Frequently asked questions about Total Annihilation Zero are answered below. If you have a question that's not answered here, please visit the forum for assistance.
General Questions
- Is Total Annihilation Zero available for download?
- What is the current progress of the mod?
- Will installing TA Zero overwrite or modify Total Annihilation?
- Will TA Zero conflict with other mods or patches?
- Is TA Zero compatible with the GOG.com or Impulse versions of Total Annihilation?
- Are the Total Annihilation expansion packs required to play TA Zero?
- My netbook has a display resolution less than 1024×768. Can I play TA Zero?
Gameplay Questions
- The game won't launch or the frame rate is extremely low.
- Why does the game crash when I select the Commander/Guardian?
- Why do the colors keep getting messed up while I'm playing? It only happens after a certain amount of time.
- How do I issue orders with the right mouse button like in other RTS games?
- Why do resource buildings produce such little energy? Why don't metal extractors use energy? Why is everything so different than Total Annihilation?
- I can't find any metal makers. How do I convert Energy to Metal?
- The game feels fast. What speed am I supposed to play on?
- Why won't the factory build plates change direction when I use the Direct command?
- Why can't I force-fire torpedo launcher turrets?
- Some of the hotkeys I use in Total Annihilation don't work. What's wrong?
- Why don't some of the new features (such as the megamap, whiteboard, line building, and multiplayer ally resource bars) work when I try to use them?
General Questions
Is Total Annihilation Zero available for download?
Yes, you can download the latest version from the downloads section.
What is the current progress of the mod?
The latest Alpha 4d release includes the full Tier 1 of units for all three factions as well as Tier 2 ground units and first Tier 2 air units for all factions. The fundamental gameplay mechanics are established and most of the technical groundwork is complete. The next step is to continue developing Tier 2 ground and air units.
Will installing TA Zero overwrite or modify Total Annihilation?
No. TA Zero is a total conversion mod which installs to its own subfolder, uses its own custom files, data structure, registry entries, and savegames, and does not modify or affect the original game in any way.
Will TA Zero conflict with other mods or patches?
No. TA Zero has been designed to exist separately from other mods.
Is TA Zero compatible with the GOG.com or Impulse versions of Total Annihilation?
Yes. In fact, it's easier to install TA Zero to the GOG.com or Impulse versions. View the Installation Guide for more information.
Are the Total Annihilation expansion packs required to play TA Zero?
No. Only Total Annihilation is required to install and play TA Zero. However, installing the expansions (especially The Core Contingency) will provide many new maps which most online players will expect you to have. View the Installation Guide for more information.
My netbook has a display resolution less than 1024×768. Can I play TA Zero?
768 pixels of vertical resolution are required to play TA Zero, so you cannot normally play on a netbook that has a resolution of 1024×600 or some other low resolution. The only solutions are to find a way to enable a higher resolution (for example, some netbooks allow higher-than-native resolutions via scrolling or downscaling) or to attach your netbook to an external display that meets the resolution requirement.
Gameplay Questions
The game won't launch or the frame rate is extremely low.
It has been discovered that the game might not launch when using certain graphics cards, usually AMD/ATI, (with any OS) or when using Windows 8 (with any graphics card). We will release an update when the issue is fully resolved. Until then, you can install this preliminary hotfix for version Alpha 4 (unzip to your TA Zero folder) and post your results. This fix should allow your game to launch, but you may encounter unsatisfactory frame rates or hangs on the megamap (if it hangs, just roll the mouse wheel up and wait for the game to zoom back in). However, the regular game view should be fine. Please DO NOT install this fix if you are not affected by the game launch crashing issue (most Nvidia users on Windows 7 or earlier) as it may break your game.
Why does the game crash when I select the Commander/Guardian?
The game is crashing because you have not selected a resolution of 1024×768 or higher as required by TA Zero.
This is caused by the rotating desktop backgrounds in Windows 7. The in-game colors get messed up whenever the background changes. The only way to fix it is to select a static desktop background (or switch to a theme with one) before playing.
How do I issue orders with the right mouse button like in other RTS games?
To use the standard right-click interface used in most RTS games, go to the Interface section of the Options menu and change the interface mode from Left Click to Right Click.
TA Zero is a total conversion mod with its own gameplay mechanics. The game balancing has been created from scratch and is not designed to be similar to Total Annihilation.
I can't find any metal makers. How do I convert Energy to Metal?
You can't. There are currently no metal makers in TA Zero. You are limited to the amount of metal that is available on the map.
The game feels fast. What speed am I supposed to play on?
TA Zero is designed to be played at Normal game speed (0 on the scale of -10 to +10). The units and animation are generally faster than in Total Annihilation.
Why won't the factory build plates change direction when I use the Direct command?
The Direct command must be used when the factory is not building anything.
Why can't I force-fire torpedo launcher turrets?
Force-firing of torpedo launcher turrets has been intentionally disabled to prevent players from exploiting the attack ground command to fire torpedoes at hovercraft. Torpedoes can still accidentally hit and damage hovercraft (for example, if a torpedo is fired at a ship and a hovercraft gets in the way), but you cannot hit hovercraft on purpose by firing torpedoes at the water like you can in Total Annihilation. Force-firing of torpedoes from submarines has also be disabled whenever possible and range-limited when not possible.
Some of the hotkeys I use in Total Annihilation don't work. What's wrong?
TA Zero changes most hotkeys and adds many new ones. The full list of keyboard and mouse controls can be found on the Controls page. You can also view many of the hotkeys and controls in-game by pressing "Tab" to bring up the menu and clicking the "Help" button.
Windowed mode is incompatible with many new features of TA Zero such as the examples above. You must play in full screen mode to make use of these features. Furthermore, many new features such as the megamap will not work if you set the game to a compatibility mode such as "Windows 95", etc.