Spring - User contributions [en]

Spring Engine Code

2007-07-31T09:37:15Z

Maelstrom: Removed Vandalism

To get people somewhat started into the mass of spring engine code, here is a small "walkthrough" of the game process.
Another good way of learning the code is building it in debug mode, setting a breakpoint at some place, and running spring. When it breaks on that point you'll be able to see full call stack which is very educational.

# Application entry point (Main.cpp)
## Window is created
## VFS is initialized (VFSHandler.cpp)
## Game setup:
### if there is a start script (like script.txt) this is used to initialize the global gameSetup (in GameSetup.cpp)
### CPreGame is created
#### if it's a client: CPreGame either waits for a start script.txt i
#### if it's a server: CPreGame uses the given start script (if one) or shows the list of startup CScript classes such as Commanders or Global AI
### CGame is created
#### CGame::CGame() will load all game data such as the map, unit models, textures, features
## Main window message loop starts
### [[Spring_Engine_Code | Drawing]]
### [[Spring_Engine_Code | Game_Update]]

==Game Update==
# update the networking, and when a message for a new frame arrives start update the game. This might seem weird, but because all game simulations have to be synced, it shouldn't run the game further until the server is ready.
## unit handler update
## feature update
## projectile handler update
## ...

== Scripts ==

A single script is chosen by CPreGame, and is run once a frame. This is not the same as the script.txt which only provides initialization data, typically to communicate from the lobby to spring.exe. For a lobby-game, the script is hard-coded as "Commanders", which gives each team a commander.

The current loaded script is specified by Game/StartScripts/ScriptHandler.cpp : CScriptHandler::Instance->chosenScript

== Mods ==

The mod selection takes place in PreGame.cpp.

The mod is loaded by multiple files, such as Sim/Units/UnitDefHandler.cpp , which are called from Game.cpp, in the constructor:

unitDefHandler=new CUnitDefHandler();

[[Category:Source development]]

User:Maelstrom

2007-06-16T15:46:25Z

Maelstrom: Reverted edit of GekWnu, changed back to last version by SusQfs

== Maelstroms Page ==

Random stuff I have made:
* [http://taspring.clan-sy.com/phpbb/viewtopic.php?t=2420 My SMD Creator]
* [http://www.fileuniverse.com/?p=showitem

Air Domination

2007-06-16T15:45:29Z

Maelstrom: Reverted edit of OjiSjw, changed back to last version by OkhEs5

Air Domination is an tactic best employed on maps with little land or large areas on which land units cannot act. It's simple - build an attack group of aircraft suitable for taking out your targets, and support with units that minimize the weakness of air.

Alternatively, build up a tremendous force of the cheapest effective air units for a task and mass your targets, using shock and awe to augment your activities.

'''Connections'''

This tactic is viable in most mods with advanced air units and independent air technology, such as AA or XTA. The relative weakness of air units in E

Development

2007-06-16T15:44:44Z

Maelstrom: Reverted edit of Ux6Gk2, changed back to last version by Hoehrer

General (redirect) page about development of the Spring [[engine]], multiplatform, [[mods]] and the [[lobby]] and let's not forget [[AI]] development.
Maybe general art like sounds and stuff?

* [[Source Development]]
** [[Lobby]]
** [[Engine]]
** [[AI]]
** ...
* [[Mod Development]] (see also [[Mods]])
* [[Unit Development]]
* [[Map Development]] (see also [[Maps]])

The old content has been move to the [[Talk:Development|talk page]] btw.

[[Category:Development]]

Category:Content

2007-06-16T15:44:34Z

Maelstrom: Reverted edit of VnhUyg, changed back to last version by SeanHeron

Descriptions of all the Mods, Maps, AIs, etc. that have been created for Spring.

If anybody has a better name for this category, please shoot away :D .

[[Category:Spring]]

MiniSpring

2007-06-16T15:44:00Z

Maelstrom: Reverted edit of FkvNjw, changed back to last version by Rjn945

'''MiniSpring''' is a special release of the Spring engine by Buggi. It halves the size of all units in the game, making maps look and feel twice as big as they really are. A new version has been released, and is currently compatible with Spring version .65b2. Unfortunately, because this mod uses a hacked executalbe, it is not properly compatible with the TASClient. It would be quite hard to actually set up and play a multiplayer game with it because of this. But that does not stop you from trying it out!

=== Links ===
* [http://taspring.clan-sy.com/phpbb/viewtopic.php?t=2703 Forum Link]
* [http://www.epicedit.com/MiniSpring_065b2_0.zip Download link]

[[Category:Mods]]
{{Category:Mods}}

Mac

2007-06-16T15:43:25Z

Maelstrom: Reverted edit of XajKm7, changed back to last version by SeanHeron

Some people like to see a Mac version of Spring. 
If you like to port Spring to the Mac you can best follow the [[Linux]] porting effort. 
Once this branch is merged with the Windows version developing a mac port will be easier as the code will be more portable. 

[[Category:Source development]]

Classic Pincer

2007-06-16T15:42:28Z

Maelstrom: Reverted edit of QzyHpg, changed back to last version by Redstar

The classic pincer is precisely what it sounds like, the very common tactic of taking two groups and catching your foe between them. It has the disadvantage of diluting your strength by splitting your units, counterbalanced against the fact that an assault from both sides will be considerably harder to react to effectively.

Best used when you already have a small numeric advantage and can successfully hide your units as they approach.

''' [[Strategy_and_Tactics|<- Back to Strategy and Tactics page]]'''

[[category:Strategy]]

Hosting Spring

2007-06-16T15:42:15Z

Maelstrom: Reverted edit of EskH4k, changed back to last version by Neddiedrow

There are some autohosts availiable for Spring.

- Springie Autohost http://taspring.clan-sy.com/phpbb/viewtopic.php?t=7921

Category:Development

2007-06-16T15:41:16Z

Maelstrom: Reverted edit of KgiA5u, changed back to last version by Neddiedrow

These pages relate to working on the Spring engine, creating content for Spring, or assisting in the developement of related projects.

[[Category:Spring]]

Mapdev:Howto skybox

2007-05-31T06:36:54Z

Maelstrom: Minor syntax errors and cleanup.

==Skybox Information==
This is going to contain notes about the creation of skyboxes aka cubemaps.

Skyboxes are created with a series of 6 separate images which form what we call a cube map. Below is an example of the skybox images that I created for a map.

[[Image:Skyboxsimple.gif|center|this is what we call a cube cross]]

Despite what you will see on many sites you do not need a cube cross for the creation of your skybox. You will be using six individual images. Each image represents a different face on an imaginary cube. Each face is applied to the cube that surrounds the map.

[[Image:Sky1.gif|center|see how each side of the cube is it's own image]]

Here an image is being applied to the cubemap. See how each side of the cube is an image?

== Skybox creation ==

=== Creating your 6 textures ===
You will need six images representing each side of your skybox. I will not go into any specific method of construction. There are tutorials out there for that. Just remember you will need 6 textures, front, back, left side, right side, top and bottom.

=== Creating your dds using the nvidia dds utilities ===
You will need these utilities from Nvidia's website: [http://developer.nvidia.com/object/dds_utilities.html|NVIDIA Texture Tools]

Once you have downloaded and installed the tools you will need to created 2 files:
* '''Compiledds.bat''', and
* '''cubemapfile.lst'''

Inside of '''compiledds.bat''' type in:

nvdxt -cubeMap -list cubemapfile.lst -output cubemap.dds
pause

This will compile your skybox to the name '''cubemap.dds''', feel free to change the name. Also, the pause command will stop the the batch file and force it to wait before it closes, this will allow you to see any errors that may or may not occur.

Inside of '''cubemapfile.lst''' type in:

left.jpg
right.jpg
top.jpg
bottom.jpg
front.jpg
back.jpg

The .dds file created should be put in the '''maps/''' directory with your maps .smd, .smf and .smt files.

== Skybox notes ==

Do not do these:

Sizes that are not to the power of two. ATI cards have problems with sizes that are not a power of two. Reccomended sizes are: '''256X256''', '''512X512''' or '''1024x1024'''.

Note: the batch will export a DXT5 or something like that and spring has an issue with the newest dds stuff. I will update the command for you gents soon. I thought I already had... my bad.

--[[User:Smoth|Smoth]] 09:24, 25 Apr 2007 (CEST)

SM3 Map Format

2007-03-01T07:44:33Z

Maelstrom: Cleaned up the SM3 code bits to have consistent indenting and comments and stuff

== Introduction ==

As opposed to the original SMF renderer, the SM3 map renderer allows multiple texture layers rendered on the terrain. This allows for higher texture resolutions and improved lighting such as bumpmapping/specular mapping.

Hugh Perkins has been working on a SM3 map editor:
http://taspring.clan-sy.com/phpbb/viewtopic.php?t=8094

== Map specification ==

Instead of a binary SMF file and a SMD file, all map information is now stored in a text based .SM3 file. This has the same basic layout as the original .SMD file, but it includes a [TERRAIN] section and an [INFOMAPS] section. It also has an extra tag in LIGHT (GroundSpecularColor):

[MAP]
{
// regular smd information, such as start positions,
// [WATER] and [ATMOSPHERE] sections...

[LIGHT]
{
// specular color, defaults to 0.1 0.1 0.1
GroundSpecularColor=0.3 0.3 0.3;

// other standard tags shared with SMF (such as GroundSunColor)...

}

[INFOMAPS]
{
metal=Maps/dry_data/metalmap.png;
type=Maps/dry_data/typemap.png;
}
[TERRAIN]
{
HeightScale=400.0;
HeightOffset=10.0;
Heightmap=Maps/dry_data/1026.png;

NumTextureStages=2; // all texture stages are multiplied
SpecularExponent=16; // specular exponent AKA
//shininess or polishedness. defaults to 8

[texstage0]
{
// the first texture stage operation is ignored
source=Snow;
}
[texstage1]
{
// use the incoming alpha to blend between 2 textures
operation=blend;
source=CrackedDirt;
blender=RockBlender1026;
}
/* texture definitions */
[CrackedDirt]
{
File=Maps/dry_data/dirt2.jpg;
Bumpmap=Maps/dry_data/dirt2_bm.jpg;
TileSize=50;
}
[Snow]
{
File=Maps/dry_data/Snow_Sand.jpg;
TileSize=20;
}

/* blender definition, all blenders have "Blendmap=1" */
// a rock blender loaded from file for a specific map
[RockBlender1026]
{
Blendmap=1;
File=Maps/dry_data/1026_bm_small.png;
}
}
}

== Heightmap specification ==

The heightmap is specified with 3 tags located in the [TERRAIN] section:

'''Heightmap:''' This should be either:
*An 8 or 16 bit image file readable by DevIL
*A 8 or 16 bit RAW file, such as generated by Terragen

'''HeightScale and HeightOffset:''' The actual height of a heightmap pixel is calculated scaled by HeightScale, after which HeightOffset is added to it (height = pixel * HeightScale + HeightOffset)

== Texturing method specification (how are the textures applied) ==

=== Texture stages/layers ===

Texturing of SM3 terrains works by a series of texture layers that are applied on top of eachother. These layers are called "texture stages". The stages can be added, multiplied, or alpha blended with the previous stage. This is defined by the stage operation.

The number of stages is given with the tag NumTextureStages like:

NumTextureStages=2;

Keep in mind that the stages are directly executed on your videocard. This means the more stages you make the slower the map will render.

The first stage never has an operation:

[texstage0]
{
source=Snow;
}

Following stages can have "operation=add", "operation=mul", "operation=blend"

==== Operation Add ====

The add operation needs a texture to add to the previous stage, which is specified with the "source=TextureName" tag. The texture specification is explained below.

[texstage1]
{
operation=add;
source=CrackedDirt;
}

==== Operation Multiply ====

Same as add, but with operation=mul

[texstage1]
{
operation=mul;
source=CrackedDirt;
}

==== Operation Blend ====

The blend operation does alpha blending with an extra grayscale alpha texture. Specification of these alpha textures ("Blendmaps") is explained later in this doc. The blend operation needs a "blender=BlenderName" tag to work. I'm guessing most maps will only be using this operation.

[texstage1]
{
operation=blend;
source=CrackedDirt;
blender=RockBlender1026;
}

The avaiable operations are limited to add/mul/blend for techical reasons:
This way even the most complex maps can be executed with multipass operations on any card with at least 2 textures units. It would even work on a Riva TNT I think.

Obviously because the first stage doesn't have any previous stage, the operation of the first stage is ignored

=== Textures ===

==== Tiled textures ====

The operations usually have "source=texturename" in them, which points to the name of a tiled texture.

Example:

NumTextureStages=1;
[texstage0]
{
source=Snow;
}

[Snow]
{
File=Maps/dry_data/Snow_Sand.jpg;
TileSize=20;
}

Tilesize is how big a single tile is in the 3D spring world, when the texture is tiled across the map. Imagine a heightmap of 1025x1025 (In spring world space this is 1024*8= 8192x8192 units).
When you set tilesize=4096, you will see the complete texture 4 times on the map (2 by 2). Set it to 8192 and you'll see the map completely covered.

==== Blendmap specification ====

Blendmaps can either be loaded from file or generated from the terrain. They are stretched across the full terrain, so in combination with the blend operation you can specify exactly where you want to see a specific texture on the terrain.

===== Blendmaps from file =====

Blendmaps can be loaded from any grayscale file that DevIL can load:

[RockBlender]
{
Blendmap=1;
File=Maps/dry_data/1026_bm_small.png;
}

===== Generated blendmaps =====

Blendmaps can be generated from the heightmap. The final value is computed by

blendmap_value = SlopeTerm * HeightTerm * coverage * noise

The slope of the terrain is a value between 0 and 1, with 0 being flat and 1 being completely steep. Ofcourse with a heightmap the slope can only be near 1 and not exactly 1

The height of the terrain is between 0 and 1 (the minimum and maximum height value)
If the height is between minHeight and maxHeight, HeightTerm will be 1. maxHeightFuzzy and minHeightFuzzy determine the "border" size between having a HeightTerm of 0 and a HeightTerm of 1.

GeneratorLOD indicates at which resolution the blendmap should be generated. The blendmap size will be (heightmapsize-1) / (2 ^ generatorLOD). For example with a heightmap width of 1025 and a generatorlod of 2, the blendmap size will be 1024/4=256.

(Images illustrating this will be added later)

== Infomaps ==

The infomaps section defines the metal map and typemap. Both should be 8 bit images in any format DevIL accepts.

== Image file sizes ==

* The heightmap has to be square and its dimensions have to be a power-of-two + 1, like 257x257, 513x513, 1025x1025
* The blendmaps have to be square too, with power-of-two dimensions like: 256x256, 512x512, 1024x1024. They should be smaller than the heightmap.
* The tiled textures should have power-of-two dimensions, but don't have to be square
* The minimap can be anything, but it will be resized to an image of 1024x1024. Specifying a 1024x1024 will allow faster loading because no resizing is needed.
* Typemap and metalmaps dimensions should be (heightmapsize - 1) / 2, so when the heightmap is 1025x1025, the typemap is 512x512.
* The heightmap can be any [http://openil.sourceforge.net/features.php DevIL] supported format, or RAW such as exported by terragen. All the other maps/texture files can only be a DevIL format.

== Feature placement ==

The feature specification is done with a list of feature type names in the SM3 itself, and with a binary datafile that contains all the feature positions, orientations.
Feature types are specified like this:

[FeatureTypes]
{
NumTypes=4;
type0=TreeType0; // a tree
type1=MyFeature;
type2=MyOtherFeature;
type3=GeoVent; // a geothermal
}

The feature binary file should be made with an editor. I'm hoping Maelstrom will add feature placing to his startpoint editor, but until then there's only http://user.supradigital.org/jcnossen/FeaturePlacer.zip

[[Image:Featureplacer.png]]

The "Pos:" fields are ment to enter the feature X,Y,Z. You can use zero for Y because spring will automatically put the feature on the ground when it loads.
Type is the index into the feature type list specified in the SM3 file.

The feature data file should be linked to the SM3 with:

[MAP]
{
// other map tags ...
featuredata=FeatureDataFileName;
}

== Minimap ==

The minimap is loaded from an image file that you have to set in the MAP section of the sm3 file.
Example:

[MAP]
{
// other map tags ...
minimap=maps/data/minimap.png;
}

== TODO ==

* fix bugs

[[Category:Map making]]
[[Category:SM3 map format]]

FAQ

2006-12-24T03:04:36Z

Maelstrom: /* Well how do you cheat? */ typo

==General information==

===What is Spring?===
Spring is a project to create the best RTS ever (no joke). There are three principle goals which we hope to achieve.

# Reach a stage where TA Spring can flawlessly execute most of Total Annihilation's original gameplay, with its original units in their original format.
# Add new features as we see fit, fix bugs, and release new versions when we feel it is appropriate to do so.
# Support the mod community as we see fit.
# Improving the already fine original TA Interface in a way that the Players will have more tactical Options, more Control, more Comfort and still don`t get lost, as long as they are willing to learn.

The goals might need an update.. -- Tim Blokdijk

===Is Spring free?===
The core game is released under GPL License. However, some parts of the game are still under copyright by their owners. Therefore, today, you need to own the original TA game if you want to play. However the community is working hard in order to offer completely free alternatives.

===Why can I edit this page?===
This page, and several others, are located in the Spring [http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Wiki Wiki]. The link gives a full explanation of what it is, but in short it is a way of letting anyone who wants to contribute to the page content. This can of course be abused, but even while it is easy for someone to vandalise the page, it is just as easy for someone to restore it, since the wiki saves all previous versions of a page.

===Why can't I edit this page?===
You need to be [[Special:Userlogin|logged in]] to edit our wiki because people were vandalizing and/or being morons too much, so they had to lock it down.

===I want to help, what can I do?===
Please look at the Messageboard. There are lots of things you can do according to your skills. Particularly important is to create viable and pleasing free alternatives to copyrighted material, mainly sounds and units.

===I want to donate.===
People have made clear their desire to donate to the project, and so far, we have been fairly reluctant about accepting donations. Our main concern? While we certainly hope to have something on the level of a commercial release in the near future, there is no guarantee that it will ever happen. Unforeseen events arise, and it would be most unfortunate if everyone who donated felt swindled because the project did not turn out as they had hoped.

We do not plan to be more or less productive solely based upon the quantity and frequency of donations received. The Spring project is here only because we view this as an enjoyable hobby.

===I read all that and I still want to donate.===
Very well then! You can find the required details [http://taspring.clan-sy.com/donate.php here]. It will be much appreciated. :)

----

==Technical==

===What port numbers does Spring use?===
Game uses port 8452 UDP by default, which can be changed in the lobby. If you are behind a router, and are having problems hosting, try forwarding the correct port and also make sure the firewall is not blocking it.

===What APIs does Spring use?===
The Windows version of the program (Which is the Binary that can be downloaded from this site) uses: OpenGL for rendering, DirectSound for sound, and Winsock for networking.

The Linux port, see [[MultiplatformSpring]] with more info below, uses SDL/OpenGL for rendering, OpenAL for sound (which will connect to DirectSound on Windows and OSS or ALSA on Linux), BSD sockets for networking.

===What language is Spring written in?===
The spring game engine is written in C and C++. The Windows lobby client is written in Delphi, the lobby server is java. Another portable lobby is being made in Python.

===Is Spring open source?===
Yes, it is. Go to the [http://taspring.clan-sy.com/download.php downloads] section of the site to download the source code.

===Is there any documentation for the source code?===
Yes, doxygen is used to automatically generate the [http://taspring.clan-sy.com/doxygen/ documentation]

==Requirements==

===What platforms will Spring run on?===
At the moment, it runs on Windows and Linux. However there is no working lobby for the Linux users at the moment, and Cross-Platform play does not work due to Sync errors.

===What sort of a system do I need to run Spring?===
You need a 3D graphics card to run Spring, which will probably require at least a a GeForce4 MX and the latest driver supported. Minimum CPU requirements are a little more complex. A more powerful CPU will have the capability to support larger maps and a greater maximum unit limit. A 1 GHz CPU should be able to support an estimated 500 units. The needed memory will also vary with unit count and map size, but 512 MB should be enough. However, 1024MB you should already have, so it'll run fine.

For further details and tested Systems check the [[Requirements]] page.

===Spring says I need the GL_ARB_texture_env_combine extension, what can I do?===
If you encounter the error "Needed extension GL_ARB_texture_env_combine not found", this means that your video card driver does not support GL_ARB_texture_env_combine. You can try downloading a new video driver from the manufacturers website ([www.ati.com], [www.nvidia.com], ...). If they donÃ‚Â´t work, your last chance is to try "modded" drivers if you can find any. If this doesn't solve the problem either, then your video hardware is too old to support the extension. Buy a new video card.

EDIT: I am also having this problem with the geoforce 6800 ultra and I have the latest drivers.

REQUEST : please name some working and non-working 3D video cards. please give a value for minimum video memory : 32 Mo ? 64 Mo ?

ANSWER : its not REALLY a matter of video memory..though 32mb and 64mb are pretty small...i got myself a 128mb and its fine. But its more a question of the gfx cards clock speed. Even if the card had insane memory , lets say for example, 4000gb. If it isn't fast enough to utilize the memory, its fairly pointless. But i guess, there must be a direct correlation between the memory and clock speed, otherwise the manufacturers need to rethink what they're doing =D

List of video cards supposed to be supporting GL_ARB_texture_env_combine :

http://www.delphi3d.net/hardware/extsupport.php?extension=GL_ARB_texture_env_combine

If your drivers are up to date, and you are not using an ancient graphics card, try turning the resolution down (to 800x600 for example).

For users like me running Vista with an ATI card, tough luck, you cannot play TASpring. Quoted from the release notes of the latest Vista ATI Catalyst drivers:

"
Note: The following ATI features are not supported in the CatalystÃ‚Â® Vista RC1 driver for the Microsoft Windows Vista operating system:
 Ã‚Â· CrossFireÃ¢â€žÂ¢
 Ã‚Â· CatalystÃ‚Â® Control Center Video aspect page
 Ã‚Â· OpenGL
"

==Content==

===Do Spring maps need a "ground"?===
Spring maps do require a ground. We have had many requests to have space maps, however, a "true" (ala Homeworld) space setting is not likely. It would have to wait until a much later stage. This does not mean that TA's style of "space" maps won't be possible, (see the Final Frontier TC for examples of this).

===You stated that Spring uses the TA unit format.===
Spring does use the Total Annihilation unit format. However, there is also a new format dubbed '.s3o' which uses a UV mapped texture instead of 3do's per face texturing system, as well as other improvements.

===How powerful will Spring's custom format be?===
Total Annihilation's unit format was extremely limited. Most of these limitations will either be expanded or non-existent in Spring's custom unit format. One of the most exciting improvements is the introduction of an entirely new method of scripting, with nearly complete control over every aspect of a unit's actions and behaviors.

===Does Spring have a limited number of weapons?===
No. Unlike Total Annihilation, Spring's weapon IDs will be unlimited. Meaning it will be possible to add as many third-party units as you want. However, the current model format limits 16 weapons to each unit.

===Does Spring have a limited number of unique units?===
No. Unit IDs, like weapon IDs, will be unlimited.

===Will units have a maximum of 3 unique weapons?===
Total Annihilation had a limitation that permitted a maximum of 3 unique weapons per unit. Spring currently has a way to have 16 weapons per unit. (Replace Primary, Secondary, Tertiary by 1 2 3 ...16). More can be made possible by modifying the source if there's a sufficient demand by mod makers.

===I'm curious as to the per-unit polygon limit.===
The engine itself does not have a polygon count limit. The limit is that of the processing power of today's computers. Since Spring requires a 3D card, the maximum polygon count per unit will be several times higher than Total Annihilation's. That means for your average mod, 300 polygons for common units and 700 for the more expensive ones is quite reasonable. (But don't waste polies unnecessarily!)

===Will units be able to perform basic terraforming?===
Total Annihilation units probably won't have any terrain editable functionality. Future units may be endowed with such functionality, but it's more of a gameplay issue and has not been decided upon yet. However construction units can restore ground, and certain weapons (especially explosive ones) can be used to deform the ground.

===Will tunnel building be possible?===
Subterranean areas of any sort is impossible. However, it is possible to heavily deform the ground with explosives.. Which is great fun!

===Will the ground's water retention be editable?===
No. Water will always collect when a piece of land has a height below sea level.

===Does Spring have a limit on the number of races?===
Spring has no limit on the total number of sides/races.

===What are the sizes of the biggest and smallest units?===
Static units (buildings, defenses, etc.) have no size limitations in the engine. Technically, neither do mobile units, but units with a footprint larger than 4x4 "squares" (an arbitrary size standard created by Cavedog) might have problems pathfinding.

===What is going to be the maximum possible sea depth?===
For all practical purposes, it will be unlimited. The depth values are stored as "float variables", so it is doubtful that maps would ever be made which even come close to approaching the limit.

===Will Spring support campaigns?===
Basic Map scripting has been implemented, using a Lua scripting engine. From that, it would be possible to make a basic campaign, but for ease of use a better way of selecting scripts and an improved Single player menu is needed.

See [[Mission development]] for more details.

===How big are the Spring files?===
Spring will be as small as however much content is included with it. The "essential" files are only be several megabytes large. Content (such as maps and units) will add considerable size to the Spring download. Currently, the file size is roughly 30 MB.

===How will Spring render sound effects?===
Sound is rendered 3D, meaning that the volume and direction (assuming a multi-speaker setup) vary with the location of the camera from the sound "emitter". What this translates into gameplay terms means that the closer you are to a unit making a sound or motion, the louder the sound will be. Additionally, the sound will be heard differently depending on which way the camera is facing relative to units making sound.

===Will Spring have ambient sound?===
There is no ambient sound, and we haven't planned on adding it thus far.

===Will there be an AI or a "skirmish" mode?===
We have created an interface for artificial intelligences (AIs), and several are currently under development. Information on these can be found at the [[AIs]] wiki page.

===Will a "possess" or a FPS option be present?===
Yes, it is possible to fully control a unit from the first person view. It is more of a gimmick, but it still allows for a nice diversion once in a while. Instructions on its use are in the [[Using_Spring#FPS_.22Mode.22_.28C.29|Using Spring]] article.

----

==Getting into a game==

===People talk about 'Single Player'. How do I start a single player game?===
Simply start a game in the lobby, and enter a password, so that nobody can join. Then click ready, and start and away you go !

===When I try to make a single player game, it gives me an error.===
Your graphics card probably can't support Spring. If you read the requirements it did say GeForce 3 or better. Go to the settings file in your Spring directory and lower some of the options. Sometimes that works.

===Does Spring support AI Players?===
Yes, see [[AI]] You can also use the [[random_enemies]] script, which spawns units out of thin air and sends them to attack you.

===How do I join an Internet multiplayer game?===
Run the "TA Spring multiplayer battleroom" from the Start menu or the TASClient.exe from your installation folder. In the "Server" tab change the server to "Official Host". Hit "Apply and close". Re-open the TA Spring client. Create an account on the "Account" tab.

===When I try to connect to the lobby it gives me an error.===
There could be 3 problems. Either you don't have an account, the server is down, or you have not configured your router/firewall correctly. If you don't have an account, make one. If the server is down, you'll just have to wait (this doesn't happen often, though). If you have a router/firewall read below. Have a look at this website's News page and/or the Messageboard, it is likely that you will get some information there in the eventuality that the server is down.

Also make sure that you don't have any spaces in your username.

===I have a router and I don't seem to be able to get a game===

If you are using a router you may have other problems. Explanations of [http://www.portforward.com/routers.htm how to forward ports] has instructions for every router.

===Where can I download more maps?===
As for most Spring downloads [http://www.unknown-files.net/index.php?page=browse&cat=1 UnknownDownloads] is the place to be! A collection of maps can be downloaded [http://www.unknown-files.net/index.php?page=browse&cat=1&subcat=4 here].

===I used the small installer where can I get the missing maps?===
Unfortunately the maps included in the regular installer aren't available for seperate download. However, since many of the scripts included in the game rely on map4, this can be downloaded [http://taspring.clan-sy.com/dl/map4.7z here].

===How do I install downloaded maps?===
Most maps are released as .sdz or .sd7 files. These can be put directly into the "maps" folder inside the Spring folder. If they are compressed into another type of archive you will have to unpack them first. Just unzip them into your spring maps folder. Some map files use newer (smaller) file formats such as .rar or .7z, to unzip these newer formats, you'll need to download 7-Zip [http://www.7-zip.org/ http://www.7-zip.org/] or Zip-genius [http://downloads.zipgenius.it/ http://downloads.zipgenius.it/]. They both handle almost all formats and are totally free. There is also now a map browser in the TASClient lobby software, click the more maps button in a battle screen to access it.

===Sometimes when I try to join games it gives me an error.===
The host is behind a firewall that has not opened the correct ports for Spring.

===When a multiplayer game starts I never make it past the loading screen.===
This indicates a problem with your video card. Once again the best way to deal with this situation is to make sure your video card has the latest driver updates and that all Spring video features are on the lowest settings.

===When a multiplayer game starts, I make it past the loading screen, but when I get into the game it says, "Waiting for Host", and does a 10 second countdown. It always reaches zero and boots me out, what gives?===
This is a firewall issue. There are three things you can do to fix this. First, make sure your windows firewall is either off, or is not blocking the TA: Spring application. Secondly, if you are behind a router, you can forward the ports that the host is using (especially if you are the host), and it usually fixes the problem. To do this you must go to your router configuration page. You can see what port 'you' are using (as the host), by hosting a multiplayer game in the Spring Lobby. You must make this your trigger port, and make sure that it is open for both TCP and UDP. Thirdly, if none of the aforementioned worked. The easiest thing to do (assuming you are behind a router) is to set the DMZ (Demilitarized Zone). This means your computer will be completely exposed to the internet, which will make you vulnerable to any unknown or unpatched exploits in windows. All you have to do is find the personal IP if the computer you are using and add it to your router's DMZ list. Please only try this last option if you can't get the others to work.
Good Luck

===I got into the game, but some people didn't.===
The host may have reached the number of players it has set.
Or the players may be experiencing firewall or video card difficulty. That is not your fault. Please ask them too leave if they are still there when you get into the 'game lobby'. Some people have problem connecting to "hole punching" hosts.

===I got into a game but my name is red, nobody can hear me speak, and eventually I get disconnected===
This is to do with how long it takes the game to start up (the "load time"). If it takes too long you will see this problem. The load time can be reduced by changing the game graphics settings to lower quality. In particular try setting texture quality to lowest.

===What do all those icons mean in the server list?===
Server status icons inform you, at a quick glance, what the server is doing at the moment, and what state it's in (password protected, locked, open, full, etc). Read all about the server status icons and what they mean [[Server Status|here]].

----

==Playing==

===What is with this weird right-click mode? I'm 'bout to break my keyboard.===
Sorry, you'll just have to get used to it. As of now it can't be changed.

===Why is somebody else also controlling my units?===
In the 'game lobby' there are two sets of teams. There are the 'Teams' and the 'Ally Teams'. If you are on the same 'Team', then you both get the same commander, and can control the same units. If you are on 'Ally Teams', then you both get different commanders and can't control each others units.

===Is there a way that I can play music directly through TA-Spring, with alternating tracks for building/attacking like in the original Total Annihilation?===
Currently there is no in-game music player. For now, you will have to rely on a seperate program to play music such as Winamp or Windows Media Player.

===Then why would I want to be on the same 'Team' as somebody?===
Because it's fun to just drive around units and not have to worry about commanding. (Assuming that one of the people on the team is commanding.)

===How do I talk to my allies only?===
You must type 'a:' before you speak. Here's an example: a: Now I am talking to my allies only. 
And most important, you can split tasks, as base building, troops managment.

===Help! After I'm finished driving a unit, the camera is all insane! This is nuts! How do I fix it?===
Whoa now. Calm down. Just press ctrl + mouse button 3 to change camera modes. If your unit is destroyed in FPS mode, you will stay in FPS mode until you change camera modes. Also, the camera will stay in "free look" when FPS mode is disengaged, press middle-mouse or J to switch to normal scrolling.

===After I'm finished driving a unit, where what used to be my mouse pointer is now a crosshair. Why?===
-This is a special 'view mode' that allows you to move around the screen much faster. It's good for viewing the battle or getting screenshots. Simply press on your third mouse button or 'delete' to revert back to your mouse pointer.

===But I don't have a third mouse button!===
The key 'J' works in the same way as the 'middle mouse button' does. So where you would use ctrl + middle mouse button to change camera modes, ctrl + j does the same thing. Pressing J once will also switch you from 'crosshair mode' to 'pointer mode' and vice versa.

===IÃ‚Â´ve managed to get stuck in this weird camera mode and my perspective is all messed up. How do I switch to the overhead (OTA style) camera?===
Shift+Backspace (or Shift+J or Shift+MiddleMouseClick) switches between the fps style, total war style and OTA style cameras. Use it to get your camera back to normal in this situation.

===People are cheating! How do I stop it?!===
Well currently, you can't.

Only the host can "activate" the cheat codes. After that, any player can do almost all cheats.

The best thing to do is just not play with the cheaters anymore. But with new spring version cheats are disabled in multiplayer, so that paragraph is hopefully now irrelevant.

===Well how do you cheat?===

<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>instabuild (doesn't work on things already under construction, only on new ones)</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>

<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>
You can use auto-completion in the spring console if you don't remember the internal unit name. To do that type:
".give arm" and then press your '''TAB key'''
A list of all matching units will be shown.

===In Game Commands===
The following ''non-cheating'' commands are also available in game:

<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 and their ping delay in the bottom left corner of the screen</td>
</tr>

<tr>
<td>.clock</td><td>Shows you the elapsed game time in minutes and seconds in the bottom left 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>

</table>

===How do I ally or unally in game?===
I'm pretty sure you can't. Yet.

===How do I give somebody units or metal or energy?===
Press the 'H' key. Then select the amount of metal and/or energy to share. Then select the receiving player and press OK.

When sharing units, you must first select the units to share, then press 'H' key. Tick share units checkbox and choose a receiving player.

===How do I continually give somebody metal and/or energy after a certain point (i.e. Original TA commands +setshare..., +shareall)?===
You'll notice that on your metal and energy bars (top of screen), there are two red bars. You have to put them wherever you want your metal and energy to be shared after.

===This game is different than TA, the units HP and damage are not the same===

There were several third party "balance" mods for the original TA game.

One of those mods were xTA, and was developed by the same clan (SY) that has brought life back to TA, making Spring.

This balance mod is what is bundled by default with the spring engine, and is the mod that was ready to play when spring was released.

Now are several mods available, install the mod of your choice.

[http://www.fileuniverse.com/?p=listing&ID=92 get mods here]

===XTA? OTA? AA? OMFGLAMO? What those all the abbreviations mean?===
zwzsg maintains a handy dandy FAQ about TA, and the abbreviations that relate to Spring too, of course.
[http://www.tauniverse.com/forum/showthread.php?t=27309 click here]. See also the Spring [[Glossary]], which contains brief explanations for all non-standard words and phrases.

===Why am I destroyed so easily by long range assaults?===
This is a realistic feature of Spring. Units will automatically attack 'radar blips' (units that they can not actually see, but that are indicated on radar). However, the accuracy is very bad while shooting at radar blips until:
* Your unit kills a lot of units and gets experience
* You get a targeting facility.

===Can I kick people from my 'game lobby' or my game?===
First of all, you have to be the host to kick. Use the good old ".kick playernamehere" command. Works in-game too, use it wisely.

===When I'm 'driving' my commander, why can't I use my laser?===
The TA: Spring team will most likely add a way for you to use your commander's laser soon.

===I hate driving around with the 'arrow keys'. Is there any way I can use the 'W-A-S-D' controls (the controls most First Person Shooters use) anymore?===
Go into your Spring directory and edit the uikeys file. Keep in mind that 'S' is originally a 'hot-key' that will stop your units and that 'D' is a 'hot-key' for your commander's D-Gun. You might want to change those too.

===I turned the shadows feature on; I still don't see shadows. What gives?===
Your graphics card can't handle shadows, so Spring automatically turns them off.

===I can't go backwards when I am 'driving' a unit. Why not?===
Because TA units were never intended to go backwards. Sorry, but you just cant.

===I'm in an Unreal Tournament kind of mood. How do I strafe?===
You can only strafe in 'brawler type' ships, such as the brawler, rapier, and light gunships.

===How can I record and watch demos/replays?===
From version 0.62 onwards recordings of all the games you play are easily available for replay via the Replays button in the TASclient.

You can use the Speed up/Slow down game keys while watching the replay, along with other in-game commands like .team

From version 0.60b1 onwards, demos are automatically recorded in the "demos" folder, underneath your Spring folder (default is C:\Program Files\TASpring\demos), named for the date and map they were played on. If you play multiple games in the same day on the same map, the games will also be numbered to prevent them from overwriting each other.

From version 0.62 onwards, to view a demo from the Windows file manager you can just double click the file name.

===Sometimes when I play get "not sync" "delayed synch" errors===

Thats caused because of lag. One of the players in the game is having some lag issues. Ask him/her to free up its bandwidth for the game to use.

Alternatively you can use the pause key and wait till the connection gets more stable.

Lag is the seccond number showed when you use the .info command ingame, numbers bigger than 40 are not usual in a normal game and are a signal of lag.

==Creating Content for Spring==
===How do I create maps?===
See the [[Map development]] page for all the map info.

===How do I create units/mods?===
See the [[Mod_and_Unit_development#Mod_devlopement|Mod and Unit development]] page on creating units/ mods.

[[Category:Content]]

Category:Mods

2006-12-13T09:25:38Z

Maelstrom: Reverted edit of FuzionMonkey, changed back to last version by Maelstrom

<center>'''Spring Mods'''</center>
{| border="2" cellpadding="4" cellspacing="0" style="margin: 1em 1em 1em 0; background: #f9f9f9; border: 1px #aaa solid; border-collapse: collapse;"
|align="center" width="245"|[[Absolute Annihilation]]
|align="center" width="245"|[[Balanced Annihilation]]
|align="center" width="245"|[[BOTA|Basically OTA]]
|-
|align="center"|[[Commander Shooter]]
|align="center"|[[EvoTA]]
|align="center"|[[Expand and Exterminate]]
|-
|align="center"|[[Final Frontier]]
|align="center"|[[Gundam Annihilation|Gundam RTS]]
|align="center"|[[KuroTA]]
|-
|align="center"|[[Nanoblobs]]
|align="center"|[[SWTA|Star Wars TA]]
|align="center"|[[SpiderPack]]
|-
|align="center"|[[TA-WD|TA: World Domination]]
|align="center"|[[The Blue Tank]]
|align="center"|[[The Lost Legacy]]
|-
|align="center"|[[UberHack]]
|align="center"|[[War Evolution]]
|align="center"|[[Xect vs. Mynn]]
|-
|
|align="center"|[[XTA]]
|
|}

[[Category:Content]]

Template:CurrentVersion

2006-12-06T04:51:39Z

Maelstrom: New version

0.74b1

Spring Replays

2006-12-06T04:51:05Z

Maelstrom: /* Downloading replays */

Replays are automatically recoreded for every game you play in Spring. They are saved to your TASpring\demo\ folder.

=== Watching Replays ===
To watch a replay of a game, start up the Spring Battleroom, and click the 'Replays' button on the top right. This brings up a window where you can select a replay to watch. Select a replay from the list, click 'Play' and enjoy!

People watch replays to improve their skill in playing Spring by watching what they did wrong, and what other people did right. Use them to improve your skill.

=== Downloading replays ===
Some people who have played a really good game decide to submit their replay to the public. Most of these replays are uploaded to the [http://replays.unknown-files.net/ replay site].

=== Uploading Replays ===
If you want to submit a replay to File Universe, just click the Upload File link on the tool bar. Remember, to keep Storm and Gnome happy, you have to include the Version number of Spring, the Map you played on, and the Mod you were playing with in the title. If you dont do this, your replay will be deleted with out furthewr notice, as the people at File Universe are sick of un-named replays.

A good example on labelling replays:

'''{{CurrentVersion}} AA 4FFA The Cold Place'''

This is pretty simple to decipher.
*'''{{CurrentVersion}}''' means that it was from version {{CurrentVersion}}.
*'''AA''' is the mod. In this case, it is Absolute Annihilation.
*'''4FFA''' is the number of players, and the team configuration. In this case, it is a 4 way Free For All. Other common names are:
**'''1v1''' A One versus One game. These can be quite good.
**'''3v3''' A Three versus Three. Two teams of three players battling it out.
**'''2v2v2''' A Two versus Two versus Two. Three teams of two players battling it out.
**'''3v2''' A Two versus Three. A team of two players battling a team of three players
*'''The Cold Place''' is the map. In this case it is, logically, The Cold Place. Some maps are typed out in full, while other maps are abbreviated. '''CPIA''' is '''C'''ore '''P'''rime '''I'''ndustrial '''A'''rea is a commonly seen abbreviation.

This gives sufficient information to read and decide whether to download it or not, yet its small enough not to clutter things up. You can provide a more detailed description in the description section if you so desire.

'''Note:''' Replays from different versions of Spring are not compatible. That is, if you have installed version {{CurrentVersion}}, you can only watch replays recorded in {{CurrentVersion}}. The replays are automatically labeled by spring with the current version number.)

Important keys to use while watching the replay:

L: Shows you Radar and LOS information of active player.

1,2,3...: Changes active player, this is usefull to check on economy and LOS information.

F12: Screenshots!

[[Category:Playing]]

Commander Shooter

2006-12-06T04:48:12Z

Maelstrom: /* About */ wikified properly

[[Image:csheader.png]]

== About ==

Commander Shooter(CS) is a mod where players control one fast commander, and in [[Using_Camera#FPS_"Mode"_(C)|FPS Camera Mode]] try to dgun the enemy commander. To FPS, press the c button. You cannot build unless you are Rhyoss. New version is now availiable [http://www.unknown-files.net/index.php?page=browse&dlid=1931 Here!]. Newer version is in development.

== Quotes ==

'''Maelstrom''' -- "Come play with us, it's a fun mod. Playing with yourself just isnt as fun..."

'''AcMister''' -- "Why is this mod so popular?.....Holy ****!@!"

'''[Nem]The_Big_Boss''' -- "This game is about a commander who shoots stuff."

'''Noraus''' -- "I can quote myself?"

'''Crappage''' -- "STFU!@!"

'''DeltaEnergy''' -- "I played this mod once and I suck."

'''Yoda''' -- "Use the Dgun, Luke"

'''Anonymous'''(To keep his identity safe) -- "I like to self destruct killing everybody at once while not shooting a single shot ROAOR!!"

== History ==

It was created during summer break by a very bored kid named Noruas. He wanted to include with the new version of AA, but Caydr's mouse, was. erm lagging. It was really made out of curiosity if the idea was plausible but Caydr thought it was blasphemy.

== King of Commander Shooter ==
[[King_of_CS]] is the person the best skilled at any commander he chooses to defeat his foes. Kings of CS are highly skilled and should be respected. They must have a tag in front of their name that looks like this [KoCS].The current king is Noruas the Newb Slaying Commander. As of November 23th, 2006.

== Strategy ==
''' All: '''

The Commanders all have a close range weapon when not in first person, they auto hit, and do very low damage, and can fire from a range of 500. All commanders have 8000 eyesight and radar! Self Destruct takes 10 seconds on all comanders, however it doubles the explosions power and this is really good on low gravity maps, although the players may never fall down.

''' ARM: '''

The arm commander has a slow firing, powerful dgun. Be sure to fire carefully! The Arm commander's on/off function controls the radar jammer. Leaving it on drains power, so if you are running low turn it off. If you are lucky, you can fling the enemy high up in the sky.

''' CORE: '''

The core commander has a burst firing dgun. He can fire long bursts of dgun. The core commander doesnt have a radar jammer but he is faster than the arm commander. With lag, the core commander can be hard to use, because you need to hit the enemy with all or most the dgun to be effective because it isnt as powerful. If he does manage to hit the target with all of his bursts, he does 50 % more damage then the arm commander's weapon.

''' THE LOST LEGACY: '''

The TLL commander is big, slow, and has a powerful weapon. He auto fires lightning, huge, and is hard to kill. Very defensive indeed! Do not underestimate one! He will have(forgot) the highest health regeneration, and can take a considerable amount of damage. His gun does the highest amount of damage per second, however it is a slow moving electric type dgun.

''' Rhyoss: '''

Hes extremely well fit for battle, he has a long range laser by 50%. he also has the fastest moving rocket dgun, that has a huge area of effect. He dose not have a radar, but instead has a seismic detector. His repairing is highly effective and suggestive on team battles, he can also build LLT turrets for the moment.

Commander Shooter

2006-12-06T04:43:31Z

Maelstrom: /* Quotes */ This is closer to what i actually said

[[Image:csheader.png]]

== About ==

Commander Shooter(CS) is a mod where players control one fast commander, and in [http://taspring.clan-sy.com/wiki/Using_Camera#FPS_.22Mode.22_.28C.29 FPS Camera Mode] try to dgun the enemy commander. To FPS, press the c button. You cannot build unless you are Rhyoss.New version is now availiable! Here! [[http://www.unknown-files.net/index.php?page=browse&dlid=1931]]. Newer version is in development.

== Quotes ==

'''Maelstrom''' -- "Come play with us, it's a fun mod. Playing with yourself just isnt as fun..."

'''AcMister''' -- "Why is this mod so popular?.....Holy ****!@!"

'''[Nem]The_Big_Boss''' -- "This game is about a commander who shoots stuff."

'''Noraus''' -- "I can quote myself?"

'''Crappage''' -- "STFU!@!"

'''DeltaEnergy''' -- "I played this mod once and I suck."

'''Yoda''' -- "Use the Dgun, Luke"

'''Anonymous'''(To keep his identity safe) -- "I like to self destruct killing everybody at once while not shooting a single shot ROAOR!!"

== History ==

It was created during summer break by a very bored kid named Noruas. He wanted to include with the new version of AA, but Caydr's mouse, was. erm lagging. It was really made out of curiosity if the idea was plausible but Caydr thought it was blasphemy.

== King of Commander Shooter ==
[[King_of_CS]] is the person the best skilled at any commander he chooses to defeat his foes. Kings of CS are highly skilled and should be respected. They must have a tag in front of their name that looks like this [KoCS].The current king is Noruas the Newb Slaying Commander. As of November 23th, 2006.

== Strategy ==
''' All: '''

The Commanders all have a close range weapon when not in first person, they auto hit, and do very low damage, and can fire from a range of 500. All commanders have 8000 eyesight and radar! Self Destruct takes 10 seconds on all comanders, however it doubles the explosions power and this is really good on low gravity maps, although the players may never fall down.

''' ARM: '''

The arm commander has a slow firing, powerful dgun. Be sure to fire carefully! The Arm commander's on/off function controls the radar jammer. Leaving it on drains power, so if you are running low turn it off. If you are lucky, you can fling the enemy high up in the sky.

''' CORE: '''

The core commander has a burst firing dgun. He can fire long bursts of dgun. The core commander doesnt have a radar jammer but he is faster than the arm commander. With lag, the core commander can be hard to use, because you need to hit the enemy with all or most the dgun to be effective because it isnt as powerful. If he does manage to hit the target with all of his bursts, he does 50 % more damage then the arm commander's weapon.

''' THE LOST LEGACY: '''

The TLL commander is big, slow, and has a powerful weapon. He auto fires lightning, huge, and is hard to kill. Very defensive indeed! Do not underestimate one! He will have(forgot) the highest health regeneration, and can take a considerable amount of damage. His gun does the highest amount of damage per second, however it is a slow moving electric type dgun.

''' Rhyoss: '''

Hes extremely well fit for battle, he has a long range laser by 50%. he also has the fastest moving rocket dgun, that has a huge area of effect. He dose not have a radar, but instead has a seismic detector. His repairing is highly effective and suggestive on team battles, he can also build LLT turrets for the moment.

Category:Mods

2006-12-05T12:22:45Z

Maelstrom: Added Blue Tank and BA, and re-alphabetised the list.

Modweb Generator

2006-10-14T02:06:47Z

Maelstrom:

The Modweb Generator is a set of PHP scripts created by [[User:Maelstrom|Maelstrom]] to easily create statistics pages for each unit and weapon in a mod.

=== Instructions ===
To create a 'Modweb' for your mod, follow these instructions
# Download the current version of the Modweb scripts from the forum thread. A link is down the bottom of this page.
# Unzip the Modweb generator into a directory on your webserver.
# Unzip the following folders and files of your mod into the '''mod/''' directory of the Modweb:
#* The '''modinfo.tdf''' file, found in the base directory of the mod, into the base directory
#* The '''units/''' directory of the mod,
#* The '''weapons/''' directory of the mod,
#* The '''gamedata/''' directory of the mod.
# Run '''index.php''' through your web browser of choice, and select the relevant options from the menu.
# Copy the contents of the '''output/''' folder to the desired location
# Your done!

=== Notes ===
* Depending on the template, build pics will need to be uploaded to an '''images/''' directory where all the HTML files are located.

=== Examples ===
* [http://ta-aa.sourceforge.net/modweb/ AA's Technical Unit Guide], using excelent custom templates.
* [http://taspring.clan-sy.com/warcows/XTAv6/ XTA Modweb]. A bit outdated, but still there.
* [http://www.ta-spring.com/mods/xectvsmynn/unitguide/ Xect vs. Mynn Modweb]. Used an old version of the Modweb.
* Please add yours to the list if its not here!

=== Links ===

[http://taspring.clan-sy.com/phpbb/viewtopic.php?t=3842 Forum Thread]

[[category:Mod Development]]

Mapdev:SMD

2006-09-28T12:47:43Z

Maelstrom: /* Example SMD */ <pre> tags = DEATH

== Maelstrom's SMD Creator ==
Maelstrom has made a handy little SMD creating utility, which can be found in this forum thread: http://taspring.clan-sy.com/phpbb/viewtopic.php?t=2420

== SMD Syntax ==
The SMD, to work correctly, must be set out correctly. The following are a few of these requirements that you have to follow:
*All lines must end in a ';'. This is just like any C derived programming language
*Sections begin with a keyword wrapped in [Square brackets], and are wrapped in {Curly Brackets}
*Each different tag must be placed on a different line (?)

The following are some recomendations to help other people read your SMD.
*Blank lines are allowed, and can be placed to help distinguish between different sections
*You may place comments in the SMD, and again like C programming languages, these are preceded by a '//'. Anything following a comment marker is ignored by the parser.
*You can tabulate your SMD to help the overall readability, and to show where sections begin and end.

== Example SMD ==
[MAP]
{
Description=Lot of metal in middle but look out for kbot walking over the mountains;
TidalStrength=20;
Gravity=130;
MaxMetal=0.03;

ExtractorRadius=400;
MapHardness=100;

DetailTex=mydetailtex.bmp;
AutoShowMetal=1;

[ATMOSPHERE]
{
Skybox=space.dds;

FogColor=0.7 0.7 0.8;
FogStart=0.2;

CloudColor=0.9 0.9 0.9;
SkyColor=0.1 0.15 0.7;

SunColor=1.0 1.0 1.0;
CloudDensity=0.55;

MinWind=5;
MaxWind=20;
}
[WATER]
{
WaterTexture=mywatertexture.jpg;
WaterSurfaceColor=0.4 0.6 0.8;
WaterPlaneColor=0.4 0.6 0.8;

WaterBaseColor=0.4 0.6 0.8;
WaterAbsorb=0.004 0.004 0.002;

WaterMinColor=0.1 0.1 0.3;
WaterDamage=20;
}
[LIGHT]
{
SunDir=0 1 2;

GroundAmbientColor=0.4 0.4 0.4;
GroundSunColor=0.7 0.7 0.7;

GroundShadowDensity=0.8;

UnitAmbientColor=0.3 0.3 0.3;
UnitSunColor=0.8 0.8 0.8;
UnitShadowDensity=0.8;

SpecularSunColor=0.3 0.3 0.3;
}
[TEAM0]
{
StartPosX=600;
StartPosZ=600;
}
[TEAM1]

{
StartPosX=3600;
StartPosZ=3600;
}
[TEAM2]
{
StartPosX=3600;
StartPosZ=600;
}
[TEAM3]
{
StartPosX=600;
StartPosZ=3600;

}
[TEAM4]
{
StartPosX=2000;
StartPosZ=600;
}
[TEAM5]

{
StartPosX=2000;
StartPosZ=3600;
}
//Up to [TEAM9]
[TERRAINTYPE0]
{
name=default;
hardness=1;
tankmovespeed=1;
kbotmovespeed=1;
hovermovespeed=1;
shipmovespeed=1;

}
}

== SMD Tags List ==
{|border="1"
|valign="top" bgcolor="#C0C0C0|Variable
|valign="top" bgcolor="#C0C0C0|Description
|valign="top" bgcolor="#C0C0C0|Examples
|-
|valign="top"|'''[TEAM''X'']'''
|valign="top"|The number of the team, starting at 0 for player 1 and going on up to 9 for player 10, where ''X'' is the player number
|valign="top"|<code>[TEAM3]</code>
|-
|valign="top"|'''[TERRAINTYPE''X'']'''
|valign="top"|Used to define different terrain types that exist on the map. The value starts at 0 and goes on for as many terrain types as you have, where ''X'' is the type number. Which terrain type goes where on the map is determined by the typemap when compiling the map.
|valign="top"|<code>[TERRAINTYPE0]</code>
|-
|valign="top"|'''AutoShowMetal'''
|valign="top"|A boolean, turning it off makes it so the user must press F4 to view the metal map, leaving it on will make it so the metal map is turned on whenever they choose to build a metal extractor.
|valign="top"|<code>AutoShowMetal=0;</code>
|-
|valign="top"|'''CloudColor'''
|valign="top"|The color of the clouds. The values are in the order Red, Green, Blue. For all intensive purposes, 0.0 is black and 1.0 is white; however, giving values higher than 1.0 will give brighter fog and less than 0.0 will give darker.
|valign="top"|<code>CloudColor=0.9 0.9 0.9;</code>
|-
|valign="top"|'''CloudDensity'''
|valign="top"|The number of clouds in the sky. A percentage in decimal form, 0.0 to 1.0.
|valign="top"|<code>CloudDensity=0.55;</code>
|-
|valign="top"|'''Description'''
|valign="top"|The description of the map that shows in the multiplayer battleroom.
|valign="top"|<code>Description=Strong wind, good for 2v2 team games;</code>
|-
|valign="top"|'''DetailTex'''
|valign="top"|The texture which will be shown on the map in the color of the texture map when a player zooms very far in. Leaving this blank will make the game default to detailtex2.bmp. It is assumed you can only use the bitmap format for these textures. Using a larger bitmap results more detail not a bigger tile. You can get some transparency by reducing the contrast.
|valign="top"|<code>DetailTex=mydetailtex.bmp;</code>
|-
|valign="top"|'''ExtractorRadius'''
|valign="top"|The radius of effect that a single extractor will extract from. If two radii intersect, both extractors will suffer from reduced output.
|valign="top"|<code>ExtractorRadius=400;</code>
|-
|valign="top"|'''GroundAmbientColor'''
|valign="top"|The ambient (non-sun-lit) color of ground, grass, trees and other features.
|valign="top"|<code>GroundAmbientColor=0.4 0.4 0.4;</code>
|-
|valign="top"|'''GroundShadowDensity'''
|valign="top"|How far from the non shadowed to the ambient color stuff in shadow will go.
|valign="top"|<code>GroundShadowDensity=0.8;</code>
|-
|valign="top"|'''GroundSunColor'''
|valign="top"|The color of ground where it is fully sun lit (added to GroundAmbientColor).
|valign="top"|<code>GroundSunColor=0.7 0.7 0.7;</code>
|-
|valign="top"|'''FogColor'''
|valign="top"|The color of the fog and the infinite plane below the world. The values are in the order Red, Green, Blue. For all intensive purposes, 0.0 is black and 1.0 is white; however, giving values higher than 1.0 will give brighter fog and less than 0.0 will give darker.
|valign="top"|<code>FogColor=0.7 0.7 0.8;</code>
|-
|valign="top"|'''FogStart'''
|valign="top"|The distance from the camera at which the fog will start.
|valign="top"|<code>FogStart=0.2;</code>
|-
|valign="top"|'''Hardness (terraintype)'''
|valign="top"|Used as a multiplier against the MapHardness value. Can be used to make a particular terrain type softer or harder. A value of '1' will make it as hard as MapHardness, and 0.5 will make it half as hard.
|valign="top"|<code>hardness=0.75;</code>
|-
|valign="top"|'''HoverNoveSpeed'''
|valign="top"|Speed multiplier for hovercraft when travelling on the parent terrain type. A value of '1' is normal speed, 0.5 will make them travel at half speed on the parent terrain type.
|valign="top"|<code>hovermovespeed=1;</code>
|-
|valign="top"|'''KbotMoveSpeed'''
|valign="top"|Speed multiplier for Kbots when travelling on the parent terrain type. A value of '1' is normal speed, 0.5 will make them travel at half speed on the parent terrain type.
|valign="top"|<code>kbotmovespeed=1;</code>
|-
|valign="top"|'''MapHardness'''
|valign="top"|Defines how much the terrain will deform due to explosions and weapons.
|valign="top"|<code>MapHardness=100;</code>
|-
|valign="top"|'''MaxMetal'''
|valign="top"|How much metal a map square with the maximum metal value gives. Unsure how this is calculated, but a value of around 0.03 will give OTA-esque levels of metal from metal extractors.
|valign="top"|<code>MaxMetal=0.03;</code>
|-
|valign="top"|'''MaxWind'''
|valign="top"|The maximum amount of energy the wind on the map will give.
|valign="top"|<code>MaxWind=20;</code>
|-
|valign="top"|'''MinWind'''
|valign="top"|The minimum amount of energy the wind on the map will give.
|valign="top"|<code>MinWind=5;</code>
|-
|valign="top"|'''Name (terraintype)'''
|valign="top"|Used to define the name of the type of terrain. "Snow" or "Rock" or whatever you want. Use an underscore between words it will display as a space eg "Deep_Snow" will show as "Deep Snow", don't use quotes if you don't want to see them.
|valign="top"|<code>Name=default;</code>
|-
|valign="top"|'''ShipMoveSpeed'''
|valign="top"|Speed multiplier for Ship when travelling on the parent terrain type. A value of '1' is normal speed, 0.5 will make them travel at half speed on the parent terrain type.
|valign="top"|<code>shipmovespeed=1;</code>
|-
|valign="top"|'''SkyBox'''
|valign="top"|The image to display in the sky during gameplay, rather than having the engine dynamically render one. This allows for complex skies, which may include stars, planets, etc overhead. Skyboxes are stored as .DDS cubeboxes. A skybox's .dds file should be placed in the maps directory of a compressed file, along with the .smf, .smd, and .smt files.
|valign="top"|<code>Skybox=space.dds;</code>
|-
|valign="top"|'''SkyColor'''
|valign="top"|The color of the sky itself. Works the same way as CloudColor and FogColor.
|valign="top"|<code>SkyColor=0.1 0.15 0.7;</code>
|-
|valign="top"|'''SpecularSunColor'''
|valign="top"|The color of the reflected light off of stuff (otherwise will be UnitSunColor)
|valign="top"|<code>SpecularSunColor=0.1 0.15 0.7;</code>
|-
|valign="top"|'''StartPosX'''
|valign="top"|The X (east-west in the TA camera) coordinates on the map where the player will start.
|valign="top"|<code>StartPosX=600;</code>
|-
|valign="top"|'''StartPosZ'''

|valign="top"|The Z (north-south in the TA camera) coordinates on the map where the player will start.
|valign="top"|<code>StartPosZ=600;</code>
|-
|valign="top"|'''SunColor'''
|valign="top"|The color of the sun in the sky. This will also effect the size of the star. As the value increases (including over 1.0), the disc will get bigger; the inverse is also true.
|valign="top"|<code>SunColor=1.0 1.0 1.0;</code>
|-
|valign="top"|'''SunDir'''
|valign="top"|The direction of the sun, which is normalized by Spring. The Y-axis is up. In the following chart, using the values in a square will make shadows fall in that square if the shadow caster (like a unit) is placed in the center. ie: you use the values from the top-left (North-West) corner box, shadows will be cast in a North-Westerly direction:
<center>[[Image:ShadowDirection.gif]]</center>
|valign="top"|<code>SunDir=0 1 2;</code>
|-
|valign="top"|'''TankMoveSpeed'''
|valign="top"|Speed multiplier for tanks when travelling on the parent terrain type. A value of '1' is normal speed, 0.5 will make them travel at half speed on the parent terrain type.
|valign="top"|<code>tankmovespeed=1;</code>
|-
|valign="top"|'''TidalStrength'''
|valign="top"|The amount of energy which will be given by tidal generators.
|valign="top"|<code>TidalStrength=30;</code>
|-
|valign="top"|'''UnitAmbientColor'''
|valign="top"|The ambient (non-sun-lit) color of units and corpses.
|valign="top"|<code>UnitAmbientColor=0.3 0.3 0.3;</code>
|-
|valign="top"|'''UnitShadowDensity'''
|valign="top"|How far from the non shadowed to the ambient color stuff in shadow will go.
|valign="top"|<code>UnitShadowDensity=0.8;</code>
|-
|valign="top"|'''UnitSunColor'''
|valign="top"|The color of units where they is fully sun lit (added to UnitAmbientColor).
|valign="top"|<code>UnitSunColor=0.8 0.8 0.8;</code>
|-
|valign="top"|'''WaterAbsorb'''
|valign="top"|How fast different colors (RGB in order) are absorbed by the water. Can be used to make the water look murky at deeper sections and so on.
|valign="top"|<code>WaterAbsorb=0.004 0.004 0.002;</code>
|-
|valign="top"|'''WaterBaseColor'''
|valign="top"|The color of the water at the surface.
|valign="top"|<code>WaterBaseColor=0.4 0.6 0.8;</code>
|-
|valign="top"|'''WaterDamage'''
|valign="top"|Amount of damage water does to units in it. Someone add the value that make water impassable (like lava) and the rate at which damage is applied. It is assumed for now that it does WaterDamage per 30 internal frames.
|valign="top"|<code>WaterDamage=20;</code>
|-
|valign="top"|'''WaterMinColor'''
|valign="top"|The smallest values the water will go down to due to WaterAbsorb.
|valign="top"|<code>WaterMinColor=0.1 0.1 0.3;</code>
|-
|valign="top"|'''WaterSurfaceColor'''
|valign="top"|Changes the surface color of the water (mother thinks this is an XOR thing with WaterTexture. WaterTexture is for non-reflective water and WaterSurfaceColor only for reflective water)
|valign="top"|<code>WaterMinColor=0.1 0.1 0.3;</code>
|-
|valign="top"|'''WaterPlaneColor'''
|valign="top"|The color of the 'water plane' outside the map's bounds
|valign="top"|<code>WaterPlaneColor=0.1 0.1 0.3;</code>
|-
|valign="top"|'''WaterTexture'''
|valign="top"|Replaces the default ocean texture with the one specified. Must apparently be jpeg format, though bitmap might work.
|valign="top"|<code>WaterTexture=mywatertexture.jpg;</code>
|}

[[Category:Development]]

SM3 Map Format

2006-07-20T06:56:39Z

Maelstrom: Cleaned it up, made the code sections work properly, stuff like that

== Introduction ==

As opposed to the original SMF renderer, the SM3 map renderer allows multiple texture layers rendered on the terrain. This allows for higher texture resolutions and (eventually) improved lighting such as bumpmapping/specular mapping.

== Map specification ==

Instead of a binary SMF file and a SMD file, all map information is now stored in a text based .SM3 file. This has the same basic layout as the original .SMD file, but it includes a [TERRAIN] section and an [INFOMAPS] section:

[MAP]
{
... regular smd information, such as start positions,
[LIGHT],[WATER] and [ATMOSPHERE] sections...

[INFOMAPS]
{
metal=Maps/dry_data/metalmap.png;
type=Maps/dry_data/typemap.png;
}
[TERRAIN]
{
HeightScale=400.0;
HeightOffset=10.0;
Heightmap=Maps/dry_data/1026.png;

NumTextureStages=2; // all texture stages are multiplied

[texstage0]
{
// the first texture stage operation is ignored
source=Snow;
}
[texstage1]
{
// use the incoming alpha to blend between 2 textures
operation=blend;
source=CrackedDirt;
blender=RockBlender1026;
}
/* texture definitions */
[CrackedDirt]
{
File=Maps/dry_data/dirt2.jpg;
Bumpmap=Maps/dry_data/dirt2_bm.jpg;
TileSize=50;
}
[Snow]
{
File=Maps/dry_data/Snow_Sand.jpg;
TileSize=20;
}

/* blender definition, all blenders have "Blendmap=1" */
// a rock blender loaded from file for a specific map
[RockBlender1026]
{
Blendmap=1;
File=Maps/dry_data/1026_bm_small.png;
}
}

== Heightmap specification ==

The heightmap is specified with 3 tags located in the [TERRAIN] section:

'''Heightmap:''' This should be either:
*An 8 or 16 bit image file readable by DevIL
*A 8 or 16 bit RAW file, such as generated by Terragen

'''HeightScale and HeightOffset:''' The actual height of a heightmap pixel is calculated scaled by HeightScale, after which HeightOffset is added to it (height = pixel * HeightScale + HeightOffset)

== Texturing specification ==

=== Texture stages/layers ===

Texturing of SM3 terrains works by a series of texture layers that are applied on top of eachother. These layers are called "texture stages". The stages can be added, multiplied, or alpha blended with the previous stage. This is defined by the stage operation.

The number of stages is given with the tag NumTextureStages like:

NumTextureStages=2;

The first stage never has an operation:

[texstage0]
{
source=Snow;
}

Following stages can have "operation=add", "operation=mul", "operation=blend"

==== Operation Add ====

The add operation needs a texture to add to the previous stage, which is specified with the "source=TextureName" tag. The texture specification is explained below.

[texstage1]
{
operation=add;
source=CrackedDirt;
}

==== Operation Multiply ====

Same as add, but with operation=mul

[texstage1]
{
operation=mul;
source=CrackedDirt;
}

==== Operation Blend ====

The blend operation does alpha blending with an extra grayscale alpha texture. Specification of these alpha textures ("Blendmaps") is explained later in this doc. The blend operation needs a "blender=BlenderName" tag to work. I'm guessing most maps will only be using this operation.

[texstage1]
{
operation=blend;
source=CrackedDirt;
blender=RockBlender1026;
}

The avaiable operations are limited to add/mul/blend for techical reasons:
This way even the most complex maps can be executed with multipass operations on any card with at least 2 textures units. It would even work on a Riva TNT I think.

Obviously because the first stage doesn't have any previous stage, the operation of the first stage is ignored

== Texture specification ==

== Blendmap specification ==

Blendmaps can either be loaded from file or generated from the terrain. They are stretched across the full terrain, so in combination with the blend operation you can specify exactly where you want to see a specific texture on the terrain.

=== Blendmaps from file ===

Blendmaps can be loaded from any grayscale file that DevIL can load:

[RockBlender]
{
Blendmap=1;
File=Maps/dry_data/1026_bm_small.png;
}

=== Generated blendmaps ===

Tags (TODO: Document these):
* coverage
* noise
* minSlope
* maxSlope
* minSlopeFuzzy
* maxSlopeFuzzy
* maxHeight
* minHeight
* maxHeightFuzzy
* minHeightFuzzy
* generatorLOD

== Infomaps ==

The infomaps section defines the metal map and typemap. Both should be 8 bit images in any format DevIL accepts.

== TODO ==

* map features
* dynamic shadow mapping support
* bumpmapping
* specular mapping
* a caching trick for very low end gfx hardware (partially done)
* shadowmap storage, so the resolution can be increased
* proper frustum culling, so big features work correctly (that is if features work at all;))

Modweb Generator

2006-07-09T07:18:20Z

Maelstrom: Added Xect vs. Mynn link

The Modweb Generator is a set of PHP scripts created by [[User:Maelstrom|Maelstrom]] to easily create statistics pages for each unit and weapon in a mod.

=== Instructions ===
To create a 'Modweb' for your mod, follow these instructions
# Download the current version of the Modweb scripts from the forum thread. A link is down the bottom of this page.
# Unzip the Modweb generator into a directory on your webserver.
# Unzip the whole contents of your mod into the '''mod/''' directory of the Modweb.
# Run '''index.php''' through your web browser of choice, and select the relevant options from the menu.
# Copy the contents of the '''output/''' folder to the desired location
# Your done!

=== Examples ===
* [http://ta-aa.sourceforge.net/modweb/ AA's Technical Unit Guide], using excelent custom templates.
* [http://taspring.clan-sy.com/warcows/XTAv6/ XTA Modweb]. A bit outdated, but still there.
* [http://www.ta-spring.com/mods/xectvsmynn/unitguide/ Xect vs. Mynn Modweb]. Used an old version of the Modweb.
* Please add yours to the list if its not here!

=== Links ===

[http://taspring.clan-sy.com/phpbb/viewtopic.php?t=3842 Forum Thread]

2006-05-12T13:18:25Z

Maelstrom: Testing a new template

Absolute Annihilation/Units

2006-05-03T07:32:46Z

Maelstrom: /* Tsunami/Malestrom */ Grrr, someone spelt my name wrong, AGAIN!

This is the Practical AA Guide. It has information such as ways to best use units, and things to avoid. To answer more technical questions, such as exactly how much damage per second a weapon is capable of, or precise build costs of a particular unit, you may want to visit the [http://ta-aa.sourceforge.net/modweb Technical AA Guide].

Basic descriptions, hints, tactics, and tips for Absolute Annihilation units. Level 1 units are those that can be built by basic factories, Commanders, and level 1 construction units. Level 2 units are those that can be built by advanced factories and level 2 construction units. Level 3 units are those that are built by Experimental Gantries.

==Commander==

You only get one Commander when you start the game, so he's worth special mention. Builds a small selection of things, but has a powerful nanolathe, allowing him to build quickly and assist other construction units. Packs a fairly nasty laser and the D-Gun, a weapon that drains tremendous amounts of energy but does absurd damage. Has a radar and sonar, and can cloak to hide from enemy units. (Though if he's not in a jamming field, they'll see him on radar anyway) Causes an absolutely massive explosion when killed. Moves slowly, but can travel underwater and climb very steep hills. He can also capture enemy units, but this is tricky to pull off, as an alert enemy will usually self-destruct them before he can finish.

There are two main victory conditions in Spring - Commander Dies, Game Continues (Continues) and Commander Dies, Game Ends (Ends). In Continues games, keeping your Commander alive is nice but not vital. This often leads to the Commander being used very offensively in the late-game, and can also lead to assorted lame early-game Commander tactics. In Ends games, keeping the Commander alive in the late-game against the many things that can kill him in a handful of shots becomes very important. He often spends most of his time assisting construction in the back of your base, under heavy jamming and AA cover.

Your Commander provides an excellent defence against early-game assaults and rushes. Do ''not'', however, use your D-Gun unless your Commander's death is imminent or you are faced with a large, tightly-packed swarm of units. It eats up 400 energy a shot, which is a hefty chunk in the first few minutes of the game, and destroys any reclaimable wreckage. His laser should be more than enough against small groups of raiders. Whatever you do, '''do not''' D-Gun your own structures or units unless it's that or lose the game.

The Commander has a small but constant auto-repair, which makes him better able to handle fire from raiders and sporadic artillery hits.

==Factories==

Factories are what let you construct mobile units. We don't describe individual factories in detail, as most are fairly boring. Level 1 factories build Level 1 units and Level 1 construction units. Level 1 construction units build Level 1 structures and the Level 2 factory for their type. So a Level 1 Construction KBot can build a Level 2 KBot Lab, but can't build a Level 2 Vehicle Plant. Level 2 factories build Level 2 units and Level 2 ("Advanced") Construction Units. Level 2 Construction units build Level 2 structures and, in the case of Advanced Construction KBots, the Level 3 factory.

All factories can only be built on land, except for Shipyards, Amphibious Facilities, and Seaplane Pads, which must be built in water. Hovercraft factories can be built on water or land. Amphibious Facilities are odd in that they can construct amphibious units of a wide variety of types. All other factories can only construct units of the appropriate type.

==Resource Structures==

Resource structures produce resources - metal and energy - for you to use to build other things. Quite often, but not always, the winner of a game is whoever builds and successfully protects the most resource-generating structures.

===Common Level 1 Resource Structures===

====Metal Extractor====

The basic metal-producing structure. These are fairly cheap, but require a little energy to operate, so your metal production will falter if you overtax your energy! They work a little differently from metal extractors in the original Total Annihilation. Each has a range, represented by the red circle around the extractor when you go to place it, over which they extract metal. The extractor's income is determined by the amount of metal within its range. On maps without well-defined metal patches, space out your extractors and avoid overlapping their ranges!

There is also an underwater version of this structure.

====Wind Generator====

A cheap, fast-building energy-producing structure. Wind generators can be built anywhere on the map, but their output varies randomly based on wind strength. They also need to be space out, as they explode fairly violently and don't have much health. Always be sure to check the wind strength before going into a game, so you know whether or not to build wind generators!

====Solar Collector====

More expensive than a [[#Wind Generator|wind generator]], solars are also a lot tougher. They give you +20 energy. They close up into a more armored form when attacked. This protects your investment and lets them take a fair amount of punishment from raiders, but they don't produce any energy when closed.

====Tidal Generator====

Tidal generators provide cheap, constant power on water maps. The exact amount of energy a tidal generator provides varies from map to map, though they usually provide about as much as a Solar Generator. Always check the Tidal Generator income before starting a game on a water map.

====Metal Maker====

Metal Makers convert energy to metal, allowing you to continue expanding your economy even once all available metal has been claimed. Each Arm Metal Maker consumes 80e and produces 1m, and each Core Metal Maker consumes 90e and produces 1m. When building metal makers, always use the [[Metal Maker AI]].

There are also floating versions of this structure.

====Advanced Solar Collector====

The Advanced Solar Generator produces about four times as much energy (75 per tick) as a regular [[#Solar Collector|Solar Collector]], but costs correspondingly more metal and significantly more energy. Their advantage over regular Solar Collectors is that they have a much smaller footprint.

====Geothermal Powerplant====

These expensive energy-producing structures can only be built on geothermal vents, but are a very efficient way to expand your energy production once you've got a basic economy going. Be careful about when you choose to build them, though, as the geothermal vents on most maps are placed in vulnerable locations.

Geothermal powerplants, much like the level 2 Moho Geothermal Powerplants, have a nasty explosion. Be careful what you build around them since they will be a prime target of opportunity.

Absolute Annihilation gives Arm increased output from geothermal powerplants.

====Energy/Metal Storage====

As the name indicates, these structures provide you with additional energy and metal storage. Since all resource structures in AA come with some energy/metal storage (as appropriate), these aren't very useful. The energy storage can be handy for stockpiling energy for a push to level 2, but you're probably better off building Metal Makers to convert it to metal. The metal storage is virtually useless, as you should usually be using up your metal as fast as you can without stalling. ''However'' if you're reclaiming a lot of things, especially any [[#Commander|Commander]] wreckage laying about, you'll need these in order to make sure you receive all your metal.

===Arm Level 1 Resource Structures===

====Twilight====

A basic metal extractor that can cloak for a mere ten energy. This provides some protection against raiders, but is not infallible. The enemy can still spot them if they get too close, and there are only so many places a metal extractor can be put. When they explode, they paralyze everything in a quite big radius, and can thus be used as mines or traps if necessary. Watch out for this when killing them if the enemy has some units nearby, as paralyzed units are easy prey.

===Core Level 1 Resource Structures===

====Exploiter====

A basic metal extractor with more armor and an LLT on top. Excellent for claiming territory once your basic economy's on solid ground or if your enemy likes raiding.

Has extra armor against attacks by Peewees/AKs and Flashes/Instigators.

===Common Level 2 Resource Structures===

====Moho Mine====

A bigger, better metal extractor. Takes more energy to operate, but extracts more metal from the same ground. These are typically the first things you'll want to build when upgrading to a level 2 economy, as you should easily be able to afford them with a mature level 1 economy. Start with your biggest and best-protected metal patches, and work out from there.

There are also underwater versions of this structure.

====Fusion/Cloakable Fusion====

These structures provide a high, constant energy income. Like Solar and Wind generators, they can be built anywhere on the map. The Cloakable variant is identical, except that it can cloak (to make it harder for the enemy to find), is slightly more expensive, and produces slightly more energy. If you have no easily-defendable geothermal vents available, one of these (with accompanying flak cannons) should be next in your level 2 upgrade plan after you have a few Moho Mines online. A common newbie mistake is building a Fusion plant too early or building too many of them. Don't do this.

Fusions have an impressive explosion, so be sure to space them out.

There are also underwater versions of the regular Fusion plant.

Absolute Annihilation gives Core slightly better energy output on their fusion plants.

====Moho Metal Maker====

A bigger, better metal maker. Takes much more energy to operate, but produces much more metal. On metal-poor maps (or once you've upgraded all your Metal Extractors to Moho Mines), you'll want to produce these to expand your economy, powered by Fusion plants.

There is also an underwater version of this structure.

====Metal Generator====

A slightly better metal maker that doesn't consume any energy. Fairly expensive and explodes quite violently, so space them out and protect them well.

====Moho Geothermal Powerplant====

A bigger, better geothermal plant. More efficient than a Fusion with comparable energy output, but produces a ''really'' big blast when destroyed. Build these only in safe areas or with ample defences against air and land units, as they make very tempting targets.

Absolute Annihilation gives Arm a hefty boost to their output from Moho Geothermal Powerplants.

====Advanced Fusion Reactor====

A bigger, better fusion reactor. All Advanced Fusions come with a cloaking device. Usually only worthwhile if you're pressed for space or need energy really badly in the very late-game. Defend it very well, as it makes an extremely tempting target, and produces a very big explosion when destroyed. Can only be built by Advanced Construction Vehicles.

Absolute Annihilation gives Core a hefty boost to their Advanced Fusion Reactor's energy output. However, this is somewhat offset by the greater cost a Core player must pay if he or she wants to cloak their reactor.

===Arm Level 2 Resource Structures===

====Prude====

A bigger, better geothermal plant. Doesn't produce quite as much energy as the Moho Geothermal Powerplant, but is cheaper and explodes significantly less violently. A good choice if you have potentially-threatened geothermal vents, or geothermal vents near other vital infrastructure.

===Core Level 2 Resource Structures===

====Moho Exploiter====

A more heavily-armored Moho Mine with a built-in heavy laser and rocket battery. Looks just like a regular Moho Mine until the enemy comes calling, then deploys its weapons and armor and goes to town. These are a little expensive for general use, but great on or near the front lines.

====Behemoth====

A bigger, better geothermal plant with plasma cannons grafted on. Doesn't produce as much energy as the Prude and costs more, but can prove a nasty surprise for enemy assault forces and raiders, especially when near a couple Exploiters. Behemoths have the longest range of any structure except for LRPC/RFLRPCs.

==Defensive Structures==

Defensive structures are buildings that help protect your base. Most have guns, or are designed to help buildings with guns. Most don't do anything else, and are fairly well-armored. However, don't expect them to win you the game alone! At best, defensive structures will stop minor attacks and slow down major attacks until you can get your own combat units into position to respond.

===Radar/Sonar/Jammer===

Though unarmed, the humble Radar Tower is possibly the most important defensive structure, and one that less experienced players can easily underestimate. It shows enemy units within range and unobstructed by terrain as radar dots. This means that instead of noticing your opponent is trying to attack the back of your base when the back of your base starts blowing up, you notice when a bunch of dots head that way. You can then move your mobile defensive units - and I hope you have some - to intercept the attack, and start beefing up your fortifications. Even more importantly, they let you watch the general pattern of enemy movement, giving you a rough idea of what your foe's up to and where he's massing units and defences, which can be invaluable when placing defences of your own or planning an attack.

Longer range units will fire at enemy units shown on radar before they can see them. The accuracy of a unit is reduced when firing at a target that's only visible as a radar dot, so these shots will often miss. Radar towers can see further than other units, so building them right next to other defensive structures may improve these structures' line of sight, allowing them to fire more accurately at units a little further away. Radar towers are cheap and fragile and often an early casualty of an enemy attack, so it doesn't hurt to build spares.

In the early game on spread out maps, consider building radar towers to 'protect' your expansion. Instead of trying to build defensive structures everywhere, build good radar tower coverage and position your mobile forces to easily intercept attacking forces.

Radar is not infallible. In addition to being blocked by terrain, it can be countered by radar jamming towers and units, which prevent radar detection of any units within their area of effect. There are also specialized late-game long-range weapons that quickly, cheaply, and efficiently destroy any radar or jammer towers within their area of effect. Finally, some units (such as the Arm Gremlin tank or Core Vamp fighter) are "Stealthy", and cannot be detected by radar.

Sonar Stations function similarly to Radar Towers, but can only detect units that are in the water.

There are advanced versions of all of these structures available with a higher cost, more HP, and a longer effective range. There are also floating radar towers that can be built on water.

===Dragon's Eye===

The Dragon's Eye, like the Radar Tower, provides you with advance warning of threats to your base. Dragon's Eyes have a long visual range, can be built underwater, and are stealthy (cannot be detected by radar) and can cloak (hiding themselves from visual detection) for a modest -10e cost. Building Dragon's Eyes around the perimeter of your base near the edge of the sight range of your other defensive structures can help them engage incoming enemies more effectively and gives you information about ''what'' is attacking your base.

===Dragon's Teeth/Fortification Walls===

These defensive structures aren't really structures. They do nothing but block the movement of enemy units, but are very cheap and fast to build. They can take a lot of damage, but can be reclaimed by construction units. Heavy units, like [[#Bulldog|Bulldogs]] or [[#Goliath|Goliaths]], can drive over Dragon's Teeth, destroying them in the process.

Commanders and construction planes have a speed advantage in building these, as construction bots and vehicles do a small animation whenver they start or finish constructing something. This slows them down significantly on such cheap structures.

These can be used in lines to block an enemy advance. This is useful to prevent fast raiding units from simply rushing past your defences to attack key buildings in the back of your base. They can also be used in small lines or squares surrounding a defensive structure such as a [[#Sentinel/Gaat_Gun_Heavy_Laser_Tower|heavy laser tower]]. This can provide some protection from small units with direct fire weapons such as the [[#Flash/Instigator|Flash tank]].

Floating Dragon's Teeth can also be built on water.

One interesting use of Dragon's Teeth is terrain modification. DTs have a substantially higher "slope tolerance" (the maximum slope they can be built on) than most structures. They can be reclaimed to recover much of the metal that went into their construction. This makes them excellent for "clearing terrain" for building other structures. Just build a single DT or a small block of them, reclaim them, and build on the now-flattened land! This is great for putting up LLTs on hills, but can also be used to place Guardians/Punishers in unexpected locations. (Tip from Felix the Cat)

===Level 1 Defensive Structures===

====Light Laser Tower====

Very cheap defensive structure that you should build early and often. Will stop those pesky players who like to send small squads a minute or two in the game from doing damage to your economy that you may never recover from. This unit is good against light, fast ground forces, but is outranged by anything heavier. It is weak against air, but does hit sometimes. Often abbreviated as "LLT". They're good for covering mostly-blocked approaches to your base (like hills), as they can kill most light raiding forces.

A good way to defend against early to mid-game attacks is to build 3 LLTs in a loose cluster at the top of any hills or in choke points. Then build a couple of radar towers behind them to help spot enemies.

Throughout any game, even to the end, LLTs should be built in key areas of your base. They will come in handy in case an enemy slips through your outer perimeter.

====Beamer/Heavy Light Laser Turret (HLLT)====

Designed as a more permanent defensive structure for highly valuable inner-base areas as well as mid-game frontline duty. Beamers shoot a constant beam (get it? eh? eh?) which causes steady damage. This makes it ideal for dealing with attacks from both heavier units like Hammers/Thuds or much lighter units like Fleas, where it can instantly move on to the next target when the first one is destroyed, rather than waiting for a lengthy cool-down period. These also have a slightly longer range than vanilla LLTs.

The HLLT, on the other hand, is pretty much just a beefed up LLT. It has two turrets, allowing it to target two enemies simultaneously or concentrate on a single one. They have more than their fair share of hit points.

====Defender/Pulveriser Missile Tower====

Very cheap defensive structure. It can provide protection against early air rushes. Does not need to be built as early as LLTs, as building an air force is slower. Will take out level 1 fighters and level 1 gunships easily. Effective against level 1 bombers, but several are needed if the opponent attacks in numbers. Not a cost-effective defence against level 2 air, and quite easy to destroy. ''Will not shoot at land units.'' Often abbreviated as MT.

There are also floating versions that can be built on water.

====Packo/SAM Anti-air Turret====

These are much more durable than standard missile towers and fire homing missiles quite rapidly. They are good at taking out large number of lighter planes quickly, making them a very effective fighter swarm counter. They will struggle to kill level 2 gunships and bombers unless used in large numbers, making flak cannons and level 2 missile towers a better choice against these units. The Packo can retract into a shielded underground state, largely protecting it from ground attack. The SAM just has more hitpoints.

====Chainsaw/Eradicator Anti-bomber Turret====

Moderately expensive heavy-duty version of the missile towers. Fires a rapid stream of missiles. Quite tough to destroy and can take out large numbers of level 1 air units. Does ok against level 2 air units, but Flak cannons are a better option by this point as they're much more effective and not much more expensive. ''Will not shoot at land units.''

Besides Mercury/Screamer towers, these are the longest-range anti-air units you can build.

These buildings do extra damage against bombers.

====Sentinel/Gaat Gun Heavy Laser Tower====

Moderately expensive defensive structure. Longer range and harder hitting than a LLT, can do serious damage to even level 2 attackers. Effective against land but not air. Can be outranged by longer-ranged level 2 ground units. Often abbreviated HLT. These are vital for protecting your expansions and base in the mid-game, as they can destroy massive swarms of L1 units. They require energy to fire, though, so be sure to have ample power available.

There are also floating versions that can be built on water.

====Guardian/Punisher Plasma Cannon====

Expensive plasma cannons. Quite a long range and pack a fair bit of punch. Many games begin with an expansion phase with players marking out territory. Once the territories start to clash in the middle, you can almost guarantee that one or both players will start building plasma cannons. These can then kill all the LLTs and HLTs in the opponent's front line. Once a cannon is completed it will start shelling any enemy forces that are within range. It can be set to "High Fire", which causes it to fire more damaging but highly inaccurate shells with a large area of effect in a high arc, or "Low Fire", which causes more direct, more accurate, but less powerful shells to be fired.

The normal reaction is then for the enemy to rush at the Guardian with all available nearby units. An inexperienced player may find he has not adequately protected his Guardian with LLTs, HLTs, or mobile forces, and will then lose a unit that cost a large amount of resources to build. More experienced players learn to build adequate protection or place their Guardian in an established position. This allows them to to devastate the enemy's fixed defences and kill many of the units sent to take out the Guardian, yielding a net metal gain. In some circumstances it may be better to retreat from the enemy's Guardian position and quickly tech to level 2 or build a small force of Thunders/Shadows for a definitive assault rather than losing units in a futile counter attack.

Another option is to construct a radar jammer near your front lines, which prevents the Guardian from auto-targetting them until something actually sees the units. This allows you to construct a Guardian of your own and return fire.

====Anenome/Jellyfish====

The Anenome/Jellyfish are the only land-based anti-submarine weapon in AA. They launch depth charges that can damage submarines and submersed amphibious units. As land structures, most submarines cannot attack them. Their very short range means that they have to be built on the very edge of your coast, and are not a good general-purpose anti-submarine solution.

These do extra damage against amphibious units, and are therefore a good choice for defending a shoreline against a "fully submerged" opponent.

====Harpoon/Urchin====

These floating torpedo launchers provide close-range anti-submarine/anti-ship defence. They can only be built in water, and can only attack units in the water. They're effective against raiders and submarines, but don't expect them to do much against a serious surface vessel assault, as even the humble plasma cannon on the Crusader/Enforcer outranges them by a significant margin. They are very effective against amphibious units, which move slowly and are unable to fire back.

Cannot attack Hovercraft.

===Level 2 Defensive Structures===

====Flakker/Cobra====

Late-game anti-aircraft defence, flak cannons are one of the two replacements for MTs. They're relatively short-ranged, but do a lot of damage, fire quickly, and have a massive area of effect. They're incredible against gunships, which tend to cluster, allowing the flak cannon to damage or destroy several with a single shot. Put these near vital late-game structures to prevent your enemy from swarming and destroying them with gunships. ''Flak cannons cannot attack ground units''.

There are also floating versions that can be built on water.

====Mercury/Screamer====

These upgraded MTs provide late-game anti-aircraft defence. Their guided missiles have a very long range - roughly half that of a VLRPC, do enough damage to kill almost any plane, and have an impressive blast radius. Very good against level 2 bombers and fighters. ''Cannot attack ground units.'' These units fire quite slowly, so should not be relied on as a primary anti air defence.

====Annihilator/Doomsday Machine====

The big brother of the HLT, these structures fill the same role in the late game. Their weapon, affectionately referred to as the "Blue Laser of Death", is slow-firing but capable of destroying most units in a single shot. They have an impressive range, but are still outranged by several kinds of artillery, so don't expect them to create an unbreakable defence!

Assaulting a line of BLoDs in the late game can be challenging, especially if they're properly supported by mobile units and anti-air. A good choice is to exploit their slow refire time and throw a swarm of fast, light, cheap units (like Flashes/Instigators, or even Jeffies/Weasels or Peewees/AKs) at them first, then hit them with longer-ranged units (Sharpshooters, Morties, Penetrators, Vanguards, Catapults, Tremors, etc.) while they're chewing on those. If the enemy's neglected to give his BLoDs proper AA support, gunships or bombers can be very effective. If all else fails, a barrage of Cruise Missiles will probably work.

====Ambusher/Toaster====

The big brother of the Guardian. They have a bit more range and a bit more firepower. When not in use they fold away into a concrete bunker. This allows them to survive much larger amounts of damage, making them virtually immune to long-range artillery or nuclear weapons.

====Moray/Lamprey====

Heavier versions of the Harpoon/Urchin. They do more damage and have a slightly longer range, but are still largely ineffective against surface vessels. These structures are totally under water, and so can only be targeted by depth charges.

Cannot attack Hovercraft.

====Big Bertha/Intimidator====

These massive plasma cannons, often called Very Long-Range Plasma Cannons (VLRPCs) can deliver large amounts of firepower across a significant portion of even the largest maps. Their extreme range and destructive power are compensated for by their poor accuracy, low health, and high energy cost per shot.

At first these appear to be a game ending weapon. They are capable of attacking pretty much anywhere on many maps, and so could, in theory, destroy an entire base. In practice, these seem to take a long time to do significant damage. Many of the more critical structures, such as factories or Fusion Plants can survive fire from a VLRPC for long enough for a construction unit to repair the damage. Others can simply be rebuilt once the cannon's moved on to other targets.

Sustained fire from several of these cannons over a base acts as an effective siege mechanism. It makes it much harder to build, as anything under construction is quite vulnerable to being destroyed. Construction units are also quite vulnerable, and many can be taken out at once by a lucky hit. This can gradually tilt the balance of economic power in favour of a player with the VLRPC, even with the hefty cost of each shot.

Once one of these cannons starts to fire, there are several possible replies. An aggressive opponent will normally search for the VLRPC doing the damage, probably with scout aircraft. Observing the direction the shells are coming from will give a reasonable indication of where to look. If the cannon has been built without considerable protection, it will normally be attacked and destroyed. If it is heavily protected, the opponent may feel that they must attack anyway and lose a lot of units for nothing. Other options include building your own VRLPC (or better still half a dozen) scattered throughout your base to respond to your enemy's attacks. Some players may try building a [http://taspring.clan-sy.com/w/index.php?title=Absolute_Annihilation/Units#Deflector deflector] to nullify the effect of the VRLPC, but this can be prohibitively expensive, especially if you try to carpet your entire base. Building [http://taspring.clan-sy.com/w/index.php?title=Absolute_Annihilation/Units#Radar.2FSonar.2FJammer radar jammers] can be more useful, as these cannons won't fire at something they can't see. Even with a jammer up, a few cheap air scouts will usually reveal plenty of targets for these cannons to fire at, so they typically have to be backed up with a Mercury/Screamer or two and some smaller MTs near the edges of your base.

====Vulcan/Buzzsaw====

A rapid-fire VLRPC that's even less accurate than its single-shot cousins. Definitely an [[Uberweapon]]. Like the Krogoth and Orcone, there's no reason to build one of these in most games, unless all other porc-cracking options have failed. It drains energy like mad, but its high damage, absurd rate of fire, and insane scatter will destroy all but the most hardened bases. Give it a lot of support, as your opponent ''will'' be coming to kill it as soon as it opens fire on him.

====Protector/Fortitude====

The Protector/Fortitude are purely defensive structures. They have no offensive weapons, but can intercept any nuclear weapons whose trajectories cross their operating range, which is displayed as a circle on your radar, as long as they have ammo. A must in most games as soon as your level 2 economy is on a solid footing, even if just as a precaution against a last-ditch strike by your enemy. In a Commander Dies, Game Ends game, you ''will'' want to keep your Commander well inside the range of a Protector/Fortitude at all times.

You need to construct ammo stores for this weapon. This is done using the normal construction interface. Standard practice is to queue up at least 50 rounds while it's being built and then leave it. If you ever have to intercept more than 50 nuclear missiles, you're doing something wrong.

Be sure to give these good AA cover. Standard practice when launching a nuke strike is to send a mob of Phoenix/Hurricanes to kill the enemy's anti-nuke, then follow up with a nuke volley.

====Retaliator/Silencer====

The Retaliator/Silencer are more offensive weapons than defensive weapons. They can fire nuclear missiles (which must be constructed before launch) all the way across any map, each of which can destroy a substantial portion of an enemy base. Very few things (such as specialized structures that are in an armoured state by default) can survive a nuke blast, though the missiles can be easily intercepted by Protectors/Fortitudes.

====Detonator/Catalyst====

These ballistic missile launchers fire EMP missiles that paralyze units caught inside the blast. Their projectiles cannot be intercepted, making them very useful for assaulting heavily-fortified positions. Like nukes and anti-nukes, the Detonator/Catalyst must build each shot before it can be used.

====Juno====

The Juno is a much more limited ballistic missile launcher. Its missiles cannot be intercepted, but do no damage to normal units. They will, however, destroy all radar, sonar, or radar/sonar jammer units within their area of effect, and will also destroy Dragon's Eye cameras.

====Deflector====

The Deflector is one of the few proper counters to VLRPCs, other than extensive jamming and AA. It generates a field that deflects most weapons fire targetted in or through a small area, but costs energy per shot deflected. It can deflect plasma shells, gauss shells, and EMG fire, but cannot deflect lasers, missiles, flamethrowers, lightning shots, or bombs. The field affects all fire directed into it from outside, but ''will not'' affect any shots fired from inside the field. This means that your units can safely fire out, but also that the field will be ineffective if the enemy manages to get inside.

While it can provide protection against VLRPC and RFVLRPC fire, keep in mind that the shells still have to land ''somewhere''. And that "somewhere" will likely be on top of any structures you have near the edge of the field. And if you run out of energy they stop working; a large volume of weapon fire can overwhelm your energy sources and and then get through.

VLRPCs cannot be safely placed close to a Deflector. They're tall enough that the deflector will actually catch and deflect the shot as it leaves the barrel, making the VLRPC even more incredibly inaccurate than usual. Deflectors are best used for protecting defensive structures whose weapons are unaffected by it (like lasers, missile towers, or flak cannons), resource-generating structures, factories, or your Commander.

====Pitbull/Viper====

Shorter-ranged pop-up weapons, the Arm Pitbull fires a line-of-sight gauss projectile and the Core Viper fires heavy rockets. These structures fill about the same role as an LLT in the late-game and can, if you have the resources, make good support for a BLoD or act as replacements for destroyed HLTs. A cluster of these structures packed into a chokepoint or lined up in front of some Annihilators/Doomsday Machines can do quite a lot of damage. When not in use, they fold away into a concrete bunker, making them effectively immune to long-range artillery and even nuke strikes.

===Core Level 2 Defence Structures===

====Inferno====

Wide-arc flamethrower. Good against swarms or for use in conjunction with several other Infernos against bigger units, or simply as one more extra support turret in a massively fortified front line.

==Utility Structures==

They don't, strictly speaking, help you kill your enemy, make more units to kill your enemy, or prevent your enemy from killing your base, but these structures can be important all the same.

===Targeting Facility===

This Level 2 structure makes your fire against targets that can be seen only on radar substantially more accurate. It's fairly costly and takes a reasonably hefty chunk of energy to operate, but can be very useful for bombarding your enemy's defences from outside of their effective range.

There is also a floating version of this structure, which is very useful for naval battles, as engagements between surface ships will often happen without either side ever seeing the other.

===Air Repair Pad===

This Level 2 structure makes maintaining a large fleet of aircraft much easier. When switched on, it consumes a small amount of energy (250), and aircraft with "patrol" or "attack" orders will, when they're down to a certain health percentage, seek out an open air repair pad, land there, get repaired, and then return to carrying out their orders. The health percentage can be configured in the unit's orders panel.

==KBots==

KBots are units that use legs to move. They're generally more lightly armed than vehicles and can take less damage, but are cheaper, build faster, and can cross rough terrain and climb hills much better. KBots are generally good for massed assaults or surprise attacks over difficult terrain. The exception is "Level 3" KBots, which have incredibly powerful weapons and can take absurd amounts of damage.

===Common Lvl 1 KBots===

For many lvl1 units, there's no significant difference between the Arm and Core versions. These units get listed here.

====Peewee/AK====

Small cheap infantry KBot. The die very quickly to any significant opposition, but are speedy and can see farther than other L1 KBots. Can be used for scouting, [http://taspring.clan-sy.com/wiki/Swarming swarming] and as cannon fodder mixed with more valuable units. Good for early attacks on an enemy base, but they become obsolete very quickly.

====Rocko/Storm====

Slightly more expensive KBot with a long-range rocket launcher. Together with Hammers/Thuds, Rockos/Storms will tend to form the backbone of an early KBot force. Their rockets are direct-fire, so they can't fire over other units. Position them carefully, as they will occasionally try, damaging your units in the process! (Using a line-movement command works very nicely for them) Their long range lets them get off at least a couple shots at most L1 defensive structures. They outrange LLTs, but cannot fire at them effectively without spotters.

====Hammer/Thud====

The Hammer and Thud fire small plasma shells, which lets them fire over other units and small terrain obstructions. This means that most units in a mass can fire, whereas for many other units only the front line can fire. They can also fire over wreckage, Dragon's Teeth, and other obstructions. Hammers and Thuds are best used as early heavy main battle units.

====Jethro/Crasher====

Fires guided missiles and can only attack air units. Basic level 1 mobile anti-air. Pretty much a walking missile tower.

===Arm Lvl 1 KBots===

====Warrior====

Costs a fair bit more than any other level KBot and is very slow. Has a lot of health and two fast-firing lasers. The Warrior is the Arm's L1 anti-swarm unit, and does more damage to (and takes less damage from) L1 swarm units.

====Flea====

Super cheap. Very fast. And dies if you yell at it. Possibly try building a few of them first on large maps and sending a few towards your opponents. Their speed and cheapness may catch them off guard if you are lucky.

===Core Lvl 1 KBots===

The Core has no unique Level 1 KBots.

===Common Lvl 2 KBots===

====Decoy Commander====

Useless in Commander Dies, Game Continues games. In Commander Dies, Game Ends games, these units are very handy. They can be used to lure the enemy into making futile or ill-conceived attacks in hope of killing your Commander and wiping out your army. Does absolutely nothing else, but has a number of features to make it a more convincing decoy.

====Rector/Necro====

The stealthy Rector and Necro can bring other units back to life, provided their wreckage hasn't taken too much damage. While this is costly, it can allow you to recover from a well-executed attack by pressing the reanimated corpses of the enemy's attack force into your service to supplement your own army.

====Invader/Roach====

The humble Invader and Roach have no purpose in life beyond crawling towards the enemy extremely slowly and exploding extremely violently. These units can climb very steep hills and are amphibious, allowing them to pop up from unexpected directions. They die very easily, but if you can slip them past the enemy's defenses, they'll do a lot of damage to his economy. Their explosions are significantly more destructive if you self-destruct them.

====Infiltrator/Parasite====

A stealthy, cloakable KBot, the Infiltrator and Parasite are totally unarmed. They're good for finding out what your enemy's up to. They have the ability to create a medium sized paralysing explosion when they self destruct, making them useful for getting past an enemy's defences. They also have a nanolathe, which can be used to reclaim wreckage, Dragon's Teeth, or slow enemy construction projects, though this will probably reveal your spy's location very quickly..

===Arm Lvl 2 KBots===

====Fido====

A very average level 2 KBot. Weaker than a [[#Zeus|Zeus]] or [[#Maverick|Maverick]] but faster and cheaper. Versatile but not particularly good at any one thing. The Fido has two fire modes, which can be toggled by switching its "Active State" between "On" and "Off". The default uses a long-range, slow-firing direct-fire gauss cannon. It's fairly accurate but relatively low-damage. The "Ballistic Cannon" mode fires a less-accurate shell that travels in a higher, ballistic arc, allowing it to fire over other units, Dragon's Teeth, and hills.

====Zipper====

Fast [http://taspring.clan-sy.com/wiki/Swarming swarm] unit with a short range direct fire weapon. Masses of these can survive surprising amounts of fire to do damage to undefended areas of a base. Seem to be able to push level 1 units out of the way, and are also very good at finding their way through wreckage fields due to their small size.

====Maverick====

Moderately expensive Kbot packing two gauss guns with medium range. Average durability and speed for an L2 unit, but capable of doing impressive damage. It destroys L1 units and light defences with ease. The Maverick also auto-repairs in combat and has a longer visual range than most units, making one or two good "spotters" for a unit of other KBots.

====Zeus====

Slow and tough. It has a short-ranged but powerful lightning cannon. In numbers they can take and dish out a lot of damage, and are excellent defence-busters in the mid-to-late game.

====FatBoy====

Slower and tougher than the Zeus, the Fatboy carries a massive plasma cannon with a long range, high damage, and large area of effect. Very good at supporting swarms of Zeuses, but watch what they're shooting at to make sure they don't blow up your own units.

====Pelican====

This unique amphibious KBot travels quickly over the surface of the water. It packs a direct-fire laser for use against ground units and a homing missile launcher for use against aircraft.

====Eraser====

A mobile radar jammer. Useful for keeping the enemy from noticing an attack force until it's too late.

====FARK====

The Fast Assist Repair KBot can't build much, but is cheap and has a good nanolathe. This makes swarms of FARKs excellent assistants for primary construction units. FARKs are also fairly small and fast, which makes them better at supporting combat units than regular construction units.

====Sharpshooter====

One of the nastiest Arm Lvl2 Kbots, the Sharpshooter is stealthy ''and'' can cloak, making it very hard to spot when it's not firing. Even when firing, it can be tough to find, as its weapon is invisible, but has a very distinctive noise. Its weapon is very slow-firing and long-range, and does absurd amounts of damage. It does even more absurd damage to Krogoths, Orcones, and Juggarnauts, making swarms of Sharpshooters an excellent counter against Uberweapons.

====Recluse====

A spider KBot that can climb up almost anything. Can cause nightmares for unprepared opponents who don't think land units will be able to cross a steep terrain barrier, and as a result don't build any suitable defence in that direction. It fires heavy rockets that aren't particularly fast or accurate.

Sometimes you can climb these halfway up a steep slope near some enemy units and stop. The defenders units won't be able to shoot you because they would have to do so through the rock, but you can lob rockets up and over.

====Spider====

Another spider KBot, similar to the Recluse but smaller, faster, and armed with a paralysing weapon. Can be a nightmare even when not using it's wall-climbing ability to attack a base from an undefended angle, as it can prevent your units from effectively fighting the things that are killing them.

====Scarab====

A mobile anti-nuke. Useful for protecting a force of ground units dispatched to assault a nuclear missile silo, or for covering an expansion until you can get a proper anti-nuke built there.

===Core Lvl 2 KBots===

====Pyro====

Core's level 2 [http://taspring.clan-sy.com/wiki/Swarming swarm] unit. A bit tougher and slower than the Zipper. Packs a flamethrower that can dish out a lot of damage to multiple units if you get within its short range. Doesn't leave wreckage, making it an excellent raider.

====Can====

Silly looking KBot that waddles along fairly slowly, but don't laugh if they are coming to get you. Fairly expensive and very tough. Packs a pretty fierce punch with its laser weapon, but does not have a big range. Enemy units can sometimes retreat, fire, and then continue retreating, staying out of The Can's range the entire time. They'd better hope they kill it before they run out of room to retreat, though! The Can has a small auto-repair that functions even in combat, making it excellent at weathering sporadic fire and even harder to stop.

====Sumo====

Take The Can and make it much tougher and slower. Longer weapon range and more power, as well as a much faster fire rate. Doesn't look quite as silly. Can be used as an extremely slow but hard-to-stop offensive weapon, or as a mobile HLT in your base. Good at countering light Level 3 KBots. Like the Can, it has a combat auto-repair.

====Morty====

A support KBot with a very big gun. Has a long range and fires fast, but doesn't do a lot of damage and isn't particularly durable. Keep them behind a line of Cans, Sumos, and Pyros, and use them to bombard enemy defences.

====Gimp====

A faster, weaker, amphibious version of the Can. Packs a slightly weaker version of the Can's lasers and a torpedo launcher. The torpedoes are extremely weak against submarines, though, so don't try using this as a general-purpose underwater combat unit!

====Freaker====

A fast-moving construction unit, the Freaker has a very eclectic build menu. It can construct mines, static defenses, and some combat units. Using them to construct Cans or Raiders near the front lines to reinforce your assault force can be very effective!

====Dominator====

Another artillery support KBot, the Dominator fires vertically-launched rockets. These are only slightly longer-ranged than the Morty's shells, but are much more powerful and can fire over practically anything. Protected by a wall of Cans and Sumos, Dominators are wonderful at destroying structures of all kinds. Just don't try using them on mobile units!

====Voyeur====

A walking radar tower.

====Termite====

This KBot can climb over practically anything. It's fairly tough and packs a heavy laser. Great for surprise attacks against an unprotected flank of the enemy base, but don't expect them to last long on the front lines.

====Skuttle====

A bigger, badder version of the Roach. Not only does it make a bigger bang, it can cloak and climb absolutely anything. Combined with radar jamming, a Skuttle can blast an impressive hole in even the toughest defences.

===Common Lvl 3 KBots===

====Avatar/Mauler====

A mobile Big Bertha/Intimidator. Slow and dies pretty much as soon as the enemy looks at it, but can devastate enemy positions from unexpected directions.

===Arm lvl 3===

====Orcone====

An [http://taspring.clan-sy.com/wiki/Uberweapon Uberweapon]. Costs absurd amounts of resources. Slow, but will destroy pretty much anything in its path. Very vulnerable to Sharpshooters, Annihilators/Doomsday Machines, and VLRPCs. Not generally worth investing in unless facing an enemy who's porcing heavily, and even then they need a lot of support from conventional units. If you see one coming, don't panic, start building Annihilators/Doomsday Machines, Sumos, or Sharpshooters and stick them (cloaked, in the case of Sharpshooters) in its path.

====Bantha====

Heavy attack mech. Shoots guided rockets, blue lasers, and plasma projectiles. Very hard to kill. Basically a mini-Orcone at a much more practical cost. It can be vulnerable to heavy attack from the air, and also dies to many of the same counters as the Orcone. Don't use these without a lot of support units backing them up!

====Razorback====

A light assault mech. Employs short-ranged but rapid-fire lasers and a multi-hit blaster. Faster than the Bantha or Orcone, much cheaper, and easier to fit into a regular assault force. Support them well, as they're very weak against Gunships, and can be taken out by sufficiently large groups of L2 units, or a few Sumos, though it can outrun the Sumos.

====Marauder====

A heavy amphibious assault unit. Fairly fast, and can be very deadly if your enemy hasn't protected his shoreline properly.

====Vanguard====

A slow but tough unit with a powerful long-range gun. Good as support for a mixed force of Razorbacks and L2 units. Can climb near-vertical walls to attack from unexpected directions and bypass enemy defences.

====Aegis====

A mobile tactical nuke launcher. Its missiles cannot be intercepted by anti-nukes, but do significantly less damage than regular nukes. Slow and dies very easily.

===Core Lvl 3 KBots===

====Krogoth====

An [http://taspring.clan-sy.com/wiki/Uberweapon Uberweapon]. Costs absurd amounts of resources. Slightly more powerful and tougher than the Orcone, and features a shotgun-style blaster which is ideal for concentrated fire on a single heavy target or spread fire over a swarm of lesser units.

====Krogtaar====

A miniature Krogoth. Significantly cheaper, faster, and easier to kill. Fires a riot cannon with a medium range and high damage, making it very good against swarms of level 1 units. Much more practical than the Krogoth.

====Karganeth====

The smallest and cheapest of the Core lvl3 mechs, and thus the most practical. The Karganeth packs rapid-fire homing missiles, making it effective against both land and air targets. This also means it fits very well into a mixed assault force. It also has the ability to climb nearly vertical cliffs, allowing it to bypass an enemy's defences.

====Shiva====

The Core amphibious lvl3 mech, the Shiva is an impressive unit. It carries plasma cannons and a pair of vertical-launch rocket launchers. While vulnerable in the water, if one reaches your shore, you're in trouble. Only worth building on maps with sparse but restrictive water.

====Juggernaut====

Slower and weaker than a Krogoth, but about a quarter the cost. Carries a fast-firing multiple-hit gauss cannon with fairly good damage. Most useful as a mobile turret in your base. Juggernauts have a lot of hit points, so they can also be used as a sort of "rolling front line". Should ideally have a group of support construction units for when its job is done and it's lost a lot of health.

====Catapult====

This Core Lvl3 mech can unleash a massive, near-continuous stream of powerful, unguided, long-range rockets. It can't take much fire, though. In groups of three or more, these can tear apart an enemy base in as little as 60 seconds. They should be guarded well by units such as Sumos, Cans, and Karganeths.

==Vehicles==

Vehicles use wheels or tracks to move. They're heavily armed and can take a lot of damage, but are more expensive and slower to build than KBots. They are also slowed or stopped entirely by rough terrain and can't climb hills very well. Vehicles are good for frontal assaults and generally smashing through defences.

===Common Lvl 1 Vehicles===

These vehicles are effectively identical for both races, and so are described only once.

====Jeffy/Weasel====

Cheap, fast units with a long line-of-sight. While they are armed, their weapon can't do much damage, and they have almost no HP. They're decent for scouting (you know you've found an enemy when they explode) and good for raiding your enemy's resource structures in the early game.

====Flash/Instigator====

The tank equivalent of the Peewee/AK. Flashes and Instigators have slightly more health and can't see as far, but are otherwise very similar to their KBot cousins.

====Stumpy/Raider====

The tank equivallent of the Hammer/Thud. Stumpies and Raiders are very tough for L1 units, and are very good at killing LLTs and even HLTs. Sometimes they can even survive long enough to do decent damage to larger defensive structures.

====Samson/Slasher====

The tank equivalent of the Jethro/Crasher. These units ''can'' attack ground units, but are much more effective against aircraft. They're very slow, though, making them hard to use effectively.

====Pincer/Garpike====

This otherwise-unremarkable L1 tank can travel underwater, allowing it to cross rivers and small lakes to attack the enemy from an unexpected direction. Don't expect it to survive crossing larger bodies of water, though, as it dies fast to submarines and torpedo launchers.

====Shellshocker/Wolverine====

The only true L1 artillery unit, the Shellshocker and Wolverine fire a projectile that has a very high trajectory and long range but extremely poor accuracy. Useful for taking out fixed defences, but keep them well away from your combat units or set them to hold fire, as their shots will often hit friendly units in the middle of a skirmish.

====Podger/Spoiler====

This unit both lays and clears mines. Although powerful, mines require fairly hefty amounts of energy to stay cloaked. If you can spare the power, they're very good at blocking up chokepoints and slowing down attackers. Most players don't bother (to their peril).

===Arm Lvl 1 Vehicles===

====Janus====

This tank packs a slow-firing but very powerful pair of heavy rocket launchers. Its rockets can't always fire over other units (and will do serious damage to them if they get in the way) but have a good range. Very good against most forms of static defence, as long as there are other units to soak up the damage.

===Core Lvl 1 Vehicles===

====Leveler====

The Core's answer to swarm attacks by Flashes is the Leveler. The tank itself is slow, and its weapon is short-ranged, but it packs a ''massive'' punch and has a huge area of effect. Not only that, but it'll send enemy units flying and create craters, severely hampering the enemy's mobility.

===Common Lvl 2 Vehicles===

====Phalanx/Copperhead====

A mobile flak cannon. Excellent anti-aircraft coverage for your level 2 attack force. In fact, the ''only'' dedicated level 2 anti-aircraft unit. Maneuver them carefully, as they're fragile. You want to keep them close enough to cover your forces, but far enough back that enemy ground units can't easily target them.

====Luger/Pillager====

A mobile artillery plasma cannon. Like the Shellshocker/Wolverine, fires its shells in a high arc, allowing them to travel over most things. Has less range and does less damage per shot than the Merl/Diplomat, but fires significantly faster. Decent support for a unit of tanks or Merls/Diplomats.

====Merl/Diplomat====

A mobile artillery missile launcher. The Merl/Diplomat fire their long-range, high-damage missiles vertically, which allows them to fire over practically anything. This also means their missiles take a long time to reach their targets, making them useless against mobile units. Set these things to Hold Fire if your enemy has mobile units (especially aircraft) around, or you ''will'' destroy your own mobile units.

===Arm Lvl 2 Vehicles===

====Bulldog====

The basic, vanilla Arm level 2 tank. Heavily armored, fairly speedy, and equipped with a medium-range, medium-damage plasma cannon that can fire over other units. Bulldogs can drive over level 1 unit wreckage and Dragon's Teeth, which makes them good at breaking through heavily contested or fortified areas.

====Triton====

A light, amphibious level 2 tank. Faster than the Bulldog, but has less health and a smaller gun. Useful as a spearhead for amphibious assaults, to soak up fire and clear out defenders before heavier units come in.

====Panther====

A fast, light level 2 tank. Armed with a lightning cannon similar to the Zeus' (for use against ground units) and a homing missile launcher (for use against aircraft). Its main advantage is its speed, which allows it to spot for heavier tanks and close with defensive structures to use its cannon. Dies very easily, so support them with bigger tanks.

====Penetrator====

A mobile Blue Laser of Death. Slow and not too tough, but can do a lot of damage. Excellent support for a force of Bulldogs, Demolishers, and Panthers. Its turret can only turn through a small firing arc, so it's easily destroyed by light, fast units. Keep them far back and well-covered.

====Seer====

Radar on wheels.

====Gremlin====

A stealthy, fast, cloakable light tank. It can't take much damage, and has a short-range, low-damage cannon, but is excellent at raiding. If you can find a hole in your enemy's lines and slip a few of these through, you can often do a lot of damage before he can stop them.

====Consul====

The Arm mobile engineer. Can build mines, a nice selection of defensive structures, and a few mobile units, including the Fido. This may be one of the few actual uses for the Fido: front-line reinforcements from a Consul.

====Demolisher====

A heavy tank with a medium-range, high-damage lightning cannon. Very tough and very slow. Best used mixed with other tanks, such as Bulldogs, Panthers, and Penetrators. Like the Bulldog, it can roll over wreckage and Dragon's Teeth.

===Core Lvl 2 Vehicles===

====Deleter====

A mobile radar jammer.

====Goliath====

A very tough, very slow-moving tank with a big, indirect-fire, long-range gun with a hefty blast radius. The Goliath is the Core's primary level 2 tank, and while expensive, a force of them can do very impressive damage and can be very difficult to stop, especially since it auto-repairs even during combat. It can roll over most wreckage and Dragon's Teeth.

====Poison Arrow====

A heavy amphibious tank. Less well-armored than the Goliath but faster. Has a long-ranged, powerful, indirect-fire cannon. Only really useful on maps with small bodies of water as, like most amphibious vehicles, subs do a number on it.

====Reaper====

A tough, fast tank with a flamethrower. Best used as a screening force for Goliaths, as it can handle light, fast units very well. If you can't afford Goliaths, Reapers can make an acceptable assault unit, but are limited by their lack of range. Their damage more than makes up for it, especially if you can set a forest on fire with enemy units in it!

====Croc====

A medium amphibious tank, very similar to the Triton. The usual limitations of amphibious units apply.

====Intruder====

A heavy amphibious transport, the Intruder's very useful for moving around assault forces. It's quite quick, and can be used to ferry heavy but slow units (like the Can or Sumo) to the front lines, or to bring up additional units to support an amphibious assault.

====Banisher====

A reasonably fast, reasonably tough tank packing a heavy missile launcher. Note that, unlike most other level 2 tank weapons, its rockets ''cannot'' fire over other units. While they can do a lot of damage, this means that you'd better make sure none of your units are in the line of fire.

====Tremor====

Absolutely terrifying mobile artillery. Quite tough, not too sluggish, and packs a rapid-fire indirect-fire cannon. (Basically a mini-Buzzsaw) Individual shots aren't particularly strong and it has about the same range as the Diplomat, but fires faster any other artillery unit. Its shots have a fairly large scatter, making them great at wiping out clustered defences or resource buildings.

====Hedgehog====

A mobile anti-nuke. Useful for protecting a force of ground units dispatched to assault a nuclear missile silo, or for covering an expansion until you can get a proper anti-nuke built there.

==Aircraft==

Aircraft are airborne combat units. They're fast, can cross any terrain, but can take very little damage. Most aircraft are specialized, and designed for a specific task. Against units not built specifically to counter them, aircraft are very effective. Against anti-air units, they are at a significant disadvantage. Generally air units are not a base busting assault weapon, but anyone who assumes that they are useless will play at a significant disadvantage. Aircraft can be put to several uses, even in the late game:

Scouting: You've built a [[#Big Bertha/Intimidator|VLRPC]] (or ten). The sounds of each successive shell exploding in your enemy's base is slowly ratcheting up the pressure. But how do you know whether the pride of your army is destroying important enemy buildings, or killing peewees and solar collectors? Build some airplanes and have a look. You can then aim your Big Bertha at a worthy target. If your enemies build LRPCs, but only one player builds planes, guess who will find and destroy the opposing LRPCs first?

A few light aircraft can also be a great investment ahead of a ground attack. You can spot holes in the defence to aim for or unexpected resistance to retreat from before taking losses. They can provide line of sight for long range artillery to start pounding opposing defences. And what is that blob of units coming towards you on the radar? A plane can tell you if its 20 peewees or 20 goliaths. Any empty space on the map? Send a plane to scout at random intervals; you might find and prevent an opponent preparing a nasty surprise under cover of a radar jammer.

In general terms, scout aircraft are invaluable, as they're a very reliable mechanism for gathering precise information about the battlefield, even through heavy radar jamming and enemy fire.

Overwhelming: Focus efforts on building a large devestating force of bombers or gunships. With enough effort or against an unsuspecting victim, you may create a large enough air attack to devestate a base with insufficient anti-air defence. If your opponent ''does'' build enough anti-air defences, the setback to your economy from this effort will be serious.

Defence: An often overlooked aspect of aircraft is their use for base defence. They have the advantage of being able to intercept an attack from any direction quickly. If the attack force does not include a significant anti air componenent, your planes can attack while taking very little damage in return. [[#Hawk/Vamp|Hawks/Vamps]] are particularly good at this, and while they're unlikely to do fatal damage to ground units, they're excellent at intercepting and destroying enemy airstrikes.

Strategic strikes: Sometimes your opponent has a key building you badly want to destroy. It might be a [[#Retaliator/Silencer|nuclear silo]], [[#Protector/Fortitude|nuclear defence]], or a [[#Vulcan/Buzzsaw|rapid fire LRPC]]. Perhaps a [[#Moho Geothermal Powerplant|moho geothermal]], or [[#Advanced Fusion Reactor|advanced fusion]] that could take half the base with it if you can kill it. Or a [[#Commander|Commander]]. A determined bombing assault can often do the trick. Air has an unequaled ability to rapdily move and concentrate force to attack a key location. Just make sure the target is worth the effort, as in most games the planes that will get destroyed by anti-air in such a strike will represent a significant investment of resources. You'll need to use ground forces to capitalize on the strike.

All aircraft have a limited-range sonar, allowing them to see submerged units immediately under them. Aircraft generally cost larger amounts of energy, and lower amounts of metal when compared with other units. This can energy stall an unprepared player who tries to build an air force too early in the game. Aircraft also take a long time to build. Building an Air Factory as your first factory is a high-risk move guaranteed to slow down economic expansion drastrically.

===Common Lvl 1 Aircraft===

====Peeper/Fink====

A light recon aircraft. Unarmed and can't take much damage, but very fast, cheap, and nimble, with a long line of sight and a radar. Carries flares to reduce the effectiveness of guided AA weapons. They're best used as scouts, to spot targets for long-range artillery or attack forces. As they're cheap, fast, airborne, carry radar, and have a good sight range, Peepers and Finks are among the best scouts in the game. It's almost always worth building an L1 Aircraft Plant even if you only use it for building these.

====Freedom Fighter/Avenger====

A basic fighter aircraft. Fast and maneuverable, but can't take much damage. Carries a homing air-to-air missile and a weaker air-to-ground missile. Although they're not specifically designed for it, a group of 20-30 of these can be quickly and cheaply built to harass enemy units to great effect. Great against level 1 aircraft, and useful against level 2 aircraft if built in a large enough swarm. A large swarm can also be surprisingly effective against light ground units. However their weapons tend to fire infrequently at ground unless specifically ordered to do so.

An effective tactic can be to slowly assemble a group of these and then use them to raid your enemy's resources; from then on, he'll be forced to build extensive anti-air even if you don't plan on ever using air again. If your enemy is spending half his resources to defend against an attack that's not coming....

====Thunder/Shadow====

A basic bomber aircraft. Slower and clumsier than the level 1 fighters, but much tougher. Attacks using a line of high-damage bombs, allowing it to damage or destroy several defensive structures in a single pass, or do more damage to larger structures. Not much use against mobile units, which can generally move out of the way before the bombs hit, but can do acceptable damage against packs of units.

====Atlas/Valkyrie====

A basic airborne transport. Can only carry one unit, but does so very quickly. Can't take a lot of damage, and accelerates slowly, but invaluable when you need to move a unit up a cliff or over some water in a hurry. Their low volume and vulnerability to AA fire makes them poorly-suited for assault roles.

One common use for these units is kidnapping enemy construction units or Commanders. (Though the Commander's laser can often destroy them before they can grab him) This means it's a good idea to build one or two missile towers to cover your construction units as soon as you can spare the resources. Even a single missile tower will be able to do enough damage to destroy would-be kidnappers.

===Arm Lvl 1 Aircraft===

====Banshee====

A basic ground attack aircraft. Slow but tough, and carries a weak, short-ranged EMG for use against ground units. While it doesn't do a lot of damage, an early Banshee assault can cripple an enemy who's neglected to build even a handful of missile towers. It can hover, allowing it to attack slow-moving or stationary ground units very effectively but making it vulnerable to flak.

As with all gunships, banshees take slightly (~20%) reduced damage from missiles compared to other types of aircraft.

===Core Lvl 1 Aircraft===

====Bladewing====

A basic gunship. Fast, but not very tough. Carries a laser that paralyzes its target. Best used in swarms to support other combat units in the field, by paralysing serious threats. It can hover, allowing it to attack slow-moving or stationary ground units very effectively but making it vulnerable to flak.

Many Core players have gone on the record to say that the only reason they like Core so much is the Bladewing. With its ability to temporarily remove any one unit from a fight, you can effectively take the wind out of your enemy's sails if that one unit is, for instance, a Bantha.

Beware that superweapons and Commanders are nigh-invulnerable to paralyzer weapons. Concentrated fire may temporarily stun them, but the instant you stop firing they'll be back in action.

===Common Lvl 2 Aircraft===

====Brawler/Rapier====

Tough but slow ground attack aircraft. The Brawler carries an rapid-fire weak weapon, while the Rapier has slower-firing but more powerful rockets. Both can hover, allowing them to attack slow-moving or stationary ground units effectively, but making them very vulnerable to flak. Before the enemy has significant flak defences, Brawlers and Rapiers are viable for assaults. After that point, they're best used to raid outposts that haven't yet had flak cannons installed, or harass assault forces that have insufficient AA cover.

====Phoenix/Hurricane====

A bigger, nastier bomber aircraft. Drops many more bombs that do much more damage. Unless heavy AA is present along their approach a swarm of bombers ''will'' release enough ordinance in a single pass to destroy their target, regardless of what it is. This makes them very effective first-strike weapons against things like Annihilators/Doomsday Machines, nuclear missile silos, VLRPCs, fusion plants, etc. Also carries a homing missile launcher to fend off fighters.

As advanced missile towers and flak get built, the ability of Phoenixes and Hurricanes to hit targets anywhere in a base diminishes. They remain useful for striking targets near the edge, and can be good for softening up a defence line or breaking a hole in it before an attack, but typically need to withdraw (or will be destroyed) after one or two passes.

Because of their bomb scattering attribute, a group of even 5+ Phoenix or Hurricanes can be used to quickly massacre even a moderately fast-moving attack group if it isn't protected by a strong anti-air presence.

====Lancet/Titan====

A bomber-type aircraft that fires homing torpedoes instead of normal bombs. Virtually useless against land units, very effective against ships.

====Hawk/Vamp====

A bigger, nastier fighter aircraft. The Hawk is slightly tougher and turns faster, and the Vamp is slightly faster. Both are stealthy, and are very good against enemy bombers and level 1 fighters. Not so good offensively, though, as they suck at attacking ground targets. They're good at intercepting enemy airstrikes and providing AA defence for the skies over your base or contested territory.

====Eagle/Vulture====

A more sophisticated recon plane. Has a longer radar range and carries a real sonar. Information about your enemy's activities is vital for both attack and defence, and the Eagle/Vulture can tell you a lot. Since they're more expensive than the Peeper/Fink, they're less expendable, making them less useful for quick scouting once AA is deployed. Carry flares to improve their survivability against guided missiles.

===Arm Lvl 2 Aircraft===

====Blade====

A gunship with even more armor and an even bigger weapon. They're tough and reasonably fast, making them good support for your assault forces once the enemy deploys flak cannons and Mercuries/Screamers. Hawks/Vamps and Freedom Fighters/Avengers still work well against them.

Because of a Blade's heavy armor, they take only 50% damage from flak guns, in addition to the standard 20% damage reduction for missile attacks on gunships. In short, they're Arm's ultimate high-flying badasses.

====Liche====

A very powerful bomber. Drops only a single bomb, but it has a large blast radius and does a lot of damage. Very vulnerable to Hawks/Vamps and Freedom Fighters/Avengers, so give it lots of cover. Excellent for taking out big, expensive targets.

====Dragonfly====

A stealthy version of the Atlas. Tougher, and armed with a paralysing weapon. It is able to transport heavier units than the level 1 transports.

====Stilleto====

A stealthy bomber whose weapon paralyzes targets caught in the blast. Good for softening up a defence line or assault force with insufficient AA.

===Core Lvl 2 Aircraft===

====Seahook====

A heavy but slow air transport that can lift absolutely anything. Yes, even a Krogoth or the largest battleship. Just hope that your enemy's fighters don't catch this thing in mid-air when it's lugging Kroggy around, though!

====Krow====

Flying instagib. With its three heavy, rapid-firing lasers, it will kill anything that isn't a group of 5+ flak guns or a fighter swarm.

==Ships and Submarines==

Ships can only travel on water. They're fast, heavily armed, and can take absurd amounts of damage, but have very limited movement and turn slowly. Submarines travel under the water, can only be detected by sonar, and can only attack other units in or under the water. They're generally much weaker than surface vessels and have shorter-ranged weapons.

===Common Lvl 1 Ships and Subs===

====Skeeter/Searcher====

The naval equivalent of the Peewee/AK. Fast, but not very tough (as ships go). Carries a laser, for use against ground units, and a homing missile launcher, for use on aircraft. They're best used for raiding, but will die easily to most real combat ships.

====Decade/Supporter====

These light corvettes are intended as a screening force for larger ships. They're slow, have little health, and carry pair of short-ranged, weak cannons, but they're very cheap.

====Crusader/Enforcer====

The meat of a level 1 navy (and good support for a level 2 navy), these destroyers are very flexible ships. They're fast, tough, and useful in a variety of roles. They carry a medium-range indirect fire plasma cannon for use against surface ships and shore targets, a deck laser for use against anything that gets close, and a depth-charge launcher for use on submarines. They also have a short-range sonar.

====Lurker/Snake====

A basic submarine, the Lurker/Snake remains useful throughout the game. While slow and with little health, it has a long-range sonar and packs a powerful torpedo launcher that only works on units in the water. These units can devastate surface or amphibious forces that lack proper anti-submarine support.

====Hulk/Envy====

A basic transport unit, the Hulk/Envy can quickly deliver a mass of units to the enemy's shore. They're very tough, but also very slow.

===Common Lvl 2 Ships and Subs===

====Abel/Caine====

A medium-range bombardment ship, the Abel/Caine packs a rapid-fire, long-range, highly inaccurate plasma cannon intended for shelling large targets, such as a cluster of shipyards or an enemy base near to the shoreline.

====Archer/Shredder====

Carrying both anti-aircraft missile launchers and flak cannon, even a few of these ships can very effectively protect a fleet of ships from airborne attackers.

====Millennium/Warlord====

Expensive, tough, and slow (for a ship), forces of Millenniums and Warlords will be the centrepieces of mid-to-late-game fleets. The Millennium has two turreted plasma batteries, with a high rate of fire, damage, and range. The Warlord replaces one plasma battery with a much more accurate heavy laser. These ships can dominate enemy fleets but are expensive and very weak against submarines and aircraft. Don't build one unless you can defend it!

====Colossus/Hive====

A floating air repair pad, anti-nuke, radar, sonar, and miniature fusion reactor. Totally unarmed, so protect them well!

====Atlantis/Zulu====

A floating Big Bertha/Intimidator. The Zulu has a pair of VLRPCs, while the Atlantis drops one in exchange for an anti-aircraft missile launcher and lower price tag.

====Conqueror/Executioner====

The Conqueror and Executioner are significantly weaker than the Millennium or Warlord, but faster and cheaper. The Conqueror's main weapon is a long-range plasma cannon turret, while the Executioner carries a shorter-range but more accurate heavy laser. Both back up their primary weapons with a short-range deck laser, sonar, and depth-charge launcher.

====Valiant/Limiter====

A mine-layer submarine. Subject to the same limitations as the Podger/Spoiler.

====Ranger/Messenger====

A sea-borne version of the Merl/Diplomat, with correspondingly increased range and damage. Useful for attacking enemy structures or stationary ships. Also sports a radar and anti-air missile launcher.

====Grim Reaper/Death Cavalry====

A resurrection submarine, capable of resurrecting dead units if their wreckage hasn't been reclaimed or taken too much damage.

====Escort/Phantom====

Radar jamming ships. Useful if your opponent doesn't have sonar, or in combination with a sonar-jamming unit.

====Pirannah/Shark====

Submarines designed for fighting other submarines. Weaker but much faster than the Lurker/Snake, their torpedoes home, are longer-range, and do significantly more damage - enough to destroy a Lurker/Snake in a single hit.

====Epoch/Black Hydra====

Basically a floating Krogoth/Orcone. Useful in the same circumstances. Well-protected against air and surface units, weak against submarines.

====Serpent/Leviathan====

Heavy submarines, with more health than the lighter submarines and much bigger weapons. Both have homing torpedoes. The Leviathan has slightly more range and damage, while the Serpent fires faster.

====Viking/Cronus====

Short-range artillery ships, with weak, inaccurate, rapid-fire plasma cannons. Intended for cheap bombardment of shore targets and floating structures.

==Hovercraft==

Hovercraft are tanks that can travel over land or water. They're generally more lightly armed and can take less damage than regular tanks, and are more expensive and take longer to build. They also can't compete with ships at surface combat on the open water. They are, however, excellent on "swampy" maps, with interspersed water and land.

===Common Lvl 1 Hovercraft===

====Mausser/Navarone====

A hovercraft version of the Luger/Pillager, but with a shorter range and less damage.

====Swatter/Slinger====

An anti-air hovercraft. Carries a homing missile launcher that can only attack airborne targets.

====Anaconda/Snapper====

The hovercraft main battle tank. Both carry a medium-range plasma cannon. Neither can stand up to proper tanks or ships, but they're very good for quick attacks over small bodies of water.

====Wombat/Nixer====

A hovercraft with a vertically-launched artillery rocket. Very similar to the Merl/Diplomat, but with a shorter range, faster fire rate, and lower damage.

====Skimmer/Scrubber====

A fast-moving scout hovercraft with a short-range laser. Useful for spotting for larger, tougher hovercraft.

====Bear/Turtle====

Transport hovercraft that can carry other units over both water and land. Medium speed, but very tough.

==Seaplanes==

Aircraft that can be built from a floating factory, and can take off and land from the water. (Though this is currently broken.) These effectively form the tier 3 of aircraft. While the ranks of seaplanes do not include units like Krows or Krogoths, they are far more cost effective, more powerful, generally nimbler, faster, and so on. Seaplane factories can only be built on the water by Advanced Construction Submarines and Aircraft

===Common Lvl 1 Seaplanes===

====Seahawk/Hunter====

Recon seaplane. Quick and nimble but very weak. Totally unarmed, but carries both a sonar and radar. Very useful for spotting for naval forces. Carries flares to help protect it against guided missiles.

====Tornado/Voodoo====

Basic fighter seaplane. Similar to the Hawk/Vamp, but not stealthy and with a less powerful air-to-air missile. Although they will generally lose to a Hawk/Vamp in a head-to-head fight, they are far less expensive and faster to build.

====Albatross/Typhoon====

Basic naval attack seaplane, with an air-to-air guided missile launcher and a pair of powerful homing torpedo launchers. While it can protect itself against aircraft, it's not very good in a dogfight.

====Sabre/Cutlass====

Basic ground attack seaplane. About the same general power level as a Brawler/Rapier, but slightly more cost-effective, quick, and nimble. The Sabre has a fast-firing heavy laser, while the Cutlass has a slower-firing but more powerful riot cannon with a large area of effect.

====Tsunami/Maelstrom====

Seaplane equivalent of the Phoenix/Hurricane. Uses the same bombs, but lacks the air-to-air missile launcher, and not quite as maneuverable. Effective in the same roles, and also possibly effective against slower ships.

Back to [[Absolute Annihilation]]

[[Category:Mods]]
[[Category:Units]]

Category:Mods

2006-05-02T07:56:07Z

Maelstrom: Added E&E

<center>'''TASClient Compatible Mods'''</center>
{| border="2" cellpadding="4" cellspacing="0" style="margin: 1em 1em 1em 0; background: #f9f9f9; border: 1px #aaa solid; border-collapse: collapse;"
|align="center" width="245"|[[Absolute_Annihilation|Absolute Annihilation]]
|align="center" width="245"|[[EvoTA|OTA + Evo + better BPs]]
|align="center" width="245"|[[Expand & Exterminate]]
|-
|align="center"|[[Final Frontier]]
|align="center"|[[KuroTA|KuroTA]]
|align="center"|[[Nanoblobs]]
|-
|align="center"|[[SWTA|Star Wars TA]]
|align="center"|[[SpiderPack|Spider Pack]]
|align="center"|[[TA-WD|TA: World Domination]]
|-
|align="center"|[[The Lost Legacy]]
|align="center"|[[UberHack|UberHack]]
|align="center"|[[Xect vs. Mynn]]
|-
|
|align="center"|[[XTA|XTA]]
|
|}

[[Category:Content]]

Mods

2006-05-02T07:52:38Z

Maelstrom:

{{lang | Germany | Mods (de) | Mods}}

If you're interested in editing mods or creating your own mods, see the [[Mod Development]] page.

===TASClient-Compatible Mods===

Mods constitute additions to the game that change the way it works. The following mods adhere to the official [[Mod_specification]] which ensures that they work with the lobby Client for mod switching.

{{Category:Mods}}

====Gimick Mods====
I couldn't find a good place for the Chess Mod, so basically it get's it's own section until someone else makes another mini-mod or non-combat mod or whatever.

[[Chess Mod]]

===Mods in production===

Mods not yet released but actively being worked on...
* [[1943|Spring 1943]]
* [[GEM|Galactic Empire Mod]]
* [[Gundam_Annihilation]]
* [[AATA|Axis & Allies - WWII mod (ported from TA)]]
* [[Galaxy 662]]
* [[WH - F]]

==="Crude" and/or Incomplete Mods===

There are also some crude mods (because they don't follow the official format or include different versions of the spring executable) and Incomplete projects that have not yet made public releases. You can download many of the following other, partially functioning Mods from: [http://www.fileuniverse.com/?page=listing&ID=92 File Universe]:

* [[Battletech]]
* [[CZTA]] by Guessmyname
* DM45Spring.exe
* [[Epic 40000]]
* Lego Spring-Still under discussion/development
* [[MAD TA]] Buildpics for Spring
* [[MiniSpring]] (Actually a code modification, abandoned.)
* [[OTAR-EVAMP]]
* [[Project Ragnarok]]
* [[Rhyoss]] for Spring
* [[UTASP]] 5 Spring

=== See also ===
* [http://www.fileuniverse.com/?page=listing&ID=92 File Universe] link
* "[http://www.tauniverse.com/forum/showthread.php?s=&postid=435292#post435292 Mods, Races, TCs, Unit Packs]" entry in the [http://www.tauniverse.com tauniverse.com] forum

[[Category:Mods]] [[Category:Content]]

Template:CurrentVersion

2006-05-02T05:26:48Z

Maelstrom: Updated version

0.71b1

Community news

2006-05-01T06:41:34Z

Maelstrom: /* 2006-05-01 Modweb Generator v0.4 Released */ Added some new news

On this page, you can post news items that will be seen in the top right section of the frontpage. You can use this to post if you have created or found something of interest to the Spring community, such as a new map, a useful tool or perhaps a new useful page in the wiki. Details on how to update this page can be found [[Community_news_editing | here]].

----

===2006-05-01 Modweb Generator v0.4 Released===
[http://taspring.clan-sy.com/phpbb/viewtopic.php?t=3842 Get it here!]
This will create a set of HTML pages about your mod, units, and weapons. Check it out.

===2006-04-18 Expand and Exterminate .151 Released!===
[http://tinyurl.com/pmrhf Get it here!]
Completely original mod, not based on OTA!

===2006-04-18 OTAI 1.13===
Minor Changes and Bugfixes.
[http://www.fileuniverse.com/?p=showitem&ID=2994 DLLs] [http://www.fileuniverse.com/?p=showitem&ID=2993 Source]

===2006-04-17 AAI 0.63 released===
Minor improvements but a lot of bugfixes :)
[http://taspring.clan-sy.com/phpbb/viewtopic.php?p=70404#70404 Look here].

===2006-04-16 Xect vs. Mynn v0.6 released, 100% legal===
[http://www.ta-spring.com/mods/xectvsmynn/ Get it here],
[http://taspring.clan-sy.com/phpbb/viewtopic.php?t=3005&postdays=0&postorder=asc&start=80 discuss it here].

===2006-04-15 XTA Pimped Edition V5.5===
[http://tinyurl.com/p4mtc Read and Grab it here!]

===2006-04-10 AAI 0.60 released===
Experimental water support, linux support and a lot more... [http://taspring.clan-sy.com/phpbb/viewtopic.php?t=4509 Look here]

===2006-04-05 FF v1.15===
New Version of Final Frontier [http://tinyurl.com/q3u3e Here]

===2006-03-30 OTAI v1.12===
With working command buffering [http://tinyurl.com/e8fuh Here]

===2006-03-27 XTA Pimped Edition V5===
[http://tinyurl.com/kr95f Grab it here].

===2006-03-26 NTai XE7.5 Skirmish AI===
[http://www.darkstars.co.uk/ Get it here]. - AF

===NanoBlobs 0.31(beta)===
Exponential game design. Updated. Smaller. Faster. Even cooler. Get it [http://taspring.clan-sy.com/phpbb/viewtopic.php?t=4276 Here]

===2006-03-06 OTAI 1.10===
Now works in 0.70, fixed nanostall somewhat. Get it [http://taspring.clan-sy.com/phpbb/viewtopic.php?t=3412 Here]

===2006-02-25 AAI 0.55===
A rather small release mainly adding support for the modified ai interface [http://taspring.clan-sy.com/phpbb/viewtopic.php?t=3886 get it here].

===2006-02-25 NTAI XE6 for 0.70b1 Skirmish AI===
Universal mod support, statistical unit learning, freeform buildtrees [http://www.darkstars.co.uk/index.php Get them here]. - AF

===2006-02-19 AAI 0.52===
AAI 0.52 is only a small bugfix release [http://taspring.clan-sy.com/phpbb/viewtopic.php?t=3886 get it here].

===2006-02-13 Absolute Annihilation 1.44===
AA 1.44 completed and uploaded.[http://www.planetannihilation.com/aa AA Homepage].
.
[[SWTA]] [[Final_Frontier]] [[Absolute_Annihilation]]

===2006-2-19 AAI 0.52 Released===
AAI 0.52 is only a small bugfix release for AAI 0.5 - hopefully all crashes are gone now
[http://taspring.clan-sy.com/phpbb/viewtopic.php?t=3886 click here].

===2006-2-15 NTAI XE 3 Released===
XE 3 has support map specific build data, 9 new keywords, StarWars/Gundam support, numerous fixes, and should run a lot faster ^^ [http://www.darkstars.co.uk/index.php here]. - AF

===2006-02-13 Absolute Annihilation 1.44 Released===
AA 1.44 completed and uploaded. Readme and changelog available at the [http://www.planetannihilation.com/aa AA Homepage].

===2006-2-06 OTAI 1.08 Released===
Now uses multithreading to reduce freezing!
[http://taspring.clan-sy.com/phpbb/viewtopic.php?p=55624#55624 Forum] [http://www.fileuniverse.com/?p=showitem&ID=2354 Download]

===2006-02-01 World Domination 5B62 Released===
This version fixes the crashes related to missing .cob-files.
Download [http://www.fileuniverse.com/?p=showitem&ID=2311 here].

===2006-1-31 Star Wars Spring Manual Released===
[http://spring.clan-sy.com/wiki/SWTA_Manual Read the SWS Manual right now!] It contains everything you would ever want to know about SWS, including: Installation Guide, In-Depth Unit Guide as well as a Strategy & Tactics section.

===2006-1-27 OTAI 1.07 Released===
Veylon released OTAI version 1.07. Now builds Dragon's Teeth and crashes less!
Download [http://www.geocities.com/veylon_ii/TASpring/ here].

===2006-11-19 UpSpring Tutorial Released===
Maestro R Setiawan released [http://tinyurl.com/cd25b a very comprehensive tutorial] to UpSpring, the application to import new models to Spring. Now you won't have any excuse to not use UV mapped S3O!

===2006-01-16 NTAI 0.29a Released===
NTAI 0.29a released, go get it here [http://taspring.clan-sy.com/phpbb/viewtopic.php?p=50716#50716 Download]

===2006-01-16 Absolute Annihilation 1.42 Released===
AA 1.42 completed and uploaded. Readme and changelog available at the [http://www.planetannihilation.com/aa AA Homepage].

[http://prdownloads.sourceforge.net/ta-aa/AASpring142.zip?download Download] (9 mb)

===2006-01-12 AAI 0.4 Released===
AAI 0.4 now supports air units as well as construction units assisting others.
Edit: Small Bugfix Version AAI 0.42 released
[http://taspring.clan-sy.com/phpbb/viewtopic.php?t=3527 AAI v0.42].

===2006-1-07 Gundam Annihilation 0.98.sd7 Released===
This is a .sd7 for your spring lobby usage. I have corrected a few of the spring specific bugs in this release. Enjoy. [http://www.planetannihilation.com/gundam/ Gundam annihilation homepage]

[http://www.planetannihilation.com/gundam/shots/screen039.jpg http://www.planetannihilation.com/gundam/shots/screen039_thumb.gif] [http://www.planetannihilation.com/gundam/shots/screen012.jpg http://www.planetannihilation.com/gundam/shots/screen012_thumb.gif]

===2005-12-15 AAI 0.3 Released===
AAI 0.3 includes a lot of bug fixes and placement of defence buildings. [http://taspring.clan-sy.com/phpbb/viewtopic.php?t=3195 AAI v0.3].

===2005-12-14 Absolute Annihilation 1.35 Released===
AA 1.35 completed and uploaded. Readme and changelog available at the [http://www.planetannihilation.com/aa AA Homepage].

[http://prdownloads.sourceforge.net/ta-aa/AASpring135.zip?download Download] (16 mb)

===2005-12-13 OTAI 1.03b Released===
A fixed version of OTAI 1.03 now available.

[http://taspring.clan-sy.com/phpbb/viewtopic.php?t=3184 Forum Thread]
[http://www.geocities.com/veylon_ii/TASpring/OTAI_v103b.zip Download]

===2005-12-13 The Lost Legacy v1.04 Released===
The Lost Legacy Race, originally by M3G, ported to Spring by NOiZE.

This is the TA:Spring version of the masterpiece race created by the TA creation veterans M3G and Nik. Striving for perfection, they have completed an astoundishing number of 150 new units. This is by far the most expanded and carefully balanced race that has been created to this point. Explore the strategic values of the new submarine pens, defensive constructions and the many supersized monsters that let you toy with the opponent.

[http://taspring.clan-sy.com/phpbb/viewtopic.php?t=2860 Forum Thread]
[http://www.fileuniverse.com/?p=showitem&ID=1967 Download]

===2005-12-07 Star Wars: Spring 1.0 Released===
The well known Star Wars TC for TA has been ported to Spring.

One of the most complete TCs that existed for TA has now been fully ported to Spring - all of the bugs that plagued the quick and dirty earlier port have been fixed. Some balancing issues that came up in Spring has also been taken care of, along with a few other minor modifications, to ensure that this modification is made specifically for the Spring engine, so that you can enjoy it as such. Furthermore, many of the uglier low-polygon units for SWTA have been remodelled for Spring, so that you can now enjoy high-poly infantry units, as well as a few other vehecular changes.

Feel free to come join us on our own chat channel (itself a good 5 years old), where you can organise games, discuss balance, and report bugs:

Server: irc.gnug.org

Channel: #SWTA

An in-depth manual, with help regarding strategies and unit descriptions can be located [http://www.planetannihilation.com/swta/readme.asp here], however, bear in mind that while much of this will be very helpful, it was originally intended for the Original Total Annihilation release, and so is not 100% accurate or reliable with regards to the Spring release. A Spring-specific manual is in the works.

SWS features around 130 units ranging from all six movies and the expanded universe for the Galactic Empire and Rebel Alliance. Join this galaxy spanning war today, download SWS!

[http://taspring.clan-sy.com/phpbb/viewtopic.php?t=3166 Forum Thread]
[http://www.fileuniverse.com/?p=showitem&ID=1988 Download]
[http://www.planetannihilation.com/swta/ SWTA Homepage]

===2005-12-07 The Lost Legacy v1.03 Released===
The Lost Legacy Race, originally by M3G, ported to Spring by NOiZE.

This is the TA:Spring version of the masterpiece race created by the TA creation veterans M3G and Nik. Striving for perfection, they have completed an astoundishing number of 150 new units. This is by far the most expanded and carefully balanced race that has been created to this point. Explore the strategic values of the new submarine pens, defensive constructions and the many supersized monsters that let you toy with the opponent.

[http://taspring.clan-sy.com/phpbb/viewtopic.php?t=2860 Forum Thread]
[http://www.fileuniverse.com/?p=showitem&ID=1967 Download]

===2005-12-05 NTAI 0.28.10+ installer FIXED)===
Counter attacking, and numrous fixes, modifications. All who've downlaoded it redownload as I made a terrible mistake copying the wrong files over. - Alantai

[http://www.fileuniverse.com/?p=showitem&ID=1950 Download Installer]
[http://img479.imageshack.us/img479/8186/screen0121oq.jpg Screenshot]

===2005-12-01 NTAI 0.28Beta 7 Released===
Working Attack code, vastly improved building, Xect, Rhyoss, Mynn, TLL, XTA and AA support. - Alantai

[http://www.fileuniverse.com/?p=showitem&ID=1909 Download]
[http://img479.imageshack.us/img479/8186/screen0121oq.jpg Screenshot]

===2005-12-01 OTAI for 0.67 Released===
Veylons latest installment of OTAI, with a slew of improovements.
[http://www.geocities.com/veylon_ii/TASpring/OTAI_v102.zip Downlaod]

===2005-11-11 Cursor groupAI Released===
Show Allies what untis you have selected and where your mouse cursor is.

[http://www.fileuniverse.com/?p=showitem&ID=1873 Link]
[http://img479.imageshack.us/img479/8186/screen0121oq.jpg Screenshot]

(This is a new version from beta 6.5 released yesterday)

===2005-11-12 NTAI 028BETA 7.1 Released===
Full ARM + TLL support, and improved attacking.

[http://www.fileuniverse.com/?p=showitem&ID=1887 Linky]
[http://www.fileuniverse.com/?p=showimage&ID=1755 Screenshot]

(This is a new version from beta 6.5 released yesterday)

===2005-11-12 - NTAI 0.27 Released===
Water map support, krogoths, vehicles, aircraft, and more!
[http://taspring.clan-sy.com/phpbb/viewtopic.php?t=2829 Details]
[http://taspring.clan-sy.com/phpbb/viewtopic.php?t=2827 Screenshots]

===2005-10-29 - NTAI 0.25 Released===
The latest version of NTAI released today with many new abilities, such as a greatly improved attack system, and the ability to scout.

[http://taspring.clan-sy.com/phpbb/viewtopic.php?t=2687 Forum Thread]

===2005-10-20 - Absolute Annihilation: Spring Released===
The highly popular OTA mod, Absolute Annihilation, has now been fully converted for compatibility with Spring. Unlike the original Spring version released some months ago, the new version is fully compatible with the mod switching system. It also features many visual and strategic enhancements only possible in Spring, and uses the latest version of the AA dataset, 6.0.

Already a new version is available, 1.25, which corrects several major bugs.

[http://files.filefront.com/AASpring125zip/;4417183;;/fileinfo.html Direct Download (1.25)]

[http://prdownloads.sourceforge.net/ta-aa/AATrailer.zip?download Mod Trailer]

[http://www.planetannihilation.com/aa AA Homepage]

[http://taspring.clan-sy.com/phpbb/viewtopic.php?t=2633 Forum Thread]

===2005-10-16 - KuroTA v0.45 Released===
This is the second public release of this fairly popular mod. It all started out as a bunch of custom units in a TA installation from years gone by, but thanks to dedication it's been turned into a playable and fairly balanced mod for everyone to play on Spring. For more info at [http://taspring.clan-sy.com/phpbb/viewtopic.php?t=2514 read this thread]. And it can be downloaded from [http://www.fileuniverse.com/?p=showitem&ID=1646 FileUniverse].

===2005-10-15 - UberHack, SpringVersion1.3 Released===
This port of the famous balance mod for TA, done by NOiZE, has been made as good as bug free now. This mod would not have been possible without help from: zwzsg, Gnome and Kuroneko. For more info at [http://taspring.clan-sy.com/phpbb/viewtopic.php?t=2540 read this thread]. And it can be downloaded from [http://www.fileuniverse.com/?p=showitem&ID=1633 FileUniverse].

===2005-10-12 - Maelstroms SMD Creator===
[http://taspring.clan-sy.com/phpbb/viewtopic.php?t=2420 Maelstroms SMD Creator] has been relesed, to help people create SMD Map files with an easy to use GUI.

===2005-10-11 - JCAI 0.20 Released===
[http://spring.clan-sy.com/phpbb/viewtopic.php?p=33275#33275 JCAI 0.20 skirmish AI] is released for Spring 0.64b1 with a modified spring exe, it is much more stable now. JCAI 0.20 is included in current release (0.65b1)

===2005-09-28 - UberHack, SpringVersion1.2 Released===
This port of the famous balance mod for TA, done by NOiZE, has been made as good as bug free now. This mod would not have been possible without help from: zwzsg, Gnome and Kuroneko. For more info at [http://spring.clan-sy.com/phpbb/viewtopic.php?t=2364 read this thread]. And it can be downloaded from [http://www.fileuniverse.com/?p=showitem&ID=1552 FileUniverse].

===2005-08-20 - wiki Button Added===
As you probably already have noticed, the SY's have added a wiki button (Made by aGorm) to the Navigation bar. Hopefully, this will make people more aware of the wiki, as some have never even heard of it! More info on [http://taspring.clan-sy.com/phpbb/viewtopic.php?t=1917 this thread]. If you don't see the wiki button, empty the cache of your browser and refresh.

===2005-08-16 - JCAI Released===
Zaphod has released alpha 1 of his skirmish AI JCAI for spring,[http://taspring.clan-sy.com/phpbb/viewtopic.php?t=1920 see forum post]
TAI code has been released but doesnt work. [http://www.fileuniverse.com/?p=showitem&ID=1322 Get it here]

===2005-08-03 - Mods and Maps===
zwzsg made a 3.6MB mod package with: OTA balance, Evolva models, UTASP Buildpics. Install and use easy thanks to the new mod switcher introduced in Spring 0.60b1.
 - [http://spring.clan-sy.com/phpbb/viewtopic.php?t=1843 More info and discussion]
 - [http://www.fileuniverse.com/?p=showitem&ID=1257 Download link]

[http://zwzsg.hosted.luckz.de/img/spring/Azure%20Rampart%20-%20evnbp%20-%20Bomber.png http://www.fileuniverse.com/images/Azure%20Rampart%20-%20evnbp%20-%20Bomber.jpg-thumb.png][http://www.fileuniverse.com/images/Ahspen%20-%20evnbp%20-%20Tanks%20Tracks.jpg http://www.fileuniverse.com/images/Ahspen%20-%20evnbp%20-%20Tanks%20Tracks.jpg-thumb.png][http://www.fileuniverse.com/images/RedHaven%20-%20evnbp%20-%20Core.jpg http://www.fileuniverse.com/images/RedHaven%20-%20evnbp%20-%20Core.jpg-thumb.png][http://www.fileuniverse.com/images/causticscreenshot.jpg http://www.fileuniverse.com/images/causticscreenshot.jpg-thumb.png]

Spring 0.60b1 made all previous maps obsolete, but as the pictures above show, there's a steadily increasing [http://www.fileuniverse.com/?p=listing&ID=121 choice of new maps], either old ones converted to the new format or brand new.

Talk:Front Page

2006-04-23T14:00:15Z

Maelstrom: Reply to Fnordia

Wahaay, IÃ‚Â´ve finally put my proposed page to the front :D .
Hey, if anybody has questions about editing the main page, please shoot away! I know that the table syntax is somewhat daunting at first, but its relatively easy actually. Go have a look [http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Help:Table here] if you have some time. --[[User:SeanHeron|SeanHeron]] 16:01, 15 Apr 2006 (W. Europe Daylight Time)

----

Hmm, although I changed it myself, I think the [[Ideas for the Main Page|"old" design]] is nicer after all. Also the syntax is slightly more simple so unexperienced wiki users may be more invited to play around with it. Maybe a mix of both designs would be best...
Please criticize what you like, and dislike about the different designs (and feel free to go ahead and make some design ideas of your own) -- [[User:SeanHeron|SeanHeron]] 12:43, 17 Apr 2006 (W. Europe Daylight Time)

----

As others mentioned on the Forums, this page design looks like it might be good for the main site front page, but isn't really good for the ''Wiki'' front-page. That said, the old Wiki front page could use a bit of a redesign. Right now, it's not really obvious what a newbie wants to read, and the categories seem a little arbitrary. Perhaps a better set would be:

Spring (Read Me First, Getting Started, Using Spring, Spring On A LAN, Strategy and Tactics, Features, FAQ, Spring Project, Related Software) - Also might be worth changing "Related Software" to, say, "Lobby Clients", since there appear to be a bunch in development.

Community (Clans, King Titles, Mods, Maps, Monthly Topic Rotation, Add to the Wiki)

Modding (Mod Development, Unit Development, Create Units, Create Maps,
Map, Mod, And Unit Development Programs)

Development (Source Development, Linux, Mac, AI)

It could be split into two rows, one for Spring and Community, one for Modding and Development.

Thoughts?

--[[User:Egarwaen|Egarwaen]] 20:40, 17 Apr 2006 (W. Europe Daylight Time)

----

I moved the "original" main page back here, and main page to front page. Since this is the main page of the wiki this makes more sense to me, and then I don't have to change any links. :) http://taspring.clan-sy.com/index2.php is a w.i.p of a frontpage using [[Front Page]] as a source for the header. I'm not sure the talk pages are matching anymore though, perhaps some wiki master could take a look at it :)
--[[User:Fnordia|Fnordia]] 15:53, 23 Apr 2006 (W. Europe Daylight Time)
:Its looking good. You still have to properly implement the Community News (Just replace {{Template:Community_News}} with the community news), but apart from that I cant see a problem at all.
:
:Should the page be protected so random vandals dont come in and destroy it? Its not a problem now, but in the future it might be.
:
: --[[User:Maelstrom|Maelstrom]] 16:00, 23 Apr 2006 (W. Europe Daylight Time)

User:AF

2006-04-06T06:45:10Z

Maelstrom: Reverted edit of GatoChulo, changed back to last version by Willieturnip

== '''This is a page on AF. He is an AI maker. Who has lots of cookies. ''' ==

AF King of cookies!!!!!

Remeber:

Cookies over tastyness = Yum

And cookies have a use! Dont abuse the cookies or you'll miss out when all is revealed

willieturnip : king of cabbage patch cookies xD, "all hail AF!"

Absolute Annihilation

2006-03-18T11:04:48Z

Maelstrom: /* Links */ Fixed the link up

<center>'''Absolute Annihilation is distinct, being closer to classic TA than to XTA. The idea behind the mod is to imagine what TA might be like if it was still being patched and a new unit released every week.'''</center>



===Overview===
[[Image:SpringAA.jpg|thumb|200px|right|A few of the larger units in AA]]
With 375 balanced units, Absolute Annihilation, or AA, is the single most-downloaded Total Annihilation units pack. Now AA has been ported to Spring and takes advantage of this new engine's every feature. It is based on [[UberHack]] and so attempts to rebalance TA without rearranging the buildtree as radically as XTA has. However whereas UberHack added only a few extra units, AA incorporates many new units including some of the more impressive new units concocted by the ever-creative TA community.

AA is under constant development, spurred on by its small but highly active community following, and [http://taspring.clan-sy.com/phpbb/profile.php?mode=viewprofile&u=107 Caydr], who heads up the development. Units are subject to frequent and sometimes brutal tweaking and pruning. AA contains new factories, units, resource buildings, sneaky defensive structures and an array of massive "experimental" units for brutalizing the enemy's base.

Players new to the mod should be warned that some old units [[Image:pano2.jpg|thumb|200px|right|Ridiculously huge image depicting every unit in AA]]now fill new roles, while some are more (or less) effective than they were in classic TA as of the 3.1c patch.

AA:Spring is based mostly on version 6.0 of the OTA mod. Now that development of AA for Total Annihilation has largely ceased, the mod's developer is working hard on developing Spring-based versions incorporating all of the engine's advanced features.

===Strategy===
Absolute Annihilation is a modification of TA. Therefore, the same basic strategies and tactics that good TA players utilize are also utilized by good AA players. Although AA is a very complex modification, some important points to remember are:

# Expand whenever possible, because "porcing" (building nothing but defense) isn't a very good strategy in AA. Moho metal extractors give greater income than in most other mods, rewarding players who can control the largest area of the map.
# The best defence is a good offense. Make sure you are able to quickly respond to the unexpected by keeping a standing army even when you make an all-out attack.
# Beware of AA's "superweapons". Each side has a unique aircraft, ship, and experimental kbot. Annihilators and Doomsday Machines are great for defending against Krogoths and Orcones. Mercuries and Screamers are the best for defending against Liche atomic bombers, while Krow gunships are most vulnerable to advanced fighters. Finally, heavy subs or an extremely powerful navy are the best way to defend against Epochs and Black Hydras.

The actual units present in AA aren't so important; it takes little time to learn what they all do. The key to victory lies in utilizing them effectively. Always keep the above points in mind when playing, and above all, practice. Even if you lose, ask the person to whom you lost what you did wrong and right. Study replays involving experienced players to see what tricks they use.

=== Links ===
*'''[http://prdownloads.sourceforge.net/ta-aa/AASpring144.zip?download Download Absolute Annihilation (version 1.44)]''' (15 mb)
*[http://prdownloads.sourceforge.net/ta-aa/AATrailer.zip?download Mod Trailer] (14 mb)
*[http://www.planetannihilation.com/aa AA Homepage]
*[[Absolute Annihilation/Units|Unit Guide (work in progress)]]
[[Image:groupshot4.jpg|thumb|700px|center|Hey look! Another freakishly huge picture!]]

Back to [[Mods]]

[[Category:Mods]] [[Category:Strategy]]
{{Category:Mods}}

Read Me First

2006-03-08T11:06:17Z

Maelstrom: /* Installation */ Added {{CurrentVersion}} tag.

<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 talanted 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]].

SetupGuide

2006-03-03T03:07:42Z

Maelstrom: More wikifiing. Note that 's will be automatically changed to by the wiki software, so no need to change them

== Linux Setup Guide ==
* If you're running [http://www.gentoo.org Gentoo linux], you're lucky, because [http://download.berlios.de/taspring-linux/taspring-linux-svn-ebuild-0.67-r3.tar.bz2 an ebuild is already available]. If not, a short walk-trough to compile, run and debug spring on provided below.

* In short, to get spring compiled under linux, make sure you've got all necessary development packages installed. On [http://www.ubuntu.com/ (K)Ubuntu linux], and maybe [http://www.debian.org/ Debian] too, this can be done by copying the following in a root terminal (or use the graphical package manager Synaptic or Adept if you can't stand commandline): <code>apt-get install build-essential subversion scons libsdl-dev libopenal-dev libglew-dev libboost-dev libboost-thread-dev libboost-filesystem-dev libboost-regex-dev libdevil-dev libfreetype6-dev</code> For any other distribution, grab these libraries and the base development packages too (for Gentoo, base development packages aren't needed, because everything is compiled from source: they're already installed). I've no clue about RPM based distros. But [http://www.google.com google] is your friend.

* To grab the sourcecode from SVN (using commandline SVN), refer to [https://developer.berlios.de/svn/?group_id=4358 this berlios page about SVN]. Use one of the two anonymous checkout methods (upper two) unless you're a spring developer (but in that case you wouldn't be reading this, right?).

* To compile the sourcecode, switch to the trunk directory created by the svn checkout in the previous step. Then type: <code>scons configure</code> to configure the build. (You can fine tune the build by passing options to this command [for enabling debugging/optimizing etc.]. Type <code>scons --help</code> to view the available options.) Now, if you really installed all development package, the scons configure will output: "Everything seems OK. Run `scons' now to build.". If it outputs with an error you're probably missing a development package.

* As instructed on end of previous step, type: <code>scons</code> Spring will now build including [[NTAI]], [[JCAI]] and a few [[GroupAI]]s. You should end up with a file <code>trunk/game/spring</code> (the executable) and some shared objects (SOs or DLLs) in <code>trunk/game/aidll</code>

* Now, grab [https://developer.berlios.de/project/showfiles.php?group_id=4358 the linux data tarball from berlios] and extract it somewhere (or use your windows datafiles for this step if you can acces them from linux).
* <code>mkdir</code> (make directories) the following directories and put respectively the base files, the mod file(s) and your map file(s) in it. Note that you now also need the newes [[XTA]] -> [http://fileuniverse.com/?p=showitem&ID=2372 XTA Pimped Edition], because the default mod changed in SVN.
** <code>game/base</code>
** <code>game/maps</code>
** <code>game/mods</code>

* Now run spring by <code>cd</code>'ing (change dir) to the <code>trunk/game</code> directory and typing: <code>./spring</code> If you've compiled with debugging enabled, you might want to run inside gdb to provide the devs with a backtrace if spring crashes: <code>gdb ./spring</code>
** Basic commands inside gdb are:
*** <code>'''r'''un</code> - Run the program (spring)
*** <code>'''bt'''</code> - Print a backtrace
*** <code>'''q'''uit</code> - Quit
*** <code>'''help'''</code> - This one's important

* Be happy!

Even a tip: If spring hangs/crashes while in full screen mode, you can press ctrl+alt+backspace to restart X, so no need for a reboot.

If you really can't figure out how to get spring compiled, or you think there's a bug in the code or the buildsystem...
* just poke any developer on IRC
** channel <code>#taspring</code> on [http://freenode.net/ FreeNode]
** or channel <code>#sy</code> on [http://freenode.net/ QuakeNet]
* post it on the forum
* or file a bug in our [http://taspring.clan-sy.com/mantis/ Bug tracking system].

Talk:FAQ

2006-03-03T03:02:09Z

Maelstrom: /* Races Limit */

-DonÃ‚Â´t Cheats still work in Multiplayer as well ? (SeanHeron)

-If someone actually reads this: '''this is the place to discuss opinions''' (like why there is no left click option), not the FAQ page itself.
So if you want to express yourself do that, together with your username, here. (SeanHeron)

'''Before deleting part of the FAQ'''

Please justify here why you perform the deletion, else deletions should be regarded as Wiki vandalism. (el muchacho)
Ex., deletions performed by 84.4.107.252 on Jun, 18 2005

== Races Limit ==
Re [http://taspring.clan-sy.com/w/index.php?title=FAQ&oldid=2487#Does_Spring_have_a_limit_on_the_number_of_races.3F Hohers edit] questioning if races really are unlimited, technically they are not. The amount of races possible will be limited by the memory of the computer. But I seriously doubt any logical mod will be able to excede this limit, so for all practical uses, the race limit is unlimited. Also, if you want to add a comment like that, add it in the talk page so we can discuss it. --[[User:Maelstrom|Maelstrom]]

I'm aware, that there is a memory limit when we talk about "unlimited" here, but what got me confused is that in the "mods"-forumsome people (can't find the posts right now) are referring to a 2-race limit (ARM/CORE). So i suspect they mean the limit in the original TA and i can use e.g. Xect+Mynn+Arm+Core all in the same mod in Spring (especially Multiplayer)? --[[User:Hoehrer|Hoehrer]] 13:37, 2 Mar 2006 (W. Europe Standard Time)

That limit is in OTA, and used to be in Spring. But it has been removed for quite a few versions now. Any talk in the forums about a 2 race limit is now incorrect. See the TLL mod NOiZE ported for a example of three races. And yes, it works fine in multiplayer. But now I think about it, I seem to recal a limit of 16 teams, mabey only for the lobby. But 16 teams is enough anyways. Why dont you test it and find out? --[[User:Maelstrom|Maelstrom]] 04:02, 3 Mar 2006 (W. Europe Standard Time)

Talk:FAQ

2006-03-02T11:04:49Z

Maelstrom: Races Limit

FAQ

2006-03-02T10:57:15Z

Maelstrom: Reverted edit of Hoehrer, changed back to last version by Willieturnip

==General information==

===What is Spring?===
Spring is a project to create the best RTS ever (no joke). There are three principle goals which we hope to achieve.

# Reach a stage where TA Spring can flawlessly execute most of Total Annihilation's original gameplay, with its original units in their original format.
# Add new features as we see fit, fix bugs, and release new versions when we feel it is appropriate to do so.
# Support the mod community as we see fit.
# Improving the already fine original TA Interface in a way that the Players will have more tatctical Options, more Control, more Comfort and still don`t get lost, as long as they are willing to learn.

The goals might need an update.. -- Tim Blokdijk

===When will Spring be ready?===
Now! You can get the latest beta from the [http://taspring.clan-sy.com/download.php download page].

===Is Spring free?===
The core game is released under GPL License. However, some parts of the game are still under copyright by their owners. Therefore, today, you need to own the original TA game if you want to play. However the community is working hard in order to offer completely free alternatives.

===Why can I edit this page?===
This page, and several others, are located in the Spring [http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Wiki Wiki]. The link gives a full explanation of what it is, but in short it is a way of letting anyone who wants to contribute to the page content. This can of course be abused, but even while it is easy for someone to vandalise the page, it is just as easy for someone to restore it, since the wiki saves all previous versions of a page.

===Why can't I edit this page?===
You need to be [[Special:Userlogin|logged in]] to edit our wiki because people were vandalizing and/or being morons too much, so they had to lock it down.

===I want to help, what can I do?===
Please look at the Messageboard. There are lots of things you can do according to your skills. Particularly important is to create viable and pleasing free alternatives to copyrighted material, mainly sounds and units.

===I want to donate.===
People have made clear their desire to donate to the project, and so far, we have been fairly reluctant about accepting donations. Our main concern? While we certainly hope to have something on the level of a commercial release in the near future, there is no guarantee that it will ever happen. Unforeseen events arise, and it would be most unfortunate if everyone who donated felt swindled because the project did not turn out as they had hoped.

We do not plan to be more or less productive solely based upon the quantity and frequency of donations received. The Spring project is here only because we view this as an enjoyable hobby.

===I read all that and I still want to donate.===
Very well then! You can find the required details [http://taspring.clan-sy.com/donate.php here]. It will be much appreciated. :)

----

==Technical==

===What port numbers does Spring use?===
Game uses port 8452 UDP by default, which can be changed in the lobby. If you are behind a router, and are having problems hosting, try forwarding the correct port and also make sure the firewall is not blocking it.

===What APIs does Spring use?===
The Windows version of the program (which one might call the official version, or at this point, simply the working version :) ) uses: OpenGL for rendering, DirectSound for sound, and Winsock for networking.

The Linux port, see [[MultiplatformSpring]] with more info below, will use SDL/OpenGL for rendering, OpenAL for sound (which will connect to DirectSound on Windows and OSS or ALSA on Linux), BSD sockets for networking.

===What language is Spring written in?===
The spring game engine is written in C and C++. The Windows lobby client is written in Delphi, the lobby server is java. Another portable lobby is being made in Python.

===Is Spring open source?===
Yes, it is. Go to the [http://taspring.clan-sy.com/download.php downloads] section of the site to download the source code.

===Is there any documentation for the source code===
Yes, doxygen is used to automatically generate the [http://taspring.clan-sy.com/doxygen/ documentation]

==Requirements==

===What platforms will Spring run on?===
At the moment, it only runs on Windows.
Members of the community are working on porting the game to the Linux platform.
This will make the code more portable so if someone wants to port it to another platform please contact us.
We (the Sy) will not, however, port it ourselves at any time (in the foreseeable future). There is simply no compelling reason for us to do so. Additionally, we would like to focus on getting it to work well.

===What sort of a system do I need to run Spring?===
You need a 3D graphics card to run Spring, which will probably require at least a a GeForce4 MX and the latest driver supported. Minimum CPU requirements are a little more complex. A more powerful CPU will have the capability to support larger maps and a greater maximum unit limit. A 1 GHz CPU should be able to support an estimated 500 units. The needed memory will also vary with unit count and map size, but 512 MB should be enough. However, 1024MB you should already have, so it'll run fine.

===Spring says I need the GL_ARB_texture_env_combine extension, what can I do?===
If you encounter the error "Needed extension GL_ARB_texture_env_combine not found", this means that your video card driver does not support GL_ARB_texture_env_combine. You can try downloading a new video driver from the manufacturers website ([www.ati.com], [www.nvidia.com], ...) If this doesn't solve the problem then your video hardware is too old to support the extension. Buy a new video card.

EDIT: I am also having this problem with the geoforce 6800 ultra and I have the latest drivers.

REQUEST : please name some working and non-working 3D video cards. please give a value for minimum video memory : 32 Mo ? 64 Mo ?

ANSWER : its not REALLY a matter of video memory..though 32mb and 64mb are pretty small...i got myself a 128mb and its fine. But its more a question of the gfx cards clock speed. Even if the card had insane memory , lets say for example, 4000gb. If it isnt fast enough to utilise the memory, its fairly pointless. But i geuss, there must be a direct coralation between the memory and clock speed, otherwise the manufacturers need to rethink what theyre doing =D
<3 from willie..lol

List of video cards supposingly supporting GL_ARB_texture_env_combine :

http://www.delphi3d.net/hardware/extsupport.php?extension=GL_ARB_texture_env_combine

----

Spring works in full screen,but cncounters the error "Needed extension GL_ARB_texture_env_combine not found" when i try to run spring.exe in window

==Content==

===Do Spring maps need a "ground"?===
Spring maps do require a ground. We have had many requests to have space maps, however, a "true" (ala Homeworld) space setting is not likely. It would have to wait until a much later stage. This does not mean that TA's style of "space" maps won't be possible, (see the Final Frontier TC for examples of this).

===You stated that Spring uses the TA unit format.===
Spring does use the Total Annihilation unit format. However, we do plan to make Spring compatible with a custom unit format of our own design.

===How powerful will Spring's custom format be?===
Total Annihilation's unit format was extremely limited. Most of these limitations will either be expanded or non-existent in Spring's custom unit format. One of the most exciting improvements is the introduction of an entirely new method of scripting, with nearly complete control over every aspect of a unit's actions and behaviors.

===Does Spring have a limited number of weapons?===
No. Unlike Total Annihilation, Spring's weapon IDs will be unlimited. Meaning it will be possible to add as many third-party units as you want. However, the current model format limits 16 weapons to each unit.

===Does Spring have a limited number of unique units?===
No. Unit IDs, like weapon IDs, will be unlimited.

===Will units have a maximum of 3 unique weapons?===
Total Annihilation had a limitation that permitted a maximum of 3 unique weapons per unit. Spring currently has a way to have 16 weapons per unit. (Replace Primary, Secondary, Tertiary by 1 2 3 ...16). More can be made possible by modifying the source if there's a sufficient demand by mod makers.

===I'm curious as to the per-unit polygon limit.===
The engine itself does not have a polygon count limit. The limit is that of the processing power of today's computers. Since Spring requires a 3D card, the maximum polygon count per unit will be several times higher than Total Annihilation's. That means for your average mod, 300 polygons for common units and 700 for the more expensive ones is quite reasonable. (But don't waste polies unnecessarily!)

===Will units be able to perform basic terraforming?===
Total Annihilation units probably won't have any terrain editable functionality. Future units may be endowed with such functionality, but it's more of a gameplay issue and has not been decided upon yet. However construction units can restore ground, and certain weapons (especially explosive ones) can be used to deform the ground.

===Will tunnel building be possible?===
Subterranean areas of any sort is impossible. However, it is possible to heavily deform the ground with explosives.. Which is great fun!

===Will the ground's water retention be editable?===
No. Water will always collect when a piece of land has a height below sea level.

===Does Spring have a limit on the number of races?===
Spring has no limit on the total number of sides/races.

===What are the sizes of the biggest and smallest units?===
Static units (buildings, defenses, etc.) have no size limitations in the engine. Technically, neither do mobile units, but units with a footprint larger than 4x4 "squares" (an arbitrary size standard created by Cavedog) might have problems pathfinding.

===What is going to be the maximum possible sea depth?===
For all practical purposes, it will be unlimited. The depth values are stored as "float variables", so it is doubtful that maps would ever be made which even come close to approaching the limit.

===Will Spring support campaigns?===
Basic Map scripting has been implemented, using a Lua scripting engine. From that, it would be possible to make a basic campain, but for ease of use a better way of selecting scripts and an improved Single player menu is needed.

===How big are the Spring files?===
Spring will be as small as however much content is included with it. The "essential" files are only be several megabytes large. Content (such as maps and units) will add considerable size to the Spring download. Currently, the file size is roughly 40 MB.

===How will Spring render sound effects?===
Sound is rendered 3D, meaning that the volume and direction (assuming a multi-speaker setup) vary with the location of the camera from the sound "emitter". What this translates into gameplay terms means that the closer you are to a unit making a sound or motion, the louder the sound will be. Additionally, the sound will be heard differently depending on which way the camera is facing relative to units making sound.

===Will Spring have ambient sound?===
There is no ambient sound, and we haven't planned on adding it thus far.

===Will there be an AI or a "skirmish" mode?===
We have created an interface for AI's, and several are currently under development. In the meantime, the spawn script included in the latest version exists as a text file in the Spring folder, and can be modified by any text editor such as MS Notepad, for your particular play style, or mod.

===Will a "possess" or a FPS option be present?===
Yes, it is possible to fully control a unit from the first person view. It is more of a gimmick, but it still allows for a nice diversion once in a while. Instructions on it's use are in the [[Using_Spring#FPS_.22Mode.22_.28C.29|Using Spring]] article.

----

==Getting into a game==

===People talk about 'Single Player'. How do I start a single player game?===
Go into your Spring folder and find the 'Spring.exe' file. Double click on it and say 'yes' to host.

===When I try to make a single player game, it gives me an error.===
Your graphics card probably can't support Spring. If you read the requirements it did say GeForce 3 or better. Go to the settings file in your Spring directory and lower some of the options. Sometimes that works.

===Does Spring support AI Players?===
Yes, see [[AI]] You can also use the [[random_enemies]] script, which spawns units out of thin air and sends them to attack you.

===When I try to connect to the lobby it gives me an error.===
There could be 3 problems. Either you don't have an account, the server is down, or you have not configured your router/firewall correctly. If you don't have an account, make one. If the server is down, you'll just have to wait (this doesn't happen often, though). If you have a router/firewall read below. Have a look at this website's News page and/or the Messageboard, it is likely that you will get some information there in the eventuality that the server is down.

Also make sure that you don't have any spaces in your username.

===I have a router and I don't seem to be able to get a game===

If you are using a router you may have other problems. Explanations of [http://www.portforward.com/routers.htm how to forward ports] has instructions for every router.

===Where can I download more maps?===
As for most Spring downloads [http://www.fileuniverse.com/?page=listing&ID=90 FileUniverse] is the place to be! A collection of maps can be downloaded [http://www.fileuniverse.com/?page=listing&ID=91 here].

===I used the small installer where can I get the missing maps?===
Unfortunately the maps included in the regular installer aren't available on File Universe. However, since many of the scripts included in the game rely on map4, this can be downloaded [http://taspring.clan-sy.com/dl/map4.7z here].

===How do I install downloaded maps?===
Most maps are released as .sdz or .sd7 files. These can be put directly into the "maps" folder inside the Spring folder. If they are compressed into another type of archive you will have to unpack them first. Just unzip them into your spring maps folder. Some map files use newer (smaller) file formats such as .rar or .7z, to unzip these newer formats, you'll need to download 7-Zip [http://www.7-zip.org/ http://www.7-zip.org/] or Zip-genius [http://downloads.zipgenius.it/ http://downloads.zipgenius.it/]. They both handle almost all formats and are totally free. There is also now a map browser in the TASClient lobby software, click the more maps button in a battle screen to access it.

===Sometimes when I try to join games it gives me an error.===
The host is behind a firewall that has not opened the correct ports for Spring.

===When I make games nobody joins.===
You are probably behind a firewall. See question above.

===When a multiplayer game starts I never make it past the loading screen.===
This indicates a problem with your video card. Once again the best way to deal with this situation is to make sure your video card has the latest driver updates and that all Spring video features are on the lowest settings.

===When a multiplayer game starts, I make it past the loading screen, but when I get into the game it says, "Waiting for Host", and does a 10 second countdown. It always reaches zero and boots me out, what gives?===
This is a firewall issue. There are three things you can do to fix this. First, make sure your windows firewall is either off, or is not blocking the TA: Spring application. Secondly, if you are behind a router, you can forward the ports that the host is using (especially if you are the host), and it usually fixes the problem. To do this you must go to your router configuration page. You can see what port 'you' are using (as the host), by hosting a multiplayer game in the Spring Lobby. You must make this your trigger port, and make sure that it is open for both TCP and UDP. Thirdly, if none of the aforementioned worked. The easiest thing to do (assuming you are behind a router) is to set the DMZ (Demilitarized Zone). This means your computer will be completely exposed to the internet, which will make you vulnerable to any unknown or unpatched exploits in windows. All you have to do is find the personal IP if the computer you are using and add it to your router's DMZ list. Please only try this last option if you can't get the others to work.
Good Luck

===I got into the game, but some people didn't.===
The host may have reached the number of players it has set.
Or the players may be experiencing firewall or video card difficulty. That is not your fault. Please ask them too leave if they are still there when you get into the 'game lobby'.

===I got into a game but my name is red, nobody can hear me speak, and eventually I get disconnected===
This is to do with how long it takes the game to start up (the "load time"). If it takes too long you will see this problem. The load time can be reduced by changing the game graphics settings to lower quality. In particular try setting texture quality to lowest.

----

==Playing==

===What is with this weird right-click mode? I'm 'bout to break my keyboard.===
Sorry, you'll just have to get used to it. As of now it can't be changed.

===Why is somebody else also controlling my units?===
In the 'game lobby' there are two sets of teams. There are the 'Teams' and the 'Ally Teams'. If you are on the same 'Team', then you both get the same commander, and can control the same units. If you are on 'Ally Teams', then you both get different commanders and can't control each others units.

===Then why would I want to be on the same 'Team' as somebody?===
Because it's fun to just drive around units and not have to worry about commanding. (Assuming that one of the people on the team is commanding.)

===How do I talk to my allies only?===
You must type 'a:' before you speak. Here's an example: a: Now I am talking to my allies only. 
And most important, you can split tasks, as base building, troops managment.

===Help! After I'm finished driving a unit, the camera is all insane! This is nuts! How do I fix it?===
Whoa now. Calm down. Just press ctrl + mouse button 3 to change camera modes. If your unit is destroyed in FPS mode, you will stay in FPS mode until you change camera modes. Also, the camera will stay in "free look" when FPS mode is disengaged, press middle-mouse or J to switch to normal scrolling.

===After I'm finished driving a unit, where what used to be my mouse pointer is now a crosshair. Why?===
-This is a special 'view mode' that allows you to move around the screen much faster. It's good for viewing the battle or getting screenshots. Simply press on your third mouse button to revert back to your mouse pointer.

===But I don't have a third mouse button!===
The key 'J' works in the same way as the 'middle mouse button' does. So where you would use ctrl + middle mouse button to change camera modes, ctrl + j does the same thing. Pressing J once will also switch you from 'crosshair mode' to 'pointer mode' and vice versa.

===When I start a game, I am stuck in this weird camera mode and my perspective is all messed up. How do I switch to the overhead (OTA style) camera?===
This happens when you start a single player game or when the host uses force start. Shift+Backspace (or Shift+J or Shift+MiddleMouseClick) switches between the fps style, total war style and OTA style cameras. Use it to get your camera back to normal in this situation.

===People are cheating! How do I stop it?!===
Well currently, you can't.

Only the host can "activate" the cheat codes. After that, any player can do almost all cheats.

The best thing to do is just not play with the cheaters anymore. But with new spring version cheats are disabled in multiplayer, so that paragraph is hopefully now irrelevant.

===Well how do you cheat?===

<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>instabuild (doesn't work on things already under construction, only on new ones)</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>

<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>

===In Game Commands===
The following ''non-cheating'' commands are also available in game:

<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 and their ping delay in the bottom left corner of the screen</td>
</tr>

<tr>
<td>.clock</td><td>Shows you the elapsed game time in minutes and seconds in the bottom left 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>

</table>

===How do I ally or unally in game?===
I'm pretty sure you can't. Yet.

===How do I give somebody units or metal or energy?===
Press the 'H' key. Then select the amount of metal and/or energy to share. Then select the receiving player and press OK.

When sharing units, you must first select the units to share, then press 'H' key. Tick share units checkbox and choose a receiving player.

===How do I continually give somebody metal and/or energy after a certain point (i.e. Original TA commands +setshare..., +shareall)?===
You'll notice that on your metal and energy bars (top of screen), there are two red bars. You have to put them wherever you want your metal and energy to be shared after.

===This game is different than TA, the units HP and damage are not the same===

There were several third party "balance" mods for the original TA game.

One of those mods were xTA, and was developed by the same clan (SY) that has brought life back to TA, making Spring.

This balance mod is what is bundled by default with the spring engine, and is the mod that was ready to play when spring was released.

Now are several mods available, install the mod of your choice.

[http://www.fileuniverse.com/?p=listing&ID=92 get mods here]

===XTA? OTA? AA? OMFGLAMO? What those all the abbreviations mean?===
zwzsg maintains a handy dandy FAQ about TA, and the abbreviations that relate to Spring too, of course.
[http://www.tauniverse.com/forum/showthread.php?t=27309 click here]. See also the Spring [[Glossary]], which contains brief explanations for all non-standard words and phrases.

===Why am I destroyed so easily by long range assaults?===
This is a realistic feature of Spring. Units will automatically attack 'radar blips' (units that they can not actually see, but that are indicated on radar). However, the accuracy is very bad while shooting at radar blips until:
* Your unit kills a lot of units and gets experience
* You get a targeting facility.

===Can I kick people from my 'game lobby' or my game?===
First of all, you have to be the host to kick. Use the good old ".kick playernamehere" command. Works in-game too, use it wisely.

===When I'm 'driving' my commander, why can't I use my laser?===
The TA: Spring team will most likely add a way for you to use your commander's laser soon.

===I hate driving around with the 'arrow keys'. Is there any way I can use the 'W-A-S-D' controls (the controls most First Person Shooters use) anymore?===
Go into your Spring directory and edit the uikeys file. Keep in mind that 'S' is originally a 'hot-key' that will stop your units and that 'D' is a 'hot-key' for your commander's D-Gun. You might want to change those too.

===I turned the shadows feature on; I still don't see shadows. What gives?===
Your graphics card can't handle shadows, so Spring automatically turns them off.

===I can't go backwards when I am 'driving' a unit. Why not?===
Because TA units were never intended to go backwards. Sorry, but you just cant.

===I'm in an Unreal Tournament kind of mood. How do I strafe?===
You can only strafe in 'brawler type' ships, such as the brawler, rapier, and light gunships.

===How can I record and watch demos/replays?===
From version 0.62 onwards recordings of all the games you play are easily available for replay via the Replays button in the TASclient.

You can use the Speed up/Slow down game keys while watching the replay, along with other in-game commands like .team

From version 0.60b1 onwards, demos are automatically recorded in the "demos" folder, underneath your Spring folder (default is C:\Program Files\TASpring\demos), named for the date and map they were played on. If you play multiple games in the same day on the same map, the games will also be numbered to prevent them from overwriting each other.

From version 0.62 onwards, to view a demo from the Windows file manager you can just double click the file name. For versions 0,60 and 0.61, to view a demo start spring.exe as non server and enter the full demo name as server address ("050803-Ashpen-0.60b1.sdf" for example). Note that you don't need to enter the "demos" folder name. Due to the large font, you will find that the name is too big to fit on the screen. If you're confident typing blind from memory, that's OK. Otherwise go into windows explorer, select the demo file you want, press F2, Ctrl-C, and do Ctrl-V to paste it into the server address.

For versions prior to 0.60b1, the game was always recorded to test.sdf which is overwritten by each new game, so the name had to be changed by hand if you wanted to save it. You had to use a name other than test.sdf to view a demo.

===Sometimes when I play get "not sync" "delayed synch" errors===

Thats caused because of lag. One of the players in the game is having some lag issues. Ask him/her to free up its bandwidth for the game to use.

Alternatively you can use the pause key and wait till the connection gets more stable.

Lag is the seccond number showed when you use the .info command ingame, numbers bigger than 40 are not usual in a normal game and are a signal of lag.

==Creating Content for Spring==
===How do I create maps?===
See the [[Maps]] page for all the map info.

===How do I create units/mods?===
See the [[Unit Development]] or the [[Mod Development]] page on creating units.

==Troubleshooting==

Template:CurrentVersion

2006-02-28T06:14:07Z

Maelstrom: Changed version number

.70b2

Absolute Annihilation

2006-02-08T03:35:44Z

Maelstrom: WTF was with removing the whole page?!?!

<center>'''Absolute Annihilation is distinct, being closer to classic TA than to XTA. The idea behind the mod is to imagine what TA might be like if it was still being patched and a new unit released every week.'''</center>



===Overview===
[[Image:SpringAA.jpg|thumb|200px|right|A few of the larger units in AA]]
With 389 balanced units, Absolute Annihilation, or AA, is the single most-downloaded Total Annihilation units pack. Now AA has been ported to Spring and takes advantage of this new engine's every feature. It is based on [[UberHack]] and so attempts to rebalance TA without rearranging the buildtree as radically as XTA has. However whereas UberHack added only a few extra units, AA incorporates many new units including some of the more impressive new units concocted by the ever-creative TA community.

AA is under constant development, spurred on by its small but highly active community following, and [http://taspring.clan-sy.com/phpbb/profile.php?mode=viewprofile&u=107 Caydr], who heads up the development. Units are subject to frequent and sometimes brutal tweaking and pruning. AA contains new factories, units, resource buildings, sneaky defensive structures and an array of massive "experimental" units for brutalizing the enemy's base.

Players new to the mod should be warned that some old units [[Image:pano2.jpg|thumb|200px|right|Ridiculously huge image depicting every unit in AA]]now fill new roles, while some are more (or less) effective than they were in classic TA as of the 3.1c patch.

AA:Spring is based mostly on version 6.0 of the OTA mod. Now that development of AA for Total Annihilation has largely ceased, the mod's developer is working hard on developing Spring-based versions incorporating all of the engine's advanced features.

===Strategy===
Absolute Annihilation is a modification of TA. Therefore, the same basic strategies and tactics that good TA players utilize are also utilized by good AA players. Although AA is a very complex modification, some important points to remember are:

# Expand whenever possible, because "porcing" (building nothing but defense) isn't a very good strategy in AA. Moho metal extractors give greater income than in most other mods, rewarding players who can control the largest area of the map.
# The best defence is a good offense. Make sure you are able to quickly respond to the unexpected by keeping a standing army even when you make an all-out attack.
# Beware of AA's "superweapons". Each side has a unique aircraft, ship, and experimental kbot. Annihilators and Doomsday Machines are great for defending against Krogoths and Orcones. Mercuries and Screamers are the best for defending against Liche atomic bombers, while Krow gunships are most vulnerable to advanced fighters. Finally, heavy subs or an extremely powerful navy are the best way to defend against Epochs and Black Hydras.

The actual units present in AA aren't so important; it takes little time to learn what they all do. The key to victory lies in utilizing them effectively. Always keep the above points in mind when playing, and above all, practice. Even if you lose, ask the person to whom you lost what you did wrong and right. Study replays involving experienced players to see what tricks they use.

=== Links ===
*'''[http://prdownloads.sourceforge.net/ta-aa/AASpring142.zip?download Download Absolute Annihilation (version 1.42)]''' (9 mb)
*[http://prdownloads.sourceforge.net/ta-aa/AATrailer.zip?download Mod Trailer] (14 mb)
*[http://www.planetannihilation.com/aa AA Homepage]

[[Image:groupshot4.jpg|thumb|700px|center|Hey look! Another freakishly huge picture!]]

Back to [[Mods]]

[[Category:Mods]]
{{Category:Mods}}

Category:Mods

2006-02-05T04:55:31Z

Maelstrom: Added TLL and Nanoblobs. Someone needs to write a Nanoblobs page

<center>'''TASClient Compatible Mods'''</center>
{| border="2" cellpadding="4" cellspacing="0" style="margin: 1em 1em 1em 0; background: #f9f9f9; border: 1px #aaa solid; border-collapse: collapse;"
|align="center" width="245"|[[Absolute_Annihilation|Absolute Annihilation]]
|align="center" width="245"|[[EvoTA|OTA + Evo + better BPs]]
|align="center" width="245"|[[Final Frontier]]
|-
|align="center"|[[KuroTA|KuroTA]]
|align="center"|[[Nanoblobs]]
|align="center"|[[SWTA|Star Wars TA]]
|-
|align="center"|[[SpiderPack|Spider Pack]]
|align="center"|[[TA-WD|TA: World Domination]]
|align="center"|[[The Lost Legacy]]
|-
|align="center"|[[UberHack|UberHack]]
|align="center"|[[Xect vs. Mynn]]
|align="center"|[[XTA|XTA]]
|}