Total Annihilation

Infobox VG
title = Total Annihilation


developer = Cavedog Entertainment
publisher = GT Interactive
designer = Chris Taylor
engine =
version = 3.1c
released = September 30 1997 [http://www.gamespot.com/pc/strategy/totalannihilation/index.html GameSpot Total Annihilation page] ]
genre = Real-time strategy
modes = Single-player, Multiplayer
ratings = vgratings|ESRB=T
platforms = Microsoft Windows, Mac OS
media = CD
requirements = Minimum: Pentium 100 MHz, 16 MB RAM, internet connection for multiplayer
input = Keyboard and mouse

"Total Annihilation" (abbr. "TA") is a critically-acclaimed real-time strategy game created by Cavedog Entertainment and released on 30 September 1997 by GT Interactive for Microsoft Windows and Mac OS. It was the first RTS game to feature 3D units and terrain. Two expansion packs were released, ' on April 30, 1998 [http://www.gamespot.com/pc/strategy/totalannihilationthecc/index.html GameSpot Core Contingency page] ] and ' on June 30, 1998. [http://www.gamespot.com/pc/strategy/totalannihilationbt/index.html GameSpot Battle Tactics page] ]

Lead designer Chris Taylor went on, through Gas Powered Games, to create "Supreme Commander"; popularly considered the "spiritual successor" of Total Annihilation. [http://www.gamespot.com/pc/strategy/supremecommander/news.html?sid=6134783&mode=previews Supreme Commander Q&A] at gamespot.com (2005)] A remake of the game with a completely 3D graphics engine (lacking any fixed camera angle), named Spring, has also been independently produced. [ [http://spring.clan-sy.com The Spring Project ] ]

Gameplay

Normally, the player begins with the Commander unit, a mech with the ability to create structures to form a base and, by extension, a military force comprised of a range of mobile units. The Commander, while a powerful combat unit, is vital to the player due to its ability to quickly construct units– thus, loss of a Commander is a critical event in any game. Construction is governed by the possession of the game's two unlimited resources, Metal and Energy, and can be undertaken by factories or construction units. Every unit belongs to a level of technology (tech level); the higher the level, the more advanced the unit and the more resources and thus time required to construct it.

A feature of the game is the ability to easily "queue" the many commands for a unit or group of units, with types of commands including patrolling a route, constructing a defensive group of structures and assaulting the enemy. Once given its commands, the unit will go about them automatically thus minimizing the need for the player's attention to small, routine tasks.

The victory conditions of a multiplayer game generally involve the elimination of all enemy units, but the aim of single player campaign missions can be more specialized.

Combat

Units are designed for air, land or sea traversal and, given their robotic nature, are self-contained with no limiting factors such as fatigue, fuel or morale. Units can vary in size, speed and the ability to give and take damage, generally depending on their tech level. One praised feature of the game's units are their hierarchical proportionality— that is, an advanced unit being equal in combat terms to many weaker units, but taking a proportionately longer time to build. There are two story-related factions which, while aesthetically different, have a similar set of units.

The game's interface consists of construction and command buttons (depending on the unit selected), unit status information, resource information on the production of Energy and Metal, and a minimap which gives an overview of the game's battlespace— the effectiveness of which may be hindered by fog of war, necessitating the use of radar units.

Each unit has strengths and weaknesses, optimal styles of use, and corresponding units against which it is vulnerable or well-suited. Effective play is usually characterized by consideration of these attributes, as well as efficient resource management and knowledge of the opponent's strategies. There are a few highly-advanced units which are invaluable combat-wise, such as nuclear missile launchers which have unlimited range and very high damage.

AI and physics

The physics engine supports true trajectories, inertia, momentum, thrust, and collateral damage. The game's terrain is 3-dimensional. All objects in the game interact with it. Hills obstruct artillery fire, and, depending on the "line-of-sight" setting, height enhances units' visual and firing ranges. If terrain is steep and jagged, units tilt and turn to meet the face of the ground. Structures can be built on steep terrain to protect them from artillery fire and to create choke points. Artillery shells are affected by gravity, which is actually variable on different planets- particularly on lower-gravity moons, with some artillery units able to strike targets 10 or more screens away.

Units that achieve 5 kills without death receive "veteran" status which increases health and damage, as well as giving the unit the ability to lead moving targets. This effect grows with every subsequent 5 kills.

tory

What began as a conflict over the transfer of consciousness from flesh to machines escalated into a war which has decimated a million worlds. The Core and the Arm have all but exhausted the resources of a galaxy in their struggle for domination. Both sides now crippled beyond repair, the remnants of their armies continue to battle on ravaged planets, their hatred fueled by over four thousand years of total war. This is a fight to the death. For each side, the only acceptable outcome is the complete elimination of the other.

In the far future the galaxy is ruled by a benevolent central body of humans called the Core (a contraction of "Consciousness Repository"). The Core's technological and economic triumphs have allowed humanity to colonise most of the Milky Way. However, peace is broken by a technological breakthrough which allows the consciousness of a human being to be transferred into a machine, thereby granting theoretical eternal life in a process called "patterning." Following a mandate imposed on humanity requiring everyone to undergo patterning, the Arm was formed, a rebel band formed out of colonies from the edges of the galaxy, whose members refused to leave their natural bodies - and their humanity - to join the Core's machines. A war lasting four thousand years followed, with the Arm mass-producing clones as pilots for its vehicles and the Core duplicating consciousness-embedded microchips to pilot its own machines. [http://www.indopedia.org/Total_Annihilation.html]

The game's two campaigns focus on their respective sides' leaders, the Commanders. The story of either the Core or the Arm starts with an effort to defend the protagonist's homeworld and initiate a turning point in the overall war. The player then fights a series of battles on a number of planets and moons, as transported through Galactic Gates, a fictional form of faster-than-light travel. As the player progresses, more units become available for construction, either through the course of background story or upon completion of a mission centered around the unit in question. Mission objectives include protecting a vital structure or area, eliminating all enemy units, or capturing a pivotal enemy unit. The worlds upon which the player wages warfare force the player to adapt to different strategies; for example, deployment on a world whose surface is entirely composed of archipelagos necessitates the construction of an effective navy, while lava planets deny the player any form of naval combat whatsoever. Some have occasional weather conditions, such as lightly injurious meteor storms. Both campaigns include 25 missions, the final mission ending the war with a final strike on the enemy's homeworld — either the Arm's natural Empyrrean or the Core's artificial Core Prime.

Expansions

Official

Cavedog released ' a year after "TA". It features 25 new missions as well as 75 new units. It continues the story after the ending of the Arm campaign. A month later, ' was released, which includes 4 new units, 100 additional missions as well an experimental approach to "TA" gameplay, with less emphasis on base construction."TA" originally shipped with 150 discrete units but after these two expansion packs and downloadable patches, 230 units became available.

Community

6,000 units are available after 3rd-party installations from "Total Annihilation's" many different fansites (although only 512 units can be installed on any one copy due to engine limitations).Utilities have also been produced by the fan community, with varying support by the game's authors, for creating freely downloadable third-party units. Fans have even created their own races to join or replace the game's two original factions.

The default unit limit was originally 200, which was changed to 250 in —by modifying the "totala.ini" file in the game folder, users can increase this limit up to 500. With a binary modification of the program file and sufficient hardware, the unit limit can be increased to 5000 per team, due to the Swedish Yankspankers.Fact|date=August 2007

Data files containing game information can be placed within the game directory, whose contents would then be incorporated into the game. Units, weapons, AI tweaks, missions, races, and new map tilesets can be added, as well as a wide range of modifications and total conversions.

Apart from official enhancements released by Cavedog for free, including units and patches, there is large community support with thousands of third-party add-ons and utilities. A prime example is the "Uberhack" modification, which modifies all of the existing units and adds several additional ones, in the attempt to balance the game and create unique roles for each of the wide variety of units.

Reception

The game was highly praised by critics and players, and won numerous awards, including GameSpot's Game of the Year Award for 1997. [ [http://www.metacritic.com/games/platforms/pc/totalannihilation Total Annihilation Reviews] at metacritic.com] "TA" is considered to be one of the best RTS games of all time and is still played actively today, over 10 years after its release. [http://archive.gamespy.com/top10/february04/rts/index11.shtml Top Ten Real-Time Strategy Games of All Time] at gamespy.com (2004)] [http://www.gamespot.com/gamespot/features/all/real_time/p5_01.html History of Real-time Strategy Games: 1989-1998 - the Second Generation] at gamespot.com (2000)] [http://www.rakrent.com/rtsc/rtsc_totala.htm RTSCTotal Annihilation Page] at rakrent.com (2006)]

It won Gamespy's Top Ten Real-Time Strategy Games of All Time [ [http://archive.gamespy.com/top10/february04/rts/index11.shtml Top Ten Real-Time Strategy Games of All Time] at gamespy.com] in 2004, leaving Starcraft in the second place. There is a funny comparison of both titles here [ [http://urc.tauniverse.com/tasc.htm 40 reasons why Total Annihilation owns StarCraft] at TA Universe] .

It was recently named to Gamespot's "The Greatest Games of All Time" list of 50 games. The editors stated "It's not as famous as Warcraft or Command & Conquer, but Total Annihilation is arguably better than any other real-time strategy game to date." [ [http://www.gamespot.com/gamespot/features/all/greatestgames/p-43.html] ]

oundtrack

The game has an original orchestral soundtrack composed by Jeremy Soule and performed by the 96-piece Northwest Sinfonia orchestra. The music changes according to events: during a battle, louder and more frenetic music plays. During post-war damage reparations or idle construction, a more ambient and mysterious track is played. The soundtrack is in CD-audio format and can be listened to with ordinary CD players. An ordinary music CD can be inserted once the game is under way and can replace the original game music with its own tracks. It is even possible to program such custom CD tracks to the various battlefield situations (conflict, construction, defeat, etc) like the default set.

# "Brutal Battle"
# "Fire and Ice"
# "Attack!!!"
# "Warpath"
# "The March Unto Death"
# "Ambush in the Passage"
# "Forest Green"
# "Death and Decay"
# "Stealth"
# "Licking Wounds"
# "Futile Attempt"
# "On Throughout the Night"
# "Desolation"
# "Charred Dreams"
# "Where Am I"
# "Blood of the Machines"
# "Burn through the Fire and the Flames"

See also

* List of awards received by Total Annihilation
* Spring (computer game)
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References

External links

* A mirror of Cavedog Entertainment's official [http://www.fileuniverse.com/Total_Annihilation_Mirror "Total Annihilation" website] .
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* [http://www.tauniverse.com/ TA Universe, a major community website for the game.]
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