Joystiq

The next Tribes update adds 'Blitz' mode, re-energizes Tech class

Ben Gilbert — Thu, 23 Aug 2012 04:00:00 EST

This month's update to Tribes: Ascend lavishes the Tech class with a new weapon, a new (super neat) belt item, an additional skin, an extra turret, while everyone gets a new game mode: "Blitz." In Blitz, flag objectives move around the map based on captures, becoming progressively more difficult as the match goes on.

LIke always, the update is free. And if you're already playing Tribes: Ascend, we commend you.

The next Tribes update adds 'Blitz' mode, re-energizes Tech class originally appeared on Joystiq on Thu, 23 Aug 2012 04:00:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

Permalink | Email this | Comments

Tribes: Ascend adds a double disc launcher in latest patch

Ben Gilbert — Thu, 26 Jul 2012 01:00:00 EST

Excellent free-to-play shooter Tribes: Ascend gets extra content (also for free) in its most recent update. Players gain access to new maps, new voice packs and, most importantly, a deadly double disc launcher. [Disclosure: Since we work under AOL, we are extra proficient at launching discs at people. - Ed.]

Tribes: Ascend adds a double disc launcher in latest patch originally appeared on Joystiq on Thu, 26 Jul 2012 01:00:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

Permalink | Email this | Comments

Tribes Ascend's July update reinvents 'Stonehenge' map, invents 'Miasma'

Ben Gilbert — Tue, 26 Jun 2012 02:00:00 EST

Continuing its promise of monthly new content, Hi-Rez Studios unveiled its latest Tribes: Ascend update video this morning. The update is a biggun for both new players and vets, as two new maps are set to be deployed: a remake of Tribes 1's "Stonehenge" map, and the brand new "Miasma." Now all we need is something borrowed and something blue, and we'll be all set to wed this game.

Tribes Ascend's July update reinvents 'Stonehenge' map, invents 'Miasma' originally appeared on Joystiq on Tue, 26 Jun 2012 02:00:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

Permalink | Email this | Comments

The next Tribes: Ascend update helps you level up guns even faster

Ben Gilbert — Tue, 12 Jun 2012 14:00:00 EST

Tribes: Ascend's June update adds more than a couple new Capture-and-Hold maps, a whole variety of weapon variants, and "significant balance adjustments." Beyond all that free stuff, Hi-Rez is doling out a speed boost to the game's weapon upgrade system, and has thusly dubbed its latest update "Accelerate."

Rather than solely upgrading weapons via XP earned in-game, each weapon will accordingly level up through use. The system seems like an interesting workaround to adding tons of weapons and players feeling unable to master any particular one. Hi-Rez demonstrates the system in the video above.

Continue reading The next Tribes: Ascend update helps you level up guns even faster

The next Tribes: Ascend update helps you level up guns even faster originally appeared on Joystiq on Tue, 12 Jun 2012 14:00:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

Permalink | Email this | Comments

Get down with yo' bad self in Tribes: Ascend's latest update

Ben Gilbert — Tue, 22 May 2012 15:30:00 EST

Tribes: Ascend's upcoming "Staying Alive" update adds more than just a smattering of new weapons for you disco dancing disc launchers. The update also brings live streams and training videos into the game's main menu, allowing you to spend even more time wrapped up in Ascend.

Get down with yo' bad self in Tribes: Ascend's latest update originally appeared on Joystiq on Tue, 22 May 2012 15:30:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

Permalink | Email this | Comments

Tribes: Ascend pulled down 1.2 million times thus far

Alexander Sliwinski — Wed, 16 May 2012 12:30:00 EST

Free-to-play shooter Tribes: Ascend has been downloaded 1.2 million times, a significant boost from the debatably framed 800K registered accounts from a month ago.

"It is truly the player support of the title that has driven the population growth and fuels our team to deliver updates," said Hi-Rez Studio COO Todd Harris. "We see the community expanding primarily thru positive word of mouth."

Hi-Rez Studios also noted over 110,000 people have joined Tribes: Ascend through the company's referral system. Our experience with the game since launch has been chronicled by our "Murderous Skier."

Continue reading Tribes: Ascend pulled down 1.2 million times thus far

Tribes: Ascend pulled down 1.2 million times thus far originally appeared on Joystiq on Wed, 16 May 2012 12:30:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

Permalink | Email this | Comments

The diary of a murderous skier: Spending real money in Tribes: Ascend

Ben Gilbert — Tue, 08 May 2012 20:30:00 EST

As free-to-play games are constantly changing, traditional reviews can't really do them justice, so we rely on a series of unscored review diaries to record our experiences with them. Today brings part two of our Tribes: Ascend diaries.

I gave in. I dropped $50 on Tribes: Ascend and haven't looked back. After three weeks of loving the game in its totally free form, I decided it was time to suck it up and unlock some other classes. And not only did that $50 get me a ton of Gold, but also a mess of bonus XP. Shopping time!

For the price of a full PC game, I unlocked seven of the game's nine classes, a variety of skins, and upgrades across all my classes, and increased the rate at which I earned in-game XP (the only currency that will upgrade weapons, packs, and armor, and which thankfully cannot be purchased with real dollars). I still have some gold coins to spare (the in-game currency that's converted from real dollars, which can't be earned), but I'm saving them for ... well, I don't really know. I'd feel weird spending them all.

Continue reading The diary of a murderous skier: Spending real money in Tribes: Ascend

The diary of a murderous skier: Spending real money in Tribes: Ascend originally appeared on Joystiq on Tue, 08 May 2012 20:30:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

Permalink | Email this | Comments

Tribes: Ascend getting two new maps, custom loadouts in Tartarus update

Ben Gilbert — Tue, 08 May 2012 16:30:00 EST

Tribes: Ascend continues to be both free and excellent, which is to say we were pretty excited this morning when we heard that a content update is in the works. Two crazy-looking new maps, custom loadouts, and a variety of requested player tweaks are planned for the Tartarus update, which is said to be "coming soon."

Continue reading Tribes: Ascend getting two new maps, custom loadouts in Tartarus update

Tribes: Ascend getting two new maps, custom loadouts in Tartarus update originally appeared on Joystiq on Tue, 08 May 2012 16:30:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

Permalink | Email this | Comments

The diary of a murderous skier: My first two weeks with Tribes: Ascend

Ben Gilbert — Fri, 27 Apr 2012 17:45:00 EST

As free-to-play games are constantly changing, traditional reviews can't really do them justice, so Joystiq relies on a series of unscored review diaries to record our experiences with them.

It's been over a decade since I last played PC games with any regularity. Outside of Word Munchers, The Secret Island of Dr. Quandary and The Oregon Trail, I grew up with a controller instead of a keyboard and mouse. There were brief flirtations with Duke Nukem 3D and Doom, but I was busy playing GoldenEye over Quake.

Starsiege: Tribes changed that. It barely ran on my father's computer, and our little 28.8Kbps modem could hardly handle the data stream necessary for online play, but I spent hours tying up our phone line regardless. Its fast pace, enormous outdoor environments, and central gameplay twist - "skiing" down hills and jetpacking up the other side, making for constant air battles with other players - entranced my adolescent brain. It seemed so vastly ahead of anything else available and, in many ways, still does.

Gallery: Tribes Ascend (2/22/12)

Continue reading The diary of a murderous skier: My first two weeks with Tribes: Ascend

The diary of a murderous skier: My first two weeks with Tribes: Ascend originally appeared on Joystiq on Fri, 27 Apr 2012 17:45:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

Permalink | Email this | Comments

Hi-Rez only working on Tribes: Ascend for now, MMO and singleplayer could come later

Mike Schramm — Thu, 05 Jan 2012 20:45:00 EST

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.

Hi-Rez only working on Tribes: Ascend for now, MMO and singleplayer could come later originally appeared on Joystiq on Thu, 05 Jan 2012 20:45:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

Permalink | Email this | Comments