Ten Ton Hammer - Taking MMO Gamers to the Next Level!

As a final question, I asked if any of the Hi-Rez team had switched over to work on Tribes: Universe now that Tribes: Ascend is ready to launch."For at least the next 6 months, we're planning to keep a very sizeable majority of the team on Tribes: Ascend. We're going to touch each class, we're going to do skins, so no major announcements yet."

Things we liked about Tribes: Ascend -

• It’s fast. Maybe too fast for the mainstream PC gamer. But it’s certainly not the same shooter we’ve been playing for the past ten years.
• Despite the class hatred from Tribes grognards, the original Tribes flavor (and some of the humor) is preserved. The maps are colorful and imaginative.
• Classes are nicely specialized and progression is fairly shallow, so players can pick a class they like and get good at it for not too much cash.

Things we thought were meh -

• Gameplay is so fast that it’s hard to hit a target without painting a general area with automatic fire or explosions. Snipers might want to apply elsewhere.
• The score-doubling flag in team deathmatch tends to magnify any imbalance between teams. Since the possibility of an improbable comeback is a huge part of the fun in match-based games, I regard this as a pretty big (and needless) drawback of the Team Deathmatch match type.
• Battle damage turns your display to a fractured mess. In a game as fast as this one, messing with visibility can make a uncertain death a sure thing.

Note the crack in the lower left; it's just the start of bad things to come. Battle damage starts to obscure your vision, turning a shameless flirt with death into a steady relationship.

If you play, here are some quick tips:

• Whatever you do, keep moving! Also keep your distance (unless you’re moving fast on your way to grab the flag, for example) and avoid getting swarmed by enemies.  Most deaths come from an enemy outside your field of vision.
• Remember to release your RMB so you’re not constantly burning your jump energy. It sounds silly, but it’s easy to do in the heat of combat.
• Tribes: Ascend uses projectile physics, so rounds arc and take time to close on the target. Be patient with your aim , it’ll improve over time as you learn to shoot where enemies will be rather than they currently are.
• Invest some time in the skiing tutorials. Skiing is the most efficient way of getting around and makes you that much harder to hit.
• Learn which classes are suited to which match types. The sniper-ish Sentinel and the stealthy Infiltrator may not be the best choice for Team Deathmatch beginners, for example.
• Gain some comfort with the core classes (the Soldier, in particular, is a good compromise between mobility and firepower) before buying into the other classes, and remember to spend your experience in classes that you like to play. A little investment can make a big difference.