Chris Taylor's "
T.A" (Cavedog 1997) is slightly famous amongst RTS enthusiasts for being a ground-breaking real time strategy game.
There were only two sides - "The Arm" and "The
Core" - cloned humans and robots respectively with essentially similar units, although
Core units tended to be tougher and slower. The game made up for this by having a LOT of units (Air, Naval, Ground, Amphibious, Commanders that nuked themselves when they died) and buildings (particularly a massive number of fixed
gun emplacement types), (effectively) endless resources (Metal and Energy), and comprehensive control options.
This game was
best experienced with the expansion "The
Core Contingency" - or "C.C" (eg: Submersible Aircraft,
Anti Radar and
Anti Sonar units, more Submarines, AA Ships...) together with still more official downloadable Cavedog units (eg:
FARK's, Mobile Anti-Nuclear Missile Units). Has it been mentioned that this game had a LOT of units?
Cavedog used to run "Boneyards" (similar to Blizzard's "Battlenet") which was the optimal place to enjoy
T.A in multiplayer. Players could elect to
play for either side in a constantly refreshed galaxy of planets - where the results of one's games would decide whether the Arm or
Core dominated at any given time. Boneyards also had an military style ranking system based on a player's wins.
In closing,
T.A was a remarkable game for its time and for sheer strategic and tactical options it would compare favourably with any RTS currently on the market.
T.A has a LOT of units.
NB: There is an "unofficial sequel" to this game being developed by Chris Taylor (now at
Gas Powered Games)called "Supreme Commander".
