The Basics

Combat Tactics

“If you think combat is as easy as drivin’ straight at your opponent and pulling the trigger, don’t you think we would’ve won the war already?”

This is generally the most common adage Human freelancers hear when they attempt to pass the first of many combat tactics courses. Frequently many experienced warriors and battle-hardened veterans reported that newcomers rushed headlong into battle, paying little attention to the surrounding terrain, local environmental conditions, or the availability of allies nearby. These newcomers had very little knowledge about the enemies they faced, especially their tendencies or vulnerabilities. They even under-utilized their own specialized skills and abilities in combat.

Many of the factions in the Central Wastelands exhibit different tendencies and varied methods of conducting combat. Some groups appear to use high-grade weaponry, discovered either from ancient military bases as The Corps have done, or through a long-term research and construction process developed by the TemperNet AIs. Other factions, like the Pikes, use whatever resources they can from their scavenging.

For instance, a Pike armament generally consists of mining tools that double as melee weapons as well as simple projectile weapons. However, observers note that Pikes also frequently carry boxes or other containers filled with explosives. Instead of engaging an entire pack of dangerous Pikes, a driver may consider targeting the ones with the explosives instead (and maintain a fair distance away from them while doing so). Some enemies may be particularly resistant towards some forms of damage – these resistances show up as symbols on the driver’s head’s up display (HUD). The driver can then easily swap out chassis weapons for a more effective attack, concentrating on the enemy’s weakness.

Drivers must also make optimal use of their specialized skills and hardware. Gadgets and other devices can greatly increase their abilities in combat; some effects from easily crafted items can last for a half-hour or more. Those in the leadership positions have specific abilities geared towards making groups more tactically powerful and should not be ignored when training opportunities come along. A leader can make all the difference in a convoy winning a pitched battle and having to call on INC yet again for a pickup.

Armor

Throughout the history of warfare the technological development of better forms of protection and ways of survival always follows the development of new weapon systems and methods of destruction. For instance, one side develops a new weapon and after an initial period of adjustment, the opponent fields a way of protecting against it. The new weapon proliferates to all sides and eventually the protection does as well, so the cycle begins anew. In the Central Wastelands, little of this process has changed.

In the wild and very deadly battles in the wastelands, a chassis’ armor protection is one of the most vital elements of survival. Aside from the varied set of skills the driver may possess, the armor is the strongest, most dependable line of defense for a chassis. Properly maintained, chassis armor doesn’t lose its protective qualities after a short period of time, nor does it wear out. In fact, one can generally improve their armor generally by the use of gadgets or other enhancements, far beyond their original manufactured capability. Certain kinds of armor can even protect against particular forms of attack better than other armor types.

Armor comes in many forms and shapes; some types are common across all factions and races, but represent the most basic kinds of protection: steel welded plating, battle plastics, and so forth. Given their diversity, however, the three races have developed their own unique forms of protection. Human defensive systems usually consist of high-energy shielding concepts, a specialty amongst Humans. Biomeks derive their armor from nanotechnology and possess some of the most hardened yet amazingly light materials on the planet. Mutants use a variety of classic armor types infused with Blood to form a unique armor system, utilizing the capacities of Contamination to the fullest.

Skills

“Force has no place where there is need of skill.”

According to old world lore, an ancient historian spoke of the need for the use of skill where brute force was not the appropriate answer.

Those that venture into the Central Wastelands face a unique series of challenges as they battle for survival. While they have access to all sorts of equipment and vehicles, high-tech power plants, advanced weaponry, convoy tactics, and hazard mode kits will only take a driver so far in the post-Apocalyptic world. At some point, a driver’s specialized skills and abilities can mean the difference between coming away intact with the loot and having to call up INC for yet another AirLift retrieval.

Specifically a driver’s abilities are dependent on race and class specialization. Each of the three races has their own set of unique abilities and capabilities. Some of these skills are taught to the novices and beginners, those that would venture into the wastelands for the first time. These skills represent great potential which only increases through time and experience; one would periodically be able to learn new skills as well. After some time one can become quite advanced, able to utilize a wide assortment of abilities and commands.

Exactly what these abilities are and what they can do is highly variable. Those schooled in the leadership positions have a number of skills geared towards helping teams of drivers, as well as command over a number of allies (infantry units, robots, animal life, etc.) for short periods. Those trained to construction and demolition can learn various battlefield repair skills, and can make the most out of just scrap wreckage out in the wastelands. The fighters or warrior classes have a variety of combat abilities, and those that lean towards reconnaissance and scouting may learn stealth and combat avoidance tactics.

Finally, drivers should note that the three races do not have matching skills generally; given their philosophies and hatred towards one another, they have very different methods of inner development and schools of thought. Human skills, for instance, frequently fall into the unique technologies they have developed, as well as powerful mental capabilities for the specially trained. Biomeks rely almost entirely on their full-size robotic and nanite (nano-sized machine), as well as viral, technologies. Mutant abilities stem from their relationship with the Contamination and the strange energy contained within.

Communication

Survival in the Central Wastelands depends on many things: battle-honed skills, powerful armament, a working vehicle, and commitment to the mission. Some prefer to venture alone, the so-called “lone wolf,” where it is just oneself against whatever Fate throws at one. Others ride in loosely oriented pick-up groups, called Convoys, for mutual protection and offensive capability. Some take these Convoys even further, and create Clans – affiliated individuals who regularly use teamwork and cooperation for a common purpose. Despite these varying levels of participation out in the Central Wastelands, communication has always been the key unifying element for drivers of all types, all classes.

Because of the wide open, oft-uninhabited (by humanoids) vastness of the Central Wastelands, powerful wi-fi broadcasts are the most common form of communication. Most vehicles are fitted with strong radio wave transceivers, able to transmit and receive multiple simultaneous text messaging channels using a broad spectrum of frequencies. These channels are organized depending on subject matter: for instance, there is a general chatter channel, a trade/for sale-oriented channel, an open channel for those looking to Convoy, and so forth.

Vehicle transceivers are also universally equipped to handle tight, narrow-band encrypted transmissions across the wastelands. This allows drivers to communicate one-on-one with each other privately on a secure channel. Convoys and Clans can use shared – but still private – frequencies for group comms, including automated voice channels for Convoys. These easy-to-use communication systems are standard in all vehicles across the wastelands.

Loot

Often in the Central Wastelands the best way to obtain necessities is to acquire them by force. Because resources are so scarce, drivers must exploit whatever they can find – salvaged materials, people, even garbage. These resources can be the goal of a dangerous mission, the remains of a destroyed opponent, or even a stolen item. Once acquired, this “loot” can be safely stored in storage lockers or sold in cities through a variety of vendors – and those trained in the crafting process can choose to refine them into better materials, as well as use them to build unique pieces of equipment. Many enemies in the wastelands also happen to carry hard currency or an equivalent, making their demise all the more profitable.

Unfortunately, most of the enemies and contaminated creatures that populate the Central Wastelands are understandably reluctant to give up their property without a serious fight. This is why many vehicles cruising down the highways bristle with both offensive weapons and a variety of defensive measures. Opposing vehicles usually carry more interesting items than standard currency, but destruction of these vehicles is required before acquiring anything of value. Vehicles aren't the only place to look for loot - various types of infantry must carry their items and currency, and are valid targets of opportunity at any time (although the large groups of advanced infantry can be extremely dangerous).

Of course, there are plenty of other ways to acquire items without attacking something that happens to be speeding toward (or away) from you. The various materials that make up the many buildings and structures in the wastelands can also provide value and help pad one's pocketbook. Once destroyed, scanning the remains for retrieval will be easy for an expert driver. In a similar vein, drivers may refine their targeting skills on semi-intelligent animals and plant life in the area, immediately harvest the remains and other salvageable items – and then decide whether to keep the spoils, or exchange them for currency. Certain classes are also able to use their skills to mine otherwise useless rubble for valuable resources.

Traders have often remarked about the sheer variety of items and useful pieces of equipment found in the Central Wastelands, whether from the ruins of an ancient pre-apocalyptic city, deep in the stomach of a particularly nasty Crawler, or strewn from the wreckage of a Pike Duster. In fact, the wide assortment of resources, weapons, components, and other materials available for exploitation in the Central Wastelands theoretically approaches infinity. A Loot research study funded by Sledge's Stop ‘n Shop in Scrap Valley estimates that there are billions of unique objects in the Central Wastelands alone. Although most items are quite common – it is not unknown to come across an extremely rare, valuable find.

Where does the variation come from? Research from the study (now known as the Loot Study) indicated that the vast array of unique items stems from a near infinite variation of the more common objects used in the Central Wastelands. Take, for example, an everyday weapon, like the autocannon. Because so many variations are present in the construction (or reconstruction) of a particular item, uniqueness is nearly guaranteed. The way the weapon was built (including the experience of the crafter, quality of resources, and so forth) and the different features it possesses (the range of the weapon, the firing arc, heat dissipation capability, etc.) combine to make the item truly unique. This means that while all autocannons may look alike on the outside, they're very different on the inside – which unsuspecting opponents will be quick to discover. This applies to a wide range of common items – vehicle powerplants, weapons, armor plating, even hood ornaments.

Often items looted in the Central Wastelands are nonfunctional or broken. Instead of being useless, resourceful individuals can salvage and repair the item to a level that far surpassed the original quality and construction. Crafters can even deconstruct or reverse engineer functional items into their original components - then rebuild the item using better components. Some items (broken and repaired) can achieve further improvement through the use of enhancements or gadgets, which can greatly increase the capabilities of the item as well as improve the skills of the driver. The crafter may personalize the item for custom use, sell it, distribute it in the growing marketplace, or otherwise discard it. According to the Loot Study, this constant process of constructing, reconstructing and refining objects lends to the unparalleled variety of items available to denizens of the Central Wastelands.

World Map

The Central Wastelands is a very dangerous place to get lost. Hundreds of square miles are filled with Contaminated ecology, teeming with all sorts of dangerous creatures. Humans, Biomeks, and Mutants occupy various strategic locations surrounding the blasted desert of Ground Zero , linked by a crisscrossed network of ancient multi-lane highways. Other factions of various types also inhabit this area – Pikes, Thugz, TemperNet drones – this world is not a place to lose your way.

Thankfully enough, all drivers are equipped with an interactive global map system, which is provided to the three races as a part of INC's services. These aren't full maps in the sense that one can see everything that is out there – while the general locations of areas and sectors of interest are shown, detailed maps are only available for the terrain surrounding the regions drivers have already visited. This way, drivers aren't confused by terrain they have yet to discover, and can rely on known landmarks to navigate. INC also uses this method to distinguish where it can transport specific drivers. The global map system also helps INC predict flight patterns for their airlifts - when drivers stray into an area they shouldn't be driving through, INC will likely be stopping by shortly to pick up a wreck.

A tactical map is also available for a more localized area (inside a large city or local sector), so the driver can quickly navigate toward city zones, repair areas, and so forth. Inside cities, vendors and important members of society are featured on the map, as well as the OCD Arena representatives and other merchants.

Missions

Despite the fact they reside in the chaotic Central Wastelands, the three races utilize structure in their societies; every member is an important fixture to the race, every action a definitive step towards their ultimate goal. Of course, only a few have the power to command; many are meant to serve. This duty often falls to the many drivers who frequent the highways, Contaminated zones and other wreckages of former society.

These tasks or missions are not just random assignments handed down by some higher order. Missions are specific assignments, doled out by people of importance, and the complexity of these tasks is based on the driver's experience and specialty. Some may seem trivial; others are rites of passage. One mission may ask a driver to retrieve various resources from an area in the Wastelands, others request that you wipe out a certain troublemaker hideout. A few missions may require a visit to distant, isolated areas populated by extremely powerful opponents.

All a driver has to do is visit one of their leaders, colleagues, or other compatriots inside towns and cities and see which have missions available. Other personages are located in areas outside the wastelands, and drivers can even gain missions from consoles and other remote sources. The rewards can be great. Aside from the loot gathered during the course of the mission, a driver can reap cash rewards as well as weapons, hazard kits, and the ability to hone skills as benefits.

Currency

As the world plummeted to chaos, the various monetary systems that fueled national economies crumbled as quickly as the countries that used them. Then came the Genesis Solution, which made any semblance of currency obsolete.

However, the wasteland survivors continued to hoard bits and pieces of their past, and fights over old-world remnants were not uncommon. Over time, these things acquired value in the minds of the survivors of the apocalypse, and INC helped standardize the currency trade by accepting the items in exchange for various services such as storage facilities and airlifts. Hence the new post-apocalyptic currency system was born.

Clink is the lowest common denomination of this system, and is generally composed of any old world coin denomination or other common but valuable objects. It is also called coins, change, or rounders. Scrip is the next tier and usually takes the form of old world paper money. One thousand clink make up one scrip. The bar is the next tier of money, where it represents one kilo of pure refined metal. One thousand scrip equals one bar. The highest tier of money is the globe, a small glowing ball that is rare and found in severely Contaminated areas. They are also known as glows, sparks, or marbles. One thousand bars equal one globe.

Arenas

Even in the wild, chaotic Central Wastelands, the three rival races on occasion vie with each other and themselves in less... hazardous forms of antagonism. This is not to say these gatherings and mutual battles are not dangerous – far from it – but they take place in a stricter, more controlled environment. Marshalling the ancient human trait of competition, Humans, Mutants, and even Biomeks find time to participate in these ranked battles on a daily occurrence.

Organized by a joint contract between the Organization for Combat Driving (OCD) and INC, these arena competitions take place in remote, secret locations to ensure neutrality and "fair" competition. Only OCD and INC representatives know the locations of the large, enclosed arenas. OCD maintains the facilities, recruits potential opponents, organizes the ranking and scoring systems, and oversees the battles. INC provides safe transportation of vehicles from the cities to the clandestine battle locations, as well as fast no-frills vehicle recovery inside the arena proper. All the drivers have to do is show up to their local OCD representative in the capital, sign up, arrange a battle or participate in one already set up by other drivers or OCD. Clan participation is encouraged.

OCD currently sanctions battles between teams of drivers. As this format can be very open, drivers may find themselves competing against their own race. Drivers score by destroying other vehicles – the side with the highest score wins. To spruce things up, random devices that vastly improve a particular trait or characteristic for short periods frequently populate arenas. For example, many arenas provide a device that can instantly repair a vehicle. Other devices may give a tremendous power surge, allowing weapons to deal more damage. However, the success of a team in the arenas will be largely determined by skill and teamwork, not by luck.

Currently, there are these match types available:

• Instant Action - You can join other players that are waiting for Instant Action with this option and it will only match you up with people +/- three levels from you to make it a fair match. Talk to the OCD Representative in your faction's town (Tocado, Upside or Fort Logan ) then click on "Instant Action" and you'll be put into the queue waiting for the next match to start.
• Tourney - This is a special arena that may only be started by an official Auto Assault Game Master. Tournaments allow players to fight in a Ladder match, pairing people off until someone is found as the winner. You will fight back-to-back matches after the tournament begins. The winner can get a variety of rewards. To join, talk to the OCD Representative in your faction's town (Tocado, Upside or Fort Logan ). Click the "Tournaments" button. Select the tournament that you want to join. Click the "Join" button. Wait for the GM to start the tournament. Continue fighting matches until you win or lose!
• Advanced - Clicking on this will let you select from a more narrow field of arena battles. Here you can select the number of players for the arena battle, the match type, entry fee (if any), and even if you want it password protected for those private battles. When you have all the settings you want, hit "Join Now!" you will enter the queue to play.

Note that each team must have players of all the same race in order to participate.

Convoys

The odds are against survival in the Central Wastelands. The large groups of powerful factions roaming the Highways - not to mention vying Humans, Mutants, and Biomeks that hate each other with a passion –can sometimes make it difficult to go it alone. It only comes naturally that drivers may feel the need to mutually help each other, if only for short periods of time. These temporary or “pick up” groups of drivers are called Convoys.

Convoys allow drivers to share experience, pure money rewards, and looted special items that are in the same localized area. Obviously the more drivers in the group, the less the shared fraction of experience and money becomes, though more drivers can theoretically destroy more enemies. Loot that is acquired while in a Convoy is distributed equally among all the Convoy members.

Being a temporary group, drivers can join and leave a Convoy at any time. When the leader leaves the Convoy (the leader is the person that created the Convoy), the Convoy is disbanded – though leadership can be assigned to another driver. Convoys will be most advantageous to drivers of similar or equal level; a driver of vastly higher level than the rest of the Convoy will be hindered by his less experienced buddies. As such, his abilities and skills will effectively be restricted to a level range closer to the lowest member of the Convoy. On specific maps, the difficulty of the map will be adjusted depending on the experience of the Convoy.

INC

The Situation: your Biomek XR-11 Armoc has just been thoroughly totaled by a gaggle of Pikes near Fort Logan. No friendly Constructors are near by to help you out, the area is crawling with more unfriendly Pikes, and you lack the skills to repair yourself. What are you to do?

The answer: call in a quick airlift from International Negotiables Consulting (INC).

The histories are sketchy, but most people agree that INC was created before the apocalypse in a massive merger of some of the world's largest conglomerates. It was an attempt to consolidate revenue in the face of a collapsing world economy... After the collapse, INC was the only major corporation left standing that could manufacture and supply goods globally - its importance to the entire world was universally understood. When the Humans re-emerged from their Arks, INC had already been neutrally providing assistance to the Mutants and the Biomeks, and offered the same service to the Humans - all for a price, of course.

The key to INC's success is its use of airlifts, large tilt-rotor helicopter transports that, in earlier times, were very useful in moving large amounts of supplies from one location to another. The three races use the airlifts for vehicle wreck recovery, fast airmobile transportation, and banking. Airlifts can be summoned whenever a vehicle is damaged beyond repair - their powerful magnets hoist the wreckage into the air - and move the vehicle to the last visited repair facility. Similarly, the three races can call an airlift pickup from anywhere to any major facility or town instead of having to drive the Central Wastelands. Finally, INC provides banking services in terms of a universal monetary exchange between the races and other factions (so all of the participants use the same kind of money), and private storage lockers for personal items.

Highways

In Auto Assault, Highways are persistent, public areas where you will often run into other players casually. Highway zones represent the interesting sections of the highways in the game world, and are usually packed with enemies, missions and conflict.

Highways are much more than just the roads that pass through the wastelands. Any given highway zone can be over 100 square kilometers in size. There are countless areas to explore and challenges to be faced offroad as well as onroad.

Highways are the hubs of gameplay, with numerous towns and several private instance exits branching off of each. There are often large truck stops and repair stations on highways that can be a temporary refuge when all hell breaks loose and you need a place to escape to.

Death

When bullets are flying and nukes are dropping, there will be casualties of war. Even the most skilled driver will eventually run into a situation that is too tough to handle. When the inevitable happens, your vehicle will be a smoldering wreck, broken and immobile on the wasteland highway.

If you're lucky, there may be a friendly player nearby that can restore your vehicle to operational status in the field – provided they have the skills to do so. If not, that's where the airlift comes in.

Offering 24/7 roadside assistance for wrecked vehicles, INC will send their nearest airlift to your location. The airlift will hoist you up, and fly you to your last repair station.

After the airlift drops you off, your vehicle will be operational – just barely – with only one hit point and your power reserves drained. You can then repair free at the repair station over time, use consumables to repair quicker, or have another player help fix you up with the appropriate skills.

The only real death penalty is the time you spend out of the action. There is no experience penalty of any kind in Auto Assault, so you will never lose character progress from dying.

Infantry

Life in the post-apocalyptic world of Auto Assault is hard enough. Outside the protected towns, those that venture out on foot have a death wish. While towns are generally peaceful areas where players can co-mingle, the highways are populated by multitudes of dangers: roving, bloodthirsty gangs of killers, mutated animals, poisonous environments or worse - other drivers.

The life of an infantryman is cheap; they are completely vulnerable to most vehicular weapons. In comparison to vehicles, a man on foot moves much slower, carries weaker weaponry, and cannot take a tenth of the punishment that current vehicular chassis can withstand.

An infantryman is also vulnerable to a vehicle's most potent weapon: momentum. Simply put, a vehicle can run you down. Infantry take extra damage getting struck at high speed, and worse - hit them hard and long enough and they disintegrate before your eyes.

Destruction

Auto Assault is a world where violence, destruction, and brutal force nine times out of ten, are rule of law. With high-powered, heavily armored chassis, player vehicles can withstand major punishment and duke out just as much. This means that nearly everything in the game environment is destructible in one way or another. You can knock down trees, collapse buildings, and destroy defensive barriers with ease. You can even interact with the debris of your destructive path, all within the bounds of Auto Assault’s physics engine.

Missions may even call for you to raze a building or object in the game world. It is not uncommon to bring death and destruction to your enemies; demolishing buildings and other enemy structures may just be the means to successfully complete a mission. You may even get a reward for doing so.

Vehicles are able to deal out and absorb tremendous amounts of damage due to the highly refined – yet distinctive – technological advancements the three races have developed. The pure Humans draw on electromagnetic shielding and alloy armor plates to protect their vehicles. Biomeks, embracing their technological center, utilize nanotechnology to create hardened materials and other forms of defensive protection. On the other hand, the Mutants use the powerful energy source gleaned from the alien Contamination to enhance their own materials, creating powerful phase-shift effects and regenerative armor.