Tribes has had a pretty good rooting in competitive tournaments with prizes, and the newest one is no exception - as of this trailer, Hi-Res Studios confirms they'll be returning to it. There will be custom servers with competitive rulesets, cash prizes for tournaments, a spectator mode, and in-game streaming of live games. 

New loadout customization, two new maps, and a ton of new content slipped right into Tribes: Ascend when we weren't looking. The patch preview explains it all if you haven't already left to download it.

Ya-harr! Patch preview off the port bow! Tribes Ascend talks the new update and the Raider class, as well as new weapons such as the plasma gun, the cluster grenade, and the NJ5-B. 

Hi-Rez Studios now has an official launch date for Tribes: Ascend: April 12th, 2012. To celebrate, Hi-Rez has released a hilarious trailer parodying the recent Dead Island trailer that pushed so many gamers to tears.

You can check out the trailer below, and be sure to catch that look of absolute despair in the eyes of the capper (@ 0:57) as he watches a fellow player steal his flag while going at the speed of molasses.

Some big new additions have made their way into Tribes: Ascend, including the addition of badges, which are awarded as you achieve certain milestones within the game. Additionally, a new team deathmap map, Outskirts, has been added.

Two new perks have also been introduced to the game, Rage and Sonic Punch. Rage is a defensive perk that increases energy regeneration for a limited time and provides a 25% heal if you're near your flag when an enemy grabs it. Sonic Punch creates a shock wave with each melee swing that knocks back enemy players and forces flag fumbles. Time to punch your way to victory!

You can read the full patch notes here!

The fast-action shooter Tribes: Ascend is going into Open Beta this Friday, February 24th. With over 300,000 players participating in the closed beta, Hi-Rez has newly expanded capacity in North America, Europe, and Australia as well as new local servers in Brazil and Asia, which should help their growing community. Finally, before the game hits Open Beta, there will be a significant patch to include major content updates and new features.

• New gametype, Arena Deathmatch, with two initial maps.
• New Capture The Flag map, Temple Ruins.
• New Team Deathmatch map, Inferno.
• Two new unlockable items for the Soldier class' Proximity Grenade and Utility Pack.
• New default suits for Doombringer and Brute.
• Ability to view either Blood Eagle or Diamond Sword skins from Class menu.
• Service supporting Name Change.
• Large number of bug-fixes and balance adjustments.

If you are interested in trying Tribes: Ascend, as of Friday 5pm GMT anyone will be able to create and account and play by downloading the game.

Back in February, I previewed Hi-Rez Studios' Tribes: Ascend beta, and while I found the game to be a lot of fun (if at a breakneck pace), my biggest complaint was the lack of character depth and class customization.

Well, it seems like Hi-Rez is listening, because they're next update to the Tribes: Ascend beta is going to be the biggest one yet. Coming with this update are three significant feature changes:

• Players can now customize their weapon loadouts. By unlocking weapons and weapon specializations, players can now fully customize their weapons loadout to add a more personal touch to their Tribes: Ascend experience. Screenshot preview.

• Classes have been reduced from 12 to 9, players now get three classes from the start. The Pathfinder, the Soldier, and the Juggernaut will now be available to all players from the beginning, meaning new players will now have a wider range of roles to offer their team. Screenshot preview.

• The in-game UI has been significantly improved. The new UI improvements are looking miles better than Tribes: Ascend's old UI. Let's hope it's an improvement in responsiveness as well. Screenshot preview.

All in all, a very significant upgrade for Tribes: Ascend, even if it's still in closed beta testing. This is also a great sign that Hi-Rez is listening to its community. Here's to hoping that we'll see more of this in the future!

*WARNING* If you're no good at Tribes and you don't like feeling inadequate, then I'd highly advise you don't watch the latest Tribes Ascend trailer. Filled to the brim with action and some crazy mid-air shots, this new trailer will have you feeling unworthy in no time.

On the bright side, however, it's a great indication of what sort of potential Tribes Ascend has as a high-skill competitive FPS, so alongside the release of their new trailer, Hi-Rez Studios has also announced that the eSports league NASL (North American Star League) will be featured throughout their third season as a Promotional Title. One of the highest skill-based shooters around getting into eSports early? Smart!

Check out the trailer below for some great gameplay footage and shots from Tribes Ascend.

When it comes to Tribes, there are two camps of people: those who reminisce fondly about playing thousands of hours of Tribes 1 & 2, and those who sit at the feet of our nostalgic brethren, prodding them to tell us more. I've only played twenty minutes of Tribes 2 - offline, by myself, when I was 13 years old - but because I've constantly heard how incredible Tribes was, I've probably been afflicted with some sort of contact nostalgia. Maybe one day I'll look back and think that those were the best twenty minutes of my FPS career. Maybe.

Regardless if you liked Tribes or not, there is no denying that those older games had a vision and flavor that modern FPSes haven't even come close to touching. Perhaps the closest current-gen comparison would be Global Agenda, also created by Hi-Rez Studios, but the similarities pretty much end after jetpacks and objective-based gameplay. Still, as a huge fan of Global Agenda (5 stars across all classes!), I was eagerly looking forward to Tribes: Ascend, if just to catch up on memories I didn't really have.

Hi-Rez Studios just announced that the Tribes: Ascend beta will begin on November 4. If you'd like to watch the days, hours, minutes and seconds tick away, you can keep track of the beta launch using the countdown clock on the official site. You can also head over there to register for the beta.

While Tribes: Ascend will be free-to-play, you can get guaranteed beta access by pre-ordering the game for $29.99. That price tag will also get you VIP Status, 800 Tribes Gold and a 30-day booster.