Hello my name is Matt McDanel and I would like to take just a small second to thank you for doing this interview with us.

1. So first would you mind telling us a little bit about the story of Auto Assault?

Auto Assault takes place in a post-apocalyptic Earth setting. An alien craft crashes into the Earth releasing a contaminant that begins to mutate all life on the planet. Contaminated people are put into quarantine and left to die as the mutation spreads. Some people survive this mutation and begin to gain new abilities because of it; they then use these abilities to fight back. Humanity develops the first of its bionic military to fight back against this new mutant threat and the first of the Biomeks are created. The fighting escalates as the mutation spreads and eventually the remaining Humans in power decide that the only answer left is to start all over, so they head underground and release their entire nuclear and biological arsenal on the world, leaving their newly built Biomek army behind to die with the Mutants. A few hundred years pass and the Humans re-emerge expecting to find a healed and cleansed world, only to find that some of the Mutants and Biomeks survived. Now, as a player, you have to choose which of the three factions you will fight for – Human, Mutant or Biomek, as they struggle to retake Earth.

2. As we understand, most of the premise of the game is kept under wraps, but can you tell us about the kind of game play we can expect in Auto Assault? Is this just Everquest in cars or is it more than that? And is it more based on racing, or leveling up or something completely different?

Auto Assault is an action RPG. The player owns many different vehicles which you arm to the teeth and lay waste to the world. The pacing of the game is very fast, requiring you to fight several enemies at once while driving, jumping and smashing through the environment - thanks to our implementation of physics into both the clients and the server. The player’s character has experience and when you level you can spend points on both attributes and skills improving RPG-types of actions like your chance to hit. When in combat, you have what we call TacArcs – a triangular wedge that represents the range and angle of fire for each of your weapons. A dice roll based on the attributes of you and your enemy determines if you hit, but a skilled player – the one who does most damage - will be the one who can keep multiple TacArcs positioned on an enemy.

3. The game seems interesting, but what kind of gaming needs will be met during playing? Will Auto Assault be based more towards solo players, groups or PVP, and if so can you tell us a little bit how each of these styles of play are being catered to?

Auto Assault has been designed both for the solo player and the group player. We have made sure that the majority of missions in the game can be completed solo if the player desires. We have also been working hard to make sure that finding and joining a group is easier than ever before.

Auto Assault features PvE and PvP game play. Players can spend time growing their character in arenas or by completing missions, whichever is more attractive to them.

4. Now are there lots of different quests in Auto Assault, and will any of them be in instanced zones?

We feature many instanced zones for either the individual or the group (called ‘convoys’ in Auto Assault) to play in their own instance of the game. This allows for more scripted types of game play to let us really show off what the game can do. Something that is unique to Auto Assault is that when a player returns to an instanced zone they’ve been to before, they will find the map has changed to reflect their earlier accomplishments; for example, if you destroyed an enemy base and then got a new mission to help rebuild it for your own faction, you’ll return to find it as you left it – a smouldering pile of rubble. This gives players a way to feel that they are changing and affecting the world.

5. How many different “vehicles� do you think will be in Auto Assault at launch, and are they all customizable with different armors and weapons?

Players will have a large variety of vehicles, or chassis, to choose from and will have the opportunity to own multiple vehicles to use for many different purposes, including motorcycles, vans, semis and even tanks. All vehicles are customizable both in look and combat abilities.

6. I am curious how far along in development you are and when we can see a beta come around? When you guys are planning to launch at this current time?

We are at the point where the game includes all the features we have planned for release. Between now and our launch sometime in the second half of 2005, we will be polishing the features that are there, adding lots of content in terms of maps, missions and objects, and making changes based on feedback. Beta registration is underway – you can sign up at http://www.plaync.com/aa_beta.html - and we plan to send out loads of invitations to testers in the coming months.

7. Will there be any game play outside of your vehicle, and if so can you explain it a little bit?

You are on foot in towns and a few other mission maps. We made the decision early on to focus the game on car combat. When you see the rate at which infantry dies at the bumper of your car, you will understand why you would never want to be on foot anywhere near another vehicle. While in town, you can get missions, go to the various stores, go to the crafting stations, enter the arenas, work on your car, etc. Towns offer players a respite from the intense action found out on the highways and a safe place to congregate and socialize.

8. As has been expressed in several previews, people feel this game may lack depth, as many games have in the past. How do you guys plan on bringing more depth to Auto Assault to keep it interesting and offer gameplay for months?

Auto Assault is a very mission-centric game. We have a really cool story to tell and players should get a sense of the depth of what we are creating as they play the game. In addition to the hand-crafted content of the missions, players can engage in PvP for control of the world, improve their ranking in organized arena battles or continue to collect loot to trick out any of their vehicles in a very specific way. One of the terrific benefits of an MMO, in contrast to stand-alone games, is that we can (and will) continue to expand the content and storyline post-launch. NetDevil and NCsoft are committed to making Auto Assault an ever-growing game world that players can enjoy for years to come.

9. What are you doing to appeal to the hardcore gamer? What features have you put in to the game that will keep the hardcore players coming back for more?

Hardcore gamers will really enjoy all the things they have never been able to do before in an MMO. There is driving, and learning to master all the different driving models in the game like sports cars, SUVs, motorcycles, big rigs and tanks. The physics engine allows players to destroy practically everything in the world. We feel that one of the biggest attractions will be the cross-server arena system that gives players the opportunity to see where they rank against other players throughout the entire Auto Assault world and compete both individually and as teams for PvP dominance.

10. If there’s one feature you think makes Auto Assault stand out from any MMORPG on the market what do you feel that is?

The biggest difference, aside from the obvious things like the vehicular combat and post-apocalyptic world, is the ability to blow things up. Having destructible environments really improves immersion and the level of interaction with our game world. Once you play a game where your weapons actually affect both enemies and the environment, it will be hard for players to accept anything else.

11. Just to keep things fresh on our site and on our interview we thought we would ask you if you would tell us a little bit about the game play, development, graphics, anything! One thing. That you have not mentioned in any interview anywhere else.

While we can’t go into too much detail about it at this time, plans are well underway for our upcoming pre-sale program. We have some amazing treats in store for those who order early, so keep an eye out for more information about it as we get closer to May.

Thank you a whole lot for answering our interview and I can’t wait for the launch of Auto Assault!

Below please take a look at these exclusive AutoAssault screenshots for Onrpg!