TOTAL ANNIHILATION
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Access Route Ease of Use
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A Galactic war between the Arm and the Core. Total Annihilation of the enemy is the objective. This software is the standard for war games.
The Galactic War
Long ago, the galaxy was a paradise of peace and tranquillity. This paradise was ruled by a galactic governing body known as CORE.
Paradoxically, the troubles started when science won the biggest victory of them all-a victory over death itself. The invention of a process called 'patterning' allowed the transfer of human consciousness, of the human mind, into machines. This electronic duplication of brain matrices was made mandatory for all the citizens of the galaxy. Effectively, it meant immortality; but there were many who were unwilling to toss their bodies aside so casually, and others that regarded patterning as a straightforward atrocity.
The rebels fled from the rule of CORE and hid in the outer edges of the galaxy. With time, they formed an organisation known as ARM. A murderous war began. ARM developed high-powered combat suits for its soldiers; CORE transferred the minds of its finest soldiers into deadly machines, duplicating its best fighters thousands of times over. ARM countered this by using cloning. The war raged on, consuming the resources of the entire galaxy, and leaving most of it a scorched wasteland.
After four thousand years of fighting, both sides came to stalemate. Their vast military complexes were smashed; their economies were ruined. The once-mighty armies of CORE and ARM were reduced to a few scattered survivors. But they continued to battle on ravaged worlds, their mutual hatred as strong as ever.
For each side, the only acceptable outcome was the total annihilation of the other.
Before you try yourself at Total Annihilation's real-time strategy, go for a quick look at the on-line user's guide.
CLICK HERE to access the Total Annihilation User's guide.
If you can't wait starting the game now, read the following sections to get quick start tips and understand the game basics.
Total Annihilation is a real-time strategy game. You win by making the right strategic choices in structure and unit management, and you play in real time, without taking turns.
It's not enough to make all the right moves; you must be able to make them fast. Even a not-so-good move made promptly is better than a brilliant one made too late.
Total Annihilation is a blast, but it is also a complex game. If you are new to real-time strategy games, make sure you know the structures and units at your disposal. It's a very good idea to have some knowledge of the units and structures at your enemy's disposal, too. It's worth your while to take the trouble to learn the structure and unit hierarchy. Section IV of this manual provides hierarchy charts for ARM and CORE structures and units.
Total Annihilation features 3D terrain. Treat it as you do terrain in the real world, because that's how it affects your units. If you choose True Line of Sight in the Game Options, terrain features will affect what your units can see and what they can't.
Finally, Total Annihilation is a game in which both winning and losing are fun. Don't worry about winning too much when you're fresh to the game. Just play, and have fun!
The New Game screen presents you with four options.
- SINGLE starts a new single player game.
- MULTI starts a new multiplayer game.
- INTRO replays the opening movie, showing an intense battle between ARM and CORE.
- EXIT takes you back to the desktop.
Choosing SINGLE from the New Game screen gives you a new set of options.
- NEW CAMPAIGN will start a new campaign game.
- SKIRMISH will set up a battle between you and up to three computer opponents on the multiplayer map of your choice.
- OPTIONS takes you to the Game Options screen. This presents you with a whole set of choices, discussed further on in a separate section.
- LOAD GAME loads a previously saved campaign game.
1- New Campaign
Selecting New Campaign takes you to the Campaign Screen. Once there, you'll choose:
- Which side to play, ARM or CORE;
- The difficulty level: Easy, Medium, or Hard. This varies the starting forces available to you and your opponent. Players new to real-time strategy should choose Easy; players new to TA should choose Medium; really tough guys should choose Hard.
NOTE
There is no clear-cut advantage to either ARM or CORE. The two armies have corresponding units in each unit class: every unit has an enemy equivalent. However, there are subtle differences between the corresponding units on both sides. Part of the fun in the game consists of discovering these differences, and putting them to good use.One general comment: on the whole CORE units are slightly more heavily armoured, but slower than their ARM counterparts.
2- Skirmish
Selecting SKIRMISH will launch a game in which you play against up to three computer opponents. Traditionally, this is good training ground for later multiplayer games, but you'll probably fight a better Campaign game, too. The Skirmish mode gives you instant access to the game's most sophisticated units, whereas the Campaign is arranged in a learning curve.
The Skirmish screen also gives you an opportunity to customise your game. The panel on the left lets you set starting conditions for yourself and up to three computer opponents:
- PLAYER lets you adjust the number of computer opponents; three is the maximum.
- SIDE lets you choose your army-ARM or CORE.
- COLOR sets your army's colours. Click on the colour square to see all available choices.
- ALLY lets you set up alliances between you and selected computer players, and also among computer players (without your participation).
- METAL determines the amount of metal everyone starts with. This can be further modified by the Difficulty setting-see below.
- ENERGY determines the amount of energy everyone starts with. This also is modified by the Difficulty setting-see below.
The button below the discussed choices lets you choose a battlefield for your Skirmish game. You can choose any of the multiplayer maps included with the game. Note that the bigger maps require 32MB of RAM.
In addition to the above, the Skirmish screen contains 5 options affecting gameplay:
- COMMANDER. When you choose Game Ends, the game will end when you lose your Commander or destroy enemy Commanders. Game Continues means just that.
- LOCATION. Choosing Fixed places the Commanders in pre-determined starting positions on the battlefield. Choosing RANDOM means the Commanders start the game in random locations.
- MAPPING MODE. Choosing Unmapped means the game starts with an unexplored map. Selecting Mapped means the whole battlefield is revealed right from the start.
- LINE OF SIGHT. Choosing True LoS means terrain affects what a unit can see. Choosing Circular means the terrain will not affect a unit's view, but that view is still limited to the unit's spotting range. Choosing Permanent LoS means all explored, or revealed, terrain is visible at all times.
- DIFFICULTY. The choices are Easy, Medium, and Hard. This affects the resources everyone starts with, not the AI. On Easy, you'll be in an advantageous position; on Medium, everybody starts equal; on Hard, the computer players are given an advantage.
NOTE
Higher amounts of metal and energy result in sophisticated weapons appearing within a shorter time frame.
3- Game Options
The Game Options screen accessed through the OPTIONS button presents a wide variety of choices. Many of these affect game performance.
The Game Options screen can also be accessed during the game with the F2 key.
- SOUND opens a menu with Sound Options. Turning Unit Sounds off or down improves game performance.
- MUSIC opens a menu with Music Options. Turning CD music off improves game performance.
- INTERFACE leads to a menu with Interface Options. Slowing the game speed, reducing the number of text lines, and turning off or reducing Unit Text all improve performance. The Interface button within the Interface Options menu lets you choose between left and right-click mouse interface. This choice is discussed in Section IV-please see Table of Contents.
- VISUALS opens a menu with Graphic Options. The Gamma slider regulates the brightness of the screen, and the Screen Size slider-the resolution. Turning Shading, Anti-Aliasing, and Shadows off improves game performance.
This section discusses the game components-featured resources, structures, and units-and how to control them through the game's interface.
The game features two resources: energy and metal. These are used to build structures and units.
1- Metal
You can obtain metal in several ways:
- By mining it, after you've built the appropriate structure (Metal Extractor)
- By converting energy into metal. Again, you have to build the appropriate structure first (Metal Maker)
- By reclaiming metal from wrecks (TA's take on recycling). This can only be done with units that can also construct buildings. Examples: the Commander, Construction Kbots and Construction Vehicles. You'll see the RECLAIM button on the selected unit's Orders menu.
- By gathering the lumps of ore scattered on many planetary landscapes (they look like clusters of shiny lumps). Again, this can only be done through the RECLAIM function of construction-capable units.
It's important to maintain stocks of metal. Building Metal Storage structures can be helpful. Once you've progressed into the game, additional ways of obtaining metal become available.
2- Energy
Building anything also requires energy. Like metal, energy can be obtained in several ways:
- By building Solar Collectors to gather solar energy.
- By building Tidal Generators powered by the changing ocean tide.
- By building Wind Generators. As the name implies, these are powered by wind.
- By building Geothermal Powerplants. These can only be built over steaming geothermal vents you'll see on certain worlds.
- By harvesting biomass. This essentially means all vegetation (patches of moss, shrubs, bushes, trees) with the exception of grass.
It's important to store energy in anticipation of needs. You cannot build anything without sufficient energy even if you have lots of metal. Building Energy Storage structures is helpful.
As you progress into the game, additional ways of producing energy become available.
3- Structures
There are several types of structures in Total Annihilation. Some give you metal and energy, as explained in the preceding sections. Many produce units, including both combat and construction units which in turn can build higher-level structures. Other structures perform strictly combat roles: you'll build them for defensive and offensive purposes.
Section 3/3 contains hierarchy charts for units and structures, as well as a short description of every Level 1 and Level 2 structure found in the game. As you progress, additional units and structures may become available...
4- Units
Total Annihilation features probably the widest selection of land, sea, and air units featured in any real-time strategy game. In addition, new units are posted periodically at www.totalannihilation.com.
The units in the game break down into combat units and construction units. Construction units have several functions:
- Building new structures. Note that several construction units can work on a single structure at the same time. This significantly shortens construction time. To assign an additional construction unit to a project, order it to Repair the building under construction.
- Repairing structures and units.
- Reclaiming metal and energy.
Construction units can build higher level structures. For instance, a Construction Vehicle built in a Vehicle Plant is able to build an Advanced Vehicle Plant, which in turn can build an Advanced Construction Vehicle.
The Commander is the only unit that combines combat and construction capabilities.
Total Annihilation is played almost exclusively with the mouse. You can configure your mouse to use a left-click or right click interface, as you prefer.
In addition, you can also use the keyboard for certain handy functions. A full list of all keyboard shortcuts is provided on the back cover of this manual. [note: the keyboard shortcuts should be either on the back cover or a separate card, maybe tear-out, for maximum ease of reference]
1- Choosing the Mouse Interface
You choose your favoured mouse interface through the Options menu, which displays an Interface button.
- The left-click mouse interface uses the left mouse button for selecting units and giving them orders. The right mouse button is used to deselect units, and within the Mini-Map.
- The right-click mouse interface uses the left mouse button to select units, but the right mouse button to give them orders. The left mouse button is also used to deselect units, and within the Mini-Map.
The default setting is the left-click mouse interface. With this setting, the mouse cursor will change with the type of order being given to the unit. It will not change if you have selected a right-click interface.
You always use one button to order units, and the other button for changing views within the Mini-Map. If you order units with a left-click, you will change views by right-clicking on the Mini-Map.
In addition to selecting individual units, you can also select groups by drawing a frame around them. You draw a frame by dragging the mouse (moving the mouse with the button held down).
2- The Main Battle Screen
Once you have completed game setup and started a game of Total Annihilation, you are taken to the Main Battle Screen. Most of it is taken up by the Battle Map, where the action takes place.
To the side of the Battle Map is a panel containing a mini-map of the battlefield, and the Build/Orders menu. The top and bottom of the Main Battle Screen feature status bars showing you the state of your resources (top), and the state of the selected unit (bottom; you have to place the mouse cursor over the selected unit to activate this feature).
3- The Battle Map
The Battle Map shows the battlefield from an overhead 3D perspective. New games typically start with an unexplored map; you have to explore it with your units to reveal the battlefield and find the enemy. You can only see what your units and structures can 'see' at any given time. Unexplored areas are black. Areas that were explored by your units, but are not currently under your observation will show as grey on the map.
Note that units or structures selected on the Battle Map show their health bars. A green bar indicates good health; yellow, some damage; red, serious damage.
Units selected on the Main Map may be given orders using the Mini-Map, and the other way around. For example, you can click on a unit on the Main Map and move it to a new location by clicking on it in the Mini-Map.
4- The Mini-Map
The upper left corner of the Battle Screen features a small map of the whole battlefield. This little map is useful for keeping track of the situation, and for quickly jumping from one area to another. You can also move units and order them to fire on the Mini-Map, just like on the main Battle Map.
To quickly jump to a location, click on it within the Mini-Map. You can also scroll within the Mini-Map by clicking and holding the appropriate mouse button. This depends on your choice of the mouse interface.
Units can be given orders within the Mini-Map, just like on the Main Map. This is particularly convenient when moving a unit a long distance, or conducting long-range bombardment.
5- The Resources Status Bar
At the top of the Main Battle Screen you'll see a status bar informing you about the stocks, production, and usage of your resources. The horizontal bars indicate how much metal/energy you've got stored and ready.
Make a habit of checking the numbers for production (+) and usage (-). The plus (+) sign indicates how much metal/energy is being produced; the minus (-) sign shows how much is being used. If the numbers for usage are larger than those for production, you'll see your stocks gradually reduced until you run out. Remember that you cannot have stocks of resources larger than your maximum storage capacity, which is indicated by a number at the end of the horizontal resource bars.
Note that maximum storage can change, depending on whether you build storage facilities.
6- The Unit Status Bar
The Unit Status Bar appears at the bottom of the Main Battle Screen. To access it, select a unit and hold the mouse cursor over it. You will be told what type of unit it is, and how many enemy units it has killed. Units with more than 5 kills become veterans, which very slightly improves their combat capabilities. Each subsequent 5 kills results in another small improvement in the unit's battlefield performance. It pays to keep veterans going!
The horizontal bar is the unit's health bar. When green from end to end, the unit is 100% healthy. The bar starts showing red when the unit is damaged; more red means more damage.
The figures to the right of the health bar show the unit's metal/energy production/consumption. They will change when you order a construction unit or the Commander to build or repair something. Note that the Commander produces a small amount of energy.
There are two buttons under the Mini-Map: Build and Orders. Use them to toggle between Build and Orders menus.
To issue a command from either menu, you first have to select the unit or units you want to give orders to.
The Orders menu is different for construction units and different for combat units, reflecting the selected unit's capabilities.
1- The Build Menu
The Build menu is the one used for construction units and your Commander.
When you click the Build button, a set of building icons will appear. Note that only six icons are shown at any one time. To view all possible building choices, use the left/right scroll arrows located under the building icons.
2- Building Structures
To build a structure, select the construction unit and click on the appropriate icon in the Build menu. When you move the mouse cursor over the Battle Map, you'll see an outline of the intended structure. A red outline means you cannot build in the selected location; green means you can.
After you've chosen the building site, click to start the construction process.
Note that you can order construction of multiple buildings of the same kind. Shift-click (SHIFT key + mouse-click) on all the building sites, and the construction unit will build the same structure in sequence in all chosen locations.
3- Building Units
To build a unit, click on the appropriate unit-producing structure, then left-click on the desired unit's icon in the Build menu. Multiple clicks on the selected icon mean multiple production orders forming a production queue; you'll see a number indicating how many units are waiting to be built. Note that you can queue up units of different types.
To cancel building a unit, right-click on the unit's icon in the Build menu.
4- The Orders Menu
When you select a unit, a menu automatically appears under Build and Orders buttons. This menu reflects the capabilities of the selected unit. Combat units will have different Orders menus from construction units.
The choices available in the Orders menu can be grouped into firing orders, movement orders, and immediate orders.
Combine firing and movement orders to make units behave the way you want them to. Note that a construction units automatically repairs any damaged unit it comes across, and can be given appropriate movement orders.
5 -Firing Orders
There are three options, from aggressive to passive:
- FIRE AT WILL. The unit will open fire on any enemy unit/structure within range.
- RETURN FIRE. The unit will only open fire after being fired on.
- HOLD FIRE. The unit will not open fire unless ordered to do so. This is useful when trying to capture an enemy structure or unit, or for avoiding friendly fire casualties.
6- Movement Orders
There are three movement options, from passive to active:
- HOLD POSITION. The unit will not move from its assigned position no matter what happens.
- MANEUVER. A unit will maneuver in self-defence or in order to attack a nearby enemy, but only within a short radius of its assigned position.
- ROAM. Unit has freedom to move wherever it likes. In practice, this means it will follow enemy units it has engaged in combat.
7- Immediate Orders
In addition to general movement and firing orders, a unit can also be given immediate orders. Note that orders can be queued up: you can order a unit to perform a sequence of tasks. To do this, hold down the SHIFT key while issuing orders (clicking the mouse).
EXAMPLE: Let's say you want your Commander to build several structures. You don't have to click on one structure icon at a time, select the site, and then wait for the Commander to finish construction before issuing another Build order. Hold down the SHIFT key and select the first structure you want built and its site; then the next structure and its site, and so on. The Commander will build the structures in the same sequence you ordered him to, without further intervention.
Many immediate orders are signalled by a changed cursor, as indicated: [note: cursor graphics should be used here in lieu of bullets, as in the existing manual]
- RECLAIM. This order can only be issued to construction units and the Commander. The unit reclaims metal or energy from the selected location.
- REPAIR. Applies only to construction units and the Commander. Unit will repair another selected unit, or join another construction unit in building a structure.
- MOVE. Tells the unit to relocate to a new position; doesn't change unit's general movement orders.
- GUARD. Tells the unit to guard a another, selected unit. In practice, attaches one unit to another.
- ATTACK. Tells the unit to attack a selected enemy unit or structure.
- CAPTURE. Only the Commander can capture enemy units and structures. The larger and more heavily armoured the target, the longer it takes to capture.
- STOP. This command cancels all previous commands issued to the unit.
- PATROL. Lets you set a patrol route for the unit.
- LOAD/UNLOAD. This order may only be issued to transport units.
- D-GUN. Only the Commander had the Disintegrator Gun. It works just as advertised, but uses lots of energy.
Note that the cursor changes to reflect a unit's immediate orders only if you have selected the left-click mouse interface.
1- Keyboard commands
A Give an attack order B Select the Build menu for the current unit C Give a capture order D Use the Disintegrator Gun E Give a reclaim order F Toggles between Hold Fire, Return Fire, and Fire at Will in selected unit's standing orders menu G Give a guard order H Share resources with another player K Toggles cloaking for selected units with this capability M Give a move order N Scroll to the next unit off screen O Select the Orders menu for the current unit P Give a patrol order R Give a repair order S Give a stop order (cancel previous orders) T Track the selected unit V Toggles between Hold Position, Maneuver, and Roam in selected unit's standing orders menu 1 - 9 Select the menu for the current unit CTRL+A Select all units CTRL+B Select all construction units except the Commander CTRL+C Select the Commander CTRL+D Destruct selected unit(s) CTRL+F Select all factories CTRL+S Select all units currently on the screen CTRL+V Select all aircraft CTRL+Z Select all units of same type CTRL+1 - 9 Assign the currently selected units to a squad ALT+1 - 9 Select squad CTRL+F5 - F8 Applies a map bookmark at cursor location F5 - F8 Centres the screen on a map bookmark CTRL+F9 Screen capture SHIFT Hold down to queue up multiple commands and unit orders ESC Cancels the current command SPACEBAR Activate the game status bar displaying the game time, number of units, maximum units, and the game speed ENTER Activate the message bar talk options and specify which players are able to view your chat messages PAUSE Pause the game TAB Brings up the following multi-player features: Options F2 game options
Allies Make and break allegiances with other players
Share Share resources, map info and units with other players
Control Available only to the game creator, used to reject players from the game- Reduce the game speed + or = Increase the game speed , (comma) Select the previous menu for that unit . (period) Select the next menu for that unit ~ or # or ! Toggle damage bars on the units F1 Display information on selected unit F2 Display the Options menu F3 Selects the unit that last reported F4 Brings up a scorecard tallying the kills and losses for each player. The scorecard will update to reflect the status of the game as it progresses. The player with the highest kill count will appear at the top of the scorecard list. F12 Clear all chat messages
2- Cursors
When targeting an enemy unit, your attack cursor may sometimes appear as a circle with a diagonal line through it. This denotes that either the enemy unit you are targeting is out of range or that the attacking unit lacks the resources to fire.
3- Construction facilities
Clicking the orders button sets the default standing orders of any unit produced.
The destination of each unit produced from a Construction Facility can be set by clicking the move button on the Facilities' immediate orders menu and selecting a location on the battle screen or radar map.
4- Construction units
Construction units can reclaim metal and energy from various sources including healthy units, wreckage, trees and rocks. Any construction unit set on patrol will automatically reclaim energy and metal from available sources and heal your damaged units as needed.
5- All units
Multiple commands can be queued up by simply holding down the shift key while giving commands. A transparent cursor or green build square will appear to show the command and its location.
6- Mini-Map
The top left corner of the main battle screen features a mini-map which reflects a number of game features, described as follows:
green circles denote radar/sonar coverage of selected unit
red circles outline radar jamming features of selected unit
white circles coverage of nuclear protectors
white dotted circles coverage provided by protector missiles
X nuclear missile in motion toward target
yellow dots weapon fire
Arm Mission 1: A Hero Returns
Objective: The objective of this mission is to secure the Galactic Gate from a Core threat.
Map: You start near the middle bottom of the map. The Galactic Gate is located in the upper section of the map in a big caldera. Core units are scattered across the map to stop you from gaining control of the Gate.
Strategy: Select all the units and use them together for more force. You can do this by clicking and dragging the green box over all the units on the screen or by using the Ctrl-A key combination. Using all your units together masses their firepower, taking out enemy units faster with less damage incurred to your own units (very important since you have no repair capabilities at this level). Keep an eye on the mini-map (upper left corner), your units will appear as blue dots. The exposed area will appear green, uncovered territory appears black, explored territory that is out of sight shows grey and enemy units are red dots. With your units still selected, click on the upper left corner of the battle map. Your units will start moving up and to the left, across the terrain at different rates. If you are trying to mass your firepower onto enemy units, it's important to keep all of your units together, so keep an eye on them and don't let them get too spread out.
Enemy units will quickly appear. Click on the Core units as they come into sight. Your units will converge and attack. Continue this until there are no more enemy units. Watch your cursor for changes. It will reflect when a unit is out of attack range, etc. You can also track unit health by turning on the damage bars, which appear as a green line under each unit. The damage bar turns red as a unit takes damage, until the unit is dead (then it turns black).
Keep referring to the mini-map (upper left corner) since you can see enemy units there before you can see them on your battle map. Move your massed units in their direction and attack as you see them. Keep moving across the map toward your goal attacking enemy units as you encounter them. Move all your units up and into the caldera containing the Galactic Gate. This will end the mission.
Arm Mission 2: Core Kbot base, destroy it!
Objective: Establish a base by building metal extractors, energy generators, defensive systems and a Kbot manufacturing facility. Destroy all Core units or just the Core Kbot lab.
Map: The map is comprised of two land masses separated by a river with two crossing points. The Core is on the larger L-shaped portion of the map from the mid-left, down and over to the lower right. Your units start in the middle of the upper right section of the map. The two crossing points are the shallow portions of the river. Just to your right is a small cliff from which several Core units will launch an attack. If you travel to the upper right side of the screen you will see the entrance to a canyon… be prepared for patrolling Core units if you go there. The Core Kbot lab is located almost directly down from your starting position.
Strategy: You start this map with a new unit, your Commander. He's a very powerful asset, but you only have one of them. Protect him at all costs!
Begin by building energy generators. Select the Commander and then the Solar Collector from the build menu on the left side of the screen. When you move your cursor back onto your battle map, your cursor will appear as a green square if it is over a suitable spot on which to build. Select a spot, click and the Commander will start building. At the top of the screen are two bars, these indicate the amount of Metal and Energy you have. This will be affected as the Solar Collector is built. Move the cursor over the unit being built to track the progress of its construction in the unit status bar at the bottom of the screen.
Once you've built the Solar Collector, build a Metal Extractor. Metal Extractors can be built anywhere, but on top of a silver metal deposit is best. Repeat this process until you have two more Metal Extractors and Solar Collectors then build a Laser Tower. This will help protect you from patrolling Core AKs that might wander into your camp. To queue, or issue consecutive orders, to the Commander, select a unit from the build menu, move your cursor over the battle map, hold down the "Shift" key and left click the green build box where you want the next unit to be built. As soon as the Commander finishes building one unit, he will start building the next. Select a Kbot lab to build next.
You can wait until the Kbot lab is complete or start attacking the enemy now. Select all the offensive Kbots, except the Commander. Either click and drag the green box over them or hold down the "shift" key and select each unit individually with the left mouse button. Once you have them all selected press the CTRL-1 key combination. If damage bars are visible, a number "1" should now appear under all selected units. They are now grouped and can all be reselected by using the ALT-1 key combination. Move them around the map to search for the enemy. Mass your firepower against one Core unit at a time. Stop the units at the mouth of the canyon, they will finish up any Core units that try to come through there.
Once the Kbot lab is complete click on it and the build menu will appear. As you move your cursor over the menu you will see the cost of metal and energy to manufacture the available units. Click on the Jethro 4 times. You should see a +4 superimposed over the Jethro icon. This means your Kbot lab will build 4 Jethros before stopping production. Don't stop there, click 4 times each on a Hammer, Rocko and PeeWee. The Kbot lab will start to "nanolathe" or build a small assault force. As units are nanolathed they walk off the platform. Move them to a clear area to wait until all the other units have been produced.
Once all the units have been manufactured select the whole group and use the CTRL-2 key combination to set them as Group 2. Move them all down to the river. Find the shallow crossing point in the river and click on the other side. As the first unit reaches the other side it will start taking fire from the Laser Tower on the top of the ridge in front of you. Head toward the Laser Tower and as soon as you see the ridge crest, click on it. You can click on the Laser Tower to attack as soon as you see it, but it's on higher ground and your fire will not be as effective. Run your units to the ridge top and then attack it.
You will encounter more enemy units once you reach the top of the ridge. Continue toward your objective attacking as you go. When you see Core structures (a Radar Tower, an Energy Storage Unit and a Solar Collector), destroy them but keep attacking the Core units as you see them. None of the structures can kill you but the Kbots can! Once you have destroyed all the buildings and aren't being attacked by roving Core units, continue moving toward the goal. You should see the Core Kbot lab as you move forward. Attack and destroy it. The mission ends as soon as the lab is demolished.
Arm Mission 3: Spider Technology
Objective: Save at least one Spider by returning it to your base.
Map: The map consists of three land masses separated by a "Y" in a river. Your Commander and units start at the lower right side of the "Y". The spiders are located at the very top centre of the map, at the summit of a steep hill.
Strategy: The key to this mission is time. Build up your base with some energy generators, a Metal Extractor and a couple Laser Towers for defence (placed on the outside of the Dragon's Teeth). If you start running low on resources use your Commander to reclaim trees for energy and rocks for metal. Build a manufacturing plant of some sort and start producing units. Slowly advance your units up the map to the Spiders; staying on your side of the river makes it easier. Once you've cleared a path for the Spiders to get to your base, select them and walk them down. You might have to walk them around the base a little to complete the mission.
Arm Mission 4: Core Contamination Spreads
Objective: Eliminate all Core units and structures from this map.
Map: You start this mission in the lower right hand corner of the map. The enemy base is located in the centre left side of the map. There is a hill in the left centre of the map that is very heavily defended by Core units and Laser Towers.
Strategy: Units at the beginning of this mission are few; conserve them (don't send them off to attack everything). Build your base as normal, balancing your energy and metal extraction. Use a couple of Laser Towers to reinforce your defensive perimeter. Slowly expand, gaining metal resources and space to build, while protecting structures with Laser Towers. A Radar Tower will give you early warning if enemy units are approaching, even if you haven't explored the territory.
As your units go into battle they will become damaged. You can repair them with your Commander, or any construction unit, by selecting the "Repair" button from the orders menu. Or select your Commander (or other construction unit), press the "R" key and then select the unit you want to repair. If you have several damaged units you can select the Commander (or other construction unit), then press the "P" key (Patrol) and click a point in the area; the Commander will walk around on patrol while repairing the damaged units.
Keep your eye out for enemy units attacking from the top along the right hand side of the map and from the lower left.
Arm Mission 5: The Gate to Thalassean
Objective: To capture the Core Galactic Gate.
Map: This map is primarily land from the centre left all the way to the right, with water on the left side and a well-defended island on the lower left portion (which is where the gate is). You start in the top centre. There is an extensive Core base from the lower centre bottom to the lower right bottom.
Strategy: Build enough energy generators and Metal extractors to construct a row of Laser Towers, beginning from where you start and moving to the right side of the map. Space them evenly and keep expanding until you reach the edge of the map. As you move along you will find ore deposits from which to extract metal. Keep building energy generators and the occasional Radar Tower. Once you've built either a Kbot lab or Vehicle Plant, make a couple construction units to help you repair, build and reclaim metal wreckage as you go. Start moving down the right side of the map, destroying Core patrols as you go. Make at least one Level 2 Vehicle Plant, so you can build amphibious tanks. As you start producing advanced units add them to your ranks and keep attacking down the right side of the map. Once you've reached the bottom of the map, start moving to the left. This will allow you to destroy all the Core land units and concentrate on taking the island with the Gate. Move about 6-10 amphibious tanks onto the island, and destroy each offensive Core unit. Then bring your Commander out to the island to capture the gate.
A- Modem play info
For optimal Internet and modem play we recommend that you turn off modem compression when playing since the game performs it's own packet compression. To do this, bring up the Control Panel (Start button/Settings/Control Panel), double-click the "Modems" icon, click on the "Properties" button and then the "Connection" tab. Select the "Advanced..." button, then uncheck the "compress data" check box.
Many applications perform better when using modem compression, so rather than switching back and forth you may want to add a second, duplicate modem entry which is always configured as being uncompressed. This entry will still access the same physical modem, but you would use it instead for creating connections to other modems or the Internet for playing Total Annihilation or any other game for which modem compression is not desirable.
B- CD-ROM music player
Total Annihilation allows you to play music from the game CD-ROM or any other audio CD. To do this you must have the game CD in the drive until the mission is loaded. Once loaded, eject the game CD-ROM and insert the music CD. It will automatically start playing.
You may customise the game to play selected music tracks specific to gameplay by using the music options menu. To customise the music first select a track then, using the options button above, associate an event with the track. Step through each track of your CD associating an event with each. Once you have programmed specific tracks for an audio CD, these settings will be stored and recalled next time you load that same CD.
Yes 
Yes