Tribes Ascend in Open Beta

[kristus]

So Tribes Ascend recently got into Open Beta. Just curious who here is playing it. I just got it yesterday myself but I rather enjoy the game so far.

http://tribesascend.com/

[DeathevokatioN]

Cool, I might give this a try, although I'm not really a fan of the architecture, looks too lifelike and boring, or maybe I'm just playing too much Doom and Heretic. :P

[Mechadon]

I've been playing it for a few weeks (got invited to the closed beta about a week before it went open). It's really tons of fun and probably one of the fastest FPS games I've ever played.

[kristus]

It's advertised as such, but I'm not really feeling it. Sure you're propelled across the landscape at pretty break-neck speeds. (So much that you occationally break your neck) But the fighting isn't very hektik. I've only tried the two modes that isn't CTF though. Because I'm sort of vary of playing CTF in pub environments.

Anyway, what I am saying is that the fighting isn't so far really challenging me. Compared to Quake, it's pretty calm and you get plenty of time to line up your shots in most cases. But maybe that is because I just started playing and the game is pitting me against other people who just started playing.

[Blastfrog]

After seeing that short trailer, I really like how this game looks. Moving quickly across huge, open, colorful environments, being up in the air, this is the kind of FPS I want to see, versus all of these very closed space, slow drab looking environments seen in modern FPSes.

I haven't actually played it yet, but I will when I get the chance later today (somewhat busy at the moment).

[Scripten]

Other than the jetpacks, this really reminds me of Halo. (Not necessarily bad thing) At least, so far as I can tell in the trailer. Downloading now, so we'll see how it stacks up.

[DoOmEr4LiFe]

Membrain said:

Other than the jetpacks, this really reminds me of Halo. (Not necessarily bad thing) At least, so far as I can tell in the trailer. Downloading now, so we'll see how it stacks up.

After spending a ton of time playing the original Tribes, when I first played Halo my thought was, "this looks like Tribes". I didn't know a thing about this, thanks for the heads up! DLing and playing now.

[kristus]

Membrain, Tribes is an fair bit older franchise than Halo. (3 years)

[Scripten]

Well aware of the fact. Just noting that the aesthetic in the trailer reminds me of Halo's multiplayer. After playing the game, it's quite different in both gameplay and appearances. So far, it's fun, if a bit shallow, though I've only played DM so far.

[ArmouredBlood]

I played a bit a while ago but I've been playing other games since. DM is a bit scattered, and you don't get as much of a feel for speed as in CTF since you're not taking the flag like 5 miles from one end of the map to the other as fast as possible while getting shot at by the other team. Or trying to catch up to flag-carriers. I played mostly CTF since my laptop is a bit old and the framedropping didn't feel as big of an issue, so I didn't get much playtime there.

[Shaikoten]

A) I have been playing the fuck out of this, and I have been a Tribes player since 1999.

B) I have been keeping up to date with the competitive scene and just got my mic in to try to get in on some organized matches.

C) If you aren't playing CTF you aren't playing Tribes. Tribes is not a game about fragging, CTF is the only real gamemode. Tribes is a game about timing and coordination rather than who kills who. Respawn times are nil, and most of the time if you're playing CTF for keeps you're going to suicide, a lot, to reset things.

Kristus, combat is cool and fun, but not the actual point. CTF with pubs can be dumb, but once you get to higher ranks the idiots slowly trickle out of the servers. If it's your first few days, yeah, you're going to get stuck with some morons cause there's no server browser yet. But use it to learn. Vets learn how to coordinate fairly well with the VGS system, but if you want the real experience you'll have to get onto a team or PUG. For you, all the Euro PUG stuff is on quakenet IRC, at #tribesascend and #tamixed

Also notable, spinfusor.org has a great Euro community and the ability to watch competitive matches, while the NA community is on tribescast.com and you can find people streaming all day long on twitch.tv. In a game where movement and routes play such a big role, it's very good to watch skilled people play in order to learn a bit yourself.

Anyways, I could go on, and I've been trying to recruit people to this game for a while now, and now that it's open beta I don't have to throw keys at people anymore. Enjoy and ask in this thread if you have any questions at all.

[Bucket]

Did the website say "Free To Play"? Is that in the same sense that other companies are Free To Play, or is this a public beta?

[Shaikoten]

It is free to play and it is NOT pay to win. Every weapon and upgrade in the game is earnable through Experience, however you can get xp "boosters" to get experience at a higher rate, or pay gold outright to get the weapons -- you still need xp to upgrade everything regardless.

The only thing that will be gold-only is skins, which have not been released.

Also the XP gained is very slow when you're going completely free--it is double when you have purchased any amount of gold in their store (called VIP status) and quadruple when you have a booster. But if you enjoy this game, you absolutely should help the developers out. They bust their asses.

[kristus]

Shaikoten said:

A) Also notable, spinfusor.org has a great Euro community and the ability to watch competitive matches, while the NA community is on tribescast.com and you can find people streaming all day long on twitch.tv. In a game where movement and routes play such a big role, it's very good to watch skilled people play in order to learn a bit yourself.

Yeah, I've been watching the games level^ TV has been casting for the last few months. And the depth of the CTF games are intriguing. I'll focus my efforts on CTF from now on. Trying to get good at that. Just making a good flag pick up is a skill in itself. And things like that is what makes the game have replay value to me.

[yellowmadness54]

My friend has it, I played it like a month ago. Its pretty good, IMO, like a larger scaled halo.

[Shaikoten]

yellowmadness54 said:

My friend has it, I played it like a month ago. Its pretty good, IMO, like a larger scaled halo.

Halo is like tribes. Tribes was around in 1998. Halo didn't come around until three years later. Halo is slow and requires a very low level of skill to master. Tribes is insanely fast and has a skill ceiling higher than any other shooter I've ever seen.

Kristus: NASL, a major professional caster for Starcraft, has just this past night casted its first Tribes Ascend show matches. Those games are the best of the best right now, and I highly recommend watching the Tao of Tribe vs. ZDF match if you want a really furious entertaining match. Specifically the drydock match they played.

However, if you want to learn how to cap and go fast, do two things: look up routes on youtube, and watch cappers playing in first person on twitch.tv feeds. Once you understand the basics of skiing, energy management, and nitron/disc jumping, run routes in the empty maps until you feel comfortable enough to do it under fire. Nobody likes a llama grabber, or in laymans terms (for those reading this who are unfamiliar), someone who grabs the flag while going slow. In the low level servers it's par for the course. In high level servers, you will get crucified for it.

[kristus]

NASL: As in North American Starcraft 2 League?

Interesting. That's nice the game is getting around.

Yeah, running around the empty maps has always been my kryptonite. In Quake for example. I've never been one to do that very long before I get bored. :p Though it works better for me if I do it while in Warmup with a friend. I suppose I just get lonely otherwise. ;)

I've looked at some grab routes. But regardless, it's hard to perform them. Practise is needed to know how to perform them. Much like a strafe jump sequence or special jump in Quake, (like Bridge to rail in DM6 as the most common example). Even if you know technically how, you still need to practise it over and over, so you can get a feel for it.

I can ski fairly well so far. Comparatively speaking of course.

I wonder though, is there any weapon in Tribes that is a kin to the LG in Quake? Which class is it that got that in that case? I'm currently playing soldier and using mostly the Spinfusor, and got the Thumper as a second weapon. I can't afford the pistol yet, and I don't want to use the thumper and the Assault rifle. Because I think the Assault rifle is pretty meh, and the Thumper got too limited range to use in stead of a spinfusor. And the arching of the projectile makes it less good to aim as well. But it do have it's uses.

I'm thinking I'll look into the Light start class more today. (can't recall it's name right now)
But for my temprament, I think the Soldier is a decent fit for now. Because it's a happy medium. A few good shots and I can dispose of a tanky char, while I am still able to move pretty fast. Also, I can upgrade my energy pack so I got more on that.

[kristus]

Just tried out the Pathfinder. Think I might like this one better.

[Violator]

Fuck yes, wondered when a new tribes game was going to be released, spent countless hours destroying bots in Tribes 2

[The Lag]

yeah, between this and the ps3 starhawk open beta my productivity has dropped a bunch lately.

[Shaikoten]

kristus said:

Just tried out the Pathfinder. Think I might like this one better.

Pathfinder is definitely your flag capping class. Soldier capping is rare and usually only used for what's called a "cowboy grab." That is to say, grabbing while the enemy flag stand is heavily defended and you KNOW you're gonna take a lot of damage just getting it off the stand.

In terms of perks, for CTF the egocentric perk is a MUST for pathfinder and usually soldier as well. Egocentric allows you to disc jump or impact nitron jump while taking 1/3 of the damage you normally would. Get this. You can disc jump twice or nitron jump three times as a pathfinder and rack up considerable speed.

Think of the roles that are needed in CTF and stick to learning one, but be flexible enough to shift to others when they're needed. I'll outline a few roles. Remember, if you're DMing in the midfield, you're doing it wrong. Stick to your objective and don't get distracted. The only score that matters is the flag capture.

Flag capper: You go fast and set up routes, using VGS spam to beg others to clear the flag. Do this in pathfinder most of the time. Remember, your flag will almost definitely be mined or trapped, so as you're flying in, shoot a disc right before you touch the ground to clear any explosives so you can (hopefully) ski right through. You also want to try to loiter near the enemy base to pull an e-grab if they're about to cap.

Light Defense (LD) aka Chase: This guy is also pathfinder, but typically using the thrust pack instead of the energy pack. Your job here is stay around the base until someone gets the flag off the stand and return it. The thrust pack allows you to go from zero to 150 in an instant, and then you make up the remaining speed with a combination of disc jumping and taking a diagonal route that will allow you to cut off the capper's approach. Then when you're in range, spam impact nitrons and hope it forces the flag drop, and collect. Otherwise, DM the shit out of him. A flag capper can revert to this role if another capper has taken the flag. He's less efficient for changing direction than a thrust pack equipped dude cause of the energy pack, but he still has the nitrons.

Light Offense (LO): These guys aren't always light, they can often be mediums as well and usually are in Tribes Ascend. Their job is to present a threat that's going to clear the stand and confuse the enemy stand and base defense. This is really varied but could consist of soldiers, raiders, or infiltrators clearing deployables and distracting heavy-on-flags. Generator destroying is also useful with these dudes and often they make great interior fighters. LO is also the perfect e-grab position cause they're usually in the base and able to get something off the stand in a pinch, so be aware of where the flag is.

Heavy On Flag (HOF): These guys are doombringers with the superheavy perk. They sit on the flags with their chainguns spun up and spam mines and forcefields, and maneuver so they body block and kill enemy cappers. Good if you like going slow.

Sentinel: For the love of god if you're a sniper, please snipe only cappers and chasers. This is a defensive role, fragging people in the midfield is not what you should be doing. Also the claymores are very useful for flag D.

Heavy Offense (HO): If light offense can't get the job done, Heavy Offense, usually juggernaut, stands on a hill and spams mortars or mirvs to clear the flag stand. Usually situational.

Technician: Dudes who keep the gens and turrets running obviously, but the important thing to remember like all classes is, keep your eye on the flag. If you're spending all game getting your generator up and placing all your turrets around the gen itself, while your base turrets upstairs are down, you are dead weight and should change your class. Generators are not the end-all in Tribes Ascend, they just help.

Base defense: I find soldiers are the best class for this. Basically just sitting around the flagstand, keeping aware of the enemy incoming, and shooting at the flag right as the capper is set to land on it, then giving chase or returning. Sometimes you might need to clear the gen rooms but, as always, pay attention to the flag positioning.

This was more winded than I intended it to be but I hope it's helpful. Tribes is all about being aware of what your team is doing, so if you see a hole in your strategy, fill it.

Oh and there's no lightning gun in the game. There are only a couple true hitscan weapons -- the sniper rifles, and the pistols. All automatic weapons use projectiles you have to lead. They aren't bad, but they take practice. I personally prefer discs when I can get them just because I've been using a spinfusor since 1999 and I like it.

[kristus]

Is there any spread on the pistol?

[Blastfrog]

Shaikoten said:

Halo is like tribes. Tribes was around in 1998. Halo didn't come around until three years later.

Halo started development in 1998, and early versions looked a lot like tribes, with it's large, open terrain.

[kristus]

Wasn't Halo started as an RTS or something? And Tribes 1 was released the same year Halo started being developed. So it's not far fetched to consider that Tribes was a big influence on the developers.

[Sharessa]

I downloaded it when it was in closed beta and never finished installing it. I probably should get on that.

[Shaikoten]

kristus said:

Is there any spread on the pistol?

No spread on any of the pistols. Great for mopping up guys at low health.

[Mechadon]

I hope they allow you to test run various loadouts before you buy new weapons/classes and so on. I heard that you could do that before one of the updates, but now you can't (that I can tell). It'd be nice to play with something that costs 1000000 exp in training mode before you drop the all that moola on it.

[Shaikoten]

The update broke it, but now that it's loadout based instead of class based they need to figure out a way to reimplement it. I'm pretty sure it's coming back, but I don't think it's on their priority list.

From listening to broadcasts I've gleaned a lot of information on what will and won't be coming. For example, more complex friends lists and server joining, as well as player hosted servers and flags to configure gameplay: Yes. Voice chat: No plans.

Take what the beta shows you with a grain of salt because right now they're focusing purely on the most important part, the gameplay.

[kristus]

Shaikoten said:

No spread on any of the pistols. Great for mopping up guys at low health.

That's good to hear. Then I'll be looking at replacing my shotgun with one of those.

[Use]

Big fan of Tribes, not so much Tribes2. This new one looks excellent. Still, I'm punching my computer for being so old and useless.