Total Annihilation [solve]

Here's the walkthough for "Total Annihilation"

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::Radon::
radon@myrealbox.com
radon@gamebox.net
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Total Annihilation
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In games such as Total Annihilation it's important to know exactly what to
do with the killing machines at your disposal. You don't have to find out
the hard way - listed here are tactics, cheats and codes to help you through
the most arduous tortures of TA-styled warfare. So power up, and get down to
it.


Killing fields
Uncover as much terrain as you can as quickly as possible. A firm knowledge
of the area surrounding your base is essential in creating a sound defence.
Try to get as much cover as you can from hills: not only can you set
defences on them, but they also shield buildings from long-range weapons
such as heavy plasma cannons.
Think about how ancient castles are positioned; they take advantage of
nature's offerings by incorporating forests, rivers and hills into their
defences. Valleys are ideal locations too: set up self-sufficient defensive
forts at either end of a ravine and you'll immediately increase your chances
of victory.

Basic housekeeping
There are a couple of ways to keep your base and buildings undamaged. The
first method is to have a construction unit permanently guard one specific
building - it will automatically be repaired as soon as it sustains any
hits. Don't use all your construction units in this way though, or you won't
be able to build anything.
The next method is to make a construction unit patrol a set route so it can
repair any friendly units it may come across. It also means that you can
send a damaged unit towards this predesignated route with the knowledge that
it is going to be repaired.
The final method is one for aircraft only. Build an aircraft repair pad or a
light carrier, and unsurprisingly your damaged aircraft will automatically
return for repairs. However, aircraft won't take advantage of this unless
they're on some kind of mission, so always try and assign them to specific
types of flight. Switching off the repair pads won't do you any good at all,
so don't do it. Ever.


Speeding up construction
This can be achieved simply by assigning a number of units to the same
construction site. It's a simple rule that obviously follows the 'many hands
make light work' ethos.



Defending your base
Use scouts to patrol the skies around your defences. Static defences only
attack what they can see, so if they are being bombarded from outside their
visual range, let the scout aircraft take over. Static defences will attack
anything closer.
When you can see what's attacking you, choose the best defence for the job:
if you're being attacked from the air use missile towers, but when being
attacked by ground forces use lasers and heavy plasma cannons, and always
try to have a construction unit assigned to areas around defensive
structures to repair any damage.

Light laser towers
Light laser towers are brilliant at stopping early attacks. They can wipe
out entire units quickly and efficiently. These turrets will only fire if
you have enough power to do so.

Heavy laser towers
Effective against heavy vehicles and Kbots. If you've got two or three of
them, you're in business. But watch out - they're real energy guzzlers.

Missile towers
Quick to build and good against planes. Set them up in groups and long-range
defence is secured.

Heavy plasma cannons
Twice as powerful as a heavy laser, and with a massive range, heavy plasma
cannons are the elite defenders of your base - they can even turn the tables
and attack enemy bases. CORE's version has a slightly shorter range than
ARM's though, which can actually match the shelling range of a battleship.
So if you're being attacked by a ship, surprise it with a quick blast from
this.

Annihilator/Doomsday machine
With the same range as a heavy plasma cannon and the power of a nuclear
missile, this weapon is what Total Annihilation is all about! But CORE's
Doomsday machine is a bit different - it's more of a defensive laser. It
does the same damage as ARM's but has a longer reload time and half the
range - but it does have some cool short-range lasers. Rather an odd weapon.

Dragon's teeth
Use dragon's teeth to block certain areas off or to trick enemy units into
an ambush. They seem to be extremely difficult to destroy though, so don't
waste too much time or effort trying.

Bertha cannons
You don't even need to see your enemy to use this awesome weapon. It's not
quite in the class of the Doomsday machine but you only need to have a rough
idea about the location of enemy bases in order to hit them. You can
literally take bases apart piece by piece with the Bertha, so it's worth
thinking what could happen to your base if one is not stopped quickly...

Attacking the enemy

We've told you how to defend your base - but you're not going to win without
a few tips on how to dish out a bit of return fire.

Crawling bombs
Load these into Atlas and Valkyrie aircraft, and into Hulk and Envoy sea
transports. Curious, huh? Read on... When approaching your target, hit
self-destruct (ctrl-D) and the vehicle will blow up, sending crawling bombs
everywhere; these of course do the honourable thing and explode too.
Offensively and defensively this is a top move - it causes mass destruction
and looks spectacular! For added confusion load a radar jammer onboard.

Long-range rockets
The extreme-range rockets of the Merl/Diplomats and Hydra/Ranger units are
excellent 'reach out and touch someone' weapons. They are best used against
static defences, because long-range rockets take some time to reach their
targets: they are two-stage rockets, allowing them to fly over most
obstacles. These rockets are very powerful but are unguided, so they'll miss
any moving units. The missile frigate rockets have a much longer range than
those used by the vehicles - they can sit just outside the range of a heavy
plasma cannon (Guardian/Punisher) and destroy it without taking any return
fire. Couple one of these units with a radar jammer, and your enemy won't
know where these rockets came from.

Torpedo bombers
A torpedo dropped by a Lancet or Titan bomber is more than twice as
destructive as a torpedo launched by a sub. They are also fast and easily
capable of destroying a large ship. Fast ships can avoid bomber attacks.

Disintegration guns
When using the Commander's D-Gun always fire in front of moving units - for
some reason its tracking isn't very good. However, it does do an incredible
amount of damage, so we can forgive that small discrepancy.


General hints
Make use of these and you should find it easier to destroy enemy forces.

• The last levels are easier if you are ARM.
• Have about three of each type of building.
• Set constructors close to each other and move them somewhere else when it
gets crowded.
• Attack the Doomsday machine with Merls.
• Have a few construction aircraft hovering around to help clear wreckage
away.
• Always try and equip radar whenever you can. If fitted to roving vehicles
you'll have a much better idea of what's about.
• Pretend to be a spider while walking down the street and watch as you
gather new friends - in a mental home.