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".
