Introduction

I’d like to start with taking a moment to introduce yourself and the work that Hi-Rez has done in the past prior to the development of Tribes: Ascend.

My name is Todd Harris and I’ve been at Hi-Rez since 2005 when we founded the studio. We tend to specialize in competitive online multiplayer games since we really enjoy that genre.

Our first title was a sci-fi, third-person shooter MMO called Global Agenda. Within Global Agenda every player has a jetpack so Tribes was definitely an inspiration. When it came time to start a second project we looked into acquiring the Tribes IP. And fortunately, in October of 2010, we were able to buy the rights to Tribes and start developing Tribes: Ascend.

The Tribes community is very passionate about this franchise and especially about the ‘feel’ of the gameplay and the overall mechanics. One of the criticisms that the player base of Tribes: Vengeance were the changes to the ‘feel’ of the game. What is Hi-Rez doing to keep the original style and play intact?

The ‘feel’ is critical. But T1, T2, and T:V all have a slightly different feel. We’ve tried to learn from each of those games and also be responsive to the community playing Tribes: Ascend. We’ve been tweaking physics variables around speed, friction, jet pack impulse, and maneuverability throughout Alpha and early Closed Beta. Right now, based on our player surveys we are in a great place in terms of feel.

I’ve heard some younger players refer to Tribes: Ascend as a Halo clone.. How would you would you respond to these comments?

Learn your history n00b, Tribes came first!

The ODG community primarily consists of military veterans and active duty soldiers who are very competitive. Are there any plans for forming a Tribes league or clan matching system to establish community rankings or something similar planned?

Definitely. We really want to support the competitive community within Tribes: Ascend. We are starting with the Pub experience so we can introduce over a million people to the basic gameplay. But we will soon be introducing Ranked servers. After that we will introduce Private Servers that allow custom game settings – server flags basically. So if you want a more competitive experience you could configure certain rules on a Private server – for example no health regen or no load-out switching without an active generator.

We are aware that T:A will be supporting a F2P model with credits being won in-game as well as achievements. For the in-game credits – do they carry over match to match? Can you provide insight in what we can expect on how they can be used?

What we call credits do not carry over from match to match. Those are earned in a match and spent within that same match to purchase vehicles, or upgrade base defenses like Generators and Base Turrets, or certain call-ins.

We do have Tribes Points as well as Character XP and these both carry over from match to match. Character XP allows you to unlock skills and perks for your class. Tribes Points allow you to unlock other playable classes.

Achievements are quite cool by themselves; however, are they any other added benefits to attaining them planned such as perhaps credits that can be used to purchase items, classes, etc.?

Our Accolade system awards in-match accomplishments such as picking up the flag, taking out the enemy generator, repairing items, or landing a mid-air with your Spinfusor. Accolades do give you additional credits to spend within that match.

The current gameplay footage showed some really awesome combat and feel of T:A. One item we’ve not seen yet is the command map. Thinking back to the previous version of Tribes, the command map had some value providing the ability to point out areas to request deployable to be placed or allowed a player to manually take control of a turret. What can we expect from Tribes: Ascend in this area?

A command map would be a solid addition to Tribes: Ascend. It is on our roadmap but not planned before we release.

Vehicular combat in Tribes was one area that really got my attention for the first time in any online game. I’ve read that the Shrike, Gravcycle, and Beowulf will be part of the game. Are there any plans to add some of the other classics like the Jericho Mobile Point Base, Thundersword Bomber, or the HAVOC Gunship?

We plan to release with the current vehicles – Shrike, Gravcycle, and Beowulf. But then to introduce new vehicles after release.

In Tribes 1 and 2, there were extensive mods produced; the Havoc mod being a personal favorite of mine for Tribes 1. Can you comment on the future of ‘modding’ for T:A?

Right now the development team is focused on releasing a fun, balanced, and well-polished game. We will then keep a live team on T:A to deliver new maps, gametypes, and playable classes post-release. After that we will consider support for community map making or modding.

Is there anything else you’d like to say to the ODG community before we close?

ODG community – Here are some beta keys!!! If you want a break from hide & seek tactical shooters, jump online and get an adrenaline rush with Tribes: Ascend!

Beta Code Giveaway

For those of you that want to check out what all the excitement is all about Hi-Rez has provided ODG some beta keys to get into the action.

To get your key:

Simply comment on this article and tell us what you loved most about your favorite Tribes game in the past and what you hope to see from this upcoming edition. Hang out and check back… we’ll reach out and award the best comments with a beta key so you can start trying out Tribes:Ascend right away!

Final Report

Well there you have it! Having been playing the Tribes: Ascend beta myself AND as a veteran player of the whole Tribes franchise over the years, I have to say that this latest incarnation is shaping up very nicely. That matches have been very fast and frenetic – the speed of the game play is outstanding and a great breath of fresh air in the FPS genre. For those that have not had a chance to try this game before and want to check it out early take a look below!