Spring - User contributions [en]

Game and Unit development

2006-07-09T17:30:40Z

DarkOppressor: /* Mod devlopement */

=Mod development=
Mods, next to Maps, is the content used in Spring. 
A mod is simply a combined file containing a small structure of files and directories holding all the data required. 

[[Mod_Development | Mod Development]] wiki is a starting page, linking to very useful information on the files included in a mod, their hierarchy and more.
 

Almost the entire mod developing is the creation of units. Which isn't an easy job. 
Information about the creation of units are everywere, but not combined. 
This is a gathered list of all Tutorials and helpfull forums threads I could find: 

===general===
*http://taspring.clan-sy.com/wiki/Create_units - old Wiki 
*http://taspring.clan-sy.com/wiki/Mod_Development - general mod info 
*http://taspring.clan-sy.com/wiki/Mod_specification - general mod info 

===s3o units===
* http://lassie.student.utwente.nl/vliet/springtut.pdf - Maestro's tutorial of Upspring and textures.
* http://taspring.clan-sy.com/phpbb/viewtopic.php?t=4715 - Argh's unit creation * tutorial. (covers most aspects exept scripting)
* http://taspring.clan-sy.com/w/index.php?title=Basic_s3o_unit_making_guide - Mongus Unit creation guide 
* http://taspring.clan-sy.com/wiki/Simple_Mod_Tutorial - SinbadEV's Guide 
* http://taspring.clan-sy.com/wiki/Units:CreateModel - Das Bruces guide 
* http://taspring.clan-sy.com/phpbb/viewtopic.php?t=4519 - about s3o textures 
* http://taspring.clan-sy.com/phpbb/viewtopic.php?t=2660 - the main s3o thread 
* http://taspring.clan-sy.com/phpbb/viewtopic.php?t=3766 - another genearal s3o thread 
* http://taspring.clan-sy.com/phpbb/viewtopic.php?t=3641 - s3o errors thread 
* http://taspring.clan-sy.com/phpbb/viewtopic.php?p=75495 - various things about unit making. (Also contains an illustrated alpha-channel tut)

===3do units===
* [http://www.tauniverse.com/forum/forumdisplay.php?s=&forumid=13 TAU Unit Discusion Forums]
* [http://www.tadesigners.com TA Designers] has some tutorials, and most utilities.
* [http://www.tadesigners.com/guides/Maestro/TA-DesignGuideTOC.shtml A unit design guide] made by Maestro And Team S.TA.R..
* [http://membres.lycos.fr/furtivefox/ Furtive Fox] left long ago Well, so I assume, but his site is still up with good tutorials, but in French.
* Maestro has nice tutorials hidden on his [http://www.angelfire.com/mh/maestro/ site], such as this [http://www.angelfire.com/mh/maestro/efitex.htm Texture Guide].
* Nexus was planning to do some [http://www.tauniverse.com/forum/forumdisplay.php?s=&forumid=112 workshop & modding classes], maybe one day it'll happen.
* [http://www.fileuniverse.com FileUniverse] has nearly all known utilities and tutorials, but it can be overwhelming if you don't know what you're looking for.
* [http://www.planetannihilation.com/madta/ta_downloads.asp M.A.D. TA] also host a few utilities and tutorials.
* Storm's [http://urc.tauniverse.com/UHT/08.htm Ultimate Help Topic] (mostly offline)
* [http://www.fileuniverse.com/uploads/tadesign.zip TA Design Guide] : the most complete and awesome reference guide I ever saw. Explain all script functions, all weapons .tdf tags, all units .fbi tags, and much more. '''A must have'''.
* [http://www.tadesigners.com/guides/Maestro/maeweap0.htm Mastreo's Weapons Reference]
* [http://www.fileuniverse.com/uploads/Rhino%20Tutorial.zip Wizzball's Rhino3D modelling Tutorial]
* [http://fileuniverse.com/?page=download&unity=/uploads/MADTA-scriptank.zip&ID=122 How to script a basic tank tutorial]

===specific information===
*[[Units:FBI]]
*[[All_Weapons_variable_values:_min%2C_max%2C_default%2C_type|Units:FBI (2)]]
*[[Units:Buildpics]]
*[[Units:High-poly]]
*[[Units:Download TDF]]
*[[Units:Textures]]
*[[Units:Weapons]]
*[[Units:WeaponMainDir]]
*[[Units:Design]]
*[[Mod Development:Armor]]
*[[Mod Development:Spawn]]
*[[Mod Development:Cursors]]
*[[Mod Development:Archives]]
*[[Mod Development:Sidepics]]
*[[CustomExplosionGenerators|Mod Development:Custom explosions]]
*[[CustomUnitIcons|Mod Development:Custom unit icons]]

[[Category:Unit development]]

Using Spring

2006-03-18T09:05:02Z

DarkOppressor:

This is a fairly exhaustive description of controls, interface and features. For basic information, check the most current [http://cvs.sourceforge.net/viewcvs.py/*checkout*/springrts/taspring/README.html README.html] (should be mirrored [[Readme|here]])or [[Getting_Started]]. For an introduction to the strategy and overall gameplay in XTA (and most mods based on the original Cavedog units) check out the [[Spring_guide%21]]

For more advanced/current information check the most recent [http://taspring.clan-sy.com/changelog.txt changelog] or the [http://taspring.clan-sy.com/phpbb/ TA Spring Forums].

=Camera Controls=
There are four camera modes in Spring. To change camera modes use CTRL+Middle Button (Mouse 3), CTRL+J or CTRL+Backspace (Also SHIFT+[Mouse 3,J or Backspace]). Middle button, Backspace or J toggle "free look" mode for the current camera view.

==Camera Modes==

There are four different camera modes in Spring. Everyone likes a different one. Try them all out to decide what you like best.

===Classic Overhead(TA) Style===
The default view. Exactly the same view as OTA had. It has a fixed height above the ground, but allows you to zoom in and out. Use the arrow keys or move the mouse to the edge of the screen to pan around the map. The scroll wheel zooms in and out. Ctrl+Scrolling will tilt the camera. Holding the middle mouse button also pans around the map.

This is the easiest view for OTA players to use. It functions exactly the same as the OTA camera, so no new tricky controls are needed to properly enjoy the game. This view has recently had camera tilt added (see above), but still does not really show off the full glory of the Spring engine, as you are limited to one compass direction. It is the favorite view mode for most people, as most people play OTA.

===Total War Style===
The same camera system as seen in the Total War series of games. It runs at a fixed height above the ground, which is not changeable. Use the arrow keys or move the mouse to the edge of the screen to pan around the map. Scrolling the scroll wheel tilts the camera. Putting the mouse in the top corners of the screen rotates the view. Holding down the middle mouse button pans around the map.

Good for those familiar with the Total War games. But again it does not allow for full freedom of movement, so it does not show off the engine as much as it could.

===FPS Style===
In this view the camera is controlled just like in a first person shooter. Use arrow keys to fly forward/backward and strafe left/right. Hold the middle mouse button to aim the camera. Use the scroll wheel to zoom in and out.

This is the easiest camera to position. However, it can get quite tedious trying to control the camera in the middle of a battle. Its good for screenshots and FPS junkies.

===Rotatable Overhead Camera===

This is a new camera system invented by the SY's. It has a fixed height, but you can change this height by scrolling. Use the arrow keys to pan around the map. The scroll wheel moves the camera up and down vertically. Holding the middle mouse button aims the camera.

This is perhaps the best camera, as it allows for totally free movement and aiming, but with some handy restrictions on the height. It is the second most popular view besides the OTA view.

===FPS "Mode" (C)===
Press 'C' to toggle "First Person Shooter Mode".

Controls:
*Up Arrow: Move in the direction the legs are facing
*Left Arrow: Rotate Legs to the left
*Right Arrow: Rotate Legs to the right
*Mouse: Aim default gun (may lock onto annoying targets such as the ground)
*Left Mouse Button: Shoot whatever guns the engine has decided to let you shoot
*Right Mouse Button: Free Fire Mode, the AI will aim and fire for you.

==General Function Keys==

For the most part, the function keys control what the camera sees, so they are listed here for lack of a better place for them.

*'''F1''': Toggles Contour Markings On/Off. These color coded contour markings represent the height of the map. One iteration through the colors (ie: red-green-blue-red) is 32 units high.
*'''F2''': Toggles Path map On/Off. The path map works the following way:
**'''Mobile Unit Selected''': If you have a mobile unit selected, then the pathmap shows where that specific unit can move (green) and where it cant (red). The greener the map, the better the unit can walk on that area. Zones that can't be walked or driven on are always solid red.
**'''Builder Selected''': When you have a builder selected, and click on a building in its build menu (i.e. a Kbot lab), the path map will show you where you can build that building. Its fairly easy to understand, with the green zones representing buildable areas, and the red zones representing the areas where you cannot build.
*'''F3''': Moves the camera to the position of the last message. Messages can be from units, or alerts placed on the minimap by your allies.
*'''F4''': Toggles Metal Map On/Off. If the map is green, there is metal there. If the map is black, there is no metal. If the map is white, there is lots of metal and it would be a good strategic place to hold.
*'''F5''': Toggles the GUI On/Off. Good for taking screenshots.
*'''F6''': Toggles Sound On/Off. Self-explanatory.
*'''F7''': Toggles the Dynamic sky. If the game is running slowly, try turning this off to speed it up a little bit.
*'''F8''': Save the Game. Not sure exactly how this works, or how you then load a game again, but the button is here for using. ''Edit by DarkOppressor: I have searched and searched, but have yet to find any reference to a method to loading a game. It appears such a feature does not yet exist.''
*'''F9''': Show/Hide Unit Status. Unit Status bars are: Health, Building percentage, experience, and group numbers.
*'''F11/F12''': Screenshots. Takes a screenshot and saves it to TASpring/Screenshots/Screenshot###.jpg, where ### is the number of the screenshot.
*'''Pause''': Pauses the game, for some reason it takes people forever to figure this out.

==Snapping/Panning Camera to a Specific View==
Right click(MOUSE2) on the mini-map to snap the center of the view to that point on the map, right click and drag to move the camera around the map.

Press F3 to snap the camera view to the point of the last "message" (aka commander is under attack, player 1 has placed a point: look here!).

Press T to lock the camera to track the currently selected units. (move the camera manually to stop the tracking)

=Selections/Groups/Group Commands/Group AI=

==The Selection Editor==

'''SelectionEditor.exe''' is a program installed in your install directory, which is used for editing your '''selectkeys.txt''' configuration file, allowing you to make your own shortcut keys for selecting/filtering selection.

[http://taspring.clan-sy.com/phpbb/viewtopic.php?t=2190 This] forum topic that should be duplicated here, with cleaning up and additions made... and permission probably.

==Default Selection Controls==

===Selecting/Deselecting Units===
Unless you have issued a pending command(see [[#Left Mouse Control (Mouse 1)|Left Mouse Control (Mouse 1)]]), left-clicking(Mouse Button 1) a unit will clear the current selection and select the left-clicked unit, if a spot with no valid selection is clicked(empty space, ground, unowned units), the current selection will be cleared. Left-clicking and dragging will draw a box, any units within this box will be selected when you release the mouse button.

Shift+Left-clicking(including dragging a select box), unless you have a pending command, will add units to the current selection.

CTRL+Left-clicking (including dragging a select box), unless you have a pending command, will remove units from the current selection.

Unless the unit is in a group Double-left-clicking will select all visible(camera bounds) units of the clicked type(Shift+Double-left-clicking will add all units of the double-clicked unit's type to the current selection).

CTRL+Z is a shortcut (which can be eddited in Selection Editor) to select all owned units of the current selected type. For example, if a peewee and a brawler are selected, all peewees and brawlers will be selected.

CTRL+A is a shortcut (which can be eddited in Selection Editor) to select all owned units.
 
<table><tr><td>"Tooltips" are displayed in the bottom left of the current interface, if units are selected this information is the sum of all information about the selection (aka, select a bank of 5 solar collectors and it will show the total health and total energy being produced). If you mouse-over a "build-pic" in a units command list it will show you the costs and stats associated with the unit represented by the "build-pic". If you have no selection, the tooltip will show information about what your mouse is over at that time (unit stats if it's a unit, otherwise information about the terrain).
</td><td>
[[Image:CommanderTooltip.png|thumb|120px|Commander Selected]]
[[Image:TerrainTooltip.png|thumb|120px|Terrain Hover (No Units Selected)]]
</td><td>
[[Image:BuildMexTooltip.png|thumb|120px|Metal Extractor Buildpic Hover]]
[[Image:RepairTooltip.png|thumb|120px|Repair Command Hover]]</td></tr></table>
[[Image:PeeweeGroupTooltip.png|frame|center|Group of units Selected]]

===Basic Unit Groups===

Spring supports what could be called quick control groups. Basically you can assign the currently selected units to a numbered group with CTRL+# (where # is a number key) which will put that number(#) above all selected units, then later, you can quickly select these units by pressing SHIFT+#.

If a factory is set to a group, all units built by this factory will also be automatically assigned to this group.

Units can only be in one group at a time, so assigning a new group number to a unit will remove it from it's current group.

Assigning a unit to a group overides normal double-clicking behaviour, if you double-click a member of a group, it's group is selected instead of the units of the same type in range.

Also note, when you CTRL+# a group of units, the old group with that number will no longer exist. Therefore if you intend to add aditional units to a group, you first SHIFT+# the current members and then add (by holding SHIFT) the additional units to the selection group and the use CTRL+# to re-assign all the units to that group. A shortcut for this is holding down both SHIFT and CTRL and pressing a number(#) to add the current selection to that group, and select the entirety of that new group.

===Advance Unit Groups with GroupAI===

It is possible to assign groups 10 and up for automatic control control.

see [[#Select_AI_.28CTRL.2BQ.29|Select AI (CTRL+Q)]], to create groups 10 and above.

see [[#Assign/Select_Current_Group (Q)|Assign/Select Current Group (Q)]], to select and add units to these groups.

=Issuing Orders/Building=

===Left Mouse Control (Mouse 1)===
As covered in [[#Selecting/Deselecting Units|Selecting/Deselecting Units]], left clicking is the primary control for selecting units. If, however, a pending order is issued using the menu that appears on the left side of the screen or using a Hotkey, the mouse pointer will change to a symbol representing this action. If there is a pending order and you left click on a valid target for the action the selcted units will perform this action on that target, otherwise the units will "do their best" to perform the action(which could mean just cancelling the Order.

The menu will show all available commands for all selected units, except for wait and self destruct, in the menu, mousing over a menu item will also display the Tooltip for this item.

===Right Mouse Control (Mouse 2)===
Right clicking will always give the selected units the default action for the target, if the order is invalid for some members of the group, it may or may not choose a suitable action for those units to perform.

===Queueing Orders===

Use Shift to queue orders. Queueing orders means that you can tell a unit, or a group of units to do multiple tasks, and they will go off and do them without any more input from you. Just say you want a Construction Vehicle to build a line of defences around your base. Select the defence building you want, hold shift and click around a few times. The construction vehicle will now go and build (or try to build) all of the selected structures, and you can just sit back and watch. You can queue each and every type of order there is in game, with no limits. It would be possible (but not very smart) to order your commander to build a whole base for you while you go off and have lunch!

If you have a unit selected, holding shift will show green outlined "ghosted" building for all units the selection has been ordered to build and simple green squares for all buildings that are queued for other units. Also, when holding shift, a path (white line) will be shown representing the selected units order queue (even if there is only one order for that unit; aka a line to the building the unit has been ordered to build and the ghosted building).

You can remove an order from the order queue by holding shift and repeating the same order. This doesn't work very well on area or movement type orders but can be useful for cancelling the construction of an un-needed building.

Another use for this, is for issuing complicated movement orders. Say you want your army to attack your enemy, but you want to attack from the side, where they are their weakest. Just issuing one move command to attack the side of their base would send our units moving THROUGH your enemy's base to try to get to the side. This is not very good. But if you tell your units to move to a location AWAY from the base and them attack from the side, by queuing up two or more move commands, this problem can be successfully avoided. Or you could tell your units to attack certain buildings in a certain order, for instance attack all the outlying metal extracors, and them go for the power plants in the base, they will follow these orders oblivious to anything else, while you go in and attack the other important things.

Learning how to sucessfully queue orders is a vital part of any game, and you will be lost without it.

==Building Buildings==
When a contruction unit is selected you will see images in it's command list(menu on the left) representing the buildings that it can build (buildpics). Mousing over this buildpic will update the tooltip to show information about the structure. Clicking on a structure's buildpic will select it for contruction. If multiple units are selected, all available structures (and mobile units) will appear in the command list. Choosing to build a building when you have multiple units selected will usually assign all units to help build those buildings if this is a valid command.

When you build a unit with a non-factory you will need to choose a ground plate for it to be built on (represented by a grid on the map under your cursor).
 
{| align="center" width="500px" bgcolor="white" border="1px"
|- valign="top"
|
If the grid is green, you can build at that location.
|[[Image:BuildPlateOkay.png]]
|- valign="top"
|
If the grid is green with some yellow-green squares in it somewhere, it means the groundplate is blocked by a mobile unit or reclaimable feature. This situation should be resolved automaticly by the constructing unit.
|[[Image:BuildPlateResolvable.png]]
|- valign="top"
|
If the grid has any red squares in it, this is an invalid build position, the non red squares of the grid represent unobstructed parts of the obstructed grid.
|[[Image:BuildPlateBad.png]]
|}

===Build (select structure then left-click)===

Builds whatever structure selected in the location clicked by moving the builder unit selected there and nanolathing it into existance. All Queued orders are cancelled

===Build Queue (select structure then shift + left-click)===

Puts the selected structure and location into your unit's order queue.

===Build Line (SHIFT)===
(select structure then shift + left-hold-drag then release left mouse)
{|
|- valign="top"
|
Adds a straight line of the selected structure into your unit's build queue starting where you first depressed the leftmouse and ending at the location you release the leftmouse.
|[[Image:BUILDSHIFT.png|thumb|200px|Shift-Build]]
|}

===Build Grid Line (SHIFT+CTRL)===
(select structure then shift+ctrl+left-hold-drag then release left mouse)
{|
|- valign="top"
|
Adds a straight line of the selected structure into your unit's build queue starting where you first depressed the leftmouse and ending aligned to the location you release. This line, however, will be either vertical or horizontal and aligned to the map's grid.
|[[Image:BUILDCTRLSHIFT.png|thumb|200px|Shift-Ctrl-Build]]
|}

===Build Perimeter (SHIFT+CTRL+ALT)===
(select structure then shift+ctrl+alt+left-hold-drag then release left mouse)
{|
|- valign="top"
|
Adds an empty square or rectangle box of the selected structures to your unit's build queue. The location you first depressed the leftmouse is one corner border and the location you release is the opposing corner. If you move the mouse straight up your box will look like a grid alligned vertical line.
|[[Image:BUILDCTRLALTSHIFT.png|thumb|200px|Shift-Ctrl-Alt-Build]]
|}

===Build Block (SHIFT+ALT)===
(select structure then shift + alt + left-hold-drag then release left mouse)
{|
|- valign="top"
|
Adds a filled in square or rectangle box of the selected structures to your unit's build queue. The location you first depressed the leftmouse is one corner border and the location you release is the opposing corner. If you move the mouse straigt up your box will look like a grid alligned vertical line.
|[[Image:BUILDSHIFTALT.png|thumb|200px|Shift-Alt-Build]]
|}

===Build "Wall" (select structure THEN shift + ctrl + left-click a Unit)===
{|
|- valign="top"
|
Add a wall of the selected structure surrounding the clicked unit to your builders build queue.
|[[Image:BUILDCTRLSHIFTUNIT.png|thumb|200px|Shift-Ctrl-Build]]
|}

===Space Build (MOUSE4/Z and MOUSE5/X)===
(select structure then shift + ctrl + mouse5/mouse4 or z/x)
{|
|- valign="top"
|
This function is a little awkward, to change the spacing you need to have a structure selected then hold down SHIFT+CTRL+MOUSE1(left mouse button) then press either the expand(MOUSE5/X) or contract(MOUSE4/Z) buttons to add or remove a 1x1 groundplate(engine renders as 2x2 grid spaces) distance between all future shift+left-hold-drag based build commands.

One more thing, you don't neccessarily need to be holding down mouse1 to adjust the distance between the structure queue. You can select a build pic, hold shift+ctrl and press z or x to adjust the spacing, however you wont be able to see how much spacing you are assigning.

So, for example, to build a double spaced rectangular grid of mines you would move the mouse to the first corner of the area you want to cover with mines, press and hold shift+ctrl+mouse1 then tap X twice then release ctrl and press alt (all the while still holding shift and mouse1) then drag to the end of the area you want to cover with mines and release mouse1. The next time you go to build a grid of buildings, the spacing will already be set, so in order to remove the spacing the next tim you go to build a group of buildings you will move the mouse to one corner of the area you want to cover, press and hold shift+ctrl+mouse1 then tap Z twice then release ctrl and press alt (all the while still holding shift and mouse1) then drag to the end of the area you want to cover with the selected structure and release mouse1.

Gives your line and/or box structure queues an amount of spacing between structures (default spacing starts at no space). Each click of the spacing expand button(x) gives you an extra LLT-base sized space in between each structure on all 4 dimentions. Similarly, each click of the spacing contract button(z) removes that amount of space. You cannot remove spaces when structures are already placed with no spacing between them.

Note: The mapping of this function to Z and X is as of 0.70b1. As Z and X are used by many players for other units, it's valuable to note that the key mappings for "mouse4" and "mouse5" can be changed in the "uikeys.txt" file in your spring directory.
|[[Image:BUILDCTRLALTSHIFTX.png|thumb|200px|Spaced-Shift-Ctrl-Alt-Build]]
[[Image:BUILDSHIFTALTX.png|thumb|200px|Spaced-Shift-Alt-Build]]
[[Image:BUILDCTRLSHIFTX.png|thumb|200px|Spaced-Shift-Ctrl-Build]]
[[Image:BUILDSHIFTX.png|thumb|200px|Spaced-Shift-Build]]
|}

==Building Mobile Units (Building with Factories)==

Click on the picture of the unit you want to queue up for building. You can queue up many units this way.

Hold SHIFT while clicking a buildpic to order 5 units at one time, hold CTRL while clicking to order 20, hold CTRL+SHIFT while clicking to order 100. Hold ALT while clicking a buildpic to cancel the current construction and add the clicked unit to beginning of the queue (starting the constuction of that unit immediately). Right clicking a buildpic will cancel 1,5,20 or 100 orders for that unit by the same combination of SHIFT and/or CTRL metioned before.

Assigning a group number to a factory will cause the factory to pass this group number to the units it builds.

You can give factories a Move, Guard, or other order and the factory will pass it on to the units it builds. YOu can use this to choose a better place for new units to go after being built, or to send them straight into construction or a battle without micromanaging them. This includes assigning queued orders (for example: multiple move points to get a unit out of the base in a straight line and then a guard repair order on a specific large unit under construction and then a guard order back on the orriginal factory to increase build speed).

Construction/Repair units can be assigned to guard a factory to increase the speed of production for each of the units the factory makes.

==Commands and Defaults and Hotkeys==
It is assumed that if a unit does not have an ability it will not be it's default action, priorities have been noted.
===Active State (X)===
This command toggles the active state of a unit.
If a unit can be turned off this will usually stop it's prodution and/or use of energy and/or metal and/or stop it from doing something and/or change it's stats.
For example, turning off a radar jamming building would make it stop drawing power and prevent it from jamming radar, or turning off a solar collector would stop it from producing power and cause it to "close up" increasing it's armor.
This behaviour is unit-scriptable so it could technically do anything the designer of the unit wants it to do.

===Attack (A)===
Orders the unit to attack the target or location. If ordered to attack a unit, the selected unit or building will keep firing at the targeted unit/building until it is dead. If the targeted unit moves out of range, or out of sight(sp?), the selected unit will move to target the targeted unit again. If ordered to attack ground, the unit will never stop until told to do so by the user. Note that units automatically attack any visible enemy units inside their range, and will pursue them(depending on their Move State (see below)) to a certain distance before returning to their selected location.

===Capture===
The unit will move up to the targeted unit or building and attempt to convert it to your team. So if the enemy has built a Geothermal power plant , and forgotten to protect it, grab a near by construction unit and try to capture it! Note that this takes quite a while, and it is not a good idea to try to capture a unit that is shooting at you. The closer the unit is to 0 health the faster it will be captured. Be careful to set your Commander's [[#Fire State|fire state]] to "hold fire" if you are trying to capture a unit with him, as you will likely detroy the target before it is captured.

===Cloak (K)===
Makes a unit inivisble to the enemys units. Enemy units will not be able to shoot a unit while it is cloaked, but can still shoot it if it is on radar(I think?). Note that this uses an immense amount of energy, and units uncloak for a few seconds when they shoot. This means that you might want to set the unit to Hold Fire, so the unit doesn't accidentally reveal itself. Cloaking a unit also causes atacking units to lose their target lock.

===DGun (D)===
Disintegrator Gun. A weapon held by the commander. It is a very powerful gun that will kill ANY unit in game. Use it in early game to ward off rushes, or against super units like the Krogoth, or the Goliath. Be careful, as it also destroys your units and buildings at the same time! Uses alot of energy to fire, so make sure you have the required energy before attmpting this, cause if it does not work, your commander will be a sitting duck.

===Fire State===
Fire States are fairly simple to work out, and are fairly self explanatory. There are three different states, each with their advantages and disadvantages.

==== Fire at Will ====
This is the default setting for all new units. It makes units fire at any visible enemy unit within its range. It is good for general destruction.

==== Hold Fire ====
This makes units never fire unless ordered to. Even if they are attacked, they will not do anything. THis is good for sneaking units around the back of a base, as they will not draw any attention to themselfs.

==== Return Fire ====
Units only fire at untis that shoot at them. Again, this is good for sneak attacks, but add that little bit more of self defence to them.

===Guard (G)===
The current selection will "guard" the target owned or allied unit. 
When a unit is order to guard another guarding unit it will:

1) Any unit that is order to guard another will attempt to follow it's target anywhere.

2) The Guarding unit will Defend the target if it becomes threatened and the guard has weapons.

3) It will also Repair if the target if it's damaged and the guard has repair capabilities.

4) Or it will Assist in any constructions the target is working on, if the guard can at least repair. This also applies to guarding units capable of repairing who are assigned to guard a factory.

5) A guarding unit will: Repair a unit that has been just resurrected (if capable). But it will not attempt to assist in the actual resurrection, inspite of the guard's capabilities.

6) If say 3 units were each told to guard eachother such that: Unit 1 guards Unit 2, Unit 2 guards Unit 3, and Unit 3 is told to build or repair or attack or whatever. Units 1 and 2 would also join unit 3 in doing what it was ordered to do.

===High Trajectory===
If this option is available, click the button to toggle this state. 
A unit with High Trajectory mode enabled will shoot almost vertically, allowing it to shoot over hills as well as other units and masking the direction/source of the shot. 
Using this mode reduces accuracy greatly and also the increased distance of the higher trajectory will increase the amount of time a shot will take to reach it's target. 
===Move (M)===
There are 4 ways to move a group of units in Spring:

1) The usual move to point (works for single units or groups, pretty standard.)

2) Holding down on ctrl while giving a move order issues a "Move in formation" command. In this case, formation means whatever formation or configuration the units were in when they were given the order.

3) Holding down Alt during a move command issues a "Move into a square". Units will try to move into a nice organised formation. However, this rarley ever works, as units tend to shove each other out of the way when trying to get into position.

4) Click and drag at the waypoint and it issues a "Move to this line" command. (In this case the line can be oriented however the user wants. The shorter the line the deeper the back the units will line up. And by contrast the longer the line the more the units will line up along with it. If there's enough units in the group they will form double or even triple lines, which may cause some shoving as stated in #3.)

'''Notes:''' Certain formation commands might not work on every type of aircraft. 
By turning on [[#Repeat|Repeat]], units will move back into formation when shoved out of position. However, this should be used with caution, as it can lead to problems when trying to move units later 
Right clicking with a unit selected is usually as good as pressing the "M" key if the selected point doesn't have any objects at that location.

===Move State===

===Patrol (P)===
A unit given a command to patrol will move back and forth between its current position and the taget location. Holding CTRL when giving a patrol command to a selection with more then one unit will cause the units to move to a location relative the the target point compared to the distance of the unit from the center of the selection. Holding SHIFT while issueing a series of patrol orders will cause the unit to repeat this command, moving from current location to the targets and "circle around" through the points on the queued path.

When a unit is patroling it will do whatever it can to "help out" along the path of it's patrol route. How far it will go out of it's designated route is partially defined by line of sight, radar coverage, [[#Move State|move state]], and [[#Fire State|fire state]].

Examples of Patrol Behaviour:
*If a unit that can repair patrols within range of a damaged (or under contsruction) owned or allied unit, the patrolling unit will repair the damaged unit.
*If a unit that can attack patrols within range of an enemy it will attack the enemy unit.

===Reclaim (E)===

Reclaiming will break down something and give you the metal/energy it is worth. Only certain units (namely, construction units and the Commander) have reclaim capabilities. Wrecks, enemy units, features, and your own units are reclaimable. Energy and metal will be added to storage when reclaiming process is complete.

====Default Behavior====
Simply clicking on a feature, a wreck, or an enemy unit with a construction unit will reclaim it by default. Dragging as an area command draws a circle in which all valid objects will be reclaimed.

Assigning multiple units to reclaim a target will increase the speed at which the target is reclaimed.

===Repair (R)===
When repairing a damaged unit, uses a percentage of the metal and energy costs associated with a damaged unit to increase the speed at which a unit regains health. When repairing a unit that is still being constructed the unit will help build the target, increasing the speed at which the unit is completed.
The repair command is cancelled when the target's health reaches 100%, so if a unit under construction is damaged the repair command will complete the building of the target and then continue to repair until the unit is at full health.
Valid targets are any damaged units(need to check but I believe this includes enemy units) and units currently being constucted.
Default behaviour for owned and ally units that are not at full health, including units being constructed by other units and factories.
The more units that are assigned to repair another unit, the faster the unit will be constructed/restored to full health, but the energy and metal costs will increase accordingly.

===Assign/Select Current Group (Q)===
This key has a double function.

If you have one unit belonguing to a group selected, when pressing Q it will select all the units that belong to this group.

If several units are selected, and one belongs to any group, then, when pressing Q it will assign ALL the selected units to this group, and after that will select the group.

It works with AI groups as well as user generated ("tactical"?) groups.

See [http://taspring.clan-sy.com/wiki/Using_Spring#Default_Selection_Controls Default selection Controls] for more info on groups.

===Repeat===
Moves any orders that have been completed to the back of the order queue. For instance, If you tell a unit to more to one side of the base, and then to the other side of the base, it would keep going back and forwards forever, because when it completed the first move command, it would place that command at the back of the queue again. This is most usefull when building units. If you want a factory to continuously pump out a Sampson, then a Flash, then two Stumpy's, turn on repeat, and watch the units pump out!

===Restore===
Drag an area of terrain to restore the terrain to it's original height if it has been "deformed"(damaged by explosions or flattened by the contruction of a building).

===Resurrect===
In XTA only the Arm F.A.R.K. and the Core necro can use this order. Use this to ressurect dead units. If you see some wreakage on the map from some dead units, select a FARK or Necro and ressurect the dead units to have them fight along side your army. A good way to gain the upper hand later in game is to ressurect your opponents army after a battle. This does take a lot of energy and metal(half as much as building the unit originally), and ressurected units will start on 1 health, so are very vunerable. 
Ressurect is the default order for corpses from destroyed units, this unfortunately includes wreackage that can't acctually be resurrected.(Tip: if you cannot tell what unit the wreakage was then most likely you cannot resurrect it) 
Dragging this order as an area will cause all selected units to ressurect all valid targets in that area. If multiple units are given a common ressurect order, the target will be resurrected faster but only one of them(probably the one the engine decides acctually completed the process) will try to restore it to health. In the case of an area command the units who do not stay behind to repair the target will move on to a new target. 

===Select AI (CTRL+Q)===

Press Control+Q or choose "Select AI" from the Menu to assign an "AI" to the currently selected units.
Setting an AI will generate a "group" from that selection of units.

In Spring, the term AI stands more for an aid or "helper" than for a Complete Control AI (as NTAI, ZCAIN, JCAI).

Currently available AIs.

None 
[[Simple Formation]] 
[[Central Build AI]] 
[[Metal Maker AI]] 
Default = Will assign default AI for that unit (?)

===Self Destruct (CTRL+D)===
Will detonate the selected units/buildings in a very spectacular explosion after a specific count-down (default is 5 seconds). Use this when destroying units/building that are in the way, or when detonationg mines or crawling bombs. A way to literally go out with a bang is to press Ctrl+A (Select All), Ctrl+D (Self Destruct). Note that this will make you lose the game, but is very spectacular!

===Stop (S)===
Makes them stop any queued commands, and stop moving. They will not automatically stop attacking units, unless their fire state is set to Hold Fire.

===Wait (W)===
If issued at some point in a command queue (holding shift for multiple commands) the unit will wait at that point in the queue until it is queued another wait command(which should cancel the other one out), or unitl it is given a non-queued order (no-shift, cancels command queue aswell as normal). If it is loaded by a transport while waiting, it will cancel the wait command once it has been unloaded.
(I Haven't Tested this functionality, someone should try it out and see what it acctually does... got this from the forums [http://taspring.clan-sy.com/phpbb/viewtopic.php?t=2034&highlight=wait+command])

The actual use of this function goes more like this. Start issuing your chain of commands (Holding Shift). BEFORE a command that you want your units to wait for a go command to execute, hit Shift+W. Now, to cancel the first wait queued on this group, and have them continue with the rest of the queue, hit W. Many of these wait waypoints can be chained together. Note, that if you hit W before some or all of the selected units have completed the command before the wait, only those that have completed the preceding command will continue.

=Chat, Cheats, and Text Commands=

Pressing ENTER will bring up a "say:" prompt which you can use to communicate with other players or issue "Text Commands". To send a message to all who are connected, type your message and press ENTER. To send a message only to your allies, preface your message with "a:". To send a message to any spectators, type "s:" then your message and press ENTER. To enter a Text Command, simply type the command and press ENTER.

===Basic Text Commands===

<table border="3" cellpadding="2" cellspacing="0">

<tr>
<th>Command</th><th>Effect</th>
</tr>

<tr>
<td>.info</td><td>Shows you what colour each player is, its CPU usage percentage and their ping delay in the bottom right corner of the screen</td>
</tr>

<tr>
<td>.clock</td><td>Shows you the elapsed game time in minutes and seconds in the bottom right corner of the screen</td>
</tr>

<tr>
<td>.take</td><td>Pulls all allied units, that are owned by players who have lost connection to the server, to your team.</td>
</tr>

<tr>
<td>.setmaxspeed 50</td><td>Changes the maximum speed multiplier (default is 3.0)</td>
</tr>

<tr>
<td>.setminspeed 0</td><td>Changes the minimum speed multiplier (default is 0.3)</td>
</tr>

</table>

===Cheat Codes===

<table border="3" cellpadding="2" cellspacing="0">

<tr><th>Cheat Command</th><th>Effect</th></tr>

<tr>
<td>'''.cheat'''</td><td>'''enable cheats - Cheats don't work in multiplayer until the host types this'''</td>
</tr>

<tr>
<td>.nocost</td><td>Insta-build; everything is built immediatly. (doesn't work on things already under construction, only on new ones)</td>
</tr>

<tr>
<td>.spectator</td><td>Allows you to see the entire map... but you lose control of your units</td>
</tr>

<tr>
<td>.team 0, .team 1, etc.</td><td>Change player</td>
</tr>

<tr>
<td>.give ARMCOM, .give 10 CORKROG, etc.</td><td>Place 1 or specified number of specified unit. Valid units are the internal names of units as specified in the unit definition.</td>
</tr>

</table>

=Map Doodles=

Hold the ` key to draw on the map, only you and your allies can see these doodles. Use this tool to mark out territory or warn of impending attacks or mark enemy bases or play tic-tac-toe before the game... be creative but not annoying.

Hold ` while pressing the left mouse button (MOUSE1) to draw a line.

Hold ` while double left clicking, then type a label then press ENTER to add a labled point(also minimap ping and chat message notification).

Hold ` while clicking the middle mouse button (MOUSE3/Scrollwheel Button) to add an empty point(also minimap ping and chat message notification).

Hold ` and clicking the right mouse button (MOUSE2) to erase lines or points.

Note: Apparently on some keyboards, the ` is replaced with Ã‚Â§, and it is also known as the ~ or tilde key. Usually this is the key between the Tab and Esc keys in the upper left corner of the keyboard. It can also be changed within the "uikeys.txt" file if you still can't figure it out.

On azerty keyboards * and ÃƒÂ¹ (near return) works but not ~

[[Category:Playing]]

Using Spring

2006-03-18T09:03:25Z

DarkOppressor: Second edit

This is a fairly exhaustive description of controls, interface and features. For basic information, check the most current [http://cvs.sourceforge.net/viewcvs.py/*checkout*/springrts/taspring/README.html README.html] (should be mirrored [[Readme|here]])or [[Getting_Started]]. For an introduction to the strategy and overall gameplay in XTA (and most mods based on the original Cavedog units) check out the [[Spring_guide%21]]

For more advanced/current information check the most recent [http://taspring.clan-sy.com/changelog.txt changelog] or the [http://taspring.clan-sy.com/phpbb/ taspring/spring forums].

=Camera Controls=
There are four camera modes in Spring. To change camera modes use CTRL+Middle Button (Mouse 3), CTRL+J or CTRL+Backspace (Also SHIFT+[Mouse 3,J or Backspace]). Middle button, Backspace or J toggle "free look" mode for the current camera view.

==Camera Modes==

There are four different camera modes in Spring. Everyone likes a different one. Try them all out to decide what you like best.

===Classic Overhead(TA) Style===
The default view. Exactly the same view as OTA had. It has a fixed height above the ground, but allows you to zoom in and out. Use the arrow keys or move the mouse to the edge of the screen to pan around the map. The scroll wheel zooms in and out. Ctrl+Scrolling will tilt the camera. Holding the middle mouse button also pans around the map.

This is the easiest view for OTA players to use. It functions exactly the same as the OTA camera, so no new tricky controls are needed to properly enjoy the game. This view has recently had camera tilt added (see above), but still does not really show off the full glory of the Spring engine, as you are limited to one compass direction. It is the favorite view mode for most people, as most people play OTA.

===Total War Style===
The same camera system as seen in the Total War series of games. It runs at a fixed height above the ground, which is not changeable. Use the arrow keys or move the mouse to the edge of the screen to pan around the map. Scrolling the scroll wheel tilts the camera. Putting the mouse in the top corners of the screen rotates the view. Holding down the middle mouse button pans around the map.

Good for those familiar with the Total War games. But again it does not allow for full freedom of movement, so it does not show off the engine as much as it could.

===FPS Style===
In this view the camera is controlled just like in a first person shooter. Use arrow keys to fly forward/backward and strafe left/right. Hold the middle mouse button to aim the camera. Use the scroll wheel to zoom in and out.

This is the easiest camera to position. However, it can get quite tedious trying to control the camera in the middle of a battle. Its good for screenshots and FPS junkies.

===Rotatable Overhead Camera===

This is a new camera system invented by the SY's. It has a fixed height, but you can change this height by scrolling. Use the arrow keys to pan around the map. The scroll wheel moves the camera up and down vertically. Holding the middle mouse button aims the camera.

This is perhaps the best camera, as it allows for totally free movement and aiming, but with some handy restrictions on the height. It is the second most popular view besides the OTA view.

===FPS "Mode" (C)===
Press 'C' to toggle "First Person Shooter Mode".

Controls:
*Up Arrow: Move in the direction the legs are facing
*Left Arrow: Rotate Legs to the left
*Right Arrow: Rotate Legs to the right
*Mouse: Aim default gun (may lock onto annoying targets such as the ground)
*Left Mouse Button: Shoot whatever guns the engine has decided to let you shoot
*Right Mouse Button: Free Fire Mode, the AI will aim and fire for you.

==General Function Keys==

For the most part, the function keys control what the camera sees, so they are listed here for lack of a better place for them.

*'''F1''': Toggles Contour Markings On/Off. These color coded contour markings represent the height of the map. One iteration through the colors (ie: red-green-blue-red) is 32 units high.
*'''F2''': Toggles Path map On/Off. The path map works the following way:
**'''Mobile Unit Selected''': If you have a mobile unit selected, then the pathmap shows where that specific unit can move (green) and where it cant (red). The greener the map, the better the unit can walk on that area. Zones that can't be walked or driven on are always solid red.
**'''Builder Selected''': When you have a builder selected, and click on a building in its build menu (i.e. a Kbot lab), the path map will show you where you can build that building. Its fairly easy to understand, with the green zones representing buildable areas, and the red zones representing the areas where you cannot build.
*'''F3''': Moves the camera to the position of the last message. Messages can be from units, or alerts placed on the minimap by your allies.
*'''F4''': Toggles Metal Map On/Off. If the map is green, there is metal there. If the map is black, there is no metal. If the map is white, there is lots of metal and it would be a good strategic place to hold.
*'''F5''': Toggles the GUI On/Off. Good for taking screenshots.
*'''F6''': Toggles Sound On/Off. Self-explanatory.
*'''F7''': Toggles the Dynamic sky. If the game is running slowly, try turning this off to speed it up a little bit.
*'''F8''': Save the Game. Not sure exactly how this works, or how you then load a game again, but the button is here for using. ''Edit by DarkOppressor: I have searched and searched, but have yet to find any reference to a method to loading a game. It appears such a feature does not yet exist.''
*'''F9''': Show/Hide Unit Status. Unit Status bars are: Health, Building percentage, experience, and group numbers.
*'''F11/F12''': Screenshots. Takes a screenshot and saves it to TASpring/Screenshots/Screenshot###.jpg, where ### is the number of the screenshot.
*'''Pause''': Pauses the game, for some reason it takes people forever to figure this out.

==Snapping/Panning Camera to a Specific View==
Right click(MOUSE2) on the mini-map to snap the center of the view to that point on the map, right click and drag to move the camera around the map.

Press F3 to snap the camera view to the point of the last "message" (aka commander is under attack, player 1 has placed a point: look here!).

Press T to lock the camera to track the currently selected units. (move the camera manually to stop the tracking)

=Selections/Groups/Group Commands/Group AI=

==The Selection Editor==

'''SelectionEditor.exe''' is a program installed in your install directory, which is used for editing your '''selectkeys.txt''' configuration file, allowing you to make your own shortcut keys for selecting/filtering selection.

[http://taspring.clan-sy.com/phpbb/viewtopic.php?t=2190 This] forum topic that should be duplicated here, with cleaning up and additions made... and permission probably.

==Default Selection Controls==

===Selecting/Deselecting Units===
Unless you have issued a pending command(see [[#Left Mouse Control (Mouse 1)|Left Mouse Control (Mouse 1)]]), left-clicking(Mouse Button 1) a unit will clear the current selection and select the left-clicked unit, if a spot with no valid selection is clicked(empty space, ground, unowned units), the current selection will be cleared. Left-clicking and dragging will draw a box, any units within this box will be selected when you release the mouse button.

Shift+Left-clicking(including dragging a select box), unless you have a pending command, will add units to the current selection.

CTRL+Left-clicking (including dragging a select box), unless you have a pending command, will remove units from the current selection.

Unless the unit is in a group Double-left-clicking will select all visible(camera bounds) units of the clicked type(Shift+Double-left-clicking will add all units of the double-clicked unit's type to the current selection).

CTRL+Z is a shortcut (which can be eddited in Selection Editor) to select all owned units of the current selected type. For example, if a peewee and a brawler are selected, all peewees and brawlers will be selected.

CTRL+A is a shortcut (which can be eddited in Selection Editor) to select all owned units.
 
<table><tr><td>"Tooltips" are displayed in the bottom left of the current interface, if units are selected this information is the sum of all information about the selection (aka, select a bank of 5 solar collectors and it will show the total health and total energy being produced). If you mouse-over a "build-pic" in a units command list it will show you the costs and stats associated with the unit represented by the "build-pic". If you have no selection, the tooltip will show information about what your mouse is over at that time (unit stats if it's a unit, otherwise information about the terrain).
</td><td>
[[Image:CommanderTooltip.png|thumb|120px|Commander Selected]]
[[Image:TerrainTooltip.png|thumb|120px|Terrain Hover (No Units Selected)]]
</td><td>
[[Image:BuildMexTooltip.png|thumb|120px|Metal Extractor Buildpic Hover]]
[[Image:RepairTooltip.png|thumb|120px|Repair Command Hover]]</td></tr></table>
[[Image:PeeweeGroupTooltip.png|frame|center|Group of units Selected]]

===Basic Unit Groups===

Spring supports what could be called quick control groups. Basically you can assign the currently selected units to a numbered group with CTRL+# (where # is a number key) which will put that number(#) above all selected units, then later, you can quickly select these units by pressing SHIFT+#.

If a factory is set to a group, all units built by this factory will also be automatically assigned to this group.

Units can only be in one group at a time, so assigning a new group number to a unit will remove it from it's current group.

Assigning a unit to a group overides normal double-clicking behaviour, if you double-click a member of a group, it's group is selected instead of the units of the same type in range.

Also note, when you CTRL+# a group of units, the old group with that number will no longer exist. Therefore if you intend to add aditional units to a group, you first SHIFT+# the current members and then add (by holding SHIFT) the additional units to the selection group and the use CTRL+# to re-assign all the units to that group. A shortcut for this is holding down both SHIFT and CTRL and pressing a number(#) to add the current selection to that group, and select the entirety of that new group.

===Advance Unit Groups with GroupAI===

It is possible to assign groups 10 and up for automatic control control.

see [[#Select_AI_.28CTRL.2BQ.29|Select AI (CTRL+Q)]], to create groups 10 and above.

see [[#Assign/Select_Current_Group (Q)|Assign/Select Current Group (Q)]], to select and add units to these groups.

=Issuing Orders/Building=

===Left Mouse Control (Mouse 1)===
As covered in [[#Selecting/Deselecting Units|Selecting/Deselecting Units]], left clicking is the primary control for selecting units. If, however, a pending order is issued using the menu that appears on the left side of the screen or using a Hotkey, the mouse pointer will change to a symbol representing this action. If there is a pending order and you left click on a valid target for the action the selcted units will perform this action on that target, otherwise the units will "do their best" to perform the action(which could mean just cancelling the Order.

The menu will show all available commands for all selected units, except for wait and self destruct, in the menu, mousing over a menu item will also display the Tooltip for this item.

===Right Mouse Control (Mouse 2)===
Right clicking will always give the selected units the default action for the target, if the order is invalid for some members of the group, it may or may not choose a suitable action for those units to perform.

===Queueing Orders===

Use Shift to queue orders. Queueing orders means that you can tell a unit, or a group of units to do multiple tasks, and they will go off and do them without any more input from you. Just say you want a Construction Vehicle to build a line of defences around your base. Select the defence building you want, hold shift and click around a few times. The construction vehicle will now go and build (or try to build) all of the selected structures, and you can just sit back and watch. You can queue each and every type of order there is in game, with no limits. It would be possible (but not very smart) to order your commander to build a whole base for you while you go off and have lunch!

If you have a unit selected, holding shift will show green outlined "ghosted" building for all units the selection has been ordered to build and simple green squares for all buildings that are queued for other units. Also, when holding shift, a path (white line) will be shown representing the selected units order queue (even if there is only one order for that unit; aka a line to the building the unit has been ordered to build and the ghosted building).

You can remove an order from the order queue by holding shift and repeating the same order. This doesn't work very well on area or movement type orders but can be useful for cancelling the construction of an un-needed building.

Another use for this, is for issuing complicated movement orders. Say you want your army to attack your enemy, but you want to attack from the side, where they are their weakest. Just issuing one move command to attack the side of their base would send our units moving THROUGH your enemy's base to try to get to the side. This is not very good. But if you tell your units to move to a location AWAY from the base and them attack from the side, by queuing up two or more move commands, this problem can be successfully avoided. Or you could tell your units to attack certain buildings in a certain order, for instance attack all the outlying metal extracors, and them go for the power plants in the base, they will follow these orders oblivious to anything else, while you go in and attack the other important things.

Learning how to sucessfully queue orders is a vital part of any game, and you will be lost without it.

==Building Buildings==
When a contruction unit is selected you will see images in it's command list(menu on the left) representing the buildings that it can build (buildpics). Mousing over this buildpic will update the tooltip to show information about the structure. Clicking on a structure's buildpic will select it for contruction. If multiple units are selected, all available structures (and mobile units) will appear in the command list. Choosing to build a building when you have multiple units selected will usually assign all units to help build those buildings if this is a valid command.

When you build a unit with a non-factory you will need to choose a ground plate for it to be built on (represented by a grid on the map under your cursor).
 
{| align="center" width="500px" bgcolor="white" border="1px"
|- valign="top"
|
If the grid is green, you can build at that location.
|[[Image:BuildPlateOkay.png]]
|- valign="top"
|
If the grid is green with some yellow-green squares in it somewhere, it means the groundplate is blocked by a mobile unit or reclaimable feature. This situation should be resolved automaticly by the constructing unit.
|[[Image:BuildPlateResolvable.png]]
|- valign="top"
|
If the grid has any red squares in it, this is an invalid build position, the non red squares of the grid represent unobstructed parts of the obstructed grid.
|[[Image:BuildPlateBad.png]]
|}

===Build (select structure then left-click)===

Builds whatever structure selected in the location clicked by moving the builder unit selected there and nanolathing it into existance. All Queued orders are cancelled

===Build Queue (select structure then shift + left-click)===

Puts the selected structure and location into your unit's order queue.

===Build Line (SHIFT)===
(select structure then shift + left-hold-drag then release left mouse)
{|
|- valign="top"
|
Adds a straight line of the selected structure into your unit's build queue starting where you first depressed the leftmouse and ending at the location you release the leftmouse.
|[[Image:BUILDSHIFT.png|thumb|200px|Shift-Build]]
|}

===Build Grid Line (SHIFT+CTRL)===
(select structure then shift+ctrl+left-hold-drag then release left mouse)
{|
|- valign="top"
|
Adds a straight line of the selected structure into your unit's build queue starting where you first depressed the leftmouse and ending aligned to the location you release. This line, however, will be either vertical or horizontal and aligned to the map's grid.
|[[Image:BUILDCTRLSHIFT.png|thumb|200px|Shift-Ctrl-Build]]
|}

===Build Perimeter (SHIFT+CTRL+ALT)===
(select structure then shift+ctrl+alt+left-hold-drag then release left mouse)
{|
|- valign="top"
|
Adds an empty square or rectangle box of the selected structures to your unit's build queue. The location you first depressed the leftmouse is one corner border and the location you release is the opposing corner. If you move the mouse straight up your box will look like a grid alligned vertical line.
|[[Image:BUILDCTRLALTSHIFT.png|thumb|200px|Shift-Ctrl-Alt-Build]]
|}

===Build Block (SHIFT+ALT)===
(select structure then shift + alt + left-hold-drag then release left mouse)
{|
|- valign="top"
|
Adds a filled in square or rectangle box of the selected structures to your unit's build queue. The location you first depressed the leftmouse is one corner border and the location you release is the opposing corner. If you move the mouse straigt up your box will look like a grid alligned vertical line.
|[[Image:BUILDSHIFTALT.png|thumb|200px|Shift-Alt-Build]]
|}

===Build "Wall" (select structure THEN shift + ctrl + left-click a Unit)===
{|
|- valign="top"
|
Add a wall of the selected structure surrounding the clicked unit to your builders build queue.
|[[Image:BUILDCTRLSHIFTUNIT.png|thumb|200px|Shift-Ctrl-Build]]
|}

===Space Build (MOUSE4/Z and MOUSE5/X)===
(select structure then shift + ctrl + mouse5/mouse4 or z/x)
{|
|- valign="top"
|
This function is a little awkward, to change the spacing you need to have a structure selected then hold down SHIFT+CTRL+MOUSE1(left mouse button) then press either the expand(MOUSE5/X) or contract(MOUSE4/Z) buttons to add or remove a 1x1 groundplate(engine renders as 2x2 grid spaces) distance between all future shift+left-hold-drag based build commands.

One more thing, you don't neccessarily need to be holding down mouse1 to adjust the distance between the structure queue. You can select a build pic, hold shift+ctrl and press z or x to adjust the spacing, however you wont be able to see how much spacing you are assigning.

So, for example, to build a double spaced rectangular grid of mines you would move the mouse to the first corner of the area you want to cover with mines, press and hold shift+ctrl+mouse1 then tap X twice then release ctrl and press alt (all the while still holding shift and mouse1) then drag to the end of the area you want to cover with mines and release mouse1. The next time you go to build a grid of buildings, the spacing will already be set, so in order to remove the spacing the next tim you go to build a group of buildings you will move the mouse to one corner of the area you want to cover, press and hold shift+ctrl+mouse1 then tap Z twice then release ctrl and press alt (all the while still holding shift and mouse1) then drag to the end of the area you want to cover with the selected structure and release mouse1.

Gives your line and/or box structure queues an amount of spacing between structures (default spacing starts at no space). Each click of the spacing expand button(x) gives you an extra LLT-base sized space in between each structure on all 4 dimentions. Similarly, each click of the spacing contract button(z) removes that amount of space. You cannot remove spaces when structures are already placed with no spacing between them.

Note: The mapping of this function to Z and X is as of 0.70b1. As Z and X are used by many players for other units, it's valuable to note that the key mappings for "mouse4" and "mouse5" can be changed in the "uikeys.txt" file in your spring directory.
|[[Image:BUILDCTRLALTSHIFTX.png|thumb|200px|Spaced-Shift-Ctrl-Alt-Build]]
[[Image:BUILDSHIFTALTX.png|thumb|200px|Spaced-Shift-Alt-Build]]
[[Image:BUILDCTRLSHIFTX.png|thumb|200px|Spaced-Shift-Ctrl-Build]]
[[Image:BUILDSHIFTX.png|thumb|200px|Spaced-Shift-Build]]
|}

==Building Mobile Units (Building with Factories)==

Click on the picture of the unit you want to queue up for building. You can queue up many units this way.

Hold SHIFT while clicking a buildpic to order 5 units at one time, hold CTRL while clicking to order 20, hold CTRL+SHIFT while clicking to order 100. Hold ALT while clicking a buildpic to cancel the current construction and add the clicked unit to beginning of the queue (starting the constuction of that unit immediately). Right clicking a buildpic will cancel 1,5,20 or 100 orders for that unit by the same combination of SHIFT and/or CTRL metioned before.

Assigning a group number to a factory will cause the factory to pass this group number to the units it builds.

You can give factories a Move, Guard, or other order and the factory will pass it on to the units it builds. YOu can use this to choose a better place for new units to go after being built, or to send them straight into construction or a battle without micromanaging them. This includes assigning queued orders (for example: multiple move points to get a unit out of the base in a straight line and then a guard repair order on a specific large unit under construction and then a guard order back on the orriginal factory to increase build speed).

Construction/Repair units can be assigned to guard a factory to increase the speed of production for each of the units the factory makes.

==Commands and Defaults and Hotkeys==
It is assumed that if a unit does not have an ability it will not be it's default action, priorities have been noted.
===Active State (X)===
This command toggles the active state of a unit.
If a unit can be turned off this will usually stop it's prodution and/or use of energy and/or metal and/or stop it from doing something and/or change it's stats.
For example, turning off a radar jamming building would make it stop drawing power and prevent it from jamming radar, or turning off a solar collector would stop it from producing power and cause it to "close up" increasing it's armor.
This behaviour is unit-scriptable so it could technically do anything the designer of the unit wants it to do.

===Attack (A)===
Orders the unit to attack the target or location. If ordered to attack a unit, the selected unit or building will keep firing at the targeted unit/building until it is dead. If the targeted unit moves out of range, or out of sight(sp?), the selected unit will move to target the targeted unit again. If ordered to attack ground, the unit will never stop until told to do so by the user. Note that units automatically attack any visible enemy units inside their range, and will pursue them(depending on their Move State (see below)) to a certain distance before returning to their selected location.

===Capture===
The unit will move up to the targeted unit or building and attempt to convert it to your team. So if the enemy has built a Geothermal power plant , and forgotten to protect it, grab a near by construction unit and try to capture it! Note that this takes quite a while, and it is not a good idea to try to capture a unit that is shooting at you. The closer the unit is to 0 health the faster it will be captured. Be careful to set your Commander's [[#Fire State|fire state]] to "hold fire" if you are trying to capture a unit with him, as you will likely detroy the target before it is captured.

===Cloak (K)===
Makes a unit inivisble to the enemys units. Enemy units will not be able to shoot a unit while it is cloaked, but can still shoot it if it is on radar(I think?). Note that this uses an immense amount of energy, and units uncloak for a few seconds when they shoot. This means that you might want to set the unit to Hold Fire, so the unit doesn't accidentally reveal itself. Cloaking a unit also causes atacking units to lose their target lock.

===DGun (D)===
Disintegrator Gun. A weapon held by the commander. It is a very powerful gun that will kill ANY unit in game. Use it in early game to ward off rushes, or against super units like the Krogoth, or the Goliath. Be careful, as it also destroys your units and buildings at the same time! Uses alot of energy to fire, so make sure you have the required energy before attmpting this, cause if it does not work, your commander will be a sitting duck.

===Fire State===
Fire States are fairly simple to work out, and are fairly self explanatory. There are three different states, each with their advantages and disadvantages.

==== Fire at Will ====
This is the default setting for all new units. It makes units fire at any visible enemy unit within its range. It is good for general destruction.

==== Hold Fire ====
This makes units never fire unless ordered to. Even if they are attacked, they will not do anything. THis is good for sneaking units around the back of a base, as they will not draw any attention to themselfs.

==== Return Fire ====
Units only fire at untis that shoot at them. Again, this is good for sneak attacks, but add that little bit more of self defence to them.

===Guard (G)===
The current selection will "guard" the target owned or allied unit. 
When a unit is order to guard another guarding unit it will:

1) Any unit that is order to guard another will attempt to follow it's target anywhere.

2) The Guarding unit will Defend the target if it becomes threatened and the guard has weapons.

3) It will also Repair if the target if it's damaged and the guard has repair capabilities.

4) Or it will Assist in any constructions the target is working on, if the guard can at least repair. This also applies to guarding units capable of repairing who are assigned to guard a factory.

5) A guarding unit will: Repair a unit that has been just resurrected (if capable). But it will not attempt to assist in the actual resurrection, inspite of the guard's capabilities.

6) If say 3 units were each told to guard eachother such that: Unit 1 guards Unit 2, Unit 2 guards Unit 3, and Unit 3 is told to build or repair or attack or whatever. Units 1 and 2 would also join unit 3 in doing what it was ordered to do.

===High Trajectory===
If this option is available, click the button to toggle this state. 
A unit with High Trajectory mode enabled will shoot almost vertically, allowing it to shoot over hills as well as other units and masking the direction/source of the shot. 
Using this mode reduces accuracy greatly and also the increased distance of the higher trajectory will increase the amount of time a shot will take to reach it's target. 
===Move (M)===
There are 4 ways to move a group of units in Spring:

1) The usual move to point (works for single units or groups, pretty standard.)

2) Holding down on ctrl while giving a move order issues a "Move in formation" command. In this case, formation means whatever formation or configuration the units were in when they were given the order.

3) Holding down Alt during a move command issues a "Move into a square". Units will try to move into a nice organised formation. However, this rarley ever works, as units tend to shove each other out of the way when trying to get into position.

4) Click and drag at the waypoint and it issues a "Move to this line" command. (In this case the line can be oriented however the user wants. The shorter the line the deeper the back the units will line up. And by contrast the longer the line the more the units will line up along with it. If there's enough units in the group they will form double or even triple lines, which may cause some shoving as stated in #3.)

'''Notes:''' Certain formation commands might not work on every type of aircraft. 
By turning on [[#Repeat|Repeat]], units will move back into formation when shoved out of position. However, this should be used with caution, as it can lead to problems when trying to move units later 
Right clicking with a unit selected is usually as good as pressing the "M" key if the selected point doesn't have any objects at that location.

===Move State===

===Patrol (P)===
A unit given a command to patrol will move back and forth between its current position and the taget location. Holding CTRL when giving a patrol command to a selection with more then one unit will cause the units to move to a location relative the the target point compared to the distance of the unit from the center of the selection. Holding SHIFT while issueing a series of patrol orders will cause the unit to repeat this command, moving from current location to the targets and "circle around" through the points on the queued path.

When a unit is patroling it will do whatever it can to "help out" along the path of it's patrol route. How far it will go out of it's designated route is partially defined by line of sight, radar coverage, [[#Move State|move state]], and [[#Fire State|fire state]].

Examples of Patrol Behaviour:
*If a unit that can repair patrols within range of a damaged (or under contsruction) owned or allied unit, the patrolling unit will repair the damaged unit.
*If a unit that can attack patrols within range of an enemy it will attack the enemy unit.

===Reclaim (E)===

Reclaiming will break down something and give you the metal/energy it is worth. Only certain units (namely, construction units and the Commander) have reclaim capabilities. Wrecks, enemy units, features, and your own units are reclaimable. Energy and metal will be added to storage when reclaiming process is complete.

====Default Behavior====
Simply clicking on a feature, a wreck, or an enemy unit with a construction unit will reclaim it by default. Dragging as an area command draws a circle in which all valid objects will be reclaimed.

Assigning multiple units to reclaim a target will increase the speed at which the target is reclaimed.

===Repair (R)===
When repairing a damaged unit, uses a percentage of the metal and energy costs associated with a damaged unit to increase the speed at which a unit regains health. When repairing a unit that is still being constructed the unit will help build the target, increasing the speed at which the unit is completed.
The repair command is cancelled when the target's health reaches 100%, so if a unit under construction is damaged the repair command will complete the building of the target and then continue to repair until the unit is at full health.
Valid targets are any damaged units(need to check but I believe this includes enemy units) and units currently being constucted.
Default behaviour for owned and ally units that are not at full health, including units being constructed by other units and factories.
The more units that are assigned to repair another unit, the faster the unit will be constructed/restored to full health, but the energy and metal costs will increase accordingly.

===Assign/Select Current Group (Q)===
This key has a double function.

If you have one unit belonguing to a group selected, when pressing Q it will select all the units that belong to this group.

If several units are selected, and one belongs to any group, then, when pressing Q it will assign ALL the selected units to this group, and after that will select the group.

It works with AI groups as well as user generated ("tactical"?) groups.

See [http://taspring.clan-sy.com/wiki/Using_Spring#Default_Selection_Controls Default selection Controls] for more info on groups.

===Repeat===
Moves any orders that have been completed to the back of the order queue. For instance, If you tell a unit to more to one side of the base, and then to the other side of the base, it would keep going back and forwards forever, because when it completed the first move command, it would place that command at the back of the queue again. This is most usefull when building units. If you want a factory to continuously pump out a Sampson, then a Flash, then two Stumpy's, turn on repeat, and watch the units pump out!

===Restore===
Drag an area of terrain to restore the terrain to it's original height if it has been "deformed"(damaged by explosions or flattened by the contruction of a building).

===Resurrect===
In XTA only the Arm F.A.R.K. and the Core necro can use this order. Use this to ressurect dead units. If you see some wreakage on the map from some dead units, select a FARK or Necro and ressurect the dead units to have them fight along side your army. A good way to gain the upper hand later in game is to ressurect your opponents army after a battle. This does take a lot of energy and metal(half as much as building the unit originally), and ressurected units will start on 1 health, so are very vunerable. 
Ressurect is the default order for corpses from destroyed units, this unfortunately includes wreackage that can't acctually be resurrected.(Tip: if you cannot tell what unit the wreakage was then most likely you cannot resurrect it) 
Dragging this order as an area will cause all selected units to ressurect all valid targets in that area. If multiple units are given a common ressurect order, the target will be resurrected faster but only one of them(probably the one the engine decides acctually completed the process) will try to restore it to health. In the case of an area command the units who do not stay behind to repair the target will move on to a new target. 

===Select AI (CTRL+Q)===

Press Control+Q or choose "Select AI" from the Menu to assign an "AI" to the currently selected units.
Setting an AI will generate a "group" from that selection of units.

In Spring, the term AI stands more for an aid or "helper" than for a Complete Control AI (as NTAI, ZCAIN, JCAI).

Currently available AIs.

None 
[[Simple Formation]] 
[[Central Build AI]] 
[[Metal Maker AI]] 
Default = Will assign default AI for that unit (?)

===Self Destruct (CTRL+D)===
Will detonate the selected units/buildings in a very spectacular explosion after a specific count-down (default is 5 seconds). Use this when destroying units/building that are in the way, or when detonationg mines or crawling bombs. A way to literally go out with a bang is to press Ctrl+A (Select All), Ctrl+D (Self Destruct). Note that this will make you lose the game, but is very spectacular!

===Stop (S)===
Makes them stop any queued commands, and stop moving. They will not automatically stop attacking units, unless their fire state is set to Hold Fire.

===Wait (W)===
If issued at some point in a command queue (holding shift for multiple commands) the unit will wait at that point in the queue until it is queued another wait command(which should cancel the other one out), or unitl it is given a non-queued order (no-shift, cancels command queue aswell as normal). If it is loaded by a transport while waiting, it will cancel the wait command once it has been unloaded.
(I Haven't Tested this functionality, someone should try it out and see what it acctually does... got this from the forums [http://taspring.clan-sy.com/phpbb/viewtopic.php?t=2034&highlight=wait+command])

The actual use of this function goes more like this. Start issuing your chain of commands (Holding Shift). BEFORE a command that you want your units to wait for a go command to execute, hit Shift+W. Now, to cancel the first wait queued on this group, and have them continue with the rest of the queue, hit W. Many of these wait waypoints can be chained together. Note, that if you hit W before some or all of the selected units have completed the command before the wait, only those that have completed the preceding command will continue.

=Chat, Cheats, and Text Commands=

Pressing ENTER will bring up a "say:" prompt which you can use to communicate with other players or issue "Text Commands". To send a message to all who are connected, type your message and press ENTER. To send a message only to your allies, preface your message with "a:". To send a message to any spectators, type "s:" then your message and press ENTER. To enter a Text Command, simply type the command and press ENTER.

===Basic Text Commands===

<table border="3" cellpadding="2" cellspacing="0">

<tr>
<th>Command</th><th>Effect</th>
</tr>

<tr>
<td>.info</td><td>Shows you what colour each player is, its CPU usage percentage and their ping delay in the bottom right corner of the screen</td>
</tr>

<tr>
<td>.clock</td><td>Shows you the elapsed game time in minutes and seconds in the bottom right corner of the screen</td>
</tr>

<tr>
<td>.take</td><td>Pulls all allied units, that are owned by players who have lost connection to the server, to your team.</td>
</tr>

<tr>
<td>.setmaxspeed 50</td><td>Changes the maximum speed multiplier (default is 3.0)</td>
</tr>

<tr>
<td>.setminspeed 0</td><td>Changes the minimum speed multiplier (default is 0.3)</td>
</tr>

</table>

===Cheat Codes===

<table border="3" cellpadding="2" cellspacing="0">

<tr><th>Cheat Command</th><th>Effect</th></tr>

<tr>
<td>'''.cheat'''</td><td>'''enable cheats - Cheats don't work in multiplayer until the host types this'''</td>
</tr>

<tr>
<td>.nocost</td><td>Insta-build; everything is built immediatly. (doesn't work on things already under construction, only on new ones)</td>
</tr>

<tr>
<td>.spectator</td><td>Allows you to see the entire map... but you lose control of your units</td>
</tr>

<tr>
<td>.team 0, .team 1, etc.</td><td>Change player</td>
</tr>

<tr>
<td>.give ARMCOM, .give 10 CORKROG, etc.</td><td>Place 1 or specified number of specified unit. Valid units are the internal names of units as specified in the unit definition.</td>
</tr>

</table>

=Map Doodles=

Hold the ` key to draw on the map, only you and your allies can see these doodles. Use this tool to mark out territory or warn of impending attacks or mark enemy bases or play tic-tac-toe before the game... be creative but not annoying.

Hold ` while pressing the left mouse button (MOUSE1) to draw a line.

Hold ` while double left clicking, then type a label then press ENTER to add a labled point(also minimap ping and chat message notification).

Hold ` while clicking the middle mouse button (MOUSE3/Scrollwheel Button) to add an empty point(also minimap ping and chat message notification).

Hold ` and clicking the right mouse button (MOUSE2) to erase lines or points.

Note: Apparently on some keyboards, the ` is replaced with Ã‚Â§, and it is also known as the ~ or tilde key. Usually this is the key between the Tab and Esc keys in the upper left corner of the keyboard. It can also be changed within the "uikeys.txt" file if you still can't figure it out.

On azerty keyboards * and ÃƒÂ¹ (near return) works but not ~

[[Category:Playing]]

Tutorial:CompleteMapMaking(Wannes)

2006-03-18T08:52:09Z

DarkOppressor: removed the chatter :P

== Complete Map Makign tutorial == by Wannes

Hello everyone,
In this tutorial i'm gonna try to learn you everything you need to know to make your first decent map.

First i want to thank Maelstorm and aGorm for their tutorials, they learned me alot.

=== Things You need: ===

An image editing program like Photoshop (which I will use in the rest of this tutorial), Paintshop Pro, . . .

Mapconv: This is the program that converts the Bitmap files you will be making into something that Spring can use (meaning a .smf and .smt file)
This program comes in 2 versions, Mothers mapconv and the "normal" one
In the rest of this tutorial I will be using mothers Mapconv

Map creation tools (optional): These programs help you making heightmaps, generate heightmaps, and apply textures to them.
Examples are:
* Terragen (Mars was made with the random terrain function in terragen by SJ)
* L3DT
* World Machine.

-*add links later*-

If you are plannign to make big maps 16x16 and more you really need a good cpu and alot of memory and HD space. Especially when you are going to make everything in Photoshop.

=== The Parts of the Map ===

Each map contains 4 parts (3 parts on the normal mapconv)

=== The texture Map: ===

This defines how the terrain for your map will look.
It needs to be a 24 bit bitmap, with dimensions that are a multiple of 1024.
A 16x16 map (you see this at spring lobby) equals a 8192x8192 pixels bitmap.
As you will soon notice these bitmaps have huge sizes. In order to compress these large bitmaps to a small mapfiles they created somethign named tiles.

A tile is a a small picture of a terrain liek grass or sand or water. when you fill up your whole map with 1 or more tiles, mapconv can see this and make good use of it to compress your map. So its important you use tiles because it makes the map sizes alot smalle but you should pay attention your maps don't get too boring because of the same tile you see everywhere.

You can't just use tiles of any size. mapconv will check your map for tiles that are a multiple of 32 pixels. So you can use 32x32 64x64 . . . bigger tiles will usually be nicer on your map because its harder to spot u repeat the same tile over and over, but this also makes you map bigger.
You can even use tiles like 32x64, as long as its a multiple of 32

So it important you find a good balance between the number of tiles you use and their size.

If you wnat to use tiles in Photoshop, do this:
open the tile picture resize it to a multiple of 32, do edit->define pattern
then go to the terrain picture and use edit -> fill and select the wanted pattern. on large bitmaps this may take some time.
When u applied a couple of tiles liek this you can make em belnd in to eachother using the eraser on a low opacity.

You can also use terragen to generate you a texture map, using an imported heightmap or one you made inside terragen. Although I can give you no further info about the use of terragen because I don't know alot about it either.

===The Heightmap===

This is the key part of your map. It defines everything about the heights of your map (including water).

these are the basics: you heightmap must only contain black and whiote colors, and must be textmapsizeX/8 +1 x textmapsizeY/8+1 so if you ahev a 8192 x 8192 texture map you got to ahve a 1025 x 1025 heightmap.
The whiter somethign is, the higher it will be in spring and black is the lowest your map can be.

so basicly what you do is you paint your whoel map grey (usually I take 127 127 127) and then add white and black where you want mountains and valleys

I'm not very good at making heightmaps myself so maybe someone else can write some things here
the way I do it: I only use photoshop , take a white brush on very low opacity and start drawling a mountain on my map. It takes alot of time and patience making it very smoot. the blur tools helps alot and teh surface blur filter helps alot too (or any otehr blut filter). if you want to make your terrain you are goign to build a little interesting you shouldn't leave it all perfectly flat. There are many ways of doing this, you can use the filter->render-> clouds or some thigns in the filer->noise menu(remember not to use colors!)
after apply ing these filers you can try to put opacity of that layer low or merge it with the otehr layers (don't use this, but might be better)

===The Metal Map===

Aah this is an easy one : )
it uses teh same dimensions as the heightmap.
The normal mapconv uses this map to place the metal and geovents on, but mothers mapconv has a special feature layer for the geo's (see later) so the metal map just keeps track of all the metal on your map.

It uses red to represent Metal , so you can use red goign from 0 -255 to defien your metal.
Remember that white = all colors so when you make a white map with red dots your whoel map will be covered with metal. on the normal mapconv this will be even worse because white allso contaisn green (which it uses for geo's) so the enire map wille b full of geo's, and because each green pixel represents a geo this will cause a big error when you start your map.

so allways paint your map black (love that song) first and then add red dots (unless you are makign a metalmap)

===The Feature Map===

This is for Mothers mapconv only
it uses same dimensions as teh height and metalmap.

GEO's:
it uses green 255 to represent a geo add 1 pixel to add one geo on your map don't place alot of green pixels next to eachotehr because this will make spring crash.

TREE's
it uses green color 200-215 to represent trees of 16 differant types

GRASS:

it uses blue color 0-255 0 = no grass 255 = full grass

FEATURES:
***taken from motehrs mapconv readme***
Red Channel:
255 - feature of type on first line of text file specified with
254 - " " second " " "

ie. fs.txt has armjeth_dead on the first line, so a pixel of 255 Blue places an armjeth_dead !

Format is one feature type per line.
These features currently must be found in the .tdf files in the mods/<modname.sd7>/features filesystem.
*** taken from motehrs mapconv readme ***

===Using Mapconv===

ok now you have your 4 maps, copy them into mothersmapconv folder

now you have to get mapconv to work. You can edit the .bat file or do this:
goto start-> run and type "cmd" this will open a dospromt
for those that don't knwo dos, use cd.. to go up one level cd "mapname" to change folder and "d:" to go to your D drive
navigate to the mapconv folder.

Then you need to type "mapconv" follwoed by a list of parameters

this is a list taken from mothers mapconv help:

USAGE:

mapconv [-l] [-i] [-c <compression>] -x <max height> -n <min height> [-o
<Output file>] [-e <tile file>] [-y <Typemap file>] -m <Metalmap file> -a
<Heightmap file> -t <Texture file> [--] [-v] [-h]

Where:

-l, --lowpass
Lowpass filters the heightmap

-i, --invert
Inverts the height map vertically (not the height values but the height map
(uhm someone rewrite this))

-c <compression>, --compress <compression>
(value required) How much we should try to compress the texture file.
Default value 0.8 . (lower=higher quality, larger file)

-x <max height>, --maxheight <max height>
(required) (value required) What altitude in spring the max(0xffff) level
of the height map should represent

-n <min height>, --minheight <min height>
(required) (value required) What altitude in spring the min(0) level of
the height map should represent

-o <Output file>, --outfile <Output file>
(value required) The name of the created map

-e <tile file>, --externaltilefile <tile file>
(value required) External tile file that will be used for finding tiles,
tiles not found in this will be added in a new tile file

-y <Typemap file>, --typemap <Typemap file>
(value required) Type map to use, uses the red channel to decide type,
types are defined in the .smd, if this argument is skipped the map will be
all type 0

-m <Metalmap file>, --metalmap <Metalmap file>
(required) (value required) Metal map to use, red channel is amount of
metal, green=255 is where to place geos (one pixel=one geo). Is resized to
fit the mapsize

-a <Heightmap file>, --heightmap <Heightmap file>
(required) (value required) Input heightmap to use for the map, this
should be in 16 bit raw format (.raw extension) or an image file. Must be
xsize*128+1 x ysize*128+1 in size.

-t <Texture file>, --intex <Texture file>
(required) (value required) Input bitmap to use for the map. Must be
xsize*1024 x ysize*1024 in size. (xsize,ysize integers determined from this
file)

--, --ignore_rest
Ignores the rest of the labeled arguments following this flag.

-v, --version
Displays version information and exits.

-h, --help
Displays usage information and exits.

This is an example of a command to convert your map (mame is crossroads)
I allways use the -i parameter else the texture map gets applied wrong

mapconv.exe -i -f w_crossroadsf.bmp -x 300 -n 50 -m w_crossroadsm.bmp -a w_crossroadsh.bmp -t w_crossroads.bmp -o w_crossroads.smf

if you run this you will see 2 new files in the mapconv folder yourmapname.smf and yourmapname.smt
but you still need an extra file yourmapname.smd
a smd file contains all things like wind speeds max metal sun direction map description, starting positions etc.
you can take a smd file from another map and edit or use Maelstorms SMD creator:
http://taspring.clan-sy.com/phpbb/viewtopic.php?t=2420

now put these 3 files in a folder called "maps", downlaod 7-zip (insert link)
open it and navagiate to the maps folder
rigth click on it and do add to archive. just let it make a zip file, and later rename it to yourmapname.sd7 (you ahve to edit the extension)

put this file in your spring maps folder and you're ready to test it!

I'm gonna cleanup thsi tutorial alter and add alot mroe stuff but if you aren't botehred too mcuh because for all the typo's this shoudl teach you hwo to make your first map

cheers!

Using Spring

2006-03-17T05:44:25Z

DarkOppressor: First of several edits for grammar and clarity :D

More exhaustive description of contols, interface and features. For basic information, check the most current [http://cvs.sourceforge.net/viewcvs.py/*checkout*/springrts/taspring/README.html README.html] (should be mirrored [[Readme|here]])or [[Getting_Started]]. For an introduction to the strategy and overall gameplay in XTA (and most mods based on the original Cavedog units) check out the [[Spring_guide%21]]

For more advanced/current information check the most recent [http://taspring.clan-sy.com/changelog.txt changelog] or the [http://taspring.clan-sy.com/phpbb/ taspring/spring forums].

=Camera Controls=
There are four camera modes in Spring. To change camera modes use CTRL+Middle Button (Mouse 3), CTRL+J or CTRL+Backspace (Also SHIFT+[Mouse 3,J or Backspace]). Middle button, Backspace or J toggle "free look" mode for the current camera view.

==Camera Modes==

There are four different camera modes in Spring. Everyone likes a different one. Try them all out to decide what you like best.

===Classic Overhead(TA) Style===
The default view. Exactly the same view as OTA had. It has a fixed height above the ground, but allows you to zoom in and out. Use the arrow keys or move the mouse to the edge of the screen to pan around the map. The scroll wheel zooms in and out. Ctrl+Scrolling will tilt the camera. Holding the middle mouse button also pans around the map.

This is the easiest view for OTA players to use. It functions exactly the same as the OTA camera, so no new tricky controls are needed to properly enjoy the game. This view has recently had camera tilt added (see above), but still does not really show off the full glory of the Spring engine, as you are limited to one compass direction. It is the favorite view mode for most people, as most people play OTA.

===Total War Style===
The same camera system as seen in the Total War series of games. It runs at a fixed height above the ground, which is not changeable. Use the arrow keys or move the mouse to the edge of the screen to pan around the map. Scrolling the scroll wheel tilts the camera. Putting the mouse in the top corners of the screen rotates the view. Holding down the middle mouse button pans around the map.

Good for those familiar with the Total War games. But again it does not allow for full freedom of movement, so it does not show off the engine as much as it could.

===FPS Style===
In this view the camera is controlled just like in a first person shooter. Use arrow keys to fly forward/backward and strafe left/right. Hold the middle mouse button to aim the camera. Use the scroll wheel to zoom in and out.

This is the easiest camera to position. However, it can get quite tedious trying to control the camera in the middle of a battle. Its good for screenshots and FPS junkies.

===Rotatable Overhead Camera===

This is a new camera system invented by the SY's. It has a fixed height, but you can change this height by scrolling. Use the arrow keys to pan around the map. The scroll wheel moves the camera up and down vertically. Holding the middle mouse button aims the camera.

This is perhaps the best camera, as it allows for totally free movement and aiming, but with some handy restrictions on the height. It is the second most popular view besides the OTA view.

===FPS "Mode" (C)===
Press 'C' to toggle "First Person Shooter Mode".

Controls:
*Up Arrow: Move in the direction the legs are facing
*Left Arrow: Rotate Legs to the left
*Right Arrow: Rotate Legs to the right
*Mouse: Aim default gun (may lock onto annoying targets such as the ground)
*Left Mouse Button: Shoot whatever guns the engine has decided to let you shoot
*Right Mouse Button: Free Fire Mode, the AI will aim and fire for you.

==General Function Keys==

For the most part, the function keys control what the camera sees, so they are listed here for lack of a better place for them.

*'''F1''': Toggles Contour Markings On/Off. Color coded contour markings of the map height. One iteration through the colors (ie: red-green-blue-red) is 32 units high.
*'''F2''': Toggles Path map On/Off. The path map works the following way:
**'''Mobile Unit Selected''': If you have a mobile unit selected, then the pathmap shows where that specific unit can move (green) and where it cant (red). The greener the map, the better the unit can walk on that area. Zones that cant be walked or driven on are always solid red.
**'''Builder Selected''': When you have a builder selected, and click on a building in its build menu (i.e. a Kbot lab), the path map will show you where you can build that building. Its fairly easy to understand, with the green zones representing buildable areas, and the red zones representing the areas where you cannot build.
*'''F3''': Moves the camara to the position of the last message. Messages can be from units, or alerts on the minimap from your allies.
*'''F4''': Toggles Metal Map On/Off. If the map is green, there is metal there. if the map is black, there is no metal. If the map is white, there is lots of metal and it would be a good strategic place to hold.
*'''F5''': Toggles the GUI On/Off. Good for taking screenshots.
*'''F6''': Toggles Sound On/Off. Good for when your D-Gunning kroggies XD
*'''F7''': Toggles the Dynamic sky. If the game is running slowly, try turning this off to speed it up a little bit.
*'''F8''': Save the Game. Not sure exactly how this works, or how you then load a game again, but the button is here for using.
*'''F9''': Show/Hide Unit Status. Unit Status bars are: Health, Building percentage, experience, and group numbers.
*'''F11/F12''': Screenshots. Takes a screenshot and saves it to TASpring/Screenshot###.jpg, where ### is the number of the screenshot.
*'''Pause''': Pauses the game, for some reason people take forever to figure this out.
'''Note:''' F10 is not bound to any control, but its good idea to map it to CreateVideo instead of 'v'. Edit the TASpring/uikeys.txt and replace "bind 'v' CreateVideo" with "bind f10 CreateVideo"

==Snapping/Panning Camera to a Specific View==
Right mouse button (MOUSE2) click on the mini-map to snap the center of the view to that point on the map, right click and drag to move the camera around the map.

Press F3 to snap the camera view to the point of the last "message" (aka commander is under attack, player 1 has placed a point: look here!).

Press T to lock the camera to track the currently selected units. (move the camera manually to stop the tracking)

=Selections/Groups/Group Commands/Group AI=

==The Selection Editor==

'''SelectionEditor.exe''' is a program installed in your install directory, which is used for editing your '''selectkeys.txt''' configuration file, allowing you to make your own shortcut keys for selecting/filtering selection.

[http://taspring.clan-sy.com/phpbb/viewtopic.php?t=2190 This] forum topic that should be duplicated here, with cleaning up and additions made... and permission probably.

==Default Selection Controls==

===Selecting/Deselecting Units===
Unless you have issued a pending command(see [[#Left Mouse Control (Mouse 1)|Left Mouse Control (Mouse 1)]]), left-clicking(Mouse Button 1) a unit will clear the current selection and select the left-clicked unit, if a spot with no valid selection is clicked(empty space, ground, unowned units), the current selection will be cleared. Left-clicking and dragging will draw a box, any units within this box will be selected when you release the mouse button.

Shift+Left-clicking(including dragging a select box), unless you have a pending command, will add units to the current selection.

CTRL+Left-clicking (including dragging a select box), unless you have a pending command, will remove units from the current selection.

Unless the unit is in a group Double-left-clicking will select all visible(camera bounds) units of the clicked type(Shift+Double-left-clicking will add all units of the double-clicked unit's type to the current selection).

CTRL+Z is a shortcut (which can be eddited in Selection Editor) to select all owned units of the current selected type. For example, if a peewee and a brawler are selected, all peewees and brawlers will be selected.

CTRL+A is a shortcut (which can be eddited in Selection Editor) to select all owned units.
 
<table><tr><td>"Tooltips" are displayed in the bottom left of the current interface, if units are selected this information is the sum of all information about the selection (aka, select a bank of 5 solar collectors and it will show the total health and total energy being produced). If you mouse-over a "build-pic" in a units command list it will show you the costs and stats associated with the unit represented by the "build-pic". If you have no selection, the tooltip will show information about what your mouse is over at that time (unit stats if it's a unit, otherwise information about the terrain).
</td><td>
[[Image:CommanderTooltip.png|thumb|120px|Commander Selected]]
[[Image:TerrainTooltip.png|thumb|120px|Terrain Hover (No Units Selected)]]
</td><td>
[[Image:BuildMexTooltip.png|thumb|120px|Metal Extractor Buildpic Hover]]
[[Image:RepairTooltip.png|thumb|120px|Repair Command Hover]]</td></tr></table>
[[Image:PeeweeGroupTooltip.png|frame|center|Group of units Selected]]

===Basic Unit Groups===

Spring supports what could be called quick control groups. Basically you can assign the currently selected units to a numbered group with CTRL+# (where # is a number key) which will put that number(#) above all selected units, then later, you can quickly select these units by pressing SHIFT+#.

If a factory is set to a group, all units built by this factory will also be automatically assigned to this group.

Units can only be in one group at a time, so assigning a new group number to a unit will remove it from it's current group.

Assigning a unit to a group overides normal double-clicking behaviour, if you double-click a member of a group, it's group is selected instead of the units of the same type in range.

Also note, when you CTRL+# a group of units, the old group with that number will no longer exist. Therefore if you intend to add aditional units to a group, you first SHIFT+# the current members and then add (by holding SHIFT) the additional units to the selection group and the use CTRL+# to re-assign all the units to that group. A shortcut for this is holding down both SHIFT and CTRL and pressing a number(#) to add the current selection to that group, and select the entirety of that new group.

===Advance Unit Groups with GroupAI===

It is possible to assign groups 10 and up for automatic control control.

see [[#Select_AI_.28CTRL.2BQ.29|Select AI (CTRL+Q)]], to create groups 10 and above.

see [[#Assign/Select_Current_Group (Q)|Assign/Select Current Group (Q)]], to select and add units to these groups.

=Issuing Orders/Building=

===Left Mouse Control (Mouse 1)===
As covered in [[#Selecting/Deselecting Units|Selecting/Deselecting Units]], left clicking is the primary control for selecting units. If, however, a pending order is issued using the menu that appears on the left side of the screen or using a Hotkey, the mouse pointer will change to a symbol representing this action. If there is a pending order and you left click on a valid target for the action the selcted units will perform this action on that target, otherwise the units will "do their best" to perform the action(which could mean just cancelling the Order.

The menu will show all available commands for all selected units, except for wait and self destruct, in the menu, mousing over a menu item will also display the Tooltip for this item.

===Right Mouse Control (Mouse 2)===
Right clicking will always give the selected units the default action for the target, if the order is invalid for some members of the group, it may or may not choose a suitable action for those units to perform.

===Queueing Orders===

Use Shift to queue orders. Queueing orders means that you can tell a unit, or a group of units to do multiple tasks, and they will go off and do them without any more input from you. Just say you want a Construction Vehicle to build a line of defences around your base. Select the defence building you want, hold shift and click around a few times. The construction vehicle will now go and build (or try to build) all of the selected structures, and you can just sit back and watch. You can queue each and every type of order there is in game, with no limits. It would be possible (but not very smart) to order your commander to build a whole base for you while you go off and have lunch!

If you have a unit selected, holding shift will show green outlined "ghosted" building for all units the selection has been ordered to build and simple green squares for all buildings that are queued for other units. Also, when holding shift, a path (white line) will be shown representing the selected units order queue (even if there is only one order for that unit; aka a line to the building the unit has been ordered to build and the ghosted building).

You can remove an order from the order queue by holding shift and repeating the same order. This doesn't work very well on area or movement type orders but can be useful for cancelling the construction of an un-needed building.

Another use for this, is for issuing complicated movement orders. Say you want your army to attack your enemy, but you want to attack from the side, where they are their weakest. Just issuing one move command to attack the side of their base would send our units moving THROUGH your enemy's base to try to get to the side. This is not very good. But if you tell your units to move to a location AWAY from the base and them attack from the side, by queuing up two or more move commands, this problem can be successfully avoided. Or you could tell your units to attack certain buildings in a certain order, for instance attack all the outlying metal extracors, and them go for the power plants in the base, they will follow these orders oblivious to anything else, while you go in and attack the other important things.

Learning how to sucessfully queue orders is a vital part of any game, and you will be lost without it.

==Building Buildings==
When a contruction unit is selected you will see images in it's command list(menu on the left) representing the buildings that it can build (buildpics). Mousing over this buildpic will update the tooltip to show information about the structure. Clicking on a structure's buildpic will select it for contruction. If multiple units are selected, all available structures (and mobile units) will appear in the command list. Choosing to build a building when you have multiple units selected will usually assign all units to help build those buildings if this is a valid command.

When you build a unit with a non-factory you will need to choose a ground plate for it to be built on (represented by a grid on the map under your cursor).
 
{| align="center" width="500px" bgcolor="white" border="1px"
|- valign="top"
|
If the grid is green, you can build at that location.
|[[Image:BuildPlateOkay.png]]
|- valign="top"
|
If the grid is green with some yellow-green squares in it somewhere, it means the groundplate is blocked by a mobile unit or reclaimable feature. This situation should be resolved automaticly by the constructing unit.
|[[Image:BuildPlateResolvable.png]]
|- valign="top"
|
If the grid has any red squares in it, this is an invalid build position, the non red squares of the grid represent unobstructed parts of the obstructed grid.
|[[Image:BuildPlateBad.png]]
|}

===Build (select structure then left-click)===

Builds whatever structure selected in the location clicked by moving the builder unit selected there and nanolathing it into existance. All Queued orders are cancelled

===Build Queue (select structure then shift + left-click)===

Puts the selected structure and location into your unit's order queue.

===Build Line (SHIFT)===
(select structure then shift + left-hold-drag then release left mouse)
{|
|- valign="top"
|
Adds a straight line of the selected structure into your unit's build queue starting where you first depressed the leftmouse and ending at the location you release the leftmouse.
|[[Image:BUILDSHIFT.png|thumb|200px|Shift-Build]]
|}

===Build Grid Line (SHIFT+CTRL)===
(select structure then shift+ctrl+left-hold-drag then release left mouse)
{|
|- valign="top"
|
Adds a straight line of the selected structure into your unit's build queue starting where you first depressed the leftmouse and ending aligned to the location you release. This line, however, will be either vertical or horizontal and aligned to the map's grid.
|[[Image:BUILDCTRLSHIFT.png|thumb|200px|Shift-Ctrl-Build]]
|}

===Build Perimeter (SHIFT+CTRL+ALT)===
(select structure then shift+ctrl+alt+left-hold-drag then release left mouse)
{|
|- valign="top"
|
Adds an empty square or rectangle box of the selected structures to your unit's build queue. The location you first depressed the leftmouse is one corner border and the location you release is the opposing corner. If you move the mouse straight up your box will look like a grid alligned vertical line.
|[[Image:BUILDCTRLALTSHIFT.png|thumb|200px|Shift-Ctrl-Alt-Build]]
|}

===Build Block (SHIFT+ALT)===
(select structure then shift + alt + left-hold-drag then release left mouse)
{|
|- valign="top"
|
Adds a filled in square or rectangle box of the selected structures to your unit's build queue. The location you first depressed the leftmouse is one corner border and the location you release is the opposing corner. If you move the mouse straigt up your box will look like a grid alligned vertical line.
|[[Image:BUILDSHIFTALT.png|thumb|200px|Shift-Alt-Build]]
|}

===Build "Wall" (select structure THEN shift + ctrl + left-click a Unit)===
{|
|- valign="top"
|
Add a wall of the selected structure surrounding the clicked unit to your builders build queue.
|[[Image:BUILDCTRLSHIFTUNIT.png|thumb|200px|Shift-Ctrl-Build]]
|}

===Space Build (MOUSE4/Z and MOUSE5/X)===
(select structure then shift + ctrl + mouse5/mouse4 or z/x)
{|
|- valign="top"
|
This function is a little awkward, to change the spacing you need to have a structure selected then hold down SHIFT+CTRL+MOUSE1(left mouse button) then press either the expand(MOUSE5/X) or contract(MOUSE4/Z) buttons to add or remove a 1x1 groundplate(engine renders as 2x2 grid spaces) distance between all future shift+left-hold-drag based build commands.

One more thing, you don't neccessarily need to be holding down mouse1 to adjust the distance between the structure queue. You can select a build pic, hold shift+ctrl and press z or x to adjust the spacing, however you wont be able to see how much spacing you are assigning.

So, for example, to build a double spaced rectangular grid of mines you would move the mouse to the first corner of the area you want to cover with mines, press and hold shift+ctrl+mouse1 then tap X twice then release ctrl and press alt (all the while still holding shift and mouse1) then drag to the end of the area you want to cover with mines and release mouse1. The next time you go to build a grid of buildings, the spacing will already be set, so in order to remove the spacing the next tim you go to build a group of buildings you will move the mouse to one corner of the area you want to cover, press and hold shift+ctrl+mouse1 then tap Z twice then release ctrl and press alt (all the while still holding shift and mouse1) then drag to the end of the area you want to cover with the selected structure and release mouse1.

Gives your line and/or box structure queues an amount of spacing between structures (default spacing starts at no space). Each click of the spacing expand button(x) gives you an extra LLT-base sized space in between each structure on all 4 dimentions. Similarly, each click of the spacing contract button(z) removes that amount of space. You cannot remove spaces when structures are already placed with no spacing between them.

Note: The mapping of this function to Z and X is as of 0.70b1. As Z and X are used by many players for other units, it's valuable to note that the key mappings for "mouse4" and "mouse5" can be changed in the "uikeys.txt" file in your spring directory.
|[[Image:BUILDCTRLALTSHIFTX.png|thumb|200px|Spaced-Shift-Ctrl-Alt-Build]]
[[Image:BUILDSHIFTALTX.png|thumb|200px|Spaced-Shift-Alt-Build]]
[[Image:BUILDCTRLSHIFTX.png|thumb|200px|Spaced-Shift-Ctrl-Build]]
[[Image:BUILDSHIFTX.png|thumb|200px|Spaced-Shift-Build]]
|}

==Building Mobile Units (Building with Factories)==

Click on the picture of the unit you want to queue up for building. You can queue up many units this way.

Hold SHIFT while clicking a buildpic to order 5 units at one time, hold CTRL while clicking to order 20, hold CTRL+SHIFT while clicking to order 100. Hold ALT while clicking a buildpic to cancel the current construction and add the clicked unit to beginning of the queue (starting the constuction of that unit immediately). Right clicking a buildpic will cancel 1,5,20 or 100 orders for that unit by the same combination of SHIFT and/or CTRL metioned before.

Assigning a group number to a factory will cause the factory to pass this group number to the units it builds.

You can give factories a Move, Guard, or other order and the factory will pass it on to the units it builds. YOu can use this to choose a better place for new units to go after being built, or to send them straight into construction or a battle without micromanaging them. This includes assigning queued orders (for example: multiple move points to get a unit out of the base in a straight line and then a guard repair order on a specific large unit under construction and then a guard order back on the orriginal factory to increase build speed).

Construction/Repair units can be assigned to guard a factory to increase the speed of production for each of the units the factory makes.

==Commands and Defaults and Hotkeys==
It is assumed that if a unit does not have an ability it will not be it's default action, priorities have been noted.
===Active State (X)===
This command toggles the active state of a unit.
If a unit can be turned off this will usually stop it's prodution and/or use of energy and/or metal and/or stop it from doing something and/or change it's stats.
For example, turning off a radar jamming building would make it stop drawing power and prevent it from jamming radar, or turning off a solar collector would stop it from producing power and cause it to "close up" increasing it's armor.
This behaviour is unit-scriptable so it could technically do anything the designer of the unit wants it to do.

===Attack (A)===
Orders the unit to attack the target or location. If ordered to attack a unit, the selected unit or building will keep firing at the targeted unit/building until it is dead. If the targeted unit moves out of range, or out of sight(sp?), the selected unit will move to target the targeted unit again. If ordered to attack ground, the unit will never stop until told to do so by the user. Note that units automatically attack any visible enemy units inside their range, and will pursue them(depending on their Move State (see below)) to a certain distance before returning to their selected location.

===Capture===
The unit will move up to the targeted unit or building and attempt to convert it to your team. So if the enemy has built a Geothermal power plant , and forgotten to protect it, grab a near by construction unit and try to capture it! Note that this takes quite a while, and it is not a good idea to try to capture a unit that is shooting at you. The closer the unit is to 0 health the faster it will be captured. Be careful to set your Commander's [[#Fire State|fire state]] to "hold fire" if you are trying to capture a unit with him, as you will likely detroy the target before it is captured.

===Cloak (K)===
Makes a unit inivisble to the enemys units. Enemy units will not be able to shoot a unit while it is cloaked, but can still shoot it if it is on radar(I think?). Note that this uses an immense amount of energy, and units uncloak for a few seconds when they shoot. This means that you might want to set the unit to Hold Fire, so the unit doesn't accidentally reveal itself. Cloaking a unit also causes atacking units to lose their target lock.

===DGun (D)===
Disintegrator Gun. A weapon held by the commander. It is a very powerful gun that will kill ANY unit in game. Use it in early game to ward off rushes, or against super units like the Krogoth, or the Goliath. Be careful, as it also destroys your units and buildings at the same time! Uses alot of energy to fire, so make sure you have the required energy before attmpting this, cause if it does not work, your commander will be a sitting duck.

===Fire State===
Fire States are fairly simple to work out, and are fairly self explanatory. There are three different states, each with their advantages and disadvantages.

==== Fire at Will ====
This is the default setting for all new units. It makes units fire at any visible enemy unit within its range. It is good for general destruction.

==== Hold Fire ====
This makes units never fire unless ordered to. Even if they are attacked, they will not do anything. THis is good for sneaking units around the back of a base, as they will not draw any attention to themselfs.

==== Return Fire ====
Units only fire at untis that shoot at them. Again, this is good for sneak attacks, but add that little bit more of self defence to them.

===Guard (G)===
The current selection will "guard" the target owned or allied unit. 
When a unit is order to guard another guarding unit it will:

1) Any unit that is order to guard another will attempt to follow it's target anywhere.

2) The Guarding unit will Defend the target if it becomes threatened and the guard has weapons.

3) It will also Repair if the target if it's damaged and the guard has repair capabilities.

4) Or it will Assist in any constructions the target is working on, if the guard can at least repair. This also applies to guarding units capable of repairing who are assigned to guard a factory.

5) A guarding unit will: Repair a unit that has been just resurrected (if capable). But it will not attempt to assist in the actual resurrection, inspite of the guard's capabilities.

6) If say 3 units were each told to guard eachother such that: Unit 1 guards Unit 2, Unit 2 guards Unit 3, and Unit 3 is told to build or repair or attack or whatever. Units 1 and 2 would also join unit 3 in doing what it was ordered to do.

===High Trajectory===
If this option is available, click the button to toggle this state. 
A unit with High Trajectory mode enabled will shoot almost vertically, allowing it to shoot over hills as well as other units and masking the direction/source of the shot. 
Using this mode reduces accuracy greatly and also the increased distance of the higher trajectory will increase the amount of time a shot will take to reach it's target. 
===Move (M)===
There are 4 ways to move a group of units in Spring:

1) The usual move to point (works for single units or groups, pretty standard.)

2) Holding down on ctrl while giving a move order issues a "Move in formation" command. In this case, formation means whatever formation or configuration the units were in when they were given the order.

3) Holding down Alt during a move command issues a "Move into a square". Units will try to move into a nice organised formation. However, this rarley ever works, as units tend to shove each other out of the way when trying to get into position.

4) Click and drag at the waypoint and it issues a "Move to this line" command. (In this case the line can be oriented however the user wants. The shorter the line the deeper the back the units will line up. And by contrast the longer the line the more the units will line up along with it. If there's enough units in the group they will form double or even triple lines, which may cause some shoving as stated in #3.)

'''Notes:''' Certain formation commands might not work on every type of aircraft. 
By turning on [[#Repeat|Repeat]], units will move back into formation when shoved out of position. However, this should be used with caution, as it can lead to problems when trying to move units later 
Right clicking with a unit selected is usually as good as pressing the "M" key if the selected point doesn't have any objects at that location.

===Move State===

===Patrol (P)===
A unit given a command to patrol will move back and forth between its current position and the taget location. Holding CTRL when giving a patrol command to a selection with more then one unit will cause the units to move to a location relative the the target point compared to the distance of the unit from the center of the selection. Holding SHIFT while issueing a series of patrol orders will cause the unit to repeat this command, moving from current location to the targets and "circle around" through the points on the queued path.

When a unit is patroling it will do whatever it can to "help out" along the path of it's patrol route. How far it will go out of it's designated route is partially defined by line of sight, radar coverage, [[#Move State|move state]], and [[#Fire State|fire state]].

Examples of Patrol Behaviour:
*If a unit that can repair patrols within range of a damaged (or under contsruction) owned or allied unit, the patrolling unit will repair the damaged unit.
*If a unit that can attack patrols within range of an enemy it will attack the enemy unit.

===Reclaim (E)===

Reclaiming will break down something and give you the metal/energy it is worth. Only certain units (namely, construction units and the Commander) have reclaim capabilities. Wrecks, enemy units, features, and your own units are reclaimable. Energy and metal will be added to storage when reclaiming process is complete.

====Default Behavior====
Simply clicking on a feature, a wreck, or an enemy unit with a construction unit will reclaim it by default. Dragging as an area command draws a circle in which all valid objects will be reclaimed.

Assigning multiple units to reclaim a target will increase the speed at which the target is reclaimed.

===Repair (R)===
When repairing a damaged unit, uses a percentage of the metal and energy costs associated with a damaged unit to increase the speed at which a unit regains health. When repairing a unit that is still being constructed the unit will help build the target, increasing the speed at which the unit is completed.
The repair command is cancelled when the target's health reaches 100%, so if a unit under construction is damaged the repair command will complete the building of the target and then continue to repair until the unit is at full health.
Valid targets are any damaged units(need to check but I believe this includes enemy units) and units currently being constucted.
Default behaviour for owned and ally units that are not at full health, including units being constructed by other units and factories.
The more units that are assigned to repair another unit, the faster the unit will be constructed/restored to full health, but the energy and metal costs will increase accordingly.

===Assign/Select Current Group (Q)===
This key has a double function.

If you have one unit belonguing to a group selected, when pressing Q it will select all the units that belong to this group.

If several units are selected, and one belongs to any group, then, when pressing Q it will assign ALL the selected units to this group, and after that will select the group.

It works with AI groups as well as user generated ("tactical"?) groups.

See [http://taspring.clan-sy.com/wiki/Using_Spring#Default_Selection_Controls Default selection Controls] for more info on groups.

===Repeat===
Moves any orders that have been completed to the back of the order queue. For instance, If you tell a unit to more to one side of the base, and then to the other side of the base, it would keep going back and forwards forever, because when it completed the first move command, it would place that command at the back of the queue again. This is most usefull when building units. If you want a factory to continuously pump out a Sampson, then a Flash, then two Stumpy's, turn on repeat, and watch the units pump out!

===Restore===
Drag an area of terrain to restore the terrain to it's original height if it has been "deformed"(damaged by explosions or flattened by the contruction of a building).

===Resurrect===
In XTA only the Arm F.A.R.K. and the Core necro can use this order. Use this to ressurect dead units. If you see some wreakage on the map from some dead units, select a FARK or Necro and ressurect the dead units to have them fight along side your army. A good way to gain the upper hand later in game is to ressurect your opponents army after a battle. This does take a lot of energy and metal(half as much as building the unit originally), and ressurected units will start on 1 health, so are very vunerable. 
Ressurect is the default order for corpses from destroyed units, this unfortunately includes wreackage that can't acctually be resurrected.(Tip: if you cannot tell what unit the wreakage was then most likely you cannot resurrect it) 
Dragging this order as an area will cause all selected units to ressurect all valid targets in that area. If multiple units are given a common ressurect order, the target will be resurrected faster but only one of them(probably the one the engine decides acctually completed the process) will try to restore it to health. In the case of an area command the units who do not stay behind to repair the target will move on to a new target. 

===Select AI (CTRL+Q)===

Press Control+Q or choose "Select AI" from the Menu to assign an "AI" to the currently selected units.
Setting an AI will generate a "group" from that selection of units.

In Spring, the term AI stands more for an aid or "helper" than for a Complete Control AI (as NTAI, ZCAIN, JCAI).

Currently available AIs.

None 
[[Simple Formation]] 
[[Central Build AI]] 
[[Metal Maker AI]] 
Default = Will assign default AI for that unit (?)

===Self Destruct (CTRL+D)===
Will detonate the selected units/buildings in a very spectacular explosion after a specific count-down (default is 5 seconds). Use this when destroying units/building that are in the way, or when detonationg mines or crawling bombs. A way to literally go out with a bang is to press Ctrl+A (Select All), Ctrl+D (Self Destruct). Note that this will make you lose the game, but is very spectacular!

===Stop (S)===
Makes them stop any queued commands, and stop moving. They will not automatically stop attacking units, unless their fire state is set to Hold Fire.

===Wait (W)===
If issued at some point in a command queue (holding shift for multiple commands) the unit will wait at that point in the queue until it is queued another wait command(which should cancel the other one out), or unitl it is given a non-queued order (no-shift, cancels command queue aswell as normal). If it is loaded by a transport while waiting, it will cancel the wait command once it has been unloaded.
(I Haven't Tested this functionality, someone should try it out and see what it acctually does... got this from the forums [http://taspring.clan-sy.com/phpbb/viewtopic.php?t=2034&highlight=wait+command])

The actual use of this function goes more like this. Start issuing your chain of commands (Holding Shift). BEFORE a command that you want your units to wait for a go command to execute, hit Shift+W. Now, to cancel the first wait queued on this group, and have them continue with the rest of the queue, hit W. Many of these wait waypoints can be chained together. Note, that if you hit W before some or all of the selected units have completed the command before the wait, only those that have completed the preceding command will continue.

=Chat, Cheats, and Text Commands=

Pressing ENTER will bring up a "say:" prompt which you can use to communicate with other players or issue "Text Commands". To send a message to all who are connected, type your message and press ENTER. To send a message only to your allies, preface your message with "a:". To send a message to any spectators, type "s:" then your message and press ENTER. To enter a Text Command, simply type the command and press ENTER.

===Basic Text Commands===

<table border="3" cellpadding="2" cellspacing="0">

<tr>
<th>Command</th><th>Effect</th>
</tr>

<tr>
<td>.info</td><td>Shows you what colour each player is, its CPU usage percentage and their ping delay in the bottom right corner of the screen</td>
</tr>

<tr>
<td>.clock</td><td>Shows you the elapsed game time in minutes and seconds in the bottom right corner of the screen</td>
</tr>

<tr>
<td>.take</td><td>Pulls all allied units, that are owned by players who have lost connection to the server, to your team.</td>
</tr>

<tr>
<td>.setmaxspeed 50</td><td>Changes the maximum speed multiplier (default is 3.0)</td>
</tr>

<tr>
<td>.setminspeed 0</td><td>Changes the minimum speed multiplier (default is 0.3)</td>
</tr>

</table>

===Cheat Codes===

<table border="3" cellpadding="2" cellspacing="0">

<tr><th>Cheat Command</th><th>Effect</th></tr>

<tr>
<td>'''.cheat'''</td><td>'''enable cheats - Cheats don't work in multiplayer until the host types this'''</td>
</tr>

<tr>
<td>.nocost</td><td>Insta-build; everything is built immediatly. (doesn't work on things already under construction, only on new ones)</td>
</tr>

<tr>
<td>.spectator</td><td>Allows you to see the entire map... but you lose control of your units</td>
</tr>

<tr>
<td>.team 0, .team 1, etc.</td><td>Change player</td>
</tr>

<tr>
<td>.give ARMCOM, .give 10 CORKROG, etc.</td><td>Place 1 or specified number of specified unit. Valid units are the internal names of units as specified in the unit definition.</td>
</tr>

</table>

=Map Doodles=

Hold the ` key to draw on the map, only you and your allies can see these doodles. Use this tool to mark out territory or warn of impending attacks or mark enemy bases or play tic-tac-toe before the game... be creative but not annoying.

Hold ` while pressing the left mouse button (MOUSE1) to draw a line.

Hold ` while double left clicking, then type a label then press ENTER to add a labled point(also minimap ping and chat message notification).

Hold ` while clicking the middle mouse button (MOUSE3/Scrollwheel Button) to add an empty point(also minimap ping and chat message notification).

Hold ` and clicking the right mouse button (MOUSE2) to erase lines or points.

Note: Apparently on some keyboards, the ` is replaced with Ã‚Â§, and it is also known as the ~ or tilde key. Usually this is the key between the Tab and Esc keys in the upper left corner of the keyboard. It can also be changed within the "uikeys.txt" file if you still can't figure it out.

On azerty keyboards * and ÃƒÂ¹ (near return) works but not ~

[[Category:Playing]]

Glossary

2006-03-17T05:25:11Z

DarkOppressor: /* Glossary */

===Intro===

Can't find what you're looking for? Please edit this page and add an entry for the word/phrase you don't understand, with the text "what's this?" (click the "Edit Page" link at the bottom to begin). Secondly, have a look to see if there are any "what's this?" entries that you know the answer to, and fill them in.

Please keep this page in alphabetical order, and remember it is just a glossary not an encyclopedia - brief descriptions only please! Thank you.

===Glossary===

;AA
:"Anti Air" - units which are good against aircraft.
:Also see "Absolute Annihilation"

;[[Absolute Annihilation]]
:"Balancing mod" with lots of extra units, based on [[UH]].

;assist-build
:see "build-assist"

;balancing mod
:changes the stats, abilities, or build menus of existing units, may add extra units

;BB
:"Big Bertha", which is a "VLRPC". Powerful and more accurate than Core counterpart Arm Artillery Cannon.

;BSR
:"Brave Sir Robin" - producer of [[UH]]

;build-assist
:speeding up unit/building construction with extra con units

;[http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/C_plus_plus C++]
:A computer language. Spring is written in this language.

;[[CVS]]
:"Concurrent Version System", allows the developers to work together; it contains the Spring source code.
:"[[SVN]]" (Subversion) is another system for the same task.

;comm
:"commander", the unit you start the game with.

;comm bomb
:"self-D"ing your commander in an enemy base to destroy it.

;con
:"construction", e.g. "con air"/"air con" is a construction aircraft.

;[http://www.doxygen.org doxygen]
:source code documentation system used on spring. Generates [http://taspring.clan-sy.com/doxygen/ documentation] directly from code.

;[[FAQ]]
:Answers to "Frequently Asked Questions"

;LOS
:Line Of Sight (of your units)

;LRPC
:"Long Range Plasma Cannon.
:See also "VLRPC" (Very -""-)

;mex (mexes)(mohomex)
:Metal Extractor(s)

;[[MiniSpring]]
:[[Mods|Mod]] with all the unit sizes scaled down by a factor of 2.

;[[Mods|mod]]
:Modification to the game which changes the units, see [[Mods]].

;[http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Microsoft_.NET .NET]
:A software development platform used by Spring.

;[[OTA]]
:Original Total Annilation, refering to the unmodified TA units.

;Phoenix Works
:A game [[lobby]] and persistent campaign system supporting Spring [[XTA]] as well as several (mainly rebalancing) mods for [[OTA|original TA]].

;Porcing
:Playing defensively and not expanding (Small and Good Defense, like a Porcupine); term from an old [[CaveDog]] Strategy Article.

;PW
:See "Phoenix Works".
:Can also stand for "PeeWee"s

;rebalance
:See "balancing mod"

;rush
:Early attack, see [[Rushing]]

;self-D
:"self destruct" - All units can do this ([CTRL]+[D] to activate/cancel).

;[http://sf.net SourceForge]
:The [[open source]] website used for the development of the source code.

;[[SVN]]
:Subversion, used by the developers, it contains the [[Spring]] programming code. Considered superior to [[CVS]].

;[[SWTA]]
:Star Wars "total conversion" [[Mods|mod]]

;[[SY]]s
:"Swedish Yankspankers" - the guys who started the whole [[Spring]] thing 8)

;[[TA]]
:Total Annihilation, the name of the game.

;[[TA-WD|TAWD]]
:"Total Annihilation: World Domination" - a quality World War 3 [[TC]].

;TC
:See "total conversion"

;total conversion
:A [[Mods|mod]] which replaces the entire unit set, and often every other aspect(graphics, sound, etc.) of a game.

;[[UH]]
:"[[UberHack]]" - Perhaps the most widely acclaimed "balancing mod" - produced by "BSR".

;unit stats
:The amount of armour, max speed, etc. that a unit has.

;[[UTASP]]
:A truly massive unofficial unit pack expansion for [[TA]].

;VLRPC
:"Very Long Range Plasma Cannon"
:See also "LRPC"

;[[XTA]]
:The [[SY]]'s radical "rebalance mod," the standard gametype for [[Spring]].

=== See also ===
* "[http://www.tauniverse.com/forum/showthread.php?s=&postid=435301#post435301 Abbreviations]" entry in the [http://www.tauniverse.com tauniverse.com] forum

[[Category:Playing]]

Glossary

2006-03-17T05:24:19Z

DarkOppressor: /* Glossary */

===Intro===

Can't find what you're looking for? Please edit this page and add an entry for the word/phrase you don't understand, with the text "what's this?" (click the "Edit Page" link at the bottom to begin). Secondly, have a look to see if there are any "what's this?" entries that you know the answer to, and fill them in.

Please keep this page in alphabetical order, and remember it is just a glossary not an encyclopedia - brief descriptions only please! Thank you.

===Glossary===

;AA
:"Anti Air" - units which are good against aircraft.
:Also see "Absolute Annihilation"

;[[Absolute Annihilation]]
:"Balancing mod" with lots of extra units, based on [[UH]].

;assist-build
:see "build-assist"

;balancing mod
:changes the stats, abilities, or build menus of existing units, may add extra units

;BB
:"Big Bertha", which is a "VLRPC". Powerful and more accurate than Core counterpart Arm Artillery Cannon.

;BSR
:"Brave Sir Robin" - producer of [[UH]]

;build-assist
:speeding up unit/building construction with extra con units

;[http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/C_plus_plus C++]
:A computer language. Spring is written in this language.

;[[CVS]]
:"Concurrent Version System", allows the developers to work together; it contains the Spring source code.
:"[[SVN]]" (Subversion) is another system for the same task.

;comm
:"commander", the unit you start the game with.

;comm bomb
:"self-D"ing your commander in an enemy base to destroy it.

;con
:"construction", e.g. "con air"/"air con" is a construction aircraft.

;[http://www.doxygen.org doxygen]
:source code documentation system used on spring. Generates [http://taspring.clan-sy.com/doxygen/ documentation] directly from code.

;[[FAQ]]
:Answers to "Frequently Asked Questions"

;LOS
:Line Of Sight (of your units)

;LRPC
:"Long Range Plasma Cannon.
:See also "VLRPC" (Very -""-)

;mex (mexes)(mohomex)
:Metal Extractor(s)

;[[MiniSpring]]
:[[Mods|Mod]] with all the unit sizes scaled down by a factor of 2.

;[[Mods|mod]]
:Modification to the game which changes the units, see [[Mods]].

;[http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Microsoft_.NET .NET]
:A software development platform used by Spring.

;[[OTA]]
:Original Total Annilation, refering to the unmodified TA units.

;Phoenix Works
:A game [[lobby]] and persistent campaign system supporting Spring [[XTA]] as well as several (mainly rebalancing) mods for [[OTA|original TA]].

;Porcing
:Playing defensively and not expanding (Small and Good Defense, like a Porcupine); term from an old [[CaveDog]] Strategy Article.

;PW
:See "Phoenix Works".
:Can also stand for "PeeWee"s

;rebalance
:See "balancing mod"

;rush
:Early attack, see [[Rushing]]

;self-D
:"self destruct" - All units can do this ([CTRL]+[D] to activate/cancel).

;[http://sf.net SourceForge]
:The [[open source]] website used for the development of the source code.

;[[SVN]]
:Subversion, used by the developers, it contains the [[Spring]] programming code. Considered superior to [[CVS]].

;[[SWTA]]
:Star Wars "total conversion" [[Mods|mod]]

;[[SY]]s
:"Swedish Yankspankers" - the guys who started the whole [[Spring]] thing 8)

;[[TA]]
:Total Annihilation, the name of the game.

;[[TA-WD|TAWD]]
:"Total Annihilation: World Domination" - a quality World War 3 [[TC]].

;TC
:See "total conversion"

;total conversion
:A [[Mods|mod]] which replaces the entire unit set, and often every other aspect(graphics, sound, etc.) of a game.

;[[UH]]
:"[[UberHack]]" - Perhaps the most widely acclaimed "balancing mod" - produced by "BSR".

;unit stats
:The amount of armour, max speed etc. that a unit has.

;[[UTASP]]
:A truly massive unofficial unit pack expansion for [[TA]].

;VLRPC
:"Very Long Range Plasma Cannon"
:See also "LRPC"

;[[XTA]]
:The [[SY]]'s radical "rebalance mod," the standard gametype for [[Spring]].

=== See also ===
* "[http://www.tauniverse.com/forum/showthread.php?s=&postid=435301#post435301 Abbreviations]" entry in the [http://www.tauniverse.com tauniverse.com] forum

[[Category:Playing]]

OTA

2006-03-17T05:18:18Z

DarkOppressor:

OTA, or the original Total Annihilation, is a game made by Cavedog in 1997. Spring was originally a remake of OTA in 3D, but has expanded beyond that. OTA still has a large community, and has many, many mods to play with. A few of these have been ported to Spring, such as [[Absolute Annihilation]], [[UberHack]], [[Final Fronteir]], [[TA-WD|World Domination]], and [[SWTA]].

For more information, go look at [[Wikipedia:Total Annihilation]]

Getting Started

2006-03-17T05:01:59Z

DarkOppressor: /* STEP 5: Hosting Online - TASClient.exe */

{{lang|Germany|Erste Schritte|Erste Schritte}}

Spring is a project that was started by the [[SY|Swedish Yankspankers]] that aims to create a fully customizable 3D real time strategy game Engine.

TA Spring is the current project focus, which is supposed to port the original Cavedog game "Total Annihilation" to the still developing Spring engine. It uses formats and gameplay elements from the original game and, at this point, can display most [[Mods]] and [[Units]] designed for the original game to different levels of playability.

The most important thing to note however is, '''YOU CAN ACTUALLY DOWNLOAD AND PLAY A WORKING VERSION OF THIS GAME RIGHT NOW AND PLAY ONLINE WITH OTHER PEOPLE'''.

=Getting To Your First Game=
===STEP 1: Is your computer ready?===
Thanks to the [[Linux|Linux Port]] efforts, Spring now has cross-platform support, and can be played on Windows or Linux. There are, however, sync issues with Linux and Windows users playing together.
In theory, it might be compatible with Windows 9x or later, but since we're still beta, we'll call it "hit and miss".

You will need some kind of 3D hardware acceleration, it needs to have the latest OpenGL drivers (which means, providing the card is recent enough, the latest drivers from your cards manufacturer). You will also need [http://www.microsoft.com/windows/directx/default.aspx?url=/windows/directx/downloads/default.htm DirectX] installed.

===STEP 2: Download the Current Installer===

[http://taspring.clan-sy.com/download.php Click Here] to go to the downloads page. Download the '''Regular installer''' option. Run it and install it somewhere on your computer. In theory if, at this point, you read the stuff in the "docs" folder, then you will know what to do next.

===STEP 3 Make Sure the Game Works on Your Computer===

Browse to the installation folder and double-click "spring.exe". Choose "yes" on the "do you want to be a server" dialog, choose the "Commanders" script with the arrow keys and enter, choose a map with the arrow keys and enter, press enter to force start the game.

Don't bother going online until you figure out how to make your Commander build buildings and your buildings build units, and manage to find and kill the other Commander on the map and get the "You Win" message.

====Quick Start====
Shift-Middle Click to change views, middle click activates free-look, arrows keys, moving your cursor to the edge and the scroll wheel controls your camera. If you've ever played Total Annihilation before in its default control mode, you will know what to do next. For a very thorough command and control list, visit the [[Using_Spring]] Page.

===STEP 4: Playing Online - TASClient.exe===

Playing is quite simple. Just make sure you are connected to the internet, then double-click on the tasclient icon (it may have been put on your desktop, but it will definitely be in your start menu). Once you are in the client app, you will need to use the options button at the top of the window to set up an account. From there, just click the little button in the upper left section of the screen to connect to the server. Assuming your firewalls aren't excessively paranoid, it will make a noise and you will be put into the main discussion channel. You can then choose a game from the bottom pane, or chat in the top one.

===STEP 5: Hosting Online - TASClient.exe===

In order to host a game, you must open the "Battle Window" by clicking on the "Battle Screen" button. Once there, you will need to click on the "Host battle" button. The bar at the top defines the amount of players you can have (2-16), next is the game's name, followed by a dropdown box with a list of your currently installed mods, the port the server will host on, and if you wish to lock your server from outsiders - you can also add a password.

You've started your game, people joined, and you started it! Great! But, what if once you're ingame, everyone else's names stay red for several minutes? That means they were unable to connect to your game. (oh noes) This normally means you have a firewall blocking access to your computer from the outside. Consult http://www.portforward.com/routers.htm if you need to know how to open ports on your router. Choose any game in the list, it doesn't matter, just be sure to use the port 8245, instead of what the game's listing says to use.

Holy! A 3D TA game! Don't just stand/sit there, get out and play it (reporting any bugs you encounter along the way). We need testers, and it can only make the game better.

[[Category:Playing]]

Getting Started

2006-03-17T04:13:23Z

DarkOppressor: /* Quick Start */

{{lang|Germany|Erste Schritte|Erste Schritte}}

Spring is a project that was started by the [[SY|Swedish Yankspankers]] that aims to create a fully customizable 3D real time strategy game Engine.

TA Spring is the current project focus, which is supposed to port the original Cavedog game "Total Annihilation" to the still developing Spring engine. It uses formats and gameplay elements from the original game and, at this point, can display most [[Mods]] and [[Units]] designed for the original game to different levels of playability.

The most important thing to note however is, '''YOU CAN ACTUALLY DOWNLOAD AND PLAY A WORKING VERSION OF THIS GAME RIGHT NOW AND PLAY ONLINE WITH OTHER PEOPLE'''.

=Getting To Your First Game=
===STEP 1: Is your computer ready?===
Thanks to the [[Linux|Linux Port]] efforts, Spring now has cross-platform support, and can be played on Windows or Linux. There are, however, sync issues with Linux and Windows users playing together.
In theory, it might be compatible with Windows 9x or later, but since we're still beta, we'll call it "hit and miss".

You will need some kind of 3D hardware acceleration, it needs to have the latest OpenGL drivers (which means, providing the card is recent enough, the latest drivers from your cards manufacturer). You will also need [http://www.microsoft.com/windows/directx/default.aspx?url=/windows/directx/downloads/default.htm DirectX] installed.

===STEP 2: Download the Current Installer===

[http://taspring.clan-sy.com/download.php Click Here] to go to the downloads page. Download the '''Regular installer''' option. Run it and install it somewhere on your computer. In theory if, at this point, you read the stuff in the "docs" folder, then you will know what to do next.

===STEP 3 Make Sure the Game Works on Your Computer===

Browse to the installation folder and double-click "spring.exe". Choose "yes" on the "do you want to be a server" dialog, choose the "Commanders" script with the arrow keys and enter, choose a map with the arrow keys and enter, press enter to force start the game.

Don't bother going online until you figure out how to make your Commander build buildings and your buildings build units, and manage to find and kill the other Commander on the map and get the "You Win" message.

====Quick Start====
Shift-Middle Click to change views, middle click activates free-look, arrows keys, moving your cursor to the edge and the scroll wheel controls your camera. If you've ever played Total Annihilation before in its default control mode, you will know what to do next. For a very thorough command and control list, visit the [[Using_Spring]] Page.

===STEP 4: Playing Online - TASClient.exe===

Playing is quite simple. Just make sure you are connected to the internet, then double-click on the tasclient icon (it may have been put on your desktop, but it will definitely be in your start menu). Once you are in the client app, you will need to use the options button at the top of the window to set up an account. From there, just click the little button in the upper left section of the screen to connect to the server. Assuming your firewalls aren't excessively paranoid, it will make a noise and you will be put into the main discussion channel. You can then choose a game from the bottom pane, or chat in the top one.

===STEP 5: Hosting Online - TASClient.exe===

In order to host a game, you must open the "Battle Window" by clicking on the "Battle Screen" button. Once there, you will need to click on the "Host battle" button. The bar at the top defines the ammount of players you can have (2-16), next is the game's name, followed by a dropdown box with a list of your currently installed mods, the port the server will host on, and if you wish to lock your server from outsiders- you can also add a password.

You've started your game, people joined, and you started it! Great! But, what if once you're ingame, everyone elses' name is stays red for several mins? That means they were unable to connect to your game. (oh noes) This normally means you have a firewall blocking access to your computer from the outside. Consult http://www.portforward.com/routers.htm if you need to know how to open ports on your router. Choose any game in the list, it doesn't matter, just be sure to use the port 8245, instead of what the game's listing says to use.

Holy! A 3d TA game! Don't just stand/sit there, get out and play it (reporting any bugs you encounter along the way). We need testers, and it can only make the game better.

[[Category:Playing]]

Getting Started

2006-03-17T03:55:26Z

DarkOppressor: /* STEP 1: Is your computer ready? */

{{lang|Germany|Erste Schritte|Erste Schritte}}

Spring is a project that was started by the [[SY|Swedish Yankspankers]] that aims to create a fully customizable 3D real time strategy game Engine.

TA Spring is the current project focus, which is supposed to port the original Cavedog game "Total Annihilation" to the still developing Spring engine. It uses formats and gameplay elements from the original game and, at this point, can display most [[Mods]] and [[Units]] designed for the original game to different levels of playability.

The most important thing to note however is, '''YOU CAN ACTUALLY DOWNLOAD AND PLAY A WORKING VERSION OF THIS GAME RIGHT NOW AND PLAY ONLINE WITH OTHER PEOPLE'''.

=Getting To Your First Game=
===STEP 1: Is your computer ready?===
Thanks to the [[Linux|Linux Port]] efforts, Spring now has cross-platform support, and can be played on Windows or Linux. There are, however, sync issues with Linux and Windows users playing together.
In theory, it might be compatible with Windows 9x or later, but since we're still beta, we'll call it "hit and miss".

You will need some kind of 3D hardware acceleration, it needs to have the latest OpenGL drivers (which means, providing the card is recent enough, the latest drivers from your cards manufacturer). You will also need [http://www.microsoft.com/windows/directx/default.aspx?url=/windows/directx/downloads/default.htm DirectX] installed.

===STEP 2: Download the Current Installer===

[http://taspring.clan-sy.com/download.php Click Here] to go to the downloads page. Download the '''Regular installer''' option. Run it and install it somewhere on your computer. In theory if, at this point, you read the stuff in the "docs" folder, then you will know what to do next.

===STEP 3 Make Sure the Game Works on Your Computer===

Browse to the installation folder and double-click "spring.exe". Choose "yes" on the "do you want to be a server" dialog, choose the "Commanders" script with the arrow keys and enter, choose a map with the arrow keys and enter, press enter to force start the game.

Don't bother going online until you figure out how to make your Commander build buildings and your buildings build units, and manage to find and kill the other Commander on the map and get the "You Win" message.

====Quick Start====
Shift-Middle Click to change views, middle click activates free-look, arrows keys, moving your cursor to the edge and the scroll wheel controls your camera. If you've ever played Total Annihilation before in it's default control mode, you will know what to do next. For a very thorough command and control list, visit the [[Using_Spring]] Page.

===STEP 4: Playing Online - TASClient.exe===

Playing is quite simple. Just make sure you are connected to the internet, then double-click on the tasclient icon (it may have been put on your desktop, but it will definitely be in your start menu). Once you are in the client app, you will need to use the options button at the top of the window to set up an account. From there, just click the little button in the upper left section of the screen to connect to the server. Assuming your firewalls aren't excessively paranoid, it will make a noise and you will be put into the main discussion channel. You can then choose a game from the bottom pane, or chat in the top one.

===STEP 5: Hosting Online - TASClient.exe===

In order to host a game, you must open the "Battle Window" by clicking on the "Battle Screen" button. Once there, you will need to click on the "Host battle" button. The bar at the top defines the ammount of players you can have (2-16), next is the game's name, followed by a dropdown box with a list of your currently installed mods, the port the server will host on, and if you wish to lock your server from outsiders- you can also add a password.

You've started your game, people joined, and you started it! Great! But, what if once you're ingame, everyone elses' name is stays red for several mins? That means they were unable to connect to your game. (oh noes) This normally means you have a firewall blocking access to your computer from the outside. Consult http://www.portforward.com/routers.htm if you need to know how to open ports on your router. Choose any game in the list, it doesn't matter, just be sure to use the port 8245, instead of what the game's listing says to use.

Holy! A 3d TA game! Don't just stand/sit there, get out and play it (reporting any bugs you encounter along the way). We need testers, and it can only make the game better.

[[Category:Playing]]

Read Me First

2006-03-17T03:49:11Z

DarkOppressor: /* Client */

{{lang | Germany | Zuerst lesen | Zuerst Lesen}}

 <center>'''The following will answer the most commonly-asked questions about Spring from newcomers, especially those confused by the differences between the way Total Annihilation handles things and the way Spring handles things.'''</center> 
===Installation===
# Spring and Total Annihilation are two completely different programs. Their files are not in any way interchangeable. 
# As such, they should be installed to different directories. Spring is usually installed at C:\Program Files\TASpring 
# Make sure you have the latest version of Spring. The current version is {{CurrentVersion}} 

===Playing===
# To play a game of Spring, you must run the TASClient program. Spring itself, at this time, cannot be run directly very well. 
# You can start TASClient through the start menu link it creates or by running TASClient.exe in the directory you installed Spring in. 
# At this time AI-controlled opponents do not function very well, and most of them only work with XTA (the default Spring mod), and even then they don't work very well. This is a high-priority feature and much effort is being put into it by several talented community members. To check out the progess on the AI's, goto the [http://taspring.clan-sy.com/phpbb/viewforum.php?f=15 AI forum] or check out the [[AI|AI page]] in the wiki. 
# To switch between camera modes, hold down Shift on your keyboard and push your middle mouse button. For more info on Camera Views, see the section on [[Using_Spring#Camera_Modes|Camera Modes]] in the [[Using_Spring|Using Spring]] Article. 
# At this time, most data sets for Spring are in the Beta stage, almost working correctly, but not necessarily to the degree they would be in Total Annihilation. They should all be considered works-in-progress. Feel free to contact their authors with bug reports, as I personally know it is very much appreciated. 

===Mods===
# You can download most mods from [http://www.fileuniverse.com/?p=listing&ID=92 File Universe]. You should probably bookmark this page.
# To install a mod ("data set") to Spring, you must simply put its ".sd7" file (or files) into your "Spring\Mods\" directory.
# Some mods have multiple files to them. For example, "Absolute Annihilation" currently contains the main file, and three files which vary the game, giving the mod a total of four files. Place all these into the mod folder.
# Once a mod has been installed, it will automatically appear as an option when you start a game ("Battle Screen") in TASClient. 

===Client===
# The purpose of TASClient is similar to the Microsoft Zone lobby, only not as pretty. You can go there to chat, start games, download maps, and basically anything Spring related. 
# Private messaging is also supported through TASClient by double-clicking a person's name on the list on the right-hand side of the screen. To exit a private messaging window, right-click that person's name at the top of your screen. (next to something like "#main") 
# If you're in a battle, but have 'lost' your battle screen, you can get it back by hitting the "Battle Screen" button on the top-left of the main Client window. This is also where you host games from. 
# Your question not answered here? Read the [[FAQ|Frequently Asked Questions]]. 





[[Category:Playing]]

Read Me First

2006-03-17T03:46:43Z

DarkOppressor: /* Mods */

{{lang | Germany | Zuerst lesen | Zuerst Lesen}}

 <center>'''The following will answer the most commonly-asked questions about Spring from newcomers, especially those confused by the differences between the way Total Annihilation handles things and the way Spring handles things.'''</center> 
===Installation===
# Spring and Total Annihilation are two completely different programs. Their files are not in any way interchangeable. 
# As such, they should be installed to different directories. Spring is usually installed at C:\Program Files\TASpring 
# Make sure you have the latest version of Spring. The current version is {{CurrentVersion}} 

===Playing===
# To play a game of Spring, you must run the TASClient program. Spring itself, at this time, cannot be run directly very well. 
# You can start TASClient through the start menu link it creates or by running TASClient.exe in the directory you installed Spring in. 
# At this time AI-controlled opponents do not function very well, and most of them only work with XTA (the default Spring mod), and even then they don't work very well. This is a high-priority feature and much effort is being put into it by several talented community members. To check out the progess on the AI's, goto the [http://taspring.clan-sy.com/phpbb/viewforum.php?f=15 AI forum] or check out the [[AI|AI page]] in the wiki. 
# To switch between camera modes, hold down Shift on your keyboard and push your middle mouse button. For more info on Camera Views, see the section on [[Using_Spring#Camera_Modes|Camera Modes]] in the [[Using_Spring|Using Spring]] Article. 
# At this time, most data sets for Spring are in the Beta stage, almost working correctly, but not necessarily to the degree they would be in Total Annihilation. They should all be considered works-in-progress. Feel free to contact their authors with bug reports, as I personally know it is very much appreciated. 

===Mods===
# You can download most mods from [http://www.fileuniverse.com/?p=listing&ID=92 File Universe]. You should probably bookmark this page.
# To install a mod ("data set") to Spring, you must simply put its ".sd7" file (or files) into your "Spring\Mods\" directory.
# Some mods have multiple files to them. For example, "Absolute Annihilation" currently contains the main file, and three files which vary the game, giving the mod a total of four files. Place all these into the mod folder.
# Once a mod has been installed, it will automatically appear as an option when you start a game ("Battle Screen") in TASClient. 

===Client===
# The purpose of TASClient is similar to the Microsoft Zone lobby, only not as pretty. You can go there to chat, start games, download maps, and basicly anything Spring related. 
# Private messaging is also supported through TASClient by double-clicking a person's name on the list on the right-hand side of the screen. To exit a private messaging window, right-click that person's name at the top of your screen. (next to something like "#main") 
# If you're in a battle, but have 'lost' your battle screen, you can get it back by hitting the "Battle Screen" button on the top-left of the main Client window. This is also where you host games from. 
# Your question not answered here? Read the [[FAQ|Frequently Asked Questions]]. 





[[Category:Playing]]

Read Me First

2006-03-17T03:45:49Z

DarkOppressor: /* Playing */

{{lang | Germany | Zuerst lesen | Zuerst Lesen}}

 <center>'''The following will answer the most commonly-asked questions about Spring from newcomers, especially those confused by the differences between the way Total Annihilation handles things and the way Spring handles things.'''</center> 
===Installation===
# Spring and Total Annihilation are two completely different programs. Their files are not in any way interchangeable. 
# As such, they should be installed to different directories. Spring is usually installed at C:\Program Files\TASpring 
# Make sure you have the latest version of Spring. The current version is {{CurrentVersion}} 

===Playing===
# To play a game of Spring, you must run the TASClient program. Spring itself, at this time, cannot be run directly very well. 
# You can start TASClient through the start menu link it creates or by running TASClient.exe in the directory you installed Spring in. 
# At this time AI-controlled opponents do not function very well, and most of them only work with XTA (the default Spring mod), and even then they don't work very well. This is a high-priority feature and much effort is being put into it by several talented community members. To check out the progess on the AI's, goto the [http://taspring.clan-sy.com/phpbb/viewforum.php?f=15 AI forum] or check out the [[AI|AI page]] in the wiki. 
# To switch between camera modes, hold down Shift on your keyboard and push your middle mouse button. For more info on Camera Views, see the section on [[Using_Spring#Camera_Modes|Camera Modes]] in the [[Using_Spring|Using Spring]] Article. 
# At this time, most data sets for Spring are in the Beta stage, almost working correctly, but not necessarily to the degree they would be in Total Annihilation. They should all be considered works-in-progress. Feel free to contact their authors with bug reports, as I personally know it is very much appreciated. 

===Mods===
# You can download most mods from [http://www.fileuniverse.com/?p=listing&ID=92 fileuniverse]. You should probably bookmark this page.
# To install a mod ("data set") to Spring, you must simply put its ".sd7" file (or files) into your "Spring\Mods\" directory.
# Some mods have multiple files to them. For example, "Absolute Annihilation" currently contains the main file, and three files which vary the game, giving the mod a total of four files. Place all these into the mod folder.
# Once a mod has been installed, it will automatically appear as an option when you start a game ("Battle Screen") in TASClient. 

===Client===
# The purpose of TASClient is similar to the Microsoft Zone lobby, only not as pretty. You can go there to chat, start games, download maps, and basicly anything Spring related. 
# Private messaging is also supported through TASClient by double-clicking a person's name on the list on the right-hand side of the screen. To exit a private messaging window, right-click that person's name at the top of your screen. (next to something like "#main") 
# If you're in a battle, but have 'lost' your battle screen, you can get it back by hitting the "Battle Screen" button on the top-left of the main Client window. This is also where you host games from. 
# Your question not answered here? Read the [[FAQ|Frequently Asked Questions]]. 





[[Category:Playing]]

Spring guide

2006-03-17T03:45:03Z

DarkOppressor:

'''

Ã¢â‚¬ËœÃ¢â‚¬â„¢Keep in mind that Spring is still in beta, therefore crashes can occur (a lot) and we (well, not me!) havenÃ¢â‚¬â„¢t got everything fixed yet.Ã¢â‚¬â„¢Ã¢â‚¬â„¢

Before we start, letÃ¢â‚¬â„¢s have some background info.

== TA: so what's so cool about this game? ==
[warning, boring info that doesnÃ¢â‚¬â„¢t really mean anything]

TA (Total Annihilation) was created by Cavedog (R.I.P) in 1997, about half a year before(!!!) Starcraft was released. It was revolutionary in many ways, with 3D graphics (but a fixed camera), good animations (aircraft barrel rolled and leaned when they turned etc.), 3D terrain and many units (150 in the original game.) But in my not so humble opinion, the 3 greatest things that set TA apart were...

* Its physics! Every shot trajectory was calculated! An artillery shell could try to get over a hill and hit an aircraft, which exploded into bits, damaging other troops nearby, which could also explode and set forests on fire. Yeah, might not sound that big after 7 years, but back then we had Starcraft, which defied at least a half dozen laws of physics.

(Example of the tentacle through space. Yeah, really realistic)
[http://fast.filespace.org/Kixxe/WTF.png Click here]

* The order system! You could have 300 units waiting to be built, and when they were done, they could go and patrol an area and attack anyone in it. Order queues were limitless. You could build your whole base and drink tea while it was getting built. Construction units on patrol would repair damaged units, help build things and reclaim stuff (sucking it in and transforming it into resources.)

* The resource system! Contrary to other RTS games, the resources in TA are infinite. What limits resource consumption is the rate at which they can be gathered. This sole fact would make for longer and more epic games, with hundreds or thousands of units fighting in the endgame.

Pretty cool game. If you want, check out their old website for more info. [http://www.fileuniverse.com/Total_Annihilation_Mirror/totala/index.html Click here]

[/warning, boring info that doesnÃ¢â‚¬â„¢t really mean anything]

Anyway, enough of my rambling, onto Spring!

Now, as I told you, Spring was inspired by TA and has the same features TA had. Plus a few new thingsÃ¢â‚¬Â¦ check out the Spring features page for more info.
[http://taspring.clan-sy.com/wiki/Features Click here]

----

==Resources==

There are two types of resources in Spring, namely ''metal'' and ''energy''. Each of these two resources can be collected in a number of different ways. The amount of each resource that you currently have stockpiled is represented by a coloured bar, one for each resource, along the upper edge of the screen. The rate at which you are presently collecting and consuming each of the two types is represented by a number and a + or - sign. If you are collecting at a faster rate then the rate at which you are consuming you will see your coloured bar grow as resources accumulate. Your stockpiled resources are being depleted whenever the coloured bar is shrinking. There are storage buildings which you can build for each type of resource and these will increase the amount of each which can be stored. Units and structures cost both metal and energy to build, while some units or structures also require energy to walk, shoot or operate in general.

Metal is collected continuously from either a metal extractor, often called Ã¢â‚¬ËœmexesÃ¢â‚¬â„¢ which extract from certain areas of the map, or by using a metal maker, abbreviated as Ã¢â‚¬ËœMMÃ¢â‚¬â„¢ which convert energy into metal. Both will only operate so long as there is sufficient energy to power them. However, metal makers require a lot of energy.
A faster way to gather metal is by using either your commander or a construction bot to 'reclaim' it from the remains of destroyed units and buildings! They can even reclaim buildings which have not been destroyed and they don't have to belong to your enemy to be reclaimed.

Energy can be produced by a number of different buildings or it can be reclaimed (you can reclaim trees to gather energy). There are many different types of energy producers, including solar collectors and power plants, but they will be covered in another section.

In a game, always Ã¢â‚¬Å“keep an eye on your metal and energy barÃ¢â‚¬Å“ because if one of them goes to zero, particularly energy, your building rate will stall,(metal makers and extractors will stop producing) and some units will be unable to fire their energy weapons (eg. LRPCs, Annihilators, Doomsday Machines).

----

==A Normal Spring Game==

Anyway, now you will learn the basics of a normal Spring game, as I see it.
Every Spring game starts with all players only havingÃ¢â‚¬Â¦

'''The COMMANDER'''! (Insert DUN DUN DUUUUUNN)

The Commander is the unit you start with and the most important one in the game. He is unique and cannot be rebuilt. In fact, there is a mode where the game ends when the commander dies, so never leave him alone.

The fastest builder, he can walk and build underwater, he makes a nuke-sized explosion when he dies, he has a laser and the privilege of a Disintegrator Gun (alias D-Gun).
The D-Gun is the single most powerful weapon in the whole game, which kills ANY (ANY, I mean it!) unit in one hit (friend or foe no difference, be careful!). Even if that sounds a like a little overkill, keep in mind that the Commander has a very limited range, is defenceless against any aircraft and long range artillery, and when submerged, he cannot shoot. (Subs! Onoz!)

The Commander is used for setting up a base, and early base defences. The D-Gun should protect him against any level 1 unit that tries to kill him, so if you lose your Commander in the beginning of the gameÃ¢â‚¬Â¦ then you're dead. You lose your best (only?) builder and attacker, plus you have a nuke-sized explosion that may destroy half or all of your base.

AnywayÃ¢â‚¬Â¦ if you're seeing everything in a top down perspective, click the Commander (type Ctrl+C if you can't find him) with left mouse button to select him.

(If you have a crosshair as a mouse, press j. If your camera is zoomed out or all jerky, press ctrl+j until you find the OTA(Original Total Annihilation) camera.)

Okay, letÃ¢â‚¬â„¢s now discuss '''how to build stuff'''.

Like any normal RTS, itÃ¢â‚¬â„¢s choose a unit and click a location, but there is more with Spring. Hold shift and click on different locations to make the unit build the same building there. Hold shift and drag and you will make a line of the building. Hold ctrl and shift to make boxes/rectangular shapes of buildings. Use these! Make a line of DT (Dragon Teeth, small piece of wall/cover) instead of clicking each and every one. The controls are there to help you.
This is called queuing up stuff. You can use almost every single command in a queue. Buildings can be queued to build lots of different units, and then the other orders in the behaviour of the unit. You can make them walk to something, or guard/follow a unit by pressing G and selecting the unit to guard. Try it.
Selecting a unit and pressing shift key will show the orders queue.

Build 2 solar generators, or 4 wind generators to gather energy. Keep in mind that wind is pretty unstable, and that a number of maps (like lunar ones) have no wind at all! (The level of wind and tides in the map is indicated in the Map Selector in the Lobby).

Now select the Metal extractors and the whole screen turns black and green. Okay, place one on the green stuff. (The greener, the better! Like broccoli!)

Oh, and the minimap controls in spring are reversed. Meaning that you have to right-click to move the screen to the location. Once the new GUI is out and offical, this will be fixed.

----

==The TA Bestiary==

Okay, time to describe the cool units that are at your disposal to make your enemies bleed. 8)

(Disclaimer : This will discuss the types of units, not every unit. Therefore, if I say that vehicles have large armour, I donÃ¢â‚¬â„¢t mean artillery of course.)

On to the first level 1 lab/plant to build. The categories areÃ¢â‚¬Â¦

===Vehicles===

These babies are all about armour. The level 1 units are pretty basic, with more armour and (build) speed and than their K-bot counterparts. Level 2 vehicles show even more of the same pattern: better armour than their K-bot counterparts. Level 2 also offers the mobile Flak unit, which is the only real level 2 mobile AA.
Their weakness is that they are clumsy, turn slowly, and most of them canÃ¢â‚¬â„¢t climb mountainsÃ¢â‚¬Â¦ at all. Leads to trouble when an explosion makes a crater; units survive but can get stuck in the crater. Or just when they are trying to get up a steep hill. But sooner or later, you'll learn what kind of destruction a rush of 30 Goliaths can do!

===K-Bots===

K-bots generally have less powerful weapons than tanks, and are also less heavily armoured.
So why build them in the first place?
Because they are cheaper! And since they are cheaper, you can build more and outnumber your enemies. This doesnÃ¢â‚¬â„¢t work out that good in game though, since tanks ARE stronger. K-bots are also smaller, and will slip through DT and such alike easier than tanks.
And finally, the third advantage (which IMO is the biggest) of K-bots are that they can climb most mountains with ease! Climb by defences, up on mountains, through holes, these are all-purpose units.

===Aircraft===

Planes are planes. In Spring, thereÃ¢â‚¬â„¢s a plane for every role. Bombers, fighters, gunships, flying radar, transports, stealth fighters and torpedo bombers. Planes are fast, and are not affected by terrain. There is no wall or relief that can stop a plane. You can just swoop into a base and take out AA with your gunship, and then bomb the crap out of their important structures. To stop them, you've got to rely on Anti Air (AA) units.

On the downside, planes are quite expensive to build and are relatively fragile. They are also the only units that have an anti unit against them (Except subs). When someone finds out you're building a large air fleet, they just cram their base full of AA and their army with mobile AA. And the only counter is more planes than their AA can handle, or a ground troop to take the AA down. A combined ground and air attack can be very destructive. Good luck!

===Ships===

Ships are good on a map with water. (DUH!) Ships come in many different kinds, but mostly for taking out other ships or bombing the crap out of land units in some way or another. The ships' strength is their powerful weaponry and their long range. All ships made to take out land have long range. Ships also have lots of armour. Another thing thatÃ¢â‚¬â„¢s good about ships is that there is not much you can do to stop them because they are usually out of range. Once you see that the enemy has ships, either build a dock and a navy real fast or build planes and pray that he doesnÃ¢â‚¬â„¢t have too many AA ships.
Their weaknesses are slowness (especially when turning), they can be taken out by submarines, and of course they are confined to water, meaning that they are often stuck with units just outside of their reach.

And they are *extremely* expensive, metal-wise.

===Hovercraft===

(These are counted as level 2 units, so I would not recommend them as the first to build unless itÃ¢â‚¬â„¢s the perfect map for them)

Hovercrafts are a tank and a plane (some say ship, but I find planes to be more accurate for some reason O.o) mixed. Sure itÃ¢â‚¬â„¢s weaker than your average tank, and slower than your average plane. Whats their use? They are meant for swampy maps that means that both tanks and ships are a weakness, and offcourse since none can't be used, everyone just spams out AA since they think aircrafts are the only way. Great suprise for the enemy when 50 hovercrafts comes in agsint their flakkers and MT...
Long story short, Hovercrafts are good for those who like (or must) attack from the ground, but canÃ¢â‚¬â„¢t since there is too much water.

Their weakness is their low climbing ability, and that they're weaker than a tank and slower than a plane. (DonÃ¢â‚¬â„¢t build them on a land map, tanks ARE better.)

===Towers and Turrets===

Like TA, Spring boasts an impressive range of plasma and laser towers, cannons and turrets. These cannons will undoubtly be essential parts of your offensive as well as defensive strategies.

'''Light laser tower (LLT)'''
A cheap and fast laser that hits almost every time. Mostly useful against level 1 units, but can be used in groups against level 2. They suffer from short range, so most long range weapons can kill them(Samsons, for example). Since they fire faster than their bigger brothers, LLTs are more useful against hordes of small weak units than a single strong one.

'''Heavy laser tower (HLT)'''
This is the only tower that works on those pesky level 2 units that just wonÃ¢â‚¬â„¢t die. These shoot slower, but with much more power than the LLT. They also have a longer range and can be quite effective against air attacks. They cost a fair amount and take a long time to build, but they are often worth it.

'''Missile Tower (MT)'''
The missile tower is good for planes or weak level 1 units. They shoot a weak rocket that almost hits their target every time. They have a fair range, but very low hp. They work on most level 2 planes as well, but should be backed up with Flack cannons.

'''Pop-up Cannons'''
Pop-up cannons are pretty cheap middle range gun. A guardian can outshoot them, but they are still a choice to use. When Ã¢â‚¬ËœÃ¢â‚¬â„¢offÃ¢â‚¬â„¢Ã¢â‚¬â„¢ they take 50% less damage! I heard that a closed popup can withstand a nuke! (If itÃ¢â‚¬â„¢s not a direct hit) In XTA you can build them with level 1 construction K-bot or whatever. Sometimes individual wars between 2 or 4 pop-ups break out, where both sides try to kill the other's ones. Just remember to repair them, as with all PCÃ¢â‚¬Â¦

'''Middle range Plasma Cannons (MRPC)'''
Guardians and such alike. These arenÃ¢â‚¬â„¢t for attacking, but they have a pretty long range, and are not too expensive. Plus their targeting is pretty fast, meaning they are practically made for defence and very lethal. Perfect to have on a hill close to a HLT and some MTÃ¢â‚¬Â¦

'''Long Range Plasma Cannons (LRPC)'''
We are talking Big berthas, Intimidators and such alike. These babies got the RANGE and may be the ultimate weapon on small maps. The Big Bertha, yeah. An amazing unit. Not the ultimate, but several times cheaper and more accurate than a Buzz Saw/Vulcan, and its accuracy will improve with every kill. Not good at defending, since its slow targeting makes it impossible to hit moving targets. Try to build one on a small maps, or just build one close to the enemy and your Bertha will start pounding his base mercilessly. In fact, build several, with a lot of AA around them (and ground, if thatÃ¢â‚¬â„¢s possible) and you'll see your enemy's morale quickly fall to the ground. A LRPC expansion can sometimes become the winning factor of a game.

'''Very long range plasma Cannons (VLRC)'''
Buzzsaws are big, cost much, are huge energy suckers, are VERY inaccurate and are pretty slow on targeting. BUT, they have the DOUBLE range of a normal LRPC and shoot 4(!!!) shots at a time. This is the one thing to finish those ÃƒÂ¼ber porckers.
Defend these well, with lots of AA around and in a wide circle. They only have about 5000 hp, so killing them is easy if you donÃ¢â‚¬â„¢t have AAÃ¢â‚¬Â¦
In OTA however Vulcans/Buzzsaws have SLIGHTLY LESS range than LRPCs, so LRPCs are generally better because they are so cheaper and each are a seperate entity with a fair bit of life(around 2500 i think).

The obvious way to kill LRC is to use planes, since they are fast enough to enter and kill it all.

===The first steps===

Now comes the tricky part. The first minute is always the same really, so what after that?
Well, itÃ¢â‚¬â„¢s hard to judge. But here are some paths that can be taken.

1. Build many construction units and send them out to build mexxes and Geothermal Power Plants. Then a defence and maybe some DT.

2. Build some construction units, and then start building defences. Follow the Ã¢â‚¬ËœÃ¢â‚¬â„¢line defenceÃ¢â‚¬â„¢Ã¢â‚¬â„¢ guide lines.
Build Fusion Power Plants and Metal makers, and then an army. After that, use the army how armies are used best.
This strategy is called PORCING, and is considered by many as BAD.
There are disadvantages with this. You canÃ¢â‚¬â„¢t use many metal extractors or Geos, so you have slim to no resources to build your base. A popular strategy is to kill the anti-nuke, and then blow the whole compact base to bits.

3. Build a small army of 3-6 units and attack the enemy. The goal isnÃ¢â‚¬â„¢t to kill him, but to do as much damage as possible to his resources and hinder his economy. Mexxes are the most important, and then look for wind or solar generators.
Try to keep on attacking him, but remember to still tech up and build defences.

Anyway, use your construction units to build defences of SOME kind. Take advantage of Geothermal gases. Yeah the smoking stuff. You can place Geo plants there for good, cheap and space saving energy. If youÃ¢â‚¬â„¢re expanding, use every Mex' positions, and try to find a place to settle your defence line.

When you can defend yourself from most level 1 units, start on your level 2 building.

When itÃ¢â‚¬â„¢s done, ALWAYS build a construction unit first. Use it for your first mini Fusion. (Or build some mobile fusion at the vehicle plant if you're Arm)
Build level 2 units in the meantime.
Low on metal? Upgrade the finest of your Mexxes to Moho Mexxes. They are bigger and better (but they suck up energy).
You can also build a Moho Metal maker if you have enough energy to support it. (MMM :p)
Okay, if you made this far, you must really start thinking about how to defeat the enemy. Look for his weak spot. Maybe a K-bot assault from the mountains ? Maybe planes. Maybe using amphibious units. That part is for you to figure out.

----

==STRATEGY==

I read through this guide, and suddenly realizedÃ¢â‚¬Â¦

''where is the strategy?''

So I fiddled this section up. Hope you'll learn something from it and thereby increase your Spring gaming experience.

===Defence===

AhÃ¢â‚¬Â¦ the overall defence. There are many different ways to make a good defence, but here are 4 oft seen approaches.

''Compact defence!''

The most common type of defence is a single line of defence, often with Dragon Teeth (DT) in front. Inside your base is some AA, and thatÃ¢â‚¬â„¢s about it. The good thing about this is that itÃ¢â‚¬â„¢s pretty easy and fast to set up, and you know where your territory ends, which can make the game much easier. Problem is, if something makes it past the line of defence, then youÃ¢â‚¬â„¢re screwed, unless youÃ¢â‚¬â„¢re building line after line of defence, or have some units to stop them.

''Spread out defence!''

I saw a guy pull this off one time, and he won by a large margin. The trick with this is to never really have a defined line of defence, just a Heavy Laser Tower (HLT) here, a radar there, some DT there, a mine here and thereÃ¢â‚¬Â¦
Basically, you expand every time you build a defence building, so in the end you have ENORMOUS space to move in. Since the defence is spread out, no one is gonna rush past it with some goliaths. You can have some units hide behind mountains and attack. He used Merls who he trapped in fortification walls. I tried to run past the defence with an army of 30 Bulldogs. His HLT and missile/plasma batteries stopped me before I even reached his final defence line.
Even though this defence is the best of them all, itÃ¢â‚¬â„¢s hard to build up, and requires lots of resources and time. IF youÃ¢â‚¬â„¢re able to pull it off, the only problem may be if they are fast enough to run by all of it, or if you donÃ¢â‚¬â„¢t have much AA and 30 Brawlers are comingÃ¢â‚¬Â¦

''No defenceÃ¢â‚¬Â¦ at all?''

Yes, this is an option. Okay, you may want some mines here and there, and some DT to stop them from running right through the door and AA in your base if they're building planes. But how do you defend with no defence?
With units; the whole concept is that you put all your effort into making units. This works pretty well, since when you see where the enemy is going to attack, you can MOVE your whole defence to that location.
The problem with this defence is that when you are attacking, you lose most of your defence. Sure, you can leave units behind, but I find it hard mentally to leave half the army at home when I am attacking.
If you manage to pull this off, and make enough units to both attack and defend, then you have not wasted any money on defence, and you have a strong army!

''The All Out Defence''

''-- addendum by Cain''

The opposite of the "no defence" strategy, mixed with the "spread out defence" strategy: the main concept is to invest resources in lots of level 1 build planes, and use them to quickly gather huge amounts of territory and resources, while keeping a lot of planes building/repairing turrets all over the map. This could be very effective on maps with few choke points where your defence can be concentrated in a small area, or mostly flat maps where the overlapping range of defensive structures will create a large grid of protected territory. The concept is to expand the defence line until you can shoot straight into the enemy base. When using this strategy, it is wise to have a lot of level 2 aircraft defending the construction point, as you will need to constantly move your mobile defences around the map, protecting under-contruction defensive areas. I usually end up with a hundred builder planes and 20 to 50 Brawlers floating around... keep them away from Kroghot!

These are the defensive strategies I have found effective.

Also, one thing to remember is to eliminate the largest threat first. If youÃ¢â‚¬â„¢re relying on DT, take out the FARK or construction planes first.

Okay, you've built a good defence.
The next thing you should do is attempt to get into the mindset of your enemy. Put yourself in his shoes, and determine how he would most likely proceed given your defensive strategy. Would he attempt a gunship raid, or launch an attack from a defenceless mountain position? Once you know what his most likely plan of attack will be, rethink your defences with this in mind. If there is an area that is defenceless under your current strategy, and you believe it is a prime spot for your enemy to attack, set up some sort of defence there as well.

===Moving===
Moving or attacking is pretty easy right? Just move from point a to point b and attack cÃ¢â‚¬Â¦
Nope.
First, you have to have your units move TOGETHER. . If some are trailing behind, then you just have to wait a little for them. A way of having your units stick together is to take a pretty slow unit, like a Can, and have others guard it.
Pressing control while moving units will make them keep their position in the formation, but not their speed. (they will spread out along the way, but ''try'' to get back into the position they were in when reaching the destination)
The ''Simple formation'' is also a way of doing this, and the units will automatically form a couple of lines, often with the right units first, too!
Transports are useful for moving units, but use the air transports (Valkyrie /Atlas) intelligently and protect them. The other transportation units are harder to use, since they take more time to load/unload.

===Attacking===

When attacking, remember what each unit's role is in the fight. Farks are used to repair important units that have been damaged. Bulldogs are meant to take damage and give damage back. Merls are used to shoot missiles from a distance, and donÃ¢â‚¬â„¢t require a clear LOS (line of sight). The question is what to repair. Merls die quickly, so one shot = dead. Knowing this, your first instinct might be to repair a Bulldog instead. Bulldogs are often the first thing that the enemy targets, and thus their HP often drops too rapidly to repair. Therefore, it is often wise to repair the middle-range units; not the giant HP monsters, not the units with a weak defence and strong/useful attack, but the average units that have acceptable HP and are not an enemy's first choice when selecting targets. One exception to this is mobile artillery. While it only has enough HP to survive one or two attacks, its attacks are well worth it, and the enemy still may not target them first, giving them a chance to deal massive damage.

===Army vs Army===

Many units attacking one unit is the best thing you can do, as when you kill one of their units, they lose one source of firepower. Focusing your fire is very important. Using focus fire in a group of weak units is very effective. Focus fire is, however, less effective on HP powerhouses.
When youÃ¢â‚¬â„¢re facing an army, always try to attack from behind or the side. Keep your units a little spread out when attacking. Not to far, but just so that area of effect weapons donÃ¢â‚¬â„¢t do as much damage. Have your HP powerhouses at the front, or at the front and sides. Keep em pretty close together but not side by side. Having your units spread out in this manner allows the units in the back to attack, and prevents splash damage units such as Zippers and Pyros from damaging many of your units at once.

This is the normal way of attacking an enemy army. There is the classical pincher movement tooÃ¢â‚¬Â¦
In this, you run one third of your HP powerhouses to the left, one third to the right and have the last third stay where they are.
This gives you 3 advantages:
*it's easier to get past the units and attack their weak units, or just run past them into the base
*you do more damage, since their units will have to change their target all the time and can't escape
*it makes it MUCH harder for the enemy to run away or try to get past you.

===Army vs Base===

Okay, you may have made it past the ground troops, but the fight is not over (unless your enemy used up his units to defend.) Now you must face his base defence, and act depending on the type of defence he hasÃ¢â‚¬Â¦

''Line defence''

Gather your army and set up for battle a bit away from his base, and get ready to move in. Have the FARKS guard your main HP powerhouses, so they are in the front but can still hide behind em. Everything else behind that. When attacking, have several units attacking the HLT and plasma batteries, and use the FARKS to reclaim his Dragon Teeth. When you have a hole in the DT wall, just run into the heart of the base like a maniac. Split your tanks into 2 groups, 1 guarding your long range/high damage units and the other going into the heart of the base. Find the Fusion reactors with your second group of tanks, and try to move the other big group to a place that is easy to defend while hitting the Fusions. Behind buildings is perfect! Kill as much as you can, or kill everything ^^
If there are several lines of defence, make a hole in each DT wall and repeat the same tactics.

''Spread out defence''

ArghÃ¢â‚¬Â¦ The tough one. While the individual towers are easy to beat, you canÃ¢â‚¬â„¢t run past his defences unless you enjoy suicide. (and if you do, ctrl+a and then ctrl+d will do the trick. A slice of the wrist works well, too.)
Use your army to begin killing the defence step by step, structure by structure. Keep building units, and moving them into the fray (you can use air transports with the repeat command and make them drop the units a little ways from the fight). Once you start getting close to his last line of defence, think of it as a line defence and act accordingly.

''Units defence''

Think army vs army. DonÃ¢â‚¬â„¢t rush past them with all your units. Your units will spread out and try to go through holes in the enemyÃ¢â‚¬â„¢s formation. In a word, they are dead meat. If you MUST get to the base, have half of the tanks go around the units.

===Naval Battles===

Naval battles are hard to predict if you donÃ¢â‚¬â„¢t play island maps a lot, since there are many factors to take into account. Since land units are removed, you have to think in a WHOLE new perspective. No land means that only Sea, Air and Hover units can fight (and LRC of course).
Anyway, try to have air units scouting land and sea, and determine how much AA the enemy has. Ships roam around assaulting other ships, with a mix of subs, sub killers, AA ships and normal ships. Hovercrafts are the unit to use when assaulting land thatÃ¢â‚¬â„¢s a little far from shore. Provide them with an escort consisting of planes and/or ships.

====Ships====
When using ships, have scout ships or planes scout the area in front, then send in subs and sub killers. Use long range ships at the sides to protect anything of value you might have with you (a sea transport or an aircraft carrier). When in battle, try to have the subs run away from sub killers, while your sub killers kill the enemy subs. Your subs should try to attack the most important ship in the area, and then just go crazy.
When facing land, youÃ¢â‚¬â„¢re pretty much in for an easy win. Just have your ships blow it all up. If you face LRC, take them out first. The rest of it is out of your hands.
Remember if your opponent has air superiority or LRPCs use subs as they can't hit them :)

====Hovercraft====
Use the Army vs Army or Army vs Base strategy here.

''-- addendum by Cain.''

Hovercraft are quite expensive compared to other land units, but are very useful in maps with a bit of water, able to target enemies without worrying about those pesky Goliaths... note that they're much cheaper than ships, anyway.

===Planes===
Hohoho, planes. Fun stuff to attack with. Anyway, most of the strategy involving planes is simple.
First, always attack the AA first, unless you are going to do a suicide mission. Kill the AA with gunships, and use bombers to kill structures. Many players use gunships only, which is a bad idea. Bombers take a little time to master but combined with gunships, they do a very good job. Scout early, so you can quickly see WHAT the enemy has and WHERE he has it. Use gunships to take out AA and act as overall decoys. Have Bombers fly in and bomb the crap out of his Fusion or whatever strategic point, and use the fighters to guard the bombers.
When facing units, do the same.
When facing sea, do the same thing, but add Torpedoes to bombers and gunships.

''-- addendum by Cain''

Know where the enemy commander is! In games where the commander's death is a winning condition, a lot of bombers could just converge on him, killing him on the first run.. especially the 2nd level bombers that have a nice turreted fast targeting laser! Also, gunships could create a diversion to keep the main enemy defences away from your main attack force, or you could use them to make the defences of distracted players shoot their own base...

===Using Terrain===

Using terrain wisely is very important. The issue of a game can depend on a good use of terrain.
First, Line of Sight (LOS) and RADAR. Both are blocked by terrain. So build your radars as high up as possible, otherwise you may not see anything. Use the relief to your advantage to hide an army or your important buildings from enemy radars.
Of course, one can also take advantage of altitude to increase fire range. A couple of Guardians on top of two high hills can easily devastate a small army.
Terrain also helps shield your units against attacks. Therefore, when youÃ¢â‚¬â„¢re building something high on top of a hill, try placing it a little behind the top. This is like crouching behind a crate where just your head and gun sticks up. But remember that terrain in Spring is deformable and can be leveled by impacts!
Know the climbing ability of your units. Hovercrafts and vehicles have pretty low climbing ability. But if a foe thinks he has sealed up all exits, your K-bots can still climb the mountains where he hasnÃ¢â‚¬â„¢t put any Dragon TeethÃ¢â‚¬Â¦
Another good thing about terrain is that it mentally makes you feel safe. If there is a water barrier between me and the enemy, with 3 land bridges here and there, I probably wonÃ¢â‚¬â„¢t have much ground defence at a location AWAY from the bridges. Presuming the map is pretty flat (like "Flooded Desert") a hovercraft assault would do A LOT of damage, right?

===Energy and all the problems with it===
(in XTA)
As I said before, most level 2 units require energy to move, shoot and operate in general, meaning that if you have no energy to support your army, you can't do anything! You can use this in your favor, by attacking your enemy's Fusions, or
by ''giving'' Metal makers to your enemy when you are attacking him(although Metal makers are now turned off when given to an enemy), or he is attacking you! Things that drain a lot of energy include LRPC, Goliaths, HLT, and most level 2 units.
(/in XTA)

===Paper-rock-scissors?===

Try to look at all units as individuals. Even if I didn't write much about every single unit, know your favorite ones and how to use them effectively in conjunction with the others. You'll find that some units are very complementary. The only real paper-rock relationships are AA and planes... Maybe subs vs sub killers...

I didn't even mention cloaking, radar jamming, troops behaviour facing attacks, mines, etc, etc. The possibilities are immense, but I don't want to spoil your pleasure any longer, so I'll let you discover them by yourself.

'''Have fun !!!'''

----

===Strategy Tips===

-Expand! Metal is scarce. The more you get, the more you can build. Even if you have a good base, making it bigger is not a bad thing.

-Scout! Knowledge is power. You must know what your enemy is planning, and what the enemy knows about you. (Or thinks he knows about youÃ¯Â¿Å ) Check what he has, and what he is building. If heÃ¢â‚¬â„¢s building aircrafts, do something about it. Look for weaknesses in defence and such. If you or your ally are scouting, donÃ¢â‚¬â„¢t look away. Gather as much information as possible.
ALL buildings once in sight range will remain visible as 'ghost' buildings if this option isn't turned off by the host.

-Radar = GOOD ^^ Radar checks areas for units, increases your units LOS and is, overall, quite helpful. A radar with your army makes a big difference when attacking. But so is Jamming. Jamming is good for sneak attacks. They are cheap, so just build one and make your units guard it.

-Work Together! Often I see allies who just mind their own business and donÃ¢â‚¬â„¢t care what the other person's doing. DONÃ¢â‚¬â„¢TÃ¢â‚¬Â¦ DOÃ¢â‚¬Â¦ THIS!!! Listen to each other, make up a plan. Prepare combined attacks. If there is a 2v2, then itÃ¢â‚¬â„¢s 2 allies vs 2 allies. Not a ffa with neutral partners. Type h to share units. Left click on your resource bars to auto share resources with allies.

-Power Plants. In order to level out the building costs, it is important to make a smooth transition from the least powerful generators to the most powerful ones in succession. First solar, then Geo, then mobile/mini Fusion then Fusion.

-Check your resource bar. Try to keep a fine line between having too many resources/wasting, and having a nanostall. Use your factories and such accordingly. If you have a lot of resources, try using your old level 1 factories to build some units. Also, try to find the time to build an energy/metal storage...

-Spread out your buildings/units. Since every unit explodes, they damage units close to them. This is especially important with Fusions... (I once saw someone put 13 mobile fusions close to each other... blew up half his base with 2 (!!!) LRPC shots...)

-Queue (yeah, easy word for it too :/) up orders! You can almost win the game by pausing, queuing up some stuff, and then go eat lunch. Not really, but holding shift is good whilst putting up buildings.

-Guard = following and protection. Use planes to guard your tanks, subs to guard your transports, construction units to automatically repair important units and so on. They will choose to attack whatever is hurting their guard object first. You can even do this to structures, for units who are built to move to a unitÃ¢â‚¬â„¢s position or AA to attack whatever is shooting on the Fusion reactors, etcÃ¢â‚¬Â¦
Overall, this makes working with several unit types easier.

-Reclaim stuff (sucking it in and transforming it into resources). When you're starting to run low on metal, reclaim the enemyÃ¢â‚¬â„¢s and your own corpses. Trees give energy, so if youÃ¢â‚¬â„¢re out of energy in the beginning... You can reclaim a whole area by shift-clicking.

-The key for porcers are to build LRPC. Or even better, build a nuke and use LOTS of planes to kill his anti-nuke. Then BOOM!
Also as you have way loads more metal and space to move in than your opponent, you can easily afford 2 nukes. An anti-nuke can't deal with 2 nukes heading towards it(and if you aim the nukes at the anti-nuke...^^!

-Experiment! I suggest you go into single player and try every unit. Use commanders for arm, and small battle (watch that Krogoth!) for core. Try every approach to a problem. Remember, just because a unit is good, itÃ¢â‚¬â„¢s not invincible. Also, try how much metal and energy a building uses while in operation. For instance, a level 1 factory uses about 50 energy and 5 metal. This varies depending on what you build. This could help you prevent nanostalling.

-Several types of factories. Yeah, even if it costs money. An advanced building costs as much as a Bulldog or 2... You've got the time, and the money. Build it.

-Raid. Take the Weasel or a couple of Peewees on a cruise right by the enemyÃ¢â‚¬â„¢s mexxes. Having trouble finding them? Type F4 to see where the ground is drained ^^ [Edit] This doesn't apply anymore, but you can still see where a mex is by trying to build one of your own there. If you can't, there's already one on the spot... A tip is to stay away from the Commander, or use buildings as hostages. Hide behind stuff and kill it off, then move on. If you're sure you're going to die, move close to a building and self-destruct.

-Just because Peewees are better then AKÃ¢â‚¬â„¢s doesnÃ¢â‚¬â„¢t meant that AKÃ¢â‚¬â„¢s are useless. (And so onÃ¢â‚¬Â¦). In fact, no unit is useless. If you believe it is, try it once. On what it was meant to do.

-Mix armies. Oh boy, if you havenÃ¢â‚¬â„¢t heard this one a thousand times before, you've only been playing Half-Life for the last 7 years or something. Even if Goliaths rule, a couple of missile units will make them much more effective.

-FARKs are useful in combat. Always have 1-3 with you. Reclaiming DT, or doing what they were meant to do: Repair -.-* (also, when I say FARKs somewhere in the guide, construction units work too...)

-Ask questions. No one is going to laugh at you. And if someone does, heÃ¢â‚¬â„¢s an ass and should be paid no mind. No question is too stupid. Just donÃ¢â‚¬â„¢t expect anyone in the heat of a battle to answer to Ã¢â‚¬ËœÃ¢â‚¬â„¢how do I play?Ã¢â‚¬â„¢Ã¢â‚¬â„¢.

-Learn! If you lost, use the replay to watch the game and try to understand why you died. What did the enemy do better than you? What was their key to winning? And so on.

-The Readme file has some cool keyboard shortcuts... check it out.

-Develop! Are you a programmer, a 3D design artist or just some regular Joe? Come to the forum for a talk, chatter, and make wacky suggestions! In the end you may contribute to making Spring better! Remember, Spring is open source. So just dive into there and replace AKÃ¢â‚¬â„¢s with flying monkeys in space suits or whatever.

-Try having some good music on when playing. It can give you a good kick. I recommend the War of the Worlds (the strategy game, yes it exists) Ã¢â‚¬ËœÃ¢â‚¬â„¢Eve of the WarÃ¢â‚¬â„¢Ã¢â‚¬â„¢ Another great choice is, of course, [http://www.fileuniverse.com/?page=listing&ID=54 the original TA music]!
You can choose whatever music you like, though.

-Need more strategy and tips? Since Spring is a remake of TA, any TA strategy guide works...

-LAST BUT NOT LEAST: '''DonÃ¢â‚¬â„¢t get too serious. ItÃ¢â‚¬â„¢s only a game.'''

This guide was written by Kixxe aka Johan Wittrock before everyone edited (and improved!) it mercilessly.

Back to [[Strategy_and_Tactics]]

[[Category:Strategy]]

Spring guide

2006-03-17T03:43:12Z

DarkOppressor: Made some small edits to make the page a bit more professional

'''

Ã¢â‚¬ËœÃ¢â‚¬â„¢Keep in mind that Spring is still in beta, therefore crashes can occur (a lot) and we (well, not me!) havenÃ¢â‚¬â„¢t got everything fixed yet.Ã¢â‚¬â„¢Ã¢â‚¬â„¢

Before we start, letÃ¢â‚¬â„¢s have some background info.

== TA: so what's so cool about this game ? ==
[warning, boring info that doesnÃ¢â‚¬â„¢t really mean anything]

TA (Total Annihilation) was created by Cavedog (R.I.P) in 1997, about half a year before(!!!) Starcraft was released. It was revolutionary in many ways, with 3D graphics (but a fixed camera), good animations (aircraft barrel rolled and leaned when they turned etc.), 3D terrain and many units (150 in the original game.) But in my not so humble opinion, the 3 greatest things that set TA apart were...

* Its physics! Every shot trajectory was calculated! An artillery shell could try to get over a hill and hit an aircraft, which exploded into bits, damaging other troops nearby, which could also explode and set forests on fire. Yeah, might not sound that big after 7 years, but back then we had Starcraft, which defied at least a half dozen laws of physics.

(Example of the tentacle through space. Yeah, really realistic)
[http://fast.filespace.org/Kixxe/WTF.png Click here]

* The order system! You could have 300 units waiting to be built, and when they were done, they could go and patrol an area and attack anyone in it. Order queues were limitless. You could build your whole base and drink tea while it was getting built. Construction units on patrol would repair damaged units, help build things and reclaim stuff (sucking it in and transforming it into resources.)

* The resource system! Contrary to other RTS games, the resources in TA are infinite. What limits resource consumption is the rate at which they can be gathered. This sole fact would make for longer and more epic games, with hundreds or thousands of units fighting in the endgame.

Pretty cool game. If you want, check out their old website for more info. [http://www.fileuniverse.com/Total_Annihilation_Mirror/totala/index.html Click here]

[/warning, boring info that doesnÃ¢â‚¬â„¢t really mean anything]

Anyway, enough of my rambling, onto Spring!

Now, as I told you, Spring was inspired by TA and has the same features TA had. Plus a few new thingsÃ¢â‚¬Â¦ check out the Spring features page for more info.
[http://taspring.clan-sy.com/wiki/Features Click here]

----

==Resources==

There are two types of resources in Spring, namely ''metal'' and ''energy''. Each of these two resources can be collected in a number of different ways. The amount of each resource that you currently have stockpiled is represented by a coloured bar, one for each resource, along the upper edge of the screen. The rate at which you are presently collecting and consuming each of the two types is represented by a number and a + or - sign. If you are collecting at a faster rate then the rate at which you are consuming you will see your coloured bar grow as resources accumulate. Your stockpiled resources are being depleted whenever the coloured bar is shrinking. There are storage buildings which you can build for each type of resource and these will increase the amount of each which can be stored. Units and structures cost both metal and energy to build, while some units or structures also require energy to walk, shoot or operate in general.

Metal is collected continuously from either a metal extractor, often called Ã¢â‚¬ËœmexesÃ¢â‚¬â„¢ which extract from certain areas of the map, or by using a metal maker, abbreviated as Ã¢â‚¬ËœMMÃ¢â‚¬â„¢ which convert energy into metal. Both will only operate so long as there is sufficient energy to power them. However, metal makers require a lot of energy.
A faster way to gather metal is by using either your commander or a construction bot to 'reclaim' it from the remains of destroyed units and buildings! They can even reclaim buildings which have not been destroyed and they don't have to belong to your enemy to be reclaimed.

Energy can be produced by a number of different buildings or it can be reclaimed (you can reclaim trees to gather energy). There are many different types of energy producers, including solar collectors and power plants, but they will be covered in another section.

In a game, always Ã¢â‚¬Å“keep an eye on your metal and energy barÃ¢â‚¬Å“ because if one of them goes to zero, particularly energy, your building rate will stall,(metal makers and extractors will stop producing) and some units will be unable to fire their energy weapons (eg. LRPCs, Annihilators, Doomsday Machines).

----

==A Normal Spring Game==

Anyway, now you will learn the basics of a normal Spring game, as I see it.
Every Spring game starts with all players only havingÃ¢â‚¬Â¦

'''The COMMANDER'''! (Insert DUN DUN DUUUUUNN)

The Commander is the unit you start with and the most important one in the game. He is unique and cannot be rebuilt. In fact, there is a mode where the game ends when the commander dies, so never leave him alone.

The fastest builder, he can walk and build underwater, he makes a nuke-sized explosion when he dies, he has a laser and the privilege of a Disintegrator Gun (alias D-Gun).
The D-Gun is the single most powerful weapon in the whole game, which kills ANY (ANY, I mean it!) unit in one hit (friend or foe no difference, be careful!). Even if that sounds a like a little overkill, keep in mind that the Commander has a very limited range, is defenceless against any aircraft and long range artillery, and when submerged, he cannot shoot. (Subs! Onoz!)

The Commander is used for setting up a base, and early base defences. The D-Gun should protect him against any level 1 unit that tries to kill him, so if you lose your Commander in the beginning of the gameÃ¢â‚¬Â¦ then you're dead. You lose your best (only?) builder and attacker, plus you have a nuke-sized explosion that may destroy half or all of your base.

AnywayÃ¢â‚¬Â¦ if you're seeing everything in a top down perspective, click the Commander (type Ctrl+C if you can't find him) with left mouse button to select him.

(If you have a crosshair as a mouse, press j. If your camera is zoomed out or all jerky, press ctrl+j until you find the OTA(Original Total Annihilation) camera.)

Okay, letÃ¢â‚¬â„¢s now discuss '''how to build stuff'''.

Like any normal RTS, itÃ¢â‚¬â„¢s choose a unit and click a location, but there is more with Spring. Hold shift and click on different locations to make the unit build the same building there. Hold shift and drag and you will make a line of the building. Hold ctrl and shift to make boxes/rectangular shapes of buildings. Use these! Make a line of DT (Dragon Teeth, small piece of wall/cover) instead of clicking each and every one. The controls are there to help you.
This is called queuing up stuff. You can use almost every single command in a queue. Buildings can be queued to build lots of different units, and then the other orders in the behaviour of the unit. You can make them walk to something, or guard/follow a unit by pressing G and selecting the unit to guard. Try it.
Selecting a unit and pressing shift key will show the orders queue.

Build 2 solar generators, or 4 wind generators to gather energy. Keep in mind that wind is pretty unstable, and that a number of maps (like lunar ones) have no wind at all! (The level of wind and tides in the map is indicated in the Map Selector in the Lobby).

Now select the Metal extractors and the whole screen turns black and green. Okay, place one on the green stuff. (The greener, the better! Like broccoli!)

Oh, and the minimap controls in spring are reversed. Meaning that you have to right-click to move the screen to the location. Once the new GUI is out and offical, this will be fixed.

----

==The TA Bestiary==

Okay, time to describe the cool units that are at your disposal to make your enemies bleed. 8)

(Disclaimer : This will discuss the types of units, not every unit. Therefore, if I say that vehicles have large armour, I donÃ¢â‚¬â„¢t mean artillery of course.)

On to the first level 1 lab/plant to build. The categories areÃ¢â‚¬Â¦

===Vehicles===

These babies are all about armour. The level 1 units are pretty basic, with more armour and (build) speed and than their K-bot counterparts. Level 2 vehicles show even more of the same pattern: better armour than their K-bot counterparts. Level 2 also offers the mobile Flak unit, which is the only real level 2 mobile AA.
Their weakness is that they are clumsy, turn slowly, and most of them canÃ¢â‚¬â„¢t climb mountainsÃ¢â‚¬Â¦ at all. Leads to trouble when an explosion makes a crater; units survive but can get stuck in the crater. Or just when they are trying to get up a steep hill. But sooner or later, you'll learn what kind of destruction a rush of 30 Goliaths can do!

===K-Bots===

K-bots generally have less powerful weapons than tanks, and are also less heavily armoured.
So why build them in the first place?
Because they are cheaper! And since they are cheaper, you can build more and outnumber your enemies. This doesnÃ¢â‚¬â„¢t work out that good in game though, since tanks ARE stronger. K-bots are also smaller, and will slip through DT and such alike easier than tanks.
And finally, the third advantage (which IMO is the biggest) of K-bots are that they can climb most mountains with ease! Climb by defences, up on mountains, through holes, these are all-purpose units.

===Aircraft===

Planes are planes. In Spring, thereÃ¢â‚¬â„¢s a plane for every role. Bombers, fighters, gunships, flying radar, transports, stealth fighters and torpedo bombers. Planes are fast, and are not affected by terrain. There is no wall or relief that can stop a plane. You can just swoop into a base and take out AA with your gunship, and then bomb the crap out of their important structures. To stop them, you've got to rely on Anti Air (AA) units.

On the downside, planes are quite expensive to build and are relatively fragile. They are also the only units that have an anti unit against them (Except subs). When someone finds out you're building a large air fleet, they just cram their base full of AA and their army with mobile AA. And the only counter is more planes than their AA can handle, or a ground troop to take the AA down. A combined ground and air attack can be very destructive. Good luck!

===Ships===

Ships are good on a map with water. (DUH!) Ships come in many different kinds, but mostly for taking out other ships or bombing the crap out of land units in some way or another. The ships' strength is their powerful weaponry and their long range. All ships made to take out land have long range. Ships also have lots of armour. Another thing thatÃ¢â‚¬â„¢s good about ships is that there is not much you can do to stop them because they are usually out of range. Once you see that the enemy has ships, either build a dock and a navy real fast or build planes and pray that he doesnÃ¢â‚¬â„¢t have too many AA ships.
Their weaknesses are slowness (especially when turning), they can be taken out by submarines, and of course they are confined to water, meaning that they are often stuck with units just outside of their reach.

And they are *extremely* expensive, metal-wise.

===Hovercraft===

(These are counted as level 2 units, so I would not recommend them as the first to build unless itÃ¢â‚¬â„¢s the perfect map for them)

Hovercrafts are a tank and a plane (some say ship, but I find planes to be more accurate for some reason O.o) mixed. Sure itÃ¢â‚¬â„¢s weaker than your average tank, and slower than your average plane. Whats their use? They are meant for swampy maps that means that both tanks and ships are a weakness, and offcourse since none can't be used, everyone just spams out AA since they think aircrafts are the only way. Great suprise for the enemy when 50 hovercrafts comes in agsint their flakkers and MT...
Long story short, Hovercrafts are good for those who like (or must) attack from the ground, but canÃ¢â‚¬â„¢t since there is too much water.

Their weakness is their low climbing ability, and that they're weaker than a tank and slower than a plane. (DonÃ¢â‚¬â„¢t build them on a land map, tanks ARE better.)

===Towers and Turrets===

Like TA, Spring boasts an impressive range of plasma and laser towers, cannons and turrets. These cannons will undoubtly be essential parts of your offensive as well as defensive strategies.

'''Light laser tower (LLT)'''
A cheap and fast laser that hits almost every time. Mostly useful against level 1 units, but can be used in groups against level 2. They suffer from short range, so most long range weapons can kill them(Samsons, for example). Since they fire faster than their bigger brothers, LLTs are more useful against hordes of small weak units than a single strong one.

'''Heavy laser tower (HLT)'''
This is the only tower that works on those pesky level 2 units that just wonÃ¢â‚¬â„¢t die. These shoot slower, but with much more power than the LLT. They also have a longer range and can be quite effective against air attacks. They cost a fair amount and take a long time to build, but they are often worth it.

'''Missile Tower (MT)'''
The missile tower is good for planes or weak level 1 units. They shoot a weak rocket that almost hits their target every time. They have a fair range, but very low hp. They work on most level 2 planes as well, but should be backed up with Flack cannons.

'''Pop-up Cannons'''
Pop-up cannons are pretty cheap middle range gun. A guardian can outshoot them, but they are still a choice to use. When Ã¢â‚¬ËœÃ¢â‚¬â„¢offÃ¢â‚¬â„¢Ã¢â‚¬â„¢ they take 50% less damage! I heard that a closed popup can withstand a nuke! (If itÃ¢â‚¬â„¢s not a direct hit) In XTA you can build them with level 1 construction K-bot or whatever. Sometimes individual wars between 2 or 4 pop-ups break out, where both sides try to kill the other's ones. Just remember to repair them, as with all PCÃ¢â‚¬Â¦

'''Middle range Plasma Cannons (MRPC)'''
Guardians and such alike. These arenÃ¢â‚¬â„¢t for attacking, but they have a pretty long range, and are not too expensive. Plus their targeting is pretty fast, meaning they are practically made for defence and very lethal. Perfect to have on a hill close to a HLT and some MTÃ¢â‚¬Â¦

'''Long Range Plasma Cannons (LRPC)'''
We are talking Big berthas, Intimidators and such alike. These babies got the RANGE and may be the ultimate weapon on small maps. The Big Bertha, yeah. An amazing unit. Not the ultimate, but several times cheaper and more accurate than a Buzz Saw/Vulcan, and its accuracy will improve with every kill. Not good at defending, since its slow targeting makes it impossible to hit moving targets. Try to build one on a small maps, or just build one close to the enemy and your Bertha will start pounding his base mercilessly. In fact, build several, with a lot of AA around them (and ground, if thatÃ¢â‚¬â„¢s possible) and you'll see your enemy's morale quickly fall to the ground. A LRPC expansion can sometimes become the winning factor of a game.

'''Very long range plasma Cannons (VLRC)'''
Buzzsaws are big, cost much, are huge energy suckers, are VERY inaccurate and are pretty slow on targeting. BUT, they have the DOUBLE range of a normal LRPC and shoot 4(!!!) shots at a time. This is the one thing to finish those ÃƒÂ¼ber porckers.
Defend these well, with lots of AA around and in a wide circle. They only have about 5000 hp, so killing them is easy if you donÃ¢â‚¬â„¢t have AAÃ¢â‚¬Â¦
In OTA however Vulcans/Buzzsaws have SLIGHTLY LESS range than LRPCs, so LRPCs are generally better because they are so cheaper and each are a seperate entity with a fair bit of life(around 2500 i think).

The obvious way to kill LRC is to use planes, since they are fast enough to enter and kill it all.

===The first steps===

Now comes the tricky part. The first minute is always the same really, so what after that?
Well, itÃ¢â‚¬â„¢s hard to judge. But here are some paths that can be taken.

1. Build many construction units and send them out to build mexxes and Geothermal Power Plants. Then a defence and maybe some DT.

2. Build some construction units, and then start building defences. Follow the Ã¢â‚¬ËœÃ¢â‚¬â„¢line defenceÃ¢â‚¬â„¢Ã¢â‚¬â„¢ guide lines.
Build Fusion Power Plants and Metal makers, and then an army. After that, use the army how armies are used best.
This strategy is called PORCING, and is considered by many as BAD.
There are disadvantages with this. You canÃ¢â‚¬â„¢t use many metal extractors or Geos, so you have slim to no resources to build your base. A popular strategy is to kill the anti-nuke, and then blow the whole compact base to bits.

3. Build a small army of 3-6 units and attack the enemy. The goal isnÃ¢â‚¬â„¢t to kill him, but to do as much damage as possible to his resources and hinder his economy. Mexxes are the most important, and then look for wind or solar generators.
Try to keep on attacking him, but remember to still tech up and build defences.

Anyway, use your construction units to build defences of SOME kind. Take advantage of Geothermal gases. Yeah the smoking stuff. You can place Geo plants there for good, cheap and space saving energy. If youÃ¢â‚¬â„¢re expanding, use every Mex' positions, and try to find a place to settle your defence line.

When you can defend yourself from most level 1 units, start on your level 2 building.

When itÃ¢â‚¬â„¢s done, ALWAYS build a construction unit first. Use it for your first mini Fusion. (Or build some mobile fusion at the vehicle plant if you're Arm)
Build level 2 units in the meantime.
Low on metal? Upgrade the finest of your Mexxes to Moho Mexxes. They are bigger and better (but they suck up energy).
You can also build a Moho Metal maker if you have enough energy to support it. (MMM :p)
Okay, if you made this far, you must really start thinking about how to defeat the enemy. Look for his weak spot. Maybe a K-bot assault from the mountains ? Maybe planes. Maybe using amphibious units. That part is for you to figure out.

----

==STRATEGY==

I read through this guide, and suddenly realizedÃ¢â‚¬Â¦

''where is the strategy?''

So I fiddled this section up. Hope you'll learn something from it and thereby increase your Spring gaming experience.

===Defence===

AhÃ¢â‚¬Â¦ the overall defence. There are many different ways to make a good defence, but here are 4 oft seen approaches.

''Compact defence!''

The most common type of defence is a single line of defence, often with Dragon Teeth (DT) in front. Inside your base is some AA, and thatÃ¢â‚¬â„¢s about it. The good thing about this is that itÃ¢â‚¬â„¢s pretty easy and fast to set up, and you know where your territory ends, which can make the game much easier. Problem is, if something makes it past the line of defence, then youÃ¢â‚¬â„¢re screwed, unless youÃ¢â‚¬â„¢re building line after line of defence, or have some units to stop them.

''Spread out defence!''

I saw a guy pull this off one time, and he won by a large margin. The trick with this is to never really have a defined line of defence, just a Heavy Laser Tower (HLT) here, a radar there, some DT there, a mine here and thereÃ¢â‚¬Â¦
Basically, you expand every time you build a defence building, so in the end you have ENORMOUS space to move in. Since the defence is spread out, no one is gonna rush past it with some goliaths. You can have some units hide behind mountains and attack. He used Merls who he trapped in fortification walls. I tried to run past the defence with an army of 30 Bulldogs. His HLT and missile/plasma batteries stopped me before I even reached his final defence line.
Even though this defence is the best of them all, itÃ¢â‚¬â„¢s hard to build up, and requires lots of resources and time. IF youÃ¢â‚¬â„¢re able to pull it off, the only problem may be if they are fast enough to run by all of it, or if you donÃ¢â‚¬â„¢t have much AA and 30 Brawlers are comingÃ¢â‚¬Â¦

''No defenceÃ¢â‚¬Â¦ at all?''

Yes, this is an option. Okay, you may want some mines here and there, and some DT to stop them from running right through the door and AA in your base if they're building planes. But how do you defend with no defence?
With units; the whole concept is that you put all your effort into making units. This works pretty well, since when you see where the enemy is going to attack, you can MOVE your whole defence to that location.
The problem with this defence is that when you are attacking, you lose most of your defence. Sure, you can leave units behind, but I find it hard mentally to leave half the army at home when I am attacking.
If you manage to pull this off, and make enough units to both attack and defend, then you have not wasted any money on defence, and you have a strong army!

''The All Out Defence''

''-- addendum by Cain''

The opposite of the "no defence" strategy, mixed with the "spread out defence" strategy: the main concept is to invest resources in lots of level 1 build planes, and use them to quickly gather huge amounts of territory and resources, while keeping a lot of planes building/repairing turrets all over the map. This could be very effective on maps with few choke points where your defence can be concentrated in a small area, or mostly flat maps where the overlapping range of defensive structures will create a large grid of protected territory. The concept is to expand the defence line until you can shoot straight into the enemy base. When using this strategy, it is wise to have a lot of level 2 aircraft defending the construction point, as you will need to constantly move your mobile defences around the map, protecting under-contruction defensive areas. I usually end up with a hundred builder planes and 20 to 50 Brawlers floating around... keep them away from Kroghot!

These are the defensive strategies I have found effective.

Also, one thing to remember is to eliminate the largest threat first. If youÃ¢â‚¬â„¢re relying on DT, take out the FARK or construction planes first.

Okay, you've built a good defence.
The next thing you should do is attempt to get into the mindset of your enemy. Put yourself in his shoes, and determine how he would most likely proceed given your defensive strategy. Would he attempt a gunship raid, or launch an attack from a defenceless mountain position? Once you know what his most likely plan of attack will be, rethink your defences with this in mind. If there is an area that is defenceless under your current strategy, and you believe it is a prime spot for your enemy to attack, set up some sort of defence there as well.

===Moving===
Moving or attacking is pretty easy right? Just move from point a to point b and attack cÃ¢â‚¬Â¦
Nope.
First, you have to have your units move TOGETHER. . If some are trailing behind, then you just have to wait a little for them. A way of having your units stick together is to take a pretty slow unit, like a Can, and have others guard it.
Pressing control while moving units will make them keep their position in the formation, but not their speed. (they will spread out along the way, but ''try'' to get back into the position they were in when reaching the destination)
The ''Simple formation'' is also a way of doing this, and the units will automatically form a couple of lines, often with the right units first, too!
Transports are useful for moving units, but use the air transports (Valkyrie /Atlas) intelligently and protect them. The other transportation units are harder to use, since they take more time to load/unload.

===Attacking===

When attacking, remember what each unit's role is in the fight. Farks are used to repair important units that have been damaged. Bulldogs are meant to take damage and give damage back. Merls are used to shoot missiles from a distance, and donÃ¢â‚¬â„¢t require a clear LOS (line of sight). The question is what to repair. Merls die quickly, so one shot = dead. Knowing this, your first instinct might be to repair a Bulldog instead. Bulldogs are often the first thing that the enemy targets, and thus their HP often drops too rapidly to repair. Therefore, it is often wise to repair the middle-range units; not the giant HP monsters, not the units with a weak defence and strong/useful attack, but the average units that have acceptable HP and are not an enemy's first choice when selecting targets. One exception to this is mobile artillery. While it only has enough HP to survive one or two attacks, its attacks are well worth it, and the enemy still may not target them first, giving them a chance to deal massive damage.

===Army vs Army===

Many units attacking one unit is the best thing you can do, as when you kill one of their units, they lose one source of firepower. Focusing your fire is very important. Using focus fire in a group of weak units is very effective. Focus fire is, however, less effective on HP powerhouses.
When youÃ¢â‚¬â„¢re facing an army, always try to attack from behind or the side. Keep your units a little spread out when attacking. Not to far, but just so that area of effect weapons donÃ¢â‚¬â„¢t do as much damage. Have your HP powerhouses at the front, or at the front and sides. Keep em pretty close together but not side by side. Having your units spread out in this manner allows the units in the back to attack, and prevents splash damage units such as Zippers and Pyros from damaging many of your units at once.

This is the normal way of attacking an enemy army. There is the classical pincher movement tooÃ¢â‚¬Â¦
In this, you run one third of your HP powerhouses to the left, one third to the right and have the last third stay where they are.
This gives you 3 advantages:
*it's easier to get past the units and attack their weak units, or just run past them into the base
*you do more damage, since their units will have to change their target all the time and can't escape
*it makes it MUCH harder for the enemy to run away or try to get past you.

===Army vs Base===

Okay, you may have made it past the ground troops, but the fight is not over (unless your enemy used up his units to defend.) Now you must face his base defence, and act depending on the type of defence he hasÃ¢â‚¬Â¦

''Line defence''

Gather your army and set up for battle a bit away from his base, and get ready to move in. Have the FARKS guard your main HP powerhouses, so they are in the front but can still hide behind em. Everything else behind that. When attacking, have several units attacking the HLT and plasma batteries, and use the FARKS to reclaim his Dragon Teeth. When you have a hole in the DT wall, just run into the heart of the base like a maniac. Split your tanks into 2 groups, 1 guarding your long range/high damage units and the other going into the heart of the base. Find the Fusion reactors with your second group of tanks, and try to move the other big group to a place that is easy to defend while hitting the Fusions. Behind buildings is perfect! Kill as much as you can, or kill everything ^^
If there are several lines of defence, make a hole in each DT wall and repeat the same tactics.

''Spread out defence''

ArghÃ¢â‚¬Â¦ The tough one. While the individual towers are easy to beat, you canÃ¢â‚¬â„¢t run past his defences unless you enjoy suicide. (and if you do, ctrl+a and then ctrl+d will do the trick. A slice of the wrist works well, too.)
Use your army to begin killing the defence step by step, structure by structure. Keep building units, and moving them into the fray (you can use air transports with the repeat command and make them drop the units a little ways from the fight). Once you start getting close to his last line of defence, think of it as a line defence and act accordingly.

''Units defence''

Think army vs army. DonÃ¢â‚¬â„¢t rush past them with all your units. Your units will spread out and try to go through holes in the enemyÃ¢â‚¬â„¢s formation. In a word, they are dead meat. If you MUST get to the base, have half of the tanks go around the units.

===Naval Battles===

Naval battles are hard to predict if you donÃ¢â‚¬â„¢t play island maps a lot, since there are many factors to take into account. Since land units are removed, you have to think in a WHOLE new perspective. No land means that only Sea, Air and Hover units can fight (and LRC of course).
Anyway, try to have air units scouting land and sea, and determine how much AA the enemy has. Ships roam around assaulting other ships, with a mix of subs, sub killers, AA ships and normal ships. Hovercrafts are the unit to use when assaulting land thatÃ¢â‚¬â„¢s a little far from shore. Provide them with an escort consisting of planes and/or ships.

====Ships====
When using ships, have scout ships or planes scout the area in front, then send in subs and sub killers. Use long range ships at the sides to protect anything of value you might have with you (a sea transport or an aircraft carrier). When in battle, try to have the subs run away from sub killers, while your sub killers kill the enemy subs. Your subs should try to attack the most important ship in the area, and then just go crazy.
When facing land, youÃ¢â‚¬â„¢re pretty much in for an easy win. Just have your ships blow it all up. If you face LRC, take them out first. The rest of it is out of your hands.
Remember if your opponent has air superiority or LRPCs use subs as they can't hit them :)

====Hovercraft====
Use the Army vs Army or Army vs Base strategy here.

''-- addendum by Cain.''

Hovercraft are quite expensive compared to other land units, but are very useful in maps with a bit of water, able to target enemies without worrying about those pesky Goliaths... note that they're much cheaper than ships, anyway.

===Planes===
Hohoho, planes. Fun stuff to attack with. Anyway, most of the strategy involving planes is simple.
First, always attack the AA first, unless you are going to do a suicide mission. Kill the AA with gunships, and use bombers to kill structures. Many players use gunships only, which is a bad idea. Bombers take a little time to master but combined with gunships, they do a very good job. Scout early, so you can quickly see WHAT the enemy has and WHERE he has it. Use gunships to take out AA and act as overall decoys. Have Bombers fly in and bomb the crap out of his Fusion or whatever strategic point, and use the fighters to guard the bombers.
When facing units, do the same.
When facing sea, do the same thing, but add Torpedoes to bombers and gunships.

''-- addendum by Cain''

Know where the enemy commander is! In games where the commander's death is a winning condition, a lot of bombers could just converge on him, killing him on the first run.. especially the 2nd level bombers that have a nice turreted fast targeting laser! Also, gunships could create a diversion to keep the main enemy defences away from your main attack force, or you could use them to make the defences of distracted players shoot their own base...

===Using Terrain===

Using terrain wisely is very important. The issue of a game can depend on a good use of terrain.
First, Line of Sight (LOS) and RADAR. Both are blocked by terrain. So build your radars as high up as possible, otherwise you may not see anything. Use the relief to your advantage to hide an army or your important buildings from enemy radars.
Of course, one can also take advantage of altitude to increase fire range. A couple of Guardians on top of two high hills can easily devastate a small army.
Terrain also helps shield your units against attacks. Therefore, when youÃ¢â‚¬â„¢re building something high on top of a hill, try placing it a little behind the top. This is like crouching behind a crate where just your head and gun sticks up. But remember that terrain in Spring is deformable and can be leveled by impacts!
Know the climbing ability of your units. Hovercrafts and vehicles have pretty low climbing ability. But if a foe thinks he has sealed up all exits, your K-bots can still climb the mountains where he hasnÃ¢â‚¬â„¢t put any Dragon TeethÃ¢â‚¬Â¦
Another good thing about terrain is that it mentally makes you feel safe. If there is a water barrier between me and the enemy, with 3 land bridges here and there, I probably wonÃ¢â‚¬â„¢t have much ground defence at a location AWAY from the bridges. Presuming the map is pretty flat (like "Flooded Desert") a hovercraft assault would do A LOT of damage, right?

===Energy and all the problems with it===
(in XTA)
As I said before, most level 2 units require energy to move, shoot and operate in general, meaning that if you have no energy to support your army, you can't do anything! You can use this in your favor, by attacking your enemy's Fusions, or
by ''giving'' Metal makers to your enemy when you are attacking him(although Metal makers are now turned off when given to an enemy), or he is attacking you! Things that drain a lot of energy include LRPC, Goliaths, HLT, and most level 2 units.
(/in XTA)

===Paper-rock-scissors?===

Try to look at all units as individuals. Even if I didn't write much about every single unit, know your favorite ones and how to use them effectively in conjunction with the others. You'll find that some units are very complementary. The only real paper-rock relationships are AA and planes... Maybe subs vs sub killers...

I didn't even mention cloaking, radar jamming, troops behaviour facing attacks, mines, etc, etc. The possibilities are immense, but I don't want to spoil your pleasure any longer, so I'll let you discover them by yourself.

'''Have fun !!!'''

----

===Strategy Tips===

-Expand! Metal is scarce. The more you get, the more you can build. Even if you have a good base, making it bigger is not a bad thing.

-Scout! Knowledge is power. You must know what your enemy is planning, and what the enemy knows about you. (Or thinks he knows about youÃ¯Â¿Å ) Check what he has, and what he is building. If heÃ¢â‚¬â„¢s building aircrafts, do something about it. Look for weaknesses in defence and such. If you or your ally are scouting, donÃ¢â‚¬â„¢t look away. Gather as much information as possible.
ALL buildings once in sight range will remain visible as 'ghost' buildings if this option isn't turned off by the host.

-Radar = GOOD ^^ Radar checks areas for units, increases your units LOS and is, overall, quite helpful. A radar with your army makes a big difference when attacking. But so is Jamming. Jamming is good for sneak attacks. They are cheap, so just build one and make your units guard it.

-Work Together! Often I see allies who just mind their own business and donÃ¢â‚¬â„¢t care what the other person's doing. DONÃ¢â‚¬â„¢TÃ¢â‚¬Â¦ DOÃ¢â‚¬Â¦ THIS!!! Listen to each other, make up a plan. Prepare combined attacks. If there is a 2v2, then itÃ¢â‚¬â„¢s 2 allies vs 2 allies. Not a ffa with neutral partners. Type h to share units. Left click on your resource bars to auto share resources with allies.

-Power Plants. In order to level out the building costs, it is important to make a smooth transition from the least powerful generators to the most powerful ones in succession. First solar, then Geo, then mobile/mini Fusion then Fusion.

-Check your resource bar. Try to keep a fine line between having too many resources/wasting, and having a nanostall. Use your factories and such accordingly. If you have a lot of resources, try using your old level 1 factories to build some units. Also, try to find the time to build an energy/metal storage...

-Spread out your buildings/units. Since every unit explodes, they damage units close to them. This is especially important with Fusions... (I once saw someone put 13 mobile fusions close to each other... blew up half his base with 2 (!!!) LRPC shots...)

-Queue (yeah, easy word for it too :/) up orders! You can almost win the game by pausing, queuing up some stuff, and then go eat lunch. Not really, but holding shift is good whilst putting up buildings.

-Guard = following and protection. Use planes to guard your tanks, subs to guard your transports, construction units to automatically repair important units and so on. They will choose to attack whatever is hurting their guard object first. You can even do this to structures, for units who are built to move to a unitÃ¢â‚¬â„¢s position or AA to attack whatever is shooting on the Fusion reactors, etcÃ¢â‚¬Â¦
Overall, this makes working with several unit types easier.

-Reclaim stuff (sucking it in and transforming it into resources). When you're starting to run low on metal, reclaim the enemyÃ¢â‚¬â„¢s and your own corpses. Trees give energy, so if youÃ¢â‚¬â„¢re out of energy in the beginning... You can reclaim a whole area by shift-clicking.

-The key for porcers are to build LRPC. Or even better, build a nuke and use LOTS of planes to kill his anti-nuke. Then BOOM!
Also as you have way loads more metal and space to move in than your opponent, you can easily afford 2 nukes. An anti-nuke can't deal with 2 nukes heading towards it(and if you aim the nukes at the anti-nuke...^^!

-Experiment! I suggest you go into single player and try every unit. Use commanders for arm, and small battle (watch that Krogoth!) for core. Try every approach to a problem. Remember, just because a unit is good, itÃ¢â‚¬â„¢s not invincible. Also, try how much metal and energy a building uses while in operation. For instance, a level 1 factory uses about 50 energy and 5 metal. This varies depending on what you build. This could help you prevent nanostalling.

-Several types of factories. Yeah, even if it costs money. An advanced building costs as much as a Bulldog or 2... You've got the time, and the money. Build it.

-Raid. Take the Weasel or a couple of Peewees on a cruise right by the enemyÃ¢â‚¬â„¢s mexxes. Having trouble finding them? Type F4 to see where the ground is drained ^^ [Edit] This doesn't apply anymore, but you can still see where a mex is by trying to build one of your own there. If you can't, there's already one on the spot... A tip is to stay away from the Commander, or use buildings as hostages. Hide behind stuff and kill it off, then move on. If you're sure you're going to die, move close to a building and self-destruct.

-Just because Peewees are better then AKÃ¢â‚¬â„¢s doesnÃ¢â‚¬â„¢t meant that AKÃ¢â‚¬â„¢s are useless. (And so onÃ¢â‚¬Â¦). In fact, no unit is useless. If you believe it is, try it once. On what it was meant to do.

-Mix armies. Oh boy, if you havenÃ¢â‚¬â„¢t heard this one a thousand times before, you've only been playing Half-Life for the last 7 years or something. Even if Goliaths rule, a couple of missile units will make them much more effective.

-FARKs are useful in combat. Always have 1-3 with you. Reclaiming DT, or doing what they were meant to do: Repair -.-* (also, when I say FARKs somewhere in the guide, construction units work too...)

-Ask questions. No one is going to laugh at you. And if someone does, heÃ¢â‚¬â„¢s an ass and should be paid no mind. No question is too stupid. Just donÃ¢â‚¬â„¢t expect anyone in the heat of a battle to answer to Ã¢â‚¬ËœÃ¢â‚¬â„¢how do I play?Ã¢â‚¬â„¢Ã¢â‚¬â„¢.

-Learn! If you lost, use the replay to watch the game and try to understand why you died. What did the enemy do better than you? What was their key to winning? And so on.

-The Readme file has some cool keyboard shortcuts... check it out.

-Develop! Are you a programmer, a 3D design artist or just some regular Joe? Come to the forum for a talk, chatter, and make wacky suggestions! In the end you may contribute to making Spring better! Remember, Spring is open source. So just dive into there and replace AKÃ¢â‚¬â„¢s with flying monkeys in space suits or whatever.

-Try having some good music on when playing. It can give you a good kick. I recommend the War of the Worlds (the strategy game, yes it exists) Ã¢â‚¬ËœÃ¢â‚¬â„¢Eve of the WarÃ¢â‚¬â„¢Ã¢â‚¬â„¢ Another great choice is, of course, [http://www.fileuniverse.com/?page=listing&ID=54 the original TA music]!
You can choose whatever music you like, though.

-Need more strategy and tips? Since Spring is a remake of TA, any TA strategy guide works...

-LAST BUT NOT LEAST: '''DonÃ¢â‚¬â„¢t get too serious. ItÃ¢â‚¬â„¢s only a game.'''

This guide was written by Kixxe aka Johan Wittrock before everyone edited (and improved!) it mercilessly.

Back to [[Strategy_and_Tactics]]

[[Category:Strategy]]

User:DarkOppressor

2006-03-17T03:39:15Z

DarkOppressor:

Hi, I'm Dark_Oppressor, an 18 year old guy from Oklahoma, USA. As an avid fan of RTS games, I was ecstatic when I first discovered Spring. I've been following it and playing for a little while now, and recently noticed the wiki. Seeing as how I have no useful skills in any other area, I thought I could contribute a little by helping make the wiki a nicer place to visit, so here I am.

Spring guide

2006-03-17T03:33:43Z

DarkOppressor:

'''

Ã¢â‚¬ËœÃ¢â‚¬â„¢Keep in mind that Spring is still in beta, therefore crashes can occur (a lot) and we (well, not me!) havenÃ¢â‚¬â„¢t got everything fixed yet.Ã¢â‚¬â„¢Ã¢â‚¬â„¢

Before we start, letÃ¢â‚¬â„¢s have some background info.

== TA: so what's so cool about this game ? ==
[warning, boring info that doesnÃ¢â‚¬â„¢t really mean anything]

TA (Total Annihilation) was created by Cavedog (R.I.P) in 1997, about half a year before(!!!) Starcraft was released. It was revolutionary in many ways, with 3D graphics (but a fixed camera), good animations (aircraft barrel rolled and leaned when they turned etc.), 3D terrain and many units (150 in the original game.) But in my not so humble opinion, the 3 greatest things that set TA apart were...

* Its physics! Every shot trajectory was calculated! An artillery shell could try to get over a hill and hit an aircraft, which exploded into bits, damaging other troops nearby, which could also explode and set forests on fire. Yeah, might not sound that big after 7 years, but back then we had Starcraft, which defied at least a half dozen laws of physics.

(Example of the tentacle through space. Yeah, really realistic)
[http://fast.filespace.org/Kixxe/WTF.png Click here]

* The order system! You could have 300 units waiting to be built, and when they were done, they could go and patrol an area and attack anyone in it. Order queues were limitless. You could build your whole base and drink tea while it was getting built. Construction units on patrol would repair damaged units, help build things and reclaim stuff (sucking it in and transforming it into resources.)

* The resource system! Contrary to other RTS games, the resources in TA are infinite. What limits resource consumption is the rate at which they can be gathered. This sole fact would make for longer and more epic games, with hundreds or thousands of units fighting in the endgame.

Pretty cool game. If you want, check out their old website for more info. [http://www.fileuniverse.com/Total_Annihilation_Mirror/totala/index.html Click here]

[/warning, boring info that doesnÃ¢â‚¬â„¢t really mean anything]

Anyway, enough of my rambling, onto Spring!

Now, as I told you, Spring was inspired by TA and has the same features TA had. Plus a few new thingsÃ¢â‚¬Â¦ check out the Spring features page for more info.
[http://taspring.clan-sy.com/wiki/Features Click here]

----

==Resources==

There are two types of resources in Spring, namely ''metal'' and ''energy''. Each of these two resources can be collected in a number of different ways. The amount of each resource that you currently have stockpiled is represented by a coloured bar, one for each resource, along the upper edge of the screen. The rate at which you are presently collecting and consuming each of the two types is represented by a number and a + or - sign. If you are collecting at a faster rate then the rate at which you are consuming you will see your coloured bar grow as resources accumulate. Your stockpiled resources are being depleted whenever the coloured bar is shrinking. There are storage buildings which you can build for each type of resource and these will increase the amount of each which can be stored. Units and structures cost both metal and energy to build, while some units or structures also require energy to walk, shoot or operate in general.

Metal is collected continuously from either a metal extractor, often called Ã¢â‚¬ËœmexesÃ¢â‚¬â„¢ which extract from certain areas of the map, or by using a metal maker, abbreviated as Ã¢â‚¬ËœMMÃ¢â‚¬â„¢ which convert energy into metal. Both will only operate so long as there is sufficient energy to power them. However, metal makers require a lot of energy.
A faster way to gather metal is by using either your commander or a construction bot to 'reclaim' it from the remains of destroyed units and buildings! They can even reclaim buildings which have not been destroyed and they don't have to belong to your enemy to be reclaimed.

Energy can be produced by a number of different buildings or it can be reclaimed (you can reclaim trees to gather energy). There are many different types of energy producers, including solar collectors and power plants, but they will be covered in another section.

In a game, always Ã¢â‚¬Å“keep an eye on your metal and energy barÃ¢â‚¬Å“ because if one of them goes to zero, particularly energy, your building rate will stall,(metal makers and extractors will stop producing) and some units will be unable to fire their energy weapons (eg. LRPCs, Annihilators, Doomsday Machines).

----

==A Normal Spring Game==

Anyway, now you will learn the basics of a normal Spring game, as I see it.
Every Spring game starts with all players only havingÃ¢â‚¬Â¦

'''The COMMANDER'''! (Insert DUN DUN DUUUUUNN)

The Commander is the unit you start with and the most important one in the game. He is unique and cannot be rebuilt. In fact, there is a mode where the game ends when the commander dies, so never leave him alone.

The fastest builder, he can walk and build underwater, he makes a nuke-sized explosion when he dies, he has a laser and the privilege of a Disintegrator Gun (alias D-Gun).
The D-Gun is the single most powerful weapon in the whole game, which kills ANY (ANY, I mean it!) unit in one hit (friend or foe no difference, be careful!). Even if that sounds a like a little overkill, keep in mind that the Commander has a very limited range, is defenceless against any aircraft and long range artillery, and when submerged, he cannot shoot. (Subs! Onoz!)

The Commander is used for setting up a base, and early base defences. The D-Gun should protect him against any level 1 unit that tries to kill him, so if you lose your Commander in the beginning of the gameÃ¢â‚¬Â¦ then you're dead. You lose your best (only?) builder and attacker, plus you have a nuke-sized explosion that may destroy half or all of your base.

AnywayÃ¢â‚¬Â¦ if you're seeing everything in a top down perspective, click the Commander (type Ctrl+C if you can't find him) with left mouse button to select him.

(If you have a crosshair as a mouse, press j. If your camera is zoomed out or all jerky, press ctrl+j until you find the OTA(Original Total Annihilation) camera.)

Okay, letÃ¢â‚¬â„¢s now discuss '''how to build stuff'''.

Like any normal RTS, itÃ¢â‚¬â„¢s choose a unit and click a location, but there is more with Spring. Hold shift and click on different locations to make the unit build the same building there. Hold shift and drag and you will make a line of the building. Hold ctrl and shift to make boxes/rectangular shapes of buildings. Use these! Make a line of DT (Dragon Teeth, small piece of wall/cover) instead of clicking each and every one. The controls are there to help you.
This is called queuing up stuff. You can use almost every single command in a queue. Buildings can be queued to build lots of different units, and then the other orders in the behaviour of the unit. You can make them walk to something, or guard/follow a unit by pressing G and selecting the unit to guard. Try it.
Selecting a unit and pressing shift key will show the orders queue.

Build 2 solar generators, or 4 wind generators to gather energy. Keep in mind that wind is pretty unstable, and that a number of maps (like lunar ones) have no wind at all! (The level of wind and tides in the map is indicated in the Map Selector in the Lobby).

Now select the Metal extractors and the whole screen turns black and green. Okay, place one on the green stuff. (The greener, the better! Like broccoli!)

Oh, and the minimap controls in spring are reversed. Meaning that you have to right-click to move the screen to the location. Once the new GUI is out and offical, this will be fixed.

----

==The TA Bestiary==

Okay, time to describe the cool units that are at your disposal to make your enemies bleed. 8)

(Disclaimer : This will discuss the types of units, not every unit. Therefore, if I say that vehicles have large armour, I donÃ¢â‚¬â„¢t mean artillery of course.)

On to the first level 1 lab/plant to build. The categories areÃ¢â‚¬Â¦

===Vehicles===

These babies are all about armour. The level 1 units are pretty basic, with more armour and (build) speed and than their K-bot counterparts. Level 2 vehicles show even more of the same pattern: better armour than their K-bot counterparts. Level 2 also offers the mobile Flak unit, which is the only real level 2 mobile AA.
Their weakness is that they are clumsy, turn slowly, and most of them canÃ¢â‚¬â„¢t climb mountainsÃ¢â‚¬Â¦ at all. Leads to trouble when an explosion makes a crater; units survive but can get stuck in the crater. Or just when they are trying to get up a steep hill. But sooner or later, you'll learn what kind of destruction a rush of 30 Goliaths can do!

===K-Bots===

K-bots generally have less powerful weapons than tanks, and are also less heavily armoured.
So why build them in the first place?
Because they are cheaper! And since they are cheaper, you can build more and outnumber your enemies. This doesnÃ¢â‚¬â„¢t work out that good in game though, since tanks ARE stronger. K-bots are also smaller, and will slip through DT and such alike easier than tanks.
And finally, the third advantage (which IMO is the biggest) of K-bots are that they can climb most mountains with ease! Climb by defences, up on mountains, through holes, these are all-purpose units.

===Aircraft===

Planes are planes. In Spring, thereÃ¢â‚¬â„¢s a plane for every role. Bombers, fighters, gunships, flying radar, transports, stealth fighters and torpedo bombers. Planes are fast, and are not affected by terrain. There is no wall or relief that can stop a plane. You can just swoop into a base and take out AA with your gunship, and then bomb the crap out of their important structures. To stop them, you've got to rely on Anti Air (AA) units.

On the downside, planes are quite expensive to build and are relatively fragile. They are also the only units that have an anti unit against them (Except subs). When someone finds out you're building a large air fleet, they just cram their base full of AA and their army with mobile AA. And the only counter is more planes than their AA can handle, or a ground troop to take the AA down. A combined ground and air attack can be very destructive. Good luck!

===Ships===

Ships are good on a map with water. (DUH!) Ships come in many different kinds, but mostly for taking out other ships or bombing the crap out of land units in some way or another. The ships' strength is their powerful weaponry and their long range. All ships made to take out land have long range. Ships also have lots of armour. Another thing thatÃ¢â‚¬â„¢s good about ships is that there is not much you can do to stop them because they are usually out of range. Once you see that the enemy has ships, either build a dock and a navy real fast or build planes and pray that he doesnÃ¢â‚¬â„¢t have too many AA ships.
Their weaknesses are slowness (especially when turning), they can be taken out by submarines, and of course they are confined to water, meaning that they are often stuck with units just outside of their reach.

And they are *extremely* expensive, metal-wise.

===Hovercraft===

(These are counted as level 2 units, so I would not recommend them as the first to build unless itÃ¢â‚¬â„¢s the perfect map for them)

Hovercrafts are a tank and a plane (some say ship, but I find planes to be more accurate for some reason O.o) mixed. Sure itÃ¢â‚¬â„¢s weaker than your average tank, and slower than your average plane. Whats their use? They are meant for swampy maps that means that both tanks and ships are a weakness, and offcourse since none can't be used, everyone just spams out AA since they think aircrafts are the only way. Great suprise for the enemy when 50 hovercrafts comes in agsint their flakkers and MT...
Long story short, Hovercrafts are good for those who like (or must) attack from the ground, but canÃ¢â‚¬â„¢t since there is too much water.

Their weakness is their low climbing ability, and that they're weaker than a tank and slower than a plane. (DonÃ¢â‚¬â„¢t build them on a land map, tanks ARE better.)

===Towers and Turrets===

Like TA, Spring boasts an impressive range of plasma and laser towers, cannons and turrets. These cannons will undoubtly be essential parts of your offensive as well as defensive strategies.

'''Light laser tower (LLT)'''
A cheap and fast laser that hits almost every time. Mostly useful against level 1 units, but can be used in groups against level 2. They suffer from short range, so most long range weapons can kill them(Samsons, for example). Since they fire faster than their bigger brothers, LLTs are more useful against hordes of small weak units than a single strong one.

'''Heavy laser tower (HLT)'''
This is the only tower that works on those pesky level 2 units that just wonÃ¢â‚¬â„¢t die. These shoot slower, but with much more power than the LLT. They also have a longer range and can be quite effective against air attacks. They cost a fair amount and take a long time to build, but they are often worth it.

'''Missile Tower (MT)'''
The missile tower is good for planes or weak level 1 units. They shoot a weak rocket that almost hits their target every time. They have a fair range, but very low hp. They work on most level 2 planes as well, but should be backed up with Flack cannons.

'''Pop-up Cannons'''
Pop-up cannons are pretty cheap middle range gun. A guardian can outshoot them, but they are still a choice to use. When Ã¢â‚¬ËœÃ¢â‚¬â„¢offÃ¢â‚¬â„¢Ã¢â‚¬â„¢ they take 50% less damage! I heard that a closed popup can withstand a nuke! (If itÃ¢â‚¬â„¢s not a direct hit) In XTA you can build them with level 1 construction K-bot or whatever. Sometimes individual wars between 2 or 4 pop-ups break out, where both sides try to kill the other's ones. Just remember to repair them, as with all PCÃ¢â‚¬Â¦

'''Middle range Plasma Cannons (MRPC)'''
Guardians and such alike. These arenÃ¢â‚¬â„¢t for attacking, but they have a pretty long range, and are not too expensive. Plus their targeting is pretty fast, meaning they are practically made for defence and very lethal. Perfect to have on a hill close to a HLT and some MTÃ¢â‚¬Â¦

'''Long Range Plasma Cannons (LRPC)'''
We are talking Big berthas, Intimidators and such alike. These babies got the RANGE and may be the ultimate weapon on small maps. The Big Bertha, yeah. An amazing unit. Not the ultimate, but several times cheaper and more accurate than a Buzz Saw/Vulcan, and its accuracy will improve with every kill. Not good at defending, since its slow targeting makes it impossible to hit moving targets. Try to build one on a small maps, or just build one close to the enemy and your Bertha will start pounding his base mercilessly. In fact, build several, with a lot of AA around 'em (and ground, if thatÃ¢â‚¬â„¢s possible) and you'll see your enemy's morale quickly fall to the ground. A LRPC expansion can sometimes become the winning factor of a game.

'''Very long range plasma Cannons (VLRC)'''
Buzzsaws are big, cost much, are huge energy suckers, are VERY inaccurate and are pretty slow on targeting. BUT, they have the DOUBLE range of a normal LRPC and shoot 4(!!!) shots at a time. This is the one thing to finish those ÃƒÂ¼ber porckers.
Defend these well, with lots of AA around and in a wide circle. They only have about 5000 hp, so killing'em is easy if you donÃ¢â‚¬â„¢t have AAÃ¢â‚¬Â¦
In OTA however Vulcans/Buzzsaws have SLIGHTLY LESS range than LRPCs, so LRPCs are generally better because they are so cheaper and each are a seperate entity with a fair bit of life(around 2500 i think).

The obvious way to kill LRC is to use planes, since they are fast enough to enter and kill it all.

===The first steps===

Now comes the tricky part. The first minute is always the same really, so what after that?
Well, itÃ¢â‚¬â„¢s hard to judge. But here are some paths that can be taken.

1. Build many construction units and send them out to build mexxes and Geothermal Power Plants. Then a defence and maybe some DT.

2. Build some construction units, and then start building defences. Follow the Ã¢â‚¬ËœÃ¢â‚¬â„¢line defenceÃ¢â‚¬â„¢Ã¢â‚¬â„¢ guide lines.
Build Fusion Power Plants and Metal makers, and then an army. After that, use the army how armies are used best.
This strategy is called PORCING, and is considered by many as BAD.
There are disadvantages with this. You canÃ¢â‚¬â„¢t use many metal extractors or Geos, so you have slim to no resources to build your base. A popular strategy is to kill the anti-nuke, and then blow the whole compact base to bits.

3. Build a small army of 3-6 units and attack the enemy. The goal isnÃ¢â‚¬â„¢t to kill him, but to do as much damage as possible to his resources and hinder his economy. Mexxes are the most important, and then look for wind or solar generators.
Try to keep on attacking him, but remember to still tech up and build defences.

Anyway, use your construction units to build defences of SOME kind. Take advantage of Geothermal gases. Yeah the smoking stuff. You can place Geo plants there for good, cheap and space saving energy. If youÃ¢â‚¬â„¢re expanding, use every Mex' positions, and try to find a place to settle your defence line.

When you can defend yourself from most level 1 units, start on your level 2 building.

When itÃ¢â‚¬â„¢s done, ALWAYS build a construction unit first. Use it for your first mini Fusion. (Or build some mobile fusion at the vehicle plant if you're Arm)
Build level 2 units in the meantime.
Low on metal? Upgrade the finest of your Mexxes to Moho Mexxes. They are bigger and better (but they suck up energy).
You can also build a Moho Metal maker if you have enough energy to support it. (MMM :p)
Okay, if you made this far, you must really start thinking about how to defeat the enemy. Look for his weak spot. Maybe a K-bot assault from the mountains ? Maybe planes. Maybe using amphibious units. That part is for you to figure out.

----

==STRATEGY==

I read through this guide, and suddenly realizedÃ¢â‚¬Â¦

''where is the strategy?''

So I fiddled this section up. Hope you'll learn something from it and thereby increase your Spring gaming experience.

===Defence===

AhÃ¢â‚¬Â¦ the overall defence. There are many different ways to make a good defence, but here are 4 oft seen approaches.

''Compact defence!''

The most common type of defence is a single line of defence, often with Dragon Teeth (DT) in front. Inside your base is some AA, and thatÃ¢â‚¬â„¢s about it. The good thing about this is that itÃ¢â‚¬â„¢s pretty easy and fast to set up, and you know where your territory ends, which can make the game much easier. Problem is, if something makes it past the line of defence, then youÃ¢â‚¬â„¢re screwed, unless youÃ¢â‚¬â„¢re building line after line of defence, or have some units to stop 'em.

''Spread out defence!''

I saw a guy pull this off one time, and he won by a large margin. The trick with this is to never really have a defined line of defence, just a Heavy Laser Tower (HLT) here, a radar there, some DT there, a mine here and thereÃ¢â‚¬Â¦
Basically, you expand every time you build a defence building, so in the end you have ENORMOUS space to move in. Since the defence is spread out, no one is gonna rush past it with some goliaths. You can have some units hide behind mountains and attack. He used Merls who he trapped in fortification walls. I tried to run past the defence with an army of 30 Bulldogs. His HLT and missile/plasma batteries stopped me before I even reached his final defence line.
Even though this defence is the best of 'em all, itÃ¢â‚¬â„¢s hard to build up, and requires lots of resources and time. IF youÃ¢â‚¬â„¢re able to pull it off, the only problem may be if they are fast enough to run by all of it, or if you donÃ¢â‚¬â„¢t have much AA and 30 Brawlers are comingÃ¢â‚¬Â¦

''No defenceÃ¢â‚¬Â¦ at all?''

Yes, this is an option. Okay, you may want some mines here and there, and some DT to stop them from running right through the door and AA in your base if they're building planes. But how do you defend with no defence?
With units; the whole concept is that you put all your effort into making units. This works pretty well, since when you see where the enemy is going to attack, you can MOVE your whole defence to that location.
The problem with this defence is that when you are attacking, you lose most of your defence. Sure, you can leave units behind, but I find it hard mentally to leave half the army at home when I am attacking.
If you manage to pull this off, and make enough units to both attack and defend, then you have not wasted any money on defence, and you have a strong army!

''The All Out Defence''

''-- addendum by Cain''

The opposite of the "no defence" strategy, mixed with the "spread out defence" strategy: the main concept is to invest resources in lots of level 1 build planes, and use them to quickly gather huge amounts of territory and resources, while keeping a lot of planes building/repairing turrets all over the map. This could be very effective on maps with few choke points where your defence can be concentrated in a small area, or mostly flat maps where the overlapping range of defensive structures will create a large grid of protected territory. The concept is to expand the defence line until you can shoot straight into the enemy base. When using this strategy, it is wise to have a lot of level 2 aircraft defending the construction point, as you will need to constantly move your mobile defences around the map, protecting under-contruction defensive areas. I usually end up with a hundred builder planes and 20 to 50 Brawlers floating around... keep them away from Kroghot!

These are the defensive strategies I have found effective.

Also, one thing to remember is to eliminate the largest threat first. If youÃ¢â‚¬â„¢re relying on DT, take out the FARK or construction planes first.

Okay, you've built a good defence.
The next thing you should do is attempt to get into the mindset of your enemy. Put yourself in his shoes, and determine how he would most likely proceed given your defensive strategy. Would he attempt a gunship raid, or launch an attack from a defenceless mountain position? Once you know what his most likely plan of attack will be, rethink your defences with this in mind. If there is an area that is defenceless under your current strategy, and you believe it is a prime spot for your enemy to attack, set up some sort of defence there as well.

===Moving===
Moving or attacking is pretty easy right? Just move from point a to point b and attack cÃ¢â‚¬Â¦
Nope.
First, you have to have your units move TOGETHER. . If some are trailing behind, then you just have to wait a little for them. A way of having your units stick together is to take a pretty slow unit, like a Can, and have others guard it.
Pressing control while moving units will make them keep their position in the formation, but not their speed. (they will spread out along the way, but ''try'' to get back into the position they were in when reaching the destination)
The ''Simple formation'' is also a way of doing this, and the units will automatically form a couple of lines, often with the right units first, too!
Transports are useful for moving units, but use the air transports (Valkyrie /Atlas) intelligently and protect them. The other transportation units are harder to use, since they take more time to load/unload.

===Attacking===

When attacking, remember what each unit's role is in the fight. Farks are used to repair important units that have been damaged. Bulldogs are meant to take damage and give damage back. Merls are used to shoot missiles from a distance, and donÃ¢â‚¬â„¢t require a clear LOS (line of sight). The question is what to repair. Merls die quickly, so one shot = dead. Knowing this, your first instinct might be to repair a Bulldog instead. Bulldogs are often the first thing that the enemy targets, and thus their HP often drops too rapidly to repair. Therefore, it is often wise to repair the middle-range units; not the giant HP monsters, not the units with a weak defence and strong/useful attack, but the average units that have acceptable HP and are not an enemy's first choice when selecting targets. One exception to this is mobile artillery. While it only has enough HP to survive one or two attacks, its attacks are well worth it, and the enemy still may not target them first, giving them a chance to deal massive damage.

===Army vs Army===

Many units attacking one unit is the best thing you can do, as when you kill one of their units, they lose one source of firepower. Focusing your fire is very important. Using focus fire in a group of weak units is very effective. Focus fire is, however, less effective on HP powerhouses.
When youÃ¢â‚¬â„¢re facing an army, always try to attack from behind or the side. Keep your units a little spread out when attacking. Not to far, but just so that area of effect weapons donÃ¢â‚¬â„¢t do as much damage. Have your HP powerhouses at the front, or at the front and sides. Keep em pretty close together but not side by side. Having your units spread out in this manner allows the units in the back to attack, and prevents splash damage units such as Zippers and Pyros from damaging many of your units at once.

This is the normal way of attacking an enemy army. There is the classical pincher movement tooÃ¢â‚¬Â¦
In this, you run one third of your HP powerhouses to the left, one third to the right and have the last third stay where they are.
This gives you 3 advantages:
*it's easier to get past the units and attack their weak units, or just run past them into the base
*you do more damage, since their units will have to change their target all the time and can't escape
*it makes it MUCH harder for the enemy to run away or try to get past you.

===Army vs Base===

Okay, you may have made it past the ground troops, but the fight is not over (unless your enemy used up his units to defend.) Now you must face his base defence, and act depending on the type of defence he hasÃ¢â‚¬Â¦

''Line defence''

Gather your army and set up for battle a bit away from his base, and get ready to move in. Have the FARKS guard your main HP powerhouses, so they are in the front but can still hide behind em. Everything else behind that. When attacking, have several units attacking the HLT and plasma batteries, and use the FARKS to reclaim his Dragon Teeth. When you have a hole in the DT wall, just run into the heart of the base like a maniac. Split your tanks into 2 groups, 1 guarding your long range/high damage units and the other going into the heart of the base. Find the Fusion reactors with your second group of tanks, and try to move the other big group to a place that is easy to defend while hitting the Fusions. Behind buildings is perfect! Kill as much as you can, or kill everything ^^
If there are several lines of defence, make a hole in each DT wall and repeat the same tactics.

''Spread out defence''

ArghÃ¢â‚¬Â¦ The tough one. While the individual towers are easy to beat, you canÃ¢â‚¬â„¢t run past his defences unless you enjoy suicide. (and if you do, ctrl+a and then ctrl+d will do the trick. A slice of the wrist works well, too.)
Use your army to begin killing the defence step by step, structure by structure. Keep building units, and moving them into the fray (you can use air transports with the repeat command and make them drop the units a little ways from the fight). Once you start getting close to his last line of defence, think of it as a line defence and act accordingly.

''Units defence''

Think army vs army. DonÃ¢â‚¬â„¢t rush past 'em with all your units. Your units will spread out and try to go through holes in the enemyÃ¢â‚¬â„¢s formation. In a word, they are dead meat. If you MUST get to the base, have half of the tanks go around the units.

===Naval Battles===

Naval battles are hard to predict if you donÃ¢â‚¬â„¢t play island maps a lot, since there are many factors to take into account. Since land units are removed, you have to think in a WHOLE new perspective. No land means that only Sea, Air and Hover units can fight (and LRC of course).
Anyway, try to have air units scouting land and sea, and determine how much AA the enemy has. Ships roam around assaulting other ships, with a mix of subs, sub killers, AA ships and normal ships. Hovercrafts are the unit to use when assaulting land thatÃ¢â‚¬â„¢s a little far from shore. Provide them with an escort consisting of planes and/or ships.

====Ships====
When using ships, have scout ships or planes scout the area in front, then send in subs and sub killers. Use long range ships at the sides to protect anything of value you might have with you (a sea transport or an aircraft carrier). When in battle, try to have the subs run away from sub killers, while your sub killers kill the enemy subs. Your subs should try to attack the most important ship in the area, and then just go crazy.
When facing land, youÃ¢â‚¬â„¢re pretty much in for an easy win. Just have your ships blow it all up. If you face LRC, take them out first. The rest of it is out of your hands.
Remember if your opponent has air superiority or LRPCs use subs as they can't hit them :)

====Hovercraft====
Use the Army vs Army or Army vs Base strategy here.

''-- addendum by Cain.''

Hovercraft are quite expensive compared to other land units, but are very useful in maps with a bit of water, able to target enemies without worrying about those pesky Goliaths... note that they're much cheaper than ships, anyway.

===Planes===
Hohoho, planes. Fun stuff to attack with. Anyway, most of the strategy involving planes is simple.
First, always attack the AA first, unless you are going to do a suicide mission. Kill the AA with gunships, and use bombers to kill structures. Many players use gunships only, which is a bad idea. Bombers take a little time to master but combined with gunships, they do a very good job. Scout early, so you can quickly see WHAT the enemy has and WHERE he has it. Use gunships to take out AA and act as overall decoys. Have Bombers fly in and bomb the crap out of his Fusion or whatever strategic point, and use the fighters to guard the bombers.
When facing units, do the same.
When facing sea, do the same thing, but add Torpedoes to bombers and gunships.

''-- addendum by Cain''

Know where the enemy commander is! In games where the commander's death is a winning condition, a lot of bombers could just converge on him, killing him on the first run.. especially the 2nd level bombers that have a nice turreted fast targeting laser! Also, gunships could create a diversion to keep the main enemy defences away from your main attack force, or you could use them to make the defences of distracted players shoot their own base...

===Using Terrain===

Using terrain wisely is very important. The issue of a game can depend on a good use of terrain.
First, Line of Sight (LOS) and RADAR. Both are blocked by terrain. So build your radars as high up as possible, otherwise you may not see anything. Use the relief to your advantage to hide an army or your important buildings from enemy radars.
Of course, one can also take advantage of altitude to increase fire range. A couple of Guardians on top of two high hills can easily devastate a small army.
Terrain also helps shield your units against attacks. Therefore, when youÃ¢â‚¬â„¢re building something high on top of a hill, try placing it a little behind the top. This is like crouching behind a crate where just your head and gun sticks up. But remember that terrain in Spring is deformable and can be leveled by impacts!
Know the climbing ability of your units. Hovercrafts and vehicles have pretty low climbing ability. But if a foe thinks he has sealed up all exits, your K-bots can still climb the mountains where he hasnÃ¢â‚¬â„¢t put any Dragon TeethÃ¢â‚¬Â¦
Another good thing about terrain is that it mentally makes you feel safe. If there is a water barrier between me and the enemy, with 3 land bridges here and there, I probably wonÃ¢â‚¬â„¢t have much ground defence at a location AWAY from the bridges. Presuming the map is pretty flat (like "Flooded Desert") a hovercraft assault would do A LOT of damage, right?

===Energy and all the problems with it===
(in XTA)
As I said before, most level 2 units require energy to move, shoot and operate in general, meaning that if you have no energy to support your army, you can't do anything! You can use this in your favor, by attacking your enemy's Fusions, or
by ''giving'' Metal makers to your enemy when you are attacking him(although Metal makers are now turned off when given to an enemy), or he is attacking you! Things that drain a lot of energy include LRPC, Goliaths, HLT, and most level 2 units.
(/in XTA)

===Paper-rock-scissors?===

Try to look at all units as individuals. Even if I didn't write much about every single unit, know your favorite ones and how to use them effectively in conjunction with the others. You'll find that some units are very complementary. The only real paper-rock relationships are AA and planes... Maybe subs vs sub killers...

I didn't even mention cloaking, radar jamming, troops behaviour facing attacks, mines, etc, etc. The possibilities are immense, but I don't want to spoil your pleasure any longer, so I'll let you discover them by yourself.

'''Have fun !!!'''

----

===Strategy Tips===

-Expand! Metal is scarce. The more you get, the more you can build. Even if you have a good base, making it bigger is not a bad thing.

-Scout! Knowledge is power. You must know what your enemy is planning, and what the enemy knows about you. (Or thinks he knows about youÃ¯Â¿Å ) Check what he has, and what he is building. If heÃ¢â‚¬â„¢s building aircrafts, do something about it. Look for weaknesses in defence and such. If you or your ally are scouting, donÃ¢â‚¬â„¢t look away. Gather as much information as possible.
ALL buildings once in sight range will remain visible as 'ghost' buildings if this option isn't turned off by the host.

-Radar = GOOD ^^ Radar checks areas for units, increases your units LOS and is, overall, quite helpful. A radar with your army makes a big difference when attacking. But so is Jamming. Jamming is good for sneak attacks. They are cheap, so just build one and make your units guard it.

-Work Together! Often I see allies who just mind their own business and donÃ¢â‚¬â„¢t care what the other person's doing. DONÃ¢â‚¬â„¢TÃ¢â‚¬Â¦ DOÃ¢â‚¬Â¦ THIS!!! Listen to each other, make up a plan. Prepare combined attacks. If there is a 2v2, then itÃ¢â‚¬â„¢s 2 allies vs 2 allies. Not a ffa with neutral partners. Type h to share units. Left click on your resource bars to auto share resources with allies.

-Power Plants. In order to level out the building costs, it is important to make a smooth transition from the least powerful generators to the most powerful ones in succession. First solar, then Geo, then mobile/mini Fusion then Fusion.

-Check your resource bar. Try to keep a fine line between having too many resources/wasting, and having a nanostall. Use your factories and such accordingly. If you have a lot of resources, try using your old level 1 factories to build some units. Also, try to find the time to build an energy/metal storage...

-Spread out your buildings/units. Since every unit explodes, they damage units close to them. This is especially important with Fusions... (I once saw someone put 13 mobile fusions close to each other... blew up half his base with 2 (!!!) LRPC shots...)

-Queue (yeah, easy word for it too :/) up orders! You can almost win the game by pausing, queuing up some stuff, and then go eat lunch. Not really, but holding shift is good whilst putting up buildings.

-Guard = following and protection. Use planes to guard your tanks, subs to guard your transports, construction units to automatically repair important units and so on. They will choose to attack whatever is hurting their guard object first. You can even do this to structures, for units who are built to move to a unitÃ¢â‚¬â„¢s position or AA to attack whatever is shooting on the Fusion reactors, etcÃ¢â‚¬Â¦
Overall, this makes working with several unit types easier.

-Reclaim stuff (sucking it in and transforming it into resources). When you're starting to run low on metal, reclaim the enemyÃ¢â‚¬â„¢s and your own corpses. Trees give energy, so if youÃ¢â‚¬â„¢re out of energy in the beginning... You can reclaim a whole area by shift-clicking.

-The key for porcers are to build LRPC. Or even better, build a nuke and use LOTS of planes to kill his anti-nuke. Then BOOM!
Also as you have way loads more metal and space to move in than your opponent, you can easily afford 2 nukes. An anti-nuke can't deal with 2 nukes heading towards it(and if you aim the nukes at the anti-nuke...^^!

-Experiment! I suggest you go into single player and try every unit. Use commanders for arm, and small battle (watch that Krogoth!) for core. Try every approach to a problem. Remember, just because a unit is good, itÃ¢â‚¬â„¢s not invincible. Also, try how much metal and energy a building uses while in operation. For instance, a level 1 factory uses about 50 energy and 5 metal. This varies depending on what you build. This could help you prevent nanostalling.

-Several types of factories. Yeah, even if it costs money. An advanced building costs as much as a Bulldog or 2... You've got the time, and the money. Build it.

-Raid. Take the Weasel or a couple of Peewees on a cruise right by the enemyÃ¢â‚¬â„¢s mexxes. Having trouble finding them? Type F4 to see where the ground is drained ^^ [Edit] This doesn't apply anymore, but you can still see where a mex is by trying to build one of your own there. If you can't, there's already one on the spot... A tip is to stay away from the Commander, or use buildings as hostages. Hide behind stuff and kill it off, then move on. If you're sure you're going to die, move close to a building and self-destruct.

-Just because Peewees are better then AKÃ¢â‚¬â„¢s doesnÃ¢â‚¬â„¢t meant that AKÃ¢â‚¬â„¢s are useless. (And so onÃ¢â‚¬Â¦). In fact, no unit is useless. If you believe it is, try it once. On what it was meant to do.

-Mix armies. Oh boy, if you havenÃ¢â‚¬â„¢t heard this one a thousand times before, you've only been playing Half-Life for the last 7 years or something. Even if Goliaths rule, a couple of missile units will make them much more effective.

-FARKs are useful in combat. Always have 1-3 with you. Reclaiming DT, or doing what they were meant to do: Repair -.-* (also, when I say FARKs somewhere in the guide, construction units work too...)

-Ask questions. No one is going to laugh at you. And if someone does, heÃ¢â‚¬â„¢s an ass and should be paid no mind. No question is too stupid. Just donÃ¢â‚¬â„¢t expect anyone in the heat of a battle to answer to Ã¢â‚¬ËœÃ¢â‚¬â„¢how do I play?Ã¢â‚¬â„¢Ã¢â‚¬â„¢.

-Learn! If you lost, use the replay to watch the game and try to understand why you died. What did the enemy do better than you? What was their key to winning? And so on.

-The Readme file has some cool keyboard shortcuts... check it out.

-Develop! Are you a programmer, a 3D design artist or just some regular Joe? Come to the forum for a talk, chatter, and make wacky suggestions! In the end you may contribute to making Spring better! Remember, Spring is open source. So just dive into there and replace AKÃ¢â‚¬â„¢s with flying monkeys in space suits or whatever.

-Try having some good music on when playing. It can give you a good kick. I recommend the War of the Worlds (the strategy game, yes it exists) Ã¢â‚¬ËœÃ¢â‚¬â„¢Eve of the WarÃ¢â‚¬â„¢Ã¢â‚¬â„¢ Another great choice is, of course, [http://www.fileuniverse.com/?page=listing&ID=54 the original TA music]!
You can choose whatever music you like, though.

-Need more strategy and tips? Since Spring is a remake of TA, any TA strategy guide works...

-LAST BUT NOT LEAST: '''DonÃ¢â‚¬â„¢t get too serious. ItÃ¢â‚¬â„¢s only a game.'''

This guide was written by Kixxe aka Johan Wittrock before everyone edited (and improved!) it mercilessly.

Back to [[Strategy_and_Tactics]]

[[Category:Strategy]]

Spring guide

2006-03-17T03:30:57Z

DarkOppressor:

'''

Ã¢â‚¬ËœÃ¢â‚¬â„¢Keep in mind that Spring is still in beta, therefore crashes can occur (a lot) and we (well, not me!) havenÃ¢â‚¬â„¢t got everything fixed yet.Ã¢â‚¬â„¢Ã¢â‚¬â„¢

Before we start, letÃ¢â‚¬â„¢s have some background info.

== TA: so what's so cool about this game ? ==
[warning, boring info that doesnÃ¢â‚¬â„¢t really mean anything]

TA (Total Annihilation) was created by Cavedog (R.I.P) in 1997, about half a year before(!!!) Starcraft was released. It was revolutionary in many ways, with 3D graphics (but a fixed camera), good animations (aircraft barrel rolled and leaned when they turned etc.), 3D terrain and many units (150 in the original game.) But in my not so humble opinion, the 3 greatest things that set TA apart were...

* Its physics! Every shot trajectory was calculated! An artillery shell could try to get over a hill and hit an aircraft, which exploded into bits, damaging other troops nearby, which could also explode and set forests on fire. Yeah, might not sound that big after 7 years, but back then we had Starcraft, which defied at least a half dozen laws of physics.

(Example of the tentacle through space. Yeah, really realistic)
[http://fast.filespace.org/Kixxe/WTF.png Click here]

* The order system! You could have 300 units waiting to be built, and when they were done, they could go and patrol an area and attack anyone in it. Order queues were limitless. You could build your whole base and drink tea while it was getting built. Construction units on patrol would repair damaged units, help build things and reclaim stuff (sucking it in and transforming it into resources.)

* The resource system! Contrary to other RTS games, the resources in TA are infinite. What limits resource consumption is the rate at which they can be gathered. This sole fact would make for longer and more epic games, with hundreds or thousands of units fighting in the endgame.

Pretty cool game. If you want, check out their old website for more info. [http://www.fileuniverse.com/Total_Annihilation_Mirror/totala/index.html Click here]

[/warning, boring info that doesnÃ¢â‚¬â„¢t really mean anything]

Anyway, enough of my rambling, onto Spring!

Now, as I told you, Spring was inspired by TA and has the same features TA had. Plus a few new thingsÃ¢â‚¬Â¦ check out the Spring features page for more info.
[http://taspring.clan-sy.com/wiki/Features Click here]

----

==Resources==

There are two types of resources in Spring, namely ''metal'' and ''energy''. Each of these two resources can be collected in a number of different ways. The amount of each resource that you currently have stockpiled is represented by a coloured bar, one for each resource, along the upper edge of the screen. The rate at which you are presently collecting and consuming each of the two types is represented by a number and a + or - sign. If you are collecting at a faster rate then the rate at which you are consuming you will see your coloured bar grow as resources accumulate. Your stockpiled resources are being depleted whenever the coloured bar is shrinking. There are storage buildings which you can build for each type of resource and these will increase the amount of each which can be stored. Units and structures cost both metal and energy to build, while some units or structures also require energy to walk, shoot or operate in general.

Metal is collected continuously from either a metal extractor, often called Ã¢â‚¬ËœmexesÃ¢â‚¬â„¢ which extract from certain areas of the map, or by using a metal maker, abbreviated as Ã¢â‚¬ËœMMÃ¢â‚¬â„¢ which convert energy into metal. Both will only operate so long as there is sufficient energy to power them. However, metal makers require a lot of energy.
A faster way to gather metal is by using either your commander or a construction bot to 'reclaim' it from the remains of destroyed units and buildings! They can even reclaim buildings which have not been destroyed and they don't have to belong to your enemy to be reclaimed.

Energy can be produced by a number of different buildings or it can be reclaimed (you can reclaim trees to gather energy). There are many different types of energy producers, including solar collectors and power plants, but they will be covered in another section.

In a game, always Ã¢â‚¬Å“keep an eye on your metal and energy barÃ¢â‚¬Å“ because if one of them goes to zero, particularly energy, your building rate will stall,(metal makers and extractors will stop producing) and some units will be unable to fire their energy weapons (eg. LRPCs, Annihilators, Doomsday Machines).

----

==A Normal Spring Game==

Anyway, now you will learn the basics of a normal Spring game, as I see it.
Every Spring game starts with all players only havingÃ¢â‚¬Â¦

'''The COMMANDER'''! (Insert DUN DUN DUUUUUNN)

The Commander is the unit you start with and the most important one in the game. He is unique and cannot be rebuilt. In fact, there is a mode where the game ends when the commander dies, so never leave him alone.

The fastest builder, he can walk and build underwater, he makes a nuke-sized explosion when he dies, he has a laser and the privilege of a Disintegrator Gun (alias D-Gun).
The D-Gun is the single most powerful weapon in the whole game, which kills ANY (ANY, I mean it!) unit in one hit (friend or foe no difference, be careful!). Even if that sounds a like a little overkill, keep in mind that the Commander has a very limited range, is defenceless against any aircraft and long range artillery, and when submerged, he cannot shoot. (Subs! Onoz!)

The Commander is used for setting up a base, and early base defences. The D-Gun should protect him against any level 1 unit that tries to kill him, so if you lose your Commander in the beginning of the gameÃ¢â‚¬Â¦ then you're dead. You lose your best (only?) builder and attacker, plus you have a nuke-sized explosion that may destroy half or all of your base.

AnywayÃ¢â‚¬Â¦ if you're seeing everything in a top down perspective, click the Commander (type Ctrl+C if you can't find him) with left mouse button to select him.

(If you have a crosshair as a mouse, press j. If your camera is zoomed out or all jerky, press ctrl+j until you find the OTA(Original Total Annihilation) camera.)

Okay, letÃ¢â‚¬â„¢s now discuss '''how to build stuff'''.

Like any normal RTS, itÃ¢â‚¬â„¢s choose a unit and click a location, but there is more with Spring. Hold shift and click on different locations to make the unit build the same building there. Hold shift and drag and you will make a line of the building. Hold ctrl and shift to make boxes/rectangular shapes of buildings. Use these! Make a line of DT (Dragon Teeth, small piece of wall/cover) instead of clicking each and every one. The controls are there to help you.
This is called queuing up stuff. You can use almost every single command in a queue. Buildings can be queued to build lots of different units, and then the other orders in the behaviour of the unit. You can make them walk to something, or guard/follow a unit by pressing G and selecting the unit to guard. Try it.
Selecting a unit and pressing shift key will show the orders queue.

Build 2 solar generators, or 4 wind generators to gather energy. Keep in mind that wind is pretty unstable, and that a number of maps (like lunar ones) have no wind at all! (The level of wind and tides in the map is indicated in the Map Selector in the Lobby).

Now select the Metal extractors and the whole screen turns black and green. Okay, place one on the green stuff. (The greener, the better! Like broccoli!)

Oh, and the minimap controls in spring are reversed. Meaning that you have to right-click to move the screen to the location. Once the new GUI is out and offical, this will be fixed.

----

==The TA Bestiary==

Okay, time to describe the cool units that are at your disposal to make your enemies bleed. 8)

(Disclaimer : This will discuss the types of units, not every unit. Therefore, if I say that vehicles have large armour, I donÃ¢â‚¬â„¢t mean artillery of course.)

On to the first level 1 lab/plant to build. The categories areÃ¢â‚¬Â¦

===Vehicles===

These babies are all about armour. The level 1 units are pretty basic, with more armour and (build) speed and than their K-bot counterparts. Level 2 vehicles show even more of the same pattern: better armour than their K-bot counterparts. Level 2 also offers the mobile Flak unit, which is the only real level 2 mobile AA.
Their weakness is that they are clumsy, turn slowly, and most of them canÃ¢â‚¬â„¢t climb mountainsÃ¢â‚¬Â¦ at all. Leads to trouble when an explosion makes a crater; units survive but can get stuck in the crater. Or just when they are trying to get up a steep hill. But sooner or later, you'll learn what kind of destruction a rush of 30 Goliaths can do!

===K-Bots===

K-bots generally have less powerful weapons than tanks, and are also less heavily armoured.
So why build them in the first place?
Because they are cheaper! And since they are cheaper, you can build more and outnumber your enemies. This doesnÃ¢â‚¬â„¢t work out that good in game though, since tanks ARE stronger. K-bots are also smaller, and will slip through DT and such alike easier than tanks.
And finally, the third advantage (which IMO is the biggest) of K-bots are that they can climb most mountains with ease! Climb by defences, up on mountains, through holes, these are all-purpose units.

===Aircraft===

Planes are planes. In Spring, thereÃ¢â‚¬â„¢s a plane for every role. Bombers, fighters, gunships, flying radar, transports, stealth fighters and torpedo bombers. Planes are fast, and are not affected by terrain. There is no wall or relief that can stop a plane. You can just swoop into a base and take out AA with your gunship, and then bomb the crap out of their important structures. To stop them, you've got to rely on Anti Air (AA) units.

On the downside, planes are quite expensive to build and are relatively fragile. They are also the only units that have an anti unit against them (Except subs). When someone finds out you're building a large air fleet, they just cram their base full of AA and their army with mobile AA. And the only counter is more planes than their AA can handle, or a ground troop to take the AA down. A combined ground and air attack can be very destructive. Good luck!

===Ships===

Ships are good on a map with water. (DUH!) Ships come in many different kinds, but mostly for taking out other ships or bombing the crap out of land units in some way or another. The ships' strength is their powerful weaponry and their long range. All ships made to take out land have long range. Ships also have lots of armour. Another thing thatÃ¢â‚¬â„¢s good about ships is that there is not much you can do to stop them because they are usually out of range. Once you see that the enemy has ships, either build a dock and a navy real fast or build planes and pray that he doesnÃ¢â‚¬â„¢t have too many AA ships.
Their weaknesses are slowness (especially when turning), they can be taken out by submarines, and of course they are confined to water, meaning that they are often stuck with units just outside of their reach.

And they are *extremely* expensive, metal-wise.

===Hovercraft===

(These are counted as level 2 units, so I would not recommend them as the first to build unless itÃ¢â‚¬â„¢s the perfect map for them)

Hovercrafts are a tank and a plane (some say ship, but I find planes to be more accurate for some reason O.o) mixed. Sure itÃ¢â‚¬â„¢s weaker than your average tank, and slower than your average plane. Whats their use? They are meant for swampy maps that means that both tanks and ships are a weakness, and offcourse since none can't be used, everyone just spams out AA since they think aircrafts are the only way. Great suprise for the enemy when 50 hovercrafts comes in agsint their flakkers and MT...
Long story short, Hovercrafts are good for those who like (or must) attack from the ground, but canÃ¢â‚¬â„¢t since there is too much water.

Their weakness is their low climbing ability, and that they're weaker than a tank and slower than a plane. (DonÃ¢â‚¬â„¢t build them on a land map, tanks ARE better.)

===Towers and Turrets===

Like TA, Spring boasts an impressive range of plasma and laser towers, cannons and turrets. These cannons will undoubtly be essential parts of your offensive as well as defensive strategies.

'''Light laser tower (LLT)'''
A cheap and fast laser that hits almost every time. Mostly useful against level 1 units, but can be used in groups against level 2. They suffer from short range, so most long range weapons can kill them(Samsons, for example). Since they fire faster than their bigger brothers, LLTs are more useful against hordes of small weak units than a single strong one.

'''Heavy laser tower (HLT)'''
This is the only tower that works on those pesky level 2 units that just wonÃ¢â‚¬â„¢t die. These shoot slower, but with much more power than the LLT. They also have a longer range and can be quite effective against air attacks. They cost a fair amount and take a long time to build, but they are often worth it.

'''Missile Tower (MT)'''
The missile tower is good for planes or weak level 1 units. They shoot a weak rocket that almost hits their target every time. They have a fair range, but very low hp. They work on most level 2 planes as well, but should be backed up with Flack cannons.

'''Pop-up Cannons'''
Pop-up cannons are pretty cheap middle range gun. A guardian can outshoot them, but they are still a choice to use. When Ã¢â‚¬ËœÃ¢â‚¬â„¢offÃ¢â‚¬â„¢Ã¢â‚¬â„¢ they take 50% less damage! I heard that a closed popup can withstand a nuke! (If itÃ¢â‚¬â„¢s not a direct hit) In XTA you can build them with level 1 construction K-bot or whatever. Sometimes individual wars between 2 or 4 pop-ups break out, where both sides try to kill the other's ones. Just remember to repair them, as with all PCÃ¢â‚¬Â¦

'''Middle range Plasma Cannons (MRPC)'''
Guardians and such alike. These arenÃ¢â‚¬â„¢t for attacking, but they have a pretty long range, and are not too expensive. Plus their targeting is pretty fast, meaning they are practically made for defence and very lethal. Perfect to have on a hill close to a HLT and some MTÃ¢â‚¬Â¦

'''Long Range Plasma Cannons (LRPC)'''
We are talking Big berthas, Intimidators and such alike. These babies got the RANGE and may be the ultimate weapon on small maps. The Big Bertha, yeah. An amazing unit. Not the ultimate, but several times cheaper and more accurate than a Buzz Saw/Vulcan, and its accuracy will improve with every kill. Not good at defending, since its slow targeting makes it impossible to hit moving targets. Try to build one on a small maps, or just build one close to the enemy and your Bertha will start pounding his base mercilessly. In fact, build several, with a lot of AA around 'em (and ground, if thatÃ¢â‚¬â„¢s possible) and you'll see your enemy's morale quickly fall to the ground. A LRPC expansion can sometimes become the winning factor of a game.

'''Very long range plasma Cannons (VLRC)'''
Buzzsaws are big, cost much, are huge energy suckers, are VERY inaccurate and are pretty slow on targeting. BUT, they have the DOUBLE range of a normal LRPC and shoot 4(!!!) shots at a time. This is the one thing to finish those ÃƒÂ¼ber porckers.
Defend these well, with lots of AA around and in a wide circle. They only have about 5000 hp, so killing'em is easy if you donÃ¢â‚¬â„¢t have AAÃ¢â‚¬Â¦
In OTA however Vulcans/Buzzsaws have SLIGHTLY LESS range than LRPCs, so LRPCs are generally better because they are so cheaper and each are a seperate entity with a fair bit of life(around 2500 i think).

The obvious way to kill LRC is to use planes, since they are fast enough to enter and kill it all.

===The first steps===

Now comes the tricky part. The first minute is always the same really, so what after that?
Well, itÃ¢â‚¬â„¢s hard to judge. But here are some paths that can be taken.

1. Build many construction units and send them out to build mexxes and Geothermal Power Plants. Then a defence and maybe some DT.

2. Build some construction units, and then start building defences. Follow the Ã¢â‚¬ËœÃ¢â‚¬â„¢line defenceÃ¢â‚¬â„¢Ã¢â‚¬â„¢ guide lines.
Build Fusion Power Plants and Metal makers, and then an army. After that, use the army how armies are used best.
This strategy is called PORCING, and is considered by many as BAD.
There are disadvantages with this. You canÃ¢â‚¬â„¢t use many metal extractors or Geos, so you have slim to no resources to build your base. A popular strategy is to kill the anti-nuke, and then blow the whole compact base to bits.

3. Build a small army of 3-6 units and attack the enemy. The goal isnÃ¢â‚¬â„¢t to kill him, but to do as much damage as possible to his resources and hinder his economy. Mexxes are the most important, and then look for wind or solar generators.
Try to keep on attacking him, but remember to still tech up and build defences.

Anyway, use your construction units to build defences of SOME kind. Take advantage of Geothermal gases. Yeah the smoking stuff. You can place Geo plants there for good, cheap and space saving energy. If youÃ¢â‚¬â„¢re expanding, use every Mex' positions, and try to find a place to settle your defence line.

When you can defend yourself from most level 1 units, start on your level 2 building.

When itÃ¢â‚¬â„¢s done, ALWAYS build a construction unit first. Use it for your first mini Fusion. (Or build some mobile fusion at the vehicle plant if you're Arm)
Build level 2 units in the meantime.
Low on metal? Upgrade the finest of your Mexxes to Moho Mexxes. They are bigger and better (but they suck up energy).
You can also build a Moho Metal maker if you have enough energy to support it. (MMM :p)
Okay, if you made this far, you must really start thinking about how to defeat the enemy. Look for his weak spot. Maybe a K-bot assault from the mountains ? Maybe planes. Maybe using amphibious units. That part is for you to figure out.

----

==STRATEGY==

I read through this guide, and suddenly realizedÃ¢â‚¬Â¦

''where is the strategy?''

So I fiddled this section up. Hope you'll learn something from it and thereby increase your Spring gaming experience.

===Defence===

AhÃ¢â‚¬Â¦ the overall defence. There are many different ways to make a good defence, but here are 4 oft seen approaches.

''Compact defence!''

The most common type of defence is a single line of defence, often with Dragon Teeth (DT) in front. Inside your base is some AA, and thatÃ¢â‚¬â„¢s about it. The good thing about this is that itÃ¢â‚¬â„¢s pretty easy and fast to set up, and you know where your territory ends, which can make the game much easier. Problem is, if something makes it past the line of defence, then youÃ¢â‚¬â„¢re screwed, unless youÃ¢â‚¬â„¢re building line after line of defence, or have some units to stop 'em.

''Spread out defence!''

I saw a guy pull this off one time, and he won by a large margin. The trick with this is to never really have a defined line of defence, just a Heavy Laser Tower (HLT) here, a radar there, some DT there, a mine here and thereÃ¢â‚¬Â¦
Basically, you expand every time you build a defence building, so in the end you have ENORMOUS space to move in. Since the defence is spread out, no one is gonna rush past it with some goliaths. You can have some units hide behind mountains and attack. He used Merls who he trapped in fortification walls. I tried to run past the defence with an army of 30 Bulldogs. His HLT and missile/plasma batteries stopped me before I even reached his final defence line.
Even though this defence is the best of 'em all, itÃ¢â‚¬â„¢s hard to build up, and requires lots of resources and time. IF youÃ¢â‚¬â„¢re able to pull it off, the only problem may be if they are fast enough to run by all of it, or if you donÃ¢â‚¬â„¢t have much AA and 30 Brawlers are comingÃ¢â‚¬Â¦

''No defenceÃ¢â‚¬Â¦ at all?''

Yes, this is an option. Okay, you may want some mines here and there, and some DT to stop them from running right through the door and AA in your base if they're building planes. But how do you defend with no defence?
With units; the whole concept is that you put all your effort into making units. This works pretty well, since when you see where the enemy is going to attack, you can MOVE your whole defence to that location.
The problem with this defence is that when you are attacking, you lose most of your defence. Sure, you can leave units behind, but I find it hard mentally to leave half the army at home when I am attacking.
If you manage to pull this off, and make enough units to both attack and defend, then you have not wasted any money on defence, and you have a strong army!

''The All Out Defence''

''-- addendum by Cain''

The opposite of the "no defence" strategy, mixed with the "spread out defence" strategy: the main concept is to invest resources in lots of level 1 build planes, and use them to quickly gather huge amounts of territory and resources, while keeping a lot of planes building/repairing turrets all over the map. This could be very effective on maps with few choke points where your defence can be concentrated in a small area, or mostly flat maps where the overlapping range of defensive structures will create a large grid of protected territory. The concept is to expand the defence line until you can shoot straight into the enemy base. When using this strategy, it is wise to have a lot of level 2 aircraft defending the construction point, as you will need to constantly move your mobile defences around the map, protecting under-contruction defensive areas. I usually end up with a hundred builder planes and 20 to 50 Brawlers floating around... keep them away from Kroghot!

These are the defensive strategies I have found effective.

Also, one thing to remember is to eliminate the largest threat first. If youÃ¢â‚¬â„¢re relying on DT, take out the FARK or construction planes first.

Okay, you've built a good defence.
The next thing you should do is attempt to get into the mindset of your enemy. Put yourself in his shoes, and determine how he would most likely proceed given your defensive strategy. Would he attempt a gunship raid, or launch an attack from a defenceless mountain position? Once you know what his most likely plan of attack will be, rethink your defences with this in mind. If there is an area that is defenceless under your current strategy, and you believe it is a prime spot for your enemy to attack, set up some sort of defence there as well.

===Moving===
Moving or attacking is pretty easy right? Just move from point a to point b and attack cÃ¢â‚¬Â¦
Nope.
First, you have to have your units move TOGETHER. . If some are trailing behind, then you just have to wait a little for them. A way of having your units stick together is to take a pretty slow unit, like a Can, and have others guard it.
Pressing control while moving units will make them keep their position in the formation, but not their speed. (they will spread out along the way, but ''try'' to get back into the position they were in when reaching the destination)
The ''Simple formation'' is also a way of doing this, and the units will automatically form a couple of lines, often with the right units first, too!
Transports are useful for moving units, but use the air transports (Valkyrie /Atlas) intelligently and protect them. The other transportation units are harder to use, since they take more time to load/unload.

===Attacking===

When attacking, remember what each unit's role is in the fight. Farks are used to repair important units that have been damaged. Bulldogs are meant to take damage and give damage back. Merls are used to shoot missiles from a distance, and donÃ¢â‚¬â„¢t require a clear LOS (line of sight). The question is what to repair. Merls die quickly, so one shot = dead. Knowing this, your first instinct might be to repair a Bulldog instead. Bulldogs are often the first thing that the enemy targets, and thus their HP often drops too rapidly to repair. Therefore, it is often wise to repair the middle-range units; not the giant HP monsters, not the units with a weak defence and strong/useful attack, but the average units that have acceptable HP and are not an enemy's first choice when selecting targets. One exception to this is mobile artillery. While it only has enough HP to survive one or two attacks, its attacks are well worth it, and the enemy still may not target them first, giving them a chance to deal massive damage.

===Army vs Army===

Many units attacking one unit is the best thing you can do, as when you kill one of their units, they lose one source of firepower. Focusing your fire is very important. Using focus fire in a group of weak units is very effective. Focus fire is, however, less effective on HP powerhouses.
When youÃ¢â‚¬â„¢re facing an army, always try to attack from behind or the side. Keep your units a little spread out when attacking. Not to far, but just so that area of effect weapons donÃ¢â‚¬â„¢t do as much damage. Have your HP powerhouses at the front, or at the front and sides. Keep em pretty close together but not side by side. Having your units spread out in this manner allows the units in the back to attack, and prevents splash damage units such as Zippers and Pyros from damaging many of your units at once.

This is the normal way of attacking an enemy army. There is the classical pincher movement tooÃ¢â‚¬Â¦
In this, you run one third of your HP powerhouses to the left, one third to the right and have the last third stay where they are.
This gives you 3 advantages:
*it's easier to get past the units and attack their weak units, or just run past them into the base
*you do more damage, since their units will have to change their target all the time and can't escape
*it makes it MUCH harder for the enemy to run away or try to get past you.

===Army vs Base===

Okay, you may have made it past the ground troops, but the fight is not over (unless your enemy used up his units to defend.) Now you must face his base defence, and act depending on the type of defence he hasÃ¢â‚¬Â¦

''Line defence''

Gather your army and set up for battle a bit away from his base, and get ready to move in. Have the FARKS guard your main HP powerhouses, so they are in the front but can still hide behind em. Everything else behind that. When attacking, have several units attacking the HLT and plasma batteries, and use the FARKS to reclaim his Dragon Teeth. When you have a hole in the DT wall, just run into the heart of the base like a maniac. Split your tanks into 2 groups, 1 guarding your long range/high damage units and the other going into the heart of the base. Find the Fusion reactors with your second group of tanks, and try to move the other big group to a place that is easy to defend while hitting the Fusions. Behind buildings is perfect! Kill as much as you can, or kill everything ^^
If there are several lines of defence, make a hole in each DT wall and repeat the same tactics.

''Spread out defence''

ArghÃ¢â‚¬Â¦ The tough one. While the individual towers are easy to beat, you canÃ¢â‚¬â„¢t run past his defences unless you enjoy suicide. (and if you do, ctrl+a and then ctrl+d will do the trick. A slice of the wrist works well, too.)
Use your army to begin killing the defence step by step, structure by structure. Keep building units, and moving them into the fray (you can use air transports with the repeat command and make them drop the units a little ways from the fight). Once you start getting close to his last line of defence, think of it as a line defence and act accordingly.

''Units defence''

Think army vs army. DonÃ¢â‚¬â„¢t rush past 'em with all your units. Your units will spread out and try to go through holes in the enemyÃ¢â‚¬â„¢s formation. In a word, they are dead meat. If you MUST get to the base, have half of the tanks go around the units.

===Naval Battles===

Naval battles are hard to predict if you donÃ¢â‚¬â„¢t play island maps a lot, since there are many factors to take into account. Since land units are removed, you have to think in a WHOLE new perspective. No land means that only Sea, Air and Hover units can fight (and LRC of course).
Anyway, try to have air units scouting land and sea, and determine how much AA the enemy has. Ships roam around assaulting other ships, with a mix of subs, sub killers, AA ships and normal ships. Hovercrafts are the unit to use when assaulting land thatÃ¢â‚¬â„¢s a little far from shore. Provide them with an escort consisting of planes and/or ships.

====Ships====
When using ships, have scout ships or planes scout the area in front, then send in subs and sub killers. Use long range ships at the sides to protect anything of value you might have with you (a sea transport or an aircraft carrier). When in battle, try to have the subs run away from sub killers, while your sub killers kill the enemy subs. Your subs should try to attack the most important ship in the area, and then just go crazy.
When facing land, youÃ¢â‚¬â„¢re pretty much in for an easy win. Just have your ships blow it all up. If you face LRC, take them out first. The rest of it is out of your hands.
Remember if your opponent has air superiority or LRPCs use subs as they can't hit them :)

====Hovercraft====
Use the Army vs Army or Army vs Base strategy here.

''-- addendum by Cain.''

Hovercraft are quite expensive compared to other land units, but are very useful in maps with a bit of water, able to target enemies without worrying about those pesky Goliaths... note that they're much cheaper than ships, anyway.

===Planes===
Hohoho, planes. Fun stuff to attack with. Anyway, most of the strategy involving planes is simple.
First, always attack the AA first, unless you are going to do a suicide mission. Kill the AA with gunships, and use bombers to kill structures. Many players use gunships only, which is a bad idea. Bombers take a little time to master but combined with gunships, they do a very good job. Scout early, so you can quickly see WHAT the enemy has and WHERE he has it. Use gunships to take out AA and act as overall decoys. Have Bombers fly in and bomb the crap out of his Fusion or whatever strategic point, and use the fighters to guard the bombers.
When facing units, do the same.
When facing sea, do the same thing, but add Torpedoes to bombers and gunships.

''-- addendum by Cain''

Know where the enemy commander is! In games where the commander's death is a winning condition, a lot of bombers could just converge on him, killing him on the first run.. especially the 2nd level bombers that have a nice turreted fast targeting laser! Also, gunships could create a diversion to keep the main enemy defences away from your main attack force, or you could use them to make the defences of distracted players shoot their own base...

===Using Terrain===

Using terrain wisely is very important. The issue of a game can depend on a good use of terrain.
First, Line of Sight (LOS) and RADAR. Both are blocked by terrain. So build your radars as high up as possible, otherwise you may not see anything. Use the relief to your advantage to hide an army or your important buildings from enemy radars.
Of course, one can also take advantage of altitude to increase fire range. A couple of Guardians on top of two high hills can easily devastate a small army.
Terrain also helps shield your units against attacks. Therefore, when youÃ¢â‚¬â„¢re building something high on top of a hill, try placing it a little behind the top. This is like crouching behind a crate where just your head and gun sticks up. But remember that terrain in Spring is deformable and can be leveled by impacts!
Know the climbing ability of your units. Hovercrafts and vehicles have pretty low climbing ability. But if a foe thinks he has sealed up all exits, your K-bots can still climb the mountains where he hasnÃ¢â‚¬â„¢t put any Dragon TeethÃ¢â‚¬Â¦
Another good thing about terrain is that it mentally makes you feel safe. If there is a water barrier between me and the enemy, with 3 land bridges here and there, I probably wonÃ¢â‚¬â„¢t have much ground defence at a location AWAY from the bridges. Presuming the map is pretty flat (like "Flooded Desert") a hovercraft assault would do A LOT of damage, right?

===Energy and all the problems with it===
(in XTA)
As I said before, most level 2 units require energy to move, shoot and operate in general, meaning that if you have no energy to support your army, you can't do anything! You can use this in your favor, by attacking your enemy's Fusions, or
by ''giving'' Metal makers to your enemy when you are attacking him(although Metal makers are now turned off when given to an enemy), or he is attacking you! Things that drain a lot of energy include LRPC, Goliaths, HLT, and most level 2 units.
(/in XTA)

===Paper-rock-scissors?===

Try to look at all units as individuals. Even if I didn't write much about every single unit, know your favorite ones and how to use them effectively in conjunction with the others. You'll find that some units are very complementary. The only real paper-rock relationships are AA and planes... Maybe subs vs sub killers...

I didn't even mention cloaking, radar jamming, troops behaviour facing attacks, mines, etc, etc. The possibilities are immense, but I don't want to spoil your pleasure any longer, so I'll let you discover them by yourself.

'''Have fun !!!'''

----

===Strategy Tips===

-Expand! Metal is scarce. The more you get, the more you can build. Even if you have a good base, making it bigger is not a bad thing.

-Scout! Knowledge is power. You must know what your enemy is planning, and what the enemy knows about you. (Or thinks he knows about youÃ¯Â¿Å ) Check what he has, and what he is building. If heÃ¢â‚¬â„¢s building aircrafts, do something about it. Look for weaknesses in defence and such. If you or your ally are scouting, donÃ¢â‚¬â„¢t look away. Gather as much information as possible.
ALL buildings once in sight range will remain visible as 'ghost' buildings if this option isn't turned off by the host.

-Radar = GOOD ^^ Radar checks areas for units, increases your units LOS and is, overall, quite helpful. A radar with your army makes a big difference when attacking. But so is Jamming. Jamming is good for sneak attacks. They are cheap, so just build one and make your units guard it.

-Work Together! Often I see allies who just mind their own business and donÃ¢â‚¬â„¢t care what the other person's doing. DONÃ¢â‚¬â„¢TÃ¢â‚¬Â¦ DOÃ¢â‚¬Â¦ THIS!!! Listen to each other, make up a plan. Prepare combined attacks. If there is a 2v2, then itÃ¢â‚¬â„¢s 2 allies vs 2 allies. Not a ffa with neutral partners. Type h to share units. Left click on your resource bars to auto share resources with allies.

-Power Plants. In order to level out the building costs, it is important to make a smooth transition from the least powerful generators to the most powerful ones in succession. First solar, then Geo, then mobile/mini Fusion then Fusion.

-Check your resource bar. Try to keep a fine line between having too many resources/wasting, and having a nanostall. Use your factories and such accordingly. If you have a lot of resources, try using your old level 1 factories to build some units. Also, try to find the time to build an energy/metal storage...

-Spread out your buildings/units. Since every unit explodes, they damage units close to them. This is especially important with Fusions... (I once saw someone put 13 mobile fusions close to each other... blew up half his base with 2 (!!!) LRPC shots...)

-Queue (yeah, easy word for it too :/) up orders! You can almost win the game by pausing, queuing up some stuff, and then go eat lunch. Not really, but holding shift is good whilst putting up buildings.

-Guard = following and protection. Use planes to guard your tanks, subs to guard your transports, construction units to automatically repair important units and so on. They will choose to attack whatever is hurting their guard object first. You can even do this to structures, for units who are built to move to a unitÃ¢â‚¬â„¢s position or AA to attack whatever is shooting on the Fusion reactors, etcÃ¢â‚¬Â¦
Overall, this makes working with several unit types easier.

-Reclaim stuff (sucking it in and transforming it into resources). When you're starting to run low on metal, reclaim the enemyÃ¢â‚¬â„¢s and your own corpses. Trees give energy, so if youÃ¢â‚¬â„¢re out of energy in the beginning... You can reclaim a whole area by shift-clicking.

-The key for porcers are to build LRPC. Or even better, build a nuke and use LOTS of planes to kill his anti-nuke. Then BOOM!
Also as you have way loads more metal and space to move in than your opponent, you can easily afford 2 nukes. An anti-nuke can't deal with 2 nukes heading towards it(and if you aim the nukes at the anti-nuke...^^!

-Experiment! I suggest you go into single player and try every unit. Use commanders for arm, and small battle (watch that Krogoth!) for core. Try every approach to a problem. Remember, just because a unit is good, itÃ¢â‚¬â„¢s not invincible. Also, try how much metal and energy a building uses while in operation. For instance, a level 1 factory uses about 50 energy and 5 metal. This varies depending on what you build. This could help you prevent nanostalling.

-Several types of factories. Yeah, even if it costs money. An advanced building costs as much as a Bulldog or 2... You've got the time, and the money. Build it.

-Raid. Take the Weasel or a couple of Peewees on a cruise right by the enemyÃ¢â‚¬â„¢s mexxes. Having trouble finding them? Type F4 to see where the ground is drained ^^ [Edit] This doesn't apply anymore, but you can still see where a mex is by trying to build one of your own there. If you can't, there's already one on the spot... A tip is to stay away from the Commander, or use buildings as hostages. Hide behind stuff and kill it off, then move on. If you're sure you're going to die, move close to a building and self-destruct.

-Just because Peewees are better then AKÃ¢â‚¬â„¢s doesnÃ¢â‚¬â„¢t meant that AKÃ¢â‚¬â„¢s are useless. (And so onÃ¢â‚¬Â¦). In fact, no unit is useless. If you believe it is, try it once. On what it was meant to do.

-Mix armies. Oh boy, if you havenÃ¢â‚¬â„¢t heard this one a thousand times before, you've only been playing Half-Life for the last 7 years or something. Even if Goliaths rule, a couple of missile units will make them much more effective.

-FARKs are useful in combat. Always have 1-3 with you. Reclaiming DT, or doing what they were meant to do: Repair -.-* (also, when I say FARKs somewhere in the guide, construction units work too...)

-Ask questions. No one is going to laugh at you. And if someone does, heÃ¢â‚¬â„¢s an ass and should be paid no mind. No question is too stupid. Just donÃ¢â‚¬â„¢t expect anyone in the heat of a battle to answer to Ã¢â‚¬ËœÃ¢â‚¬â„¢how do I play?Ã¢â‚¬â„¢Ã¢â‚¬â„¢.

-Learn! If you lost, use the replay to watch the game and try to understand why you died. What did the enemy do better than you? What was their key to winning? And so on.

-The Readme file has some cool keyboard shortcuts... check it out.

-Develop! Are you a programmer, a 3D design artist or just some regular Joe? Come to the forum for a talk, chatter, and make wacky suggestions! In the end you may contribute to making Spring better! Remember, Spring is open source. So just dive into there and replace AKÃ¢â‚¬â„¢s with flying monkeys in space suits or whatever.

-Try having some good music on when playing. It can give you a good kick. I recommend the WAR OF THE WORLD (the strategy game, yes it exists) Ã¢â‚¬ËœÃ¢â‚¬â„¢eve of the warÃ¢â‚¬â„¢Ã¢â‚¬â„¢ [http://www.fileuniverse.com/?page=listing&ID=54 the original TA music]
Or anything you like.

-Need more strategy and tips? Since Spring is a remake of TA, any TA strategy guide works...

-LAST BUT NOT LEAST: '''DonÃ¢â‚¬â„¢t get too serious. ItÃ¢â‚¬â„¢s only a game.'''

This guide was written by Kixxe aka Johan Wittrock before everyone edited (and improved!) it mercilessly.

Back to [[Strategy_and_Tactics]]

[[Category:Strategy]]

Getting Started

2006-03-14T08:55:11Z

DarkOppressor: /* STEP 5: Hosting Online - TASClient.exe */

{{lang|Germany|Erste Schritte|Erste Schritte}}

Spring is a project that was started by the [[SY|Swedish Yankspankers]] that aims to create a fully customizable 3D real time strategy game Engine.

TA Spring is the current project focus, which is supposed to port the original Cavedog game "Total Annihilation" to the still developing Spring engine. It uses formats and gameplay elements from the original game and, at this point, can display most [[Mods]] and [[Units]] designed for the original game to different levels of playability.

The most important thing to note however is, '''YOU CAN ACTUALLY DOWNLOAD AND PLAY A WORKING VERSION OF THIS GAME RIGHT NOW AND PLAY ONLINE WITH OTHER PEOPLE'''.

=Getting To Your First Game=
===STEP 1: Is your computer ready?===
Thanks to the [[Linux|Linux Port]] efforts, Spring is now has Cross-platform support, and can be played on Windows or Linux. There are however Sync issues with Linux and Windows users playing together.
In theory, it might be compatible with Windows 9x or later , but since we're still beta, we'll call it "hit and miss".

You will need some kind of 3D hardware acceleration, it needs to have the latest OpenGL drivers (which means, providing the card is recent enough, the latest drivers from your cards manufacturer). You will also need [http://www.microsoft.com/windows/directx/default.aspx?url=/windows/directx/downloads/default.htm DirectX] installed.

===STEP 2: Download the Current Installer===

[http://taspring.clan-sy.com/download.php Click Here] to go to the downloads page. Download the '''Regular installer''' option. Run it and install it somewhere on your computer. In theory if, at this point, you read the stuff in the "docs" folder, then you will know what to do next.

===STEP 3 Make Sure the Game Works on Your Computer===

Browse to the installation folder and double-click "spring.exe". Choose "yes" on the "do you want to be a server" dialog, choose the "Commanders" script with the arrow keys and enter, choose a map with the arrow keys and enter, press enter to force start the game.

Don't bother going online until you figure out how to make your Commander build buildings and your buildings build units, and manage to find and kill the other Commander on the map and get the "You Win" message.

====Quick Start====
Shift-Middle Click to change views, middle click activates free-look, arrows keys, moving your cursor to the edge and the scroll wheel controls your camera. If you've ever played Total Annihilation before in it's default control mode, you will know what to do next. For a very thorough command and control list, visit the [[Using_Spring]] Page.

===STEP 4: Playing Online - TASClient.exe===

Playing is quite simple. Just make sure you are connected to the internet, then double-click on the tasclient icon (it may have been put on your desktop, but it will definitely be in your start menu). Once you are in the client app, you will need to use the options button at the top of the window to set up an account. From there, just click the little button in the upper left section of the screen to connect to the server. Assuming your firewalls aren't excessively paranoid, it will make a noise and you will be put into the main discussion channel. You can then choose a game from the bottom pane, or chat in the top one.

===STEP 5: Hosting Online - TASClient.exe===

In order to host a game, you must open the "Battle Window" by clicking on the "Battle Screen" button. Once there, you will need to click on the "Host battle" button. The bar at the top defines the ammount of players you can have (2-16), next is the game's name, followed by a dropdown box with a list of your currently installed mods, the port the server will host on, and if you wish to lock your server from outsiders- you can also add a password.

You've started your game, people joined, and you started it! Great! But, what if once you're ingame, everyone elses' name is stays red for several mins? That means they were unable to connect to your game. (oh noes) This normally means you have a firewall blocking access to your computer from the outside. Consult http://www.portforward.com/routers.htm if you need to know how to open ports on your router. Choose any game in the list, it doesn't matter, just be sure to use the port 8245, instead of what the game's listing says to use.

Holy! A 3d TA game! Don't just stand/sit there, get out and play it (reporting any bugs you encounter along the way). We need testers, and it can only make the game better.

Spring guide

2006-03-14T06:48:30Z

DarkOppressor: /* STRATEGY */

'''

Ã¢â‚¬ËœÃ¢â‚¬â„¢Keep in mind that Spring is still in beta, therefore crashes can occur (a lot) and we (well, not me!) havenÃ¢â‚¬â„¢t got everything fixed yet.Ã¢â‚¬â„¢Ã¢â‚¬â„¢

Before we start, letÃ¢â‚¬â„¢s have some background info.

== TA: so what's so cool about this game ? ==
[warning, boring info that doesnÃ¢â‚¬â„¢t really mean anything]

TA (Total Annihilation) was created by Cavedog (R.I.P) in 1997, about half a year before(!!!) Starcraft was released. It was revolutionary in many ways, with 3D graphics (but a fixed camera), good animations (aircraft barrel rolled and leaned when they turned etc.), 3D terrain and many units (150 in the original game.) But in my not so humble opinion, the 3 greatest things that set TA apart were...

* Its physics! Every shot trajectory was calculated! An artillery shell could try to get over a hill and hit an aircraft, which exploded into bits, damaging other troops nearby, which could also explode and set forests on fire. Yeah, might not sound that big after 7 years, but back then we had Starcraft, which defied at least a half dozen laws of physics.

(Example of the tentacle through space. Yeah, really realistic)
[http://fast.filespace.org/Kixxe/WTF.png Click here]

* The order system! You could have 300 units waiting to be built, and when they were done, they could go and patrol an area and attack anyone in it. Order queues were limitless. You could build your whole base and drink tea while it was getting built. Construction units on patrol would repair damaged units, help build things and reclaim stuff (sucking it in and transforming it into resources.)

* The resource system! Contrary to other RTS games, the resources in TA are infinite. What limits resource consumption is the rate at which they can be gathered. This sole fact would make for longer and more epic games, with hundreds or thousands of units fighting in the endgame.

Pretty cool game. If you want, check out their old website for more info. [http://www.fileuniverse.com/Total_Annihilation_Mirror/totala/index.html Click here]

[/warning, boring info that doesnÃ¢â‚¬â„¢t really mean anything]

Anyway, enough of my rambling, onto Spring!

Now, as I told you, Spring was inspired by TA and has the same features TA had. Plus a few new thingsÃ¢â‚¬Â¦ check out the Spring features page for more info.
[http://taspring.clan-sy.com/wiki/Features Click here]

----

==Resources==

There are two types of resources in Spring, namely ''metal'' and ''energy''. Each of these two resources can be collected in a number of different ways. The amount of each resource that you currently have stockpiled is represented by a coloured bar, one for each resource, along the upper edge of the screen. The rate at which you are presently collecting and consuming each of the two types is represented by a number and a + or - sign. If you are collecting at a faster rate then the rate at which you are consuming you will see your coloured bar grow as resources accumulate. Your stockpiled resources are being depleted whenever the coloured bar is shrinking. There are storage buildings which you can build for each type of resource and these will increase the amount of each which can be stored. Units and structures cost both metal and energy to build, while some units or structures also require energy to walk, shoot or operate in general.

Metal is collected continuously from either a metal extractor, often called Ã¢â‚¬ËœmexesÃ¢â‚¬â„¢ which extract from certain areas of the map, or by using a metal maker, abbreviated as Ã¢â‚¬ËœMMÃ¢â‚¬â„¢ which convert energy into metal. Both will only operate so long as there is sufficient energy to power them. However, metal makers require a lot of energy.
A faster way to gather metal is by using either your commander or a construction bot to 'reclaim' it from the remains of destroyed units and buildings! They can even reclaim buildings which have not been destroyed and they don't have to belong to your enemy to be reclaimed.

Energy can be produced by a number of different buildings or it can be reclaimed (you can reclaim trees to gather energy). There are many different types of energy producers, including solar collectors and power plants, but they will be covered in another section.

In a game, always Ã¢â‚¬Å“keep an eye on your metal and energy barÃ¢â‚¬Å“ because if one of them goes to zero, particularly energy, your building rate will stall,(metal makers and extractors will stop producing) and some units will be unable to fire their energy weapons (eg. LRPCs, Annihilators, Doomsday Machines).

----

==A Normal Spring Game==

Anyway, now you will learn the basics of a normal Spring game, as I see it.
Every Spring game starts with all players only havingÃ¢â‚¬Â¦

'''The COMMANDER'''! (Insert DUN DUN DUUUUUNN)

The Commander is the unit you start with and the most important one in the game. He is unique and cannot be rebuilt. In fact, there is a mode where the game ends when the commander dies, so never leave him alone.

The fastest builder, he can walk and build underwater, he makes a nuke-sized explosion when he dies, he has a laser and the privilege of a Disintegrator Gun (alias D-Gun).
The D-Gun is the single most powerful weapon in the whole game, which kills ANY (ANY, I mean it!) unit in one hit (friend or foe no difference, be careful!). Even if that sounds a like a little overkill, keep in mind that the Commander has a very limited range, is defenceless against any aircraft and long range artillery, and when submerged, he cannot shoot. (Subs! Onoz!)

The Commander is used for setting up a base, and early base defences. The D-Gun should protect him against any level 1 unit that tries to kill him, so if you lose your Commander in the beginning of the gameÃ¢â‚¬Â¦ then you're dead. You lose your best (only?) builder and attacker, plus you have a nuke-sized explosion that may destroy half or all of your base.

AnywayÃ¢â‚¬Â¦ if you're seeing everything in a top down perspective, click the Commander (type Ctrl+C if you can't find him) with left mouse button to select him.

(If you have a crosshair as a mouse, press j. If your camera is zoomed out or all jerky, press ctrl+j until you find the OTA(Original Total Annihilation) camera.)

Okay, letÃ¢â‚¬â„¢s now discuss '''how to build stuff'''.

Like any normal RTS, itÃ¢â‚¬â„¢s choose a unit and click a location, but there is more with Spring. Hold shift and click on different locations to make the unit build the same building there. Hold shift and drag and you will make a line of the building. Hold ctrl and shift to make boxes/rectangular shapes of buildings. Use these! Make a line of DT (Dragon Teeth, small piece of wall/cover) instead of clicking each and every one. The controls are there to help you.
This is called queuing up stuff. You can use almost every single command in a queue. Buildings can be queued to build lots of different units, and then the other orders in the behaviour of the unit. You can make them walk to something, or guard/follow a unit by pressing G and selecting the unit to guard. Try it.
Selecting a unit and pressing shift key will show the orders queue.

Build 2 solar generators, or 4 wind generators to gather energy. Keep in mind that wind is pretty unstable, and that a number of maps (like lunar ones) have no wind at all! (The level of wind and tides in the map is indicated in the Map Selector in the Lobby).

Now select the Metal extractors and the whole screen turns black and green. Okay, place one on the green stuff. (The greener, the better! Like broccoli!)

Oh, and the minimap controls in spring are reversed. Meaning that you have to right-click to move the screen to the location. Once the new GUI is out and offical, this will be fixed.

----

==The TA Bestiary==

Okay, time to describe the cool units that are at your disposal to make your enemies bleed. 8)

(Disclaimer : This will discuss the types of units, not every unit. Therefore, if I say that vehicles have large armour, I donÃ¢â‚¬â„¢t mean artillery of course.)

On to the first level 1 lab/plant to build. The categories areÃ¢â‚¬Â¦

===Vehicles===

These babies are all about armour. The level 1 units are pretty basic, with more armour and (build) speed and than their K-bot counterparts. Level 2 vehicles show even more of the same pattern: better armour than their K-bot counterparts. Level 2 also offers the mobile Flak unit, which is the only real level 2 mobile AA.
Their weakness is that they are clumsy, turn slowly, and most of them canÃ¢â‚¬â„¢t climb mountainsÃ¢â‚¬Â¦ at all. Leads to trouble when an explosion makes a crater; units survive but can get stuck in the crater. Or just when they are trying to get up a steep hill. But sooner or later, you'll learn what kind of destruction a rush of 30 Goliaths can do!

===K-Bots===

K-bots generally have less powerful weapons than tanks, and are also less heavily armoured.
So why build them in the first place?
Because they are cheaper! And since they are cheaper, you can build more and outnumber your enemies. This doesnÃ¢â‚¬â„¢t work out that good in game though, since tanks ARE stronger. K-bots are also smaller, and will slip through DT and such alike easier than tanks.
And finally, the third advantage (which IMO is the biggest) of K-bots are that they can climb most mountains with ease! Climb by defences, up on mountains, through holes, these are all-purpose units.

===Aircraft===

Planes are planes. In Spring, thereÃ¢â‚¬â„¢s a plane for every role. Bombers, fighters, gunships, flying radar, transports, stealth fighters and torpedo bombers. Planes are fast, and are not affected by terrain. There is no wall or relief that can stop a plane. You can just swoop into a base and take out AA with your gunship, and then bomb the crap out of their important structures. To stop them, you've got to rely on Anti Air (AA) units.

On the downside, planes are quite expensive to build and are relatively fragile. They are also the only units that have an anti unit against them (Except subs). When someone finds out you're building a large air fleet, they just cram their base full of AA and their army with mobile AA. And the only counter is more planes than their AA can handle, or a ground troop to take the AA down. A combined ground and air attack can be very destructive. Good luck!

===Ships===

Ships are good on a map with water. (DUH!) Ships come in many different kinds, but mostly for taking out other ships or bombing the crap out of land units in some way or another. The ships' strength is their powerful weaponry and their long range. All ships made to take out land have long range. Ships also have lots of armour. Another thing thatÃ¢â‚¬â„¢s good about ships is that there is not much you can do to stop them because they are usually out of range. Once you see that the enemy has ships, either build a dock and a navy real fast or build planes and pray that he doesnÃ¢â‚¬â„¢t have too many AA ships.
Their weaknesses are slowness (especially when turning), they can be taken out by submarines, and of course they are confined to water, meaning that they are often stuck with units just outside of their reach.

And they are *extremely* expensive, metal-wise.

===Hovercraft===

(These are counted as level 2 units, so I would not recommend them as the first to build unless itÃ¢â‚¬â„¢s the perfect map for them)

Hovercrafts are a tank and a plane (some say ship, but I find planes to be more accurate for some reason O.o) mixed. Sure itÃ¢â‚¬â„¢s weaker than your average tank, and slower than your average plane. Whats their use? They are meant for swampy maps that means that both tanks and ships are a weakness, and offcourse since none can't be used, everyone just spams out AA since they think aircrafts are the only way. Great suprise for the enemy when 50 hovercrafts comes in agsint their flakkers and MT...
Long story short, Hovercrafts are good for those who like (or must) attack from the ground, but canÃ¢â‚¬â„¢t since there is too much water.

Their weakness is their low climbing ability, and that they're weaker than a tank and slower than a plane. (DonÃ¢â‚¬â„¢t build them on a land map, tanks ARE better.)

===Towers and Turrets===

Like TA, Spring boasts an impressive range of plasma and laser towers, cannons and turrets. These cannons will undoubtly be essential parts of your offensive as well as defensive strategies.

'''Light laser tower (LLT)'''
A cheap and fast laser that hits almost every time. Mostly useful against level 1 units, but can be used in groups against level 2. They suffer from short range, so most long range weapons can kill them(Samsons, for example). Since they fire faster than their bigger brothers, LLTs are more useful against hordes of small weak units than a single strong one.

'''Heavy laser tower (HLT)'''
This is the only tower that works on those pesky level 2 units that just wonÃ¢â‚¬â„¢t die. These shoot slower, but with much more power than the LLT. They also have a longer range and can be quite effective against air attacks. They cost a fair amount and take a long time to build, but they are often worth it.

'''Missile Tower (MT)'''
The missile tower is good for planes or weak level 1 units. They shoot a weak rocket that almost hits their target every time. They have a fair range, but very low hp. They work on most level 2 planes as well, but should be backed up with Flack cannons.

'''Pop-up Cannons'''
Pop-up cannons are pretty cheap middle range gun. A guardian can outshoot them, but they are still a choice to use. When Ã¢â‚¬ËœÃ¢â‚¬â„¢offÃ¢â‚¬â„¢Ã¢â‚¬â„¢ they take 50% less damage! I heard that a closed popup can withstand a nuke! (If itÃ¢â‚¬â„¢s not a direct hit) In XTA you can build them with level 1 construction K-bot or whatever. Sometimes individual wars between 2 or 4 pop-ups break out, where both sides try to kill the other's ones. Just remember to repair them, as with all PCÃ¢â‚¬Â¦

'''Middle range Plasma Cannons (MRPC)'''
Guardians and such alike. These arenÃ¢â‚¬â„¢t for attacking, but they have a pretty long range, and are not too expensive. Plus their targeting is pretty fast, meaning they are practically made for defence and very lethal. Perfect to have on a hill close to a HLT and some MTÃ¢â‚¬Â¦

'''Long Range Plasma Cannons (LRPC)'''
We are talking Big berthas, Intimidators and such alike. These babies got the RANGE and may be the ultimate weapon on small maps. The Big Bertha, yeah. An amazing unit. Not the ultimate, but several times cheaper and more accurate than a Buzz Saw/Vulcan, and its accuracy will improve with every kill. Not good at defending, since its slow targeting makes it impossible to hit moving targets. Try to build one on a small maps, or just build one close to the enemy and your Bertha will start pounding his base mercilessly. In fact, build several, with a lot of AA around 'em (and ground, if thatÃ¢â‚¬â„¢s possible) and you'll see your enemy's morale quickly fall to the ground. A LRPC expansion can sometimes become the winning factor of a game.

'''Very long range plasma Cannons (VLRC)'''
Buzzsaws are big, cost much, are huge energy suckers, are VERY inaccurate and are pretty slow on targeting. BUT, they have the DOUBLE range of a normal LRPC and shoot 4(!!!) shots at a time. This is the one thing to finish those ÃƒÂ¼ber porckers.
Defend these well, with lots of AA around and in a wide circle. They only have about 5000 hp, so killing'em is easy if you donÃ¢â‚¬â„¢t have AAÃ¢â‚¬Â¦
In OTA however Vulcans/Buzzsaws have SLIGHTLY LESS range than LRPCs, so LRPCs are generally better because they are so cheaper and each are a seperate entity with a fair bit of life(around 2500 i think).

The obvious way to kill LRC is to use planes, since they are fast enough to enter and kill it all.

===The first steps===

Now comes the tricky part. The first minute is always the same really, so what after that?
Well, itÃ¢â‚¬â„¢s hard to judge. But here are some paths that can be taken.

1. Build many construction units and send them out to build mexxes and Geothermal Power Plants. Then a defence and maybe some DT.

2. Build some construction units, and then start building defences. Follow the Ã¢â‚¬ËœÃ¢â‚¬â„¢line defenceÃ¢â‚¬â„¢Ã¢â‚¬â„¢ guide lines.
Build Fusion Power Plants and Metal makers, and then an army. After that, use the army how armies are used best.
This strategy is called PORCING, and is considered by many as BAD.
There are disadvantages with this. You canÃ¢â‚¬â„¢t use many metal extractors or Geos, so you have slim to no resources to build your base. A popular strategy is to kill the anti-nuke, and then blow the whole compact base to bits.

3. Build a small army of 3-6 units and attack the enemy. The goal isnÃ¢â‚¬â„¢t to kill him, but to do as much damage as possible to his resources and hinder his economy. Mexxes are the most important, and then look for wind or solar generators.
Try to keep on attacking him, but remember to still tech up and build defences.

Anyway, use your construction units to build defences of SOME kind. Take advantage of Geothermal gases. Yeah the smoking stuff. You can place Geo plants there for good, cheap and space saving energy. If youÃ¢â‚¬â„¢re expanding, use every Mex' positions, and try to find a place to settle your defence line.

When you can defend yourself from most level 1 units, start on your level 2 building.

When itÃ¢â‚¬â„¢s done, ALWAYS build a construction unit first. Use it for your first mini Fusion. (Or build some mobile fusion at the vehicle plant if you're Arm)
Build level 2 units in the meantime.
Low on metal? Upgrade the finest of your Mexxes to Moho Mexxes. They are bigger and better (but they suck up energy).
You can also build a Moho Metal maker if you have enough energy to support it. (MMM :p)
Okay, if you made this far, you must really start thinking about how to defeat the enemy. Look for his weak spot. Maybe a K-bot assault from the mountains ? Maybe planes. Maybe using amphibious units. That part is for you to figure out.

----

==STRATEGY==

I read through this guide, and suddenly realizedÃ¢â‚¬Â¦

''where is the strategy?''

So I fiddled this section up. Hope you'll learn something from it and thereby increase your Spring gaming experience.

===Defence===

AhÃ¢â‚¬Â¦ the overall defence. There are many different ways to make a good defence, but here are 4 oft seen approaches.

''Compact defence!''

The most common type of defence is a single line of defence, often with Dragon Teeth (DT) in front. Inside your base is some AA, and thatÃ¢â‚¬â„¢s about it. The good thing about this is that itÃ¢â‚¬â„¢s pretty easy and fast to set up, and you know where your territory ends, which can make the game much easier. Problem is, if something makes it past the line of defence, then youÃ¢â‚¬â„¢re screwed, unless youÃ¢â‚¬â„¢re building line after line of defence, or have some units to stop 'em.

''Spread out defence!''

I saw a guy pull this off one time, and he won by a large margin. The trick with this is to never really have a defined line of defence, just a Heavy Laser Tower (HLT) here, a radar there, some DT there, a mine here and thereÃ¢â‚¬Â¦
Basically, you expand every time you build a defence building, so in the end you have ENORMOUS space to move in. Since the defence is spread out, no one is gonna rush past it with some goliaths. You can have some units hide behind mountains and attack. He used Merls who he trapped in fortification walls. I tried to run past the defence with an army of 30 Bulldogs. His HLT and missile/plasma batteries stopped me before I even reached his final defence line.
Even though this defence is the best of 'em all, itÃ¢â‚¬â„¢s hard to build up, and requires lots of resources and time. IF youÃ¢â‚¬â„¢re able to pull it off, the only problem may be if they are fast enough to run by all of it, or if you donÃ¢â‚¬â„¢t have much AA and 30 Brawlers are comingÃ¢â‚¬Â¦

''No defenceÃ¢â‚¬Â¦ at all?''

Yes, this is an option. Okay, you may want some mines here and there, and some DT to stop them from running right through the door and AA in your base if they're building planes. But how do you defend with no defence?
With units; the whole concept is that you put all your effort into making units. This works pretty well, since when you see where the enemy is going to attack, you can MOVE your whole defence to that location.
The problem with this defence is that when you are attacking, you lose most of your defence. Sure, you can leave units behind, but I find it hard mentally to leave half the army at home when I am attacking.
If you manage to pull this off, and make enough units to both attack and defend, then you have not wasted any money on defence, and you have a strong army!

''The All Out Defence''

''-- addendum by Cain''

The opposite of the "no defence" strategy, mixed with the "spread out defence" strategy: the main concept is to invest resources in lots of level 1 build planes, and use them to quickly gather huge amounts of territory and resources, while keeping a lot of planes building/repairing turrets all over the map. This could be very effective on maps with few choke points where your defence can be concentrated in a small area, or mostly flat maps where the overlapping range of defensive structures will create a large grid of protected territory. The concept is to expand the defence line until you can shoot straight into the enemy base. When using this strategy, it is wise to have a lot of level 2 aircraft defending the construction point, as you will need to constantly move your mobile defences around the map, protecting under-contruction defensive areas. I usually end up with a hundred builder planes and 20 to 50 Brawlers floating around... keep them away from Kroghot!

These are the defensive strategies I have found effective.

Also, one thing to remember is to eliminate the largest threat first. If youÃ¢â‚¬â„¢re relying on DT, take out the FARK or construction planes first.

Okay, you've built a good defence.
The next thing you should do is attempt to get into the mindset of your enemy. Put yourself in his shoes, and determine how he would most likely proceed given your defensive strategy. Would he attempt a gunship raid, or launch an attack from a defenceless mountain position? Once you know what his most likely plan of attack will be, rethink your defences with this in mind. If there is an area that is defenceless under your current strategy, and you believe it is a prime spot for your enemy to attack, set up some sort of defence there as well.

===Moving===
Moving or attacking is pretty easy right? Just move from point a to point b and attack cÃ¢â‚¬Â¦
Nope.
First, you have to have your units move TOGETHER. . If some are trailing behind, then you just have to wait a little for them. A way of having your units stick together is to take a pretty slow unit, like a Can, and have others guard it.
Pressing control while moving units will make them keep their position in the formation, but not their speed. (they will spread out along the way, but ''try'' to get back into the position they were in when reaching the destination)
The ''Simple formation'' is also a way of doing this, and the units will automatically form a couple of lines, often with the right units first, too!
Transports are useful for moving units, but use the air transports (Valkyrie /Atlas) intelligently and protect them. The other transportation units are harder to use, since they take more time to load/unload.

===Attacking===

When attacking, remember what each unit's role is in the fight. Farks are used to repair important units that have been damaged. Bulldogs are meant to take damage and give damage back. Merls are used to shoot missiles from a distance, and donÃ¢â‚¬â„¢t require a clear LOS (line of sight). The question is what to repair. Merls die quickly, so one shot = dead. Knowing this, your first instinct might be to repair a Bulldog instead. Bulldogs are often the first thing that the enemy targets, and thus their HP often drops too rapidly to repair. Therefore, it is often wise to repair the middle-range units; not the giant HP monsters, not the units with a weak defence and strong/useful attack, but the average units that have acceptable HP and are not an enemy's first choice when selecting targets. One exception to this is mobile artillery. While it only has enough HP to survive one or two attacks, its attacks are well worth it, and the enemy still may not target them first, giving them a chance to deal massive damage.

===Army vs Army===

Many units attacking one unit is the best thing you can do, as when you kill one of their units, they lose one source of firepower. Focusing your fire is very important. Using focus fire in a group of weak units is very effective. Focus fire is, however, less effective on HP powerhouses.
When youÃ¢â‚¬â„¢re facing an army, always try to attack from behind or the side. Keep your units a little spread out when attacking. Not to far, but just so that area of effect weapons donÃ¢â‚¬â„¢t do as much damage. Have your HP powerhouses at the front, or at the front and sides. Keep em pretty close together but not side by side. Having your units spread out in this manner allows the units in the back to attack, and prevents splash damage units such as Zippers and Pyros from damaging many of your units at once.

This is the normal way of attacking an enemy army. There is the classical pincher movement tooÃ¢â‚¬Â¦
In this, you run one third of your HP powerhouses to the left, one third to the right and have the last third stay where they are.
This gives you 3 advantages:
*it's easier to get past the units and attack their weak units, or just run past them into the base
*you do more damage, since their units will have to change their target all the time and can't escape
*it makes it MUCH harder for the enemy to run away or try to get past you.

===Army vs Base===

Okay, you may have made it past the ground troops, but the fight is not over (unless your enemy used up his units to defend.) Now you must face his base defence, and act depending on the type of defence he hasÃ¢â‚¬Â¦

''Line defence''

Gather your army and set up for battle a bit away from his base, and get ready to move in. Have the FARKS guard your main HP powerhouses, so they are in the front but can still hide behind em. Everything else behind that. When attacking, have several units attacking the HLT and plasma batteries, and use the FARKS to reclaim his Dragon Teeth. When you have a hole in the DT wall, just run into the heart of the base like a maniac. Split your tanks into 2 groups, 1 guarding your long range/high damage units and the other going into the heart of the base. Find the Fusion reactors with your second group of tanks, and try to move the other big group to a place that is easy to defend while hitting the Fusions. Behind buildings is perfect! Kill as much as you can, or kill everything ^^
If there are several lines of defence, make a hole in each DT wall and repeat the same tactics.

''Spread out defence''

ArghÃ¢â‚¬Â¦ The tough one. While the individual towers are easy to beat, you canÃ¢â‚¬â„¢t run past his defences unless you enjoy suicide. (and if you do, ctrl+a and then ctrl+d will do the trick. A slice of the wrist works well, too.)
Use your army to begin killing the defence step by step, structure by structure. Keep building units, and moving them into the fray (you can use air transports with the repeat command and make them drop the units a little ways from the fight). Once you start getting close to his last line of defence, think of it as a line defence and act accordingly.

''Units defence''

Think army vs army. DonÃ¢â‚¬â„¢t rush past 'em with all your units. Your units will spread out and try to go through holes in the enemyÃ¢â‚¬â„¢s formation. In a word, they are dead meat. If you MUST get to the base, have half of the tanks go around the units.

===Naval Battles===

Naval battles are hard to predict if you donÃ¢â‚¬â„¢t play island maps a lot, since there are many factors to take into account. Since land units are removed, you have to think in a WHOLE new perspective. No land means that only Sea, Air and Hover units can fight (and LRC of course).
Anyway, try to have air units scouting land and sea, and determine how much AA the enemy has. Ships roam around assaulting other ships, with a mix of subs, sub killers, AA ships and normal ships. Hovercrafts are the unit to use when assaulting land thatÃ¢â‚¬â„¢s a little far from shore. Provide them with an escort consisting of planes and/or ships.

====Ships====
When using ships, have scout ships or planes scout the area in front, then send in subs and sub killers. Use long range ships at the sides to protect anything of value you might have with you (a sea transport or an aircraft carrier). When in battle, try to have the subs run away from sub killers, while your sub killers kill the enemy subs. Your subs should try to attack the most important ship in the area, and then just go crazy.
When facing land, youÃ¢â‚¬â„¢re pretty much in for an easy win. Just have your ships blow it all up. If you face LRC, take them out first. The rest of it is out of your hands.
Remember if your opponent has air superiority or LRPCs use subs as they can't hit them :)

====Hovercraft====
Use the Army vs Army or Army vs Base strategy here.

''-- addendum by Cain.''

Hovercraft are quite expensive compared to other land units, but are very useful in maps with a bit of water, able to target enemies without worrying about those pesky Goliaths... note that they're much cheaper than ships, anyway.

===Planes===
Hohoho, planes. Fun stuff to attack with. Anyway, most of the strategy involving planes is simple.
First, always attack the AA first, unless you are going to do a suicide mission. Kill the AA with gunships, and use bombers to kill structures. Many players use gunships only, which is a bad idea. Bombers take a little time to master but combined with gunships, they do a very good job. Scout early, so you can quickly see WHAT the enemy has and WHERE he has it. Use gunships to take out AA and act as overall decoys. Have Bombers fly in and bomb the crap out of his Fusion or whatever strategic point, and use the fighters to guard the bombers.
When facing units, do the same.
When facing sea, do the same thing, but add Torpedoes to bombers and gunships.

''-- addendum by Cain''

Know where the enemy commander is! In games where the commander's death is a winning condition, a lot of bombers could just converge on him, killing him on the first run.. especially the 2nd level bombers that have a nice turreted fast targeting laser! Also, gunships could create a diversion to keep the main enemy defences away from your main attack force, or you could use them to make the defences of distracted players shoot their own base...

===Using Terrain===

Using terrain wisely is very important. The issue of a game can depend on a good use of terrain.
First, Line of Sight (LOS) and RADAR. Both are blocked by terrain. So build your radars as high up as possible, otherwise you may not see anything. Use the relief to your advantage to hide an army or your important buildings from enemy radars.
Of course, one can also take advantage of altitude to increase fire range. A couple of Guardians on top of two high hills can easily devastate a small army.
Terrain also helps shield your units against attacks. Therefore, when youÃ¢â‚¬â„¢re building something high on top of a hill, try placing it a little behind the top. This is like crouching behind a crate where just your head and gun sticks up. But remember that terrain in Spring is deformable and can be leveled by impacts!
Know the climbing ability of your units. Hovercrafts and vehicles have pretty low climbing ability. But if a foe thinks he has sealed up all exits, your K-bots can still climb the mountains where he hasnÃ¢â‚¬â„¢t put any Dragon TeethÃ¢â‚¬Â¦
Another good thing about terrain is that it mentally makes you feel safe. If there is a water barrier between me and the enemy, with 3 land bridges here and there, I probably wonÃ¢â‚¬â„¢t have much ground defence at a location AWAY from the bridges. Presuming the map is pretty flat (like "Flooded Desert") a hovercraft assault would do A LOT of damage, right?

===Energy and all the problems with it===
(in XTA)
As I said before, most level 2 units require energy to move, shoot and operate in general, meaning that if you have no energy to support your army, you can't do anything! You can use this in your favor, by attacking your enemy's Fusions, or
by ''giving'' Metal makers to your enemy when you are attacking him(although Metal makers are now turned off when given to an enemy), or he is attacking you! Things that drain a lot of energy include LRPC, Goliaths, HLT, and most level 2 units.
(/in XTA)

===Paper-rock-scissors?===

Try to look at all units as individuals. Even if I didn't write much about every single unit, know your favorite ones and how to use them effectively in conjunction with the others. You'll find that some units are very complementary. The only real paper-rock relationships are AA and planes... Maybe subs vs sub killers...

I didn't even mention cloaking, radar jamming, troops behaviour facing attacks, mines, etc, etc. The possibilities are immense, but I don't want to spoil your pleasure any longer, so I'll let you discover them by yourself.

'''Have fun !!!'''

----

===Strategy Tips===

-Expand! Metal is scarce. The more you get, the more you can build. Even if you have a good base, making it bigger is not a bad thing.

-Scout! Knowledge is power. You must know what your enemy is planning, and what the enemy knows about you. (Or thinks he knows about youÃ¯Â¿Å ) Check what he has, and what he is building. If heÃ¢â‚¬â„¢s building aircrafts, do something about it. Look for weaknesses in defence and such. If you or your ally are scouting, donÃ¢â‚¬â„¢t look away. Gather as much information as possible.
ALL buildings once in sight range will remain visible as 'ghost' buildings if this option isn't turned off by the host.

-Radar = GOOD ^^ Radar checks areas for units, increases your units LOS and is, overall, quite helpful. A radar with your army makes a big difference when attacking. But so is Jamming. Jamming is good for sneak attacks. They are cheap, so just build one and make your units guard it.

-Work Together! Often I see allies who just mind their own business and donÃ¢â‚¬â„¢t care what the other person's doing. DONÃ¢â‚¬â„¢TÃ¢â‚¬Â¦ DOÃ¢â‚¬Â¦ THIS!!! Listen to each other, make up a plan. Prepare combined attacks. If there is a 2v2, then itÃ¢â‚¬â„¢s 2 allies vs 2 allies. Not a ffa with neutral partners. Type h to share units. Left click on your resource bars to auto share resources with allies.

-Power Plants. In order to level out the building costs, it is important to make a smooth transition from the least powerful generators to the most powerful ones stepwise. First solar, then Geo, then mobile/mini Fusion then Fusion.

-Check your resource bar. Try to keep a fine line between having too many resources/wasting, and having a nanostall. Use your factories and such accordingly. If you have a lot of resources, try using your old level 1 factories to build some units. Also, try to find the time to build an energy/metal storage...

-Spread out your buildings/units. Since every unit explodes, they damage units close to them. This is especially important with Fusions... (I once saw someone put 13 mobile fusions close to each other... blew up half his base with 2 (!!!) LRPC shots...)

-Queue (yeah, easy word for it too :/) up orders! You can almost win the game by pausing, queuing up some stuff, and then go eat lunch. Not really, but holding shift is good whilst putting up buildings.

-Guard = following and protection. Use planes to guard your tanks, subs to guard your transports, construction units to automatically repair important units and so on. They will choose to attack whatever is hurting their guard object first. You can even do this to structures, for units who are built to move to a unitÃ¢â‚¬â„¢s position or AA to attack whatever is shooting on the Fusion reactors, etcÃ¢â‚¬Â¦
Overall, this makes working with several unit types easier.

-Reclaim stuff (sucking it in and transforming it into resources). When you're starting to run low on metal, reclaim the enemyÃ¢â‚¬â„¢s and your own corpses. Trees give energy, so if youÃ¢â‚¬â„¢re out of energy in the beginning... You can reclaim a whole area by shift-clicking.

-The key for porcers are to build LRPC. Or even better, build a nuke and use LOTS of planes to kill his anti-nuke. Then BOOM!
Also as you have way loads more metal and space to move in than your opponent, you can easily afford 2 nukes. An anti-nuke can't deal with 2 nukes heading towards it(and if you aim the nukes at the antinuke...^^!

-Experiment! I suggest you go into single player and try every unit. Use commanders for arm, and small battle (watch that Krogoth!) for core. Try every approach to a problem. Remember, just because a unit is good, itÃ¢â‚¬â„¢s not invincible. Also, try how much metal and energy a building uses while in operation. For instance, a level 1 factory uses about 50 energy and 5 metal. This varies depending on what you build. This could help you prevent nanostalling.

-Several types of factories. Yeah, even if it costs money. A advanced building cost as much as a Bulldog or 2... You got the time, and the money. Build it.

-Raid. Take the Weasel or a couple of Peewees on a cruise right by the enemyÃ¢â‚¬â„¢s mexxes. Having trouble finding'em ? Type F4 to see where the ground is drained^^ [Edit] This doesn't apply anymore, but you can still see where a mex is by trying to build one of your own there. If you can't, there's already one on the spot... A tip is to stay away from the Commander, or use buildings as hostages. Hide behind stuff and kill it off, then move on. If you're sure you're going to die, move close to a building and self-destruct.

-Just because Peewees are better then AKÃ¢â‚¬â„¢s doesnÃ¢â‚¬â„¢t meant that AKÃ¢â‚¬â„¢s are useless. (And so onÃ¢â‚¬Â¦). In fact, no unit is useless. If you believe it is, try it once. On what it was meant to do.

-Mix armies. O boy, if you havenÃ¢â‚¬â„¢t heard this one a thousand times before, you've only been playing Half-Life for the last 7 years or something. Even if Goliaths rule, a couple of missile units will make them much more effective.

-Farks are useful in combat. Always have 1-3 with you. Reclaiming DT, or doing what they were meant to do : Repair -.-* (also, when I say FARKs somewhere in the guide, construction units work to...)

-Ask questions. No one is going to laugh at you. And if someone does, heÃ¢â‚¬â„¢s a ass and shouldnÃ¢â‚¬â„¢t even be poked a stick at. No question is too stupid. Just donÃ¢â‚¬â„¢t expect anyone in the heat of a battle to answer to Ã¢â‚¬ËœÃ¢â‚¬â„¢how do I play?Ã¢â‚¬â„¢Ã¢â‚¬â„¢.

-Learn ! If you lost, use the replay too to watch the game and try to understand why you died. What did the enemy do better than you? What was the key to winning? And so on.

-The Readme file has some cool keyboard shortcuts... check it out.

-Develop! Are you a programmer, a 3D design artist or just some regular Joe? Come to the forum for a talk, chatter, and make wacky suggestions! In the end you may contribute of making Spring better! Remember, Spring is open source. So just dive into there and replace AKÃ¢â‚¬â„¢s with flying monkeys in space suits or whatever.

-Try having some good music on when playing. It can give you a good kick. I recommend the WAR OF THE WORLD (the strategy game, yes it exists) Ã¢â‚¬ËœÃ¢â‚¬â„¢eve of the warÃ¢â‚¬â„¢Ã¢â‚¬â„¢ [http://www.fileuniverse.com/?page=listing&ID=54 the original TA music]
Or anything you like.

-Need more strategy and tips? Since Spring is a remake of TA, any TA strategy guide works...

-LAST BUT NOT LEAST : '''DonÃ¢â‚¬â„¢t get too serious. ItÃ¢â‚¬â„¢s only a game.'''

This guide was written by Kixxe aka Johan Wittrock before everyone edited (and improved!) it mercilessly.

Back to [[Strategy_and_Tactics]]

Spring guide

2006-03-14T06:46:12Z

DarkOppressor: Additional edits for grammar and clarity

'''

Ã¢â‚¬ËœÃ¢â‚¬â„¢Keep in mind that Spring is still in beta, therefore crashes can occur (a lot) and we (well, not me!) havenÃ¢â‚¬â„¢t got everything fixed yet.Ã¢â‚¬â„¢Ã¢â‚¬â„¢

Before we start, letÃ¢â‚¬â„¢s have some background info.

== TA: so what's so cool about this game ? ==
[warning, boring info that doesnÃ¢â‚¬â„¢t really mean anything]

TA (Total Annihilation) was created by Cavedog (R.I.P) in 1997, about half a year before(!!!) Starcraft was released. It was revolutionary in many ways, with 3D graphics (but a fixed camera), good animations (aircraft barrel rolled and leaned when they turned etc.), 3D terrain and many units (150 in the original game.) But in my not so humble opinion, the 3 greatest things that set TA apart were...

* Its physics! Every shot trajectory was calculated! An artillery shell could try to get over a hill and hit an aircraft, which exploded into bits, damaging other troops nearby, which could also explode and set forests on fire. Yeah, might not sound that big after 7 years, but back then we had Starcraft, which defied at least a half dozen laws of physics.

(Example of the tentacle through space. Yeah, really realistic)
[http://fast.filespace.org/Kixxe/WTF.png Click here]

* The order system! You could have 300 units waiting to be built, and when they were done, they could go and patrol an area and attack anyone in it. Order queues were limitless. You could build your whole base and drink tea while it was getting built. Construction units on patrol would repair damaged units, help build things and reclaim stuff (sucking it in and transforming it into resources.)

* The resource system! Contrary to other RTS games, the resources in TA are infinite. What limits resource consumption is the rate at which they can be gathered. This sole fact would make for longer and more epic games, with hundreds or thousands of units fighting in the endgame.

Pretty cool game. If you want, check out their old website for more info. [http://www.fileuniverse.com/Total_Annihilation_Mirror/totala/index.html Click here]

[/warning, boring info that doesnÃ¢â‚¬â„¢t really mean anything]

Anyway, enough of my rambling, onto Spring!

Now, as I told you, Spring was inspired by TA and has the same features TA had. Plus a few new thingsÃ¢â‚¬Â¦ check out the Spring features page for more info.
[http://taspring.clan-sy.com/wiki/Features Click here]

----

==Resources==

There are two types of resources in Spring, namely ''metal'' and ''energy''. Each of these two resources can be collected in a number of different ways. The amount of each resource that you currently have stockpiled is represented by a coloured bar, one for each resource, along the upper edge of the screen. The rate at which you are presently collecting and consuming each of the two types is represented by a number and a + or - sign. If you are collecting at a faster rate then the rate at which you are consuming you will see your coloured bar grow as resources accumulate. Your stockpiled resources are being depleted whenever the coloured bar is shrinking. There are storage buildings which you can build for each type of resource and these will increase the amount of each which can be stored. Units and structures cost both metal and energy to build, while some units or structures also require energy to walk, shoot or operate in general.

Metal is collected continuously from either a metal extractor, often called Ã¢â‚¬ËœmexesÃ¢â‚¬â„¢ which extract from certain areas of the map, or by using a metal maker, abbreviated as Ã¢â‚¬ËœMMÃ¢â‚¬â„¢ which convert energy into metal. Both will only operate so long as there is sufficient energy to power them. However, metal makers require a lot of energy.
A faster way to gather metal is by using either your commander or a construction bot to 'reclaim' it from the remains of destroyed units and buildings! They can even reclaim buildings which have not been destroyed and they don't have to belong to your enemy to be reclaimed.

Energy can be produced by a number of different buildings or it can be reclaimed (you can reclaim trees to gather energy). There are many different types of energy producers, including solar collectors and power plants, but they will be covered in another section.

In a game, always Ã¢â‚¬Å“keep an eye on your metal and energy barÃ¢â‚¬Å“ because if one of them goes to zero, particularly energy, your building rate will stall,(metal makers and extractors will stop producing) and some units will be unable to fire their energy weapons (eg. LRPCs, Annihilators, Doomsday Machines).

----

==A Normal Spring Game==

Anyway, now you will learn the basics of a normal Spring game, as I see it.
Every Spring game starts with all players only havingÃ¢â‚¬Â¦

'''The COMMANDER'''! (Insert DUN DUN DUUUUUNN)

The Commander is the unit you start with and the most important one in the game. He is unique and cannot be rebuilt. In fact, there is a mode where the game ends when the commander dies, so never leave him alone.

The fastest builder, he can walk and build underwater, he makes a nuke-sized explosion when he dies, he has a laser and the privilege of a Disintegrator Gun (alias D-Gun).
The D-Gun is the single most powerful weapon in the whole game, which kills ANY (ANY, I mean it!) unit in one hit (friend or foe no difference, be careful!). Even if that sounds a like a little overkill, keep in mind that the Commander has a very limited range, is defenceless against any aircraft and long range artillery, and when submerged, he cannot shoot. (Subs! Onoz!)

The Commander is used for setting up a base, and early base defences. The D-Gun should protect him against any level 1 unit that tries to kill him, so if you lose your Commander in the beginning of the gameÃ¢â‚¬Â¦ then you're dead. You lose your best (only?) builder and attacker, plus you have a nuke-sized explosion that may destroy half or all of your base.

AnywayÃ¢â‚¬Â¦ if you're seeing everything in a top down perspective, click the Commander (type Ctrl+C if you can't find him) with left mouse button to select him.

(If you have a crosshair as a mouse, press j. If your camera is zoomed out or all jerky, press ctrl+j until you find the OTA(Original Total Annihilation) camera.)

Okay, letÃ¢â‚¬â„¢s now discuss '''how to build stuff'''.

Like any normal RTS, itÃ¢â‚¬â„¢s choose a unit and click a location, but there is more with Spring. Hold shift and click on different locations to make the unit build the same building there. Hold shift and drag and you will make a line of the building. Hold ctrl and shift to make boxes/rectangular shapes of buildings. Use these! Make a line of DT (Dragon Teeth, small piece of wall/cover) instead of clicking each and every one. The controls are there to help you.
This is called queuing up stuff. You can use almost every single command in a queue. Buildings can be queued to build lots of different units, and then the other orders in the behaviour of the unit. You can make them walk to something, or guard/follow a unit by pressing G and selecting the unit to guard. Try it.
Selecting a unit and pressing shift key will show the orders queue.

Build 2 solar generators, or 4 wind generators to gather energy. Keep in mind that wind is pretty unstable, and that a number of maps (like lunar ones) have no wind at all! (The level of wind and tides in the map is indicated in the Map Selector in the Lobby).

Now select the Metal extractors and the whole screen turns black and green. Okay, place one on the green stuff. (The greener, the better! Like broccoli!)

Oh, and the minimap controls in spring are reversed. Meaning that you have to right-click to move the screen to the location. Once the new GUI is out and offical, this will be fixed.

----

==The TA Bestiary==

Okay, time to describe the cool units that are at your disposal to make your enemies bleed. 8)

(Disclaimer : This will discuss the types of units, not every unit. Therefore, if I say that vehicles have large armour, I donÃ¢â‚¬â„¢t mean artillery of course.)

On to the first level 1 lab/plant to build. The categories areÃ¢â‚¬Â¦

===Vehicles===

These babies are all about armour. The level 1 units are pretty basic, with more armour and (build) speed and than their K-bot counterparts. Level 2 vehicles show even more of the same pattern: better armour than their K-bot counterparts. Level 2 also offers the mobile Flak unit, which is the only real level 2 mobile AA.
Their weakness is that they are clumsy, turn slowly, and most of them canÃ¢â‚¬â„¢t climb mountainsÃ¢â‚¬Â¦ at all. Leads to trouble when an explosion makes a crater; units survive but can get stuck in the crater. Or just when they are trying to get up a steep hill. But sooner or later, you'll learn what kind of destruction a rush of 30 Goliaths can do!

===K-Bots===

K-bots generally have less powerful weapons than tanks, and are also less heavily armoured.
So why build them in the first place?
Because they are cheaper! And since they are cheaper, you can build more and outnumber your enemies. This doesnÃ¢â‚¬â„¢t work out that good in game though, since tanks ARE stronger. K-bots are also smaller, and will slip through DT and such alike easier than tanks.
And finally, the third advantage (which IMO is the biggest) of K-bots are that they can climb most mountains with ease! Climb by defences, up on mountains, through holes, these are all-purpose units.

===Aircraft===

Planes are planes. In Spring, thereÃ¢â‚¬â„¢s a plane for every role. Bombers, fighters, gunships, flying radar, transports, stealth fighters and torpedo bombers. Planes are fast, and are not affected by terrain. There is no wall or relief that can stop a plane. You can just swoop into a base and take out AA with your gunship, and then bomb the crap out of their important structures. To stop them, you've got to rely on Anti Air (AA) units.

On the downside, planes are quite expensive to build and are relatively fragile. They are also the only units that have an anti unit against them (Except subs). When someone finds out you're building a large air fleet, they just cram their base full of AA and their army with mobile AA. And the only counter is more planes than their AA can handle, or a ground troop to take the AA down. A combined ground and air attack can be very destructive. Good luck!

===Ships===

Ships are good on a map with water. (DUH!) Ships come in many different kinds, but mostly for taking out other ships or bombing the crap out of land units in some way or another. The ships' strength is their powerful weaponry and their long range. All ships made to take out land have long range. Ships also have lots of armour. Another thing thatÃ¢â‚¬â„¢s good about ships is that there is not much you can do to stop them because they are usually out of range. Once you see that the enemy has ships, either build a dock and a navy real fast or build planes and pray that he doesnÃ¢â‚¬â„¢t have too many AA ships.
Their weaknesses are slowness (especially when turning), they can be taken out by submarines, and of course they are confined to water, meaning that they are often stuck with units just outside of their reach.

And they are *extremely* expensive, metal-wise.

===Hovercraft===

(These are counted as level 2 units, so I would not recommend them as the first to build unless itÃ¢â‚¬â„¢s the perfect map for them)

Hovercrafts are a tank and a plane (some say ship, but I find planes to be more accurate for some reason O.o) mixed. Sure itÃ¢â‚¬â„¢s weaker than your average tank, and slower than your average plane. Whats their use? They are meant for swampy maps that means that both tanks and ships are a weakness, and offcourse since none can't be used, everyone just spams out AA since they think aircrafts are the only way. Great suprise for the enemy when 50 hovercrafts comes in agsint their flakkers and MT...
Long story short, Hovercrafts are good for those who like (or must) attack from the ground, but canÃ¢â‚¬â„¢t since there is too much water.

Their weakness is their low climbing ability, and that they're weaker than a tank and slower than a plane. (DonÃ¢â‚¬â„¢t build them on a land map, tanks ARE better.)

===Towers and Turrets===

Like TA, Spring boasts an impressive range of plasma and laser towers, cannons and turrets. These cannons will undoubtly be essential parts of your offensive as well as defensive strategies.

'''Light laser tower (LLT)'''
A cheap and fast laser that hits almost every time. Mostly useful against level 1 units, but can be used in groups against level 2. They suffer from short range, so most long range weapons can kill them(Samsons, for example). Since they fire faster than their bigger brothers, LLTs are more useful against hordes of small weak units than a single strong one.

'''Heavy laser tower (HLT)'''
This is the only tower that works on those pesky level 2 units that just wonÃ¢â‚¬â„¢t die. These shoot slower, but with much more power than the LLT. They also have a longer range and can be quite effective against air attacks. They cost a fair amount and take a long time to build, but they are often worth it.

'''Missile Tower (MT)'''
The missile tower is good for planes or weak level 1 units. They shoot a weak rocket that almost hits their target every time. They have a fair range, but very low hp. They work on most level 2 planes as well, but should be backed up with Flack cannons.

'''Pop-up Cannons'''
Pop-up cannons are pretty cheap middle range gun. A guardian can outshoot them, but they are still a choice to use. When Ã¢â‚¬ËœÃ¢â‚¬â„¢offÃ¢â‚¬â„¢Ã¢â‚¬â„¢ they take 50% less damage! I heard that a closed popup can withstand a nuke! (If itÃ¢â‚¬â„¢s not a direct hit) In XTA you can build them with level 1 construction K-bot or whatever. Sometimes individual wars between 2 or 4 pop-ups break out, where both sides try to kill the other's ones. Just remember to repair them, as with all PCÃ¢â‚¬Â¦

'''Middle range Plasma Cannons (MRPC)'''
Guardians and such alike. These arenÃ¢â‚¬â„¢t for attacking, but they have a pretty long range, and are not too expensive. Plus their targeting is pretty fast, meaning they are practically made for defence and very lethal. Perfect to have on a hill close to a HLT and some MTÃ¢â‚¬Â¦

'''Long Range Plasma Cannons (LRPC)'''
We are talking Big berthas, Intimidators and such alike. These babies got the RANGE and may be the ultimate weapon on small maps. The Big Bertha, yeah. An amazing unit. Not the ultimate, but several times cheaper and more accurate than a Buzz Saw/Vulcan, and its accuracy will improve with every kill. Not good at defending, since its slow targeting makes it impossible to hit moving targets. Try to build one on a small maps, or just build one close to the enemy and your Bertha will start pounding his base mercilessly. In fact, build several, with a lot of AA around 'em (and ground, if thatÃ¢â‚¬â„¢s possible) and you'll see your enemy's morale quickly fall to the ground. A LRPC expansion can sometimes become the winning factor of a game.

'''Very long range plasma Cannons (VLRC)'''
Buzzsaws are big, cost much, are huge energy suckers, are VERY inaccurate and are pretty slow on targeting. BUT, they have the DOUBLE range of a normal LRPC and shoot 4(!!!) shots at a time. This is the one thing to finish those ÃƒÂ¼ber porckers.
Defend these well, with lots of AA around and in a wide circle. They only have about 5000 hp, so killing'em is easy if you donÃ¢â‚¬â„¢t have AAÃ¢â‚¬Â¦
In OTA however Vulcans/Buzzsaws have SLIGHTLY LESS range than LRPCs, so LRPCs are generally better because they are so cheaper and each are a seperate entity with a fair bit of life(around 2500 i think).

The obvious way to kill LRC is to use planes, since they are fast enough to enter and kill it all.

===The first steps===

Now comes the tricky part. The first minute is always the same really, so what after that?
Well, itÃ¢â‚¬â„¢s hard to judge. But here are some paths that can be taken.

1. Build many construction units and send them out to build mexxes and Geothermal Power Plants. Then a defence and maybe some DT.

2. Build some construction units, and then start building defences. Follow the Ã¢â‚¬ËœÃ¢â‚¬â„¢line defenceÃ¢â‚¬â„¢Ã¢â‚¬â„¢ guide lines.
Build Fusion Power Plants and Metal makers, and then an army. After that, use the army how armies are used best.
This strategy is called PORCING, and is considered by many as BAD.
There are disadvantages with this. You canÃ¢â‚¬â„¢t use many metal extractors or Geos, so you have slim to no resources to build your base. A popular strategy is to kill the anti-nuke, and then blow the whole compact base to bits.

3. Build a small army of 3-6 units and attack the enemy. The goal isnÃ¢â‚¬â„¢t to kill him, but to do as much damage as possible to his resources and hinder his economy. Mexxes are the most important, and then look for wind or solar generators.
Try to keep on attacking him, but remember to still tech up and build defences.

Anyway, use your construction units to build defences of SOME kind. Take advantage of Geothermal gases. Yeah the smoking stuff. You can place Geo plants there for good, cheap and space saving energy. If youÃ¢â‚¬â„¢re expanding, use every Mex' positions, and try to find a place to settle your defence line.

When you can defend yourself from most level 1 units, start on your level 2 building.

When itÃ¢â‚¬â„¢s done, ALWAYS build a construction unit first. Use it for your first mini Fusion. (Or build some mobile fusion at the vehicle plant if you're Arm)
Build level 2 units in the meantime.
Low on metal? Upgrade the finest of your Mexxes to Moho Mexxes. They are bigger and better (but they suck up energy).
You can also build a Moho Metal maker if you have enough energy to support it. (MMM :p)
Okay, if you made this far, you must really start thinking about how to defeat the enemy. Look for his weak spot. Maybe a K-bot assault from the mountains ? Maybe planes. Maybe using amphibious units. That part is for you to figure out.

----

==STRATEGY==

I read through this guide, and suddenly realisedÃ¢â‚¬Â¦

''where is the strategy?''

So I fiddled this section up. Hope you'll learn something from it and thereby increase your Spring gaming experience.

===Defence===

AhÃ¢â‚¬Â¦ the overall defence. There are many different ways to make a good defence, but here are 4 oft seen approaches.

''Compact defence!''

The most common type of defence is a single line of defence, often with Dragon Teeth (DT) in front. Inside your base is some AA, and thatÃ¢â‚¬â„¢s about it. The good thing about this is that itÃ¢â‚¬â„¢s pretty easy and fast to set up, and you know where your territory ends, which can make the game much easier. Problem is, if something makes it past the line of defence, then youÃ¢â‚¬â„¢re screwed, unless youÃ¢â‚¬â„¢re building line after line of defence, or have some units to stop 'em.

''Spread out defence!''

I saw a guy pull this off one time, and he won by a large margin. The trick with this is to never really have a defined line of defence, just a Heavy Laser Tower (HLT) here, a radar there, some DT there, a mine here and thereÃ¢â‚¬Â¦
Basically, you expand every time you build a defence building, so in the end you have ENORMOUS space to move in. Since the defence is spread out, no one is gonna rush past it with some goliaths. You can have some units hide behind mountains and attack. He used Merls who he trapped in fortification walls. I tried to run past the defence with an army of 30 Bulldogs. His HLT and missile/plasma batteries stopped me before I even reached his final defence line.
Even though this defence is the best of 'em all, itÃ¢â‚¬â„¢s hard to build up, and requires lots of resources and time. IF youÃ¢â‚¬â„¢re able to pull it off, the only problem may be if they are fast enough to run by all of it, or if you donÃ¢â‚¬â„¢t have much AA and 30 Brawlers are comingÃ¢â‚¬Â¦

''No defenceÃ¢â‚¬Â¦ at all?''

Yes, this is an option. Okay, you may want some mines here and there, and some DT to stop them from running right through the door and AA in your base if they're building planes. But how do you defend with no defence?
With units; the whole concept is that you put all your effort into making units. This works pretty well, since when you see where the enemy is going to attack, you can MOVE your whole defence to that location.
The problem with this defence is that when you are attacking, you lose most of your defence. Sure, you can leave units behind, but I find it hard mentally to leave half the army at home when I am attacking.
If you manage to pull this off, and make enough units to both attack and defend, then you have not wasted any money on defence, and you have a strong army!

''The All Out Defence''

''-- addendum by Cain''

The opposite of the "no defence" strategy, mixed with the "spread out defence" strategy: the main concept is to invest resources in lots of level 1 build planes, and use them to quickly gather huge amounts of territory and resources, while keeping a lot of planes building/repairing turrets all over the map. This could be very effective on maps with few choke points where your defence can be concentrated in a small area, or mostly flat maps where the overlapping range of defensive structures will create a large grid of protected territory. The concept is to expand the defence line until you can shoot straight into the enemy base. When using this strategy, it is wise to have a lot of level 2 aircraft defending the construction point, as you will need to constantly move your mobile defences around the map, protecting under-contruction defensive areas. I usually end up with a hundred builder planes and 20 to 50 Brawlers floating around... keep them away from Kroghot!

These are the defensive strategies I have found effective.

Also, one thing to remember is to eliminate the largest threat first. If youÃ¢â‚¬â„¢re relying on DT, take out the FARK or construction planes first.

Okay, you've built a good defence.
The next thing you should do is attempt to get into the mindset of your enemy. Put yourself in his shoes, and determine how he would most likely proceed given your defensive strategy. Would he attempt a gunship raid, or launch an attack from a defenceless mountain position? Once you know what his most likely plan of attack will be, rethink your defences with this in mind. If there is an area that is defenceless under your current strategy, and you believe it is a prime spot for your enemy to attack, set up some sort of defence there as well.

===Moving===
Moving or attacking is pretty easy right? Just move from point a to point b and attack cÃ¢â‚¬Â¦
Nope.
First, you have to have your units move TOGETHER. . If some are trailing behind, then you just have to wait a little for them. A way of having your units stick together is to take a pretty slow unit, like a Can, and have others guard it.
Pressing control while moving units will make them keep their position in the formation, but not their speed. (they will spread out along the way, but ''try'' to get back into the position they were in when reaching the destination)
The ''Simple formation'' is also a way of doing this, and the units will automatically form a couple of lines, often with the right units first, too!
Transports are useful for moving units, but use the air transports (Valkyrie /Atlas) intelligently and protect them. The other transportation units are harder to use, since they take more time to load/unload.

===Attacking===

When attacking, remember what each unit's role is in the fight. Farks are used to repair important units that have been damaged. Bulldogs are meant to take damage and give damage back. Merls are used to shoot missiles from a distance, and donÃ¢â‚¬â„¢t require a clear LOS (line of sight). The question is what to repair. Merls die quickly, so one shot = dead. Knowing this, your first instinct might be to repair a Bulldog instead. Bulldogs are often the first thing that the enemy targets, and thus their HP often drops too rapidly to repair. Therefore, it is often wise to repair the middle-range units; not the giant HP monsters, not the units with a weak defence and strong/useful attack, but the average units that have acceptable HP and are not an enemy's first choice when selecting targets. One exception to this is mobile artillery. While it only has enough HP to survive one or two attacks, its attacks are well worth it, and the enemy still may not target them first, giving them a chance to deal massive damage.

===Army vs Army===

Many units attacking one unit is the best thing you can do, as when you kill one of their units, they lose one source of firepower. Focusing your fire is very important. Using focus fire in a group of weak units is very effective. Focus fire is, however, less effective on HP powerhouses.
When youÃ¢â‚¬â„¢re facing an army, always try to attack from behind or the side. Keep your units a little spread out when attacking. Not to far, but just so that area of effect weapons donÃ¢â‚¬â„¢t do as much damage. Have your HP powerhouses at the front, or at the front and sides. Keep em pretty close together but not side by side. Having your units spread out in this manner allows the units in the back to attack, and prevents splash damage units such as Zippers and Pyros from damaging many of your units at once.

This is the normal way of attacking an enemy army. There is the classical pincher movement tooÃ¢â‚¬Â¦
In this, you run one third of your HP powerhouses to the left, one third to the right and have the last third stay where they are.
This gives you 3 advantages:
*it's easier to get past the units and attack their weak units, or just run past them into the base
*you do more damage, since their units will have to change their target all the time and can't escape
*it makes it MUCH harder for the enemy to run away or try to get past you.

===Army vs Base===

Okay, you may have made it past the ground troops, but the fight is not over (unless your enemy used up his units to defend.) Now you must face his base defence, and act depending on the type of defence he hasÃ¢â‚¬Â¦

''Line defence''

Gather your army and set up for battle a bit away from his base, and get ready to move in. Have the FARKS guard your main HP powerhouses, so they are in the front but can still hide behind em. Everything else behind that. When attacking, have several units attacking the HLT and plasma batteries, and use the FARKS to reclaim his Dragon Teeth. When you have a hole in the DT wall, just run into the heart of the base like a maniac. Split your tanks into 2 groups, 1 guarding your long range/high damage units and the other going into the heart of the base. Find the Fusion reactors with your second group of tanks, and try to move the other big group to a place that is easy to defend while hitting the Fusions. Behind buildings is perfect! Kill as much as you can, or kill everything ^^
If there are several lines of defence, make a hole in each DT wall and repeat the same tactics.

''Spread out defence''

ArghÃ¢â‚¬Â¦ The tough one. While the individual towers are easy to beat, you canÃ¢â‚¬â„¢t run past his defences unless you enjoy suicide. (and if you do, ctrl+a and then ctrl+d will do the trick. A slice of the wrist works well, too.)
Use your army to begin killing the defence step by step, structure by structure. Keep building units, and moving them into the fray (you can use air transports with the repeat command and make them drop the units a little ways from the fight). Once you start getting close to his last line of defence, think of it as a line defence and act accordingly.

''Units defence''

Think army vs army. DonÃ¢â‚¬â„¢t rush past 'em with all your units. Your units will spread out and try to go through holes in the enemyÃ¢â‚¬â„¢s formation. In a word, they are dead meat. If you MUST get to the base, have half of the tanks go around the units.

===Naval Battles===

Naval battles are hard to predict if you donÃ¢â‚¬â„¢t play island maps a lot, since there are many factors to take into account. Since land units are removed, you have to think in a WHOLE new perspective. No land means that only Sea, Air and Hover units can fight (and LRC of course).
Anyway, try to have air units scouting land and sea, and determine how much AA the enemy has. Ships roam around assaulting other ships, with a mix of subs, sub killers, AA ships and normal ships. Hovercrafts are the unit to use when assaulting land thatÃ¢â‚¬â„¢s a little far from shore. Provide them with an escort consisting of planes and/or ships.

====Ships====
When using ships, have scout ships or planes scout the area in front, then send in subs and sub killers. Use long range ships at the sides to protect anything of value you might have with you (a sea transport or an aircraft carrier). When in battle, try to have the subs run away from sub killers, while your sub killers kill the enemy subs. Your subs should try to attack the most important ship in the area, and then just go crazy.
When facing land, youÃ¢â‚¬â„¢re pretty much in for an easy win. Just have your ships blow it all up. If you face LRC, take them out first. The rest of it is out of your hands.
Remember if your opponent has air superiority or LRPCs use subs as they can't hit them :)

====Hovercraft====
Use the Army vs Army or Army vs Base strategy here.

''-- addendum by Cain.''

Hovercraft are quite expensive compared to other land units, but are very useful in maps with a bit of water, able to target enemies without worrying about those pesky Goliaths... note that they're much cheaper than ships, anyway.

===Planes===
Hohoho, planes. Fun stuff to attack with. Anyway, most of the strategy involving planes is simple.
First, always attack the AA first, unless you are going to do a suicide mission. Kill the AA with gunships, and use bombers to kill structures. Many players use gunships only, which is a bad idea. Bombers take a little time to master but combined with gunships, they do a very good job. Scout early, so you can quickly see WHAT the enemy has and WHERE he has it. Use gunships to take out AA and act as overall decoys. Have Bombers fly in and bomb the crap out of his Fusion or whatever strategic point, and use the fighters to guard the bombers.
When facing units, do the same.
When facing sea, do the same thing, but add Torpedoes to bombers and gunships.

''-- addendum by Cain''

Know where the enemy commander is! In games where the commander's death is a winning condition, a lot of bombers could just converge on him, killing him on the first run.. especially the 2nd level bombers that have a nice turreted fast targeting laser! Also, gunships could create a diversion to keep the main enemy defences away from your main attack force, or you could use them to make the defences of distracted players shoot their own base...

===Using Terrain===

Using terrain wisely is very important. The issue of a game can depend on a good use of terrain.
First, Line of Sight (LOS) and RADAR. Both are blocked by terrain. So build your radars as high up as possible, otherwise you may not see anything. Use the relief to your advantage to hide an army or your important buildings from enemy radars.
Of course, one can also take advantage of altitude to increase fire range. A couple of Guardians on top of two high hills can easily devastate a small army.
Terrain also helps shield your units against attacks. Therefore, when youÃ¢â‚¬â„¢re building something high on top of a hill, try placing it a little behind the top. This is like crouching behind a crate where just your head and gun sticks up. But remember that terrain in Spring is deformable and can be leveled by impacts!
Know the climbing ability of your units. Hovercrafts and vehicles have pretty low climbing ability. But if a foe thinks he has sealed up all exits, your K-bots can still climb the mountains where he hasnÃ¢â‚¬â„¢t put any Dragon TeethÃ¢â‚¬Â¦
Another good thing about terrain is that it mentally makes you feel safe. If there is a water barrier between me and the enemy, with 3 land bridges here and there, I probably wonÃ¢â‚¬â„¢t have much ground defence at a location AWAY from the bridges. Presuming the map is pretty flat (like "Flooded Desert") a hovercraft assault would do A LOT of damage, right?

===Energy and all the problems with it===
(in XTA)
As I said before, most level 2 units require energy to move, shoot and operate in general, meaning that if you have no energy to support your army, you can't do anything! You can use this in your favor, by attacking your enemy's Fusions, or
by ''giving'' Metal makers to your enemy when you are attacking him(although Metal makers are now turned off when given to an enemy), or he is attacking you! Things that drain a lot of energy include LRPC, Goliaths, HLT, and most level 2 units.
(/in XTA)

===Paper-rock-scissors?===

Try to look at all units as individuals. Even if I didn't write much about every single unit, know your favorite ones and how to use them effectively in conjunction with the others. You'll find that some units are very complementary. The only real paper-rock relationships are AA and planes... Maybe subs vs sub killers...

I didn't even mention cloaking, radar jamming, troops behaviour facing attacks, mines, etc, etc. The possibilities are immense, but I don't want to spoil your pleasure any longer, so I'll let you discover them by yourself.

'''Have fun !!!'''

----

===Strategy Tips===

-Expand! Metal is scarce. The more you get, the more you can build. Even if you have a good base, making it bigger is not a bad thing.

-Scout! Knowledge is power. You must know what your enemy is planning, and what the enemy knows about you. (Or thinks he knows about youÃ¯Â¿Å ) Check what he has, and what he is building. If heÃ¢â‚¬â„¢s building aircrafts, do something about it. Look for weaknesses in defence and such. If you or your ally are scouting, donÃ¢â‚¬â„¢t look away. Gather as much information as possible.
ALL buildings once in sight range will remain visible as 'ghost' buildings if this option isn't turned off by the host.

-Radar = GOOD ^^ Radar checks areas for units, increases your units LOS and is, overall, quite helpful. A radar with your army makes a big difference when attacking. But so is Jamming. Jamming is good for sneak attacks. They are cheap, so just build one and make your units guard it.

-Work Together! Often I see allies who just mind their own business and donÃ¢â‚¬â„¢t care what the other person's doing. DONÃ¢â‚¬â„¢TÃ¢â‚¬Â¦ DOÃ¢â‚¬Â¦ THIS!!! Listen to each other, make up a plan. Prepare combined attacks. If there is a 2v2, then itÃ¢â‚¬â„¢s 2 allies vs 2 allies. Not a ffa with neutral partners. Type h to share units. Left click on your resource bars to auto share resources with allies.

-Power Plants. In order to level out the building costs, it is important to make a smooth transition from the least powerful generators to the most powerful ones stepwise. First solar, then Geo, then mobile/mini Fusion then Fusion.

-Check your resource bar. Try to keep a fine line between having too many resources/wasting, and having a nanostall. Use your factories and such accordingly. If you have a lot of resources, try using your old level 1 factories to build some units. Also, try to find the time to build an energy/metal storage...

-Spread out your buildings/units. Since every unit explodes, they damage units close to them. This is especially important with Fusions... (I once saw someone put 13 mobile fusions close to each other... blew up half his base with 2 (!!!) LRPC shots...)

-Queue (yeah, easy word for it too :/) up orders! You can almost win the game by pausing, queuing up some stuff, and then go eat lunch. Not really, but holding shift is good whilst putting up buildings.

-Guard = following and protection. Use planes to guard your tanks, subs to guard your transports, construction units to automatically repair important units and so on. They will choose to attack whatever is hurting their guard object first. You can even do this to structures, for units who are built to move to a unitÃ¢â‚¬â„¢s position or AA to attack whatever is shooting on the Fusion reactors, etcÃ¢â‚¬Â¦
Overall, this makes working with several unit types easier.

-Reclaim stuff (sucking it in and transforming it into resources). When you're starting to run low on metal, reclaim the enemyÃ¢â‚¬â„¢s and your own corpses. Trees give energy, so if youÃ¢â‚¬â„¢re out of energy in the beginning... You can reclaim a whole area by shift-clicking.

-The key for porcers are to build LRPC. Or even better, build a nuke and use LOTS of planes to kill his anti-nuke. Then BOOM!
Also as you have way loads more metal and space to move in than your opponent, you can easily afford 2 nukes. An anti-nuke can't deal with 2 nukes heading towards it(and if you aim the nukes at the antinuke...^^!

-Experiment! I suggest you go into single player and try every unit. Use commanders for arm, and small battle (watch that Krogoth!) for core. Try every approach to a problem. Remember, just because a unit is good, itÃ¢â‚¬â„¢s not invincible. Also, try how much metal and energy a building uses while in operation. For instance, a level 1 factory uses about 50 energy and 5 metal. This varies depending on what you build. This could help you prevent nanostalling.

-Several types of factories. Yeah, even if it costs money. A advanced building cost as much as a Bulldog or 2... You got the time, and the money. Build it.

-Raid. Take the Weasel or a couple of Peewees on a cruise right by the enemyÃ¢â‚¬â„¢s mexxes. Having trouble finding'em ? Type F4 to see where the ground is drained^^ [Edit] This doesn't apply anymore, but you can still see where a mex is by trying to build one of your own there. If you can't, there's already one on the spot... A tip is to stay away from the Commander, or use buildings as hostages. Hide behind stuff and kill it off, then move on. If you're sure you're going to die, move close to a building and self-destruct.

-Just because Peewees are better then AKÃ¢â‚¬â„¢s doesnÃ¢â‚¬â„¢t meant that AKÃ¢â‚¬â„¢s are useless. (And so onÃ¢â‚¬Â¦). In fact, no unit is useless. If you believe it is, try it once. On what it was meant to do.

-Mix armies. O boy, if you havenÃ¢â‚¬â„¢t heard this one a thousand times before, you've only been playing Half-Life for the last 7 years or something. Even if Goliaths rule, a couple of missile units will make them much more effective.

-Farks are useful in combat. Always have 1-3 with you. Reclaiming DT, or doing what they were meant to do : Repair -.-* (also, when I say FARKs somewhere in the guide, construction units work to...)

-Ask questions. No one is going to laugh at you. And if someone does, heÃ¢â‚¬â„¢s a ass and shouldnÃ¢â‚¬â„¢t even be poked a stick at. No question is too stupid. Just donÃ¢â‚¬â„¢t expect anyone in the heat of a battle to answer to Ã¢â‚¬ËœÃ¢â‚¬â„¢how do I play?Ã¢â‚¬â„¢Ã¢â‚¬â„¢.

-Learn ! If you lost, use the replay too to watch the game and try to understand why you died. What did the enemy do better than you? What was the key to winning? And so on.

-The Readme file has some cool keyboard shortcuts... check it out.

-Develop! Are you a programmer, a 3D design artist or just some regular Joe? Come to the forum for a talk, chatter, and make wacky suggestions! In the end you may contribute of making Spring better! Remember, Spring is open source. So just dive into there and replace AKÃ¢â‚¬â„¢s with flying monkeys in space suits or whatever.

-Try having some good music on when playing. It can give you a good kick. I recommend the WAR OF THE WORLD (the strategy game, yes it exists) Ã¢â‚¬ËœÃ¢â‚¬â„¢eve of the warÃ¢â‚¬â„¢Ã¢â‚¬â„¢ [http://www.fileuniverse.com/?page=listing&ID=54 the original TA music]
Or anything you like.

-Need more strategy and tips? Since Spring is a remake of TA, any TA strategy guide works...

-LAST BUT NOT LEAST : '''DonÃ¢â‚¬â„¢t get too serious. ItÃ¢â‚¬â„¢s only a game.'''

This guide was written by Kixxe aka Johan Wittrock before everyone edited (and improved!) it mercilessly.

Back to [[Strategy_and_Tactics]]

Spring guide

2006-03-13T20:18:59Z

DarkOppressor: /* Defence */

'''

Ã¢â‚¬ËœÃ¢â‚¬â„¢Keep in mind that Spring is still in beta, therefore crashes can occur (a lot) and we (well, not me!) havenÃ¢â‚¬â„¢t got everything fixed yet.Ã¢â‚¬â„¢Ã¢â‚¬â„¢

Before we start, letÃ¢â‚¬â„¢s have some background info.

== TA: so what's so cool about this game ? ==
[warning, boring info that doesnÃ¢â‚¬â„¢t really mean anything]

TA (Total Annihilation) was created by Cavedog (R.I.P) in 1997, about half a year before(!!!) Starcraft was released. It was revolutionary in many ways, with 3D graphics (but a fixed camera), good animations (aircraft barrel rolled and leaned when they turned etc.), 3D terrain and many units (150 in the original game.) But in my not so humble opinion, the 3 greatest things that set TA apart were...

* Its physics! Every shot trajectory was calculated! An artillery shell could try to get over a hill and hit an aircraft, which exploded into bits, damaging other troops nearby, which could also explode and set forests on fire. Yeah, might not sound that big after 7 years, but back then we had Starcraft, which defied at least a half dozen laws of physics.

(Example of the tentacle through space. Yeah, really realistic)
[http://fast.filespace.org/Kixxe/WTF.png Click here]

* The order system! You could have 300 units waiting to be built, and when they were done, they could go and patrol an area and attack anyone in it. Order queues were limitless. You could build your whole base and drink tea while it was getting built. Construction units on patrol would repair damaged units, help build things and reclaim stuff (sucking it in and transforming it into resources.)

* The resource system! Contrary to other RTS games, the resources in TA are infinite. What limits resource consumption is the rate at which they can be gathered. This sole fact would make for longer and more epic games, with hundreds or thousands of units fighting in the endgame.

Pretty cool game. If you want, check out their old website for more info. [http://www.fileuniverse.com/Total_Annihilation_Mirror/totala/index.html Click here]

[/warning, boring info that doesnÃ¢â‚¬â„¢t really mean anything]

Anyway, enough of my rambling, onto Spring!

Now, as I told you, Spring was inspired by TA and has the same features TA had. Plus a few new thingsÃ¢â‚¬Â¦ check out the Spring features page for more info.
[http://taspring.clan-sy.com/wiki/Features Click here]

----

==Resources==

There are two types of resources in Spring, namely ''metal'' and ''energy''. Each of these two resources can be collected in a number of different ways. The amount of each resource that you currently have stockpiled is represented by a coloured bar, one for each resource, along the upper edge of the screen. The rate at which you are presently collecting and consuming each of the two types is represented by a number and a + or - sign. If you are collecting at a faster rate then the rate at which you are consuming you will see your coloured bar grow as resources accumulate. Your stockpiled resources are being depleted whenever the coloured bar is shrinking. There are storage buildings which you can build for each type of resource and these will increase the amount of each which can be stored. Units and structures cost both metal and energy to build, while some units or structures also require energy to walk, shoot or operate in general.

Metal is collected continuously from either a metal extractor, often called Ã¢â‚¬ËœmexesÃ¢â‚¬â„¢ which extract from certain areas of the map, or by using a metal maker, abbreviated as Ã¢â‚¬ËœMMÃ¢â‚¬â„¢ which convert energy into metal. Both will only operate so long as there is sufficient energy to power them. However, metal makers require a lot of energy.
A faster way to gather metal is by using either your commander or a construction bot to 'reclaim' it from the remains of destroyed units and buildings! They can even reclaim buildings which have not been destroyed and they don't have to belong to your enemy to be reclaimed.

Energy can be produced by a number of different buildings or it can be reclaimed (you can reclaim trees to gather energy). There are many different types of energy producers, including solar collectors and power plants, but they will be covered in another section.

In a game, always Ã¢â‚¬Å“keep an eye on your metal and energy barÃ¢â‚¬Å“ because if one of them goes to zero, particularly energy, your building rate will stall,(metal makers and extractors will stop producing) and some units will be unable to fire their energy weapons (eg. LRPCs, Annihilators, Doomsday Machines).

----

==A Normal Spring Game==

Anyway, now you will learn the basics of a normal Spring game, as I see it.
Every Spring game starts with all players only havingÃ¢â‚¬Â¦

'''The COMMANDER'''! (Insert DUN DUN DUUUUUNN)

The Commander is the unit you start with and the most important one in the game. He is unique and cannot be rebuilt. In fact, there is a mode where the game ends when the commander dies, so never leave him alone.

The fastest builder, he can walk and build underwater, he makes a nuke-sized explosion when he dies, he has a laser and the privilege of a Disintegrator Gun (alias D-Gun).
The D-Gun is the single most powerful weapon in the whole game, which kills ANY (ANY, I mean it!) unit in one hit (friend or foe no difference, be careful!). Even if that sounds a like a little overkill, keep in mind that the Commander has a very limited range, is defenceless against any aircraft and long range artillery, and when submerged, he cannot shoot. (Subs! Onoz!)

The Commander is used for setting up a base, and early base defences. The D-Gun should protect him against any level 1 unit that tries to kill him, so if you lose your Commander in the beginning of the gameÃ¢â‚¬Â¦ then you're dead. You lose your best (only?) builder and attacker, plus you have a nuke-sized explosion that may destroy half or all of your base.

AnywayÃ¢â‚¬Â¦ if you're seeing everything in a top down perspective, click the Commander (type Ctrl+C if you can't find him) with left mouse button to select him.

(If you have a crosshair as a mouse, press j. If your camera is zoomed out or all jerky, press ctrl+j until you find the OTA(Original Total Annihilation) camera.)

Okay, letÃ¢â‚¬â„¢s now discuss '''how to build stuff'''.

Like any normal RTS, itÃ¢â‚¬â„¢s choose a unit and click a location, but there is more with Spring. Hold shift and click on different locations to make the unit build the same building there. Hold shift and drag and you will make a line of the building. Hold ctrl and shift to make boxes/rectangular shapes of buildings. Use these! Make a line of DT (Dragon Teeth, small piece of wall/cover) instead of clicking each and every one. The controls are there to help you.
This is called queuing up stuff. You can use almost every single command in a queue. Buildings can be queued to build lots of different units, and then the other orders in the behaviour of the unit. You can make them walk to something, or guard/follow a unit by pressing G and selecting the unit to guard. Try it.
Selecting a unit and pressing shift key will show the orders queue.

Build 2 solar generators, or 4 wind generators to gather energy. Keep in mind that wind is pretty unstable, and that a number of maps (like lunar ones) have no wind at all! (The level of wind and tides in the map is indicated in the Map Selector in the Lobby).

Now select the Metal extractors and the whole screen turns black and green. Okay, place one on the green stuff. (The greener, the better! Like broccoli!)

Oh, and the minimap controls in spring are reversed. Meaning that you have to right-click to move the screen to the location. Once the new GUI is out and offical, this will be fixed.

----

==The TA Bestiary==

Okay, time to describe the cool units that are at your disposal to make your enemies bleed. 8)

(Disclaimer : This will discuss the types of units, not every unit. Therefore, if I say that vehicles have large armour, I donÃ¢â‚¬â„¢t mean artillery of course.)

On to the first level 1 lab/plant to build. The categories areÃ¢â‚¬Â¦

===Vehicles===

These babies are all about armour. The level 1 units are pretty basic, with more armour and (build) speed and than their K-bot counterparts. Level 2 vehicles show even more of the same pattern: better armour than their K-bot counterparts. Level 2 also offers the mobile Flak unit, which is the only real level 2 mobile AA.
Their weakness is that they are clumsy, turn slowly, and most of them canÃ¢â‚¬â„¢t climb mountainsÃ¢â‚¬Â¦ at all. Leads to trouble when an explosion makes a crater; units survive but can get stuck in the crater. Or just when they are trying to get up a steep hill. But sooner or later, you'll learn what kind of destruction a rush of 30 Goliaths can do!

===K-Bots===

K-bots generally have less powerful weapons than tanks, and are also less heavily armoured.
So why build them in the first place?
Because they are cheaper! And since they are cheaper, you can build more and outnumber your enemies. This doesnÃ¢â‚¬â„¢t work out that good in game though, since tanks ARE stronger. K-bots are also smaller, and will slip through DT and such alike easier than tanks.
And finally, the third advantage (which IMO is the biggest) of K-bots are that they can climb most mountains with ease! Climb by defences, up on mountains, through holes, these are all-purpose units.

===Aircraft===

Planes are planes. In Spring, thereÃ¢â‚¬â„¢s a plane for every role. Bombers, fighters, gunships, flying radar, transports, stealth fighters and torpedo bombers. Planes are fast, and are not affected by terrain. There is no wall or relief that can stop a plane. You can just swoop into a base and take out AA with your gunship, and then bomb the crap out of their important structures. To stop them, you've got to rely on Anti Air (AA) units.

On the downside, planes are quite expensive to build and are relatively fragile. They are also the only units that have an anti unit against them (Except subs). When someone finds out you're building a large air fleet, they just cram their base full of AA and their army with mobile AA. And the only counter is more planes than their AA can handle, or a ground troop to take the AA down. A combined ground and air attack can be very destructive. Good luck!

===Ships===

Ships are good on a map with water. (DUH!) Ships come in many different kinds, but mostly for taking out other ships or bombing the crap out of land units in some way or another. The ships' strength is their powerful weaponry and their long range. All ships made to take out land have long range. Ships also have lots of armour. Another thing thatÃ¢â‚¬â„¢s good about ships is that there is not much you can do to stop them because they are usually out of range. Once you see that the enemy has ships, either build a dock and a navy real fast or build planes and pray that he doesnÃ¢â‚¬â„¢t have too many AA ships.
Their weaknesses are slowness (especially when turning), they can be taken out by submarines, and of course they are confined to water, meaning that they are often stuck with units just outside of their reach.

And they are *extremely* expensive, metal-wise.

===Hovercraft===

(These are counted as level 2 units, so I would not recommend them as the first to build unless itÃ¢â‚¬â„¢s the perfect map for them)

Hovercrafts are a tank and a plane (some say ship, but I find planes to be more accurate for some reason O.o) mixed. Sure itÃ¢â‚¬â„¢s weaker than your average tank, and slower than your average plane. Whats their use? They are meant for swampy maps that means that both tanks and ships are a weakness, and offcourse since none can't be used, everyone just spams out AA since they think aircrafts are the only way. Great suprise for the enemy when 50 hovercrafts comes in agsint their flakkers and MT...
Long story short, Hovercrafts are good for those who like (or must) attack from the ground, but canÃ¢â‚¬â„¢t since there is too much water.

Their weakness is their low climbing ability, and that they're weaker than a tank and slower than a plane. (DonÃ¢â‚¬â„¢t build them on a land map, tanks ARE better.)

===Towers and Turrets===

Like TA, Spring boasts an impressive range of plasma and laser towers, cannons and turrets. These cannons will undoubtly be essential parts of your offensive as well as defensive strategies.

'''Light laser tower (LLT)'''
A cheap and fast laser that hits almost every time. Mostly useful against level 1 units, but can be used in groups against level 2. They suffer from short range, so most long range weapons can kill them(Samsons, for example). Since they fire faster than their bigger brothers, LLTs are more useful against hordes of small weak units than a single strong one.

'''Heavy laser tower (HLT)'''
This is the only tower that works on those pesky level 2 units that just wonÃ¢â‚¬â„¢t die. These shoot slower, but with much more power than the LLT. They also have a longer range and can be quite effective against air attacks. They cost a fair amount and take a long time to build, but they are often worth it.

'''Missile Tower (MT)'''
The missile tower is good for planes or weak level 1 units. They shoot a weak rocket that almost hits their target every time. They have a fair range, but very low hp. They work on most level 2 planes as well, but should be backed up with Flack cannons.

'''Pop-up Cannons'''
Pop-up cannons are pretty cheap middle range gun. A guardian can outshoot them, but they are still a choice to use. When Ã¢â‚¬ËœÃ¢â‚¬â„¢offÃ¢â‚¬â„¢Ã¢â‚¬â„¢ they take 50% less damage! I heard that a closed popup can withstand a nuke! (If itÃ¢â‚¬â„¢s not a direct hit) In XTA you can build them with level 1 construction K-bot or whatever. Sometimes individual wars between 2 or 4 pop-ups break out, where both sides try to kill the other's ones. Just remember to repair them, as with all PCÃ¢â‚¬Â¦

'''Middle range Plasma Cannons (MRPC)'''
Guardians and such alike. These arenÃ¢â‚¬â„¢t for attacking, but they have a pretty long range, and are not too expensive. Plus their targeting is pretty fast, meaning they are practically made for defence and very lethal. Perfect to have on a hill close to a HLT and some MTÃ¢â‚¬Â¦

'''Long Range Plasma Cannons (LRPC)'''
We are talking Big berthas, Intimidators and such alike. These babies got the RANGE and may be the ultimate weapon on small maps. The Big Bertha, yeah. An amazing unit. Not the ultimate, but several times cheaper and more accurate than a Buzz Saw/Vulcan, and its accuracy will improve with every kill. Not good at defending, since its slow targeting makes it impossible to hit moving targets. Try to build one on a small maps, or just build one close to the enemy and your Bertha will start pounding his base mercilessly. In fact, build several, with a lot of AA around 'em (and ground, if thatÃ¢â‚¬â„¢s possible) and you'll see your enemy's morale quickly fall to the ground. A LRPC expansion can sometimes become the winning factor of a game.

'''Very long range plasma Cannons (VLRC)'''
Buzzsaws are big, cost much, are huge energy suckers, are VERY inaccurate and are pretty slow on targeting. BUT, they have the DOUBLE range of a normal LRPC and shoot 4(!!!) shots at a time. This is the one thing to finish those ÃƒÂ¼ber porckers.
Defend these well, with lots of AA around and in a wide circle. They only have about 5000 hp, so killing'em is easy if you donÃ¢â‚¬â„¢t have AAÃ¢â‚¬Â¦
In OTA however Vulcans/Buzzsaws have SLIGHTLY LESS range than LRPCs, so LRPCs are generally better because they are so cheaper and each are a seperate entity with a fair bit of life(around 2500 i think).

The obvious way to kill LRC is to use planes, since they are fast enough to enter and kill it all.

===The first steps===

Now comes the tricky part. The first minute is always the same really, so what after that?
Well, itÃ¢â‚¬â„¢s hard to judge. But here are some paths that can be taken.

1. Build many construction units and send them out to build mexxes and Geothermal Power Plants. Then a defence and maybe some DT.

2. Build some construction units, and then start building defences. Follow the Ã¢â‚¬ËœÃ¢â‚¬â„¢line defenceÃ¢â‚¬â„¢Ã¢â‚¬â„¢ guide lines.
Build Fusion Power Plants and Metal makers, and then an army. After that, use the army how armies are used best.
This strategy is called PORCING, and is considered by many as BAD.
There are disadvantages with this. You canÃ¢â‚¬â„¢t use many metal extractors or Geos, so you have slim to no resources to build your base. A popular strategy is to kill the anti-nuke, and then blow the whole compact base to bits.

3. Build a small army of 3-6 units and attack the enemy. The goal isnÃ¢â‚¬â„¢t to kill him, but to do as much damage as possible to his resources and hinder his economy. Mexxes are the most important, and then look for wind or solar generators.
Try to keep on attacking him, but remember to still tech up and build defences.

Anyway, use your construction units to build defences of SOME kind. Take advantage of Geothermal gases. Yeah the smoking stuff. You can place Geo plants there for good, cheap and space saving energy. If youÃ¢â‚¬â„¢re expanding, use every Mex' positions, and try to find a place to settle your defence line.

When you can defend yourself from most level 1 units, start on your level 2 building.

When itÃ¢â‚¬â„¢s done, ALWAYS build a construction unit first. Use it for your first mini Fusion. (Or build some mobile fusion at the vehicle plant if you're Arm)
Build level 2 units in the meantime.
Low on metal? Upgrade the finest of your Mexxes to Moho Mexxes. They are bigger and better (but they suck up energy).
You can also build a Moho Metal maker if you have enough energy to support it. (MMM :p)
Okay, if you made this far, you must really start thinking about how to defeat the enemy. Look for his weak spot. Maybe a K-bot assault from the mountains ? Maybe planes. Maybe using amphibious units. That part is for you to figure out.

----

==STRATEGY==

I read through this guide, and suddenly realisedÃ¢â‚¬Â¦

''where is the strategy?''

So I fiddled this section up. Hope you'll learn something from it and thereby increase your Spring gaming experience.

===Defence===

AhÃ¢â‚¬Â¦ the overall defence. There are many different ways to make a good defence, but here are 4 oft seen approaches.

''Compact defence!''

The most common type of defence is a single line of defence, often with Dragon Teeth (DT) in front. Inside your base is some AA, and thatÃ¢â‚¬â„¢s about it. The good thing about this is that itÃ¢â‚¬â„¢s pretty easy and fast to set up, and you know where your territory ends, which can make the game much easier. Problem is, if something makes it past the line of defence, then youÃ¢â‚¬â„¢re screwed, unless youÃ¢â‚¬â„¢re building line after line of defence, or have some units to stop 'em.

''Spread out defence!''

I saw a guy pull this off one time, and he won by a large margin. The trick with this is to never really have a defined line of defence, just a Heavy Laser Tower (HLT) here, a radar there, some DT there, a mine here and thereÃ¢â‚¬Â¦
Basically, you expand every time you build a defence building, so in the end you have ENORMOUS space to move in. Since the defence is spread out, no one is gonna rush past it with some goliaths. You can have some units hide behind mountains and attack. He used Merls who he trapped in fortification walls. I tried to run past the defence with an army of 30 Bulldogs. His HLT and missile/plasma batteries stopped me before I even reached his final defence line.
Even though this defence is the best of 'em all, itÃ¢â‚¬â„¢s hard to build up, and requires lots of resources and time. IF youÃ¢â‚¬â„¢re able to pull it off, the only problem may be if they are fast enough to run by all of it, or if you donÃ¢â‚¬â„¢t have much AA and 30 Brawlers are comingÃ¢â‚¬Â¦

''No defenceÃ¢â‚¬Â¦ at all?''

Yes, this is an option. Okay, you may want some mines here and there, and some DT to stop them from running right through the door and AA in your base if they're building planes. But how do you defend with no defence?
With units; the whole concept is that you put all your effort into making units. This works pretty well, since when you see where the enemy is going to attack, you can MOVE your whole defence to that location.
The problem with this defence is that when you are attacking, you lose most of your defence. Sure, you can leave units behind, but I find it hard mentally to leave half the army at home when I am attacking.
If you manage to pull this off, and make enough units to both attack and defend, then you have not wasted any money on defence, and you have a strong army!

''The All Out Defence''
''Added by Cain''

The opposite of the "no defence" strategy, mixed with the "spread out defence" strategy: the main concept is to invest resources in lots of level 1 build planes, and use them to quickly gather huge amounts of territory and resources, while keeping a lot of planes building/repairing turrets all over the map. This could be very effective on maps with few choke points where your defence can be concentrated in a small area, or mostly flat maps where the overlapping range of defensive structures will create a large grid of protected territory. The concept is to expand the defence line until you can shoot straight into the enemy base. When using this strategy, it is wise to have a lot of level 2 aircraft defending the construction point, as you will need to constantly move your mobile defences around the map, protecting under-contruction defensive areas. I usually end up with a hundred builder planes and 20 to 50 Brawlers floating around... keep them away from Kroghot!

These are the defensive strategies I have found effective.

Also, one thing to remember is to eliminate the largest threat first. If youÃ¢â‚¬â„¢re relying on DT, take out the FARK or construction planes first.

Okay, you've built a good defence.
The next thing you should do is attempt to get into the mindset of your enemy. Put yourself in his shoes, and determine how he would most likely proceed given your defensive strategy. Would he attempt a gunship raid, or launch an attack from a defenceless mountain position? Once you know what his most likely plan of attack will be, rethink your defences with this in mind. If there is an area that is defenceless under your current strategy, and you believe it is a prime spot for your enemy to attack, set up some sort of defence there as well.

===Moving===
Moving or attacking is pretty easy right? Just move from point a to point b and attack cÃ¢â‚¬Â¦
Nope.
First, you have to have your units move TOGETHER. . If some are trailing behind, then you just have to wait a little for them. A way of having your units stick together is to take a pretty slow unit, like a Can, and have others guard it.
Pressing control while moving units will make them keep their position in the formation, but not their speed. (they will spread out along the way, but ''try'' to get back into the position they were in when reaching the destination)
The ''Simple formation'' is also a way of doing this, and the units will automatically form a couple of lines, often with the right units first, too!
Transports are useful for moving units, but use the air transports (Valkyrie /Atlas) intelligently and protect them. The other transportation units are harder to use, since they take more time to load/unload.

===Attacking===

When attacking, remember what each unit's role is in the fight. Farks are used to repair important units that have been damaged. Bulldogs are meant to take damage and give damage back. Merls are used to shoot missiles from a distance, and donÃ¢â‚¬â„¢t require a clear LOS (line of sight). The question is what to repair. Merls die quickly, so one shot = dead. Knowing this, your first instinct might be to repair a Bulldog instead. Bulldogs are often the first thing that the enemy targets, and thus their HP often drops too rapidly to repair. Therefore, it is often wise to repair the middle-range units; not the giant HP monsters, not the units with a weak defence and strong/useful attack, but the average units that have acceptable HP and are not an enemy's first choice when selecting targets. One exception to this is mobile artillery. While it only has enough HP to survive one or two attacks, its attacks are well worth it, and the enemy still may not target them first, giving them a chance to deal massive damage.

===Army vs Army===

Many units attacking one unit is the best thing you can do, as when you kill one of their units, they lose one source of firepower. Focusing your fire is very important. Using focus fire in a group of weak units is very effective. Focus fire is, however, less effective on HP powerhouses.
When youÃ¢â‚¬â„¢re facing an army, always try to attack from behind or the side. Keep your units a little spread out when attacking. Not to far, but just so that area of effect weapons donÃ¢â‚¬â„¢t do as much damage. Have your HP powerhouses at the front, or at the front and sides. Keep em pretty close together but not side by side. Having your units spread out in this manner allows the units in the back to attack, and prevents splash damage units such as Zippers and Pyros from damaging many of your units at once.

This is the normal way of attacking an enemy army. There is the classical pincher movement tooÃ¢â‚¬Â¦
In this, you run one third of your HP powerhouses to the left, one third to the right and have the last third stay where they are.
This gives you 3 advantages:
*it's easier to get past the units and attack their weak units, or just run past them into the base
*you do more damage, since their units will have to change their target all the time and can't escape
*it makes it MUCH harder for the enemy to run away or try to get past you.

===Army vs Base===

Okay, you may have made it past the ground troops, but the fight is not over (unless your enemy used up his units to defend.) Now you must face his base defence, and act depending on the type of defence he hasÃ¢â‚¬Â¦

''Line defence''

Gather your army and set up for battle a bit away from his base, and get ready to move in. Have the FARKS guard your main HP power houses, so they are in the front but still can hide behind em. Everything else behind that. When attacking, have several units attacking the HLT and plasma batteries, and use the FARKS to reclaim his Dragon Teeth. When you have a hole in it, just run like a maniac into the heart of the base. Split your tanks in 2 groups, 1 guarding your long range/high damage units and let the other go loose into the heart of the base. Find the Fusion reactors with your second group of tanks, and try to move the other big group to a place that is easy to defend while hitting the Fusions. Behind buildings is perfect! Kill as much as you can in short, or kill all^^.
If there are several lines of defence, dig the hole in each line of defence and repeat the same tactics.

''Spread out defence''

ArghÃ¢â‚¬Â¦ The tough one. While the individual towers are easy to beat, you canÃ¢â‚¬â„¢t run past his defences unless you like suicide. (And if you do, Ctrl+a and then ctrl+d will do the trick. A slice over the wrist works too.)
This is when you have to make penitence. Use your army, and slowly start killing the defence. Step by step, defence structure by defence structure. Keep building units, and moving them to the fray (you can use Air transports with repeat command and make them drop the units slightly away from the fight). Once you start getting close to his last line of defence, think of it as a line defence.

''Units defence''

Think army vs army. DonÃ¢â‚¬â„¢t rush past 'em with all your units. Your units will spread out and try to go through holes in the enemyÃ¢â‚¬â„¢s formation. In a word, they are dead meat. If you MUST get to the base, have half of the tanks go round the units.

===Naval Battles===

Naval battles are hard to predict if you donÃ¢â‚¬â„¢t play island maps a lot, since there many factors to take into play. Since land units are removed, you have to think in a WHOLE new perspective. No land means that only Sea, Air and Hover units can fight (and LRC off course).
Anyway, try to have air units scouting land and sea, and looking how much AA the enemy has. Ships roam around assaulting other ships, with a mix of subs, sub killers, AA ships and normal ships. Hovercrafts should be the thing to use when assaulting land thatÃ¢â‚¬â„¢s a little far from shore. Have'em escorted with planes or ships (or both).

====Ships====
When using ships, have scout ships or planes scout the area in front, then subs and sub killers front. Use Long range ships at the sides to protect anything of value you might have with you (a sea transport or an aircraft carrier). When in battle, try to have the subs run away from sub killers, while your sub killers kill the enemy subs. Your subs should try to attack the most important ship they have, and then just go crazy.
When facing land, youÃ¢â‚¬â„¢re pretty much in for an easy win. Just have your ships blow it all up. If you face LRC, take them out first. The rest of it is out of your hands.
Remember if your opponent has air superiority or LRPCs use subs as they can't hit them :)

====Hovercraft====
Use the Army vs Army or Army vs Base strategy here.

-- addendum by Cain.

Howercraft are quite expensive compared to other land units, but are very useful also in the map with a bit of water, targetting enemies without worring of those pesky gholiat... Note that they're much cheaper than ship, anyway.

===Planes===
Hohoho, planes. Fun stuff to attack with. Anyway, the most stuff is basic with planes.
First, always attack the AA first. Unless your are going to do a suicide mission. Kill the AA with gunships, and use bombers to kill structures. Many players use gunships only, with is pretty wrong. Bombers take a little time to master but allied with gunships, they do a very good job. Scout early, so you can quickly see WHAT the enemy has and WHERE he has it. Use gunships to take out AA and act like overall decoys. Have Bombers fly in and bomb the crap out off his Fusion or whatever strategic point, and use the fighters to guard the bombers.
When facing units, do the same.
When facing sea, do the same thing, but add Torpedoes to bombers and gunships.

-- addendum by Cain

Know where the enemy commander is! In game where the commander death is a winning condition, a lot of bomber could just converge on him, killing on the first run.. especially the 2nd level bombers that have a nice turretted fast targetting laser! Also, gunship could distract enemy defence from your main attack force, or you can use them to make the defences of distract players shooting their own base....

===Using Terrain===

Using terrain wisely is very important. The issue of a game can depend on a good use of terrain.
First, Line of Sight (LOS) and RADAR. Both are blocked by terrain. So build your radars as high up as possibly, otherwise you may just not see anything. Use the relief at your advantage to hide an army or your important buildings from enemy radars.
Of course, one can also take advantage of altitude to increase fire range. A couple of Guardians on top of two high hills can easily devastate a small army.
Terrain also helps shield your units against attacks. Therefore, when youÃ¢â‚¬â„¢re building something high on top of a hill, try placing it a little behind the top. This is like crouching behind a crate when just your head and gun sticks up. But remember that terrain in Spring is deformable and can be leveled by impacts !
Know the climbing ability of your units. Hovercrafts and vehicles have pretty low climbing ability. But if a foe thinks he has sealed up all exits, your K-bots can still climb the mountains where he hasnÃ¢â‚¬â„¢t put any Dragon ToothÃ¢â‚¬Â¦
Another good thing about terrain is that it mentally makes you feel safe. If there is a water barrier between me and the enemy, with 3 land bridges here and there, there probably wonÃ¢â‚¬â„¢t have much ground defence at a location AWAY from the bridges. Presuming the map is pretty flat (like "Flooded Desert") a hovercraft assault would do A LOT of damage, right?

===Energy and all the problems with it===
(in xta)
As I said before, most level 2 units require energy to move, shoot and operate in general. Meaning that if you have no energy to support your army, you can't do anything ! You can use this in your favor, by attacking his Fusions, or
by ''giving'' Metal makers to your enemy when you are attacking him(Edit:Metal makers are now turned off when given to an enemy), or he is attacking you! Things that drain a lot of energy include LRPC, Goliaths, HLT, and most level 2 units.
(/in xta)

===Paper-rock-scissor ?===

Try to look at all units as individuals. Even if I didn't write much about each single unit, know your favorite ones and how to use them effectively in conjunction with the others. You'll find that some units are very complementary. The only real paper-rock relationships are AA and planes... Maybe subs vs sub killers...

I didn't even mention cloaking, radar jamming, troops behaviour facing attacks, mines, etc, etc. The possibilities are immense, but I don't want to spoil your pleasure any longer, so I'll let you discover them by yourself.

'''Have fun !!!'''

----

===Strategy Tips===

-Expand! Metal is scarce. The more you get, the more you can build. Even if you have a good base, not a bad thing to do is to make it bigger.

-Scout! Knowledge is power. You must know what your enemy is planning, and what the enemy knows about you. (Or thinks he know about youÃ¯Â¿Å ) Check what he has, and what he is building. If heÃ¢â‚¬â„¢s building aircrafts, do something about it. Look for weaknesses in defence and such alike. If you or your ally are scouting, donÃ¢â‚¬â„¢t look away. Gather as much information as possible.
ALL buildings once in sight range will remain visible as 'ghost' buildings if this option isn't turned off by the host.

-Radar = GOOD^^. Radar checks areas for units, increases your units LOS and is overall helpful. A radar with your army makes a big difference when attacking. But so is Jamming. Jamming is good for sneak attacks. They are cheap, so just build one and make your units guard it.

-Work Together! Often I see allies who just mind their own business and donÃ¢â‚¬â„¢t care what the other person's doing. DONÃ¢â‚¬â„¢TÃ¢â‚¬Â¦ DOÃ¢â‚¬Â¦ THIS!!! Listen to each other, make up a plan. Prepare combined attacks. If there is a 2v2, then itÃ¢â‚¬â„¢s 2 alliesÃ¢â‚¬â„¢ vs 2 allies. Not a ffa with neutral partners. Type h to share units. Left click on your resource bars to auto share resources with allies.

-Power Plants. In order to level out the building costs, it is important to make a smooth transition from the least powerful generators to the most powerful ones stepwise. First solar, then Geo, then mobile/mini Fusion then Fusion.

-Check your resource bar. Try to keep a fine line between having too much resources/wasting, and having a nanostall. Use your factories and such accordingly. If you have a lot of resources, try using your old level 1 factories to build some units. Also, try to find the time to build an energy/metal storage...

-Spread out your buildings/units. Since every unit explodes, they damage units close to them. This is especially important with Fusions... (I once saw someone put 13 mobile fusions close to each other... blew up half his base with 2 (!!!) LRPC shots...)

-Queue (yeah, easy word for it to:/) up orders! You can almost win the game by pausing, queuing up some stuff, and then go eat lunch. Not really, but holding shift is good whilst putting up buildings.

-Guard = following and protection. Use planes to guard your tanks, subs to guard your transports, construction units to automatically repair important units or and so on. Then they will choose to attack whatever is hurting their guard object first. You can even do this to structures, for units who are built to move to a unitÃ¢â‚¬â„¢s position or AA to attack whatever is shooting on the Fusion reactors, etcÃ¢â‚¬Â¦
Overall, this makes working with several unit types easier.

-Reclaim stuff (sucking it in and transforming it into resources). When you're starting to run low on metal, reclaim the enemyÃ¢â‚¬â„¢s and your own corpses. Trees give energy, so if youÃ¢â‚¬â„¢re out on energy in the beginning... You can reclaim a whole area by shift-clicking.

-The key for porcers are to build LRPC. Or even better, build a nuke and use LOTS of planes to kill his anti-nuke. Then BOOM!
Also as you have way loads more metal and space to move in than your opponent, you can easily afford 2 nukes. An anti-nuke can't deal with 2 nukes heading towards it(and if you aim the nukes at the antinuke...^^!

-Experiment! I suggest you go into single player and try every unit. Use commanders for arm, and small battle (watch that Krogoth!) for core. Try every approach to a problem. Remember, just because a unit is good, itÃ¢â‚¬â„¢s not invincible. Also, try how much metal and energy a building uses while in operation. For instance, a level 1 factory uses about 50 energy and 5 metal. This varies depending on what you build. This could help you prevent nanostalling.

-Several types of factories. Yeah, even if it costs money. A advanced building cost as much as a Bulldog or 2... You got the time, and the money. Build it.

-Raid. Take the Weasel or a couple of Peewees on a cruise right by the enemyÃ¢â‚¬â„¢s mexxes. Having trouble finding'em ? Type F4 to see where the ground is drained^^ [Edit] This doesn't apply anymore, but you can still see where a mex is by trying to build one of your own there. If you can't, there's already one on the spot... A tip is to stay away from the Commander, or use buildings as hostages. Hide behind stuff and kill it off, then move on. If you're sure you're going to die, move close to a building and self-destruct.

-Just because Peewees are better then AKÃ¢â‚¬â„¢s doesnÃ¢â‚¬â„¢t meant that AKÃ¢â‚¬â„¢s are useless. (And so onÃ¢â‚¬Â¦). In fact, no unit is useless. If you believe it is, try it once. On what it was meant to do.

-Mix armies. O boy, if you havenÃ¢â‚¬â„¢t heard this one a thousand times before, you've only been playing Half-Life for the last 7 years or something. Even if Goliaths rule, a couple of missile units will make them much more effective.

-Farks are useful in combat. Always have 1-3 with you. Reclaiming DT, or doing what they were meant to do : Repair -.-* (also, when I say FARKs somewhere in the guide, construction units work to...)

-Ask questions. No one is going to laugh at you. And if someone does, heÃ¢â‚¬â„¢s a ass and shouldnÃ¢â‚¬â„¢t even be poked a stick at. No question is too stupid. Just donÃ¢â‚¬â„¢t expect anyone in the heat of a battle to answer to Ã¢â‚¬ËœÃ¢â‚¬â„¢how do I play?Ã¢â‚¬â„¢Ã¢â‚¬â„¢.

-Learn ! If you lost, use the replay too to watch the game and try to understand why you died. What did the enemy do better than you? What was the key to winning? And so on.

-The Readme file has some cool keyboard shortcuts... check it out.

-Develop! Are you a programmer, a 3D design artist or just some regular Joe? Come to the forum for a talk, chatter, and make wacky suggestions! In the end you may contribute of making Spring better! Remember, Spring is open source. So just dive into there and replace AKÃ¢â‚¬â„¢s with flying monkeys in space suits or whatever.

-Try having some good music on when playing. It can give you a good kick. I recommend the WAR OF THE WORLD (the strategy game, yes it exists) Ã¢â‚¬ËœÃ¢â‚¬â„¢eve of the warÃ¢â‚¬â„¢Ã¢â‚¬â„¢ [http://www.fileuniverse.com/?page=listing&ID=54 the original TA music]
Or anything you like.

-Need more strategy and tips? Since Spring is a remake of TA, any TA strategy guide works...

-LAST BUT NOT LEAST : '''DonÃ¢â‚¬â„¢t get too serious. ItÃ¢â‚¬â„¢s only a game.'''

This guide was written by Kixxe aka Johan Wittrock before everyone edited (and improved!) it mercilessly.

Back to [[Strategy_and_Tactics]]

Spring guide

2006-03-13T20:17:30Z

DarkOppressor: /* Defence */

'''

Ã¢â‚¬ËœÃ¢â‚¬â„¢Keep in mind that Spring is still in beta, therefore crashes can occur (a lot) and we (well, not me!) havenÃ¢â‚¬â„¢t got everything fixed yet.Ã¢â‚¬â„¢Ã¢â‚¬â„¢

Before we start, letÃ¢â‚¬â„¢s have some background info.

== TA: so what's so cool about this game ? ==
[warning, boring info that doesnÃ¢â‚¬â„¢t really mean anything]

TA (Total Annihilation) was created by Cavedog (R.I.P) in 1997, about half a year before(!!!) Starcraft was released. It was revolutionary in many ways, with 3D graphics (but a fixed camera), good animations (aircraft barrel rolled and leaned when they turned etc.), 3D terrain and many units (150 in the original game.) But in my not so humble opinion, the 3 greatest things that set TA apart were...

* Its physics! Every shot trajectory was calculated! An artillery shell could try to get over a hill and hit an aircraft, which exploded into bits, damaging other troops nearby, which could also explode and set forests on fire. Yeah, might not sound that big after 7 years, but back then we had Starcraft, which defied at least a half dozen laws of physics.

(Example of the tentacle through space. Yeah, really realistic)
[http://fast.filespace.org/Kixxe/WTF.png Click here]

* The order system! You could have 300 units waiting to be built, and when they were done, they could go and patrol an area and attack anyone in it. Order queues were limitless. You could build your whole base and drink tea while it was getting built. Construction units on patrol would repair damaged units, help build things and reclaim stuff (sucking it in and transforming it into resources.)

* The resource system! Contrary to other RTS games, the resources in TA are infinite. What limits resource consumption is the rate at which they can be gathered. This sole fact would make for longer and more epic games, with hundreds or thousands of units fighting in the endgame.

Pretty cool game. If you want, check out their old website for more info. [http://www.fileuniverse.com/Total_Annihilation_Mirror/totala/index.html Click here]

[/warning, boring info that doesnÃ¢â‚¬â„¢t really mean anything]

Anyway, enough of my rambling, onto Spring!

Now, as I told you, Spring was inspired by TA and has the same features TA had. Plus a few new thingsÃ¢â‚¬Â¦ check out the Spring features page for more info.
[http://taspring.clan-sy.com/wiki/Features Click here]

----

==Resources==

There are two types of resources in Spring, namely ''metal'' and ''energy''. Each of these two resources can be collected in a number of different ways. The amount of each resource that you currently have stockpiled is represented by a coloured bar, one for each resource, along the upper edge of the screen. The rate at which you are presently collecting and consuming each of the two types is represented by a number and a + or - sign. If you are collecting at a faster rate then the rate at which you are consuming you will see your coloured bar grow as resources accumulate. Your stockpiled resources are being depleted whenever the coloured bar is shrinking. There are storage buildings which you can build for each type of resource and these will increase the amount of each which can be stored. Units and structures cost both metal and energy to build, while some units or structures also require energy to walk, shoot or operate in general.

Metal is collected continuously from either a metal extractor, often called Ã¢â‚¬ËœmexesÃ¢â‚¬â„¢ which extract from certain areas of the map, or by using a metal maker, abbreviated as Ã¢â‚¬ËœMMÃ¢â‚¬â„¢ which convert energy into metal. Both will only operate so long as there is sufficient energy to power them. However, metal makers require a lot of energy.
A faster way to gather metal is by using either your commander or a construction bot to 'reclaim' it from the remains of destroyed units and buildings! They can even reclaim buildings which have not been destroyed and they don't have to belong to your enemy to be reclaimed.

Energy can be produced by a number of different buildings or it can be reclaimed (you can reclaim trees to gather energy). There are many different types of energy producers, including solar collectors and power plants, but they will be covered in another section.

In a game, always Ã¢â‚¬Å“keep an eye on your metal and energy barÃ¢â‚¬Å“ because if one of them goes to zero, particularly energy, your building rate will stall,(metal makers and extractors will stop producing) and some units will be unable to fire their energy weapons (eg. LRPCs, Annihilators, Doomsday Machines).

----

==A Normal Spring Game==

Anyway, now you will learn the basics of a normal Spring game, as I see it.
Every Spring game starts with all players only havingÃ¢â‚¬Â¦

'''The COMMANDER'''! (Insert DUN DUN DUUUUUNN)

The Commander is the unit you start with and the most important one in the game. He is unique and cannot be rebuilt. In fact, there is a mode where the game ends when the commander dies, so never leave him alone.

The fastest builder, he can walk and build underwater, he makes a nuke-sized explosion when he dies, he has a laser and the privilege of a Disintegrator Gun (alias D-Gun).
The D-Gun is the single most powerful weapon in the whole game, which kills ANY (ANY, I mean it!) unit in one hit (friend or foe no difference, be careful!). Even if that sounds a like a little overkill, keep in mind that the Commander has a very limited range, is defenceless against any aircraft and long range artillery, and when submerged, he cannot shoot. (Subs! Onoz!)

The Commander is used for setting up a base, and early base defences. The D-Gun should protect him against any level 1 unit that tries to kill him, so if you lose your Commander in the beginning of the gameÃ¢â‚¬Â¦ then you're dead. You lose your best (only?) builder and attacker, plus you have a nuke-sized explosion that may destroy half or all of your base.

AnywayÃ¢â‚¬Â¦ if you're seeing everything in a top down perspective, click the Commander (type Ctrl+C if you can't find him) with left mouse button to select him.

(If you have a crosshair as a mouse, press j. If your camera is zoomed out or all jerky, press ctrl+j until you find the OTA(Original Total Annihilation) camera.)

Okay, letÃ¢â‚¬â„¢s now discuss '''how to build stuff'''.

Like any normal RTS, itÃ¢â‚¬â„¢s choose a unit and click a location, but there is more with Spring. Hold shift and click on different locations to make the unit build the same building there. Hold shift and drag and you will make a line of the building. Hold ctrl and shift to make boxes/rectangular shapes of buildings. Use these! Make a line of DT (Dragon Teeth, small piece of wall/cover) instead of clicking each and every one. The controls are there to help you.
This is called queuing up stuff. You can use almost every single command in a queue. Buildings can be queued to build lots of different units, and then the other orders in the behaviour of the unit. You can make them walk to something, or guard/follow a unit by pressing G and selecting the unit to guard. Try it.
Selecting a unit and pressing shift key will show the orders queue.

Build 2 solar generators, or 4 wind generators to gather energy. Keep in mind that wind is pretty unstable, and that a number of maps (like lunar ones) have no wind at all! (The level of wind and tides in the map is indicated in the Map Selector in the Lobby).

Now select the Metal extractors and the whole screen turns black and green. Okay, place one on the green stuff. (The greener, the better! Like broccoli!)

Oh, and the minimap controls in spring are reversed. Meaning that you have to right-click to move the screen to the location. Once the new GUI is out and offical, this will be fixed.

----

==The TA Bestiary==

Okay, time to describe the cool units that are at your disposal to make your enemies bleed. 8)

(Disclaimer : This will discuss the types of units, not every unit. Therefore, if I say that vehicles have large armour, I donÃ¢â‚¬â„¢t mean artillery of course.)

On to the first level 1 lab/plant to build. The categories areÃ¢â‚¬Â¦

===Vehicles===

These babies are all about armour. The level 1 units are pretty basic, with more armour and (build) speed and than their K-bot counterparts. Level 2 vehicles show even more of the same pattern: better armour than their K-bot counterparts. Level 2 also offers the mobile Flak unit, which is the only real level 2 mobile AA.
Their weakness is that they are clumsy, turn slowly, and most of them canÃ¢â‚¬â„¢t climb mountainsÃ¢â‚¬Â¦ at all. Leads to trouble when an explosion makes a crater; units survive but can get stuck in the crater. Or just when they are trying to get up a steep hill. But sooner or later, you'll learn what kind of destruction a rush of 30 Goliaths can do!

===K-Bots===

K-bots generally have less powerful weapons than tanks, and are also less heavily armoured.
So why build them in the first place?
Because they are cheaper! And since they are cheaper, you can build more and outnumber your enemies. This doesnÃ¢â‚¬â„¢t work out that good in game though, since tanks ARE stronger. K-bots are also smaller, and will slip through DT and such alike easier than tanks.
And finally, the third advantage (which IMO is the biggest) of K-bots are that they can climb most mountains with ease! Climb by defences, up on mountains, through holes, these are all-purpose units.

===Aircraft===

Planes are planes. In Spring, thereÃ¢â‚¬â„¢s a plane for every role. Bombers, fighters, gunships, flying radar, transports, stealth fighters and torpedo bombers. Planes are fast, and are not affected by terrain. There is no wall or relief that can stop a plane. You can just swoop into a base and take out AA with your gunship, and then bomb the crap out of their important structures. To stop them, you've got to rely on Anti Air (AA) units.

On the downside, planes are quite expensive to build and are relatively fragile. They are also the only units that have an anti unit against them (Except subs). When someone finds out you're building a large air fleet, they just cram their base full of AA and their army with mobile AA. And the only counter is more planes than their AA can handle, or a ground troop to take the AA down. A combined ground and air attack can be very destructive. Good luck!

===Ships===

Ships are good on a map with water. (DUH!) Ships come in many different kinds, but mostly for taking out other ships or bombing the crap out of land units in some way or another. The ships' strength is their powerful weaponry and their long range. All ships made to take out land have long range. Ships also have lots of armour. Another thing thatÃ¢â‚¬â„¢s good about ships is that there is not much you can do to stop them because they are usually out of range. Once you see that the enemy has ships, either build a dock and a navy real fast or build planes and pray that he doesnÃ¢â‚¬â„¢t have too many AA ships.
Their weaknesses are slowness (especially when turning), they can be taken out by submarines, and of course they are confined to water, meaning that they are often stuck with units just outside of their reach.

And they are *extremely* expensive, metal-wise.

===Hovercraft===

(These are counted as level 2 units, so I would not recommend them as the first to build unless itÃ¢â‚¬â„¢s the perfect map for them)

Hovercrafts are a tank and a plane (some say ship, but I find planes to be more accurate for some reason O.o) mixed. Sure itÃ¢â‚¬â„¢s weaker than your average tank, and slower than your average plane. Whats their use? They are meant for swampy maps that means that both tanks and ships are a weakness, and offcourse since none can't be used, everyone just spams out AA since they think aircrafts are the only way. Great suprise for the enemy when 50 hovercrafts comes in agsint their flakkers and MT...
Long story short, Hovercrafts are good for those who like (or must) attack from the ground, but canÃ¢â‚¬â„¢t since there is too much water.

Their weakness is their low climbing ability, and that they're weaker than a tank and slower than a plane. (DonÃ¢â‚¬â„¢t build them on a land map, tanks ARE better.)

===Towers and Turrets===

Like TA, Spring boasts an impressive range of plasma and laser towers, cannons and turrets. These cannons will undoubtly be essential parts of your offensive as well as defensive strategies.

'''Light laser tower (LLT)'''
A cheap and fast laser that hits almost every time. Mostly useful against level 1 units, but can be used in groups against level 2. They suffer from short range, so most long range weapons can kill them(Samsons, for example). Since they fire faster than their bigger brothers, LLTs are more useful against hordes of small weak units than a single strong one.

'''Heavy laser tower (HLT)'''
This is the only tower that works on those pesky level 2 units that just wonÃ¢â‚¬â„¢t die. These shoot slower, but with much more power than the LLT. They also have a longer range and can be quite effective against air attacks. They cost a fair amount and take a long time to build, but they are often worth it.

'''Missile Tower (MT)'''
The missile tower is good for planes or weak level 1 units. They shoot a weak rocket that almost hits their target every time. They have a fair range, but very low hp. They work on most level 2 planes as well, but should be backed up with Flack cannons.

'''Pop-up Cannons'''
Pop-up cannons are pretty cheap middle range gun. A guardian can outshoot them, but they are still a choice to use. When Ã¢â‚¬ËœÃ¢â‚¬â„¢offÃ¢â‚¬â„¢Ã¢â‚¬â„¢ they take 50% less damage! I heard that a closed popup can withstand a nuke! (If itÃ¢â‚¬â„¢s not a direct hit) In XTA you can build them with level 1 construction K-bot or whatever. Sometimes individual wars between 2 or 4 pop-ups break out, where both sides try to kill the other's ones. Just remember to repair them, as with all PCÃ¢â‚¬Â¦

'''Middle range Plasma Cannons (MRPC)'''
Guardians and such alike. These arenÃ¢â‚¬â„¢t for attacking, but they have a pretty long range, and are not too expensive. Plus their targeting is pretty fast, meaning they are practically made for defence and very lethal. Perfect to have on a hill close to a HLT and some MTÃ¢â‚¬Â¦

'''Long Range Plasma Cannons (LRPC)'''
We are talking Big berthas, Intimidators and such alike. These babies got the RANGE and may be the ultimate weapon on small maps. The Big Bertha, yeah. An amazing unit. Not the ultimate, but several times cheaper and more accurate than a Buzz Saw/Vulcan, and its accuracy will improve with every kill. Not good at defending, since its slow targeting makes it impossible to hit moving targets. Try to build one on a small maps, or just build one close to the enemy and your Bertha will start pounding his base mercilessly. In fact, build several, with a lot of AA around 'em (and ground, if thatÃ¢â‚¬â„¢s possible) and you'll see your enemy's morale quickly fall to the ground. A LRPC expansion can sometimes become the winning factor of a game.

'''Very long range plasma Cannons (VLRC)'''
Buzzsaws are big, cost much, are huge energy suckers, are VERY inaccurate and are pretty slow on targeting. BUT, they have the DOUBLE range of a normal LRPC and shoot 4(!!!) shots at a time. This is the one thing to finish those ÃƒÂ¼ber porckers.
Defend these well, with lots of AA around and in a wide circle. They only have about 5000 hp, so killing'em is easy if you donÃ¢â‚¬â„¢t have AAÃ¢â‚¬Â¦
In OTA however Vulcans/Buzzsaws have SLIGHTLY LESS range than LRPCs, so LRPCs are generally better because they are so cheaper and each are a seperate entity with a fair bit of life(around 2500 i think).

The obvious way to kill LRC is to use planes, since they are fast enough to enter and kill it all.

===The first steps===

Now comes the tricky part. The first minute is always the same really, so what after that?
Well, itÃ¢â‚¬â„¢s hard to judge. But here are some paths that can be taken.

1. Build many construction units and send them out to build mexxes and Geothermal Power Plants. Then a defence and maybe some DT.

2. Build some construction units, and then start building defences. Follow the Ã¢â‚¬ËœÃ¢â‚¬â„¢line defenceÃ¢â‚¬â„¢Ã¢â‚¬â„¢ guide lines.
Build Fusion Power Plants and Metal makers, and then an army. After that, use the army how armies are used best.
This strategy is called PORCING, and is considered by many as BAD.
There are disadvantages with this. You canÃ¢â‚¬â„¢t use many metal extractors or Geos, so you have slim to no resources to build your base. A popular strategy is to kill the anti-nuke, and then blow the whole compact base to bits.

3. Build a small army of 3-6 units and attack the enemy. The goal isnÃ¢â‚¬â„¢t to kill him, but to do as much damage as possible to his resources and hinder his economy. Mexxes are the most important, and then look for wind or solar generators.
Try to keep on attacking him, but remember to still tech up and build defences.

Anyway, use your construction units to build defences of SOME kind. Take advantage of Geothermal gases. Yeah the smoking stuff. You can place Geo plants there for good, cheap and space saving energy. If youÃ¢â‚¬â„¢re expanding, use every Mex' positions, and try to find a place to settle your defence line.

When you can defend yourself from most level 1 units, start on your level 2 building.

When itÃ¢â‚¬â„¢s done, ALWAYS build a construction unit first. Use it for your first mini Fusion. (Or build some mobile fusion at the vehicle plant if you're Arm)
Build level 2 units in the meantime.
Low on metal? Upgrade the finest of your Mexxes to Moho Mexxes. They are bigger and better (but they suck up energy).
You can also build a Moho Metal maker if you have enough energy to support it. (MMM :p)
Okay, if you made this far, you must really start thinking about how to defeat the enemy. Look for his weak spot. Maybe a K-bot assault from the mountains ? Maybe planes. Maybe using amphibious units. That part is for you to figure out.

----

==STRATEGY==

I read through this guide, and suddenly realisedÃ¢â‚¬Â¦

''where is the strategy?''

So I fiddled this section up. Hope you'll learn something from it and thereby increase your Spring gaming experience.

===Defence===

AhÃ¢â‚¬Â¦ the overall defence. There are many different ways to make a good defence, but there are 3 main categories.

''Compact defence!''

The most common type of defence is a single line of defence, often with Dragon Teeth (DT) in front. Inside your base is some AA, and thatÃ¢â‚¬â„¢s about it. The good thing about this is that itÃ¢â‚¬â„¢s pretty easy and fast to set up, and you know where your territory ends, which can make the game much easier. Problem is, if something makes it past the line of defence, then youÃ¢â‚¬â„¢re screwed, unless youÃ¢â‚¬â„¢re building line after line of defence, or have some units to stop 'em.

''Spread out defence!''

I saw a guy pull this off one time, and he won by a large margin. The trick with this is to never really have a defined line of defence, just a Heavy Laser Tower (HLT) here, a radar there, some DT there, a mine here and thereÃ¢â‚¬Â¦
Basically, you expand every time you build a defence building, so in the end you have ENORMOUS space to move in. Since the defence is spread out, no one is gonna rush past it with some goliaths. You can have some units hide behind mountains and attack. He used Merls who he trapped in fortification walls. I tried to run past the defence with an army of 30 Bulldogs. His HLT and missile/plasma batteries stopped me before I even reached his final defence line.
Even though this defence is the best of 'em all, itÃ¢â‚¬â„¢s hard to build up, and requires lots of resources and time. IF youÃ¢â‚¬â„¢re able to pull it off, the only problem may be if they are fast enough to run by all of it, or if you donÃ¢â‚¬â„¢t have much AA and 30 Brawlers are comingÃ¢â‚¬Â¦

''No defenceÃ¢â‚¬Â¦ at all?''

Yes, this is an option. Okay, you may want some mines here and there, and some DT to stop them from running right through the door and AA in your base if they're building planes. But how do you defend with no defence?
With units; the whole concept is that you put all your effort into making units. This works pretty well, since when you see where the enemy is going to attack, you can MOVE your whole defence to that location.
The problem with this defence is that when you are attacking, you lose most of your defence. Sure, you can leave units behind, but I find it hard mentally to leave half the army at home when I am attacking.
If you manage to pull this off, and make enough units to both attack and defend, then you have not wasted any money on defence, and you have a strong army!

''The All Out Defence''
''Added by Cain''
The opposite of the "no defence" strategy, mixed with the "spread out defence" strategy: the main concept is to invest resources in lots of level 1 build planes, and use them to quickly gather huge amounts of territory and resources, while keeping a lot of planes building/repairing turrets all over the map. This could be very effective on maps with few choke points where your defence can be concentrated in a small area, or mostly flat maps where the overlapping range of defensive structures will create a large grid of protected territory. The concept is to expand the defence line until you can shoot straight into the enemy base. When using this strategy, it is wise to have a lot of level 2 aircraft defending the construction point, as you will need to constantly move your mobile defences around the map, protecting under-contruction defensive areas. I usually end up with a hundred builder planes and 20 to 50 Brawlers floating around... keep them away from Kroghot!

These are the defensive strategies I have found effective.

Also, one thing to remember is to eliminate the largest threat first. If youÃ¢â‚¬â„¢re relying on DT, take out the FARK or construction planes first.

Okay, you've built a good defence.
The next thing you should do is attempt to get into the mindset of your enemy. Put yourself in his shoes, and determine how he would most likely proceed given your defensive strategy. Would he attempt a gunship raid, or launch an attack from a defenceless mountain position? Once you know what his most likely plan of attack will be, rethink your defences with this in mind. If there is an area that is defenceless under your current strategy, and you believe it is a prime spot for your enemy to attack, set up some sort of defence there as well.

===Moving===
Moving or attacking is pretty easy right? Just move from point a to point b and attack cÃ¢â‚¬Â¦
Nope.
First, you have to have your units move TOGETHER. . If some are trailing behind, then you just have to wait a little for them. A way of having your units stick together is to take a pretty slow unit, like a Can, and have others guard it.
Pressing control while moving units will make them keep their position in the formation, but not their speed. (they will spread out along the way, but ''try'' to get back into the position they were in when reaching the destination)
The ''Simple formation'' is also a way of doing this, and the units will automatically form a couple of lines, often with the right units first, too!
Transports are useful for moving units, but use the air transports (Valkyrie /Atlas) intelligently and protect them. The other transportation units are harder to use, since they take more time to load/unload.

===Attacking===

When attacking, remember what each unit's role is in the fight. Farks are used to repair important units that have been damaged. Bulldogs are meant to take damage and give damage back. Merls are used to shoot missiles from a distance, and donÃ¢â‚¬â„¢t require a clear LOS (line of sight). The question is what to repair. Merls die quickly, so one shot = dead. Knowing this, your first instinct might be to repair a Bulldog instead. Bulldogs are often the first thing that the enemy targets, and thus their HP often drops too rapidly to repair. Therefore, it is often wise to repair the middle-range units; not the giant HP monsters, not the units with a weak defence and strong/useful attack, but the average units that have acceptable HP and are not an enemy's first choice when selecting targets. One exception to this is mobile artillery. While it only has enough HP to survive one or two attacks, its attacks are well worth it, and the enemy still may not target them first, giving them a chance to deal massive damage.

===Army vs Army===

Many units attacking one unit is the best thing you can do, as when you kill one of their units, they lose one source of firepower. Focusing your fire is very important. Using focus fire in a group of weak units is very effective. Focus fire is, however, less effective on HP powerhouses.
When youÃ¢â‚¬â„¢re facing an army, always try to attack from behind or the side. Keep your units a little spread out when attacking. Not to far, but just so that area of effect weapons donÃ¢â‚¬â„¢t do as much damage. Have your HP powerhouses at the front, or at the front and sides. Keep em pretty close together but not side by side. Having your units spread out in this manner allows the units in the back to attack, and prevents splash damage units such as Zippers and Pyros from damaging many of your units at once.

This is the normal way of attacking an enemy army. There is the classical pincher movement tooÃ¢â‚¬Â¦
In this, you run one third of your HP powerhouses to the left, one third to the right and have the last third stay where they are.
This gives you 3 advantages:
*it's easier to get past the units and attack their weak units, or just run past them into the base
*you do more damage, since their units will have to change their target all the time and can't escape
*it makes it MUCH harder for the enemy to run away or try to get past you.

===Army vs Base===

Okay, you may have made it past the ground troops, but the fight is not over (unless your enemy used up his units to defend.) Now you must face his base defence, and act depending on the type of defence he hasÃ¢â‚¬Â¦

''Line defence''

Gather your army and set up for battle a bit away from his base, and get ready to move in. Have the FARKS guard your main HP power houses, so they are in the front but still can hide behind em. Everything else behind that. When attacking, have several units attacking the HLT and plasma batteries, and use the FARKS to reclaim his Dragon Teeth. When you have a hole in it, just run like a maniac into the heart of the base. Split your tanks in 2 groups, 1 guarding your long range/high damage units and let the other go loose into the heart of the base. Find the Fusion reactors with your second group of tanks, and try to move the other big group to a place that is easy to defend while hitting the Fusions. Behind buildings is perfect! Kill as much as you can in short, or kill all^^.
If there are several lines of defence, dig the hole in each line of defence and repeat the same tactics.

''Spread out defence''

ArghÃ¢â‚¬Â¦ The tough one. While the individual towers are easy to beat, you canÃ¢â‚¬â„¢t run past his defences unless you like suicide. (And if you do, Ctrl+a and then ctrl+d will do the trick. A slice over the wrist works too.)
This is when you have to make penitence. Use your army, and slowly start killing the defence. Step by step, defence structure by defence structure. Keep building units, and moving them to the fray (you can use Air transports with repeat command and make them drop the units slightly away from the fight). Once you start getting close to his last line of defence, think of it as a line defence.

''Units defence''

Think army vs army. DonÃ¢â‚¬â„¢t rush past 'em with all your units. Your units will spread out and try to go through holes in the enemyÃ¢â‚¬â„¢s formation. In a word, they are dead meat. If you MUST get to the base, have half of the tanks go round the units.

===Naval Battles===

Naval battles are hard to predict if you donÃ¢â‚¬â„¢t play island maps a lot, since there many factors to take into play. Since land units are removed, you have to think in a WHOLE new perspective. No land means that only Sea, Air and Hover units can fight (and LRC off course).
Anyway, try to have air units scouting land and sea, and looking how much AA the enemy has. Ships roam around assaulting other ships, with a mix of subs, sub killers, AA ships and normal ships. Hovercrafts should be the thing to use when assaulting land thatÃ¢â‚¬â„¢s a little far from shore. Have'em escorted with planes or ships (or both).

====Ships====
When using ships, have scout ships or planes scout the area in front, then subs and sub killers front. Use Long range ships at the sides to protect anything of value you might have with you (a sea transport or an aircraft carrier). When in battle, try to have the subs run away from sub killers, while your sub killers kill the enemy subs. Your subs should try to attack the most important ship they have, and then just go crazy.
When facing land, youÃ¢â‚¬â„¢re pretty much in for an easy win. Just have your ships blow it all up. If you face LRC, take them out first. The rest of it is out of your hands.
Remember if your opponent has air superiority or LRPCs use subs as they can't hit them :)

====Hovercraft====
Use the Army vs Army or Army vs Base strategy here.

-- addendum by Cain.

Howercraft are quite expensive compared to other land units, but are very useful also in the map with a bit of water, targetting enemies without worring of those pesky gholiat... Note that they're much cheaper than ship, anyway.

===Planes===
Hohoho, planes. Fun stuff to attack with. Anyway, the most stuff is basic with planes.
First, always attack the AA first. Unless your are going to do a suicide mission. Kill the AA with gunships, and use bombers to kill structures. Many players use gunships only, with is pretty wrong. Bombers take a little time to master but allied with gunships, they do a very good job. Scout early, so you can quickly see WHAT the enemy has and WHERE he has it. Use gunships to take out AA and act like overall decoys. Have Bombers fly in and bomb the crap out off his Fusion or whatever strategic point, and use the fighters to guard the bombers.
When facing units, do the same.
When facing sea, do the same thing, but add Torpedoes to bombers and gunships.

-- addendum by Cain

Know where the enemy commander is! In game where the commander death is a winning condition, a lot of bomber could just converge on him, killing on the first run.. especially the 2nd level bombers that have a nice turretted fast targetting laser! Also, gunship could distract enemy defence from your main attack force, or you can use them to make the defences of distract players shooting their own base....

===Using Terrain===

Using terrain wisely is very important. The issue of a game can depend on a good use of terrain.
First, Line of Sight (LOS) and RADAR. Both are blocked by terrain. So build your radars as high up as possibly, otherwise you may just not see anything. Use the relief at your advantage to hide an army or your important buildings from enemy radars.
Of course, one can also take advantage of altitude to increase fire range. A couple of Guardians on top of two high hills can easily devastate a small army.
Terrain also helps shield your units against attacks. Therefore, when youÃ¢â‚¬â„¢re building something high on top of a hill, try placing it a little behind the top. This is like crouching behind a crate when just your head and gun sticks up. But remember that terrain in Spring is deformable and can be leveled by impacts !
Know the climbing ability of your units. Hovercrafts and vehicles have pretty low climbing ability. But if a foe thinks he has sealed up all exits, your K-bots can still climb the mountains where he hasnÃ¢â‚¬â„¢t put any Dragon ToothÃ¢â‚¬Â¦
Another good thing about terrain is that it mentally makes you feel safe. If there is a water barrier between me and the enemy, with 3 land bridges here and there, there probably wonÃ¢â‚¬â„¢t have much ground defence at a location AWAY from the bridges. Presuming the map is pretty flat (like "Flooded Desert") a hovercraft assault would do A LOT of damage, right?

===Energy and all the problems with it===
(in xta)
As I said before, most level 2 units require energy to move, shoot and operate in general. Meaning that if you have no energy to support your army, you can't do anything ! You can use this in your favor, by attacking his Fusions, or
by ''giving'' Metal makers to your enemy when you are attacking him(Edit:Metal makers are now turned off when given to an enemy), or he is attacking you! Things that drain a lot of energy include LRPC, Goliaths, HLT, and most level 2 units.
(/in xta)

===Paper-rock-scissor ?===

Try to look at all units as individuals. Even if I didn't write much about each single unit, know your favorite ones and how to use them effectively in conjunction with the others. You'll find that some units are very complementary. The only real paper-rock relationships are AA and planes... Maybe subs vs sub killers...

I didn't even mention cloaking, radar jamming, troops behaviour facing attacks, mines, etc, etc. The possibilities are immense, but I don't want to spoil your pleasure any longer, so I'll let you discover them by yourself.

'''Have fun !!!'''

----

===Strategy Tips===

-Expand! Metal is scarce. The more you get, the more you can build. Even if you have a good base, not a bad thing to do is to make it bigger.

-Scout! Knowledge is power. You must know what your enemy is planning, and what the enemy knows about you. (Or thinks he know about youÃ¯Â¿Å ) Check what he has, and what he is building. If heÃ¢â‚¬â„¢s building aircrafts, do something about it. Look for weaknesses in defence and such alike. If you or your ally are scouting, donÃ¢â‚¬â„¢t look away. Gather as much information as possible.
ALL buildings once in sight range will remain visible as 'ghost' buildings if this option isn't turned off by the host.

-Radar = GOOD^^. Radar checks areas for units, increases your units LOS and is overall helpful. A radar with your army makes a big difference when attacking. But so is Jamming. Jamming is good for sneak attacks. They are cheap, so just build one and make your units guard it.

-Work Together! Often I see allies who just mind their own business and donÃ¢â‚¬â„¢t care what the other person's doing. DONÃ¢â‚¬â„¢TÃ¢â‚¬Â¦ DOÃ¢â‚¬Â¦ THIS!!! Listen to each other, make up a plan. Prepare combined attacks. If there is a 2v2, then itÃ¢â‚¬â„¢s 2 alliesÃ¢â‚¬â„¢ vs 2 allies. Not a ffa with neutral partners. Type h to share units. Left click on your resource bars to auto share resources with allies.

-Power Plants. In order to level out the building costs, it is important to make a smooth transition from the least powerful generators to the most powerful ones stepwise. First solar, then Geo, then mobile/mini Fusion then Fusion.

-Check your resource bar. Try to keep a fine line between having too much resources/wasting, and having a nanostall. Use your factories and such accordingly. If you have a lot of resources, try using your old level 1 factories to build some units. Also, try to find the time to build an energy/metal storage...

-Spread out your buildings/units. Since every unit explodes, they damage units close to them. This is especially important with Fusions... (I once saw someone put 13 mobile fusions close to each other... blew up half his base with 2 (!!!) LRPC shots...)

-Queue (yeah, easy word for it to:/) up orders! You can almost win the game by pausing, queuing up some stuff, and then go eat lunch. Not really, but holding shift is good whilst putting up buildings.

-Guard = following and protection. Use planes to guard your tanks, subs to guard your transports, construction units to automatically repair important units or and so on. Then they will choose to attack whatever is hurting their guard object first. You can even do this to structures, for units who are built to move to a unitÃ¢â‚¬â„¢s position or AA to attack whatever is shooting on the Fusion reactors, etcÃ¢â‚¬Â¦
Overall, this makes working with several unit types easier.

-Reclaim stuff (sucking it in and transforming it into resources). When you're starting to run low on metal, reclaim the enemyÃ¢â‚¬â„¢s and your own corpses. Trees give energy, so if youÃ¢â‚¬â„¢re out on energy in the beginning... You can reclaim a whole area by shift-clicking.

-The key for porcers are to build LRPC. Or even better, build a nuke and use LOTS of planes to kill his anti-nuke. Then BOOM!
Also as you have way loads more metal and space to move in than your opponent, you can easily afford 2 nukes. An anti-nuke can't deal with 2 nukes heading towards it(and if you aim the nukes at the antinuke...^^!

-Experiment! I suggest you go into single player and try every unit. Use commanders for arm, and small battle (watch that Krogoth!) for core. Try every approach to a problem. Remember, just because a unit is good, itÃ¢â‚¬â„¢s not invincible. Also, try how much metal and energy a building uses while in operation. For instance, a level 1 factory uses about 50 energy and 5 metal. This varies depending on what you build. This could help you prevent nanostalling.

-Several types of factories. Yeah, even if it costs money. A advanced building cost as much as a Bulldog or 2... You got the time, and the money. Build it.

-Raid. Take the Weasel or a couple of Peewees on a cruise right by the enemyÃ¢â‚¬â„¢s mexxes. Having trouble finding'em ? Type F4 to see where the ground is drained^^ [Edit] This doesn't apply anymore, but you can still see where a mex is by trying to build one of your own there. If you can't, there's already one on the spot... A tip is to stay away from the Commander, or use buildings as hostages. Hide behind stuff and kill it off, then move on. If you're sure you're going to die, move close to a building and self-destruct.

-Just because Peewees are better then AKÃ¢â‚¬â„¢s doesnÃ¢â‚¬â„¢t meant that AKÃ¢â‚¬â„¢s are useless. (And so onÃ¢â‚¬Â¦). In fact, no unit is useless. If you believe it is, try it once. On what it was meant to do.

-Mix armies. O boy, if you havenÃ¢â‚¬â„¢t heard this one a thousand times before, you've only been playing Half-Life for the last 7 years or something. Even if Goliaths rule, a couple of missile units will make them much more effective.

-Farks are useful in combat. Always have 1-3 with you. Reclaiming DT, or doing what they were meant to do : Repair -.-* (also, when I say FARKs somewhere in the guide, construction units work to...)

-Ask questions. No one is going to laugh at you. And if someone does, heÃ¢â‚¬â„¢s a ass and shouldnÃ¢â‚¬â„¢t even be poked a stick at. No question is too stupid. Just donÃ¢â‚¬â„¢t expect anyone in the heat of a battle to answer to Ã¢â‚¬ËœÃ¢â‚¬â„¢how do I play?Ã¢â‚¬â„¢Ã¢â‚¬â„¢.

-Learn ! If you lost, use the replay too to watch the game and try to understand why you died. What did the enemy do better than you? What was the key to winning? And so on.

-The Readme file has some cool keyboard shortcuts... check it out.

-Develop! Are you a programmer, a 3D design artist or just some regular Joe? Come to the forum for a talk, chatter, and make wacky suggestions! In the end you may contribute of making Spring better! Remember, Spring is open source. So just dive into there and replace AKÃ¢â‚¬â„¢s with flying monkeys in space suits or whatever.

-Try having some good music on when playing. It can give you a good kick. I recommend the WAR OF THE WORLD (the strategy game, yes it exists) Ã¢â‚¬ËœÃ¢â‚¬â„¢eve of the warÃ¢â‚¬â„¢Ã¢â‚¬â„¢ [http://www.fileuniverse.com/?page=listing&ID=54 the original TA music]
Or anything you like.

-Need more strategy and tips? Since Spring is a remake of TA, any TA strategy guide works...

-LAST BUT NOT LEAST : '''DonÃ¢â‚¬â„¢t get too serious. ItÃ¢â‚¬â„¢s only a game.'''

This guide was written by Kixxe aka Johan Wittrock before everyone edited (and improved!) it mercilessly.

Back to [[Strategy_and_Tactics]]

Spring guide

2006-03-13T20:16:32Z

DarkOppressor:

'''

Ã¢â‚¬ËœÃ¢â‚¬â„¢Keep in mind that Spring is still in beta, therefore crashes can occur (a lot) and we (well, not me!) havenÃ¢â‚¬â„¢t got everything fixed yet.Ã¢â‚¬â„¢Ã¢â‚¬â„¢

Before we start, letÃ¢â‚¬â„¢s have some background info.

== TA: so what's so cool about this game ? ==
[warning, boring info that doesnÃ¢â‚¬â„¢t really mean anything]

TA (Total Annihilation) was created by Cavedog (R.I.P) in 1997, about half a year before(!!!) Starcraft was released. It was revolutionary in many ways, with 3D graphics (but a fixed camera), good animations (aircraft barrel rolled and leaned when they turned etc.), 3D terrain and many units (150 in the original game.) But in my not so humble opinion, the 3 greatest things that set TA apart were...

* Its physics! Every shot trajectory was calculated! An artillery shell could try to get over a hill and hit an aircraft, which exploded into bits, damaging other troops nearby, which could also explode and set forests on fire. Yeah, might not sound that big after 7 years, but back then we had Starcraft, which defied at least a half dozen laws of physics.

(Example of the tentacle through space. Yeah, really realistic)
[http://fast.filespace.org/Kixxe/WTF.png Click here]

* The order system! You could have 300 units waiting to be built, and when they were done, they could go and patrol an area and attack anyone in it. Order queues were limitless. You could build your whole base and drink tea while it was getting built. Construction units on patrol would repair damaged units, help build things and reclaim stuff (sucking it in and transforming it into resources.)

* The resource system! Contrary to other RTS games, the resources in TA are infinite. What limits resource consumption is the rate at which they can be gathered. This sole fact would make for longer and more epic games, with hundreds or thousands of units fighting in the endgame.

Pretty cool game. If you want, check out their old website for more info. [http://www.fileuniverse.com/Total_Annihilation_Mirror/totala/index.html Click here]

[/warning, boring info that doesnÃ¢â‚¬â„¢t really mean anything]

Anyway, enough of my rambling, onto Spring!

Now, as I told you, Spring was inspired by TA and has the same features TA had. Plus a few new thingsÃ¢â‚¬Â¦ check out the Spring features page for more info.
[http://taspring.clan-sy.com/wiki/Features Click here]

----

==Resources==

There are two types of resources in Spring, namely ''metal'' and ''energy''. Each of these two resources can be collected in a number of different ways. The amount of each resource that you currently have stockpiled is represented by a coloured bar, one for each resource, along the upper edge of the screen. The rate at which you are presently collecting and consuming each of the two types is represented by a number and a + or - sign. If you are collecting at a faster rate then the rate at which you are consuming you will see your coloured bar grow as resources accumulate. Your stockpiled resources are being depleted whenever the coloured bar is shrinking. There are storage buildings which you can build for each type of resource and these will increase the amount of each which can be stored. Units and structures cost both metal and energy to build, while some units or structures also require energy to walk, shoot or operate in general.

Metal is collected continuously from either a metal extractor, often called Ã¢â‚¬ËœmexesÃ¢â‚¬â„¢ which extract from certain areas of the map, or by using a metal maker, abbreviated as Ã¢â‚¬ËœMMÃ¢â‚¬â„¢ which convert energy into metal. Both will only operate so long as there is sufficient energy to power them. However, metal makers require a lot of energy.
A faster way to gather metal is by using either your commander or a construction bot to 'reclaim' it from the remains of destroyed units and buildings! They can even reclaim buildings which have not been destroyed and they don't have to belong to your enemy to be reclaimed.

Energy can be produced by a number of different buildings or it can be reclaimed (you can reclaim trees to gather energy). There are many different types of energy producers, including solar collectors and power plants, but they will be covered in another section.

In a game, always Ã¢â‚¬Å“keep an eye on your metal and energy barÃ¢â‚¬Å“ because if one of them goes to zero, particularly energy, your building rate will stall,(metal makers and extractors will stop producing) and some units will be unable to fire their energy weapons (eg. LRPCs, Annihilators, Doomsday Machines).

----

==A Normal Spring Game==

Anyway, now you will learn the basics of a normal Spring game, as I see it.
Every Spring game starts with all players only havingÃ¢â‚¬Â¦

'''The COMMANDER'''! (Insert DUN DUN DUUUUUNN)

The Commander is the unit you start with and the most important one in the game. He is unique and cannot be rebuilt. In fact, there is a mode where the game ends when the commander dies, so never leave him alone.

The fastest builder, he can walk and build underwater, he makes a nuke-sized explosion when he dies, he has a laser and the privilege of a Disintegrator Gun (alias D-Gun).
The D-Gun is the single most powerful weapon in the whole game, which kills ANY (ANY, I mean it!) unit in one hit (friend or foe no difference, be careful!). Even if that sounds a like a little overkill, keep in mind that the Commander has a very limited range, is defenceless against any aircraft and long range artillery, and when submerged, he cannot shoot. (Subs! Onoz!)

The Commander is used for setting up a base, and early base defences. The D-Gun should protect him against any level 1 unit that tries to kill him, so if you lose your Commander in the beginning of the gameÃ¢â‚¬Â¦ then you're dead. You lose your best (only?) builder and attacker, plus you have a nuke-sized explosion that may destroy half or all of your base.

AnywayÃ¢â‚¬Â¦ if you're seeing everything in a top down perspective, click the Commander (type Ctrl+C if you can't find him) with left mouse button to select him.

(If you have a crosshair as a mouse, press j. If your camera is zoomed out or all jerky, press ctrl+j until you find the OTA(Original Total Annihilation) camera.)

Okay, letÃ¢â‚¬â„¢s now discuss '''how to build stuff'''.

Like any normal RTS, itÃ¢â‚¬â„¢s choose a unit and click a location, but there is more with Spring. Hold shift and click on different locations to make the unit build the same building there. Hold shift and drag and you will make a line of the building. Hold ctrl and shift to make boxes/rectangular shapes of buildings. Use these! Make a line of DT (Dragon Teeth, small piece of wall/cover) instead of clicking each and every one. The controls are there to help you.
This is called queuing up stuff. You can use almost every single command in a queue. Buildings can be queued to build lots of different units, and then the other orders in the behaviour of the unit. You can make them walk to something, or guard/follow a unit by pressing G and selecting the unit to guard. Try it.
Selecting a unit and pressing shift key will show the orders queue.

Build 2 solar generators, or 4 wind generators to gather energy. Keep in mind that wind is pretty unstable, and that a number of maps (like lunar ones) have no wind at all! (The level of wind and tides in the map is indicated in the Map Selector in the Lobby).

Now select the Metal extractors and the whole screen turns black and green. Okay, place one on the green stuff. (The greener, the better! Like broccoli!)

Oh, and the minimap controls in spring are reversed. Meaning that you have to right-click to move the screen to the location. Once the new GUI is out and offical, this will be fixed.

----

==The TA Bestiary==

Okay, time to describe the cool units that are at your disposal to make your enemies bleed. 8)

(Disclaimer : This will discuss the types of units, not every unit. Therefore, if I say that vehicles have large armour, I donÃ¢â‚¬â„¢t mean artillery of course.)

On to the first level 1 lab/plant to build. The categories areÃ¢â‚¬Â¦

===Vehicles===

These babies are all about armour. The level 1 units are pretty basic, with more armour and (build) speed and than their K-bot counterparts. Level 2 vehicles show even more of the same pattern: better armour than their K-bot counterparts. Level 2 also offers the mobile Flak unit, which is the only real level 2 mobile AA.
Their weakness is that they are clumsy, turn slowly, and most of them canÃ¢â‚¬â„¢t climb mountainsÃ¢â‚¬Â¦ at all. Leads to trouble when an explosion makes a crater; units survive but can get stuck in the crater. Or just when they are trying to get up a steep hill. But sooner or later, you'll learn what kind of destruction a rush of 30 Goliaths can do!

===K-Bots===

K-bots generally have less powerful weapons than tanks, and are also less heavily armoured.
So why build them in the first place?
Because they are cheaper! And since they are cheaper, you can build more and outnumber your enemies. This doesnÃ¢â‚¬â„¢t work out that good in game though, since tanks ARE stronger. K-bots are also smaller, and will slip through DT and such alike easier than tanks.
And finally, the third advantage (which IMO is the biggest) of K-bots are that they can climb most mountains with ease! Climb by defences, up on mountains, through holes, these are all-purpose units.

===Aircraft===

Planes are planes. In Spring, thereÃ¢â‚¬â„¢s a plane for every role. Bombers, fighters, gunships, flying radar, transports, stealth fighters and torpedo bombers. Planes are fast, and are not affected by terrain. There is no wall or relief that can stop a plane. You can just swoop into a base and take out AA with your gunship, and then bomb the crap out of their important structures. To stop them, you've got to rely on Anti Air (AA) units.

On the downside, planes are quite expensive to build and are relatively fragile. They are also the only units that have an anti unit against them (Except subs). When someone finds out you're building a large air fleet, they just cram their base full of AA and their army with mobile AA. And the only counter is more planes than their AA can handle, or a ground troop to take the AA down. A combined ground and air attack can be very destructive. Good luck!

===Ships===

Ships are good on a map with water. (DUH!) Ships come in many different kinds, but mostly for taking out other ships or bombing the crap out of land units in some way or another. The ships' strength is their powerful weaponry and their long range. All ships made to take out land have long range. Ships also have lots of armour. Another thing thatÃ¢â‚¬â„¢s good about ships is that there is not much you can do to stop them because they are usually out of range. Once you see that the enemy has ships, either build a dock and a navy real fast or build planes and pray that he doesnÃ¢â‚¬â„¢t have too many AA ships.
Their weaknesses are slowness (especially when turning), they can be taken out by submarines, and of course they are confined to water, meaning that they are often stuck with units just outside of their reach.

And they are *extremely* expensive, metal-wise.

===Hovercraft===

(These are counted as level 2 units, so I would not recommend them as the first to build unless itÃ¢â‚¬â„¢s the perfect map for them)

Hovercrafts are a tank and a plane (some say ship, but I find planes to be more accurate for some reason O.o) mixed. Sure itÃ¢â‚¬â„¢s weaker than your average tank, and slower than your average plane. Whats their use? They are meant for swampy maps that means that both tanks and ships are a weakness, and offcourse since none can't be used, everyone just spams out AA since they think aircrafts are the only way. Great suprise for the enemy when 50 hovercrafts comes in agsint their flakkers and MT...
Long story short, Hovercrafts are good for those who like (or must) attack from the ground, but canÃ¢â‚¬â„¢t since there is too much water.

Their weakness is their low climbing ability, and that they're weaker than a tank and slower than a plane. (DonÃ¢â‚¬â„¢t build them on a land map, tanks ARE better.)

===Towers and Turrets===

Like TA, Spring boasts an impressive range of plasma and laser towers, cannons and turrets. These cannons will undoubtly be essential parts of your offensive as well as defensive strategies.

'''Light laser tower (LLT)'''
A cheap and fast laser that hits almost every time. Mostly useful against level 1 units, but can be used in groups against level 2. They suffer from short range, so most long range weapons can kill them(Samsons, for example). Since they fire faster than their bigger brothers, LLTs are more useful against hordes of small weak units than a single strong one.

'''Heavy laser tower (HLT)'''
This is the only tower that works on those pesky level 2 units that just wonÃ¢â‚¬â„¢t die. These shoot slower, but with much more power than the LLT. They also have a longer range and can be quite effective against air attacks. They cost a fair amount and take a long time to build, but they are often worth it.

'''Missile Tower (MT)'''
The missile tower is good for planes or weak level 1 units. They shoot a weak rocket that almost hits their target every time. They have a fair range, but very low hp. They work on most level 2 planes as well, but should be backed up with Flack cannons.

'''Pop-up Cannons'''
Pop-up cannons are pretty cheap middle range gun. A guardian can outshoot them, but they are still a choice to use. When Ã¢â‚¬ËœÃ¢â‚¬â„¢offÃ¢â‚¬â„¢Ã¢â‚¬â„¢ they take 50% less damage! I heard that a closed popup can withstand a nuke! (If itÃ¢â‚¬â„¢s not a direct hit) In XTA you can build them with level 1 construction K-bot or whatever. Sometimes individual wars between 2 or 4 pop-ups break out, where both sides try to kill the other's ones. Just remember to repair them, as with all PCÃ¢â‚¬Â¦

'''Middle range Plasma Cannons (MRPC)'''
Guardians and such alike. These arenÃ¢â‚¬â„¢t for attacking, but they have a pretty long range, and are not too expensive. Plus their targeting is pretty fast, meaning they are practically made for defence and very lethal. Perfect to have on a hill close to a HLT and some MTÃ¢â‚¬Â¦

'''Long Range Plasma Cannons (LRPC)'''
We are talking Big berthas, Intimidators and such alike. These babies got the RANGE and may be the ultimate weapon on small maps. The Big Bertha, yeah. An amazing unit. Not the ultimate, but several times cheaper and more accurate than a Buzz Saw/Vulcan, and its accuracy will improve with every kill. Not good at defending, since its slow targeting makes it impossible to hit moving targets. Try to build one on a small maps, or just build one close to the enemy and your Bertha will start pounding his base mercilessly. In fact, build several, with a lot of AA around 'em (and ground, if thatÃ¢â‚¬â„¢s possible) and you'll see your enemy's morale quickly fall to the ground. A LRPC expansion can sometimes become the winning factor of a game.

'''Very long range plasma Cannons (VLRC)'''
Buzzsaws are big, cost much, are huge energy suckers, are VERY inaccurate and are pretty slow on targeting. BUT, they have the DOUBLE range of a normal LRPC and shoot 4(!!!) shots at a time. This is the one thing to finish those ÃƒÂ¼ber porckers.
Defend these well, with lots of AA around and in a wide circle. They only have about 5000 hp, so killing'em is easy if you donÃ¢â‚¬â„¢t have AAÃ¢â‚¬Â¦
In OTA however Vulcans/Buzzsaws have SLIGHTLY LESS range than LRPCs, so LRPCs are generally better because they are so cheaper and each are a seperate entity with a fair bit of life(around 2500 i think).

The obvious way to kill LRC is to use planes, since they are fast enough to enter and kill it all.

===The first steps===

Now comes the tricky part. The first minute is always the same really, so what after that?
Well, itÃ¢â‚¬â„¢s hard to judge. But here are some paths that can be taken.

1. Build many construction units and send them out to build mexxes and Geothermal Power Plants. Then a defence and maybe some DT.

2. Build some construction units, and then start building defences. Follow the Ã¢â‚¬ËœÃ¢â‚¬â„¢line defenceÃ¢â‚¬â„¢Ã¢â‚¬â„¢ guide lines.
Build Fusion Power Plants and Metal makers, and then an army. After that, use the army how armies are used best.
This strategy is called PORCING, and is considered by many as BAD.
There are disadvantages with this. You canÃ¢â‚¬â„¢t use many metal extractors or Geos, so you have slim to no resources to build your base. A popular strategy is to kill the anti-nuke, and then blow the whole compact base to bits.

3. Build a small army of 3-6 units and attack the enemy. The goal isnÃ¢â‚¬â„¢t to kill him, but to do as much damage as possible to his resources and hinder his economy. Mexxes are the most important, and then look for wind or solar generators.
Try to keep on attacking him, but remember to still tech up and build defences.

Anyway, use your construction units to build defences of SOME kind. Take advantage of Geothermal gases. Yeah the smoking stuff. You can place Geo plants there for good, cheap and space saving energy. If youÃ¢â‚¬â„¢re expanding, use every Mex' positions, and try to find a place to settle your defence line.

When you can defend yourself from most level 1 units, start on your level 2 building.

When itÃ¢â‚¬â„¢s done, ALWAYS build a construction unit first. Use it for your first mini Fusion. (Or build some mobile fusion at the vehicle plant if you're Arm)
Build level 2 units in the meantime.
Low on metal? Upgrade the finest of your Mexxes to Moho Mexxes. They are bigger and better (but they suck up energy).
You can also build a Moho Metal maker if you have enough energy to support it. (MMM :p)
Okay, if you made this far, you must really start thinking about how to defeat the enemy. Look for his weak spot. Maybe a K-bot assault from the mountains ? Maybe planes. Maybe using amphibious units. That part is for you to figure out.

----

==STRATEGY==

I read through this guide, and suddenly realisedÃ¢â‚¬Â¦

''where is the strategy?''

So I fiddled this section up. Hope you'll learn something from it and thereby increase your Spring gaming experience.

===Defence===

AhÃ¢â‚¬Â¦ the overall defence. There are many different ways of making a good defence, but there are 3 main categories.

''Compact defence!''

The most common type of defence is a single line of defence, often with Dragon Teeth (DT) in front. Inside your base is some AA, and thatÃ¢â‚¬â„¢s about it. The good thing about this is that itÃ¢â‚¬â„¢s pretty easy and fast to set up, and you know where your territory ends, which can make the game much easier. Problem is, if something makes it past the line of defence, then youÃ¢â‚¬â„¢re screwed, unless youÃ¢â‚¬â„¢re building line after line of defence, or have some units to stop 'em.

''Spread out defence!''

I saw a guy pull this off one time, and he won by a large margin. The trick with this is to never really have a defined line of defence, just a Heavy Laser Tower (HLT) here, a radar there, some DT there, a mine here and thereÃ¢â‚¬Â¦
Basically, you expand every time you build a defence building, so in the end you have ENORMOUS space to move in. Since the defence is spread out, no one is gonna rush past it with some goliaths. You can have some units hide behind mountains and attack. He used Merls who he trapped in fortification walls. I tried to run past the defence with an army of 30 Bulldogs. His HLT and missile/plasma batteries stopped me before I even reached his final defence line.
Even though this defence is the best of 'em all, itÃ¢â‚¬â„¢s hard to build up, and requires lots of resources and time. IF youÃ¢â‚¬â„¢re able to pull it off, the only problem may be if they are fast enough to run by all of it, or if you donÃ¢â‚¬â„¢t have much AA and 30 Brawlers are comingÃ¢â‚¬Â¦

''No defenceÃ¢â‚¬Â¦ at all?''

Yes, this is an option. Okay, you may want some mines here and there, and some DT to stop them from running right through the door and AA in your base if they're building planes. But how do you defend with no defence?
With units; the whole concept is that you put all your effort into making units. This works pretty well, since when you see where the enemy is going to attack, you can MOVE your whole defence to that location.
The problem with this defence is that when you are attacking, you lose most of your defence. Sure, you can leave units behind, but I find it hard mentally to leave half the army at home when I am attacking.
If you manage to pull this off, and make enough units to both attack and defend, then you have not wasted any money on defence, and you have a strong army!

''The All Out Defence''
''Added by Cain''
The opposite of the "no defence" strategy, mixed with the "spread out defence" strategy: the main concept is to invest resources in lots of level 1 build planes, and use them to quickly gather huge amounts of territory and resources, while keeping a lot of planes building/repairing turrets all over the map. This could be very effective on maps with few choke points where your defence can be concentrated in a small area, or mostly flat maps where the overlapping range of defensive structures will create a large grid of protected territory. The concept is to expand the defence line until you can shoot straight into the enemy base. When using this strategy, it is wise to have a lot of level 2 aircraft defending the construction point, as you will need to constantly move your mobile defences around the map, protecting under-contruction defensive areas. I usually end up with a hundred builder planes and 20 to 50 Brawlers floating around... keep them away from Kroghot!

These are the defensive strategies I have found effective.

Also, one thing to remember is to eliminate the largest threat first. If youÃ¢â‚¬â„¢re relying on DT, take out the FARK or construction planes first.

Okay, you've built a good defence.
The next thing you should do is attempt to get into the mindset of your enemy. Put yourself in his shoes, and determine how he would most likely proceed given your defensive strategy. Would he attempt a gunship raid, or launch an attack from a defenceless mountain position? Once you know what his most likely plan of attack will be, rethink your defences with this in mind. If there is an area that is defenceless under your current strategy, and you believe it is a prime spot for your enemy to attack, set up some sort of defence there as well.

===Moving===
Moving or attacking is pretty easy right? Just move from point a to point b and attack cÃ¢â‚¬Â¦
Nope.
First, you have to have your units move TOGETHER. . If some are trailing behind, then you just have to wait a little for them. A way of having your units stick together is to take a pretty slow unit, like a Can, and have others guard it.
Pressing control while moving units will make them keep their position in the formation, but not their speed. (they will spread out along the way, but ''try'' to get back into the position they were in when reaching the destination)
The ''Simple formation'' is also a way of doing this, and the units will automatically form a couple of lines, often with the right units first, too!
Transports are useful for moving units, but use the air transports (Valkyrie /Atlas) intelligently and protect them. The other transportation units are harder to use, since they take more time to load/unload.

===Attacking===

When attacking, remember what each unit's role is in the fight. Farks are used to repair important units that have been damaged. Bulldogs are meant to take damage and give damage back. Merls are used to shoot missiles from a distance, and donÃ¢â‚¬â„¢t require a clear LOS (line of sight). The question is what to repair. Merls die quickly, so one shot = dead. Knowing this, your first instinct might be to repair a Bulldog instead. Bulldogs are often the first thing that the enemy targets, and thus their HP often drops too rapidly to repair. Therefore, it is often wise to repair the middle-range units; not the giant HP monsters, not the units with a weak defence and strong/useful attack, but the average units that have acceptable HP and are not an enemy's first choice when selecting targets. One exception to this is mobile artillery. While it only has enough HP to survive one or two attacks, its attacks are well worth it, and the enemy still may not target them first, giving them a chance to deal massive damage.

===Army vs Army===

Many units attacking one unit is the best thing you can do, as when you kill one of their units, they lose one source of firepower. Focusing your fire is very important. Using focus fire in a group of weak units is very effective. Focus fire is, however, less effective on HP powerhouses.
When youÃ¢â‚¬â„¢re facing an army, always try to attack from behind or the side. Keep your units a little spread out when attacking. Not to far, but just so that area of effect weapons donÃ¢â‚¬â„¢t do as much damage. Have your HP powerhouses at the front, or at the front and sides. Keep em pretty close together but not side by side. Having your units spread out in this manner allows the units in the back to attack, and prevents splash damage units such as Zippers and Pyros from damaging many of your units at once.

This is the normal way of attacking an enemy army. There is the classical pincher movement tooÃ¢â‚¬Â¦
In this, you run one third of your HP powerhouses to the left, one third to the right and have the last third stay where they are.
This gives you 3 advantages:
*it's easier to get past the units and attack their weak units, or just run past them into the base
*you do more damage, since their units will have to change their target all the time and can't escape
*it makes it MUCH harder for the enemy to run away or try to get past you.

===Army vs Base===

Okay, you may have made it past the ground troops, but the fight is not over (unless your enemy used up his units to defend.) Now you must face his base defence, and act depending on the type of defence he hasÃ¢â‚¬Â¦

''Line defence''

Gather your army and set up for battle a bit away from his base, and get ready to move in. Have the FARKS guard your main HP power houses, so they are in the front but still can hide behind em. Everything else behind that. When attacking, have several units attacking the HLT and plasma batteries, and use the FARKS to reclaim his Dragon Teeth. When you have a hole in it, just run like a maniac into the heart of the base. Split your tanks in 2 groups, 1 guarding your long range/high damage units and let the other go loose into the heart of the base. Find the Fusion reactors with your second group of tanks, and try to move the other big group to a place that is easy to defend while hitting the Fusions. Behind buildings is perfect! Kill as much as you can in short, or kill all^^.
If there are several lines of defence, dig the hole in each line of defence and repeat the same tactics.

''Spread out defence''

ArghÃ¢â‚¬Â¦ The tough one. While the individual towers are easy to beat, you canÃ¢â‚¬â„¢t run past his defences unless you like suicide. (And if you do, Ctrl+a and then ctrl+d will do the trick. A slice over the wrist works too.)
This is when you have to make penitence. Use your army, and slowly start killing the defence. Step by step, defence structure by defence structure. Keep building units, and moving them to the fray (you can use Air transports with repeat command and make them drop the units slightly away from the fight). Once you start getting close to his last line of defence, think of it as a line defence.

''Units defence''

Think army vs army. DonÃ¢â‚¬â„¢t rush past 'em with all your units. Your units will spread out and try to go through holes in the enemyÃ¢â‚¬â„¢s formation. In a word, they are dead meat. If you MUST get to the base, have half of the tanks go round the units.

===Naval Battles===

Naval battles are hard to predict if you donÃ¢â‚¬â„¢t play island maps a lot, since there many factors to take into play. Since land units are removed, you have to think in a WHOLE new perspective. No land means that only Sea, Air and Hover units can fight (and LRC off course).
Anyway, try to have air units scouting land and sea, and looking how much AA the enemy has. Ships roam around assaulting other ships, with a mix of subs, sub killers, AA ships and normal ships. Hovercrafts should be the thing to use when assaulting land thatÃ¢â‚¬â„¢s a little far from shore. Have'em escorted with planes or ships (or both).

====Ships====
When using ships, have scout ships or planes scout the area in front, then subs and sub killers front. Use Long range ships at the sides to protect anything of value you might have with you (a sea transport or an aircraft carrier). When in battle, try to have the subs run away from sub killers, while your sub killers kill the enemy subs. Your subs should try to attack the most important ship they have, and then just go crazy.
When facing land, youÃ¢â‚¬â„¢re pretty much in for an easy win. Just have your ships blow it all up. If you face LRC, take them out first. The rest of it is out of your hands.
Remember if your opponent has air superiority or LRPCs use subs as they can't hit them :)

====Hovercraft====
Use the Army vs Army or Army vs Base strategy here.

-- addendum by Cain.

Howercraft are quite expensive compared to other land units, but are very useful also in the map with a bit of water, targetting enemies without worring of those pesky gholiat... Note that they're much cheaper than ship, anyway.

===Planes===
Hohoho, planes. Fun stuff to attack with. Anyway, the most stuff is basic with planes.
First, always attack the AA first. Unless your are going to do a suicide mission. Kill the AA with gunships, and use bombers to kill structures. Many players use gunships only, with is pretty wrong. Bombers take a little time to master but allied with gunships, they do a very good job. Scout early, so you can quickly see WHAT the enemy has and WHERE he has it. Use gunships to take out AA and act like overall decoys. Have Bombers fly in and bomb the crap out off his Fusion or whatever strategic point, and use the fighters to guard the bombers.
When facing units, do the same.
When facing sea, do the same thing, but add Torpedoes to bombers and gunships.

-- addendum by Cain

Know where the enemy commander is! In game where the commander death is a winning condition, a lot of bomber could just converge on him, killing on the first run.. especially the 2nd level bombers that have a nice turretted fast targetting laser! Also, gunship could distract enemy defence from your main attack force, or you can use them to make the defences of distract players shooting their own base....

===Using Terrain===

Using terrain wisely is very important. The issue of a game can depend on a good use of terrain.
First, Line of Sight (LOS) and RADAR. Both are blocked by terrain. So build your radars as high up as possibly, otherwise you may just not see anything. Use the relief at your advantage to hide an army or your important buildings from enemy radars.
Of course, one can also take advantage of altitude to increase fire range. A couple of Guardians on top of two high hills can easily devastate a small army.
Terrain also helps shield your units against attacks. Therefore, when youÃ¢â‚¬â„¢re building something high on top of a hill, try placing it a little behind the top. This is like crouching behind a crate when just your head and gun sticks up. But remember that terrain in Spring is deformable and can be leveled by impacts !
Know the climbing ability of your units. Hovercrafts and vehicles have pretty low climbing ability. But if a foe thinks he has sealed up all exits, your K-bots can still climb the mountains where he hasnÃ¢â‚¬â„¢t put any Dragon ToothÃ¢â‚¬Â¦
Another good thing about terrain is that it mentally makes you feel safe. If there is a water barrier between me and the enemy, with 3 land bridges here and there, there probably wonÃ¢â‚¬â„¢t have much ground defence at a location AWAY from the bridges. Presuming the map is pretty flat (like "Flooded Desert") a hovercraft assault would do A LOT of damage, right?

===Energy and all the problems with it===
(in xta)
As I said before, most level 2 units require energy to move, shoot and operate in general. Meaning that if you have no energy to support your army, you can't do anything ! You can use this in your favor, by attacking his Fusions, or
by ''giving'' Metal makers to your enemy when you are attacking him(Edit:Metal makers are now turned off when given to an enemy), or he is attacking you! Things that drain a lot of energy include LRPC, Goliaths, HLT, and most level 2 units.
(/in xta)

===Paper-rock-scissor ?===

Try to look at all units as individuals. Even if I didn't write much about each single unit, know your favorite ones and how to use them effectively in conjunction with the others. You'll find that some units are very complementary. The only real paper-rock relationships are AA and planes... Maybe subs vs sub killers...

I didn't even mention cloaking, radar jamming, troops behaviour facing attacks, mines, etc, etc. The possibilities are immense, but I don't want to spoil your pleasure any longer, so I'll let you discover them by yourself.

'''Have fun !!!'''

----

===Strategy Tips===

-Expand! Metal is scarce. The more you get, the more you can build. Even if you have a good base, not a bad thing to do is to make it bigger.

-Scout! Knowledge is power. You must know what your enemy is planning, and what the enemy knows about you. (Or thinks he know about youÃ¯Â¿Å ) Check what he has, and what he is building. If heÃ¢â‚¬â„¢s building aircrafts, do something about it. Look for weaknesses in defence and such alike. If you or your ally are scouting, donÃ¢â‚¬â„¢t look away. Gather as much information as possible.
ALL buildings once in sight range will remain visible as 'ghost' buildings if this option isn't turned off by the host.

-Radar = GOOD^^. Radar checks areas for units, increases your units LOS and is overall helpful. A radar with your army makes a big difference when attacking. But so is Jamming. Jamming is good for sneak attacks. They are cheap, so just build one and make your units guard it.

-Work Together! Often I see allies who just mind their own business and donÃ¢â‚¬â„¢t care what the other person's doing. DONÃ¢â‚¬â„¢TÃ¢â‚¬Â¦ DOÃ¢â‚¬Â¦ THIS!!! Listen to each other, make up a plan. Prepare combined attacks. If there is a 2v2, then itÃ¢â‚¬â„¢s 2 alliesÃ¢â‚¬â„¢ vs 2 allies. Not a ffa with neutral partners. Type h to share units. Left click on your resource bars to auto share resources with allies.

-Power Plants. In order to level out the building costs, it is important to make a smooth transition from the least powerful generators to the most powerful ones stepwise. First solar, then Geo, then mobile/mini Fusion then Fusion.

-Check your resource bar. Try to keep a fine line between having too much resources/wasting, and having a nanostall. Use your factories and such accordingly. If you have a lot of resources, try using your old level 1 factories to build some units. Also, try to find the time to build an energy/metal storage...

-Spread out your buildings/units. Since every unit explodes, they damage units close to them. This is especially important with Fusions... (I once saw someone put 13 mobile fusions close to each other... blew up half his base with 2 (!!!) LRPC shots...)

-Queue (yeah, easy word for it to:/) up orders! You can almost win the game by pausing, queuing up some stuff, and then go eat lunch. Not really, but holding shift is good whilst putting up buildings.

-Guard = following and protection. Use planes to guard your tanks, subs to guard your transports, construction units to automatically repair important units or and so on. Then they will choose to attack whatever is hurting their guard object first. You can even do this to structures, for units who are built to move to a unitÃ¢â‚¬â„¢s position or AA to attack whatever is shooting on the Fusion reactors, etcÃ¢â‚¬Â¦
Overall, this makes working with several unit types easier.

-Reclaim stuff (sucking it in and transforming it into resources). When you're starting to run low on metal, reclaim the enemyÃ¢â‚¬â„¢s and your own corpses. Trees give energy, so if youÃ¢â‚¬â„¢re out on energy in the beginning... You can reclaim a whole area by shift-clicking.

-The key for porcers are to build LRPC. Or even better, build a nuke and use LOTS of planes to kill his anti-nuke. Then BOOM!
Also as you have way loads more metal and space to move in than your opponent, you can easily afford 2 nukes. An anti-nuke can't deal with 2 nukes heading towards it(and if you aim the nukes at the antinuke...^^!

-Experiment! I suggest you go into single player and try every unit. Use commanders for arm, and small battle (watch that Krogoth!) for core. Try every approach to a problem. Remember, just because a unit is good, itÃ¢â‚¬â„¢s not invincible. Also, try how much metal and energy a building uses while in operation. For instance, a level 1 factory uses about 50 energy and 5 metal. This varies depending on what you build. This could help you prevent nanostalling.

-Several types of factories. Yeah, even if it costs money. A advanced building cost as much as a Bulldog or 2... You got the time, and the money. Build it.

-Raid. Take the Weasel or a couple of Peewees on a cruise right by the enemyÃ¢â‚¬â„¢s mexxes. Having trouble finding'em ? Type F4 to see where the ground is drained^^ [Edit] This doesn't apply anymore, but you can still see where a mex is by trying to build one of your own there. If you can't, there's already one on the spot... A tip is to stay away from the Commander, or use buildings as hostages. Hide behind stuff and kill it off, then move on. If you're sure you're going to die, move close to a building and self-destruct.

-Just because Peewees are better then AKÃ¢â‚¬â„¢s doesnÃ¢â‚¬â„¢t meant that AKÃ¢â‚¬â„¢s are useless. (And so onÃ¢â‚¬Â¦). In fact, no unit is useless. If you believe it is, try it once. On what it was meant to do.

-Mix armies. O boy, if you havenÃ¢â‚¬â„¢t heard this one a thousand times before, you've only been playing Half-Life for the last 7 years or something. Even if Goliaths rule, a couple of missile units will make them much more effective.

-Farks are useful in combat. Always have 1-3 with you. Reclaiming DT, or doing what they were meant to do : Repair -.-* (also, when I say FARKs somewhere in the guide, construction units work to...)

-Ask questions. No one is going to laugh at you. And if someone does, heÃ¢â‚¬â„¢s a ass and shouldnÃ¢â‚¬â„¢t even be poked a stick at. No question is too stupid. Just donÃ¢â‚¬â„¢t expect anyone in the heat of a battle to answer to Ã¢â‚¬ËœÃ¢â‚¬â„¢how do I play?Ã¢â‚¬â„¢Ã¢â‚¬â„¢.

-Learn ! If you lost, use the replay too to watch the game and try to understand why you died. What did the enemy do better than you? What was the key to winning? And so on.

-The Readme file has some cool keyboard shortcuts... check it out.

-Develop! Are you a programmer, a 3D design artist or just some regular Joe? Come to the forum for a talk, chatter, and make wacky suggestions! In the end you may contribute of making Spring better! Remember, Spring is open source. So just dive into there and replace AKÃ¢â‚¬â„¢s with flying monkeys in space suits or whatever.

-Try having some good music on when playing. It can give you a good kick. I recommend the WAR OF THE WORLD (the strategy game, yes it exists) Ã¢â‚¬ËœÃ¢â‚¬â„¢eve of the warÃ¢â‚¬â„¢Ã¢â‚¬â„¢ [http://www.fileuniverse.com/?page=listing&ID=54 the original TA music]
Or anything you like.

-Need more strategy and tips? Since Spring is a remake of TA, any TA strategy guide works...

-LAST BUT NOT LEAST : '''DonÃ¢â‚¬â„¢t get too serious. ItÃ¢â‚¬â„¢s only a game.'''

This guide was written by Kixxe aka Johan Wittrock before everyone edited (and improved!) it mercilessly.

Back to [[Strategy_and_Tactics]]

Spring guide

2006-03-13T18:02:49Z

DarkOppressor: Edit for grammar and clarity

'''

Ã¢â‚¬ËœÃ¢â‚¬â„¢Keep in mind that Spring is still in beta, therefore crashes can occur (a lot) and we (well, not me!) havenÃ¢â‚¬â„¢t got everything fixed yet.Ã¢â‚¬â„¢Ã¢â‚¬â„¢

Before we start, letÃ¢â‚¬â„¢s have some background info.

== TA: so what's so cool about this game ? ==
[warning, boring info that doesnÃ¢â‚¬â„¢t really mean anything]

TA (Total Annihilation) was created by Cavedog (R.I.P) in 1997, about half a year before(!!!) Starcraft was released. It was revolutionary in many ways, with 3D graphics (but a fixed camera), good animations (aircraft barrel rolled and leaned when they turned etc.), 3D terrain and many units (150 in the original game.) But in my not so humble opinion, the 3 greatest things that set TA apart were...

* Its physics! Every shot trajectory was calculated! An artillery shell could try to get over a hill and hit an aircraft, which exploded into bits, damaging other troops nearby, which could also explode and set forests on fire. Yeah, might not sound that big after 7 years, but back then we had Starcraft, which defied at least a half dozen laws of physics.

(Example of the tentacle through space. Yeah, really realistic)
[http://fast.filespace.org/Kixxe/WTF.png Click here]

* The order system! You could have 300 units waiting to be built, and when they were done, they could go and patrol an area and attack anyone in it. Order queues were limitless. You could build your whole base and drink tea while it was getting built. Construction units on patrol would repair damaged units, help build things and reclaim stuff (sucking it in and transforming it into resources.)

* The resource system! Contrary to other RTS games, the resources in TA are infinite. What limits resource consumption is the rate at which they can be gathered. This sole fact would make for longer and more epic games, with hundreds or thousands of units fighting in the endgame.

Pretty cool game. If you want, check out their old website for more info. [http://www.fileuniverse.com/Total_Annihilation_Mirror/totala/index.html Click here]

[/warning, boring info that doesnÃ¢â‚¬â„¢t really mean anything]

Anyway, enough of my rambling, onto Spring!

Now, as I told you, Spring was inspired by TA and has the same features TA had. Plus a few new thingsÃ¢â‚¬Â¦ check out the Spring features page for more info.
[http://taspring.clan-sy.com/wiki/Features Click here]

----

==Resources==

There are two types of resources in Spring, namely ''metal'' and ''energy''. Each of these two resources can be collected in a number of different ways. The amount of each resource that you currently have stockpiled is represented by a coloured bar, one for each resource, along the upper edge of the screen. The rate at which you are presently collecting and consuming each of the two types is represented by a number and a + or - sign. If you are collecting at a faster rate then the rate at which you are consuming you will see your coloured bar grow as resources accumulate. Your stockpiled resources are being depleted whenever the coloured bar is shrinking. There are storage buildings which you can build for each type of resource and these will increase the amount of each which can be stored. Units and structures cost both metal and energy to build, while some units or structures also require energy to walk, shoot or operate in general.

Metal is collected continuously from either a metal extractor, often called Ã¢â‚¬ËœmexesÃ¢â‚¬â„¢ which extract from certain areas of the map, or by using a metal maker, abbreviated as Ã¢â‚¬ËœMMÃ¢â‚¬â„¢ which convert energy into metal. Both will only operate so long as there is sufficient energy to power them. However, metal makers require a lot of energy.
A faster way to gather metal is by using either your commander or a construction bot to 'reclaim' it from the remains of destroyed units and buildings! They can even reclaim buildings which have not been destroyed and they don't have to belong to your enemy to be reclaimed.

Energy can be produced by a number of different buildings or it can be reclaimed (you can reclaim trees to gather energy). There are many different types of energy producers, including solar collectors and power plants, but they will be covered in another section.

In a game, always Ã¢â‚¬Å“keep an eye on your metal and energy barÃ¢â‚¬Å“ because if one of them goes to zero, particularly energy, your building rate will stall,(metal makers and extractors will stop producing) and some units will be unable to fire their energy weapons (eg. LRPCs, Annihilators, Doomsday Machines).

----

==A Normal Spring Game==

Anyway, now you will learn the basics of a normal Spring game, as I see it.
Every Spring game starts with all players only havingÃ¢â‚¬Â¦

'''The COMMANDER'''! (Insert DUN DUN DUUUUUNN)

The Commander is the unit you start with and the most important one in game. He is unique and cannot be rebuilt. In fact, there is a mode where the game ends when the commander dies, so never leave him alone.

The fastest builder, he can walk and build under water, he makes a nuke sized explosion when he dies, he has a laser and the privilege of a Disintegrator gun (alias D-Gun).
The D-gun is the single most powerful weapon in the whole game, which kills ANY (ANY, I mean it!) unit in one hit (friend or foe no difference, be careful!). Even if that sounds a little overkill, keep in mind that the Commander has a very limited range, is defenceless against any aircraft and long range artillery and when he is submerged, he cannot shoot. (Subs! Onoz!)

The Commander is used for setting up a base, and early base defences. The D-gun should protect him against any level 1 unit that tries to kill him, so if you lose your Commander in the beginning of the gameÃ¢â‚¬Â¦ then you're dead. You lose your best (only?) builder and attacker, plus you have a nuke size explosion that may destroy half or all of your base.

AnywayÃ¢â‚¬Â¦ if you're seeing everything in a top down perspective, click the Commander (type Ctrl+C if you can't find him) with left mouse button to select him.

(If you have a crosshair as a mouse, press j. If your camera is ZOOMED out or all jerky, press ctrl+j until you find OTA camera.)

Okay, letÃ¢â‚¬â„¢s now discuss '''how to build stuff'''.

Like any normal RTS, itÃ¢â‚¬â„¢s choose and click location. But there is more with Spring. Hold shift and click on different locations to make the unit build the same building there. Hold shift and drag and you will make a line of the building. Hold ctrl and shift to make boxes/rectangular shapes of buildings. Use these ! Make a line of DT (Dragon Teeth, small piece of wall/cover) instead of clicking each and everyone. The controls are there to help you.
This is called queuing up stuff. You can use almost every single command in a queue. Buildings can be queued to build lots of different units, and then the other orders in the behaviour of the unit. You can make them walk to something, or guard/follow a unit by pressing G and selecting the unit to guard. Try it.
Selecting a unit and pressing Shift key will show the orders queue.

Build 2 solar generators, or 4 wind generators to gather energy. Keep in mind that wind is pretty unstable, and that a number of maps (like lunar ones) have no wind at all ! (The level of wind and tides in the map is indicated in the Map Selector in the Lobby).

Now select the Metal extractors and the whole screen turns black and green. Okay, place one on the green stuff. (The greener, the better! Like broccoli!)

Oh, and the minimap controls in spring are reversed. Meaning that you have to rightclick to move the screen to the location. Once the new Gui is out and offical, this will be fixed.

----

==The TA bestiary==

Okay, time to describe the cool units that are at your disposal to make your enemies bleed. 8)

(Disclaimer : This will discuss the types of units, not every unit. Therefore, if I say that vehicles have large armour, I donÃ¢â‚¬â„¢t mean artillery of course.)

On to the first level 1 lab/plant to build. The categories areÃ¢â‚¬Â¦

===Vehicles===

These babies are all about armour. The level 1 units are pretty basic, with more armour and (build) speed and than their K-bot counterparts. Level 2 vehicles show even more of the same pattern: better armour than their K-bot counterparts. Level 2 also offers the mobile Flak unit, which is the only real level 2 mobile AA.
Their weakness is that they are clumsy, turn slowly, and most of them canÃ¢â‚¬â„¢t climb mountainsÃ¢â‚¬Â¦ at all. Leads to trouble when an explosion makes a crater: units survive but can get stuck in the crater. Or just when they are trying to get up a steep hill. But sooner or later, you'll learn what kind of destruction a rush of 30 Goliaths can do !

===K-Bots===

K-bots have genereally less powerful weapons than tanks, and are also less heavily armoured.
So why build them in the first place?
Because they are cheaper! And since they are cheaper, you can build more and outnumber your enemies. This doesnÃ¢â‚¬â„¢t work out that good in game though, since tanks ARE stronger. K-bots are also smaller, and will slip through DT and such alike easier than tanks.
And finally, the third advantage (which IMO is the biggest) of K-bots are that they can climb most mountains with ease! Climb by defences, up on mountains, through holes, these are all-purpose units.

===Aircraft===

Planes are planes. In Spring, thereÃ¢â‚¬â„¢s a plane for every role. Bombers, fighters, gunships, flying radar, transports, stealth fighters and torpedo bombers. Planes are fast, and are not affected by terrain. There is no wall or relief that can stop a plane. You can just swoop in a base and take out AA with your gunship, and then bomb the crap out of their important structures. To stop them, you've got to rely on Anti Air (AA) units.

On the downside, planes are quite expensive to build and are relatively fragile. They are also the only units that have an anti unit against them (Except subs). When someone finds out you're building a large air fleet, they just cram their base full of AA and their army with mobile AA. And the only counter is more planes than their AA can handle, or a ground troop to take the AA down. A combined ground and air attack can be very destructive. Good luck!

===Ships===

Ships are good on a map with water. (DUH!) Ships come in many different kinds, but mostly for taking out other ships or bombing the crap out of land units in some way or another. The ships' strength is their powerful weaponry and their long range. All ships made to take out land have long range. Ships also have lots of armour. Another thing thatÃ¢â‚¬â„¢s good about ships is that there is not much you can do to stop them because they are usually out of range. Once you see that the enemy has ships, either build a dock and a navy real fast or build planes and pray that he doesnÃ¢â‚¬â„¢t have too many AA ships.
Their weaknesses are slowness (especially when turning), they can be taken out by submarines, and of course they are confined to water, meaning that they are often stuck with units just outside of their reach.

And they are *extremely* expensive, metal-wise.

===Hovercraft===

(These are counted as level 2 units, so I would not recommend them as the first to build unless itÃ¢â‚¬â„¢s the perfect map for them)

Hovercrafts are a tank and a plane (some say ship, but I find planes to be more accurate for some reason O.o) mixed. Sure itÃ¢â‚¬â„¢s weaker than your average tank, and slower than your average plane. Whats their use? They are meant for swampy maps that means that both tanks and ships are a weakness, and offcourse since none can't be used, everyone just spams out AA since they think aircrafts are the only way. Great suprise for the enemy when 50 hovercrafts comes in agsint their flakkers and MT...
Long story short, Hovercrafts are good for those who like (or must) attack from the ground, but canÃ¢â‚¬â„¢t since there is too much water.

Their weakness is their low climbing ability, and that they're weaker than a tank and slower than a plane. (DonÃ¢â‚¬â„¢t build them on a land map, tanks ARE better.)

===Towers and Turrets===

Like TA, Spring boasts an impressive range of plasma and laser towers, cannons and turrets. These cannons will undoubtly be essential parts of your offensive as well as defensive strategies.

'''Light laser tower (LLT)'''
A cheap and fast laser that hits almost every time. Mostly useful against level 1 units, but can be used in groups against level 2. They suffer from short range, so most long range weapons can kill them(Samsons, for example). Since they fire faster than their bigger brothers, LLTs are more useful against hordes of small weak units than a single strong one.

'''Heavy laser tower (HLT)'''
This is the only tower that works on those pesky level 2 units that just wonÃ¢â‚¬â„¢t die. These shoot slower, but with much more power than the LLT. They also have a longer range and can be quite effective against air attacks. They cost a fair amount and take a long time to build, but they are often worth it.

'''Missile Tower (MT)'''
The missile tower is good for planes or weak level 1 units. They shoot a weak rocket that almost hits their target every time. They have a fair range, but very low hp. They work on most level 2 planes as well, but should be backed up with Flack cannons.

'''Pop-up Cannons'''
Pop-up cannons are pretty cheap middle range gun. A guardian can outshoot them, but they are still a choice to use. When Ã¢â‚¬ËœÃ¢â‚¬â„¢offÃ¢â‚¬â„¢Ã¢â‚¬â„¢ they take 50% less damage! I heard that a closed popup can withstand a nuke! (If itÃ¢â‚¬â„¢s not a direct hit) In XTA you can build them with level 1 construction K-bot or whatever. Sometimes individual wars between 2 or 4 pop-ups break out, where both sides try to kill the other's ones. Just remember to repair them, as with all PCÃ¢â‚¬Â¦

'''Middle range Plasma Cannons (MRPC)'''
Guardians and such alike. These arenÃ¢â‚¬â„¢t for attacking, but they have a pretty long range, and are not too expensive. Plus their targeting is pretty fast, meaning they are practically made for defence and very lethal. Perfect to have on a hill close to a HLT and some MTÃ¢â‚¬Â¦

'''Long Range Plasma Cannons (LRPC)'''
We are talking Big berthas, Intimidators and such alike. These babies got the RANGE and may be the ultimate weapon on small maps. The Big Bertha, yeah. An amazing unit. Not the ultimate, but several times cheaper and more accurate than a Buzz Saw/Vulcan, and its accuracy will improve with every kill. Not good at defending, since its slow targeting makes it impossible to hit moving targets. Try to build one on a small maps, or just build one close to the enemy and your Bertha will start pounding his base mercilessly. In fact, build several, with a lot of AA around'em (and ground, if thatÃ¢â‚¬â„¢s possible) and you'll see your enemy's morale quickly fall to the ground. A LRPC expansion can sometimes become the winning factor of a game.

'''Very long range plasma Cannons (VLRC)'''
Buzzsaws are big, cost much, are huge energy suckers, are VERY inaccurate and are pretty slow on targeting. BUT, they have the DOUBLE range of a normal LRPC and shoot 4(!!!) shots at a time. This is the one thing to finish those ÃƒÂ¼ber porckers.
Defend these well, with lots of AA around and in a wide circle. They only have about 5000 hp, so killing'em is easy if you donÃ¢â‚¬â„¢t have AAÃ¢â‚¬Â¦
In OTA however Vulcans/Buzzsaws have SLIGHTLY LESS range than LRPCs, so LRPCs are generally better because they are so cheaper and each are a seperate entity with a fair bit of life(around 2500 i think).

The obvious way to kill LRC is to use planes, since they are fast enough to enter and kill it all.

===The first steps===

Now comes the tricky part. The first minute is always the same really, so what after that?
Well, itÃ¢â‚¬â„¢s hard to judge. But here are some paths that can be taken.

1. Build many construction units and send them out to build mexxes and Geothermal Power Plants. Then a defence and maybe some DT.

2. Build some construction units, and then start building defences. Follow the Ã¢â‚¬ËœÃ¢â‚¬â„¢line defenceÃ¢â‚¬â„¢Ã¢â‚¬â„¢ guide lines.
Build Fusion Power Plants and Metal makers, and then an army. After that, use the army how armies are used best.
This strategy is called PORCING, and is considered by many as BAD.
There are disadvantages with this. You canÃ¢â‚¬â„¢t use many metal extractors or Geos, so you have slim to no resources to build your base. A popular strategy is to kill the anti-nuke, and then blow the whole compact base to bits.

3. Build a small army of 3-6 units and attack the enemy. The goal isnÃ¢â‚¬â„¢t to kill him, but to do as much damage as possible to his resources and hinder his economy. Mexxes are the most important, and then look for wind or solar generators.
Try to keep on attacking him, but remember to still tech up and build defences.

Anyway, use your construction units to build defences of SOME kind. Take advantage of Geothermal gases. Yeah the smoking stuff. You can place Geo plants there for good, cheap and space saving energy. If youÃ¢â‚¬â„¢re expanding, use every Mex' positions, and try to find a place to settle your defence line.

When you can defend yourself from most level 1 units, start on your level 2 building.

When itÃ¢â‚¬â„¢s done, ALWAYS build a construction unit first. Use it for your first mini Fusion. (Or build some mobile fusion at the vehicle plant if you're Arm)
Build level 2 units in the meantime.
Low on metal? Upgrade the finest of your Mexxes to Moho Mexxes. They are bigger and better (but they suck up energy).
You can also build a Moho Metal maker if you have enough energy to support it. (MMM :p)
Okay, if you made this far, you must really start thinking about how to defeat the enemy. Look for his weak spot. Maybe a K-bot assault from the mountains ? Maybe planes. Maybe using amphibious units. That part is for you to figure out.

----

==STRATEGY==

I read this guide through, and suddenly realisedÃ¢â‚¬Â¦

''where is the strategy?''

So I fiddled this section up. Hope you'll learn something from it and thereby increase your Spring gaming experience.

===Defence===

AhÃ¢â‚¬Â¦ the overall defence. There are many different ways of making a good defence, but there are 3 main categories.

''Compact defence!''

The most common type of defence is a single line of defence, often with Dragon Teeth (DT) in front. Inside your base is some AA, and thatÃ¢â‚¬â„¢s about it. The good thing about this is that itÃ¢â‚¬â„¢s pretty easy and fast to set up, and you know where your territory ends, which can make the game much easier. Problem is, if something makes it past the line of defence, then youÃ¢â‚¬â„¢re screwed. Unless youÃ¢â‚¬â„¢re building line after line of defence, or have some units to stop em.

''Spread out defence!''

I saw a guy pull this off one time, and he won with a large margin. The trick with this is to never really have a defined line of defence, just a Heavy Laser Tower (HLT) here, a radar there, some DT there, a mine here and thereÃ¢â‚¬Â¦
Basically, you expand every time you build a defence building, so in the end you have ENORMOUS space to move in. Since the defence is spread out, no one is gonna rush it past with some goliaths. You can have some units hide behind mountains and attack. He used merls who he trapped in fortification walls. I tried to run past the defence with an army of 30 bulldogs. His HLT and missile and plasma batteries stopped me before I even reached his final defence line.
Even though this defence are the best of 'em all, itÃ¢â‚¬â„¢s hard to build up, and requires lots off resources and time. IF youÃ¢â‚¬â„¢re able to pull it off, the only problem may be if they are fast enough to run by it all, or if you donÃ¢â‚¬â„¢t have much AA and 30 Brawlers are comingÃ¢â‚¬Â¦

''No defenceÃ¢â‚¬Â¦ at all?''

Yes, this is an option. Okay, you may want some mines here and there, and some DT to stop them from running right through the door and AA in your base if their building planes. But how do you defend with no defence?
with units. The whole concept is that you put all your effort on making units. This works pretty well, since you can look where the enemy is going to attack, you can MOVE your whole defence to that location.
The problem with this defence, is that when you are attacking, you lose most of your defence. Sure you can leave units behind, but I find it hard mentally to leave half the army at home when i am attacking.
If you manage to pull this off, and make enough units to both attack and defend, then you have not wasted any money on defence, and you have a strong army!

ThatÃ¢â‚¬â„¢s all I know of.

Also, one thing to remember is to eliminate the largest threat first. If youÃ¢â‚¬â„¢re relying on DT, take out the FARK or construction planes first.

Okay, you built a good defence
You must get into the mind of your enemy, and find the weakness of your defence.
Take a 4 seconds look through the enemyÃ¢â‚¬â„¢s eyes that just scouted the area. How would you attack something like this?
*"Well, I would try a gunship raid or attack from those undefended mountainsÃ¢â‚¬Â¦"
Then prevent that from happening, by reinforcing the area.

-- addendum by Cain

''The All Out Defence''

The opposite from the no defence, mixed with spread defence: the main concept is to invest resource in level 1 build planes, lot of them, and use them to quickly gather huge amounts of maps and resources, while keeping a lot of plane building / repairing turrets all over the places. This could be very effective on maps with few choke points where concentrate the defence or almost flats map where the overlapping range of defence will create a huge wall of shoot. The concept is to expand the defence line until you can shoot straight into the enemy base. Best used with a lot of level 2 aircraft defending the construction point. Note that the mobility of them is essential as you're concentrating all your resource in building plasma turrets. I usually end with a hundred of building planes and 20 to 50 brawler floating around... keep them away from Kroghot!

===Moving===
Moving or attacking is pretty easy right? Just move from point a to point b and attack cÃ¢â‚¬Â¦
Nope.
First, you have to have your units move TOGETHER. . If some are trailing behind, then you just have to wait a little for them. DonÃ¢â‚¬â„¢t know how much of that is true. A way of having your units stick together is to take a pretty slow unit, like a Can and have others guard it.
Pressing control while moving units will make them keep their position, but not their speed. (they will spread out along the way, but ''try'' to get back into the position they was in when reaching the detination)
The ''Simple formation'' is also a way of doing this, and the units will automatically form a couple of lines, often with the right units first, too!
Transports are useful for moving units, but use the air transport (Valkyrie /Atlas) intelligently and protect them. The other transportation units are harder to use, since they take more time to load/unload.

===Attacking===

When attacking, remember what each unit's role is in the fight. Fark are used to repair important units that have been damaged. Bulldogs are meant to take damage and give damage back. Merls are used to shoot missiles from a distance, and donÃ¢â‚¬â„¢t require a clear path. The question is what to repair. Merls die quickly, so one shot = dead can mean that the repairing could be used on a bulldog instead. Bulldogs are often the first thing that the enemy targets and so they lose lots of HP fast, which means that your repairing may have little effect on em... Therefore try to repair the medium units. Not the giant HP monsters, not the units with a weak defence but a strong/useful attack. Mobile artillery only has enough HP to survive one or two attacks. Repair them so they stay alive.

===Army vs Army===

Many units attacking one unit is the best thing you can do, as if you kill one of theirs, they lose one source of fire power. Focus fire is the important. Using focus fire in a group of easy killed units is very effective. Using em all on the HP power houses is less effective.
When youÃ¢â‚¬â„¢re facing an army, always try to attack from behind or the side. Keep your units a little spread out when attacking. Not to far, but just so that area weapons donÃ¢â‚¬â„¢t do as much damage. Have your HP powerhouses at the front, or at the front plus sides. Keep em pretty close though but not too much. On the one hand, having them spread out makes it easier for the units behind to attack; on the other hand you donÃ¢â‚¬â„¢t want Zippers and Pyros running past them and flaming up everything.

This is the normal way of attacking the army. There is the classical pincher movement tooÃ¢â‚¬Â¦
In this, you run one third of your HP powerhouses go to the left, one third to the right and have thze last third stay where they are.
This gives you 3 advantages:
*it's easier to get past the units and attack their weak units, or just run past them into the base,
*you do more damage, since their units will have to change their target all the time and can't escape
*it makes it MUCH harder for the enemy to run away or try to get past you.

===Army vs Base===

Okay, you may have made it past the ground troops, but the fight is not over (Unless he used units to defend, and didnÃ¢â‚¬â„¢t have any backup ones). Now you must face his base defence, and depending on the type of the defence he hasÃ¢â‚¬Â¦

''Line defence''

Gather your army and set up for battle a bit away from his base, and get ready to move in. Have the FARKS guard your main HP power houses, so they are in the front but still can hide behind em. Everything else behind that. When attacking, have several units attacking the HLT and plasma batteries, and use the FARKS to reclaim his Dragon Teeth. When you have a hole in it, just run like a maniac into the heart of the base. Split your tanks in 2 groups, 1 guarding your long range/high damage units and let the other go loose into the heart of the base. Find the Fusion reactors with your second group of tanks, and try to move the other big group to a place that is easy to defend while hitting the Fusions. Behind buildings is perfect! Kill as much as you can in short, or kill all^^.
If there are several lines of defence, dig the hole in each line of defence and repeat the same tactics.

''Spread out defence''

ArghÃ¢â‚¬Â¦ The tough one. While the individual towers are easy to beat, you canÃ¢â‚¬â„¢t run past his defences unless you like suicide. (And if you do, Ctrl+a and then ctrl+d will do the trick. A slice over the wrist works too.)
This is when you have to make penitence. Use your army, and slowly start killing the defence. Step by step, defence structure by defence structure. Keep building units, and moving them to the fray (you can use Air transports with repeat command and make them drop the units slightly away from the fight). Once you start getting close to his last line of defence, think of it as a line defence.

''Units defence''

Think army vs army. DonÃ¢â‚¬â„¢t rush past 'em with all your units. Your units will spread out and try to go through holes in the enemyÃ¢â‚¬â„¢s formation. In a word, they are dead meat. If you MUST get to the base, have half of the tanks go round the units.

===Naval Battles===

Naval battles are hard to predict if you donÃ¢â‚¬â„¢t play island maps a lot, since there many factors to take into play. Since land units are removed, you have to think in a WHOLE new perspective. No land means that only Sea, Air and Hover units can fight (and LRC off course).
Anyway, try to have air units scouting land and sea, and looking how much AA the enemy has. Ships roam around assaulting other ships, with a mix of subs, sub killers, AA ships and normal ships. Hovercrafts should be the thing to use when assaulting land thatÃ¢â‚¬â„¢s a little far from shore. Have'em escorted with planes or ships (or both).

====Ships====
When using ships, have scout ships or planes scout the area in front, then subs and sub killers front. Use Long range ships at the sides to protect anything of value you might have with you (a sea transport or an aircraft carrier). When in battle, try to have the subs run away from sub killers, while your sub killers kill the enemy subs. Your subs should try to attack the most important ship they have, and then just go crazy.
When facing land, youÃ¢â‚¬â„¢re pretty much in for an easy win. Just have your ships blow it all up. If you face LRC, take them out first. The rest of it is out of your hands.
Remember if your opponent has air superiority or LRPCs use subs as they can't hit them :)

====Hovercraft====
Use the Army vs Army or Army vs Base strategy here.

-- addendum by Cain.

Howercraft are quite expensive compared to other land units, but are very useful also in the map with a bit of water, targetting enemies without worring of those pesky gholiat... Note that they're much cheaper than ship, anyway.

===Planes===
Hohoho, planes. Fun stuff to attack with. Anyway, the most stuff is basic with planes.
First, always attack the AA first. Unless your are going to do a suicide mission. Kill the AA with gunships, and use bombers to kill structures. Many players use gunships only, with is pretty wrong. Bombers take a little time to master but allied with gunships, they do a very good job. Scout early, so you can quickly see WHAT the enemy has and WHERE he has it. Use gunships to take out AA and act like overall decoys. Have Bombers fly in and bomb the crap out off his Fusion or whatever strategic point, and use the fighters to guard the bombers.
When facing units, do the same.
When facing sea, do the same thing, but add Torpedoes to bombers and gunships.

-- addendum by Cain

Know where the enemy commander is! In game where the commander death is a winning condition, a lot of bomber could just converge on him, killing on the first run.. especially the 2nd level bombers that have a nice turretted fast targetting laser! Also, gunship could distract enemy defence from your main attack force, or you can use them to make the defences of distract players shooting their own base....

===Using Terrain===

Using terrain wisely is very important. The issue of a game can depend on a good use of terrain.
First, Line of Sight (LOS) and RADAR. Both are blocked by terrain. So build your radars as high up as possibly, otherwise you may just not see anything. Use the relief at your advantage to hide an army or your important buildings from enemy radars.
Of course, one can also take advantage of altitude to increase fire range. A couple of Guardians on top of two high hills can easily devastate a small army.
Terrain also helps shield your units against attacks. Therefore, when youÃ¢â‚¬â„¢re building something high on top of a hill, try placing it a little behind the top. This is like crouching behind a crate when just your head and gun sticks up. But remember that terrain in Spring is deformable and can be leveled by impacts !
Know the climbing ability of your units. Hovercrafts and vehicles have pretty low climbing ability. But if a foe thinks he has sealed up all exits, your K-bots can still climb the mountains where he hasnÃ¢â‚¬â„¢t put any Dragon ToothÃ¢â‚¬Â¦
Another good thing about terrain is that it mentally makes you feel safe. If there is a water barrier between me and the enemy, with 3 land bridges here and there, there probably wonÃ¢â‚¬â„¢t have much ground defence at a location AWAY from the bridges. Presuming the map is pretty flat (like "Flooded Desert") a hovercraft assault would do A LOT of damage, right?

===Energy and all the problems with it===
(in xta)
As I said before, most level 2 units require energy to move, shoot and operate in general. Meaning that if you have no energy to support your army, you can't do anything ! You can use this in your favor, by attacking his Fusions, or
by ''giving'' Metal makers to your enemy when you are attacking him(Edit:Metal makers are now turned off when given to an enemy), or he is attacking you! Things that drain a lot of energy include LRPC, Goliaths, HLT, and most level 2 units.
(/in xta)

===Paper-rock-scissor ?===

Try to look at all units as individuals. Even if I didn't write much about each single unit, know your favorite ones and how to use them effectively in conjunction with the others. You'll find that some units are very complementary. The only real paper-rock relationships are AA and planes... Maybe subs vs sub killers...

I didn't even mention cloaking, radar jamming, troops behaviour facing attacks, mines, etc, etc. The possibilities are immense, but I don't want to spoil your pleasure any longer, so I'll let you discover them by yourself.

'''Have fun !!!'''

----

===Strategy Tips===

-Expand! Metal is scarce. The more you get, the more you can build. Even if you have a good base, not a bad thing to do is to make it bigger.

-Scout! Knowledge is power. You must know what your enemy is planning, and what the enemy knows about you. (Or thinks he know about youÃ¯Â¿Å ) Check what he has, and what he is building. If heÃ¢â‚¬â„¢s building aircrafts, do something about it. Look for weaknesses in defence and such alike. If you or your ally are scouting, donÃ¢â‚¬â„¢t look away. Gather as much information as possible.
ALL buildings once in sight range will remain visible as 'ghost' buildings if this option isn't turned off by the host.

-Radar = GOOD^^. Radar checks areas for units, increases your units LOS and is overall helpful. A radar with your army makes a big difference when attacking. But so is Jamming. Jamming is good for sneak attacks. They are cheap, so just build one and make your units guard it.

-Work Together! Often I see allies who just mind their own business and donÃ¢â‚¬â„¢t care what the other person's doing. DONÃ¢â‚¬â„¢TÃ¢â‚¬Â¦ DOÃ¢â‚¬Â¦ THIS!!! Listen to each other, make up a plan. Prepare combined attacks. If there is a 2v2, then itÃ¢â‚¬â„¢s 2 alliesÃ¢â‚¬â„¢ vs 2 allies. Not a ffa with neutral partners. Type h to share units. Left click on your resource bars to auto share resources with allies.

-Power Plants. In order to level out the building costs, it is important to make a smooth transition from the least powerful generators to the most powerful ones stepwise. First solar, then Geo, then mobile/mini Fusion then Fusion.

-Check your resource bar. Try to keep a fine line between having too much resources/wasting, and having a nanostall. Use your factories and such accordingly. If you have a lot of resources, try using your old level 1 factories to build some units. Also, try to find the time to build an energy/metal storage...

-Spread out your buildings/units. Since every unit explodes, they damage units close to them. This is especially important with Fusions... (I once saw someone put 13 mobile fusions close to each other... blew up half his base with 2 (!!!) LRPC shots...)

-Queue (yeah, easy word for it to:/) up orders! You can almost win the game by pausing, queuing up some stuff, and then go eat lunch. Not really, but holding shift is good whilst putting up buildings.

-Guard = following and protection. Use planes to guard your tanks, subs to guard your transports, construction units to automatically repair important units or and so on. Then they will choose to attack whatever is hurting their guard object first. You can even do this to structures, for units who are built to move to a unitÃ¢â‚¬â„¢s position or AA to attack whatever is shooting on the Fusion reactors, etcÃ¢â‚¬Â¦
Overall, this makes working with several unit types easier.

-Reclaim stuff (sucking it in and transforming it into resources). When you're starting to run low on metal, reclaim the enemyÃ¢â‚¬â„¢s and your own corpses. Trees give energy, so if youÃ¢â‚¬â„¢re out on energy in the beginning... You can reclaim a whole area by shift-clicking.

-The key for porcers are to build LRPC. Or even better, build a nuke and use LOTS of planes to kill his anti-nuke. Then BOOM!
Also as you have way loads more metal and space to move in than your opponent, you can easily afford 2 nukes. An anti-nuke can't deal with 2 nukes heading towards it(and if you aim the nukes at the antinuke...^^!

-Experiment! I suggest you go into single player and try every unit. Use commanders for arm, and small battle (watch that Krogoth!) for core. Try every approach to a problem. Remember, just because a unit is good, itÃ¢â‚¬â„¢s not invincible. Also, try how much metal and energy a building uses while in operation. For instance, a level 1 factory uses about 50 energy and 5 metal. This varies depending on what you build. This could help you prevent nanostalling.

-Several types of factories. Yeah, even if it costs money. A advanced building cost as much as a Bulldog or 2... You got the time, and the money. Build it.

-Raid. Take the Weasel or a couple of Peewees on a cruise right by the enemyÃ¢â‚¬â„¢s mexxes. Having trouble finding'em ? Type F4 to see where the ground is drained^^ [Edit] This doesn't apply anymore, but you can still see where a mex is by trying to build one of your own there. If you can't, there's already one on the spot... A tip is to stay away from the Commander, or use buildings as hostages. Hide behind stuff and kill it off, then move on. If you're sure you're going to die, move close to a building and self-destruct.

-Just because Peewees are better then AKÃ¢â‚¬â„¢s doesnÃ¢â‚¬â„¢t meant that AKÃ¢â‚¬â„¢s are useless. (And so onÃ¢â‚¬Â¦). In fact, no unit is useless. If you believe it is, try it once. On what it was meant to do.

-Mix armies. O boy, if you havenÃ¢â‚¬â„¢t heard this one a thousand times before, you've only been playing Half-Life for the last 7 years or something. Even if Goliaths rule, a couple of missile units will make them much more effective.

-Farks are useful in combat. Always have 1-3 with you. Reclaiming DT, or doing what they were meant to do : Repair -.-* (also, when I say FARKs somewhere in the guide, construction units work to...)

-Ask questions. No one is going to laugh at you. And if someone does, heÃ¢â‚¬â„¢s a ass and shouldnÃ¢â‚¬â„¢t even be poked a stick at. No question is too stupid. Just donÃ¢â‚¬â„¢t expect anyone in the heat of a battle to answer to Ã¢â‚¬ËœÃ¢â‚¬â„¢how do I play?Ã¢â‚¬â„¢Ã¢â‚¬â„¢.

-Learn ! If you lost, use the replay too to watch the game and try to understand why you died. What did the enemy do better than you? What was the key to winning? And so on.

-The Readme file has some cool keyboard shortcuts... check it out.

-Develop! Are you a programmer, a 3D design artist or just some regular Joe? Come to the forum for a talk, chatter, and make wacky suggestions! In the end you may contribute of making Spring better! Remember, Spring is open source. So just dive into there and replace AKÃ¢â‚¬â„¢s with flying monkeys in space suits or whatever.

-Try having some good music on when playing. It can give you a good kick. I recommend the WAR OF THE WORLD (the strategy game, yes it exists) Ã¢â‚¬ËœÃ¢â‚¬â„¢eve of the warÃ¢â‚¬â„¢Ã¢â‚¬â„¢ [http://www.fileuniverse.com/?page=listing&ID=54 the original TA music]
Or anything you like.

-Need more strategy and tips? Since Spring is a remake of TA, any TA strategy guide works...

-LAST BUT NOT LEAST : '''DonÃ¢â‚¬â„¢t get too serious. ItÃ¢â‚¬â„¢s only a game.'''

This guide was written by Kixxe aka Johan Wittrock before everyone edited (and improved!) it mercilessly.

Back to [[Strategy_and_Tactics]]