Tribes: Ascend

Tribes: Ascend
Developer(s)	Hi-Rez Studios
Publisher(s)	Hi-Rez Studios
Engine	Unreal Engine 3 (modified)
Platform(s)	Microsoft Windows
Genre(s)	First-person shooter
Mode(s)	Multiplayer, single-player (training)
Rating(s)	ESRB: Rating Pending
Media/distribution	Download
System requirements Windows XP SP2/Vista/7 Core 2 Duo 2.4 GHz or Althon X2 2.7 GHz 2GB RAM (XP) 3GB RAM (Vista, Win7) 10GB disk space DirectX compatible sound card ATI or Nvidia graphics card with 512MB video ram or better and Shader Model 3.0+ support Mouse and Keyboard

Tribes: Ascend is the latest game in the Tribes franchise. It is currently being developed by Hi-Rez Studios and was announced on March 11, 2011 at PAX East with an expected release in early 2012. It will be available as a digital download for Microsoft Windows, though Hi-Rez Studios. Iconic aspects from previous Tribes games such as jetpacks and skiing will be featured in the game. Currently, the game is available to play as a closed beta. Unlike the other games in the series, Tribes: Ascend will be Free-to-Play, relying on micro-transactions as their business model. To accommodate this model, the game uses class loadouts with predefined armors and weapons. Two classes are available when the game is first activated, the others must be unlocked with experience or purchased with Gold. User customization of classes, skins, maps, and mods have not been scheduled in any future update.

Gameplay

Loadouts and classes

Main article: Tribes: Ascend Loadouts and Classes

Tribes: Ascend Beta Loadouts

Tribes: Ascend will feature a class-based loadout system. Each loadout specifies what type of armor you have, along with what weapons and items you can carry. Loadouts will only support two weapons, a melee object, a pack, and either grenades or mines. Players can select which loadout to use when either respawning or at an inventory station. Hi-Rez Studios has yet to reveal how many loadouts will be available at launch, though they did state that there will be at least 15 available during the closed and open beta, 12 are currently available. Loadouts may be acquired either through an upfront payment, or through playing the game for an unspecified amount of time. Paid-for loadouts will be available to the user instantly and permanently, while those who choose to unlock them through playing will have a much longer wait. Players will be given two free loadouts, the Soldier and Ranger when they first start playing the game. They are both part of the medium armor class. The Soldier features a Spinfusor, Eagle Pistol, Energy Pack, and a grenade. The Ranger features an assault rifle, single grenade launcher, Energy Pack, and a grenade.

Hi-Rez will also sell cosmetic items such as player skins, along with boosters that allow players to gain tokens and experience at a faster rate. Players earn in-game credits during matches for killing enemies, repairing structures or capturing objectives. Credits are then used to buy vehicles, supply drops and base upgrades.

Game modes and maps

Hi-Rez Studios are currently testing Capture the Flag, Team Deathmatch, and Rabbit game modes. While some maps will retain the classic nature of the Tribes franchise with large open areas and base structures, others will have a more urban feel to them, featuring buildings and streets. Katabatic, which originally appeared in Tribes 2, and a revamped version of Broadside called Crossfire.

User generated content

Unlike the other games in the Tribes series, Tribes: Ascend will not feature the ability to create custom mods or maps. HiRez has not ruled out the possibility, but these abilities are not on their development roadmap. The Unreal 3 engine allows users to create these through the use of the Unreal Development Kit, so it is not a limitation of the engine. This is most likely due to their free-to-play monetization model, which would be adversely affected if mods could unlock all classes without paying for them.

Assumed backstory

Lore has not been released, so the following is based on how the game has been designed and implemented.

In 3480, when the use of HERCs on the battlefield came in to question and smaller powered armors were developed. Due to the novelty of armors, it was not possible for soldiers to be able to alter their loadouts while on the battlefield. If a weapon ran out of ammunition, they had to find more ammo or switch to their secondary weapon. The ability to have highly configurable powered armors did not come about until 3508 when powered armors were mainstream on the battlefield.

Shield technology was only in its early phases and could only be created in planar forms and required large amounts of power. Portable force fields were developed, but these still required a direct connection to the core generator. Their weight also forced them to be moved about by only the heaviest of the armors, the Doombringer.

Advances were made in power generation and a single device could now generate enough power to keep a building and its defenses online. However, there were still problems with its design and required that the device be suspended over a large empty chamber. In the event of a critical meltdown, the reactor would be dropped into the pit and it would be flooded with a chemical bath that decomposes the reactor and neutralizes the ongoing reaction. Scientists are still working on a means to obtain power safely, but this is the only way to keep up with the power demands required of war. The size of the generator, while fairly small, has reached a wall in development. Scientists are unable to make it any smaller, which has caused deployable turrets to require direct feeds to the generator.

With the advent of the powered armors, weaponry had to be redesigned so that it was lightweight, but still powerful. Due to the limited amounts of power that could be generated by the armors, energy weapons were largely abandoned and projectile weapons were re-invented. These weapons were less powerful than their HERC counterparts, but as more tribes shifted to powered armors, they did not create a disadvantage.

See also

• Tribes: Universe

External links

• Official website