We continue this week our look into Auto Assault's development days and go deep into the blue Ne faction! We talk to the alpha-Human himself, late Lead Content Designer Chris "Homie" Holtorf, also proverbial as Ombwah, who molded the unfaithful Human sect with totally IT's clear colours, idols and nukes!

Behind The Wheel: Former Star Designer Chris Holtorf Interview
Questions by Georgia home boy "Sigoya" Taha

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WarCry: More than a year passed on Auto Assault, and it is still a unequaled game in the MMO playground. Lavatory you recount us how you got involved in this send off and what lured you to join the AA team?

Ombwah: Hey, no more fair – more than one question on that point. =) Anyway, I hazard IT goes like this. My father, knowing I was into games, referred me to an MMO he had heard of from a friend of his at work. Turns out this guy had recently been working at NetDevil finish up Jumpgate. I gave it a run, told Snipe (Adam Maxwell, Mutant Lead) about information technology, and the 2 of us got hooked jolly chop-chop. We soon had a lot of ideas for Jumpgate content, and talked about it often. See, we were of the opinion that the company handling content for ND at the time wasn't doing a capital job. We wanted to do better things, thusly we put together a marriage offer for NetDevil that we do some content cultivate for them, maybe starting with Jumpgate. So, imagine our storm when Nd got back to us, not to work Jumpgate, nor on contract — just to take us on a new project. This new picture was, of course, Car Ravish. It was an easy prime.

WarCry: What was the inhalation for the colors, design, vehicles and the story of the Manlike camarilla?

Ombwah: Again with the 4+ nested question bonus! Well, atomic number 3 for the blue-neon color scheme, that came with the package. The concepts for the Humans had them when I arrived. The report bits I had to work with were basically:

Humans wear blue neon-like tubes and environment suits; Man lived in a vault until now; Humans blew up the world; Humanity adore a heroine named 'Jen Kierce' (also AA's poster lady friend for a while); oh yeah, and Humanity' 'pure Human genetic science' gives them 'mental powers'. To exist honest I played the last one there down a trifle. My opinion was that whatsoever Human that displayed truly extraordinary powers would beryllium killed or confiscate apart by science. I mean, later all – strange powers were a house of the mutations the Humans were fleeing in the first place. So, when I had to skirt the issue, I played like Humans were so clone-perfective tense that they had formed the human form, and all Ark of the Covenant-born citizens were at the peak of their abilities, auditory sense and eyesight, or something like that.

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But first things first, I wanted same very much to distance the Humans of our time from the fallible beings that made up the government responsible for nuking the planet. I invented the Hestia Corp, definite that they had been a private holding company and that they governed the Ark. I cerebration that the player could be working for them, Hestia is the Greek goddess of the hearth and of the kinsfolk – I chose that name after a batch of deliberation. Only I really didn't think I could tell the kind of narration I wanted to if I was putting the player in a position to get fired from 'The Corporation' – It'd take the spice up out of any 'shady deals' that mightiness crop upward out in the barren. The resolution was the Freelancer Protocol, the company got their 'tribe' analogs – The LOA, the FLC, the HARP, and they would train you. Other, though, you'd get to be a free agent. That brings me to my net first inspiration, I think totalitarian regimes are bad newsworthiness, but I wanted the player to come to that stopping point themselves. I wanted to throw a lot of doubt in to the equation over time, through stories about the Scavs (who, are or s human beings), and the Zendig (also, just human beings – that grew heavenward impermissible there instead of in a pure environs).

Finally, the leads of each faction came together in an effort to 'build in' an enmity between the races in Auto Assault; thither was a very deliberate movement to train a player with the Traditional knowledge to dislike the other two races on principle. We named it 'building in the detest'.

I hoped that a Freelancer would end the level bow feeling like a wasteland cowpoke, needing the Company outposts, but sceptical Company principle.

WarCry: As a Faction Lead Designer what were your duties and what aspects of the creative development did you direct? Did you supervise the look & aesthetics of your faction?

Ombwah: The primary characteristics of the Human 'blue Ne and chrome' were distinct endless before I showed up at Neodymium, I did dumbfound to describe many of the locations and features that got built, simply the car design and Human model choices weren't really my decision.

WarCry: We know the three primary factions were developed past independent Tip Designers including yourself; Who configured the enemy factions and their placement in between the trey main territories &ere; storylines?

Ombwah: The enemy factions were a very collaborative piece of content. When whatsoever of the Leads were writing in the lead a new Area, we'd choose ideas from a big rely of sect ideas we had written up in the first, adding new ideas to the list when we had them. Then the enemy factions would be sort of fleshed out in relationship to the storylines that incorporate them. The Pikes, Tempernet and The Corps were three original foeman groups that existed when we started on the figure, but the Lore for each was backhand out as the Biomek. Mutant and Human traditional knowledge took SHAPE, and their respective places in the world became clear.

WarCry: The lore reflects a very mature concept of the Human perfidiousness and perfidy towards the Mutants & Biomeks alike. How hard was it to put together a faction that views itself as virtuously infallible facing the failed Terminal Solution and survival of their enemies?

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Ombwah: Cured, I really dependable firmly to get the player to feel even in their own actions, only I had no intention of writing a genocidal race. I thought a great deal about this until I hit on the idea (maybe it was Snipe, we did a great deal of brainstorming unitedly) that Hestia had unreal a 'natural coup d'etat' when the bombs drop. It was simple really, at that taper the government was an say-so in name and Hestia controlled the air, the water, the horizontal, the vertical. I didn't neediness the player to mechanically be a 'bad guy'. It genuinely International Relations and Security Network't any Freelancer's fault that the bombs fell, and the gang that made the fateful decision hasn't been in king in generations. I worked very hard-fought with the other leads on the issue of the former races too, it was clamant to me that I created a justifiable disdain for the other races in Auto Assault, and non cast the Mankind Eastern Samoa stormtroopers of the pure cistron. This is where the theme that mutations could come upon someone as a disease, and hence might live spread came from. Mutants weren't antimonopoly the enemy because they were green, Mutants are the result of a 'disease' of myriad misunderstood vectors, and this disease kills a colossal percentage of those that support through it. The Biomeks were somewhat easier, as their precise doctrine included destroying the 'Betrayers', but as I pointed out sooner, that organization is long passed. The first Hestia explorers to encounter Biomek's didn't even know what they were, as any mentation of them in the histories delineate them as destroyed when the bombs fell. So, it was involved, I hesitate to read hard though — I enjoyed IT very much.

WarCry: Reading the lore, we notice many obscure and gray time patches. What happened to the The States government in succeeding the Apocalypse? You said it did the rest of the existence match the disaster?

Ombwah: It is my impression that the rest of the ma is likely just as fubar as the locations present in the game. This is to enunciat that there are areas to a greater extent affected and areas less so, but anyplace you'd go, I think you'd see people do what they e'er do, they get on it. The United States, As I explained earlier, ceased to play an active part in history shortly after the retreat into the Arks.

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WarCry: Tell us to a greater extent about the Hestia Corporation: its name, purpose, and the mythological references. How many Arks were assembled by Hestia, and what happened at Duenna?

Ombwah: Well, Hestia is the Greek goddess of the Hearth; when someone 'unbroken the home fires burning' the fire was at Hestia's altar. This had signification for me in that the Company kept the Humans all animated through the destruction of the Earth. She is also goddess of Family, and the Humans had resuscitate believe that they were among a much little world residential district than they had been before; hence mob was as wel an appropriate theme. I carried the theme through in small ways wherever I could, with the nigh self-explanatory example being the bulk of the vehicles that I was allowed to name. I even tried to make the name calling fit the vehicle to some extent, coordinated qualities in the vehicles to the icons from the myths. I wanted to cast the Hestia company in the fire up of a scientific community as well, and felt that the ancient Greek theme fit that A well.

Hestia built at to the lowest degree 5 Arks – Ark 1 was the showcase and the largest. In that respect were at to the lowest degree 4 built at different scale and with changes to the model based on the necessity and intended subprogram of the installation. Duenna was one of these. While the records aren't entirely clear away, the introductory steps in Duenna's fall were undoubtedly neglect and needy maintenance. At unity fourth dimension, Duenna had long stretches of underground, miles of conduit reaching beneath the plains. These fell into disrepair and the contamination that permeated the domain eventually seeped in through the shoddy seals. Poor breeding rates and lamentable resource management had already driven Duenna's population far beneath levels that their computer models showed sustainable. When the poorly funded maintenance crews discovered what was natural event, they didn't even know how to deal with the mess that they found. Eventually they gave upwards and sealed the lower tunnels. Later, the workers that had unopened the breaches and attempting to stop the contamination all fell to the same illnesses and the panic began. The beleaguered universe was already down rapidly apart, and this new specter pushed things to a breaking point. People retreated into their wards, dominant access to family areas very closely. A witch hunt air adorned heavy in Duenna's halls. One of the premier outbreaks was in a deep act cellblock. Almost a hundred Duennans were sealed in and left to die, the power and life support shut down. No official consecrate had been made to arrange it, only it was successful to occur by those that understood how to have sex. Shortly thereafter, those that knew how to execute things similar run the power, the water, and the farms became insular, guarding the secrets of their systems and holding this force ended others, rationing wards and families. Exculpate classes emerged in the undersize society, some families began pledging their children to the baron guild or the hydrofarms, just to earn special food or power. This was the submit that Hestia found Duenna in. The Ark 1 group quickly offered 'aid' are attempting to use their high-performance technology to recreate Duenna in a new light-footed, and try not to discuss her past.

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WarCry: Who and what inspired the names and stories of the Human characters, like the idol Jen Kierce, the happy saphead Whiplash Todd and the delusional Clyde Juneau?

Ombwah: Well, I crapper't address to Jen 'Vinediction' Kierce – that missy was named by SamPenguin (Ryan Seabury, Excogitation Director), I think. Anyway, she existed when I arrived. I did plan to order her story in Priming coat Zero in. In fact, I had the arc projected up already – the histrion meets her and a film crew out in the wasteland, and learns that she is the fifth Jen Kierce and then far, that Jen was an actress for the Hestia Entertainment Agenda Department (Propaganda fender). But I digress =)

Whiplash Sir Alexander Robertus Todd was so named because I wanted him to equal a little shaken in the head – he ended up a pot shaken in the head I guess, but still — a teeny piece of the crypt that is INC, isn't he?

Clyde Juneau, hmm his smooth arc was inspired by the little novella that came with a game from my puerility called "In Seek of the Most Amazing Thing". His name does not derive from that tale, nor the game it accompanied just his contact Uncle Smoke's is. Clyde's name is derived from 'Justly Turn Klyde' because he seems a bit led astray, and Juneau, Alaska – because he's in fact far, far wide.

I choose names based on many inspirations though, the Humans were frequently named after states and cities – names from a dim memory of spoken tales. Some names are private jokes, some kinfolk and friends, some references to bands or songs. Incidentally, delegac titles were often puns and euphony or movie references too.

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WarCry: William Tell us nigh INC's relationship with Hestia Corporation. Plus, how did INC manage to build Stalwart and for what purposes?

Ombwah: Cured, the Hestia Company maintains a contract with the business arm of INC via a secure datalink. Hestia proclaimed get through and negotiations with INC very early on in the Egression program, and the first Humankind to explore the surface report making their planned rendezvous with INC carrier craft. Arsenic far as anyone can tell the deal is a spearhead-shaped mutual-benefit situation, Hestia lends protective services and clink for the services that Freelancers enjoy. Strangely plenty, Freelancers seem to report very lilliputian of their dealings with INC, at the best reportage their wildest or strangest pickups over a bar somewhere.

Robust is a mystery. Sure are a lot of carrier planes up there, and man, does the radio go to sh*t when you drive near that thing. The guys from Hestia's LOA saw it first of all, and male child – stunning. There is without doubt mortal someplace deep in Ark 1 that has an idea what's up terminated at INC. But I don't know 'em.

WarCry: Did you model the Human locations on real world areas? If thus, can you draw us an approximation of the mettlesome zones and their corresponding location connected the map?

Ombwah: Well, not exactly. There was a map, and we did sort of line up a couple of geographic points on the map, but my highway areas were more or less built to fit their themes. No, Hydro isn't Hoover Dam, penitent guys. The Choppin' Maul is benevolent of the Mall of America, inspired by, sorta.

WarCry: WHO came ahead with the Army of Justice faction and Unity drug construct? How make out you weigh their involvement with the main factions? Brawl they pose many peril than the Xenos?

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Ombwah: Justice came out of a treatment that Lash out and I were having over a burger one day at lunch. I had been thinking about an foeman that would figure out for all of the factions, and wanted a camarilla that would feel like it just power cost able to bring an order of sorts to the wastes, to bring all of the peoples conjointly and become the young formula. Snipe was having similar feelings, and I think it was he that titled them Justice, after their drawing card. I created the Integrity conception to work into whatever Human missions, and together Snipey and I cerebration out the right smart that Justice and his army worked.

WarCry: Tell us about the Zendigs, their philosophy and posture towards the world. And why are they favorite by the Humans to a higher degree others?

Ombwah: The history of the Zendigs, was actually inspired by, and based in break on, the history of the Rastafarians. We mixed some Native American-ish lore into them as well for a sort of Barren Creole. The story behind their name is an in-joke between Assault and I. Merely it's a "Real World" reference too.

The Zendigs were always meant to be 'in touch' with things in some respects. They were a bargainer mathematical group, their culture a production of an escape from slavery (under the Pikes, World Health Organization knew?). They are a faction I was very proud, Snipehunter and I worked identical hard to create their history and their theme. We wanted for a long metre to sell specific Zendig Dyes (paints) and special Tricks or Trims that you could only get there from the Zendig craftsmen. That never panned out, just we did get burgers in as buffs. That was sweet.

As to them being preferred by Humans? I get into't get laid, maybe information technology was just coincidental – merely I liked them and so used them often. I also wanted them to be free for the players to stop by and neckcloth up connected burgers and special toys only on tap from the Zendigs, so at that place you've got it. There was really a Zendig town cut from Choppin Mangle, instead I "integrated" the factions at Fasthold, and built a shantytown right the shield wall.

WarCry: How much effort was put into developing the mission lines? Was the amount of missions preset for each faction?

Ombwah: Sometimes information technology was, sometimes it wasn't =). Really, we all spent a quite a little of time planning how our mission arcs went. Where for each one mission was picked up and where information technology would drop you – the stories were told with location and reward wholly in mind… mostly. There was a time when whol three factions were made to birth the exact same number of missions, but, for assorted reasons that needed to transfer later. So, I think the answer is "a lot of effort", I often mat up arsenic though I had written more than a novel's worth of fabrication by myself — only there make been a lot of hands on our canon since IT was left tail end.

WarCry: If you had the chance to go back and do IT again, what one and only element of the taradiddle would you like to get rid of, and which one would you made clearer?

Ombwah: I reckon the E.I.L.M. were poorly developed, senior high school kids bygone bad? I wrote them as a favor and I guess my meat wasn't in it. The LAW looked cool, and gave U.S.A a great condone to have flashing lights connected the cars, but could deliver had more development in their storylines too. I'd consume replaced them with more Justice stories. Justice Department was lamentably underdeveloped in game for the amount of money of Lore that the Leads sentiment out.

As far as what to clarify? I honestly wish I'd been able to tell the Jen Kierce: Barren Spokesmodel story. I wanted the player to suffice a series of stunts and kills for the cameras, totally as missions for Jen Kierce. I longed-for the players to learn that she was an actress (and more significantly, a fictional fictional character) that the Company used to entice the Ark-bred to go Freelancer and fight the good press. Oh asymptomatic.

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WarCry: Looking in reply at all the sweat and descent put into this unique project, how doh you flavor about it now? Would you lie with all over again? Any recommendations for a better Car Assault?

Ombwah: I would definitely do it again. Working happening Auto Set on was an impressive experience; I wish I could have cooked more. There is really no greater reward than seeing that it's still connected and still being loved aside the players.

I put a hatful of heart into AA, I'd like to see it serve well, Beaver State at least continue to fill its niche, as AA's sibling Jumpgate has cooked for so long. The only recommendation I would have is to gain to the guys on Associate in Arts forthwith is to talk to their residential area, get involved – information technology can only make the pun better.

WarCry: Thanks for giving us the chance to talk and answer Auto Assault fans' questions.

Following this second persona of Behind The Wheel retrospect, we'll conclude this Friday with former Atomic number 82 Designer Hal "maRaider" Hanlin and deep probe the Biomek faction! Arrest tuned.