Total Annihilation Core Contingency

TA:CC Krogoth
Arm Commander Core Commander Krogoth

After years of war the Core lost its 4,000-year battle against the Arm. After the war Arm and the galaxy is being rebuilt. But rumors of a surviving Core Commander, hidden as part of a contingency plan during the end of the war, are true. Both the Arm and Core are now racing to retrieve an artifact of new alien technology, the only remaining element the Core needs to achieve its mission to destroy the Arm and the galaxy. Then the peace will turly come.

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The Game Spy and Sub

The key to Total Annihilation has been the diversity of its units. Using four styles of units (air, vehicle, k-bot, and sea), players could mix up their attacks, shelling with artillery while holding off rushers with a close combat laser barrage or air support. Adding to this, Cavedog has created new unit styles to freshen up the battle. Sub construction units will now be available, letting you build fusion reactors and metal extractors underwater. Certain structures can be built on the water, like Dragon’s Teeth, an advanced torpedo launcher (fires very far) and a factory that can create seaplanes. These seaplanes serve two purposes, able to shoot other aircraft out of the sky and torpedo bomb ships below. A unique property about them is that they can rest on the ocean floor, opening up a whole new set of tactics.
Minelayer and Hovertank

Other unit styles are hovercraft vehicles, like the Arm Anaconda, that cruise above the water but have a hard time going up hills, etc. The much-anticipated Spoiler minelayer will finally be unleashed as well. Sporting six different types of mines, the Spoiler adds another strategy to would-be commanders. Each mine has different blast radii, a two second detonation period and varying explosions; there’s even a nuclear mine for those special ambushes. Sniper units will also make an appearance, with an intrinsic ability to fire at long range if given a direct line of sight.

The expansion is divided between twelve missions per side, with the bonus mission being the ultimate payoff. These missions will take place over six new worlds: Crystal, Acid, Slate, Lush, Water, and Urban. What’s new to TA is the addition of animations within the world, like Acid World where the trees almost breathe and when exploded, they spray acid onto nearby units. As the water is also toxic on Acid World (you can build boats, but do you really want to?), holding strategic chokepoints become a necessity. The Lush World, which was shown to us, looked dramatically different than what we’ve seen before. High cliffs overlooked a body of water and the trees for this world were unique in that you could hide units, even large structures under them. In addition, certain maps have metal mines scattered about the ocean floor. Looks like Taylor wants us to start using sonar stations.

Indigenous life will also rear its biological head, with scorpions scuttling about and sea monsters terrorizing shipping lanes in homage to Deep Rising. Of course, they’re not your typical creatures; the scorpions fire lasers from their tails and the sea monsters breath flame. TA-style through and through.
Maverick
With the expansion pack and the included map and mission editor, gamers will finally be able to push the limits of TA technology. The editor allows users edit gravity, wind speed, water height, tidal strength, solar strength… you name it! Meteors, asteroids, hailstorms and earthquakes can all be added to a new or existing map with a simple click. Each world has pre-cut sections so gamers can paste a map together fairly quickly, or modify the cut sections in order to create a highly detailed map. You can mix and match pieces from each of the worlds, though the map’s not guaranteed to look right. A Void tool can restrict movement so that mountains become impassable or unbuildable. Taylor hopes to include a way to string these missions together in a campaign, complete with user-created voice briefings. It’s also possible the TA expansion pack will allow users to add or change sounds for the existing units. A free downloadable beta version of the editor will be made available when the pack is completed. Arm Maverick
Of course, there are little wrinkles that probably won’t be ironed out (maybe) until the sequel. While the skirmish AI will be improved, it remains to be seen whether the CPU AI will use its units wisely or even all of its units (nuclear missiles still prove a problem). Additionally, an editor for unit creation isn’t a feasible option, nor is 3D hardware support, as it does not enhance game performance.
Still, if anything, Cavedog Entertainment knows what gamers want. They are pushing the boundaries from what is normally expected in an expansion pack to what they would want to receive in one, and for that, they should be revered as gods and given lots of cash.

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