Automan III

Automan III is a 2001  developed by  and published by. It is the first major game in the Automan series, the third installment in the game's series, and the sequel to the 1997 game Automan II. Players assume control of Jimmy, the main protagonist of the game, in an open world setting. The game is played from a and is set in the series' first fully 3D environment, set in Stinkport and is based on various cities in Brigantica.

The development of the game was solely concentrated by Tarmacgear house based in Ljana after the purchase of Árlja games by Alulim Interactive in 1998. The development of the game mainly focused on engineering a fully 3D world and environment, meaning that the developers were not able to reuse content from the 2D worlds. Virtually all assets and models had to be designed from scratch using the game's new development engine. The game was finally released in mid-2001 for the and. The PC version was released in late 2001. A separate port for was released in 2003, and for  in 2004. In 2010, an version was released.

The game recieved overwhelmingly positive reviews upon launch, and recieved overall critical acclaim. Critics praise the game's new engine which enabled it to run fully on 3D, as well as its depictions of the real world which was considered "revolutionary" and "tailor-made" at the time. However, with these new possibilites for added realism, controversial depictions of violence and became a highlighted topic among several advocate groups. Nevertheless, the game was a commercial success, and continued to win several awards both domestically and internationally. By late 2001, the game had sold nearly half a million copies within Seratof alone. It became the best-selling game of 2001, and has since sold more than 10 million copies worldwide to date. It has also won several "game of the year" awards from numerous publications. The immediate success of the game was thought to have spawned two more games of the 3D era as well as one "mission pack" set in the same map of Automan III, namely Automan Yuck City, Automan Al-Wadiya, and Automan III: Facades of Stinkport.

Gameplay
As an  set in an  setting, the player is free to roam around the map and do whatever the player pleases. The story is progressed by compelteting linearly designed missions. It is entirely possible for several missions to spawn at the same time given by different mission givers. The player has the freedom to complete these missions whenever they see fit, and can do a variety of other activities in-game in the form of side-missions, rampages, or performing vehicle-based side missions such as the taxi missions, ambulance missions, vigilante missions, and new to the game the drug delivery missions.

A new concept introduced in the Automan III series is the map progression. There are three main boroughs or districts of Stinkport, namely Sylveria, Downtown, and Ferry Island. The latter two are unlocked as the story progresses by completing missions. It is impossible to travel to the "locked" areas of the game, as physical barriers are present, preventing the player from accessing these areas. Upon unlocking these regions, the player has a variety of options to reach these districts, either by driving, taking the bus, subway, or even a cross-island ferry.

The player is able to run, walk, crouch, jump, or control various vehicles to navigate the game world. While on-foot, the player has the ability to wield weapons of various classes, although the player is limited to only having one weapon for each weapon class. The player may choose to aim or not to aim the weapon. When aiming the weapon for a shot, the camera transfers to an aiming shot, showing a crosshair on the targets. Auto-aim is given as a leeway for the, where the protagonist will instantly aim at the targets. s have different aim cameras, instead showing a square box in place of the circular crosshair found for other weapons.

The player's health, shown as a number on the top right corner along with the amount of money the player has as well as the time and the weapon currently wielded by the player, may decrease if the player is injured in any way possible. Falling from high places, getting shot, getting ran over by a vehicle, and suffering from an explosion all decrease the health of the player. If the health number reaches 0 for taking too much damage, the player respawns in a hospital with all their possessions confiscated, and a set amount of money deducted. Health regeneration is done by eating at the various vendors found across town, or collecting a health pickup scattered throughout the map, or in select places during missions. It is also possible to buy armor to add armor health to 100 at gun stores located throughout the map, or in select pickup points. Armor does not protect the player from falls, fire, or explosion.

Criminal actions done by the player do not go unnoticed. The game's law enforcement system and AI will begin to chase the player, either to kill or to arrest the player. The amount and type of law enforcement personnel that will go after the protagonist will depend on the type of crime the player has committed, or the total cummulative actions the player has committed. If the players manages to kill several more personnel after attaining a wanted level, this level will rise, and more personnel will go after the player. If the player manages to get out of law enforcemnt's line of sight, a hidden cooldown meter will start, and after a certain period, the wanted level will decrease. If a player is arrested by the police, they will respawn outside the police station with all their weapons confiscated, and an amount of money deducted from the player.

At the behest of the player is various types of weapons sorted into classes, in which the player has the ability to only possess one for each class. If the player decides to pick up or buy a different weapon of the same class, it would completely replace the weapon slotted for that class. If the player picks up the same weapon, ammo will be added. As players advance through the story, more weapons would be available to the player. Several weapons have made a comeback to the game, including RPGs and explosive devices. The player is able to perform drive-by shootings if the player has the correct weapon available. Melee weapons make a comeback too.

Story progression, while linear, is time-independent of when the player decides to complete them, although some missions can only be done during specific in-game times. The linearity of the story does not mean that multiple missions are unable to be spawned. Several missions may spawn at the same time, meaning that the objectives attained or completed within each mission does not interfere witht hte plot of the other missions. The player may also choose to perform a variety of side activities or missions which may have added benefits once the player completes the side missions in full.

Plot
Verano Maserati (Sergio Mattarella), along with long-time friend Sergio "Cap" Capparelli (Massimo Erreno), flees Borgosesia in 2001 by escaping into Seratof and boarding a ferry headed for Stinkport after the two were declared enemies of the state. Upon arriving, the two found work as taxi drivers and other odd jobs. Verano eventually got involved with the Ossorai mob, who forced Verano to drive, escaping Bailenese drug lords on their tail, succesfully returning them to their hideout. The Ossorai mob, fearing that the drug lords have captured the plates, force Verano to destroy the car immediately. Mikhail Dubkin (Yaroslav Tichki), member of the Ossorai mob, gave Verano protection and repair money for the destroyed taxi. Upon returning to the pool, both Verano and Cap became fired after their alleged dealings with the mob, angering Cap. Bailenese drug lords have got eye on both of them, forcing them to flee to the city center.

Frustrated, Cap tries to find work but is stumped due to his inability to speak. Verano, who at this point had been returning to the mob to find odd jobs, invites Cap to work alongside him. Initially reluctant, Verano assures Cap that this work is only temporary until they could find better options. The two finally meet with Mikhail, who instructs the two to perform various tasks for the mob. Finally, Mikhail instructs the two to kill Aèsa Ichiare (Alcardens van Genk) with the help of a Tilennan fortune teller to pinpoint where and how he will act. The two successfully kill him at his mansion, erupting a Tilennan-Ossorai war downtown. With the situation uncondusive, they together drive Mikhail along with his boss Nikolai Kusnetzov (Miriam Woods) to the airport in order to secure a drug transport and to evacuate Nikolai back to Ossorra while things get heated.

At the airport, Bailenese drug lords have intercepted the meeting, eventually killing Cap. Nikolai and Mikhail were forced to delay their plans of fleeing and return to base, devising a strategy to undermine both the Tilennans and the Bailenese. Eventually, along with several of Mikhail's henchmen, the Ossorai mob was able to sabotage their bases of operations, significantly weakening them. The Tilennan human traficking operations were ground to a halt. Meanwhile, Nikolai promises Verano that he would be able to kill the man responsible for his friend's death by infiltrating his party. Verano succeeds, but boss Hermano Sangre (Karl Marx) managed to escape. Verano finally kills Hermano at the airport runway.

Development
Tarmacgear house, previously known as Árlja Games before its acquisition by Alulim interactive in 1998, was given plenty of resources and funding by the biggest media corporation in the country, partially owned by the Seratofian government itself. The core team was comprised of 18 members from the previous team, as well as 7 new members from Alulim corporation. The 25-person core team was aided by a bigger development house and team located in Ljana, central Seratof. Danjel Včara, a senior developer at Alulim interactive, described the game's development as "heavy and exhausting for all." Despite such comments, the game reached beta by early 2000, and was officially announced later that year.

Open world elements
With declining reviews and sales for the previous Automan game compared to the first one, Kžeščírnji mandated that the environment and gameplay be set in full 3D as is common with other games. The first few months of development were spent in creating the game's unique 3D engine named PolyHex which worked alongside the developer's kit to model and create all kinds of assets in 3D. Within a 3D universe, Kžeščírnji hoped that the realism and the feel of a "living and immersive" world could be achieved. The team, however, were still constrained with the technical limitations at the time, including set limits for the RAM and harddrive use for ordinary computers and consoles alike. Many developers have stated that "more could be added, but the platform just couldn't take it any more." The massive scale of the game for that time also proved difficult to test and debug. Testers were overwhelmed with the amount of possibilites and objectives given to them, adding in more strain for the developers who had to accomodate what the testers have reported.

In selecting a setting for the third Automan game, the team finally decided to fully recreate a city based on major cities in Brigantica so that the developers have more freedom in creating the 3D universe, something most developers are not acquainted with yet. Developers have expressed their frustration with the game, in the sense that the game is extremely large and complex. Almost all animations had to be done from scratch, including animating every single character and NPC doing a variety of tasks. Sound engineering and scope was also a major challenge in the game development. The team had to develop effects in accordance with the 3D environment of the world. Kžeščírnji estimates that at least 9,000 audio files were imported into the game, ranging from cutscene dialogues, sound effects to the speech of pedestrians and other NPCs depending on the AI mechanisms.

The team initially made sketches for the map, at first making the whole map a single landmass, but was quickly scrapped in favor of the "islands" model inspired by some of the biggest cities in Brigantica. The three areas were initially inspired by different cities, but grew to be generic generalizations of the themes already present in Brigantican cities.

Developers, with the new SmartScript compatible with the PolyHex engine, arguably developed the video game's industry first "smart AI." Kžeščírnji described the AI as "smart enough to feel like that random pedestrian you wasted was your own neighbor." Programming various scenarios and effects proved to be a very time-consuming work. In addition to coding the AI to react with the player's movements and actions, the AI had to spew out various dialogues recorded earlier to give a sense of realism. The programmers and sound engineers worked together in achieving a synchronized response from the NPC to whatever the player does. Včara added that programming law enforcement in the new 3D environment was "more difficult than we previously thought." The team attempted to mimic movements done by real police officers on the field with the help of the SmartScript.

Story and characters
To showcase what the new 3D world and environment was able to do, programmers and level-designers utilized several parts of the mission to exhibit this feaetures, some of which persist in free roam mode. The storyline was, in fact, changed multiple times to exhibit some of the newer additions and features into the game. The high variability of interactivity within the missions was a main goal for the development team. According to Včara, this time the development team tried really hard to veer away from the "revenge" trope, but seemed inevitable in the last stages of production. Although so, the story showcases more aspects of the underground and criminal life than previous games rather than a set "revenge" mentality from the beginning of the game. It has been reported that a room in the studio was dedicated solely to the storyline, with various cut-outs of real life inspirations, story lines, post-its, and notes scattered across the place. The final version of the story was said to have been finalized only in late 2000.

Developers had to program and animate the cutscenes in full 3D. Most of the work done to animate the characters and NPCs were done by at a studio in Azxara. While originally aiming for more cinematic and movie-like movements, the game's engine prohibits this. A single animation captured in the studio must be altered and changed to tailor to different characters and NPCs. Some frames and code for the animation were deliberately changed to smoothen the animations, such as entering and exiting vehicles, falling, and jumping. Although so, with the game's full 3D environment, cutscenes could be taken at a variety of angles. It is now possible to drive and walk using varying camera positions, and a once beta cinematic camera used for trailers and promotions was kept in game.

Sound
The team had to engineer how 3D space and objects interacted with the sound waves originating at a fixed or moving point. The had to be engineered and incorporated into the game's script to accomodate the new environment. Overall, around 9,000 audio files were inserted into the game, however this does not acount for the diverse set of ambient noises and songs also available in the game. Ambient noises have underwent a complete rehaul to match and fit in with the 3D nature of the game. Radio stations have also underwent an upgrade, with 8 radio stations and more than 170 songs to listen to in total. The radio stations now use a randomizer instead of a big single loop to prevent repetitiveness found in the previous games.

Initial release
Immdiately upon release, Automan III recieved overwhelmingly positvie reviews and also recieved universal acclaim from critics. The game attained a score of 98% from GamesMaestro, the fifth highest ranking ever awarded by GamesMaestro, and tied with several other games. Reviewers and critics alike praise the game's new 3D environment as well as all aspects engineered to fit in with the new environment. Critics praise the AI and the sound present in game. Some critics praise the overall quality of the game's interactivity and "openness." John Gutierrez has been reported to have said that "Automan III is the epitome of good gaming. It is so good because it just is." Gary Johnson of TechOutsider said that the game "will truly be a trendsetter and benchmark for all future open-world games."

ING's head critic, Gillian S. Triviman, cherished and welcome the eventual change made by the developers to transition from a 2D universe to a 3D universe, and doing so with meticulous detail and preparation for working with a game engine and development software previously unkown to the gaming world. Gillian has praised the graphics and the models made in game, citing them as "supporting" towards the overall environment and grand scheme of the game. However, not all critics agree with the graphics being "pristine." Huri V. of BreadLife has stated that the graphics were far inferior from games released over the past year, and more work could have been done with the graphics and animations.

Many other critics commented on the increased variance in mission objectives, and the overall engagement in each of the missions, as well as welcoming the additional side missions given as a tool to further engage and immerse the player in the game's universe. Dan Houser of CriticMeta described the game's mission as "something unseen and unfelt by many gamers." He also praised the use of missions to showcase the game's technological advancement and features disguised as objectives in game. A spokesman from GamesTop has said that "the game delivers both in story and gameplay, something rarely seen in the gaming industry."

One aspect in which the game was commented on negatively by the critics was the in-game handling of the vehicles and controls of the game, with some commentators reporting the game's handling to be "quite wonky" and "arcade-ish at best." Developers reacted by saying that "the overall feel of an arcade game is how Automan III pays homage to the numerous arcade games it precedes to give players a more familiar experience and handling with the controls of the game." Several animations for some pedestrians doing certain activities were also reported to be "static" and "unrealistic", though in later versions released for the worldwide market these issues have been patched.

Doors version
Upon release later that year, Automan III's Doors version recieved similar levels of crtical acclaim, and was GamesMaestro highest-rated PC game of 2001. Both aggregators gave the game a 97 out of 100 out of 37 reviews for GamesMaestro and 29 reviews for CriticMeta. Most reviewers and critics have praised the game's improved handling and animations, as well as more realistic visuals aided by the improved weather and climate projection onto the game environment, although at the cost of increased minimum requirements for the PC than previously announced by the devlopers.