Total Annihilation - Basic Tactics:

Well, so this is how I learned the game:  these are tactics which I'm working on...and since I only kind of know how to play the game, I'm still playing with ideas.

Learning controls - I haven't come close mastering this, but learning how to give orders and manage the masses of units is essential to playing this game.  Of course there are probably better and other ways of doing stuff.  Let me know.  I love analyzing stuff to death.

"Shift" - the shift key gives power in not having to look back at a unit for quite a bit of time.  Orders can be issued and the builders do not become idle if you become preoccupied.  I can't handle this yet though...workers still become idle once the first round of instructions are complete.  I have thought of ways to improve the management, but I haven't been successful, and am no where near fluid. I've thought of a possible strategy, but haven't got it to work out:

Builder management solution? 

1. group a factory with a certain number so that all construction workers produced are grouped.  Control-Z is more effective at selecting all the construction guys and tracking through them.  But where is the fun in that?
2. first time I tried the factory, I forgot about the construction guys being in the group, so when the factory shifted to attack units, the order to attack was just bad.  Have to remember to remove the group number from the factory when the construction units are not to be built.  But then, I find that alternating construction & units from a single factory is a good strategy, so perhaps removing attack units from the group (by grouping them elsewhere) is another partial solution.
3. Use the tracking to check up on each unit of the group.  This way we don't forget anybody.  Problem: most guys are working, so we do spend quite a bit of time looking at units that already have orders.  But then perhaps an occasional full check is better.

Factories remember the order in which you asked them to build stuff.  Just so you know.

Grouping - saves a lot of time since we don't have to draw those boxes to select units.  Plus when unit counts get out of hand, a few units might be forgotten.  I do have the trouble in mixing up the Cntrl and Alt keys, so sometimes I revert to a worse case...just have to get used to it...(or use the one key press code so that we don't have to push Alt)  Remembering group numbers is still messy for me...just have to standardize the numbers to mean something.

Special Unit orders -

The Patrol - This provides a lot of the automation features in TA.  Builders can become virtual repair facilities when on patrol.  Builders also will help out other builders if on patrol.  They can also collect resource.  A big problem is when the repair patrol is too close to a defensive patrol.  The builder will try unsuccessfully to repair moving units...even if it involves going way out of the base.  Using patrol to have builders help other builders is generally better than having them guard the builder.  Guarding tends to cause them to stand still which leads to them getting in the way.  Using the patrol-assist gets them out of the way to start the next building.  (having construction air guard, as long as they don't get in the way they work fine)

The Guard - This is really nice when you want to have a builder help a factory make units.  Sometimes it's better to make some units help a factory rather than making another factory.  Using air to guard is nice for vision and nice for radar.  Using ground to guard is a little clumsy.

The Move - Sometimes it's better to have units move on to a target than to have them attack the target.  Units that attack a target often stop in range and block other units.  Bad bad...

Building What, Where, and When:

This is just complicated.  Picking an attack/defense strategy then making the appropriate units is best.  I haven't really decided what is best.  It often depends on the opponent.  Out-producing and pure brute force are likely to eventually work, but, as in chess, getting the better end of a trade is what you want.  But then, this must apply to a long term solution where an eventual attack is possible.  I'm still learning attacks. Apparently using proper unit types (air, water, ground, hover) can be really important. Ignoring any one of these can lead to certain death. Proper use of these can lead to a strong advantage and opens up more weaknesses that might appear.

Information: although radar and information is nice, everything within the game itself changes quickly, and certain things are replaced quickly. Radar tends to be really useful when attemmpting stealth or long range assault. Hunting down leftover people is useful too. Perhaps picking off key targets, before an assault would be useful too. I tend to avoid gathering information and assume an assault from any where at any time in any form. Being prepared is useful. I tend to not really use radar except for attacks or when building in contested areas. Radar jammers can help to build unsuspecting structures, or can allow the player to sneak in without having to deal with range assaults. Slow, strong units are suddenly at their front doow without warning. When the targeting facility comes up, having a whole line of jammers to produce a path of attack has shown to be somewhat useful. This allows damage to be done without warning and without much prevention. Air patrols are good counters to this, but rockets are always cheaper than air.

Stealth: Sneaking up on an enemy prevents them from preparing for an attack. Poorly protected targets take much more damage if a player can not adjust their mobiles to protect themselves. Having building in your base suddenly explode is frustrating and confusing and can greatly slow down the effectiveness of an enemy.

Range: Proper use of range can give "free" damage during an assault. Units that can not shoot as far must take damage before they can attack range units. Often times, having units in front of the range units allows them to provide a continual flow of extra damage onto the enemy. Movement can be slow, and range allows continual attack when nearby. Towers have an advantage here. Mixing range with stealth however is very powerful at catching a player off guard. An enemy can at any where, at any time produce an intimidator or big bertha. Building a base accordingly is also important. I suppose nukes are the ultimate at range, but nuke defense is simple and effective. Another possible strategy is to place towers out of the normal attack path. Units that assault a base take constant fire from towers, but tend not to see any use in moving towards out of the way locations. The life expectancy of towers greatly increases, and with sufficient numbers, all range attacks can become deadly.

Walls: Producing walls is cheap and greatly enhances the survivability of structures. Dragons teeth are very effective against basic, non-artillery units. Walls around critical structures might be really helpful against the brawler swarms. Although I tend not to use walls that often, using them in key locations greatly enhances defense.

Friendly Fire

Key Targets:
Resource: knocking out either energy or power can greatly slow down an enemy. These tend to have the same hit points as units, but tend to have stronger long term effects.
Construction units: Orders for construction units can be given in long sequences. Killing a construction unit can cancel these orders and slow down the enemy. Additionally, repair and replacement are impaired. Also, the opponent may not realize that a construction was killed and may wonder just what happened to a factory that was supposed to be there.
Radar: Enhances stealth and may disable the benefits of a targeting facility.

The Commander: Well, obviously, the commander is helpful at building, defense, and offense. However, often the commander is needed to continue playing, so perhaps offense is not as wise. Defense is naturally dangerous with the d-gun. Assisting by the commander is highly important and naturally follows to produce important items with the commander. Starting resource may be the job of the commander, but due to danger, it might be better to have the commander make many builders than to produce resource directly.

Defense: Air, Ground, Water. Use walls, terrain. Attacks make a good defense as well. Patrols may be necessary when dealing with range assaults or stealth issues.

Resource: Take advantage of the map. I still don't know how to do this since I have only played a limited number of maps. The map determines how and when to build resource. Nuclear power plus metal makers are highly defendable. Getting to advanced resource quickly generally involves good use of basic resource. Being greedy about extended your resource control typically pays off in the long run. Keeping the enemy small on resource pays off very well when it is a concern. Typically metal is a limiting factor. Ensure that there is sufficient power to run it. Preparing resource for range weapons is important as well.

Other ideas: Gates: almost every defensive structure has portals which allow control over who moves through a wall.