Spring - User contributions [en]

Absolute Annihilation

2006-03-25T16:50:41Z

Tweenk: /* Links */

<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!]]

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

Category:Strategy

2006-03-25T16:49:51Z

Tweenk:

Information and general strategy. See also Category:Guides - some guides contain a wealth of strategy information.
[[Category:Playing]]

Final Frontier

2006-03-25T16:48:27Z

Tweenk:

== <center>'''Final Frontier''' "The Next Generation Of War"</center> ==

<center>website: http://www.ta-spring.com/mods/final_frontier/</center>

<center>http://www.fileuniverse.com/images/Logo1.2.gif</center>

Final Frontier "The Next Generation Of War" is a modification for the Springproject . Originaly the mod was developed for the old realtime strategy game Total Annihilation some years ago. Because Spring gives us a new and better engine for developing we decided to recreate Final Frontier in a better way.

The mod contains two races (Arm and Core) with more than 140 diferent units. All units except buildings are spacecrafts, fighting each other with huge lasercannons, plasmabombs, rockets and a lot of other cool stuff wich brings a lot of destruction ;-).

Containing nearly all old units from the original mod, we put a lot of new units into it, completely rebalanced it, changed nearly all weaponeffects, changed most models, retextured all, changed the scripts and even more you have to find out.

'''Features:

*two unique races with more than 140 different units
*different armorclasses for space ships which brings a well balanced "paper-scissor-rock" system
*most units are able to lose weapons and Hullparts
*3 techlevels: starting with small Fighters going over Frigates and Destroyer to Battle Ships and Planetkillers
*very beautyful weapon effects and sounds (some call it laser show =D)
*many weapons aren't fully rotatable, so it's useful to attack slow ships from behind, bringing you the full advantage of your weapons while the opponent's weapons arent able to fire backwards
*unique space maps especially designed for Final Frontier

--[[User:Optimus Prime|Optimus Prime]] 12:39, 19 Jan 2006 (W. Europe Standard Time)

<center>http://www.fileuniverse.com/images/FFscreen029.jpg</center>

A few notes on strategy:

The first important note is that although FF has wonderful turrets and defensive buildings, your opponent can fly HIS ENTIRE ARMY right over them and will never be hampered in his advance by wreckage from his downed ships. This makes defence quite different from Total Annihilation style mods; usually a strong front line defense can be bypassed, so the "line defence" strategy is not nearly so useful.

[[Category:Mods]]

Spring for RTS Players

2006-03-25T16:39:18Z

Tweenk: /* Side Notes */

'''

If you already played a lot of RTS Games, this is a fast guide to Spring and it is useful for OTA players.
If you are new to RTS then you should read the [[Spring guide!]].

I will only explain the major differences and leave the complicated stuff for you to learn by playing.

----

=== Resources ===

In Spring resources (Metal and Energy) are unlimited, unlike in most other RTS Games. This means that once you have built i.e. a metal extractor(Mex)/Solarplant you will get metal/energy out of it until it's destroyed (as long as you have Energy for the Mex).
There are 2 major following Issues because of this:
*Your economy will grow exponentially (always more and more) if you invest most of your resources into it.
*You never end up with no resources to gather, but the battle builds up till one side is overpowered.

At the top off the screen there is a grey (metal) and yellow (energy) bar, these show you how full your storages are. There is a green (income) and red (usage) number next to each.
If one or both bars are full, you are wasting resources, so you should be using more of them. If Metal is empty you should get more, but Energy should never be empty, because then all Metal producing Facilities stop working.

Especially for all OTA players, mexes have a radius, if you press f4, you will see green where there is metal (the greener the better) and red where your mexes are already collecting.

----

=== Units ===

You start with the Commander (Comm), the unique builder unit who has the D-Gun. The D-Gun can destroy *anything* in one hit. The D-Gun, however, requires large amounts of energy, which is critical at the early stages in which it's use is more likely (to defend agaisnt rushes and the like). The Commander is furthermore the fastest builder that you start with (although better builders are avaible at techlevel 2, later in the game); you can snap to him with CTRL+C if he gets lost. Beware, though, because the Commander is ALSO a walking bomb - when he dies, he takes EVERYTHING around him with him.

Construction Units ("Builders" or "con units" or just "conbots") can help eachother building - the more conbots you put on a building, the faster it'll be constructed. Be aware that the rate at which metal and energy is consumed also increases - you cannot build if you do not have anything to build with. The same can be done to help factories build units - simply assign the conbot to Guard (hotkey G) the factory, and the conbot will automatically help build whatever it is the factory is building.

There are, generally speaking, five kinds of units in Spring: Vehicles (tanks, cars, what have you), K-Bots ("infantry" robots, if you will), Hovercrafts (all-terrain tanks), aircraft (have wings, will fly) and Ships (including submarines). Vehicles are generally heavier and more hard-hitting than K-Bots, but since the K-Bots have legs, they can get to places the vehicles can't. Similarly, the hovercrafts are all capable of travelling on both land and water, but like the tanks, they are unable to traverse cliffsides and steep terrain. What's more, hovercrafts are generally lighter than tanks in regards to armor and armament. Aircrafts are generally more expensive and less deadly than vehicles and K-Bots, but they have the advantage of fast and unlimited movement.

Ships are just big. Lots of armor, lots of guns. And they sail.
----

=== Radar ===

The big colored blips on your screen are radar dots.
With radar covarage you can see things out of los, but only as moving blips. Radar doesn't go through hills, there are radar jammers and under water there is sonar instead.

----

=== Side Notes ===

To improve your gameplay, watch replays of good players. But you should also watch your own, to see where your problems are. (spring.exe->not server->name of replay.sdf enter; + and - to change the speed) 
With shift you can que up things. (A must in this game) 
There are keybord shortcuts (uikeys.txt), and you can make some yourself with the selection editor. 
For a general Idea of how to start building look at the [[Base building tips]]. 
And if you aren't a good strategist, you can look into the [[Spring guide!]] (long). 

----
If you have more Questions look in the FAQ, if theres nothing there, you are welcome to ask me (Metaltrash)

I hope I could help you and have fun battling.
Feel free to edit, or enhance this i.e. with little explaining pictures.
It is supposed to be short so that its an easy quick read.

[[Category:Guides]]

Spring guide

2006-03-25T16:36:12Z

Tweenk:

'''

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

Anyway, enough of my rambling, onto Spring!

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

----

==Resources==

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

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

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

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

----

==A Normal Spring Game==

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

----

==The TA Bestiary==

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

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

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

===Vehicles===

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

===K-Bots===

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

===Aircraft===

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

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

===Ships===

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

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

===Hovercraft===

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

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

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

===Towers and Turrets===

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

===The first steps===

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

----

==STRATEGY==

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

''where is the strategy?''

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

===Defence===

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

''Compact defence!''

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

''Spread out defence!''

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

''No defenceÃ¢â‚¬Â¦ at all?''

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

''The All Out Defence''

''-- addendum by Cain''

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

These are the defensive strategies I have found effective.

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

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

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

===Attacking===

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

===Army vs Army===

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

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

===Army vs Base===

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

''Line defence''

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

''Spread out defence''

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

''Units defence''

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

===Naval Battles===

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

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

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

''-- addendum by Cain.''

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

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

''-- addendum by Cain''

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

===Using Terrain===

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

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

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

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

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

'''Have fun !!!'''

----

===Strategy Tips===

* Expand! Metal is scarce. The more you get, the more you can build. Even if you have a good base, making it bigger is not a bad thing.
* Scout! Knowledge is power. You must know what your enemy is planning, and what the enemy knows about you. (Or thinks he knows about youÃ¯Â¿Å ) Check what he has, and what he is building. If heÃ¢â‚¬â„¢s building aircrafts, do something about it. Look for weaknesses in defence and such. If you or your ally are scouting, donÃ¢â‚¬â„¢t look away. Gather as much information as possible. ALL buildings once in sight range will remain visible as 'ghost' buildings if this option isn't turned off by the host.
* Radar = GOOD ^^ Radar checks areas for units, increases your units LOS and is, overall, quite helpful. A radar with your army makes a big difference when attacking. But so is Jamming. Jamming is good for sneak attacks. They are cheap, so just build one and make your units guard it.
* Work Together! Often I see allies who just mind their own business and donÃ¢â‚¬â„¢t care what the other person's doing. DONÃ¢â‚¬â„¢TÃ¢â‚¬Â¦ DOÃ¢â‚¬Â¦ THIS!!! Listen to each other, make up a plan. Prepare combined attacks. If there is a 2v2, then itÃ¢â‚¬â„¢s 2 allies vs 2 allies. Not a ffa with neutral partners. Type h to share units. Left click on your resource bars to auto share resources with allies.
* Power Plants. In order to level out the building costs, it is important to make a smooth transition from the least powerful generators to the most powerful ones in succession. First solar, then Geo, then mobile/mini Fusion then Fusion.
* Check your resource bar. Try to keep a fine line between having too many resources/wasting, and having a nanostall. Use your factories and such accordingly. If you have a lot of resources, try using your old level 1 factories to build some units. Also, try to find the time to build an energy/metal storage...
* Spread out your buildings/units. Since every unit explodes, they damage units close to them. This is especially important with Fusions... (I once saw someone put 13 mobile fusions close to each other... blew up half his base with 2 (!!!) LRPC shots...)
* Queue (yeah, easy word for it too :/) up orders! You can almost win the game by pausing, queuing up some stuff, and then go eat lunch. Not really, but holding shift is good whilst putting up buildings.
* Guard = following and protection. Use planes to guard your tanks, subs to guard your transports, construction units to automatically repair important units and so on. They will choose to attack whatever is hurting their guard object first. You can even do this to structures, for units who are built to move to a unitÃ¢â‚¬â„¢s position or AA to attack whatever is shooting on the Fusion reactors, etc... Overall, this makes working with several unit types easier.
* Reclaim stuff (sucking it in and transforming it into resources). When you're starting to run low on metal, reclaim the enemyÃ¢â‚¬â„¢s and your own corpses. Trees give energy, so if youÃ¢â‚¬â„¢re out of energy in the beginning... You can reclaim a whole area by shift-clicking.
* The key for porcers are to build LRPC. Or even better, build a nuke and use LOTS of planes to kill his anti-nuke. Then BOOM! Also as you have way loads more metal and space to move in than your opponent, you can easily afford 2 nukes. An anti-nuke can't deal with 2 nukes heading towards it(and if you aim the nukes at the anti-nuke...^^!
* Experiment! I suggest you go into single player and try every unit. Use commanders for arm, and small battle (watch that Krogoth!) for core. Try every approach to a problem. Remember, just because a unit is good, itÃ¢â‚¬â„¢s not invincible. Also, try how much metal and energy a building uses while in operation. For instance, a level 1 factory uses about 50 energy and 5 metal. This varies depending on what you build. This could help you prevent nanostalling.
* Several types of factories. Yeah, even if it costs money. An advanced building costs as much as a Bulldog or 2... You've got the time, and the money. Build it.
* Raid. Take the Weasel or a couple of Peewees on a cruise right by the enemyÃ¢â‚¬â„¢s mexes. Having trouble finding them? Type F4 to see where the ground is drained ^^ (Edit) This doesn't apply anymore, but you can still see where a mex is by trying to build one of your own there. If you can't, there's already one on the spot... A tip is to stay away from the Commander, or use buildings as hostages. Hide behind stuff and kill it off, then move on. If you're sure you're going to die, move close to a building and self-destruct.
* Just because Peewees are better then AKÃ¢â‚¬â„¢s doesnÃ¢â‚¬â„¢t meant that AKÃ¢â‚¬â„¢s are useless. (And so onÃ¢â‚¬Â¦). In fact, no unit is useless. If you believe it is, try it once. On what it was meant to do.
* Mix armies. Oh boy, if you havenÃ¢â‚¬â„¢t heard this one a thousand times before, you've only been playing Half-Life for the last 7 years or something. Even if Goliaths rule, a couple of missile units will make them much more effective.
* FARKs are useful in combat. Always have 1-3 with you. Reclaiming DT, or doing what they were meant to do: Repair -.-* (also, when I say FARKs somewhere in the guide, construction units work too...)
* Ask questions. No one is going to laugh at you. And if someone does, heÃ¢â‚¬â„¢s an ass and should be paid no mind. No question is too stupid. Just donÃ¢â‚¬â„¢t expect anyone in the heat of a battle to answer to Ã¢â‚¬ËœÃ¢â‚¬â„¢how do I play?Ã¢â‚¬â„¢Ã¢â‚¬â„¢.
* Learn! If you lost, use the replay to watch the game and try to understand why you died. What did the enemy do better than you? What was their key to winning? And so on.
* The Readme file has some cool keyboard shortcuts... check it out.
* Develop! Are you a programmer, a 3D design artist or just some regular Joe? Come to the forum for a talk, chatter, and make wacky suggestions! In the end you may contribute to making Spring better! Remember, Spring is open source. So just dive into there and replace AKÃ¢â‚¬â„¢s with flying monkeys in space suits or whatever.
* Try having some good music on when playing. It can give you a good kick. I recommend the War of the Worlds (the strategy game, yes it exists) Ã¢â‚¬ËœÃ¢â‚¬â„¢Eve of the WarÃ¢â‚¬â„¢Ã¢â‚¬â„¢ Another great choice is, of course, [http://www.fileuniverse.com/?page=listing&ID=54 the original TA music]! You can choose whatever music you like, though.
* Need more strategy and tips? Since Spring is a remake of TA, any TA strategy guide works...
* LAST BUT NOT LEAST: '''DonÃ¢â‚¬â„¢t get too serious. ItÃ¢â‚¬â„¢s only a game.'''

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

[[Category:Guides]]

Spring guide

2006-03-25T16:34:22Z

Tweenk: /* Strategy Tips */

'''

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

Anyway, enough of my rambling, onto Spring!

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

----

==Resources==

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

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

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

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

----

==A Normal Spring Game==

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

----

==The TA Bestiary==

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

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

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

===Vehicles===

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

===K-Bots===

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

===Aircraft===

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

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

===Ships===

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

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

===Hovercraft===

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

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

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

===Towers and Turrets===

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

===The first steps===

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

----

==STRATEGY==

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

''where is the strategy?''

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

===Defence===

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

''Compact defence!''

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

''Spread out defence!''

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

''No defenceÃ¢â‚¬Â¦ at all?''

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

''The All Out Defence''

''-- addendum by Cain''

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

These are the defensive strategies I have found effective.

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

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

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

===Attacking===

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

===Army vs Army===

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

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

===Army vs Base===

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

''Line defence''

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

''Spread out defence''

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

''Units defence''

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

===Naval Battles===

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

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

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

''-- addendum by Cain.''

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

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

''-- addendum by Cain''

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

===Using Terrain===

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

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

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

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

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

'''Have fun !!!'''

----

===Strategy Tips===

* Expand! Metal is scarce. The more you get, the more you can build. Even if you have a good base, making it bigger is not a bad thing.
* Scout! Knowledge is power. You must know what your enemy is planning, and what the enemy knows about you. (Or thinks he knows about youÃ¯Â¿Å ) Check what he has, and what he is building. If heÃ¢â‚¬â„¢s building aircrafts, do something about it. Look for weaknesses in defence and such. If you or your ally are scouting, donÃ¢â‚¬â„¢t look away. Gather as much information as possible. ALL buildings once in sight range will remain visible as 'ghost' buildings if this option isn't turned off by the host.
* Radar = GOOD ^^ Radar checks areas for units, increases your units LOS and is, overall, quite helpful. A radar with your army makes a big difference when attacking. But so is Jamming. Jamming is good for sneak attacks. They are cheap, so just build one and make your units guard it.
* Work Together! Often I see allies who just mind their own business and donÃ¢â‚¬â„¢t care what the other person's doing. DONÃ¢â‚¬â„¢TÃ¢â‚¬Â¦ DOÃ¢â‚¬Â¦ THIS!!! Listen to each other, make up a plan. Prepare combined attacks. If there is a 2v2, then itÃ¢â‚¬â„¢s 2 allies vs 2 allies. Not a ffa with neutral partners. Type h to share units. Left click on your resource bars to auto share resources with allies.
* Power Plants. In order to level out the building costs, it is important to make a smooth transition from the least powerful generators to the most powerful ones in succession. First solar, then Geo, then mobile/mini Fusion then Fusion.
* Check your resource bar. Try to keep a fine line between having too many resources/wasting, and having a nanostall. Use your factories and such accordingly. If you have a lot of resources, try using your old level 1 factories to build some units. Also, try to find the time to build an energy/metal storage...
* Spread out your buildings/units. Since every unit explodes, they damage units close to them. This is especially important with Fusions... (I once saw someone put 13 mobile fusions close to each other... blew up half his base with 2 (!!!) LRPC shots...)
* Queue (yeah, easy word for it too :/) up orders! You can almost win the game by pausing, queuing up some stuff, and then go eat lunch. Not really, but holding shift is good whilst putting up buildings.
* Guard = following and protection. Use planes to guard your tanks, subs to guard your transports, construction units to automatically repair important units and so on. They will choose to attack whatever is hurting their guard object first. You can even do this to structures, for units who are built to move to a unitÃ¢â‚¬â„¢s position or AA to attack whatever is shooting on the Fusion reactors, etc... Overall, this makes working with several unit types easier.
* Reclaim stuff (sucking it in and transforming it into resources). When you're starting to run low on metal, reclaim the enemyÃ¢â‚¬â„¢s and your own corpses. Trees give energy, so if youÃ¢â‚¬â„¢re out of energy in the beginning... You can reclaim a whole area by shift-clicking.
* The key for porcers are to build LRPC. Or even better, build a nuke and use LOTS of planes to kill his anti-nuke. Then BOOM! Also as you have way loads more metal and space to move in than your opponent, you can easily afford 2 nukes. An anti-nuke can't deal with 2 nukes heading towards it(and if you aim the nukes at the anti-nuke...^^!
* Experiment! I suggest you go into single player and try every unit. Use commanders for arm, and small battle (watch that Krogoth!) for core. Try every approach to a problem. Remember, just because a unit is good, itÃ¢â‚¬â„¢s not invincible. Also, try how much metal and energy a building uses while in operation. For instance, a level 1 factory uses about 50 energy and 5 metal. This varies depending on what you build. This could help you prevent nanostalling.
* Several types of factories. Yeah, even if it costs money. An advanced building costs as much as a Bulldog or 2... You've got the time, and the money. Build it.
* Raid. Take the Weasel or a couple of Peewees on a cruise right by the enemyÃ¢â‚¬â„¢s mexes. Having trouble finding them? Type F4 to see where the ground is drained ^^ (Edit) This doesn't apply anymore, but you can still see where a mex is by trying to build one of your own there. If you can't, there's already one on the spot... A tip is to stay away from the Commander, or use buildings as hostages. Hide behind stuff and kill it off, then move on. If you're sure you're going to die, move close to a building and self-destruct.
* Just because Peewees are better then AKÃ¢â‚¬â„¢s doesnÃ¢â‚¬â„¢t meant that AKÃ¢â‚¬â„¢s are useless. (And so onÃ¢â‚¬Â¦). In fact, no unit is useless. If you believe it is, try it once. On what it was meant to do.
* Mix armies. Oh boy, if you havenÃ¢â‚¬â„¢t heard this one a thousand times before, you've only been playing Half-Life for the last 7 years or something. Even if Goliaths rule, a couple of missile units will make them much more effective.
* FARKs are useful in combat. Always have 1-3 with you. Reclaiming DT, or doing what they were meant to do: Repair -.-* (also, when I say FARKs somewhere in the guide, construction units work too...)
* Ask questions. No one is going to laugh at you. And if someone does, heÃ¢â‚¬â„¢s an ass and should be paid no mind. No question is too stupid. Just donÃ¢â‚¬â„¢t expect anyone in the heat of a battle to answer to Ã¢â‚¬ËœÃ¢â‚¬â„¢how do I play?Ã¢â‚¬â„¢Ã¢â‚¬â„¢.
* Learn! If you lost, use the replay to watch the game and try to understand why you died. What did the enemy do better than you? What was their key to winning? And so on.
* The Readme file has some cool keyboard shortcuts... check it out.
* Develop! Are you a programmer, a 3D design artist or just some regular Joe? Come to the forum for a talk, chatter, and make wacky suggestions! In the end you may contribute to making Spring better! Remember, Spring is open source. So just dive into there and replace AKÃ¢â‚¬â„¢s with flying monkeys in space suits or whatever.
* Try having some good music on when playing. It can give you a good kick. I recommend the War of the Worlds (the strategy game, yes it exists) Ã¢â‚¬ËœÃ¢â‚¬â„¢Eve of the WarÃ¢â‚¬â„¢Ã¢â‚¬â„¢ Another great choice is, of course, [http://www.fileuniverse.com/?page=listing&ID=54 the original TA music]!
You can choose whatever music you like, though.
* Need more strategy and tips? Since Spring is a remake of TA, any TA strategy guide works...
* LAST BUT NOT LEAST: '''DonÃ¢â‚¬â„¢t get too serious. ItÃ¢â‚¬â„¢s only a game.'''

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

[[Category:Guides]]

Spring guide

2006-03-25T16:31:43Z

Tweenk: /* Strategy Tips */ changed cat to guides

'''

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

Anyway, enough of my rambling, onto Spring!

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

----

==Resources==

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

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

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

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

----

==A Normal Spring Game==

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

----

==The TA Bestiary==

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

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

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

===Vehicles===

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

===K-Bots===

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

===Aircraft===

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

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

===Ships===

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

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

===Hovercraft===

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

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

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

===Towers and Turrets===

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

===The first steps===

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

----

==STRATEGY==

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

''where is the strategy?''

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

===Defence===

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

''Compact defence!''

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

''Spread out defence!''

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

''No defenceÃ¢â‚¬Â¦ at all?''

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

''The All Out Defence''

''-- addendum by Cain''

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

These are the defensive strategies I have found effective.

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

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

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

===Attacking===

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

===Army vs Army===

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

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

===Army vs Base===

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

''Line defence''

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

''Spread out defence''

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

''Units defence''

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

===Naval Battles===

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

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

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

''-- addendum by Cain.''

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

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

''-- addendum by Cain''

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

===Using Terrain===

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

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

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

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

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

'''Have fun !!!'''

----

===Strategy Tips===

* Expand! Metal is scarce. The more you get, the more you can build. Even if you have a good base, making it bigger is not a bad thing.
* Scout! Knowledge is power. You must know what your enemy is planning, and what the enemy knows about you. (Or thinks he knows about youÃ¯Â¿Å ) Check what he has, and what he is building. If heÃ¢â‚¬â„¢s building aircrafts, do something about it. Look for weaknesses in defence and such. If you or your ally are scouting, donÃ¢â‚¬â„¢t look away. Gather as much information as possible.
ALL buildings once in sight range will remain visible as 'ghost' buildings if this option isn't turned off by the host.
* Radar = GOOD ^^ Radar checks areas for units, increases your units LOS and is, overall, quite helpful. A radar with your army makes a big difference when attacking. But so is Jamming. Jamming is good for sneak attacks. They are cheap, so just build one and make your units guard it.
* Work Together! Often I see allies who just mind their own business and donÃ¢â‚¬â„¢t care what the other person's doing. DONÃ¢â‚¬â„¢TÃ¢â‚¬Â¦ DOÃ¢â‚¬Â¦ THIS!!! Listen to each other, make up a plan. Prepare combined attacks. If there is a 2v2, then itÃ¢â‚¬â„¢s 2 allies vs 2 allies. Not a ffa with neutral partners. Type h to share units. Left click on your resource bars to auto share resources with allies.
* Power Plants. In order to level out the building costs, it is important to make a smooth transition from the least powerful generators to the most powerful ones in succession. First solar, then Geo, then mobile/mini Fusion then Fusion.
* Check your resource bar. Try to keep a fine line between having too many resources/wasting, and having a nanostall. Use your factories and such accordingly. If you have a lot of resources, try using your old level 1 factories to build some units. Also, try to find the time to build an energy/metal storage...
* Spread out your buildings/units. Since every unit explodes, they damage units close to them. This is especially important with Fusions... (I once saw someone put 13 mobile fusions close to each other... blew up half his base with 2 (!!!) LRPC shots...)
* Queue (yeah, easy word for it too :/) up orders! You can almost win the game by pausing, queuing up some stuff, and then go eat lunch. Not really, but holding shift is good whilst putting up buildings.
* Guard = following and protection. Use planes to guard your tanks, subs to guard your transports, construction units to automatically repair important units and so on. They will choose to attack whatever is hurting their guard object first. You can even do this to structures, for units who are built to move to a unitÃ¢â‚¬â„¢s position or AA to attack whatever is shooting on the Fusion reactors, etc... Overall, this makes working with several unit types easier.
* Reclaim stuff (sucking it in and transforming it into resources). When you're starting to run low on metal, reclaim the enemyÃ¢â‚¬â„¢s and your own corpses. Trees give energy, so if youÃ¢â‚¬â„¢re out of energy in the beginning... You can reclaim a whole area by shift-clicking.
* The key for porcers are to build LRPC. Or even better, build a nuke and use LOTS of planes to kill his anti-nuke. Then BOOM! Also as you have way loads more metal and space to move in than your opponent, you can easily afford 2 nukes. An anti-nuke can't deal with 2 nukes heading towards it(and if you aim the nukes at the anti-nuke...^^!
* Experiment! I suggest you go into single player and try every unit. Use commanders for arm, and small battle (watch that Krogoth!) for core. Try every approach to a problem. Remember, just because a unit is good, itÃ¢â‚¬â„¢s not invincible. Also, try how much metal and energy a building uses while in operation. For instance, a level 1 factory uses about 50 energy and 5 metal. This varies depending on what you build. This could help you prevent nanostalling.
* Several types of factories. Yeah, even if it costs money. An advanced building costs as much as a Bulldog or 2... You've got the time, and the money. Build it.
* Raid. Take the Weasel or a couple of Peewees on a cruise right by the enemyÃ¢â‚¬â„¢s mexes. Having trouble finding them? Type F4 to see where the ground is drained ^^ (Edit) This doesn't apply anymore, but you can still see where a mex is by trying to build one of your own there. If you can't, there's already one on the spot... A tip is to stay away from the Commander, or use buildings as hostages. Hide behind stuff and kill it off, then move on. If you're sure you're going to die, move close to a building and self-destruct.
* Just because Peewees are better then AKÃ¢â‚¬â„¢s doesnÃ¢â‚¬â„¢t meant that AKÃ¢â‚¬â„¢s are useless. (And so onÃ¢â‚¬Â¦). In fact, no unit is useless. If you believe it is, try it once. On what it was meant to do.
* Mix armies. Oh boy, if you havenÃ¢â‚¬â„¢t heard this one a thousand times before, you've only been playing Half-Life for the last 7 years or something. Even if Goliaths rule, a couple of missile units will make them much more effective.
* FARKs are useful in combat. Always have 1-3 with you. Reclaiming DT, or doing what they were meant to do: Repair -.-* (also, when I say FARKs somewhere in the guide, construction units work too...)
* Ask questions. No one is going to laugh at you. And if someone does, heÃ¢â‚¬â„¢s an ass and should be paid no mind. No question is too stupid. Just donÃ¢â‚¬â„¢t expect anyone in the heat of a battle to answer to Ã¢â‚¬ËœÃ¢â‚¬â„¢how do I play?Ã¢â‚¬â„¢Ã¢â‚¬â„¢.
* Learn! If you lost, use the replay to watch the game and try to understand why you died. What did the enemy do better than you? What was their key to winning? And so on.
* The Readme file has some cool keyboard shortcuts... check it out.
* Develop! Are you a programmer, a 3D design artist or just some regular Joe? Come to the forum for a talk, chatter, and make wacky suggestions! In the end you may contribute to making Spring better! Remember, Spring is open source. So just dive into there and replace AKÃ¢â‚¬â„¢s with flying monkeys in space suits or whatever.
* Try having some good music on when playing. It can give you a good kick. I recommend the War of the Worlds (the strategy game, yes it exists) Ã¢â‚¬ËœÃ¢â‚¬â„¢Eve of the WarÃ¢â‚¬â„¢Ã¢â‚¬â„¢ Another great choice is, of course, [http://www.fileuniverse.com/?page=listing&ID=54 the original TA music]!
You can choose whatever music you like, though.
* Need more strategy and tips? Since Spring is a remake of TA, any TA strategy guide works...
* LAST BUT NOT LEAST: '''DonÃ¢â‚¬â„¢t get too serious. ItÃ¢â‚¬â„¢s only a game.'''

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

[[Category:Guides]]

Resources

2006-03-25T16:23:44Z

Tweenk:

'''Resources''' are raw natural goods collected in-game, which can be spent to create new units, structures and ammunition, power up weaponry or keep some systems functioning (like cloaking systems). In TA, two types of resources exist: metal and energy.

==Resource strategy==

===A Note on Efficiency===

From the start of a match until the end, it is incumbent upon every player to expand, both in terms of territory controlled, and in terms of resources, which often go hand in hand. Most players begin with several Windmills or Solar Generators, expand with their first few mexs (metal extractors), and then build their first factory. Some never expand very far beyond this point. Even if you don't lose directly when you do this, you still damage your team's overall well-being.

===Resource versus Military Spending===

Your economy begins with a Commander, but quickly grows to include mobiles (units which move) and statics (units which don't move) of many types. The key to victory is knowing which units to build and when. Creating builder units, which in turn can create resources, is a high-priority process, and should remain so until the match ends. Each military unit built is a net loss from your economy until you put it to use. For example, say that you build your first factory, and that the first unit produced is a military unit - a Flash tank. Not only does this action consume resources that could be spent on resource generating structures, it delays the construction of units that could build more resource generating structures more quickly. You lose time, metal and energy. Economists refer to this as the "opportunity cost", what you lose by making one decision over another.

Builder units provide a direct economic advantage. Each additional builder means that you can build resource-generating structures faster. The benefits gained from an active builder quickly outweigh the opportunity cost of constructing that builder, as their activities result in absolute economic growth (You get resources faster). Combat units provide an indirect economic advantage when they destroy things your opponent's built or secure more territory for you. They result in relative economic growth by reducing your opponent's economy. (Your opponent loses resources) The efficiency of combat units is much less certain, and depends much more on the tides of war and your opponent's actions.

For the present, keep in mind that resource spending should almost never be 100% on economic or 100% military. The ratio should vary in accordance with need, but a generally healthy ratio is 60% Economic Spending and 40% Military Spending. Every rule has its exceptions, but, all other things being equal, the stronger economy wins the match.

===The Relative Efficiency of Resource Types===

So, should you build metal extractors (mexs) or metal makers? Windmills or Solars? How many, and in what order? The answer to these questions will vary from map to map, and from mod to mod, but can generally be predicted as follows:

A Solar Collector costs roughly three times as much metal as a Windmill and always produces 20 Energy. Wind is variable, but the maximum and minimum wind for a map can be translated into a fixed value by adding the two extremes and dividing by two. Always check the wind values in the lobby before the game begins! Picking the right level 1 energy structure is vital.

Let's look at an example. Take the map EvergreenHaven v3, which has Wind between 1-30. This gives us an average wind income of :~15.5 energy per Windmill. As you can build roughly three Windmills per Solar Collector, metal for metal, your Wind/Solar Ratio (Average Wind income/20 energy per solar) would be 15.5*3/20 = 46.5/20 = 2.325/1. On this map, Wind is optimal.

It is worth noting that Wind's variable nature can lead to unused excesses and unpredictable stalls, and that build times for the two structures are usually close, with Windmills building slightly faster. While these deficiencies can be addressed to a degree by building a minimal number of Solars to ensure a certain income or additional energy storage units (which are generally inefficient for small-scale use, but can be very good in large numbers), in the case of a Wind/Solar ratio of 1/1, Solar would be the preferred choice. As a rule of thumb, say that with a ratio of 1.2/1 (24/20) or less, build Solar. For 1.21/1 or more, build Wind.

On almost all maps, wind will be your best choice. Auto-spaced, huge box build orders for Windmills should be given to one or two level 1 builders early on. Spring makes this very easy to do - click on the windmill, hold down alt+shift, and click and drag. You can use z and x or the 4th and 5th mouse buttons to adjust the spacing between units. Give windmills at least 1 unit of spacing, preferably more, as they explode violently when destroyed.

Geothermal plants should be considered carefully. They can give you a big boost to your energy, but are very tempting targets for your enemy and can only be built in certain places. If you have a geothermal vent that looks fairly safe and your economy's otherwise healthy, build one. Otherwise pass.

In almost all cases, metal extractors are more efficient than metal makers, so while a mix is usually optimal, the general rule is to always claim all mex spots available to you before producing metal makers. Please note that "mex spots available to you" does not refer to the initial three or four near your Start Position, but to all unclaimed ones. All other things being equal, all players will claim mex spots in territory covering (map size/number of players). If your enemy doesn't claim all the spots that are within their suggested territory, they're yours to claim as well. As you defeat enemies, it is of extreme importance to move forward and claim mex spots to enhance your own economy as you disable your opponent's.

===A Note on Stalling===

Don't. You should never try spending much more metal than you make at any given time unless you've stockpiled in advance, and it's even more dangerous to run low on Energy. Many weapons, including HLTs and the Commander's D-gun, require it to fire, and mexes require it to operate. If you want to build two things at once but don't have enough metal, prioritize. That way, one of the things will be finished in less time. Having many builders idling is a sign of poor planning. Having every builder building very, very slowly from a stall is just as bad. Given the flexible nature of energy and the disadvantages of running short, it is important to always have an excess available. When using metal makers, always use the Metal Maker AI. (Click the metal maker in question, then Click the "select AI" button then scroll down and select the "metal maker AI")

If you do start to stall, back off your military production as much as you safely can and focus on shoring up your economy. Stabilize your energy supply first, then work on building up your metal supply.

===Teching Up to Expand Resource Production===

Once you've got your level 1 economy on solid footing, you face the next problem: deciding when advance to tech level 2. Building a level 2 facility 5 minutes after everyone else has one is a better alternative than getting one 90% of the way built with no means to defend it and losing it to an AK. Falling badly behind in the Tech 2 race will hurt your economy in the long run, so it's important to know precisely when you're safe to build.

There are a great many variables involved in determining when it's best to tech up, most of which involve common sense. Don't start building a level 2 factory until you can defend it. Make sure that there are static defenses nearby to ward off attackers. Even a few LLTs in the right place can make the difference between a load of scrap waiting to be reclaimed to fuel your continued expansion and a triumphant army of Flashes sitting smugly by the ruins of your level 2 factory. As a rule of thumb, don't start to build a level 2 facility until you have +25 Metal income and 800 metal in storage. Trying any earlier will hinder rather than help. Trying much later will waste time that could be spent building Moho Mexs.

Unless you have enemies knocking down your front door, the first and second unit built from your level 2 factory should be advanced builders. Assign these to Ctrl groups immediately and get them building. If enemies have knocked down your front door, build the advanced builders the instant it's safe. You can't afford to get any more behind, but you also don't want your advanced builder to roll out of the factory and get instantly slagged.

In the case of XTA, you should have ample energy income at this point. +300 over and above what you're using is the absolute minimum, as each Moho Mine in XTA requires 300 Energy to function. For AA and other mods, excess energy is less necessary, but is still good to have. Remember, energy is what makes everything go. Run short on energy and your enemy will run over you. The first item built with your advanced construction units should usually be a Moho Mine on your biggest safe metal spot, followed by Moho Mines on all other metal spots available to you, or everywhere on a metal map. If your enemy's being particularly aggressive (or suspiciously quiet), a Radar Jammer followed by Moho Mines everywhere is also an option.

Once you have a few Moho Mines up, and your military (both mobile units and static defenses) is reasonably solid, start constructing a fusion plant or cloakable fusion plant. Defend these well, especially against airstrikes. Not only are they a hefty resource investment, but they go bang with extreme alacrity. A field of flak turrets and missile towers nearby (appropriately spaced-out - don't try to carpet your base with them!) will give any airborne visitors a nasty surprise.

Little is more frustrating than seeing an ally get to level 2 and then try to build an Annihilator or Doomsday Machine without a single Moho Mine to give the project the resources it needs to finish before the game ends. Level 3 factories (Experimental Gantries in AA) can come at any time after Moho Mines are built, and will be further discussed in Strategy, part 2 - Military Policy. In mods such as Final Frontier, where level 3 Builders with level 3 metal extractors exist, they can come earlier.

===When It's OK to Stop Expanding Your Resources===

Never. It is never acceptable to stop expanding your economy. You're beating your enemies with what you have and victory seems certain? Keep expanding, and pound them into the ground. Let your attack falter due to lack of reinforcements (or, worse, running out of energy), and they might fatally surprise you. You've hit the unit limit? Self-destruct level 1 or unused units and replace them all with stronger models. You should easily be able to turn 20 Windmills into 20 cloakable fusion plants at this point. Your enemies are pushing you back towards your base? More resources will let you mass enough military units to turn the tide.

In order to manage your economy effectively in the late game, you really need to use the features Spring offers. Otherwise, you'll quickly be overwhelmed by the number of things that need doing. Even something as simple as assigning the lead construction unit of each "task group" to your numbered ctrl-groups can make your life a lot easier.

* You have 10 Ctrl groups. Use all 10. At least four should be reserved for advanced construction units. Which four is up to you, but using consecutive numbers is probably a good idea. Save at least a couple of groups for your battle units.
* Issue Guard orders to give prime builders (at whatever tech level) assistants, creating a Builder Group. 4 Farks on an advanced builder more than quintuple its output, and are easy to handle if you Ctrl group the one advanced builder. If you have level 1 builders that've run out of things to do, assign them to guard a factory or a level 2 builder. As long as you have the resources to support it, the more builders on a project, the better.
* Use Shift to queue orders. Don't be afraid to build up really long queues. You can always cancel a queue, or even use wait orders to delay part of it until after a vital job finishes. You want to be able to devote enough time to your battle units to win fights, so you don't want to be babying your construction units all the time.
* Use Shift+drag to create lines of units and Shift+Alt+drag to build boxes of units. These are especially good for defences or resource buildings, as they let you queue up a lot of orders very quickly.
* Use mouse 4 and 5 or z and x while dragging to adjust the spacing between line or box build orders, to make units much harder to chain destroy and ensure that your defensive structures have clear fields of fire. Play around to find the right spacing for a given building. Some have bigger explosions than others.
* Use your Commander intelligently. He can't build much by himself, but his nanolathe is almost as powerful as an Advanced Construction Vehicle's. This can be used to speed up construction significantly.

[[Category:Strategy]]

XTA

2006-03-25T15:59:55Z

Tweenk:

xta was a balance mod for [[TA]], developed by the [[SY]] clan.
Its latest TA version was xta0.95.

For spring, it was the first mod aviable, the first that was ported and is what comes with the installation of the Spring engine ready to play.

Edit: what comes now as default with spring is not xta, but a mod based in its balance, but that add somehow newer unit models, and new buildpics, its called [[XTA Pimped Edition]].

The development of xta has continued for Spring, and current version is 66SE.
Its mantained by people from the [[SY]] clan.

The basics are that all units are worth its cost and role.

For some basic info on XTA go here for now:
http://www.clan-sy.com/download/xta/

Back to [[Mods]]

[[Category:Mods]]

{{Category:Mods}}

Mass destruction weapon

2006-03-25T15:43:13Z

Tweenk:

'''Mass destruction weapon''' is any weapon (structure or mobile unit) that can inflict a great deal of damage during a very short time, is long-range (or has unlimited range) and takes considerable time and resources to deploy.

Most popular mass destruction weapons are the nuclear missile silos. Unlike other RTS games, in TA they are relatively cheap and quick to build and can fire quite rapidly. However, equally efficient and cheap defense systems exist, which neccesitates a bomber raid in order to destroy anti-nuke defenses before [[nuke strike|nuking]]. When enemy has porced with anti-air, it can be troublesome. A solution is to raid or swarm the enemy, but on some maps it is impossible.

Another weapon that can be considered mass-destruction is the [[long-range plasma cannon]]. In both [[Absolute Annihilation]] and [[XTA Pimped Edition]], it comes in a normal and rapid-firing variant, the latter being much more expensive and less accurate. In comparison with nukes, LRPCs' range is limited, which makes them less useful on large maps, but there are no defense system which can counter an incoming plasma bombardment. They are more expensive to build than nuke silos (in most mods they are one of the most expensive structures), can take ages to construct without several [[construction units]] helping and draw extremely large portions of energy when firing (especially the rapid-firing variant, which needs a dedicated fusion plant to fire continuously). However, economical strain of building such a cannon is greatly rewarded, as the player who constructed it can break through chokepoints without losing a single unit, given the chokepoint is in range of fire, or even demolish the enemy base. It must be noted that the cannon is not invincible and can be quickly destroyed by a nuke strike or bomber raid, which puts the owner way behind the competition (as he spent most of his resources building the cannon). This neccesitates an anti-air and anti-nuke support, which raises the cannon's nonetheless jawdropping cost even more.

The [[commander]] itself can also be used as a mass destruction weapon, due to an overwhelming explosion which follows its destruction. Usually, this is done late game by flying an air transport carrying the commander into enemy's anti-air defense or self-destructing this transport over enemy's base. This tactic is known as [[commander bombing]] or, when enemy commander is used, [[commander kidnapping]]

In some mods, there exist mobile nuclear missile silos or mobile long range plasma cannons (i. e. [[Absolute Annihilation|AA]]), which are generally weaker than their stationary counterparts, but are less prone to air or nuke attacks due to mobility.

[[category:Strategy]]

Mass destruction weapon

2006-03-25T15:40:32Z

Tweenk:

'''Mass destruction weapon''' is any weapon (structure or mobile unit) that can inflict a great deal of damage during a very short time, is long-range (or has unlimited range) and takes considerable time and resources to deploy.

Most popular mass destruction weapons are the nuclear missile silos. Unlike other RTS games, in TA they are relatively cheap and quick to build and can fire quite rapidly. However, equally efficient and cheap defense systems exist, which neccesitates a bomber raid in order to destroy anti-nuke defenses before [[nuke strike|nuking]]. When enemy has porced with anti-air, it can be troublesome. A solution is to raid or swarm the enemy, but on some maps it is impossible.

Another weapon that can be considered mass-destruction is the [[long-range plasma cannon]]. In both [[Absolute Annihilation]] and [[XTA Pimped Edition]], it comes in a normal and rapid-firing variant, the latter being much more expensive and of lesser accuracy. In comparison with nukes, LRPCs' range is limited, which makes them less useful on large maps, but there are no defense system which can counter an incoming plasma bombardment. They are more expensive to build than nuke silos (in most mods they are one of the most expensive structures), can take ages to construct without several [[construction units]] helping and draw extremely large portions of energy when firing (especially the rapid-firing variant, which needs a dedicated fusion plant to fire continuously). However, economical strain of building such a cannon is greatly rewarded, as the player who constructed it can break through chokepoints without losing a single unit (given the chokepoint is in range of fire) or even demolish the enemy base. It must be noted that the cannon is not invincible and can be quickly destroyed by a nuke strike or bomber raid, which puts the owner way behind the competition (as he spend most of his resources building the cannon). This neccesitates an anti-air and anti-nuke support, which raises the cannon's nonetheless jawdropping cost even more.

The [[commander]] itself can also be used as a mass destruction weapon, due to an overwhelming explosion which follows its destruction. Usually, this is done late game by flying an air transport carrying the commander into enemy's anti-air defense or self-destructing this transport over enemy's base. This tactic is known as [[commander bombing]] or, when enemy commander is used, [[commander kidnapping]]

In some mods, there exist mobile nuclear missile silos or mobile long range plasma cannons (i. e. [[Absolute Annihilation|AA]]), which are generally weaker than their stationary counterparts, but are less prone to air or nuke attacks due to mobility.

Mass destruction weapon

2006-03-25T15:39:34Z

Tweenk:

'''Mass destruction weapon''' is any weapon (structure or mobile unit) that can inflict a great deal of damage during a very short time, is long-range (or has unlimited range) and takes considerable time and resources to deploy.

Most popular mass destruction weapons are the nuclear missile silos. Unlike other RTS games, in TA they are relatively cheap and quick to build and can fire quite rapidly. However, equally efficient and cheap defense systems exist, which neccesitates a bomber raid in order to destroy anti-nuke defenses before [[nuke strike|nuking]]. When enemy has porced with anti-air, it can be troublesome. A solution is to raid or swarm the enemy, but on some maps it is impossible.

Another weapon that can be considered mass-destruction is the [[long-range plasma cannon]]. In both [[Absolute Annihilation]] and [[XTA]], it comes in a normal and rapid-firing variant, the latter being much more expensive and of lesser accuracy. In comparison with nukes, LRPCs' range is limited, which makes them less useful on large maps, but there are no defense system which can counter an incoming plasma bombardment. They are more expensive to build than nuke silos (in most mods they are one of the most expensive structures), can take ages to construct without several [[construction units]] helping and draw extremely large portions of energy when firing (especially the rapid-firing variant, which needs a dedicated fusion plant to fire continuously). However, economical strain of building such a cannon is greatly rewarded, as the player who constructed it can break through chokepoints without losing a single unit (given the chokepoint is in range of fire) or even demolish the enemy base. It must be noted that the cannon is not invincible and can be quickly destroyed by a nuke strike or bomber raid, which puts the owner way behind the competition (as he spend most of his resources building the cannon). This neccesitates an anti-air and anti-nuke support, which raises the cannon's nonetheless jawdropping cost even more.

The [[commander]] itself can also be used as a mass destruction weapon, due to an overwhelming explosion which follows its destruction. Usually, this is done late game by flying an air transport carrying the commander into enemy's anti-air defense or self-destructing this transport over enemy's base. This tactic is known as [[commander bombing]] or, when enemy commander is used, [[commander kidnapping]]

In some mods, there exist mobile nuclear missile silos or mobile long range plasma cannons (i. e. [[Absolute Annihilation|AA]]), which are generally weaker than their stationary counterparts, but are less prone to air or nuke attacks due to mobility.

Porcing

2006-03-25T15:03:01Z

Tweenk:

'''Porcing''' is a strategy in which player focuses on expanding his defenses to a point where they are nearly impossible to penetrate. After this, player builds up a large attack force (often an [[uberweapon]]) while fending off incoming attacks using his defensive structures. When appropriately big force is accumulated, player tries to overwhelm and destroy enemy base in a single run. Sometimes the enemy is taken care of using a [[nuke strike|nuke]] or long range artillery i. e. [[Long range plasma cannon|LRPC]].

Porcing has good chances of success when:
* [[Resources]] are limited (which is not the case in TA)
* [[Mass destruction weapon]]s are very expensive or hardly accessible
* Enemy is [[rushing]]
* [[Defense buildings]] are more cost effective than mobile combat units (which is usual)

Porcing will fail when:
* Mass destruction weapons are readily available or enemy uses [[Commander bombing|commbombing]]
* Enemy is [[raiding]] frequently
* There are efficient artillery units to take out defenses from distance
* Enemy is [[swarming]]. Particularly dangerous when defenses comprise mostly of laser or other hit-or-miss weapons

If porcing is very effective, the game is considered off-balance and becomes boring, as each player prepares his attack for a very long time.

[[category:Strategy]]

Commander bombing

2006-03-25T14:59:01Z

Tweenk:

Commander bombing or commbombing is when a player uses the awesomeness of the starting commander to wreck havoc on an enemy's base or auxillary defenses. The D-gun combined with a huge explosion when the comm dies will very quickly destroy the opposing player's economy and production if the buildings were grouped together. There are several tactics that constitute commbombing:

# Running out to an enemy's cannon/defenses that is shelling you/ruining your peewees and dgunning it (very common on Altored Divide map)
# Walking into enemy's base early game and dgunning the opposing player's comm, destroying most of their base and their commander (perhaps even taking them completely out of the game)
# In the latter game, flying a transport with a commander (perhaps not even yours!) in it into their base to explode it

Commbombing is generally frowned upon, as many times they are used in ways which rapidly end or throw the game. The [[D-gun]] especially seems overpowered if allowed to function as an offensive weapon. This is why many times games will limit d-gun to start position. This, however, will not stop a commander from d-gunning an incoming Korgoth.

Uberweapon

2006-03-22T00:05:43Z

Tweenk:

'''Uberweapon''' is a term used to describe an unit that takes a great deal of resources and time to build, but when finished, gives a great advantage and usually victory to the constructing player.

'''Uberweapon strategy''' is a strategy in which a player concentrates on reaching top technology level in shortest possible time while expanding economy. After attaining highest possible technology level, all resources are concentrated on building very powerful and expensive unit(s) (uberweapon), which in turn is used to attack enemy base and demolish it (or at least damage beyond recovery). Defensive structures and combat units are built in small quantities only, because of the great strain on economy put by building the uberweapon.

Uberweapon strategy has best chances of succeeding when:
* There is a very powerful unit available (this is fundamental)
* There are natural boundaries separating portions of the map (i. e. water)
* The map is big and resource-rich
* Enemy is [[porcing]] and doesn't plan to use [[mass destruction weapon]]
* The resources are limited (which is not the case in TA)

It is likely to fail when:
* Enemy is [[rushing]]
* Enemy uses mass destruction weapons
* Map has few natural obstacles and is easy to maneuver
* Map is resource-poor or small

Generally, when it is possible to successfully implement an uberweapon strategy, the game is considered off-balance. This strategy is also sometimes successful against "stupid" AI which is not willing to push any attacks until disturbed. Effective counters are i. e. making long-range or mass destruction weapons readily available and cheap or setting a fixed build / research time. However, if nukes become too easy to build, they will temselves become an uberweapon. The most common aproach is therefore to increase the build time of the most powerful units until uberweapon strategy is no longer an option, even on very large maps, or to create units allowing fast, early attack.

In [[Absolute Annihilation]] mod, level 3 mechs - [[Krogoth]], [[Orcone]], [[Karganeth]], etc. - are candidates for an uberweapon. Players building them often overestimate their power and send them with no anti-air or ground support against swarms, which results in destruction of the mech. However, if the defender is not prepared, deploying a Krogoth or Orcone results in quick victory.

[[category:Strategy]]

Uberweapon

2006-03-21T23:57:45Z

Tweenk:

Strategy and Tactics

2006-03-21T23:32:32Z

Tweenk: /* Tips and Other */

Strategy and tactics are best described as "concepts on how to win". Strategy is a chosen global way of action, while tactics are short-term actions to attain specific goals (i. e. takeover of a choke point, destruction of frontline defense, crippling economy etc.)

===Common strategies===

* [[Rushing]] (early rush)
* [[Porcing]] (fortress building)
* [[Ground control]]
* [[Uberweapon]]

===Common tactics===

* [[Commander bombing]]
* [[Commander kidnapping]]
* [[Raiding]]
* [[Swarming]]
* [[Nuke strike]]
* [[Chokepoint]]

===Tips and Other===
*[[Spring guide!]]
*[[Base building tips]]
*[[Spring for RTS Players]]
*[[Spring Replays]]
*[[Mods, and their strategies/tactics]]
*[[Advanced Strategy Discussion]]
*[[Resources]]

Return to [[Main Page]]

[[Category:Playing]]
[[category:Strategy]]

Strategy, part 1 - Resources

2006-03-21T23:32:03Z

Tweenk: Strategy, part 1 - Resources moved to Resources

#REDIRECT [[Resources]]

Strategy and Tactics

2006-03-21T22:37:07Z

Tweenk: /* Tips and Other */

Strategy and tactics are best described as "concepts on how to win". Strategy is a chosen global way of action, while tactics are short-term actions to attain specific goals (i. e. takeover of a choke point, destruction of frontline defense, crippling economy etc.)

===Common strategies===

* [[Rushing]] (early rush)
* [[Porcing]] (fortress building)
* [[Ground control]]
* [[Uberweapon]]

===Common tactics===

* [[Commander bombing]]
* [[Commander kidnapping]]
* [[Raiding]]
* [[Swarming]]
* [[Nuke strike]]
* [[Chokepoint]]

===Tips and Other===
*[[Spring guide!]]
*[[Base building tips]]
*[[Spring for RTS Players]]
*[[Spring Replays]]
*[[Mods, and their strategies/tactics]]
*[[Advanced Strategy Discussion]]
*[[Strategy, part 1 - Resources]]

Return to [[Main Page]]

[[Category:Playing]]
[[category:Strategy]]

Spamming

2006-03-21T22:08:50Z

Tweenk:

'''Spamming''', when it comes to game tactics, is a term used to describe:
* [[Porcing]] using a great many of weak [[defense buildings]]
* A very numerous [[swarming|swarm]]
Spamming is sometimes seen as a bad game practice, because it makes the game more difficult for owners of lower-grade hardware. Displaying spammed environment results in massive slowdown (lag), which prevents the player from taking any actions or makes them very difficult. Intentional spamming in order to cause lag and render the enemy defenseless is clearly unfair. However, it is sometimes neccesary, i. e. against a porced player.

[[category:Strategy]]

Spamming

2006-03-21T22:02:07Z

Tweenk:

'''Spamming''', when it comes to game tactics, is a term used to describe:
* [[Porcing]] using a great many of weak [[defense structures]]
* A very numerous [[swarming|swarm]]
Spamming is sometimes seen as a bad game practice, because it makes the game more difficult for owners of lower-grade hardware. Displaying spammed environment results in massive slowdown (lag), which prevents the player from taking any actions or makes them very difficult. Intentional spamming in order to cause lag and render the enemy defenseless is clearly unfair. However, it is sometimes neccesary, i. e. against a porced player.

[[category:Strategy]]

Swarming

2006-03-21T21:51:04Z

Tweenk:

'''Swarming''' is an offensive battle tactic which uses a great number of (preferably) low cost, low armor, high speed and high attack power units to destroy enemy defenses or kill a very powerful unit. It is particularly effective when enemy uses weapon that don't inflict much area damage (like laser weapons). As each weapon can target only a single unit at once and it takes some time to reload, a swarm of weak units firing all at once can destroy even a very powerful piece of weaponry.

Swarming is particularly effective when:
* Enemy is [[porcing]] using hit-or-miss (non-area) weapons
* Enemy is using mainly powerful, but slow-reload weapons
* Enemy is relying heavily on a handful of very powerful units or an [[uberweapon]]

Swarming is likely to fail if:
* Enemy is porcing using area weapons i. e. rockets, mortars etc.
* Enemy's defenses are fast reloading or scattered (large number of weak defenses instead of a few super-strongholds)
* There are no appropriate units available

Swarming is sometimes termed [[spamming]] by annoyed players, partly because displaying a large number of weak units results in a devastating slowdown on lower-grade systems. However, making a good swarm unit available is seen as a countermeasure to porcing, which deteriorates gameplay. Some sort of swarming is therefore possible in almost every balanced mod.

[[category:Strategy]]

Swarming

2006-03-21T21:50:37Z

Tweenk:

'''Swarming''' is an offensive battle tactic which uses a great number of (preferably) low cost, low armor, high speed and high attack power units to destroy enemy defenses or kill a very powerful unit. It is particularly effective when enemy uses weapon that don't inflict much area damage (like laser weapons). As each weapon can target only a single unit at once and it takes some time to reload, a swarm of weak units firing all at once can destroy even a very powerful piece of weaponry.

Swarming is particularly effective when:
* Enemy is [[porcing]] using hit-or-miss (non-area) weapons
* Enemy is using mainly powerful, but slow-reload weapons
* Enemy is relying heavily on a handful of very powerful units or an [[uberweapon]]

Swarming is likely to fail if:
* Enemy is porcing using area weapons i. e. rockets, mortars etc.
* Enemy's defenses are fast reloading or scattered (large number of weak defenses instead of a few super-strongholds)
* There are no appropriate units available

Swarming is sometimes termed spamming by annoyed players, partly because displaying a large number of weak units results in a devastating slowdown on lower-grade systems. However, making a good swarm unit available is seen as a countermeasure to porcing, which deteriorates gameplay. Some sort of swarming is therefore possible in almost every balanced mod.

[[category:Strategy]]

Porcing

2006-03-21T21:32:12Z

Tweenk:

'''Porcing''' is a strategy in which player focuses on expanding his defenses to a point where they are nearly impossible to penetrate. After this, player builds up a large attack force (often an [[uberweapon]]) while fending off incoming attacks using his defensive structures. When appropriately big force is accumulated, player tries to overwhelm and destroy enemy base in a single run.

Porcing has good chances of success when:
* [[Resources]] are limited (which is not the case in TA)
* [[Mass destruction weapon]]s are very expensive or hardly accessible
* Enemy is [[rushing]]
* [[Defense buildings]] are more cost effective than mobile combat units (which is usual)

Porcing will fail when:
* Mass destruction weapons are readily available or enemy uses [[Commander bombing|commbombing]]
* Enemy is [[raiding]] frequently
* There are efficient artillery units to take out defenses from distance
* Enemy is [[swarming]]. Particularly dangerous when defenses comprise mostly of laser or other hit-or-miss weapons

If porcing is very effective, the game is considered off-balance and becomes boring, as each player prepares his attack for a very long time.

[[category:Strategy]]

Uberweapon

2006-03-21T21:13:00Z

Tweenk:

Strategy and Tactics

2006-03-21T20:50:27Z

Tweenk:

Strategy and tactics are best described as "concepts on how to win". Strategy is a chosen global way of action, while tactics are short-term actions to attain specific goals (i. e. takeover of a choke point, destruction of frontline defense, crippling economy etc.)

===Common strategies===

* [[Rushing]] (early rush)
* [[Porcing]] (fortress building)
* [[Ground control]]
* [[Uberweapon]]

===Common tactics===

* [[Commander bombing]]
* [[Commander kidnapping]]
* [[Raiding]]
* [[Swarming]]
* [[Nuke strike]]
* [[Chokepoint]]

===Tips and Other===
*[[Spring guide!]]
*[[Base building tips]]
*[[Spring for RTS Players]]
*[[Spring Replays]]
*[[Mods, and their strategies/tactics]]
*[[Advanced Strategy Discussion]]
*[[Strategy, part 1 - Resources]]

Return to [[Main_Page]]

[[Category:Playing]]

Main Page

2006-03-21T20:40:11Z

Tweenk: /* Development */

== The Spring WIKI ==
{|border="2" cellpadding="4" cellspacing="0" style="margin: 10px; border: 1px #aaa solid; border-collapse: collapse; background: #f9f9f9"
|<center>'''Other Languages'''</center>
|<center>'''[[Image:france_flag.gif]] [http://home.tele2.fr/flani/Tutoriaux.htm FranÃƒÂ§ais]'''</center>
|<center>'''[[Image:germany_flag.gif]] [[Hauptseite|Deutsch]]'''</center>
|}
{|border="0" cellpadding="4" cellspacing="10" width="100%"
|width="33%" valign="top" style="background: #e6e6fa; border: 1px #aaa solid;"|
===Playing Spring===

'''[[Read Me First]]''' - a Wiki article with the most commonly-asked questions from newcomers 
'''[[Getting Started]]''' 
'''[[Using Spring]]''' 
'''[[Glossary]]''' 
'''[[Spring on a LAN]]''' 
'''[[Strategy and Tactics]]''' 
'''[[Clans]]''' 
'''[[King Titles]]''' 
|width="33%" valign="top" style="background: #e6e6fa; border: 1px #aaa solid;"|

===Spring Project===
'''[[Monthly Topic Rotation]]''' - Read before posting on the forums. Especially before asking for or about features. 
'''[[Spring Project]]''' 
'''[[FAQ]]''' 
'''[[Features]]''' 
'''[[Maps]]''' 
'''[[Units]]''' 
'''[[Mods]]''' 
|width="33%" valign="top" style="background: #e6e6fa; border: 1px #aaa solid;"|

===Development===
'''[[Source Development]]''' 
'''[[Mod Development]]''' 
'''[[Unit Development]]''' 
'''[[Create units]]''' 
'''[[Create maps]]''' 
'''[[Linux]]''' 
'''[[Mac]]''' 
'''[[AI]]''' 
'''[[Map, Mod, And Unit Development Programs]]''' 
'''[[Help:Editing|Add to the Wiki]]'''
|}
----

{|width="100%" style="margin:10px; background:#f9f9f9; padding:5px; border:1px #aaa solid;"
|
This site is put together by the community, which could (read as SHOULD) mean YOU! If you see information missing, or find out new information you think would be helpful, put it in. If you find a spelling mistake or phrase that could be clearer, fix it. If you find yourself doing repeated searches or going back to the [[Special:Allpages|Topic Index]] repeatedly when trying to find out about a particular feature, consider combining articles or linking them to one another. Any contributions you make to this Wiki are in the public domain.

''"A wiki is a web application that allows users to add content, as on an Internet forum, but also allows anyone to edit the content."''
- [http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Wiki Wikipedia.org]
|}
__NOTOC__

If you wish to comment on this page (or the wiki) you need to login and then you can go [http://taspring.clan-sy.com/w/index.php?title=Talk:Main_Page&action=edit&section=new here], and post your thoughts.
[[Category:Spring]]

Main Page

2006-03-21T20:40:11Z

Tweenk: /* Development */

Main Page

2006-03-21T20:39:38Z

Tweenk: /* Spring Project */

== The Spring WIKI ==
{|border="2" cellpadding="4" cellspacing="0" style="margin: 10px; border: 1px #aaa solid; border-collapse: collapse; background: #f9f9f9"
|<center>'''Other Languages'''</center>
|<center>'''[[Image:france_flag.gif]] [http://home.tele2.fr/flani/Tutoriaux.htm FranÃƒÂ§ais]'''</center>
|<center>'''[[Image:germany_flag.gif]] [[Hauptseite|Deutsch]]'''</center>
|}
{|border="0" cellpadding="4" cellspacing="10" width="100%"
|width="33%" valign="top" style="background: #e6e6fa; border: 1px #aaa solid;"|
===Playing Spring===

'''[[Read Me First]]''' - a Wiki article with the most commonly-asked questions from newcomers 
'''[[Getting Started]]''' 
'''[[Using Spring]]''' 
'''[[Glossary]]''' 
'''[[Spring on a LAN]]''' 
'''[[Strategy and Tactics]]''' 
'''[[Clans]]''' 
'''[[King Titles]]''' 
|width="33%" valign="top" style="background: #e6e6fa; border: 1px #aaa solid;"|

===Spring Project===
'''[[Monthly Topic Rotation]]''' - Read before posting on the forums. Especially before asking for or about features. 
'''[[Spring Project]]''' 
'''[[FAQ]]''' 
'''[[Features]]''' 
'''[[Maps]]''' 
'''[[Units]]''' 
'''[[Mods]]''' 
|width="33%" valign="top" style="background: #e6e6fa; border: 1px #aaa solid;"|

===Development===
'''[[Source Development]]''' 
'''[[Mod Development]]''' 
'''[[Create units]]''' 
'''[[Create maps]]''' 
'''[[Linux]]''' 
'''[[Mac]]''' 
'''[[AI]]''' 
'''[[Map, Mod, And Unit Development Programs]]''' 
'''[[Help:Editing|Add to the Wiki]]'''
|}
----

{|width="100%" style="margin:10px; background:#f9f9f9; padding:5px; border:1px #aaa solid;"
|
This site is put together by the community, which could (read as SHOULD) mean YOU! If you see information missing, or find out new information you think would be helpful, put it in. If you find a spelling mistake or phrase that could be clearer, fix it. If you find yourself doing repeated searches or going back to the [[Special:Allpages|Topic Index]] repeatedly when trying to find out about a particular feature, consider combining articles or linking them to one another. Any contributions you make to this Wiki are in the public domain.

''"A wiki is a web application that allows users to add content, as on an Internet forum, but also allows anyone to edit the content."''
- [http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Wiki Wikipedia.org]
|}
__NOTOC__

If you wish to comment on this page (or the wiki) you need to login and then you can go [http://taspring.clan-sy.com/w/index.php?title=Talk:Main_Page&action=edit&section=new here], and post your thoughts.
[[Category:Spring]]

Main Page

2006-03-21T20:39:38Z

Tweenk: /* Spring Project */

== The Spring WIKI ==
{|border="2" cellpadding="4" cellspacing="0" style="margin: 10px; border: 1px #aaa solid; border-collapse: collapse; background: #f9f9f9"
|<center>'''Other Languages'''</center>
|<center>'''[[Image:france_flag.gif]] [http://home.tele2.fr/flani/Tutoriaux.htm FranÃƒÂ§ais]'''</center>
|<center>'''[[Image:germany_flag.gif]] [[Hauptseite|Deutsch]]'''</center>
|}
{|border="0" cellpadding="4" cellspacing="10" width="100%"
|width="33%" valign="top" style="background: #e6e6fa; border: 1px #aaa solid;"|
===Playing Spring===

'''[[Read Me First]]''' - a Wiki article with the most commonly-asked questions from newcomers 
'''[[Getting Started]]''' 
'''[[Using Spring]]''' 
'''[[Glossary]]''' 
'''[[Spring on a LAN]]''' 
'''[[Strategy and Tactics]]''' 
'''[[Clans]]''' 
'''[[King Titles]]''' 
|width="33%" valign="top" style="background: #e6e6fa; border: 1px #aaa solid;"|

===Spring Project===
'''[[Monthly Topic Rotation]]''' - Read before posting on the forums. Especially before asking for or about features. 
'''[[Spring Project]]''' 
'''[[FAQ]]''' 
'''[[Features]]''' 
'''[[Maps]]''' 
'''[[Units]]''' 
'''[[Mods]]''' 
|width="33%" valign="top" style="background: #e6e6fa; border: 1px #aaa solid;"|

===Development===
'''[[Source Development]]''' 
'''[[Mod Development]]''' 
'''[[Create units]]''' 
'''[[Create maps]]''' 
'''[[Linux]]''' 
'''[[Mac]]''' 
'''[[AI]]''' 
'''[[Map, Mod, And Unit Development Programs]]''' 
'''[[Help:Editing|Add to the Wiki]]'''
|}
----

{|width="100%" style="margin:10px; background:#f9f9f9; padding:5px; border:1px #aaa solid;"
|
This site is put together by the community, which could (read as SHOULD) mean YOU! If you see information missing, or find out new information you think would be helpful, put it in. If you find a spelling mistake or phrase that could be clearer, fix it. If you find yourself doing repeated searches or going back to the [[Special:Allpages|Topic Index]] repeatedly when trying to find out about a particular feature, consider combining articles or linking them to one another. Any contributions you make to this Wiki are in the public domain.

''"A wiki is a web application that allows users to add content, as on an Internet forum, but also allows anyone to edit the content."''
- [http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Wiki Wikipedia.org]
|}
__NOTOC__

If you wish to comment on this page (or the wiki) you need to login and then you can go [http://taspring.clan-sy.com/w/index.php?title=Talk:Main_Page&action=edit&section=new here], and post your thoughts.
[[Category:Spring]]

Main Page

2006-03-21T20:38:47Z

Tweenk: /* Spring Project */

== The Spring WIKI ==
{|border="2" cellpadding="4" cellspacing="0" style="margin: 10px; border: 1px #aaa solid; border-collapse: collapse; background: #f9f9f9"
|<center>'''Other Languages'''</center>
|<center>'''[[Image:france_flag.gif]] [http://home.tele2.fr/flani/Tutoriaux.htm FranÃƒÂ§ais]'''</center>
|<center>'''[[Image:germany_flag.gif]] [[Hauptseite|Deutsch]]'''</center>
|}
{|border="0" cellpadding="4" cellspacing="10" width="100%"
|width="33%" valign="top" style="background: #e6e6fa; border: 1px #aaa solid;"|
===Playing Spring===

'''[[Read Me First]]''' - a Wiki article with the most commonly-asked questions from newcomers 
'''[[Getting Started]]''' 
'''[[Using Spring]]''' 
'''[[Glossary]]''' 
'''[[Spring on a LAN]]''' 
'''[[Strategy and Tactics]]''' 
'''[[Clans]]''' 
'''[[King Titles]]''' 
|width="33%" valign="top" style="background: #e6e6fa; border: 1px #aaa solid;"|

===Spring Project===
'''[[Monthly Topic Rotation]]''' - Read before posting on the forums. Especially before asking for or about features. 
'''[[Spring Project]]''' 
'''[[FAQ]]''' 
'''[[Features]]''' 
'''[[Maps]]''' 
'''[[Unit Development]]''' 
'''[[Mods]]''' 
|width="33%" valign="top" style="background: #e6e6fa; border: 1px #aaa solid;"|

===Development===
'''[[Source Development]]''' 
'''[[Mod Development]]''' 
'''[[Create units]]''' 
'''[[Create maps]]''' 
'''[[Linux]]''' 
'''[[Mac]]''' 
'''[[AI]]''' 
'''[[Map, Mod, And Unit Development Programs]]''' 
'''[[Help:Editing|Add to the Wiki]]'''
|}
----

{|width="100%" style="margin:10px; background:#f9f9f9; padding:5px; border:1px #aaa solid;"
|
This site is put together by the community, which could (read as SHOULD) mean YOU! If you see information missing, or find out new information you think would be helpful, put it in. If you find a spelling mistake or phrase that could be clearer, fix it. If you find yourself doing repeated searches or going back to the [[Special:Allpages|Topic Index]] repeatedly when trying to find out about a particular feature, consider combining articles or linking them to one another. Any contributions you make to this Wiki are in the public domain.

''"A wiki is a web application that allows users to add content, as on an Internet forum, but also allows anyone to edit the content."''
- [http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Wiki Wikipedia.org]
|}
__NOTOC__

If you wish to comment on this page (or the wiki) you need to login and then you can go [http://taspring.clan-sy.com/w/index.php?title=Talk:Main_Page&action=edit&section=new here], and post your thoughts.
[[Category:Spring]]

Main Page

2006-03-21T20:38:47Z

Tweenk: /* Spring Project */

== The Spring WIKI ==
{|border="2" cellpadding="4" cellspacing="0" style="margin: 10px; border: 1px #aaa solid; border-collapse: collapse; background: #f9f9f9"
|<center>'''Other Languages'''</center>
|<center>'''[[Image:france_flag.gif]] [http://home.tele2.fr/flani/Tutoriaux.htm FranÃƒÂ§ais]'''</center>
|<center>'''[[Image:germany_flag.gif]] [[Hauptseite|Deutsch]]'''</center>
|}
{|border="0" cellpadding="4" cellspacing="10" width="100%"
|width="33%" valign="top" style="background: #e6e6fa; border: 1px #aaa solid;"|
===Playing Spring===

'''[[Read Me First]]''' - a Wiki article with the most commonly-asked questions from newcomers 
'''[[Getting Started]]''' 
'''[[Using Spring]]''' 
'''[[Glossary]]''' 
'''[[Spring on a LAN]]''' 
'''[[Strategy and Tactics]]''' 
'''[[Clans]]''' 
'''[[King Titles]]''' 
|width="33%" valign="top" style="background: #e6e6fa; border: 1px #aaa solid;"|

===Spring Project===
'''[[Monthly Topic Rotation]]''' - Read before posting on the forums. Especially before asking for or about features. 
'''[[Spring Project]]''' 
'''[[FAQ]]''' 
'''[[Features]]''' 
'''[[Maps]]''' 
'''[[Unit Development]]''' 
'''[[Mods]]''' 
|width="33%" valign="top" style="background: #e6e6fa; border: 1px #aaa solid;"|

===Development===
'''[[Source Development]]''' 
'''[[Mod Development]]''' 
'''[[Create units]]''' 
'''[[Create maps]]''' 
'''[[Linux]]''' 
'''[[Mac]]''' 
'''[[AI]]''' 
'''[[Map, Mod, And Unit Development Programs]]''' 
'''[[Help:Editing|Add to the Wiki]]'''
|}
----

{|width="100%" style="margin:10px; background:#f9f9f9; padding:5px; border:1px #aaa solid;"
|
This site is put together by the community, which could (read as SHOULD) mean YOU! If you see information missing, or find out new information you think would be helpful, put it in. If you find a spelling mistake or phrase that could be clearer, fix it. If you find yourself doing repeated searches or going back to the [[Special:Allpages|Topic Index]] repeatedly when trying to find out about a particular feature, consider combining articles or linking them to one another. Any contributions you make to this Wiki are in the public domain.

''"A wiki is a web application that allows users to add content, as on an Internet forum, but also allows anyone to edit the content."''
- [http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Wiki Wikipedia.org]
|}
__NOTOC__

If you wish to comment on this page (or the wiki) you need to login and then you can go [http://taspring.clan-sy.com/w/index.php?title=Talk:Main_Page&action=edit&section=new here], and post your thoughts.
[[Category:Spring]]

Units

2006-03-21T20:38:03Z

Tweenk: Units page

'''Units''' are smallest player- or AI-controllable in-game entities. They may be stationary (buildings) or mobile (kbots, vehicles, airplanes, etc.). However, in common language "units" are understood as "mobile units".

==Types of units==

By function:
* [[Commander]]
* [[Construction units]]
* [[Combat units]]
* [[Special units]]
* [[Production buildings]]
* [[Defense buildings]]
* [[Special buildings]]

By mobility type:
* [[Vehicles]]
* [[Kbots]]
* [[Amphibious units]]
* [[Airplanes]]
* [[Ships]]
* [[Submarines]]
* [[Buildings]]
** Ground
** Floating
** Underwater

[[category:Playing]]

FAQ

2006-03-21T18:50:25Z

Tweenk: /* tested low-end systems */

==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.

====tested low-end systems ====
* AMD Athlon 800 MHz, GeForce 2 MX, 384 MB RAM;
** works, but sometimes laggy (by [[User:Duncs|duncs]])
* AMD Duron 1000 MHz, GeForce MX 440, 512 MB RAM;
** small maps, low unit count is ok - but still laggy; (by [[User:Suit|Suit]])
* P4 2600 MHz (HT), Intel 82865G (built-in, Intel 865 chipset), 1024 MB RAM
** works ok, laggy on high (visible) unit count or on big maps when most of the terrain is visible (by Tweenk)
* P3 866 MHz, Intel 82830M (built-in), 512 MB RAM (notebook)
** game crashes a few seconds after displaying terrain (by Tweenk)

===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==

[[Category:Content]]

FAQ

2006-03-21T18:49:34Z

Tweenk: /* tested low-end systems */

==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.

====tested low-end systems ====
* AMD Athlon 800 MHz, GeForce 2 MX, 384 MB RAM;
** works, but sometimes laggy (by [[User:Duncs|duncs]])
* AMD Duron 1000 MHz, GeForce MX 440, 512 MB RAM;
** small maps, low unit count is ok - but still laggy; (by [[User:Suit|Suit]])
* P4 2600 MHz (HT), Intel 82865G (built-in, Intel 865 chipset), 1024 MB RAM
** works ok, laggy on high unit count or on big maps when most of the terrain is visible (by Tweenk)
* P3 866 MHz, Intel 82830M (built-in), 512 MB RAM (notebook)
** game crashes a few seconds after displaying terrain (by Tweenk)

===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==

[[Category:Content]]

FAQ

2006-03-21T18:48:37Z

Tweenk: /* tested low-end systems */

==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.

====tested low-end systems ====
* AMD Athlon 800 MHz, GeForce 2 MX, 384 MB RAM;
** works, but sometimes laggy (by [[User:Duncs|duncs]])
* AMD Duron 1000 MHz, GeForce MX 440, 512 MB RAM;
** small maps, low unit count is ok - but still laggy; (by [[User:Suit|Suit]])
* P4 2600 MHz (HT), Intel 82865G (built-in, Intel 865 chipset), 1024 MB RAM
** works ok, laggy on high unit count or on big maps when most of the terrain is visible
* P3 866 MHz, Intel 82830M (built-in), 512 MB RAM (notebook)
** game crashes shortly after displaying terrain

===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==

[[Category:Content]]