Originally developed by Cavedog back in 1997, the rights eventually came into the hands of Atari who has given us permission to re-release it.
Stardock is handling the support for Total Annihilation directly and includes a new launcher that helps automatically configure the game for modern systems, streamlines getting multiplayer games going and includes easy access to tips and tricks for getting the most out of it.
As part of Stardock's support for the game, it will be releasing subsequent updates (with Atari's permission) to further streamline multiplayer, incorporate Impulse Reactor and work with fan sites to incorporate new content into the "official" release. It will also be further enhancing the release to prepare it for eventual availability on other digital distributors.
In other words, we’re treating Total Annihilation similarly to a newly released title with ongoing updates wherever possible.
The package includes Total Annihilation + Core Contingency as a single integrated package.
What makes Total Annihilation particularly special is that (depending on your modern setup and trouble shooting skills) you can get the game playing at crazy high resolutions and the game runs fine.
Total Annihilation at 2500x1600
Now, a word of warning – if you’re a PC novice, Total Annihilation won’t be for you. It’s a serious RTS and, depending on your setup, we are talking about a game developed 14 years ago when DirectX 3 was state of the art. Running it in a window has had good success for me on my Windows 7 64-bit desktop.
If you try to run it full-screen at a very high resolution you can end up with a goofy color mess of it. Anything beyond 1024x768 in full screen can be a crap shoot but if you run it windowed, you can go nuts. Back in 1997, anything beyond 1024x768 probably seemed like science fiction. The fact it will run at 2500x1600 is just…wow.
To get it, go here:
http://bit.ly/amPYVd
OMG! Who needs SupCom2? The game SC2 wishes it was is here now!
Very nice! This is on my to get list.
Oh.
Snap.
OMFG OMFG
I wasn't sold about this yet, having the games on CD, except for the fact that I wouldn't require a CD(or an image on my netbook) but this, THIS is AWESOME!
I will have to install Battle Tactics from CD though
Hahaha, nicely played Stardock. Nicely played.
Thanks Frogboy, I'll pick this up soon!
DAMN!
You guys should keep on grabing old titles and releasing like this... Great stuff!
So how about that in-game music, eh Stardock?
The music has been converted to MP3 and put in the music directory.
+1
I might get it just for the music. I hear it's great.
Hehehe...Ive had the music forever! Ive even added it to my local version of Distant Stars!
Yes, but it doesn't play within the game itself. Not a major issue to some, but it is a tad annoying that the user must manually play the music in the background.
Of course, an added benefit to this is that users get the soundtrack included, for free.
I might get this just for the music, too. I gave my discs away years ago to a relative.
Three questions:
If memory serves, you could change the unit cap by just editing a text file in the original TA (though things could get wonky if you went to high). I'd imagine it's the same in this case. As to your other questions, I don't know, but I'm curious.
w00t w00t w00t. I raised on this RTS. Good to hear someone is making it alive and kicking. Just need to fix an few things if that was possible and things would be awesome.
*Cough*
Google tauniverse
*cough*
For those wanting to know what support sites still exist. Yes I am such a fanboy of this I actually have kept it in my bookmarks for all these years.
1. idk
2. Unit cap is raised to 250 with installation of TA:CC. You can easily raise the unit limit to 1500 by modifying the UnitLimit constant in totala.ini in your TA install if you see it. The impact is, the pathfinding will break down rapidly, if you got alot of units built. And more units = more lag unless you got a powerful CPU. TA relies on CPU power mainly.
3.For 3rd party units of TA, visit UnitUniverse.com - The Source for Total Annihilation Units, installation of such units are simply drop the unit in your TA install, and then restart TA to play with it. Unituniverse(UU), FileUniverse(FU) and TAUniverse are independant fansite dedicated for TA.
First of all, there are already a large mod database for TA, can be found on FileUniverse. And you can literally dll and play other 3rd party units you dll from UnitUniverse. Wish TA was open source tho.
Btw, i'm one of the registered users of TAUniverse forum. Modding for TA still active today.
Mozzila does not allow me to copy paste, sorry for double posting.I gonna shamelessly promote the forum i visit and mod i played. The site is managed by BlueWolf and Aero owns the site i think. So, it's good idea to contact them regarding the site.More preferred if TA opened as open-source. What is so great about TA? It can run fine on WindowsNT as well on Windows 7. Did i tell you it can also run on MAC? TA can run on MAC although the format for mod installation and file hierarchy is a bit different than Windows Oses. I read that it can also run on Wine/Linux, but im not sure. This is for non-Atari version.You can create your own unit from scratch, the model, texture, scripts,weapons,sounds and etc. You can even create a new whole race of your own to compete with the vanilla races. Or you could just create a TC (Total Conversion), a totaly new game different from the original game, but uses the venerable TA game engine. It's like Sins Of A Solar Empire moddbility, but TA is released a few years earlier. And installing mods/units is simply by putting them in your TA install folder.Regarding of the inverted colour problem when you're playing TA with Win7 OS, just move the slider of the "Gamma" brightness setting found in Option, Interface in start screen or press F2(Pressing F2 = Pause the game) during a game to adjust the "Gamma" slider. Move it a little bit till the funky colour go away. I have Win7 and using that method, it fixed the problem, but does not prevent it. So, whenever your TA display colour go funky, try this method. Due to the fact that TA uses CPU more than graphic cards ( it was designed on 1997 which not so powerful graphic card exist, so it use CPU instead), i would like to see that Stardock version can use the GMA 4500MHD i got on my laptop. I'm playing on 1336 X 768 resolution full screen, and it's the max for my TA install. 1st Independant TA fansite forum, . Visit TAUniverse forum for updates of mods,map releases and etc.For TA files, mods, patches,TCs,races,maps on the massive but rudimentary libary of FileUniverse.
For 3rd party units, visit UnitUniverse.com - The Source for Total Annihilation Units
TA :Escalation Beta mod - The mod i like to play often, we got a mod profile page on moddb. I had posted a few stuffs regarding TA Escalation on my profile page on moddb too. Clicking them will redirect you to that page. Current release for TA : Escalation is Beta 4.0TA: Escalation (TAUniverse forum section)Total Annihilation: Escalation mod - Mod DB TA: ESC Videos ( On TAUniverse forum section) I had made a short video of demonstration of C.O.R.E but it's laggy. Escalation Eyecandy! ( Warning for 56K users, very large images, 1336X768)
Total Annihilation Lightning Weapon Thesis (on my moddb profile page)TA : Excess II mod - a new mod which redesigned the game from scratch, new models, new stats, etc. Made by Voh, totaly awesome. The mod featured one of the most detailed models i ever seen. Aircraft engines swing when the aircraft moves, and assault bikes sometimes do wheelie. That's just a few example of it. More awesome when it's played with TASpring totally eyecandy. Current release of TA: Excess II is TA ExcessII Alpha E.TA: Excess (In TAUniverse forum section)TA3D, a project designed to run TA, but in 3D. This program uses all the resources from TA exclusively and it have no arbitray limits found on TA. The project featured several types of camera views, even strategic zoom. Note that TA3D may feature some similarity to TASpring, but both projects are different from each other.Current release is 0.6.0 beta 8 .Visit www.ta3d.org for further information.TA3D forum (In TAUniverse forum section)
TA Devolution, one of the greatest mod created. This mod make both sides, Arm and Core totally unique. Note the Captain bonus which upgrades nearby units to have more weapons etc, and Captain Veterancy Bonus, which mean, the Captain can use more powerful weapons as it racks more kills.
TA: Devolution (TAUniverse forum section)
TABA, one of the first mod which featured upgradeable units. Upgradeable units are once thought impossible for TA, but the mod succesfully use the concept.
TABA ( TAUniverse forum section)
Wait, someone on TAUniverse also created a space TC for TA.There are two mods, the Final Frontier mod ( can be found on FileUniverse) and Independance Wars. TA: Independence War (TA:IW forum section in TAUniverse)
There are two interesting TC which users of TAU had created, TA:Supreme Commander and TA: Gundam Annihilation. TA:SC is an attempt to replicate Supreme Commander in TA, but discontinued due lack of modelers. Gundan Annihilation is a TC of Gundam, in TA. The mod is discontinued by the creator as he opted to jump into the TASpring engine.
Now, if Stardock collaborate in TA3D project, you can expect to see TA in 3D near you, but with less bugs. Check TAUniverse - FAQ for modding, installation information etc. This FAQ is not intended for TA-Atari release because Atari might change something in the TA coding.
Btw, all this are NOT for TA-Atari version. Atari might change something which idk.
The way the support sites ripped it apart, it was basically IS free source now. >.> TA spring also basically made it free source. I heard there was an Total Annihilation total conversion mod going on in supreme commander too.
That might be right, but TAU modders want TA *original source code* to add or improve the code. TASpring is a new engine not based on TA on my point of view. And TA3D is a new engine which based on TA which don't use the *TA original source code*. Due to Atari not releasing the code, TAU modders had to use workarounds, to make true deflective shields, teleporters and upgradeable units in TA. TA: Escalation featured that, with scripting geniuses of TAU. If they can only add the code to the TA engine, it will be more stable. Script-heavy teleporter code is pretty much unstable compared to hardcoded teleporter code in the exe.
Prolly will upload low res, short video of TA:ESC Beta 4.0, Arm Teleporter showcase on moddb.It's lagless and featured track number #4, Warpath.
eh true enough.
Btw Stardock, plz respect the copyrights of the mod creators. Contact them first if ya gonna release it offically and charge users for it, as an expansion pack/official stuff etc. Those mods are hard work of several years. Atari might have the right for the source code, but they have no rights over the 3rd party stuff the modders created.
I'm just an avid gamer of TA:Escalation..mainly make screenshots and some video for them.
We would never release someone else's work without their express written consent.
Stardock makes skinnable programs so we're very conscious of respecting the rights of modders.
I got an old install of TA, can i play with Impulse client? Or i need to buy the game again in order to use Stardock client? Forwarding ports are quite hard.
Btw, TA already got a switching utility which can switch units, mods or apply radical temporary patch to your TA install. The utility is known as TA:Mutation. With TA:M, you can play and use more than one mod in your TA install rather than having mulitple TA install in your computer. TA:M can be found on FileUniverse library.
Ok, Map Editor works. But doesnt see the music. Also getting full screen windows mode is difficult. But IM play TA!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!
I do hope this works with all the user content that is out there right now.Also hope it works for us original owners to play with the Impulse client.
I think a screenshot of the Beelzabub is in order
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