Auto-Assault Combining all Servers into One

[PacerDawn]

I just got an email from NCsoft saying that they will be merging all Auto Assault servers into one (http://www.autoassault.com/news/2006/07/the_nexus_is_co.html) on July 13th.

One of the things that you’ve told us is that you would like to see all servers merged into one to allow more community-oriented play. Therefore, on July 13th, all existing Auto Assault® servers will merge, bringing us all together as one big, happy, warring, power-sliding, flame-throwing family.
Auto Assault is a futuristic car combat MMO which was developed by NCsoft, the creators of Lineage and City of Heroes.

Ouch. I played the beta and it seems like it's a great idea for an MMO, but I guess it just doesn't appeal to very many people.

[dimsumx]

One of the things that you’ve told us is that you would like to see all servers merged into one to allow more community-oriented play. Therefore, on July 13th, all existing Auto Assault® servers will merge, bringing us all together as one big, happy, warring, power-sliding, flame-throwing family.


...all 20 of you.

:D

[Vulture]

I played in the Beta, and tried to get them to change the game to MP I-76.

They wanted a (simpler)dumber model of play(er).


They offered my a free account on retail play (I had already preordered the game). And I still have an unopened copy since it was not worth even reregistering.


/Former Car Wars Playtester

[jacktion]

The death knell of an mmorpg. The Server Merge!
They should just cancel it now and save their money.

[Cerebus]

Ouch. I played the beta and it's seems like it's a great idea for an MMO, but I guess it just doesn't appeal to very many people.

It appealed to me, right up until I played it...

[Soap]

Less than a year out and already a server merge?

OUCH!

As an old autoduel fan, I wanted to get into this game. But after all the negative reviews I passed. Apparently it was the correct decision.

[Deadend]

The combat is really boring, in spite of being realtime and based on where you are aiming, it's still really boring.

[Heretic Machine]

Yup, this thing is dead. Soon it will join Motor City Online and Earth and Beyond in MMO heaven.

[MSUStud911]

I like how they try to spin it as something positive. Like, "Based on your feedback we're merging all of our servers. Yes, it was a huge technical struggle, but one that was well worth it to keep our many subscribers happy."

[Goronmon]

I picked up the game on a whim (ie. Digital Download). Honestly, I thought it was pretty fun at first, but for some reason I just couldn't get into it. It was fun cruising around in a car all the time though.

[PacerDawn]

Looks like NCsoft is going through a little bit of a shake-up:

http://boards.cityofheroes.com/showflat.php?Cat=&Board=info&Number=5847488&bodyprev=#Post5847488

[bapenguin]

I got a copy of this for review....I hardly could make it out of the tutorial zone. It was horrible. The world is dead. The graphics are bland. The sound is bland. The missions are bland. THe controls suck. Yeah...it's that bad.

[Murtaug]

I have a trial code for this that came with Guild Wars, I think I'll give it a spin since I cancelled WoW today.

[Demo_Boy]

Auto Assault is finially living up to its catchphrase of "Most Destructive MMO ever!!!" as its servers implode into a dwarf star due to lack of players.

[SexualChoc]

Damn, if that doesn't scream 'Failed MMO' I don't know what does. I liked the premise alot. Then I saw the gameplay. No thank you.

[Kefkataran]

I played some in the beta. Didn't think it was as bad as bap says, but just not great either. It's been struggling a TON in release too. Too bad.

[captainstrombosis]

The death knell of an mmorpg. The Server Merge!
They should just cancel it now and save their money.

In this case I agree. But normally it doesn't mean the MMO is going to die. But this soon? Absolutely.

[Wyrm]

Man, this thing tanked fast. Earth and Beyond was actually a reasonably fun game if I remember correctly. It just didnt take off as it was expected to. I thought about trying this several times, but NC Soft is merely making their strategy that they talked about very clear. IE: Try every single genre of MMO they can, find a system that works, rinse and repeat. I wouldn't be suprised if you see this happen to their next few games as well.

[nobody99]

I played this thing in one of those weekend betas they had, and actually enjoyed it enough to pre-order.

The problem with the game though is that after a few days of playing, you've pretty much done everything interesting there is to do - it just got so repetitve after a bit that I lost all interest in continuing to play. Sure, the scenery changes a bit, and the guys you get to blow up might change, but not enough to keep me sucked in.

I really wanted to like it, as it was something different in the MMO world, but I canceled before my free month was up.

[kickmybum]

I tried it, I liked it in my trial version but had other MMO's I was paying for so I couldn't afford this one. After this server merge, I may cancel one of my other games and give it a shot.

[PixelSamurai]

I tried the trial and could really only play for about 30 or 40 minutes before finally deciding to uninstall it. Everyone is right, it's pretty repetitive. I really, really wanted the ability to leave my vehicle, you know, like in the Mad Max movies.

[fitbabits]

I got a copy of this for review....I hardly could make it out of the tutorial zone. It was horrible. The world is dead. The graphics are bland. The sound is bland. The missions are bland. THe controls suck. Yeah...it's that bad.
Awesome review, bap! :D

[balamoor]

AA would have faired a lot better if the did the guild wars model. Free Online play and pay for expansions, they could have supplemented income with paid for Billboard advertising and selling Character slots and special Vehicles and Paint Schemes. I loved beta testing AA and loved my thirty days play time, sadly it just doesn’t justify a 15.00 a month bill.

[bstiff]

played this for a while in beta and it was ... ok. Funny thing was it seemed to me the physics were a bit off. Gravity felt kind of floaty like I was driving a moon buggy instead of an armored car. Did they ever get that fixed in release? If anyone is still interested in this, Best Buy has the limited edition for $19.99. I don't think there's a sale on this week. Maybe a price drop, last time I took a look it was like 39.99

[lockwoodx]

When servers merge it's the sign of a failing MMO. RIP AA.

[Adewade]

It can still survive for a few years yet, albeit perhaps with minimal support.

A good friend of mine played the beta, loved it so much he bought it the day it came out, and still plays regularly (MMO-style regularly... so... an average of a few hours every couple days). He's known as the dreaded guy with the pink motorcycle.

Being able to drive around and blow stuff up in a post-apocalyptic universe is all he could ever desire in a game.

Except vampires.

[ElPresidente]

Bap's on the money... this was a tragic awful game. I'm surprised it has lasted this long.

[Suicidal ShiZuru]

Whats wrong with the controls? Its got some problems, mainly the repetition, but Ive been playing since beta and still do. I dont play it regularly but I do enjoy it. For those who dont know you do get out of your car but its just in town. Its a hell of al ot of fun and worth at least trying.

[gawaintheblind]

I got a copy of this for review....I hardly could make it out of the tutorial zone. It was horrible. The world is dead. The graphics are bland. The sound is bland. The missions are bland. THe controls suck. Yeah...it's that bad.


Pffft. the controls were fine, sissy. The graphics are also fine, unless you play biomek in which case get used to a lot of gray and brown. The sound was mediocre, I give you that. The missions were just as bad as every other mmorpg ever.

I played this a damn lot when it came out, but as somebody else said, it gets pretty old pretty fast. My problem is that with a game that is based largely around car customization, there wasn't much car customization to be had. It was mostly like equipping your EQ avatar. I was severly disappointed that the "tricks and trims" visual modifications were limited to the point of rediculous, and all of the various vehical "bodies" you could get looked almost identical for each class. What ruined this game the most however was the class system itself. This is obviously a car game, there can be no question. So limiting people to specific types of cars and equipment based on your class was the worst possible thing they could have done. All the problems listed in my first review of the game: http://www.evilavatar.com/forums/showthread.php?t=8725 (in there somewhere) are still there, and they never changed the formula. I recently gave it another shot (before the merge) since I was so bored of Eve by then, and it was exactly the same, even though it had been months since I had played it last. Hell, some of the errors with crafting and some of the goofy world glitches were even still there. What the hell.

Its too bad. It was very close to being a great idea. I wouldn't mind seeing the same control scheme (with the "real time" firing arc attatched to the mouse) in some kind of action based space mmo maybe. Or another car mmo. It really was a good concept in the beginning.