Hello. : )
Can a experienced player tell me a word or two?
I never played this game.

Before I launch into explanations, have you played any strategy games before?

hello, yes if you are talking about the RTS by cavedog, let me tell you this. I have played this game for over 10 years and the key is build, build, build. You have some resource collecting in some scenarios of the game, but mainly build up your energy gathering and metal gathering first. As the game progresses you get some advantage by building energy/metal storage structures. And in most parts of game you need to build minimal defenses at first, more so in other parts of game. But you learn how to balance as you play the game. The AI is pretty predictable if playing single player. At some point after you have energy/metal resources coming in build factories.......vehicle, aircraft, etc. At first, I usually build construction units which are available to build in all factories. When you really get your defenses up and units being constructed to be able to protect yourself you go to building the more advanced factories and units as they become available at each stage of the game. Use your scout units to "feel" and fill out the map so you can see where the enemy is, and then start planning your offensive, because you can't win this game on defense alone. Build units by large numbers then bomb, shoot, blow the HELL out of the other guy......AI if you are playing alone. Good Luck. I have the original play manual came with my game when I bought it new (packaged version) If I had some way of getting it to you or posting it I would be glad to help. This is a GREAT game. Good Gaming!

Hello! Given that you're new to the game, I'll run down some of the basics. I am by no means an expert player by any stretch of the imagination, but I've played the game since it first came out and am glad younger generations of gamers have the chance to play one of the greatest strategy games ever made (in my opinion). I hope these suggestions help.

You should note that other people out there have made some excellent strategy guides you should look at:

1: Gamespot Total Annihilation Guide (http://www.gamespot.com/features/totala/index.html) Good explanation of game concepts and units.

2: Gamefaqs Total Annihilation Guides (http://www.gamefaqs.com/pc/43335-total-annihilation/faqs) The strategy guides provide good explanations of units.

3: Total Anihilation Universe (http://www.tauniverse.com/) Excellent website on the Total Annihilation game series.

Economy, Expansion, and Reconnaissance

In regards to resources, remember that there is an extraction rate and your reserves. The rate is the amount of resources you are extracting and the reserves are the metal and energy bars. You only tap into the energy and metal "bars" when your construction and building goes over your extraction rate. The key to not running out of resources is balance and expansion. Don't build to the point that you max out your rate and reserves. If you are empty all of your building projects get slowed down. Instead, prioritize what you need save other projects for later. Expansion is crucial because the more resources you have the more you can build.

Metal mine placement is dependent on where the resources are. On most maps, the silver patches are where the highest concentrations of metal are. You build you mines so as to encompass the patch. You should try to defend your patches while simultaneously attacking your rival's patches to deny him metal.

Energy reactor placement is a little different. You have a variety of possible energy reactors and their placement is dependent on what kind of resources are on your planet battlefield. Here is a list of the basic ones:

Solar - Pro: Easy to build, produces a constant +20 energy, can build anywhere on land. Con: big structure, you will need a lot of these to meet all your energy needs.

Wind - Pro: Cheaper than solar, on planets with strong wind can produce more energy than solar. Con: More fragile than solar, easily destroyed, wind energy is not constant, takes up space.

Geothermal - Pro: Produces +250 energy a plant. On large thermal vents (areas with steam coming out) you can put 4 plants a vent for a total of +1000. Con: Dependant on finding thermal vent, high value target requires strong defense against enemy.

Nuclear - Pro: Produces a great deal of energy, great middle to late energy source. Can defend in main base easier. Con: If destroyed, will take out surrounding units and buildings with it. Must be defended as it is a priority one target for the enemy.

Because you need resources, expansion is important. You need to claim resources so you can build your war machine larger and faster than you opponents. Key to doing this is to know and understand what your opponent is doing. This is why Reconnaissance
is important! Build scout units and explore the map. Find where resources are and where your enemy are located. Establish patrols so you know when are where your opponent is going. Build radar so you can see your opponent's positions without needing a unit to break the fog of war. Be aware that your opponent is doing the same thing, so build radar jammers to protect your bases. The person who has better reconnaissance will win because you can better plan your economy and maneuvers.

Constructors, Buildings, and Tiers

Now that you have resources coming in, we must now turn towards building the war machine. The foundation of your army is the commander. The commander represents the player, and you are in total control. If you lost the commander unit, you lose the game (unless its in multiplayer/skirmish game set to allow play after the commander's death.) In many ways the commander is like the king piece in chess. You lose it, you lost the game.

Fortunately the commander is much more useful than the king. Lets ignore its other military functions for now. The primary use for the commander is to build the buildings necessary to produce units that will do the fighting. It's build rate is the fastest of all the constructor units. To make up for this, it can only build the most basic of factories and defenses. For the sake of simplicity let's call everything the commander can product Tier 1.

When you build a factory you can build that factorys respective constructor unit. This unit can build everything the commander can as well as additional defenses, resource buildings, and an advanced factory. This is still Tier 1, but with more options.

If you build the advanced factory you can build the new factory's constructor unit. This unit cannot build Tier 1 buildings. Instead, they can build Tier 2 buildings. These are more powerful (and expensive) defenses and resource buildings that can enhance your power if you have the economic ability to make them.

Now that we know what constructors do, what factories should we make? With the large amount of units you can create it can be confusing to determine what to build. The following are some general impressions of the units the factories can build:

K-Bot Factory - K-Bots are essentially the "mecha" of Total Annihilation, if you will. They are robots bristling with weaponry and move generally with legs. Generally (and I mean generally!), they are speedier than other land units and can climb and bypass terrain quicker. As a consequence, they have less armor and can absorb less punishment than other land units. They are generally your flankers and fast attackers, but can also comprise the main forces of your army. Good all around units.

Vehicle Factory - Vehicles are the tanks and wheeled vehicles of your army. They are slower than K-Bots but possess more armor and thus absorb more punishment. They also can have some trouble in very hilly or forested terrain. These are generally your front line land units, and every army should have a combination of K-Bots and vehicles.

Air Factory - Air factories produce the airplanes used to dominate the sky. Generally, the fighters attack other planes, the bombers attack structures, and the gunships provide close support in attacking units. Airplanes are more expensive and slower building than land units but are an essential part of your military force.

Naval Factory - Naval factories produce the ships. Used primarily on maps with water, sea units are on a whole very expensive and slow to build. You can build both submarines and surface ships, and both have a major role to play. Submarines attack other ships with torpedoes, destroyers attack subs, cruisers attack other ships, battleships bombard surface vessels and land bases, and carriers carry and repair your fighters. Ships must be used with great care and they require a huge investment in time and resources to construct. Support them with air defense and air units.

Total Annihilation: Core Contingency introduces two new unit factories as well:

Seaplane Factory - Seaplanes are planes that can submerge in the water when not flying they are built from a factory build on the water like the naval factory. Seaplanes are designed primarily to engage ships with torpedoes and to assist the navy. Without air defenses or cover a fleet can be devastated by these air units.

Hovertank Factory - Hovertanks are units that hover on the land. They are land units, but have the added ability to float on water. This allows for amphibious attacks and eases travel on maps with many rivers and swamps that would be impossible to travel on with traditional land units. Submarines with their torpedoes also cannot hit them as they are out of the water (though surface ships can do serious harm!) As a consequence to this major advantage, hover tanks are generally less armored than traditional vehicles.

Thus, the units you make and the factories you will build will be dependent on your overall strategy and the type of terrain you will be fighting on. Water planets will require lots of naval factories. Swampy maps will require hovertanks. Flat maps make it easier for vehicles to travel, while hilly terrain is easier for K-Bots to use to their advantage. On many maps you'll employ many of these factories to create a combined arms force to attack your opponent. Experiment and see what units you prefer!

...... Ok well if you havenT played this game before you should start with the
tutorial. The tutorial teaches you how to play the game. you can make the
computer player easy/medium/hard well thats all i will tell you.




BYE!!!!! credits: SEE YA

The economy is HUGE in this game. The best players look at their scores at the end of the game and see if they have any excess/unused metal or energy. The idea not being to build as little as possible, of course, but to waste as little as possible. Always try to fine tune your gameplay by using your resources ASAP. Watch out for energy, especially, as without it your defenses may shut down, and because key buildings will need a ton of it, sometimes suddenly. Metal is important of course, but lack of metal won't make your missile defenses and lasers stop firing.

To this end, always keep an eye on what your future needs will be. Match your future needs to your future capacity -- don't let one or the other get too far ahead. If you have to, build storage facilities.

Also, hover your mouse over your constructors. As you can see, they self-generate resources of their own. This is why sometimes you might get way ahead by building tons of simple k-bot constructors. They add resources! On a low -resource map, that can be invaluable.

And check to see if wind or tides work well. Water sonars can make plenty of energy and build fast and are very cheap, and don't take up too much room. It can be worth the significant resource sacrifice of building a shipyard just to have a constructor boat or two endlessly making resources off at a distance. Check to see if wind is good, too, by building a windmill and seeing how high the winds are and how reliable.

If you can become great at the economy, you will be way ahead in this game. Remember too that you can queue your constructors to build endless resource collectors and generators in this game. It's generally worth it to do so whenever possible. During battle, there may be no time to replace what you lose, so there's almost never really "enough."

Also, get the file that lets you build greater numbers of units and buildings. It's on the net and google-able. Too many becomes absurd. I think 500 or 1000 is about right. If the limit is too high, then any advantage multiplies out of control and becomes too crushing, IMO.