10. Copyright, Legal Stuff and Distribution Permissions
NOTICE : Please ensure that you DO NOT have any other 3rd party units installed or even any downloadable cavedog units such as Necro, FARK, etc or else TA will crash. You also need to install the latest TA 3.1 Patch in order to play with the new units in TAUCP. TA:CC is NOT required but you will need the 3do Files patch that can be found at TAUCP Central.
Make sure that you have installed TA in the following order :
- Total Annihilation
- Total Annihilation Core Contingency (if available)
- Total Annihilation Battle Tactics (if available)
- Total Annihilation 3.1 Patch
- Total Annihilation Units Compilation Pack
- 3do Files (only for those who don't have TA:CC)
(Can be found at TAUCP Central : http://www.planetannihilation.com/taucp)
Notice : You will NEED the TA:CC expansion pack if you are playing the TA:M version of TAUCP.
1. Brief Introduction
---------------------
Total Annihilation Units Compilation Pack is a unit pack that contains over 230 3rd
Party Units from various unit groups that have been thoroughly checked to ensure the
quality of these units. The units that are in TAUCP have been revised and refined to
ensure that the game is still balanced while maintaining the fun factor of the game.
Here are some of the features of TAUCP at this moment :
- Contains Over 230 3rd Party Units from various unit groups.
- Conflict free and 99% bug free gameplay (nothing is 100% bug free)
- Incorporates Switeck's TA Bugfix Version 1.6 Beta 8 (considered as final)
- More Balanced Gameplay with 3rd Party Units
- Includes a Frontend Utility to enable/disable TAUCP, to select the AI to play against
and to set the starting metal & energy (can be more than 10000 metal/energy!)
- Includes a user friendly Installer to ensure smooth installation of the Unit Pack
- Incorporates Switeck's Mostly Harmless AI Version 13 (don't let the name fool you!)
and Banzai 3.0 by M. Kenyon
and Core Scatterer (Rapid Fire Plasma Batteries)
- Total Annihilation Units Compilation Pack is based on Total Annihilation
Units Independancy Pack Version 2.1 created by CyberKewl (that's me!)
2. Installation Instructions
----------------------------
Installation is simple, just run the exe installer in the zip file and follow the
on screen instructions.
3. Changes Made To Gameplay & Hotkeys
-------------------------------------
- Metal Extracters and Moho Metal Extractors now extracts slightly more metal.
- Core Krogoth (TA:CC) is now immune to paralyzer.
- Core Krogoth's long range laser fires much faster but does less damage.
- Arm & Core Commander now has an improved laser that has a longer range and
does more damage.
- Construction Seaplanes can now build the Advanced Aircraft Plant.
- Adv. Const Submarine can now resurrect dead units/structures.
- Flamethrowers now do more damage and have a larger area of effect
- Arm Penetrator's max damage / health is now doubled from original TA and
moves much faster than before.
- Arm Shooter's weapon reload time has been reduced from 20 to 15 seconds.
- Arm Maverick's build time has been reduced and it's metal cost has been
slightly increased. Max damage / health has been increased as well.
- Core Sumo moves slightly faster.
- Core Instigator's laser has a longer firing range.
Here are some new hotkeys :
CTRL+K - Select all KBots with weapons
CTRL+T - Select all Tank (vehicle) units with weapons
CTRL+J - Select all mobile flakkers (phalanx etc)
CTRL+O - Select all nano towers
CTRL+G - Ground units (armed ground units only)
CTRL+H - Hovercraft (armed hovercraft only) (Hovercraft are *NOT* selected with CTRL+G)
CTRL+L - Laser towers + other fixed defenses (but not AA towers!)
CTRL+N - Naval units (armed ships only)
CTRL+I - AA towers (Missile Towers, Flakkers, Naval Missile Towers)
CTRL+E - Torpedo Launchers
CTRL+X - "X-weapons" superweapons such as antinukes, nuke silos, and berthas (LRPC's)
CTRL+Y - Select All Metal Making Structures That Uses Energy (Metal Maker, etc)
NOTE: Pelicans are selectable with CTRL+G, CTRL+H and CTRL+K.
NOTE: The crawling bombs cannot be selected with CTRL+G, because their "weapon" is their death.
NOTE: Decoy commanders are not selectable with either CTRL+G or CTRL+W, but are selectable with CTRL+B.
NOTE: Minelayers, Arm FARK, and Core Necro are selectable with CTRL+B.
Special hotkeys :
Factories and c-units now allow you to press q,w,e,r,f, and v for each build menu button.
Q would be the build position 0 (top left), w for 1 (top right), e for 2 (middle left), r is for 3 (middle right), f is for 4 (bottom left), and v is for 5 (bottom right).
(Kudos to BSR for the key choices.)
Some of the hotkeys have been made available through the use of Switeck's TA Bugfix.
4. The TAUCP Frontend (NON-TAM Version only)
--------------------------------------------
One of TAUCP's unique features is that it includes a frontend. With this frontend,
you can set your Starting Metal & Energy resources that can exceed 10000 metal and energy (for skirmish only), enable/disable the unit pack, select the AI to play with or visit TAUCP Central.
There are different levels of AI's : Easy Boost, Standard Boost, Hard Boost and Standard Version (Only for Mostly Harmless AI)
Easy Boost
----------
The easy boost AI cheats on a smaller scale, but can give you a good fight. This AI does NOT
build nuclear silos.
Standard Boost
--------------
The standard boost cheats at a decent rate and will give you a good run for your money. This
AI will build nuclear silos as well so prepare those anti-nukes ! Not only that, they have
access to improved versions of the Arm High Tech Lab and Core Krogoth Gantry to speed up unit
production in those level 3 factories.
Hard Boost
----------
The ultimate boost, the Hard Boost cheats a lot and will make you suffer especially on maps
where metal are scarce. This AI will build nuclear silos just like the standard boost BUT it
can launch the nuclear much faster, so beware ! Not only that, they have access to improved
versions of the Arm High Tech Lab and Core Krogoth Gantry just like the standard boost, but
they can produce units (in the factory) at a much faster rate. If you can beat at least 3 of
the Hard Boost AIs allied together, you're pretty good !
Standard Version (Mostly Harmless AI Only)
------------------------------------------
With the standard version of Mostly Harmless AI, you will be up against a fair AI -
this AI doesn't cheat at all, so they won't be that challenging to hardcore TA players.
Besides that, this AI does NOT use nukes unlike the boosted versions (Standard & Hard).
5. TA-Mutation Version
----------------------
The TA-Mutation version of TAUCP is very new, if you have encountered any problems, don't
hesitate to let me know as i did NOT look deep into many aspects of TA-Mutation yet. If
possible, please provide an in-depth look into the problem instead of just saying
"TAUCP doesn't work with TA-Mutation".
To use TAUCP with TA:M, you need to download TA:M version 0.13.3 beta from Quantum Design
at http://gibson.nmhu.edu/~loren_k/quantum/.
If you unfamiliar with TA:M, it is strongly suggested that you install the Normal version
of TAUCP (non-TAM) instead.
Please disable all the conflict resolver options in the TA:M settings menu (Condense build
menus, etc) to avoid any unusual or unsolvable problems.
Here is a step by step guide on how to play TAUCP with TA:M :
1) Run TA Mutation.
2) Disable ALL existing TCs, AIs, etc
3) Enable/Select the TAUCP TC in the Total Conversions menu
4) Enable/Select only ONE of the many available AI Boosts from the Mutators menu
5) Enable/Select either the Mostly Harmless AI or the Banzai AI from the AIs menu
6) Launch TA
Notice :
You MUST NOT enable the WRONG AI with the WRONG BOOST, for example - do NOT
enable the Mostly Harmless AI Standard Boost with the Banzai AI (in the AIs menu).
TAUCP will still work but you will get a dummy AI - one that does NOT do anything.
Please ensure that you did NOT enable any other Mutators besides the AI Boost that
you have selected. In other words, you can ONLY ENABLE ONE of the many available AI
boosts from the Mutators menu. To deselect the selected Mutator from the Mutators
menu, just click on the selected mutator(s) again. Only one ai boost/mutator
should be enabled/selected at any given time.
Example :
Select the TAUCP TC in the Total Conversions menu. Then, select the Mostly Harmless
AI Standard Boost from the Mutators menu. Finally, Select the Mostly Harmless AI from
the AIs menu. Launch TA and have fun.
You may read some parts of the TAUCP Frontend Section above, especially the information
regarding the AI boosts which is the only relevant information with the TA:M version of
TAUCP. The standard version of Mostly Harmless AI is NOT included in the TA:M version.
Don't confuse this with the standard boost version, they are completely different.
6. More Units In TA
-------------------
Instead of the default 200/250 max units, you can have up to 500 units by creating a
file named totala.ini in your TA folder. Copy and paste the contents below into a new
file - minus the "begin" and "end" lines :
---BEGIN---
[Preferences]
; Specifies the maximum number of units per player. Default is 200.
; Warning: The higher the number, the more resources are required.
; If the game slows down with higher numbers, you will need
; more RAM and/or a faster CPU.
UnitLimit = 500;
; Disable the use of DirectSound. Set this to 1 to disable
; sound in the game. Set it to 0 to use sound normally.
;
; Disable the sound if you do not have a sound card or
; the game crashes while trying to play sounds.
NoDirectSound = 0;
; Use the standard Windows multimedia interface for playing sounds
; instead of DirectSound. Set this to 1 to use Windows sound, and
; 0 to use DirectSound.
;
; Note: Setting this value to 1 will allow you to play the
; game if DirectSound does not work properly on your system.
; However, the audio quality will be greatly decreased,
; especially during heavy battles. Also, you will not get any
; audio narration with your mission briefings or any sound in the
; movies.
UseWindowsSound = 0;
---END---
You can change Unitlimit = 500 to something smaller if desired.
10 Players In Skirmish
----------------------
To get up to 10 players in a skirmish game, do this :
When in the skirmish room, type asterisk (shift+8), after that type the roman
numeral number of the amount of players you want.
For example, if you want 10 players in skirmish mode, you'd type "x", and for five players you'd type "v".
1 = i ; 2 = ii ; 3 = iii ; 4 = iv ; 5 = v ; 6 = vi ; 7 = vii ; 8 = viii ; 9 = ix ;
10 = x.
NOTICE : On Windows NT, 2000 and XP Operating Systems, you need to be an Administrator
in order for the TAUCP frontend to function properly.
7. Credits
----------
- Cavedog Entertainment for a kick-ass Real-Time Strategy Game!
- Joe D for his HPI utilities - without his utilities, this unit pack wouldn't be here!
- PlanetAnnihilation and GameSpy Network for providing a home for TAUCP
- Thug from Total Annihilation Research and Development (TARAD) for his cool rendered
build pics!
- M. Kenyon (MADTA, UTASP) and Sinclaire (TAAN) for the some of the cool rendered
build pics!
- M. Kenyon (MADTA, UTASP) for giving me permission to use some units from his
UTASP unit pack and also for his awesome "Banzai" AI.
- The TA-Power crew / team for giving me permission to include some of their units
into TAUCP. Thanks guys!
- Switeck for his undying support towards the TA Community, for his great TA Bugfix
and excellent "Mostly Harmless" AI
- Paul Davison for his old but still kick-ass AI - Total Annihilation Killer AI (TAKAI)
- The Spider for HPI Replace (saved me a lot of time from editing units then repacking
the files!)
- KhalvKalash for his excellent Scriptor BOS scripter / COB decompiler that helped
me fix many scripting bugs
- Quantum Design for Script Piece Checker that helped me identify scripts that can
crash TA
- R1CH A.k.a Richard Stanway for his Ultimate TA Conflict Crusher that helped identify
Weapon ID and Build Menu conflicts.
- TAUCP's Official Beta Tester - Lunaris A.k.a Robert Clayton for his great suggestions
and bug reports !
- And Of Course to all the 3rd Party Unit Groups out there for making this unit
pack possible!
8. Contact Information
----------------------
You can reach me, Malcolm Lim via email at mlbl@planetannihilation.com
Please ensure that you have read taucpfaq.txt before asking me any questions.
The latest version of this unit pack can be obtained at :
http://www.planetannihilation.com/taucp
9. Version History
------------------
1st Of March 2002
-----------------
1.0 - First Initial Public Release.
11th Of March 2002
------------------
1.1 - Huge Update :
Fixes
-----
- Fixed Version Numbering For Switeck's Mostly Harmless AI.
Should be v13 instead of 1.3. Sorry for the mess up Switeck.
- Included some DLL files that were missing for the TAUCP frontend.
The TAUCP frontend should now run properly.
- Fixed a crash bug that affects those who do NOT own the TA:CC expansion.
- Fixed an error in the sidedata information for Switeck's Mostly Harmless AI
that may cause the AI not to build the Underwater Metal Extractor and some
other units.
Tweaks
------
- TAUCP frontend will now place the 6 downloadable cavedog units back
(Necro, FARK, etc) when you DISABLE the unit pack. Thanks goes to Charlie
for the neat suggestion. Uninstalling TAUCP WILL NOT do this.
- Reduced Metal Extractors & Moho Metal Extractors extraction rate.
- Reduced Core Ronin's Max Velocity (Speed) and Increased Build Time.
- Reduced damage done by Arm Chain Saw and Core Eradicator. (Slightly)
- Reduced Arm Tempest's Build Time.
- Reduced firing range for Arm Mercury & Core Screamer. (From 2100 to 1800)
- Reduced metal per shot for Arm Mercury & Core Scramer. (From 35 to 25)
- Reduced reload time for Arm Mercury & Core Scramer. (From 10 to 8 secs)
- Reduced build time and metal requirement for Arm Cavalier.
- Reduced Karganeth Gantry's "worker time" so that Karganeth takes longer to
build.
- Increased max damage for Arm Agamemnon and changed it's primary weapon to
the Troll's Short Range Laser.
- Increased Buildtime, Metal & Energy Requirements for Core "The Gunner".
- Big AI Profile(s) Change - Each and EVERY unit in TAUCP has it's own weights and
limits (internally). The AI should now be able to prioritize the units properly.
- Tweaked Switeck's AI so that it builds the "cheating" units even more.
Originally, those units were not given any weight or limits at all.
New Build Pics
--------------
- Arm Shellshocker
- Arm Thunderstorm
- Arm & Core Cloakable Metal Maker
- Arm & Core Nanolathe Pad & Nanolathe Tower
- Core Cryosphere
- Core Ronin
- Core Little Brother
- Core "The Duke"
- Core Absolutor
Build Menu Changes
------------------
- Added Arm Advanced Solar Collector To Arm Beaver.
- Added Core Advanced Solar Collector To Core Muskrat.
- Added Arm Hovercraft Platform NS To Arm Beaver.
- Added Core Hovercraft Platform NS To Core Muskrat.
- Added Core Immolator To Core Muskrat.
- Added Arm Floating Radar Tower To Arm Construction Aircraft and Arm Construction
Seaplane.
- Added Core Floating Radar Tower To Core Construction Aircraft and Core Construction
Seaplane.
Additions
---------
- Added another AI selection to the TAUCP frontend for the Mostly Harmless AI.
You can now play against either a Boosted or Standard AI (only for
Switeck's Mostly Harmless AI). If you are looking for a better challenge,
try the Boosted version instead.
- Added a bunch of 3rd Party Units to Arm & Core Advanced G-N Const. Seaplane.
