“We’re speaking with Victor Kislyi, President of Wargaming.net and Game Designer of Massive Assault Series about the Massive Assault Network that’s due as a beta version as for now. What is this version of the Massive Assault Network like? Even though, the final version of the Massive Assault Network is due to be released in mid-April of this year. We thought that this game would come out with a, part 2. We will provide more details for you as this interview on the Massive Assault Network, roles on. ”
GamersMark: Hello Victor, How are you! we’re extremely glad to finally hear from you!
Victor: Hi, Jamil. Yeah, it’s a busy time for us now - just a little more than two weeks before the release - you can imagine.
GM: So Victor, tell us, what’s the purpose of the Massive Assault Network?
Victor: This new game is set to hit those strategy genre fans, for whom the A.I. is not a real challenge. Massive Assault Network concentrates on the online play: A.I. is present just for some training, and the main fun lies in face-to-face battles against hardcore gamers. Besides the game itself, we are equally concerned about the online community, tournaments, clans, etc.
GM: Well, there’s already a network in the actual game but, is this "Massive Assault Network" more of a community network or a gaming network for Massive Assault gamers?
Victor: Yes, definitely M.A.N. is derived from Massive Assault, but it has a tremendous advantage: a player does not have to purchase a retail version - M.A.N. can be downloaded for free, its singleplayer training can be tried for free, and moreover, unlimited number of online deathmatches on Emerald planet against any live opponents can be played for free - that?s more than enough for deciding whether or not you like the game. We believe that the players will appreciate such fair and even generous approach. You see, M.A.N. is much easier to get into.
GM: While overlooking the guidelines for the Massive Assault Network, we’ve found out that you could challenge people in "Personal Mode", can you tell us what’s that all about?
Victor: Personal Mode? - you just select an opponent from the list of players by name. You either know this person or played him/her before or you think that his/her rank or other parameters will be a perfect match for you.
GM: The graphics are astounding and well detailed, for a beta version. For other strategic game developers out there, what type of graphics utilities did you use to create this network and this game?
Victor: Thanks for the compliment! We have created our own graphic engine for Massive Assault, and this engine is being instantly improved and we?ll be using it for further titles in the Massive Assault series. The software we are using is rather standard for such sort of things: Maya, Adobe Photoshop and Vue.
GM: Tell us more about the weapons, what kinds are there?!
Victor: The game’s weapons are rather generic: land units, such as mechanized infantry, tanks, short-range artillery, long-range artillery, deadly guard towers, heavy mechs and land transports. The naval disputes are resolved by destroyers, battleships, amphibians (which can move on land also) and naval transports. There are also bombers and air carriers. However, as the MA players have admitted, this set of unit types is perfectly balanced, and the key idea behind the tactics is not to decide which type of units to rely on, but how to combine various unit types creating effective defense lines or assault groups. You can’t win by purchasing only long-range rockets or heavy battleships. You will always need some cannon fodder and some technological units fighting together. And the distinctive feature of Massive Assault system are transports (land and naval) - they don’t just carry reinforcements - when loaded with the right troops, they can be used as the most devastating assault machines, breaking or outflanking the enemy lines and hunting for long-range and expensive enemy units.
GM: If you had any other things to do with the Massive Assault Network, that you’d like to change, what would it be?
Victor: As admitted by the current players and beta testers, this game can serve as a perfect face-to-face hardcore strategy, some players are longing for the team multiplayer. Well, we do realize that it might be more fun. However due to the game?s turn-based nature, the solution for team multiplayer must be well-designed so that it doesn’t affect the current gameplay dynamism. Now the team multiplayer aspect can be experienced in clan wars organized by some enthusiastic players.
GM: What makes this version of the game different from the original Massive Assault?
Victor: As Ive mentioned above, you can download and try all the game’s aspects for free. Plus M.A.N. includes many new community-oriented features, such as built-in chat, advanced challenging options, detailed online stats. However, I believe that it’s not so much about the new features, it’s about focusing on the right type of players allowing them to enter the game in the most easy and seamless way. For example, we have two official mentors - the staff members whose job is to play with the newbies and teach them the game’s basics.
GM: Victor, Thanks for your time!
ON A FINAL THOUGHT: From your personal opinion, What do you think of the Massive Assault Network?
"Thanks for the opportunity to speak to your readers. We know that the gaming community has long been waiting for such sort of strategy game: turn-based (other than WWII), with nice 3D graphics, dynamic and smart. It’s been acclaimed by the press and the players, that MA was a game, which is easy to learn and hard to master, and now this formula is coming to the rapidly growing online play segment."
