TOTAL ANNIHILATION v3.1 PATCH READ ME **************************************************************************************** * Version 3.1 adds many new features to Total Annihilation. Due to the nature of these * * enhancements, saved games from versions prior to 3.0 will not be compatible with v3.1 * * The v3.1 patch will update any previous version to v3.1. * **************************************************************************************** v3.x NEW FEATURES: **This patch will only update the newest TotalA.exe file in your Total Annihilation game directory or subdirectories. If you have a newer TotalA.exe file in a backup subdirectory, the patch will apply to that file, not your default older TotalA.exe file. This can happen if you have upgraded to version 3.0 and then installed TA: Core Contingency. 1) SHORTCUT KEYS CTRL + P Select all aircraft with weapons CTRL + R Select all radar, radar jammers, sonar and sonar jammers CTRL + W Select all mobile units with weapons except Commander 2) MULTIPLAYER SHARING Control the resources you share with your teammates and allies using the following commands. These commands can be used in multiplayer by hitting ENTER to bring up the message bar on the Main Battle Screen and typing in any of the following phrases (toggles on/off): +shareenergy Shares energy +sharemetal Shares metal +sharemapping Shares map information You can also control the amount of metal and energy shared to your teammates and allies by modifying these commands slightly with a numerical value. X indicates the amount of resource left in your reserve. For example, +setsharemetal 5000 will only share metal if you have at least 5,000 in reserve. You cannot set the amount of resources you want to keep/reserve any higher than your current storage capacity. Make sure you leave a space between the command and the numerical value. +setshareenergy X Shares energy while keeping X amount for yourself +setsharemetal X Shares metal while keeping X amount for yourself 3) SHIFT & CONSTRUCTION UNITS While placing your cursor over any construction unit and then holding down the SHIFT key, square outlines may appear on the map. Green squares represent the build orders for the unit currently selected. Blue squares represent the build orders for all other construction units. These squares can be used as a guideline when queuing up build orders for a construction unit. 4) SHIFT & CLOAKABLE UNITS Placing your cursor over a cloaked unit and then holding down the SHIFT key will display a white circle. This circle represents that unit's minimum cloaking radius. When an enemy unit moves into that radius, the cloaked unit becomes visible. 5) FACTORIES & SQUADS Select a factory and assign it a squad number. This can be done by pressing CTRL+1 through 9. All units produced by that factory will automatically be assigned to that same squad. 6) SELECT ANY MISSION In version 3.1 the previous "drdeath" cheat has been enabled permanently but the bone has been removed. This function has been added to the New Campaign button. When the New Campaign button is pushed a player can now select any campaign and play any mission within that campaign. 7) FEATURE VANISHING The disappearing of features with some user made maps when games are saved then loaded back up has been fixed. 8) PHALANX The reload time for the Arm PHALANX has been properly set. 9) AI PATHFINDING AI pathfinding in Total Annihilation has been modified for the new environments and situations people are experiencing since the release of Core Contingency. The problem is a combination of four factors. 1. Average map size has increased since the original Total Annihilation was released. 2. Maze type maps have been added. 3. Maps with more complex and in general more surface features have been added. 4. The unit number limit has been increased from the original 200 units. All of these factors by themselves do not cause a performance issue, but combined they will cause unit pathfinding to become a problem. We have instituted different pathfinding filters that will be run as the demand for pathfinding increases. The more units that need paths, the less complex the filter. What this really means is that the more units you try to move the more varied the path will be that they try to take. In most situations this will increase performance and keep units from acting the way they have in the past. This will not solve the problem for ALL situations. If you are experiencing problems with AI and pathfinding after applying this patch try modifying some of the four variables listed above. Sector 410b and Steel Jungle, both Core Contingency maps, are examples of maps where this fix will not improve gameplay unless the unit number limit is lowered. VERSION 3.x FIXES: 1) Version 3.x includes miscellaneous fixes. If you encounter any bugs while using this patch, please enter all the important information into the bug entry section of http://www.totalannihilation.com. *********************************************************************** * Version 3.1 incorporates all fixes and features added in previous * * patches. * *********************************************************************** *** Version History *** V2.0b1 ADDED FEATURES: 1) Multi-player AI - Total Annihilation now offers an AI opponent feature in multi-player. In the Battle Room, click on any PLAYER button to toggle between UNUSED, BLOCKED and AI player slots. The AI player name will reflect the name of the player who added the AI opponent. Each player may add only one AI player. There is no AI option in Deathmatch. NOTE: Depending on the units restricted, the AI may not perform optimally when build restrictions are imposed in multi-player. 2) The Battle Room has an added TEAM column. If you want to ally with an AI player, you must use the buttons in the TEAM column to form this alliance. TEAMs work just like alliances, with the exception that TEAMs cannot be broken once the game has started. When forming a TEAM, allied victory is automatically set. 3) The AI will build any new units you have downloaded and installed on your machine. 4) Holding shift while queuing up units to be built from a factory will now add 5 units per mouse click. 5) There is a new option to have your units shoot all enemy units and structures. Type +shootall in the chat box to toggle this command on and off. 6) The AI has been further enhanced for Skirmish mode. V2.0b1 FIXES: 1) The ability for construction units to swap build menus has been eliminated. 2) Loading a unit in the process of self-destructing will no longer cancel the self-destruct order. V1.2 ADDED FEATURES: 1) Downloadable Units - Version 1.2 BETA 1 patch is required to add downloadable units to your game. Install this patch before installing a downloaded unit. 2) Taerrors.txt - If a crash occurs, the game will output a text file called "Taerrors.txt" into your Total Annihilation directory. Cavedog can use this to help isolate the crash bug. This text can be entered into the bug entry section of http://www.totalannihilation.com. V1.2 FIXES: 1) Standing Order Maneuver Bug - When a unit's standing orders are set to maneuver, the unit will now attack its target until the target is destroyed. Before this fix, the unit would return back to its starting location after firing once if its target was farther then one screen away. 2) Deathmatch Scorecard - While playing a multi-player Deathmatch game, the Scorecard kill count now reflects the number of enemy Commanders you have killed. The loss count tracks how many times your Commander has been killed. 3) Miscellaneous fixes. V1.1 ADDED FEATURES: 1) Shortcut keys for sending messages in multi-player: During a multi-player game, you can preface a chat messages with an 'a' or an 'e' and your message will only be seen by certain players. a sends message to allies only e sends message to enemies only Type "," or ";" or ":" in between the shortcut and the message. Example: e:this is the end of you! (This message will only be seen by your enemies.) 2) F4 or spacebar will now bring up the Scorecard in Skirmish as well as in multi-player. 3) Type "+switchalt" in the message bar to change the squad select from alt(#1-9) to (#1-9). This changes the unit menu call from (#1-9) to alt(#1-9). V1.1 FIXES: 1) A fix for the invisible unit bug. 2) Two modifications can be made to remedy sound problems or crashes relating to old or non-DirectX compatible sound card drivers. Download Totala.ini from the Total Annihilation website, www.totalannihilation.com, to make either of the following modifications: *UseWindowsSound (or -w on the command line) Use the standard Windows multimedia interface for playing sounds instead of DirectSound. Set this to 1 to use Windows sound, and 0 to use DirectSound. NOTE: Setting this value to 1 will allow you to play the game if DirectSound does not work properly on your system. However, the audio quality will be greatly decreased, especially during heavy battles. Also, you will not get any audio narration with your mission briefings or any sound in the movies. *NoDirectSound (or -s on the command line) Disable the use of DirectSound. Set this to 1 to disable sound in the game. Set it to 0 to use sound normally. Disable the sound if you do not have a sound card or the game crashes while trying to play sounds. Copy Totala.ini to the folder containing Totala.exe and set the option you need equal to one. You can also add a switch on the command line to activate these options. 3) A fix that allows different languages to play multi- player against each other. Players using a non-English version of Total Annihilation should upgrade to the v1.1 patch before playing a multi-player game against another language version. 4) An AI tweak so the enemy Commander is less likely to rush your base, unless provoked. 5) The difficulty settings for skirmish mode have been adjusted so that the differences between easy, medium and hard are more distinct. 6) A fix for the NT sound bug. 7) Miscellaneous improvements. Copyright*1997-1998 Humongous Entertainment.