Hi-Rez Studios Suspends Tribes: Ascend Updates

[IanDavis]

Hi-Rez Studios Suspends Tribes: Ascend Updates

"A [Tribes: Ascend 2] would be more likely than a major update."

We here at The Escapist liked [a href=http://www.escapistmagazine.com/articles/view/editorials/reviews/9569-Tribes-Ascend-Review]Tribes: Ascend[/a] when it launched in 2012. It's a good thing too, because it's not getting any larger. Hi-Rez studios has [a href=http://www.reddit.com/r/Tribes/comments/1i4jrr/open_letter_to_hirez_response/]confirmed[/a] that it's suspending work on the free-to-play shooter as it focuses on other titles, like its new MOBA, [a href=http://www.warcry.com/codex/profile/view/285-smite]SMITE[/a].

It started with [a href=http://www.reddit.com/r/Tribes/comments/1hx9l5/please_give_us_an_honest_answer_yet_another_open/]a post[/a] on the Tribes: Ascend subreddit, with someone asking why the game hasn't received an update in a while. Hi-Rez Studio head Todd Harris [a href=http://www.reddit.com/r/Tribes/comments/1i4jrr/open_letter_to_hirez_response/]responded back[/a], confirming that "there are no major dev updates planned for Tribes: Ascend in the next six months."

In the meantime, Hi-Rez Studios will be focusing most of its attention on new projects. "For the next six months our primary development focus is SMITE," he said. "Beyond that it is [Global Agenda 2]. And beyond that a [Tribes: Ascend 2] would be more likely than a major update to [Tribes: Ascend]; but to be clear no devs are currently working toward TA2."

Harris made it clear that this doesn't mean the death of Tribes: Ascend, as there will still be bug fixes and the occasional new map. "We continue to support TA servers, online community events, tournaments with prizing, bringing Tribes to offline events like recent RTX and upcoming QuakeCon, and live-streaming." While he mentions the possibility of new maps, he makes it clear that they have no set time frame for release.

Source: [a href=http://www.reddit.com/r/Tribes/comments/1i4jrr/open_letter_to_hirez_response/]Reddit[/a]

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[yayforgiveaway]

Great game, worst developer support ever. I hope they will sell the rights to someone else.

 

[SL33TBL1ND]

T:A went to shit as soon as open beta started. Hi-Rez have had no fucking clue what they're doing for a while. Not only is the support for their game terrible, they even break their own TOS by monitoring your computer for blacklisted software even when the game isn't running.

 

[Hazzard]

It also has the problem of sometimes the game stops working when you launch it and it took far too much effort to make it work if you want to play.

 

[Smooth Operator]

I would be perfectly fine with this if the game felt like it got it's final polish, but we are still waiting for that, meanwhile they are taking a hiatus...

Hopefully they at least consider the age old idea of user submitted maps so the game can stay fresh without devs spending extra money on it which they clearly don't intend to do anymore.

 

[Arcane Azmadi]

Well I don't know what you were expecting from Hi-Rez of all companies. Possibly one of the WORST companies I've ever seen. Unfortunately, they tend to get some of the best games to run into the ground.

 

[Marohen]

The simple fact of the matter is that T:A lacks the modding environment necessary to sustain community interest beyond purely developer-based content. Tribes as a franchise is well known for its modding community, but even without that iconography it's still important to maintain.

 

[Colt47]

The issue with the game was that it really didn't feel like a F2P game as much as a retail game. The pay wall just hindered the gameplay and made the total cost way too high, as well as the fact that some of the weapons and gear necessary for iconic classes were locked for a good amount of playtime. Ultimately I ended up playing it for about a month and then stopped.

It's so hard to find a decent analog of Unreal Tournament 2k4 these days. You'd think UT3 would have been it, but nope.

 

[vun]

Great game, worst developer support ever. I hope they will sell the rights to someone else.

Yeah, if they'd actually gotten behind their game properly then we might've seen a breath of fresh air into competitive FPS, but the lack of proper support killed that hope long ago.

 

[Pedro The Hutt]

So instead of expanding their good FPS, or even adding modding support and better eSports tools and THEN calling it a day, they just kill it instantly and choose to focus on their dreadful MOBA instead.

... yeah, pretty dumb idea.

 

[Colt47]

Great game, worst developer support ever. I hope they will sell the rights to someone else.

Yeah, if they'd actually gotten behind their game properly then we might've seen a breath of fresh air into competitive FPS, but the lack of proper support killed that hope long ago.

That's the problem: They didn't see it like a F2P MMO shooter. They basically took a retail game, distributed it for free, and then kept a lot of options behind a pay wall. They eventually added a full "retail version" that had all the unlocks already completed so people could jump in and use whatever they wanted. Unfortunately, even other purely retail games are getting more support than this gem.

 

[somonels]

So instead of expanding their good FPS, or even adding modding support and better eSports tools and THEN calling it a day, they just kill it instantly and choose to focus on their dreadful MOBA instead.

... yeah, pretty dumb idea.

Smite makes money, TA doesn't. If it did, it would be dreadful, like Smite.

 

[Nymi]

Great game, worst developer support ever. I hope they will sell the rights to someone else.

Pretty much all there is to be said on this.