Starsiege: Tribes
Encyclopedia
First-person shooter
First-person shooter is a video game genre that centers the gameplay on gun and projectile weapon-based combat through first-person perspective; i.e., the player experiences the action through the eyes of a protagonist. Generally speaking, the first-person shooter shares common traits with other...
video game. It is the first of the Tribes video game series and follows the story from Earthsiege
Earthsiege
Metaltech: Earthsiege is a mecha-style simulation game developed by Dynamix and released in 1994. Earthsiege is the first in a long line of games in the Earthsiege universe, which contains Earthsiege 2 and Battledrome , as well as action game Hunter Hunted , strategy games MissionForce: CyberStorm...
and Starsiege
Starsiege
Starsiege is a mecha-style vehicle simulation game developed by Dynamix and released in 1999. Starsiege is set in the Metaltech/Earthsiege universe, which contains its predecessors Earthsiege , Battledrome , and Earthsiege 2 , as well as action game Hunter Hunted , strategy games Mission Force:...
. It was developed by Dynamix
Dynamix
Dynamix, Inc. was an American developer of computer games from 1984 to 2001, best known for their flight simulator, Red Baron, the Front Page Sports series, Betrayal at Krondor, and their online multiplayer game, Tribes.-History:...
and published by the company now known as Sierra Entertainment
Sierra Entertainment
Sierra Entertainment Inc. was an American video-game developer and publisher founded in 1979 as On-Line Systems by Ken and Roberta Williams...
in 1998.
History
A sequel, Tribes 2Tribes 2
-Legacy:On November 20, 2002, Sierra released an update for Tribes 2. This update contained two new game types, new maps and updates to address several issues. Sierra, which is now part of Vivendi SU, licensed the franchise to Irrational Games for a third installment; Tribes: Vengeance was...
, was released in March 2001. Sierra licensed the franchise to Irrational Games
Irrational Games
Irrational Games is a video game developer founded in 1997 by three former employees of Looking Glass Studios: Ken Levine, Jonathan Chey, and Robert Fermier as Irrational Games...
for a third installment, Tribes: Vengeance
Tribes: Vengeance
Tribes: Vengeance is a science fiction first-person shooter computer game of the Tribes video game series. It was developed by Irrational Games and released by Sierra Entertainment in October 2004...
, which was released in October 2004.
Vivendi Universal released Tribes and Tribes 2 for free on May 4, 2004 on a DVD-ROM
DVD
A DVD is an optical disc storage media format, invented and developed by Philips, Sony, Toshiba, and Panasonic in 1995. DVDs offer higher storage capacity than Compact Discs while having the same dimensions....
with Computer Gaming World
Computer Gaming World
Computer Gaming World was a computer game magazine founded in 1981 by Russell Sipe as a bimonthly publication. Early issues were typically 40-50 pages in length, written in a newsletter style, including submissions by game designers such as Joel Billings , Dan Bunten , and Chris Crawford...
magazine and on FilePlanet
FilePlanet
FilePlanet is a video game download service that provides demos, patches, mods and other gaming media and other gaming media downloads to its users. FilePlanet was launched, and is run by, GameSpy, which is now a subsidiary of IGN, and is one of the most used video game download sites on the...
, in order to promote the release Tribes: Vengeance.
On July 16, 2007, Sierra Entertainment announced that they would cease online support of Tribes starting on August 16, 2007. As of November 2007, the Sierra Master Server is no longer active, and has been replaced by multiple community-run Master Servers.
In March 2009, GarageGames announced they had purchased the Intellectual property
Intellectual property
Intellectual property is a term referring to a number of distinct types of creations of the mind for which a set of exclusive rights are recognized—and the corresponding fields of law...
and source code for Starsiege: Tribes and would be releasing it at PlayTribes.com through an update on their browser-based game service, InstantAction
InstantAction
InstantAction was a web gaming site and digital distributor featuring 3D, browser-based games.The site was created by game and technology developer GarageGames after its acquisition in 2007 and released a year later. InstantAction's goal was to allow publishers and developers the ability to embed...
. PlayTribes
PlayTribes
PlayTribes was a planned browser-based version of Starsiege: Tribes, an online multiplayer first-person shooter developed by the now defunct Dynamix game studio in 1998 for the PC. InstantAction first announced PlayTribes in March 2009, along with their acquisition of the Tribes intellectual...
was available for play during the 2009 Penny Arcade Expo
Penny Arcade Expo
The Penny Arcade Expo is a semi-annual gamer festival held in Seattle and Boston. PAX was created by Jerry Holkins and Mike Krahulik, the authors of the Penny Arcade webcomic, because they wanted to attend a show that gave equal attention to console gamers, computer gamers, and tabletop...
at InstantAction's display in the expo hall.
On October 23, 2010, it was announced that Hi-Rez Studios were the new owners of the Tribes franchise, thus canceling development on PlayTribes.
Gameplay
Tribes is a squad-based multiplayer onlineONLINE
ONLINE is a magazine for information systems first published in 1977. The publisher Online, Inc. was founded the year before. In May 2002, Information Today, Inc. acquired the assets of Online Inc....
game with no single-player campaign; it is similar in this respect to the Team Fortress and Enemy Territory games. The story is set in the 40th century, after humanity has settled across the galaxies via jumpgates. Conflict has broken out between several factions of humans, the four largest of which are the Children of the Phoenix, Blood Eagle, Diamond Sword, and Starwolf. The first and largest descends from people isolated from the Great Human Empire during the jumpgate dispora. The second is a force of imperial knights orginally sent from the Empire to subdue them who have gone 'tribal' over time. The Diamond Sword and Starwolf are secondary, with innumberable other splinter tribes constantly fighting for territory. The player assumes the role of a warrior loyal to one of the four major tribes battling in the front lines of the conflict.
The battles take place on one of 40 maps. Most of the standard maps are outdoors environments in a variety of climates, from sunshine to snow and hail. In general, bases are scattered throughout the map depending on the gametype. The outdoor environments can extend for several kilometers.
There are five distinct "default" gametypes:
- Capture the flagCapture the flagCapture the Flag is a traditional outdoor sport generally played by children, where two teams each have a flag and the objective is to capture the other team's flag, located at the team's "base," and bring it safely back to their own base...
(CTF) - Each team (up to eight, normally less than three on any given mission) has one or more bases and a single flag. Each team tries to take an opposing team's flag and touch it to their own, which "captures" the flag and awards the capturing team a point. If a flag carrier is killed, the flag is dropped; the flag can be picked up by a teammate to finish the capture, instantly returned to its base by a member of the flag's team, or returned after a certain interval of time. Stalemates often occur when multiple teams' flags are taken at the same time; a team's flag must be at its base to accomplish a "cap". Capture the Flag is a popular mode, with 75 percent of servers running this game type. - DeathmatchDeathmatch (gaming)Deathmatch or Player vs All is a widely-used gameplay mode integrated into many shooter and real-time strategy computer games...
(DM) - It can be played with or without teams; in both cases, players must get the highest number of kills to win. - Capture and hold (C&H) - Teams must seek out capturable bases or other assets, sometimes complete with turrets and stations, throughout the map. Points are given based on the amount of time an asset is "owned".
- Defend and destroy (D&D) - Players on a team must destroy certain items in an enemy's base before the enemy does the same to their base. Subsequent team-based First-person shooterFirst-person shooterFirst-person shooter is a video game genre that centers the gameplay on gun and projectile weapon-based combat through first-person perspective; i.e., the player experiences the action through the eyes of a protagonist. Generally speaking, the first-person shooter shares common traits with other...
games, however, did use variations of the concept (such as with Unreal TournamentUnreal TournamentUnreal Tournament is a futuristic first-person shooter video game co-developed by Epic Games and Digital Extremes. It was published in 1999 by GT Interactive. Retrospectively, the game has also been referred to as UT99 or UT Classic to differentiate it from its numbered sequels...
and its "assault" game type). Defend and Destroy is the second-most popular game type. - Find and retrieve (F&R) - A number of flags are scattered across the mission area. Team members must find and bring them back to their base. The flags can be captured from the enemy as well. The team to capture all the flags wins.
- Multiple Team: Multiple teams must fight against each other to retain control of an objective or to capture the enemies' flag.
- Open Call: Open Call isn't necessarily a game mode per se, but a collection of missions created by map makers after a contest held by Dynamix.
Each player wears either light, medium or heavy armor. Heavier armors supply larger amounts of armor, energy, and ammunition. Different armor types support different weapons and equipment; for example, only the heavy armor supports the heavy mortar but only light armor supports the sniper rifle. When damage is dealt to the player (by falling or being hurt by a weapon), armor is lost. Loss of all armor results in the player's death. After dying, the player respawns at the team's base (or somewhere in the field). Players also have an energy cell, which is drawn on for jetting, firing some kinds of weapons, and activating packs. The different armor types can be accessed at an inventory station.
There are various items of equipment usable by the players, including vehicles, eight weapons, and "Packs" which alter the abilities of the player. On some maps, bases include various defense mechanisms and other tools to assist the team: Generators, turrets, stations and sensors. Generators provide power to systems. Destroying them can disable an entire team's defense by deactivating turrets and stations. They are also among the objectives in the "Defend & Destroy" gametype. Turrets come in five varieties. They can all be destroyed by sustained fire and their shields can be drained by an ELF. Stations are where players get equipment or monitor the base. Sensors scan a radius for enemies and allow players to view troop movements in the PDA (Personal Digital Assistant
Personal digital assistant
A personal digital assistant , also known as a palmtop computer, or personal data assistant, is a mobile device that functions as a personal information manager. Current PDAs often have the ability to connect to the Internet...
). There are large and small varieties.
Weapons include the heavy mortar, sniper rifle, explosive disc launcher, short-range gatling gun, grenade launcher, blaster, plasma rifle and laser rifle. The heavy mortar is considered to be a good weapon for taking out base defenses from afar. The sniper rifle is the only hitscan
Hitscan
Hitscan is a term that is used mainly in computer games. It is a test to find out what can be hit by an in-game weapon...
weapon, with the others firing relatively slow projectiles.
The PDA is intended to provide information to commanders and give detailed information on the team's situation. Among other things, players can issue commands to teammates, view equipment status, monitor enemy activity (with sensors or hidden cameras), watch teammates in a miniature screen, and control turrets (although this must be done at a command station).
Movement
In addition to running and jumping, players are equipped with a jetpack which allows them to accelerate into the air until the armor's energy is used up. In addition to straight-line movement, the jetpack has other versatile uses. It can be used to make short hops whilst zig-zagging to make a player harder to target in open areas. An upward thrust can help the player evade oncoming enemies armed with short-range weapons.Another method of movement is known as "skiing", and relies on an exploitation of the game's physics engine. If a player taps the jump button with the correct timing whilst descending a hill, their momentum will accumulate. High speeds can be achieved this way, and if this momentum takes the player to the crest of another hill, the jetpack can be used to rapidly propel them across the map. This technique was later developed into a game feature by Dynamix for Tribes 2.
Reception
Gamespot awarded 8.6 out of 10, considering Tribes to be an almost perfect balance between gameplay, online connectivity and speedy performance. The multiplayer gameplay drew comparisons with NovaLogicNovaLogic
NovaLogic is a software developer and publisher established in 1985 and based in Calabasas, California. The company was founded by current CEO John A. Garcia....
's Delta Force, with good visuals and customizable weapon loadouts. The maps were highlighted as being wonderfully rendered, with seamless indoor-outdoor transitions. Criticisms included the difficulty in conducting long-range combat, a lack of close-combat weapons and the queues that form at weapon consoles. It was felt that Tribes would have benefited from a stronger training mode and better handling of scores and statistics.
See also
- List of free first-person shooters
- TribalwarTribalwarTribalWar, often abbreviated TW, is a general news website that originally focused on the game Starsiege: Tribes, or Tribes, a team-based online multiplayer first-person shooter, and its subsequent sequel and prequel. TribalWar was created on December 5, 1999, by Anthony "Rayn" Maio, Jon...
- Fallen Empire: LegionsFallen Empire: LegionsLegions: Overdrive, formerly Fallen Empire: Legions, was a browser-based sci-fi first-person shooter computer game by GarageGames on InstantAction. Announced officially in January 2007, Legions was being developed as a "spiritual successor" to Tribes, borrowing many gameplay elements from the series...
- PlayTribesPlayTribesPlayTribes was a planned browser-based version of Starsiege: Tribes, an online multiplayer first-person shooter developed by the now defunct Dynamix game studio in 1998 for the PC. InstantAction first announced PlayTribes in March 2009, along with their acquisition of the Tribes intellectual...
External links
- Game Archive and Review site documenting Credits, Shots and reviews- Tribes game client at Emberlink