Total Annihilation
Total Annihilation is a futuristic real-time strategy (RTS) computer game, created in 1997 by Chris Taylor and Cavedog Entertainment. It was the first RTS to feature 3D units and terrain. It was unparalleled for its time, and even today it is still one of the finest games in this genre, as true 3D is shown when units move onto rugged landscape and yet the game can run well on computers equipped with video cards that have low memory.
Total Annihilation
| Release date: | October 25, 1997 |
|---|---|
| Platform: | PC |
| Developer: | Cavedog Entertainment |
| Publisher: | GT Interactive |
| Genre: | Real-Time Strategy (RTS) |
| Sucessors: | Total Annihilation: Kingdoms, Core Contingency |
| Gameplay: | Ground-based galactic war |
| Official site: | Cavedog Entertainment |
| Influences: | Star Wars, modern warfare |
Story
Long ago the galaxy was ruled by a wise and benevolent central body known as the Core (an abbreviation for "Consciousness Repository"). This organization pushed scientific progress and planetary colonisation forward until the human race covered almost the entire galaxy. Ironically, it was, however, the Core's final triumph against mortality that would prove to be its undoing, for when the Core mandated uploading all peoples' brain patterns into machines in a method known as "patterning," there was a massive rebellion from the Arm, an organization which banded together from the edges of the galaxy and demanded to keep their physical bodies. A war like no other began, which has since raged on for four thousand years.
Intro Narrative
What began as a conflict over the transfer of consciousness from flesh to machines escalated into a war which has decimated a million worlds. The Core and the Arm have all but exhausted the resources of a galaxy in their struggle for domination. Both sides now crippled beyond repair, the remnants of their armies continue to battle on ravaged planets, their hatred fueled by over four thousand years of total war. This is a fight to the death. For each side, the only acceptable outcome is the complete elimination of the other.
Description
Total Annihilation is distinguished from its contemporaries such as Starcraft by its three-dimensional rendering technology, true Newtonian physics, rapid battles, high-powered weapons, a staggering array of different (and customizable) units, and rapid and versatile unit construction. Screen resolution as well as the limit of maximum units per player are customizable, depending only on the quality of computer hardware.
Strategic Comparison
Much of Total Annihilation's strategic uniqueness comes from the immense speed and power of the units. Unlike many other games such as Starcraft and Command and Conquer where powerful weapons are slow moving and fast weapons are limited in power in effect to create a balance, Total Annihilation's balance relies on the fact that bases can be rebuilt quickly. This is to compensate for the devastating power that the heavily armed and highly maneuverable strike aircraft and extremely long-ranged artillery can apply towards structures. Nuclear weapons are also very affordable, powerful and quick to construct with multiple weapons being able to be stockpiled for devastating strikes, a dynamic rarely seen in most other games where only one missile may be built at once, limiting their impact. This leads to bases in Total Annihilation having a distinctive, mildly un-aesthetic spread-out pattern to limit the damage of a nuclear attack, an air-strike or an artillery barrage.
AI and Physics
The artificial intelligence of computer-controlled players in Total Annihilation is often considered one of its weakest aspects. The individual units however are quite intelligent and will dodge attackers and compensate for movement when attacking a target. The physical environment they operate in is also very rich with true trajectories, inertia, momentum, thrust, and explosive force interacting to create a very "real" environment with all damages based on the physical environment in contrast to many games that rely on random hit or miss formulas. This allows artillery to be simulated accurately with immense ranges, an element to warfare that hadn't been simulated effectively in RTSs until that time. Furthermore, due possibly to balance considerations and possibly lack of imagination, almost all RTSs do not have range as an important consideration; For example, in Warcraft III, arguably one of the most popular modern RTSs, the range of the units in unmodified games is at most about one screen, whereas in Total Annihilation artillery units could fire 15 screens away and nuclear missiles could travel anywhere on the map. Also regarding the environment, if terrain is steep and jagged, units actually tilt and turn to meet the face of the ground, which is easily perceptible by players. This terrain, though it looked two-dimensional, is actually fully three dimensional; hills obstruct fire from enemy artillery, and height enhances units sight and firing range, leading to the location of bases being critical, to protect from artillery fire and create chokepoints to prevent enemy assaults.
Interface
One of the unique features that sets Total Annihilation apart from many other real-time strategy games on the market is a powerful interface. The game interface allows the player to add an unlimited number of units to a group. Queuing of actions is simple and virtually unlimited as well. Holding [SHIFT] and clicking on the map allows one to queue any action or command that a unit can possibly be given. This allows patrol routes to be set up for units just coming off the assembly line, as well as allowing for builders to work unattended for long periods of time. This unlimited queueing of actions, along with many key commands for selecting categories of units, gives the player the ability to minimize micromanagement by automating many of the routine tasks that most other games force the player to perform manually. The gameplay is made more interesting with nifty graphics such as glowing nanolath effect during construction, and the well-scripted unit movement.
Units
The number of unique units also makes it distinctive. Although the game originally only shipped with 150 discrete units, when the expansion packs "The Core Contingency" and "Battle Tactics" are added, you can choose from 230 units, and a possible 512 after 3rd-party installations from Total Annihilation's many different fansites. The game was often criticised for the fact that units lacked uniqueness, were similar in appearance and basically parallel for both sides. However, there was reasonable difference between equivalent units, and similar units to justify the majority of their inclusions making "finding the right tool for the job" as one of the most important elements of the game. Core Contingency attempted to remedy this problem by providing both sides units which sported features units from the other side lacked, although some still say that variation could have differed more greatly.
Utilities were also produced by the fan community with some support by the game's authors for creating freely downloadable third-party units. Literally over three thousand such units have been produced, in some cases being packaged as complete replacements for the original set of units in total conversions. Fans have even created their own races to join the war of the game's two original races.
Resources
Many games have resources that may be depleted, encouraging one to be frugal and forcing one to wait between construction of different units for one's funds to accumulate. This is not the case with Total Annihilation. Total Annihilation has two resources, energy and metal. Both resources are harvested at a continuous rate.
Energy is accumulated with many different types of power plants (including solar, wind, geothermal, tidal, and fusion), which may be built anywhere making energy supply only limited by the player's foresight to build more plants before one's production is slowed by energy shortages. Geothermal power plants are an exception in that they can only constructed upon thermal vents, where the structures can yield a very large amount of energy. Tidal Generators replace solar power on water maps for low cost, low yield energy production.
Metal can also be extracted anywhere, but only in large amounts from metal patches. This makes controlling the largest amount of territory an important strategic consideration. Energy can be transformed directly into metal later in the game using special conversion facilities, though that process requires huge amounts of energy for a small amount of metal. Metal extractors require a modest amount energy to run as well, so if energy production is not able to meet the metal extraction energy use metal-extracting structures will temporarily shut down until more energy can be gathered.
Neither resource can be exhausted or even lessened by their exploitation meaning that battles do not slow down over time. Resources are a buffered flow: if one collects resources at a faster rate than one uses them one's buffer fills up until it is at the maximum level, at which point further supply is wasted. Storage stuctures can be built to increase the maximum amount the "buffer" can hold of either resource. If one's production is exceeded by one's usage (mainly due to construction and/or heavy weaponsfire), one's construction is slowed to the ratio between income and expenditure. The "commander" unit spontaneously produces a small amount of energy and metal so a player is rarely ever completely bereft, and wreckage can be salvaged for a little extra in a pinch.
Certain worlds of the Core, including the homeworld of the Consciousness Repository, are an exception to the scarce metal factor. The Core has completely covered the surfaces of these planets with machinery with seas of oil instead of water. Thus, metal-extracting structures can be constructed anywhere and will always yield the highest amount of metal possible, provided that they are supplied energy to function.
Such a resource system allows for many strategies in production. One can choose to only build items at a rate that matches production, so storage reserves are not touched. One could also store enough resources prior to the construction of a unit so that one will still have a surplus after the unit is finished building. With the second method, many construction units can help assist in building a unit or structure to complete it in the shortest time possible.
Extensibility
Total Annihilation was unique amongst most strategy games in that data files containing game information can be simply placed within the game directory and their contents would be incorporated into the game. Units, weapons, AI tweaks, missions, races, and new map tilesets can be added, as well as a wide range of modifications and total conversions. This led to huge community support with thousands of third-party add-ons and utilities created by many hundreds of loyal players. This is on top of the many additional official enhancements released by Cavedog for free (including its own third-party units as well as a patch), and bundled with expansion packs. It was this capability of expansion and constant renewal that doubtlessly gave Total Annihilation its cult status. A major example of this was the Uberhack modification, which modified all of the existing units and added several additional ones, in the attempt to balance the game and create unique roles for each of the wide variety of units.
See also: List of Total Annihilation Mods
Narrative Integration
The main cause of criticism towards the game was the weak in-game storyline and plot, consisting of a few brief lines describing your reason for fighting each particular battle. The short (though fairly original) opening storyline was utterly devoid of any characters, except for the two Commanders. Even these two "characters" are left wholly undescribed, excluding a tiny reference to the Core Commander as a "shrewd tactician." Cavedog attempted to remedy this in Total Annihilation: Kingdoms, though it yielded mixed results.
Conclusion
Total Annihilation is by no means a perfect game, but much of it was far in advance of its competitors when it was released in 1997. It contained technologies that had not been seen before, and many gameplay elements that have not been emulated since that time.
Platforms
- Microsoft Windows
- Macintosh (PowerPC)
- Partially runs in Wine
Awards
List of Awards Received by Total Annihilation
See also
External links
- Official Web Site (it has been taken down and now forwards to the Atari website). Mirror
- Uberhack Mod the location of the Uberhack (or Überhack) Modification for Total Annihilation. It is made by fans of the game. Note that you need "The Core Contingency" expansion pack to install the Uberhack modpack.
- TA Spring is an open-source 3D RTS inspired by Total Annihilation and which can make use of TA data files.