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Might I suggest, at least in the future as a patch, a system to ensure modded games mesh correctly online? My favoritism architecture is an addon folder system combined with a local files cache. So you join a server and it sends all the 'client' and 'shared' files in the compressed cached form to the user (keeping the 'server' files for itself). I like this because it is basically an extension of the way we mod BZ2, tying in preventative measures for 'bad asset' errors. (This is a complicated system I think, so it would NOT be anything in the release of a game not designed with this as a critical component in the first place, like Gmod.)

I might sign up for that Steam beta key... If I find I have to time to seriously test the game out for you. Actually my brother has a lot more time for games and he has a similar type of game already (heavily outdated, more DM, less fun looking) and seems to like it. He may be interested.

We're actually looking for people to come in and fill out the servers and stress test the game more than heavy feedback, so don't feel obligated to sit down and "work" on it.  Just go in and have fun.  If you have time to leave some 'general impressions' feedback, then all the better!

Do you know how open the game will be to modding?  The ability for players to add new content can really extend the lifetime of the game's community.

Yeah, we are running a souped up version of the Tribes2 engine, so modding is a possibility in the future.

Hey guys, yeah I worked at Dynamix on Tribes 2, not Starseige though.  There was an overlap in the dev teams so I got to work with some of the Starseige guys.  All great people.  My business partner, Weston worked on the original Tribes before moving on to LucasArts in the 90's.

I moved to Eugene because Tribes was my favorite game at the time and I had the opportunity to be on the team.  Stellar 7 was way before me, but I played it growing up and was part of the reason that I was excited to work at Dynamix - along with all the other great games they made that I played growing up.  I later met Damon - he's got his own studio now - http://www.madottergames.com.  Nice guy.

Thanks for the kind words, we've got some interesting design choices, and the game runs on rigs that are 4-5 years old, so you should check it out if you are interested.

Sign up for our forums and you can get a beta key for Steam to play the game!
http://www.blackjacketstudios.com/forum

Metal Drift has no deathmatch.  It is team based, the gametype is sort of like mechanized soccer.  You take the ball to the other team's goal to score.  It's a simple gametype, but it's enough to focus the players and spin off strategies like coordinating defense, playing zones, etc.

The upgrades for the tanks also allow the player to take on various roles - stealth, repair, extra speed, armor, hyperspace, etc.

We have several maps that have a second level that you can drive up with bridges over the bottom level.  Usually the ball spawns on the bottom level and the team has to move the ball to the upper level to score.  We also have boost tunnels around the outside of the level to provide alternate routes into the other team's base.

I can see where you would get the impression that it's a mindless deathmatch from the short video.  We'll have to try and do a better job on the next one.

There is strategy, as there is strategy in any sports game, but yeah, it's not structured like an RTS.

I apologize ahead if promoting a game is against the rules, I didn't see anything about it so here goes.

We're a tiny little indie company making a game called 'Metal Drift' - it's a team-based online futuristic arena combat hovertank game.  I haven't played BZ, although I do remember it back in the 90's around the time I was working at Dynamix on Tribes 2.  People tell us our game reminds them of BZ all the time, so I thought I'd let you guys know about it.

We were "featured" on rockpapershotgun a couple weeks ago, here's the link with some videos:
http://www.rockpapershotgun.com/2009/05/20/drift-to-experience-metal-drift/

The game page is here if you want to check out some screenshots: http://www.metaldrift.com

If you are interested in joining the beta on Steam, sign up here:
http://www.blackjacketstudios.com/forum/


Thanks!

-Brian