==========::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::========== -------- Absolute Annihilation Setup and Readme -------- ==========::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::========== Version 1.48 "Read this at least once or I'll get you." http://ta-aa.sourceforge.net =-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-= Table of Contents: [1] Installation [2] Variants [3] Mod Summary [4] Troubleshooting and FAQ [5] Credits [6] Unit Groups [7] Mirrors [8] Legal Junk and Disclaimer [9] Contact Information =-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-= [1] Installation: To install the mod, drop all the AA SDZ files into your Spring\Mods directory. To play, start up the Spring Multiplayer Client and either: a) Join an existing Absolute Annihilation game OR b) Click "Host", then choose a version of Absolute Annihilation as your dataset. Future versions of AA:Spring will be found at the AA Homepage at: http://ta-aa.sourceforge.net If you encounter a bug, *please* don't bother the Swedish Yankspankers (developer of the Spring RTS Engine) about it. This mod package has no affiliation to them. Please report bugs here: http://ta-aa.sourceforge.net/forum.htm (no registration is necessary to post in the bug reporting forum!) Please don't clog up the official Spring forums with bug reports for AA - use ONLY the official AA thread there, in the Mods forum, for discussion relating to Absolute Annihilation. If you are having trouble installing Spring or just can't get things to work in general, read this article I wrote: http://taspring.clan-sy.com/wiki/Read_Me_First =-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-= [2] Variants: In addition to the Absolute Annihilation you're used to, the Spring version also comes with the following variants or "mutators". You can choose which one you want to play when starting a TA Spring game. Here's a summary of what each variant does: F - Forged - This variant has kbots and vehicles combined into a single factory. There is an extra tech level since level 2 units are spread out through two techs to help make it more fair. B - Barebones - This variant basically includes only the units you'd find in OTA. As such, Core has a superweapn, the Krogoth, while Arm does not. H - Hover Commanders - This variant replaces the standard walking Commanders with hovercraft ones. They have no d-gun but can build very fast and also don't explode huge like normal commanders. =-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-= [3] Mod Summary: Absolute Annihilation is the product of hundreds of hours of exhaustive testing and hard work. It has arguably turned out to be the highest quality Total Annihilation- themed mod released to date. Instead of simply adding whatever units are shiniest or look coolest, with AA 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. Other 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 depth of forethought that has gone into making this mod what it is. I played with other mods for years, and in 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, 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, and LLTs are a good defense to have around at almost any point in a game. 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 =-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-= [4] Troubleshooting and FAQ: Q: Spring crashes and it's all your fault. A: Absolute Annihilation (henceforth just "AA") has no bugs in OTA. If Spring crashes as a result of loading AA, it is Spring's fault. Spring is still in heavy development; once some of the more serious bugs get ironed out, stability will improve considerably. Once again, AA has no bugs of its own, certainly not ones that could cause the game to crash. Q: AIs don't work. A: AIs are still in heavy development as well. I'm not going to develop an AI profile for AA only to have it be made obsolete the next day when a new AI version comes out. There are several AI development projects in progress, and some of them ideally won't even require an AI profile when they're done. Q: How do I play AA:Spring? A: You must play AA through the Spring Multiplayer Client. For details on how to do this, check section 1. Q: Where should I install Spring? A: Anywhere except your TA folder. Spring is NOT an addon for TA, it is a seperate standalone program. Q: The balance is terrible. (from XTA players) A: No it's not, you're just used to XTA. All will become clear once you've played AA a few times and have become hopelessly addicted. Q: AA has too many units. A: Nope. Every unit in AA has a purpose. Unlike unit packs like UTASP, none of AA's units are just thrown in for the sake of looking pretty. And unless you build a variety of units, you will lose. And if you still want fewer units to pick from, play the B variant. It has the same units as OTA. Q: Krogoths/Orcones/Black Hydras/Epochs/Krows/Liches are WAY too powerful. A: Nah. If you buld their cost in equivalent but lesser units (ie, bulldogs instead of krogoths), you'll win the fight. The difference is, a Krogoth is more likely to survive a battle, will gain more and more XP, will continue to have the same firepower up until the moment it dies, and can be repaired to fight another day. Which option seems better to you? It really just depends on your play style. If you simply can't stand these units, try playing the MT variant, where all of the above units aren't buildable. Q: Nano towers suck now. They were better before they got their range halved. A: I disagree. I don't like seeing massive 10x10 bricks of them built and then used to power your entire economy. Furthermore, they were commonly used to reclaim enemy units before, which was stupid. Q: Why did X unit get cut during the conversion from Total Annihilation to Spring? A: Either it didn't work properly due to an engine bug, or will be returned at a later date but currently couldn't be made to work. Or it just really sucks and officially never existed. Q: The entire game becomes a rush to level 3 in AA. This sucks. A: Play a decent map. 9/10 maps for Spring are horrible and have far too much metal. I don't know why map makers have suddenly decided that in Spring you should have +30 metal income in the first 5 minutes rather than +7 in the first 15 minutes... but for some reason they have. I theorize that they are all Starcraft players who have come to Spring to ruin it. I hope they come to their senses soon, because as you say, it makes the game unfun. And for the love of whatever deity and/or object(s) you worship, stop playing metal maps. They are garbage. Q: A lot of units are SUPER slow and get slaughtered when I try to attack with them. A: Not all of AA's mobile units are meant strictly for attack. Try using slower units as mobile base perimeters, or a way to soak up punishment while your other units dish out the damage. For instance, if you have a couple of sumos walking towards your enemy's base, and he knows it, he has the following options: attack the sumos and allow the other units to unload their firepower on his base, or ignore the sumos and pay the price when they come into firing range and destroy everything. Not a pretty picture either way. Q: Penetrators (mobile annihlators) won't shoot! A: As of 1.2, they have a very narrow field of fire. Their target must be within a 90-degree cone directly in front of them. Q: Storage buildings are useless! A: Only in comparison with XTA, wherein they are outragously large. Also in AA, not just the storage buildings have a certain amount of storage capacity. Moho extractors, fusions, geothermals, and other resource buildings also have storage relative to their output. =-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-= [5] Credits: Absolute Annihilation's Community Brave Sir Robin (Uberhack) Andrey Scherbakov (contributor) StonedWolf (contributor) Twilight (contributor) Archangel (contributor, barbed marshmallow, Überscripter of teh doom) Forboding Angel (contributor) =-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-= [6] 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 =-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-= [7] Mirrors: Sourceforge - www.sourceforge.net FileFront - www.filefront.com File Universe - www.fileuniverse.com =-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-= [8] 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. (2) I am not responsible in any way for any damages incurred while using this pack or 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. =-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-= [9] Contact Information: Email: altor@rogers.ca MSN: whydoblackhelicopterskeepcirclingmyhouse@hotmail.com Net: http://ta-aa.sourceforge.net Forum: http://ta-aa.sourceforge.net/forum.htm Forge: http://sourceforge.net/projects/ta-aa/ Pack Assembeled and all units modified by Caydr 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! (until SupCom. Hey Chris, how about a job?)