previews. Hi-Rez Studios is no different; the company hopes that attendees will check out its booth for exclusive demos of its upcoming Tribes: Ascend and SMITE. Players who visit booth 962 can check out a new preview release build of Tribes: Ascend before the game launches formally later this month. The demo contains a new game mode, Capture & Hold, which is a fast-paced experience that requires the mastery of vehicles and teamwork. Players will also get to see the return of a classic 1998 Tribes map revamped for modern times: Raindance. Hi-Rez's other PAX East offering is its MOBA SMITE, which is in closed alpha testing. Here, attendees can choose from one of 15 deities and head out on to 5v5 battleground maps for serious smackdown. New to the public are six of these playable deities and the first look at the Fire Giant mob. [Source: Hi-Rez press release]
Spirit Tales introduces the Lunar Fox and Maned Dragon tribes
If you are allergic to stupefyingly adorable things, you may want to look away now. If you're not, you may be interested in KoramGame's upcoming free-to-play title Spirit Tales. Fans of fluffy wittle animal-people with eyes the size of some small galaxies will find themselves right at home with the two newly announced tribes, the Lunar Fox tribe and the Maned Dragon tribe. Each tribe has its own unique classes available to it; the Maned Dragon tribe sticks to tradition with the mainstays of Warrior (which plays the role of defender) and Archer (which supplies ranged DPS), while the Lunar Fox tribe bring some magic and cunning (and lots of DPS) to the table with the Sorcerer and Assassin classes. The full details on each tribe and its respective classes can be found over at the official Spirit Tales forums.
The Daily Grind: Do you prefer open or closed chat?
Tribes: Ascend has an open chat system that might seem unusual to players more familiar with MMORPGs than MMOFPS titles. Anyone can lay down whatever smack-talk he wants in the traditional open chat... but almost no one does. Instead, players make use of quick macros to audibly announce enemy movements, signal for aid, praise comrades, and taunt opponents. Truth is, time spent trash-talking the other side in chat is time enough for that side to shoot you in the face, so players stick to simple short-cut communication, keeping the game relatively clean of the sort of chatter that makes your eyes bleed. Roleplayers would never go for such a limited chat system, I realize, and I'm right there with them when it comes to annoyance that factional chats limit communication between, say, the opposing teams of World of Warcraft and Star Wars: The Old Republic. But at the same time, it's refreshing to see a streamlined chat that sticks to gameplay and isn't bogged down with Chuck Norris jokes and clever ways around the profanity filter. What do you think of closed vs. open chat? Every morning, the Massively bloggers probe the minds of their readers with deep, thought-provoking questions about that most serious of topics: massively online gaming. We crave your opinions, so grab your caffeinated beverage of choice and chime in on today's Daily Grind!
The Firing Line Exclusive: Tribes Ascend utility pack giveaway
Like Tribes: Ascend? Like the Soldier class? If you answered yes to those questions, Massively and The Firing Line have an exclusive giveaway that you're going to love. We've teamed up with Hi-Rez Studios to bring you the Soldier utility pack, which is an upgrade item that grants an additional grenade slot and additional health (don't worry, balance fans; your Soldier avatar will sacrifice a bit of his energy pool when the pack is equipped). How can I get my hands on this fine item, you ask? It's as easy as clicking on the giveaway button after the break. After you've secured your code, boot up your Tribes client and select "extras" from the in-game menu followed by "redeem promotion." Enter your code in the box and then click over to your Soldier class to swap out your new pack!
GDC 2012: The Firing Line talks release dates with Tribes Ascend's Todd Harris
It's been a crazy week at GDC, and though I've already gotten the skinny on both PlanetSide 2 and DUST 514, there's more on the way when it comes to online shooter news. Yesterday morning I headed over to the Hi-Rez Studios booth on the main show floor, where COO Todd Harris had some exciting news to share with fans of the firm's Tribes: Ascend title. The free-to-play shooter will officially launch on April 12th, and Hi-Rez has also released a new parody trailer that pays homage to Dead Island and shows off the perils of the dreaded "llama capture" (if you're a Tribes newb, just know that speed equals survival when it comes to flag-grabs). Join me after the cut for some Tribes-related chit-chat as well news of new content on the way for Global Agenda.
The Daily Grind: How many MMO betas are installed on your machine?
Oh man, betas! There are so many nowadays that I have trouble keeping track. Not only that, but my attitude towards actual betas and "marketing" betas has softened somewhat. It used to be that I wouldn't touch a pre-release MMO with a ten foot pole. They were buggy, laggy, and frankly they spoiled my launch-day joy by wiping any progress I'd made during the testing phase. Now, though, many firms allow your beta characters to live on post-launch, and most late beta phases are more about stressing the servers and getting the game in the public eye than they are about system testing and bug reporting (which, let's face it, isn't much fun even when you're being paid). Right now I've got TERA, Tribes: Ascend, and a couple of other hush-hush MMO beta icons on my desktop. What about you, Massively folk? Are you a beta fiend, and if so, how many do you currently have installed? Every morning, the Massively bloggers probe the minds of their readers with deep, thought-provoking questions about that most serious of topics: massively online gaming. We crave your opinions, so grab your caffeinated beverage of choice and chime in on today's Daily Grind!
The Firing Line: Why you should be playing Tribes: Ascend
Skiing! Jetpacks! Pew pew! Yes, kids, Tribes: Ascend is officially in open beta, and that means you no longer have an excuse. Hi-Rez Studios threw open the doors this morning, and despite the fact that the game's closed beta exceeded all expectations and hosted over 300,000 players since its November kickoff, there's always room for more.
Tribes: Ascend beta open to all on Feb. 24
So far, 300,000 have played Tribes: Ascend in its closed beta state, Hi-Rez Studios COO Todd Harris revealed. But Hi-Rez wants more players and this Friday, the Tribes: Ascend beta will be open to all. Before the launch of the open beta, Hi-Rez will add some additional maps and customization options to Tribes: Ascend, plus a new game mode: Arena Deathmatch. These will all be added in a patch coming, well, before Friday, we guess. Hi-Rez hasn't really said when the patch will be live.If you're worried about player progress, don't sweat it. Your progress and unlocks will carry over to the open beta. %Gallery-148239%
The Firing Line Extra: Tribes' Todd Harris on class customization and base gameplay
Today's a big day for fans of Tribes: Ascend, and it's also a big day for Hi-Rez Studios, the Atlanta-based indie firm behind the upcoming online shooter. You see, today is patch day, and while that's not terribly unusual (Hi-Rez has updated the Tribes beta client early and often since the start of closed testing last November), the latest tweak is a bit of fan service that will likely bring smiles to the faces of franchise die-hards waiting in the wings to see what becomes of their baby.
The Firing Line: What ever happened to that game?
Online shooters are a dime a dozen these days. Heck, so are MMOs. I can't get up from my computer chair for five minutes without missing some sort of PR blast about the latest, greatest gift to gamingkind. It's easy to lose track of all these titles, and it's even easier when some of said titles are fairly niche to begin with. In this week's edition of The Firing Line, I'm going to figure out something to write about until I get into the PlanetSide 2 beta. Er, I mean, I'm going to do a little detective work in an attempt to figure out what happened to a few of the MMO shooters that have dropped off my radar.
The Firing Line: Thousand-player dogfights and more PlanetSide 2 conjecture
Welcome back to The Firing Line, boys and girls. Last week I talked at length about PlanetSide 2, and despite the fact that I'm apparently unqualified to do so according to some folks, I'm going to do it again this week. How do ya like them apples? Anyhow, that's not all I'm going to talk about, as a couple of other online shooters made news over the last seven days. Most of you know that I can't pass up the opportunity to mention Tribes: Ascend, and oh yeah, would you believe there's an aerial combat game that supports 1,000-player dogfights?
Hi-Rez only working on Tribes: Ascend for now, MMO and singleplayer could come later
Hi-Rez Studios had big plans for the Tribes property after picking it up a few years ago, and hoped to revamp the single-player game with Tribes: Ascend, and develop the franchise into a full-fledged MMO. Things have changed since then -- Hi-Rez's COO Todd Harris says, "right now our Tribes dev team is working only on Ascend." Speaking to PC PowerPlay, Harris described Ascend as borrowing heavily from the earlier, fondly remembers Tribes games. Focusing solely on an action game means Hi-Rez could make sure to "get the movement and physics and combat feeling right." Some settings and weapons from the first game will return, but there will be new content, new weapons, and frequent releases of cosmetic items ("much the way League of Legends does in the MOBA genre," says Harris). Both the MMO and single-player content are possibilities for the future, Harris adds, but Tribes: Ascend is the focus for now.
The Firing Line: American aircraft and a real-life shooter
What's happening, shooter fans? Hopefully everyone's getting ready for a long holiday weekend filled with family, food, and gaming (of course). Several interesting online shooter nuggets came across my desk this week, including a deeper look at World of Warplanes, a Firefall beta clarification, and some sexy new DUST 514 details. Also, would you believe a real-life -- and real, live -- online FPS featuring actual locations?
The Firing Line: Gravity-defying gameplay edition
Hullo shooter fans, and welcome back to Massively's weekly dose of pew pew news and views. The past seven days were quiet ones for three of the The Firing Line's "big four" MMO shooters, as newsmakers on the PlanetSide 2, Global Agenda, and Firefall dev teams were all silent. Thankfully there were a couple of cool DUST 514 tidbits to chew on, but before we get to those, I'd like to call your attention to some interesting Tribes: Ascend, APB: Reloaded, and CrimeCraft news that you may have missed.
The Firing Line: All the shooter news that's fit to print
Welcome back to The Firing Line, folks. I'm still putting out a few flames from last week's how-dare-you-call-this-an-MMO smackdown, and rather than fuel that particular fire by telling you that I've been playing a lot of World of Tanks (oh, did I say that?), I figured I'd take a high-level look at what's been happening with a few of the larger MMO shooters (and quasi-MMO shooters) over the last couple of weeks. Despite my best efforts, we're still stuck with lore updates and insignificant PR when it comes to PlanetSide 2, though we did snag a few new screenshots recently. Things have also been quiet when it comes to Global Agenda and a few of my other favorite titles. Not to worry, though. Hi-Rez is moving right along with its Tribes: Ascend beta, and you can read about that and more in my news roundup after the break.
The Firing Line: Defining the MMO shooter
Hello shooter fans, and welcome back to Massively's Firing Line. Last week's inaugural column hit the ground running with a visit to Hi-Rez Studios and a preview of the company's new Tribes: Ascend title. This week I'd like to pull back a little bit and lay the groundwork for some of the things we'll be talking about over time. When I talk about MMO shooters with friends and colleagues, one of the first things mentioned is the definition of the term. Everyone knows what a shooter is (or at least what he thinks it is), and everyone knows what an MMO is (although thanks to MOBAs and the social networking explosion, the definition of the latter grows murkier by the day). Can we all agree on the definition of an MMO shooter, though? Probably not, and to be honest, that's perfectly OK.
The Firing Line: Tribes impressions and a visit to Hi-Rez
What's up folks, and welcome to The Firing Line. We've been branching out our coverage lately, first with MMO-specific columns and then with Not So Massively and MOBAs. Now we're doing something similar with online shooters. This genre is positively huge, and while there's a lot of room for debate in terms of what constitutes an MMO shooter, there's also no denying that all of the games hovering around the periphery of that designation are a lot of fun. So what will we be talking about in The Firing Line? Well, this is the part where I rub my hands together in anticipation! Naturally we'll spend a lot of time with the genre's big guns (sorry, I had to use that at least once), so I'll be playing huge amounts of PlanetSide 2, DUST 514, Firefall, Global Agenda, and the semi-obscure free-to-play titles crowding the market -- all in an effort to bring you the very best news and views from the world of pew pew.
Updated: Jump into the Tribes: Ascend beta with a key from Massively
Tribes: Ascend has been making waves in our Not So Massively column, with plenty of fans anxious for a first look at it. We've got something for those fans this morning. The team at Hi-Rez was kind enough to send us a handful of beta keys, and we're in a sharing mood. To get and apply your beta key, just visit our giveaway page to snag your key, then download the Hi-Command game installer. Launch the installer, then log in to your existing Global Agenda account (or create a new account via the installer). Click the "Tribes" tab, hit Enter, and follow the prompts to apply your beta key. Enjoy the beta, and join us in thanking the Hi-Rez gang for the beta keys! [UPDATE: Whew, those went fast! If you didn't snag a key, you might want to watch our Twitter feed this afternoon -- just a suggestion!]
Tribes: Ascend beta starting Nov. 4
A closed beta for free-to-play title Tribes: Ascend will launch on November 4. Those interested in participating should sign up on the game's website, after which invites will be sent in waves to selected applicants. It's also possible to guarantee a spot in the beta by pre-ordering the VIP pack. Developer Hi-Rez previously stated it would "continue to increase the number of beta participants through the end of this year in preparation for a general game release in Q1 of 2012." %Gallery-127324%
Coloring inside the lines: An interview with PlanetSide 2's Tramell Isaac
I think we're all allowed our moments of pure geek squeeing when we bump into the people responsible for some of our favorite video games of yesteryear. So I had to apologize to Tramell Isaac in advance for gushing over his work on the first two Fallout titles, games that are among my all-time favorites. He didn't seem to mind, and he spent a few minutes shooting the breeze about his favorite designs in the game -- designing Robobrain and the Vault Boy cards that accompanied the player perks. MMO fans will probably best know Isaac from his work on the original PlanetSide, a project that is near and dear to his heart. Sony Online Entertainment brought him back on board to be the senior art director for PlanetSide 2. This makes sense -- after all, who else would best know how to evolve the series' design than the guy who started it? Isaac was kind enough to sit down on the phone with me to talk about how PlanetSide 2's visuals are shaping up, following his own blog post on the subject. Hit the jump to find out why each faction is going with a very specific color scheme, how microtransactions will affect how awesome you look, and just what Batman has to do with any of it.
