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Auto Assault's Vehicular MMO Mayhem Probed
Thanks to Gamebunny for its interview with Ryan Seabury of Auto Assault developers NetDevil, regarding the PC MMO "set in a post-apocalyptic future" which "combines vehicular combat with role-playing elements." Seabury discusses what the E3 audience enjoyed the most about the game (apparently, "everyone loved the Biomech 'Hazard Mode' (transforming into a hulking Mech and laying waste to the immediate vicinity)"), and also deflects comparisons to EA's already defunct vehicular MMO, Motor City Online: "From what I understand, we're about as different to MCO as, say... Grand Theft Auto is to Gran Turismo. Auto Assault is by no means a simulator. Our focus is squarely on over-the-top vehicular combat and mayhem... and action-oriented play style, with character development behind the vehicles."
Sounds like someones been watching a little too much Mad Max.
stuff
What's an MMO? I knwo MMORPG is massively multiplayer online role playing game. So what is an "massively multiplayer online"? Or is someone just too lazy to at the "G" for "game"?
and let it be good.
makes me want to dig out the interstate 76 and 82 again..
street rod style tuning AND guns..
motor city online kind of blowed.. it wasn't very immersive. no driving around the world flashing headlights to challange people... and I didn't particularly like the driving model either(and some of the parts were exchangeable with each other when it made nosense, some pistons & stuff).
give me street rod mmo mixed with gta style driving around a humongous city..
world was created 5 seconds before this post as it is.
Reminds me of Carmageddon with impressive graphics and no blood. :/
WHERE ARE THE ZOMBIES!? We need zombies.
- shazow
It's a shame Sony cancelled it. The reason, ostensably, was MCO was such a dog that retailers wouldn't stock an online driving game.
How long do you think it will take before NetDevil gets sued for real life violence ? One idiot that goes postal on the freeway will be found that contemplated playing this game, the media will pick it up, and bamf ! Pure insanity.
Hell, reporters will probably be dropping this game's name into any video game discussion 10 years from now. "...including such violent video games as 'Auto Assault' or 'Doom'..."
--LordPixie
Ugh, it seems like everyone is riding the MMO bandwagon now. We don't need more MMOs out! We need better quality, or things that are new and origonal. This at least isn't like all the other EverQuest clones. I hope it does well for itself, or at least helps to get the creative juices pumping for other companies. MMOs are quickly becomming a dying trend. I know personally I wouldn't buy most games out these days, especially one I had to pay an extra fee per month for.
--untwisted
This looks like an online version of Car Wars. Which was a fantastic game on paper, I hope it's done justice online.
I'd like to see something along the lines of a MMO Project Gotham Racing/Need For Speed: Underground. Drive around the city, race other players at stoplights and through traffic. Instead of guilds, you could have racing crews and I suspect there could be some intense rivalries.
Midnight Club 2 online was similar to this, but I'd like a persistent world.
I'm on top of my game like I'm standin' on Xbox.
I won't argue that GTA provides a much more realistic depiction of violence. But games seem more likely to be protrayed as 'evil' when they have a multiplayer facet. Killing animated pixels on your monitor is one thing, but when those are representations of another real person... IMO, most games often touted as violent involve a multiplayer aspect. Doom, Quake, etc. And other MMOG's such as EQ seem to be getting a similar 'bad' wrap in general.
--LordPixie
I am surprised no one got a license from Steve Jackson. They have plenty of content from there RPG back in the day. I loved the game but found having to use all those 15-90 degree cutout tiresome. First Warhammer 40K and now this. A nerds dream come true.
Anyone else remember the old Autoduel game from Origin Systems? That always seemed like it would make a nice base for a multiplayer version.
Tournaments divided into different weight/price classes, missions where you could possibly be interfered with by other players (it could even be their mission to stop you), salvage scrap from your victims for cash or parts...
I'd prefer the older rules though, circa Car Wars Deluxe; it looks like they've dumbed it down a bit lately to keep the rules simpler and quicker to play, but of course computers would have no problem with the original complexity.
...if you talk to any developer who has tried to work with Steve Jackson they'll all say relatively similar things:
1) Sure, he's brilliant.
2) He's also Crazy Paranoid.
3) Oh, and he wants gajillions of dollars for licensing a franchise that can be cloned with little to no effort.
I love Steve Jackson Games...Absolutely Love Them.
But Mr. Jackson himself is a bit of an extreme eccentric and that usually doesn't lend itself well to deal making.
"I ain't got no flyin' shoes."
but they don't think that way. They're also the producers of little-heard-of JumpGate. That's the last of the Wing-Commander/Freespace style games still alive, and the only one that went MMORPG while not being point-and-click.
If you care, http://www.jossh.com has info and a demo download.
*Disclosure: I am (as is likely obvious) a player of JumpGate. I am not affilliated with NetDevil in any way. I am, sadly, hoping to be responsible for the jossh server melting down moments from now.
"Oh no... he found the
Yep AutoAssault looks like a decent game, and kick ass graphics. While Jumpgate may not have the best graphics around, it has a community that is quite frankly, one of the best I have seen. If you liked Wing Commander, you will love Jumpgate. Especially Gm's Istvan and Josh! For all the work they have put into it. And yes I am also a JG addict. But I don't go to meetings, as it would eat into my JG time. http://www.themis-group.com/jg/
And the Autobots will rule
[gamepimp]
NetDevil is indeed the publisher of Jumpgate, the one and only *persistent world* MMORPG... spaceflight/combat simulator.
But I digress.
The developers at NetDevil are, quite possibly, the coolest bunch of dudes that own a game company there is.
See, in Jumpgate, the developers from NetDevil have not only listened to their players (we have had major game changes implemented following player-initiated ideas), they CARE about their players. In this map HERE, you can see many "sectors" named after famous/dedicated players and/or squads.
"Lothars Landing", a station in the game, is named after one of the original players, who did a LOT to advance the game in early beta. "Klatches' Hold" is named after the giant of Jumpgate fan sites, Gossip, who also happens to be the author of GLUE, a soapbox engine for blogs/discussion sites.
That's just a couple examples. Another is, they named a sector after a player's child that died in a tragic housefire. ("The Chase")
AA, like their first title, should be a great, original game, with tons of potential.
[/gamepimpoff]
Expect to see more of the same in AutoAssault - both in originality, developer understanding, and support of their playerbase.
I don't work for NetDevil, either, but those of us that have been around them for a while (especially us beta testers)can tell you - they're a great bunch of guys to buy from.
I think it'll most definitely be worth checking out. They have a history of being creative, going against the flow of "popular gaming conventions", and trying to do the best by their players. Do yourself a favor, and keep an eye on these guys.
Ignoratio Elenchi - Non Causa, ProCausa - Tu Quoque
Did anyone else who read that article think that: 1. This was an RPG 2. It involved Cars 3. Was an RPG about Cars? come to the conclusion that you could play a CAR in an RPG?!? Imagine being KITT or SHELBY instead of a person? Why not! It's never been done before!
Wheel of Time: Book by Book and Sumview (summary review) Bigdady92 style: http://bigdady92.blogspot.com/
Spell cheek you've failed me four the last thyme!