NetDevil’s Scott Brown talks about in-game client-base voice chat in Auto Assault
By Michael Lafferty

“We realized that with the super-fast combat pacing in Auto Assault standard text chat would not work very well”

“Breaker, Breaker, what’s your 10-20?”

“Right behind ‘ya, good buddy, look to yer six.”

“Alrighty, then, looks like we got ourselves a convoy!”

Ok, pass on the CB chat, but thanks to some forward thinking, NetDevil’s latest implementation to the futuristic, post-apocalyptic, massively multiplayer online game – Auto Assault – will be to incorporate in-game chat functions (through the client) for convoys on missions.

This was actually a feature that was discussed several years back for NCsoft’s Tabula Rasa (NCsoft is the publisher of Auto Assault), but to see it implemented into this title is a very nice touch.

According to the official information about the title:

“Auto Assault™ is a massively multiplayer game where you explore a post-apocalyptic world in customized cars, motorcycles, and semis. Humans, Mutants, and Biomeks battle each other for control of the world, using tricked out vehicles as their primary weapons.  Auto Assault offers an action-packed way to play online simultaneously with thousands of others.

“Fight bandits and mutated creatures at break-neck speed! Collapse buildings, crash vehicles and destroy just about any other object you see!  Explore, pillage, and beat down opponents on your own, or join a faction and help take over as much territory as you can. Feeling the need to stand out and kick butt? Participate in arena-style combat to prove your skills and the superiority of your vehicles.

“Not only can you customize your character, you can customize the look and weaponry of your cars, motorcycles, and even big rigs! Each character can own several vehicles—and improve their cars as well as their character statistics and skills.”

To learn more about the latest addition to the title, GameZone went directly to the source – NetDevil’s very own Scott Brown, project lead and president of NetDevil.

Question: The use of voice chat within the client seems like such a simple idea and yet so few developers incorporate it in games. First, what made you think in those terms and secondly, how hard was it to implement into the client?

Scott: We realized that with the super-fast combat pacing in Auto Assault standard text chat would not work very well. Supporting voice simply seemed like the obvious answer. NCsoft was already building an in-house voice system so we simply implemented the system that they created. Auto Assault will be the first game to release using this code base, so there have been the expected bumps to iron out before we go live but we’re pretty happy with the result. It really makes playing in convoys much easier.

Q: What will players need to take advantage of this?

Scott: To listen to other players you simply need speakers and to talk all you need is a microphone as well. As long as Windows supports the device, we should support it as well. The cool thing is that our Limited Edition box, which we just recently announced, will have a headset from Creative. So, if you buy the Limited Edition box you have everything you need to have working convoy voice chat in Auto Assault!

Q: Will players have to worry about looping sounds creating feedback?

Scott: This should not be an issue, you can setup your microphone in Windows to have appropriate levels where it only picks up on your voice and not ambient room sounds like music or game sounds.

Q: Why did you limit this to convoy mode?

Scott: We thought this would be the simplest way for players to communicate via voice. If you want to talk to another player simply convoy with them and you are automatically put into a voice chat channel. If you get too many players in a chat group it is pretty difficult to control, so we thought this was the right way to start. We may add additional voice communication methods in the future depending on player feedback. But basically, we felt it was most important during convoy play to be able to coordinate attacks through voice. That makes the play experience much richer and you can still use two hands to blast your opponents!

Q: If a clan has a voice client, like Teamspeak, how will this be different or better? Would the two programs work in concert?

Scott: The two programs should work together as long as you set your push-to-talk button to different buttons for the two programs. The disadvantage of any third-party voice tool is that it is peer to peer (which could cause security problems). Our voice solution works across the board because the network traffic comes from our servers, which you can assume to be safe. If you have Auto Assault and a headset, you can convoy and talk seamlessly with little fear of security issues.

Q: Do you anticipate any delays in voice that could circumvent quick combat-driven commands, orders, or cries for help? Would server lag be an issue if a person has a slower connection?

Scott: Lag is always a concern with any online product but I would imagine that there would be no difference in the lag of text communications compared to voice as all the data is coming from the same source. Of course, with all games, the better your connection the better your play experience. But that is something that isn’t easily controlled. It has to do with all the service providers involved from customers’ computers to our servers.

Q: Auto Assault continues to evolve in new ways, creating a much more user-friendly environment. The implementation of this is yet another step. Do you have more things planned, even if you can't talk about them, to advance that experience?

Scott: Our wish list of features we want to someday add to the game is huge. We are always thinking of cool things we could add to make the game better. The UI, for example, is always being improved and will continue to be improved long after release. In relation to player communication we are adding a macro system now that will allow players to use the skill quick bar as a place to drop macros to send quick messages like “send help” or “attack my target.” Many, many more enhancements will be added after launch and beyond!

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