Okay, so now I'm in the beta.
Rabbit really needs more than just two maps. Hell, in general it just needs more maps, but that will come in time (I hope).
I can see some peoples gripes with the unlocks and progression stuff. Used to be you could quick profile a slot load for a class and just swap as needed at an Inventory station.
But on the other hand, this is a little more challenging in some respects. I can't count how many times in Tribes 2 I got nailed by a super fast light with a mortar of all things.
And being able to upgrade a particular class (or transfer XP earned in one class to another to unlock stuff there, THAT is an awesome feature, let's you pre-build a class before you play it) it is relatively balanced.
Being the "new guy" I've already gone up against people who have unlocked upgrades AND classes I don't have yet, I can still hold my own (I did 3 Rabbit rounds being first to flag and never losing it. In a row)
Still getting used to the speed mechanics for skiing. It helped to realize that Jump and Jetpack are actually two different things and giving them a bind apiece helped. Can't say that I dig Toggle Ski, could be useful in some places, but I haven't gotten the hang of it yet. Note, ski into a slope up, but don't ski UP the slope, use jump hopefully before you lose too much speed and then jetpack/jump spurt to conserve forward momentum AND keep yourself from burning too much jetpack energy. Unless you're aiming for gaining air to build ski speed, but that opens you up for Sabre's.
Directional momentum in this one is a *****. Especially if you have a lot of speed going a direction and get diverted by terrain, you can burn off either a lot of energy or speed trying to correct for it. Recommendation: Don't. If the terrain allows for a relative to where you are going direction, aim for something else that you can pin-ball/jump+ski off of instead to correct your course. This will also have the benefit of throwing any target leading being done to you by your opponents.
Still haven't gone for Deathmatch or CTF yet, mostly just Roaming and a LOT of rabbit (I'm actually starting to get good at killing my pursuers, but that's not the objective!) and I have to say, Tribes 2 it is not. But I swear to christ that people that think it's CoD with Jumpjets need to be punch in places where it will REALLY hurt.
Beskargam: Thanks for the PM, but after posting my message (and before your PM) I actually got a key from an old room-mate/co-worker of mine, so you can pass that one along to somebody else, but MANY thanks for the offer!