competing against highly superior tech and numbers as soon as each level starts.grow old waiting for anything to be built.absolute imbalance for the player.computer AI will smash you while your units sit there blind.total joke and uninstalled.

You just didn't bother learning how to play.

Sour grapes indeed....

Don't feed the Trolls.

Did you ever try campaign, though? <3

Lol isn't it because of that weird unit that, depending on the setup, the AI can make and gives them massive resources early? :P

Begin with the campaigns on easy.
Then play on medium.
Then play on hard.
Then realise this is not Starcraft or Command&Conker
The play again, this time remembering to build defences.
And remember that you need to send the war units on patrol if you want them to keep moving. And make sure both battle units and defences' attack orders are on either "return fire" or "fire at will". If it is on "hold fire", theyll happily be slaughtered without fighting back.

If this doesn't work, there's something wrong with the installed AI.

Also, you can assign construction units to guard the factories, to speed up unit building. I prefer construction aircraft, as they can be unlimited (within the total unit count allowed, anyway) on each factory.

Also, ensure that your metal and energy income and/ or available resources are enough for each unit; running out on either (or both) has a very discernible effect on the speed of construction. Also, what managed to catch me off-guard in the beginning, is that the weapons use energy for their ammo - so if you run out of energy, you'll have both a longer building time for both units and buildings, and a reduced rate of firing for your weapons. I think the rocket launchers are the only ones that do not have this problem; plasma and laser do.

And very important: all radars, sonars and facilities (like targeting facility) use energy to power them. Including the radar on ships, aircraft and vehicles.

I hope this helps.

Also, get the 3.9 update and the 1500 unit patch and the Mega Map. Those also help a lot (I cannot remember the 5,000 unit patch working for me).

And on the skirmish menu, press * then X, to allow up to ten players.

enjoy!

god help you if you're losing to the default AI.

Must be playing a bizarro world version Total Annihilation (original game, not Kingdoms), because on mine the computer AI is almost completely non-functioning. It might attack me once or twice and that's it, and never enough units to even coming close to beating me. And i've tried this on the hardest difficulty with and without the unofficial patch.

The old school games like these are not for the nutless.

I can beat 9 enemy allied against me in Total annihilation, but starcraft is too hard for me and warcraft 3 is also to hard for me.

The difference is that the latter two games are hard point deniers and Total Annihilation is a hard point sucker

This game is at times fun but its main strength lies in just extreme numbers, almost inumerable however when you have played Warcraft III and I suppose Starcraft as well you realize micro-managing units (which is a big challenge in good RTS) is severly lacking in Total Annihilation, units and especially boats turns and manuevers so goddam slow its impossible to keep them from taking damage. To me it is so frustrating that I don't enjoy the game knowing that better titles have come out.

Micro-managing units - AKA - 'unit hand holding' FU--ING S--KS!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

If a combat unit is so dumb it will sit there getting attacked without responding because the player did not give it an order, (because your busy doing something else) that is a red flag your playing a sucky game. Units in Total annihilation wont pull that shit on you (unless you specifically ordered them too) .... thats what makes it a much better game than warcraft 3 or starcraft

There's an old saying, If you don't like the game, don't play it. TA was king at the time it first came out. It was cutting edge but today's youth are spoiled by the titles of today. Games that make you sweat are the best IMO. TA is by far inferior to the advancements of gaming today but you must realize that most old schoolers love it anyway because it was and is hard knocks RTS.

Greetings,

TA launch changes color theme to Windows 7 Basic (rgb mode) making it impossible to play.
Exhausted troubleshooting. Welcome any help.
Thanks in advance.