Tribes2 / Legends

Well, finally got a release of the BTMappack out for Tribes 2. Quite a bit of work involved but its out the door in its first beta version.

As I have slowly become reacquainted with Tribes 2 the more I find myself amazed at how really....I mean REALLY bad it is in comparison to Legends.

Physics:

First off the player physics are absolutely horrid. There was a period in Legends I think of as the "cinderblock physics" period. At that point in time the Legends Dev Team was experimenting with making the player physics slower and less responsive. It was really horrible and everytime I played the game during that period all I could think of in my mind was I was slightly in control, only slightly, of a "cinderblock" with an M80 strapped to it. Tribes 2 feels like that.....only worse. At this point in time, while the physics in Legends aren't perfect they feel so much more....sophisticated than Tribes 2 and make the settings in Tribes 2 feel like its a broken down junker chevy with bald tires next to Legends Ferrari.

Weapons:

Grenade Launcher

The GL in Tribes 2 is about the most ridiculously overpowered weapon I have ever seen. The one in Legends used to be something like this one, fires too fast, too far, no bounce and excessive splash damage. They finally toned it down in Legends a release or two back. Now it makes the joke of one in Tribes 2 REALLY look bad.

The Ion/Chaingun

In Legends this weapon is called an Ion Gun, it Tribes 2 its a chaingun. Both are pretty bad but the one in Tribes 2.....can you say "overpowered"? I knew you could....each and every time some moron blows you away from a zillion meters by simply spraying the thing in your general direction.

The "Mine Disk"

It never ceases to amaze me that this worthless piece of crap idea was allowed in either game. Talk about your lamer tactic as well as your lazy ass developers. First mines don't "fly". They aren't "skeet" that you can toss out and shoot for easy kills and double damage to the poor schmuck stuck dealing with the incredibly shitty physics in Tribes 2. Its become a cliche in Tribes 2. Enter a game, non stop MDing the entire time. Seriously needs to be eradicated....forever.

The Sniper Rifle

Both games make the Sniper Rifle (Rail Gun) dependent upon energy. In Legends the player on the move has at least a small chance of avoiding it because the physics are much better. In Tribes the player is nothing short of a sitting duck for stationary snipers. The player is moving so incredibly slow and with such lack of control they are easy cheesy targets for the no talent lamer standing off on a hill somewhere. Its poorly thought out in Legends but, in Tribes 2, its an absolute joke.

Lighting

Perhaps Legends is just benefiting from a newer engine but after working with both games now on a fair number of maps I can say with all confidence that the lighting in Tribes 2 is abysmal. Legends looks a LOT better in this area. Lighting direction actually....wait for it.....WORKS! (gasp!)

I could go on. Maybe some other time. In short I am constantly amazed that Legends has been so overlooked for so long by the so called "Tribes community". Yes, it is missing some features....but not that many nor are they all that critical to actual quality of play. In fact, underneath it all Legends is a much better designed and more playable game than Tribes 2 has EVER been. Given the fact that much of the maps and other material could have been easily moved over from Tribes 2 to Legends I would have to say the "Tribes community" really screwed the pooch on this one.