==========::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::========== -------- Absolute Annihilation Setup and Readme 6.0 -------- ==========::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::========== September 30, 2005 Read this at least once, or I'll get you. =-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-= Table of Contents: [1] System Information [2] Mod Summary [3] Compatibility [4] Main Features [5] Installation [6] Uninstallation [7] Stability [8] Troubleshooting [9] Legal Junk and Disclaimer [10] Credits [11] Unit Groups [12] Mirrors [13] Contact Information =-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-= [1] System Information: Minimum System Specifications: 400~ Mhz Intel 64 MB of system memory 4-mb video card Windows 95 DirectX 5 Total Annihilation Retail 3.1c No 3rd party units Recommended System Specifications: 800+ Mhz Intel 256 MB of system memory 32-mb video card Windows 98 DirectX 9 Total Annihilation Retail 3.1c Core Contingency No 3rd party units My System Specifications: (you want to be cool like me, don't you?) 3.2 Ghz Intel 1024 MB system memory 128 MB Radeon 9800XT WinXP Pro sp2 DX9.1c Total Annihilation Retal 3.1c Core Contingency Battle Tactics Maps Absolute Annihilation Big speakers UNSUPPORTED AT THIS TIME: Windows ME AA's sytem requirements are higher than regular TA. To improve performance, make sure to play with TRUE or CIRCULAR line of sight enabled. Also, clear out your Temporary Internet Files, Temp, Cookies, Recent, and History directories regularly. Highly Recommended Utilities: AdAware - http://www.lavasoftusa.com/ Cacheman XP - http://www.outertech.com RegSupreme - http://www.jv16.org/ =-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-= [2] Mod Summary: Absolute Annihilation is the product of hundreds of hours of exhaustive testing and very hard work. It has arguably turned out to be the highest quality 3rd-party Total Annihilation-themed mod released to date. For a long time, the thing I've been proudest about with AA is that it doesn't push the boundaries of the TA engine as other mods do by putting in a full 512 units and 256 weapon classes just for the sake of it. Instead, I have carefully added units one at a time over a long period, picking and choosing very selectively, taking only the best units, basing my assessment of them not on how good-looking they are, but by their ability to perform a specific function. The jobs others have done in this field were impressive at the time and necessary, but fundamentally flawed. These mods are built upon a foundation of poor stability, half-baked units, mediocre balance, a lack of diversity between units, and outrageous leaps in logic. The end user doesn't build things because they look cool, at least not in any kind of competitive environment. They build things because they get the job done. Why build anything in the early game besides flashes? There's no reason; flashes own all. And this is how it remains in all the mods I've tried: except in very rare cases, every menu has one unit, or two at the most, that is ever built. This is what Absolute Annihilation addresses. I've made every unit have a reason to be built. I guarantee that in your first online game with a skilled player, you will see more units used in more situations for more reasons and with more strategy than you've seen with any mod or configuration. The purpose of AA can be summed up with one sentence: For every form of attack or defense, there must be a countermeasure; there are no defenses too strong, and no attack too potent to route entirely. As you play and gain experience, you will see the depths of forethought that has gone into making this mod what it is. I played with other mods for over a year, and in that time I can still remember a lot of units which were not merely unbalanced, but often times either completely game-dominating or completely useless. The most satisfying, long-lasting mod experience I've ever had is with Uberhack by Brave Sir Robin. The key to Uberhack was that the new content was added to TA, without taking anything away from the original game in the process. This is what I hope to accomplish with AA, but on a larger scale. It's like what the game WOULD be if units were still being released weekly from Cavedog. AA is, first and foremost, a mod about balance, not about ridiculous numbers of units. Most factories only have very conservative numbers of new units. This is because I felt that what was already in place didn't need anything else. This IS Total Annihilation we're talking about, after all - the game with more stock units than any other RTS to date! When I began working on AA, I actually began removing units before I added any new ones - but only ones which I felt were beyond salvaging. These removed units have had their roles given to lesser units which you probably didn't regularly build before. Also, I'd like to mention that all units, including many Cavedog ones, have been changed in some way and may do completely different things. It'll take a while to learn all these differences, I know, but in the end it's worth it. Point is, you should build every unit at least once, if only just to see what it does. Many units that were largely useless or not worth building are now very important. For example, the EMP and Neutron launchers now fire medium-range cruise missiles. Next, I've changed the movement abilities of construction units around a bit. Construction vehicles' turning speed has been reduced slightly, while kbots have been given a slight boost to their top speed and building range. While vehicles are significantly better builders for large projects such as RFLRPCs, kbots are by far superior in guarding construction facilities and boosting their production rate. You can fit four construction kbots in the same space as one vehicle would normally occupy. All of the units I've included can be found at at least one of the following: Unit Evaluation Center - http://www.planetannihilation.com/tauec Core Prime - http://www.planetannihilation.com/coreprime Unit Review Central - http://www.tauniverse.com/urc Here's a nifty addition to the mod since 1.0 - when the intro movie pops up, just push the spacebar and hold it down to immediately jump into a skirmish game with your most recent settings! Cool, eh? Not exactly a marvel of engineering, but it makes it a bit quicker to get into a game. That's what's important, right? =-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-= [3] Compatibility: Don't use any other 3rd party material in the same install as AA, unless it is known to have been made specially compatible. Do not install the latest TAMEC HPI files, as they are already included. (2004F) =-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-= [4] Main Features: - 100% conflict-free - 110% stable - Sexy new "glowy" textures - 444 Units (500 IDs) - 246 Weapons - Includes improved and customized Banzai 3.0 AI - Includes latest TAMEC 2004 "Final" HPI sets - Includes Dark Rain's map selection GUI - Includes Gnome's MP lounge GUI - Mac-compatible audio (should be) =-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-= [5] Installation: 1) Delete your current TA directory. 2) Install TA again. 3) Download and install 3.1 patch. 4) Make a backup of your current rev31.gp3 file 5) Add AA's rev31.gp3 to your TA directory =-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-= [6] Uninstallation: 1) Replace AA's gp3 file with your backup =-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-= [7] Stability: I have tested the game in multiplayer on dozens of occasions with no difficulties whatsoever, even with lenthly battles (about 4 hours gametime) on large maps. AA 5.5 has been tested by myself on 3 Windows XP-based systems and 2 Win98 systems with NO crashes or error messages. Use "Epic" maps (anything over 40x40 in size) at your own risk. Don't blame me when your AI can't pathfind - this happens with any configuration. If you have any problems, be sure to email me with when the crash takes place and any other information you can provide, and I'll see if I can figure out what's going wrong. My email's at the bottom of this doc. Please do not use MSN to send bug reports - use either the forum, or my email. Note: Absolute Annihilation is, at this time, incompatible with Battle Tactics. Please do not install Battle Tactics, and if you do, remove the btdata.ccx file from your TA directory. This file is useless in every sense of the word and conflicts with AA and other 3rd party packages. =-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-= [8] Troubleshooting: Q: I get this crash during the loading screen... what's up? A: You have 3rd party stuff installed. Q: I don't have any 3rd party units installed! A: Well, then, uninstall TA, delete its directory, and install the stuff again in the following order: Total Annihilation Core Contingency (if applicable) TA 1.x -> 3.1c patch Absolute Annihilation If, after doing this you still get crashes, email me. Q: I have an unexplained crash... it happens at X time, or when I build Y. A: Refer to question one. If this doesn't solve your problem, email me. Please describe the crash in as much detail as you can. Q: Gah!!! Pathfinding by the large units is AWFUL! A: Somewhere along the path you've given your unit, the trees, rocks or terrain is too thick for it to maneuver through. Either blow up the offending trees, or use a heavy transport (Seahook, Dragonfly) to lift your unit past the area. Q: A bunch of the AI constructors are nanolathing into... nothing. A: Whatever they're building is cloaked already. Sneaky, sneaky. Q: Mexxes and Mohos don't spin at the regular speed, what's wrong? A: Actually, this was purely intentional. I've merely decreased the speed at which they rotate by about 40%. They still give the same metal output, they just look a bit less idiotic on metal maps and full (2.0) metal patches. If you look carefully, you can tell the difference between a Moho Exploiter and a Moho Extractor by looking at how fast its top is spinning! Q: The game gets stuck at "synching" in multiplayer. A: Just have your friends all leave and re-enter the room. This is a bug in TA's netcode and occasionally affects ALL Total Annihilation multiplayer games - modded or not. Q: Does the AI cheat? Cos cheating AIs are lame... it's like a stacked deck. A: Yes. It cheats. There, I said it. Core cheats a little more than Arm, because of its relatively high focus on economy and structure. The cheating isn't something like "fusion provides 1000000000000 energy+metal". The only time the AI cheats is in the early game, with metal extractors. Both sides also get a small production bonus in their advanced factories - but they still have to pay just as much for the units they produce. Q: What happened to all the translated unit names and descriptions? Now how will I find my schlachtschiff??? A: Well, because I've changed the purpose of so many units in AA, I've decided that it's for the best to remove all translations from the mod. Basically, I had to choose between wildly inaccurate descriptions or english ones. Besides, you wouldn't have been able to download AA if you can't read the site, right? Q: Why are there so few AI profiles? A: It's easier for me to do. Meh. And, for instance, I have yet to see the benefit of the urban AI over the default one. It's a pain in the neck to have to change 6 values in each of 12 or more files just to modify the AI's behaviour slightly. AA has only 5 AI profiles: Air - For maps with no water or land connections, like some slate maps. AI should build a very minimum of ground units. Default - For general purpose land slug-matches. Will perform well on most maps. Hover - For maps with a lot of lakes and hills, where neither land nor water is in enough quantity to be useful. AI should build a combination of land, air, and hover units. SeaBattle - For maps with a lot of water, such as Void. AI will build a minimum of ground units and a lot of water units. Waterwrld - For all-water maps. Very similar to seabattle, if I remember, to the total exclusion of anything land-based. If these are used properly, the AI should perform well on almost any map. Q: I get an error when I try to play the AA campaign. Wasssszzhhhhaaa? A: Put in TA disc 2. Q: What, exactly, does "clean install" mean? A: A clean install is Total Annihilation > Core Contingency > 3.1c Patch. After doing exactly that, you should have a directory with the following files: ccdata.ccx 25265 KB ccmaps.ccx 150111 KB ccmiss.ccx 114672 KB mptaext.dll 135 KB online.dll 58 KB readme.doc 29 KB readme31.txt 10 KB rev31.gp3 5352 KB setup.exe 288 KB setup.ini 1 KB smackw32.dll 81 KB Taccread.doc 58 KB Taccread.txt 35 KB tadwngox.dll 28 KB taheatx.dll 29 KB takalix.dll 29 KB tamplayx.dll 30 KB tatenx.dll 28 KB tawirepx.dll 30 KB TotalA.exe 1151 KB totala1.hpi 31553 KB This is a clean install. It is now safe to apply Absolute Annihilation, and your gameplay will be glitch/bug/hang/stall-free. Q: How do I install AA? A: 1) Delete your current TA directory - OR back it up somewhere. Whatever. 2) Insert your TA CD. Install TA. 3) Insert your Core Contingency CD. Install it too. (IF you have CC. It's not vital to the running of AA) 4) Install the Total Annihilation 3.1c patch, which is available at virtually every TA site, including the AA site. 5) Copy rev31.gp3 from the AA zip file you downloaded into your TA directory (this should be the same directory as "totala.exe"), OVERWRITING. Q: so, wehn i m bilding the guyss and their like j00 teh bo0m goya devron loaf¿ A: I will respond to ENGLISH enquiries only, crazy foreign-person! Q: I'm the head of Atari Uninteractive, and I want to sue your pants off! A: ¿i no spaek engish Q: (Anything else) A: Email me. =-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-= [9] Legal Junk and Disclaimer: (1) I claim no ownership of the units included in this pack and acknoledge their authors. I claim ownership only of how this pack is assembled, which particular units were included and/or modified and ALL of the maps which came with it except for Great Divide. I claim no ownership of the TAMEC features either. (2) I am not responsible in any way for any damages incurred while using this pack or using any suggestions found in this readme file. (3) You agree with all of the terms, conditions, and other stuff in the GNU Public License file accompanying AA. (4) If you disagree with any of these terms, delete the mod and don't use it. =-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-= [10] Credits: Absolute Annihilation's community Brave Sir Robin for Uberhack the Swedish Yankspankers for XTA Switeck for Bugfix TAUIP UTASP TAUCP GMTA Andrey Scherbakov StonedWolf Twilight Tamec.org =-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-= [11] Unit Groups: Aftermath Design Bethany Brand Units C.A.N.A.D.A. Cavedog Central Consciousness Core Prime Immer Killer TA Units M.A.D. TA Marcosoft Mayhem Inc Merciless Creations P-We Division Rat Skunk Works StoneAge Creations TAAN/TAAN Upgrades TA Bio Hazard TA-Power Taskforce The Lost Legacy Total Annihilation Generation Total Annihilation R&D Total Annihilation Units Creation Center Total Annihilation War Factory The Dojo Tonic Rangers Uberhack Upstart Design Group Unlimited Units Water World Wars World Domination =-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-= [12] Mirrors: FileFront - www.filefront.com FilePlanet - www.fileplanet.com File Universe - www.fileuniverse.com Sourceforge - www.sourceforge.net =-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-= [13] Contact Information: Email: altor@rogers.ca MSN: whydoblackhelicopterskeepcirclingmyhouse@hotmail.com Net: http://www.planetannihilation.com/aa Forum: http://www.planetannihilation.com/aa/forum.htm Forge: http://sourceforge.net/projects/ta-aa/ Pack Assembeled and all units modified by Altor and/or his partners in crime and/or his dummy corporations in the Middle-East. Long live Total Annihilation, the greatest RTS of all time!