Why you should install ESC

[fn198]

When Cavedog was updating Total Annihilation in the late 90's they were updating it incrementally and adding new units and features as they went. Unfortunately for us now in the present, they went defunct almost 16 years ago. This means that v3.1, the TA available through Steam, is the same version from the year 2000. The meta game discovered by the competitive community back then made 90% of the game's units and an entire side (CORE) competitively worthless. Flash > Samson > Hawks > GG became the flow of every - game.

Fortunately a mod community with developers, model makers, game design experts and dedicated players caught up from where Cavedog left off. They integrated advanced UX features into the game, added new game mechanics and balanced CORE against ARM. They gave each unit a purpose and made each unit worth building. They gave us all this while staying true to the spirit of Total Annihilation. This mod is called Total Annihilation: Escalation.

Here's a short clip of me reviewing an epic game of 'esc' on the map Greatest Divide.
https://youtu.be/SZyOxcO5wOo

These are just a few of the awesome features only in esc.
- multi unit loading and unloading transports
- shields
- overchargers
- building hotkeys
- building upgrades
- surfacing nuclear submarines

Download 8.1.3 at http://taesc.tauniverse.com

[fn198]

https://youtu.be/zdzs7tXuuCM

[jacovanderschaaf1988]

how do you install this ? steam said core contingency and batlle tactis are in game, yet i'm missing building and units, so were do i get from steam version into ESC?

[Tericc]

yea the installation of this is jacked up. Tried multible times. had to turn smart screen off in order to even get it running and im still running into issue with instalation..

Now im facing with administrator crap.. fking own my computer. nothing i do helps in installing this mod.
win8.1

Edit: Finnaly got my hands on a manual install but be damned if i can find instructions

[Underscorecow]

When getting mods for ta, you should have a " clean " install..

All you really need for that is regular total annihilation + core contingency files which should already be provided by steam....

Battle tactics is optional....

The first step is to download the unofficial patch from this link below....details are given aswell to help walk you through patching.

*Most people can skip this step if they already have the patch*

http://www.tauniverse.com/forum/showthread.php?t=43735

After you have patched total annihilation, open it to make sure its version 3.9.02 *It will tell you what version total annihilation currently is on the main menu*


Now your ready to download the top mods of total annihilations *such as esc zero and mayhem*

Notice that these mods will make their own folder inside of your total annihilation folder, this allows you to have multiple total annihilation mods that you can have ready to play without any conflictions, they are practically their own games.

For downloading the escalation mod, you should first go to

http://www.taesc.tauniverse.com/?p=downloads

scroll down and download version 6.8.1 , this is the only .exe file download on the list.

After downloading version 6.8.1, run the .exe file and it will walk you through installation.

Once installation is complete you will have a folder called TA Escalation in your total annihilation folder and you should also have a shortcut to play this mod...

In order to update this mod go back to

http://www.taesc.tauniverse.com/?p=downloads

and download the latest version *This should be the hardest part*

You will have to open these .rar files and paste them into your TA Escalation folder in order to update. *replace all conflicts with the newer files*

Some computers cannot open .rar files, so you may need to download and use 7-zip or WinRar in order to complete this step.

You can check to see if the patching worked by opening ta escalation *The current version you have should be correctly displayed on the main menu*)




*edit* According to venom, we may get an installer in the newest version so the last few steps might be different in the future.

Example: instead of downloading version 6.8.1, you would download a much more recent .exe release.

[Bigheaded]

Just had an attempt, was only able to run it at a fairly lame 800x600 resolution.

After a few attempts, i can only get as far as getting into the game. the moment i select the commander, the game chucks to desktop and closes with error.

Tried uninstall/reinstall and clean install without luck.
I use windows 8 and a Nvidia graphics card.

Cannot recommend this seeing i followed the directions from a clean install and still nothing.

3.9.02 worked successfully with no issues (other than also having a resolution problem and the megamap thing was pretty lame rather than useful.

[Underscorecow]

Originally posted by Bigheaded:

Just had an attempt, was only able to run it at a fairly lame 800x600 resolution.

After a few attempts, i can only get as far as getting into the game. the moment i select the commander, the game chucks to desktop and closes with error.

Tried uninstall/reinstall and clean install without luck.
I use windows 8 and a Nvidia graphics card.

Cannot recommend this seeing i followed the directions from a clean install and still nothing.

3.9.02 worked successfully with no issues (other than also having a resolution problem and the megamap thing was pretty lame rather than useful.

Escalation mod REQUIRES you to run with a pretty high resolution. I will look up what that minimum res is. *should be around 1240x1240* maybe less

Can you explain how exactly you changed your resolution, you can do so in the options menu.
But there are 2 different .exe files that start up escalation *both in escalation folder*

One of these 2 files will allow you to change resolution before opening the game itself.

[Bigheaded]

Originally posted by Supercow1236:

Originally posted by Bigheaded:

Just had an attempt, was only able to run it at a fairly lame 800x600 resolution.

After a few attempts, i can only get as far as getting into the game. the moment i select the commander, the game chucks to desktop and closes with error.

Tried uninstall/reinstall and clean install without luck.
I use windows 8 and a Nvidia graphics card.

Cannot recommend this seeing i followed the directions from a clean install and still nothing.

3.9.02 worked successfully with no issues (other than also having a resolution problem and the megamap thing was pretty lame rather than useful.

Escalation mod REQUIRES you to run with a pretty high resolution. I will look up what that minimum res is. *should be around 1240x1240* maybe less

Can you explain how exactly you changed your resolution, you can do so in the options menu.
But there are 2 different .exe files that start up escalation *both in escalation folder*

One of these 2 files will allow you to change resolution before opening the game itself.

i used both methods, if you can give me a minimum that will help, as i can't even get into the game at higher resolutions.
Have yet to uninstall the mods and go back to what i like, always worth giving new things a try in TA i've found :)

[Underscorecow]

Originally posted by Bigheaded:

Originally posted by Supercow1236:

Escalation mod REQUIRES you to run with a pretty high resolution. I will look up what that minimum res is. *should be around 1240x1240* maybe less

Can you explain how exactly you changed your resolution, you can do so in the options menu.
But there are 2 different .exe files that start up escalation *both in escalation folder*

One of these 2 files will allow you to change resolution before opening the game itself.

i used both methods, if you can give me a minimum that will help, as i can't even get into the game at higher resolutions.
Have yet to uninstall the mods and go back to what i like, always worth giving new things a try in TA i've found :)

Lol you wont even need to uninstall the mod *its like a whole different game in its own folder*

Someone else on gameranger has had this issue with low resolution.

Does escalation itself not start on higher resolutions? Or it just crashes in game? Do higher resolutions not show up as options?

[Bigheaded]

they crash the game when loading reaching the loading screen, i suspect it finishes loading everything (seeing the last 3 on my computer are done in under a second) and immediately crashes.

Whilst on 800x600 it only crashes when i select the commander. Tried on 2 different maps.

I will need to uninstall because i'll probably go back to TA 3.1 so that TA:Mutation works correctly.

[Underscorecow]

Originally posted by Bigheaded:

they crash the game when loading reaching the loading screen, i suspect it finishes loading everything (seeing the last 3 on my computer are done in under a second) and immediately crashes.

Whilst on 800x600 it only crashes when i select the commander. Tried on 2 different maps.

I will need to uninstall because i'll probably go back to TA 3.1 so that TA:Mutation works correctly.

So how exactly is changing to a higher res not working? Are higher resolutions not available in options? *and yes the first loading bars are the only ones that take time*

[Bigheaded]

When using high resolution, immediately on entering it crashes out. Do not get to see the map at all. They are selectable and i tried 4 different resolutions.

[fn198]

Have you tried restarting ur computer?

[Underscorecow]

I would recommend the hotfix since you are windows 8, but its supposed to only be used if your game won`t (launch) properly.

I don`t want to assume its your install, because you have a very low chance to have messed anything up as long as the in game main menu screen says the correct version of esc. *and even then, sometimes the modder forgets to update the version number lol*

[Walther III]

Escalation is fkcing amazing, the Battleships especially, i love it all

[Sean Mirrsen]

I'm personally not a big fan of modifications that seek to "tighten up the balance" in TA, and add various eSports-inspired interface improvements. I like TA because it's a fun game to play in whatever style you prefer, it has its charm in its various quirks, and its primary failings lie on the technical side.

I've yet to find a good Steam-version-compatible set of mods that would bump the unit cap, improve pathing and AI, and change nothing else, most of all the music selector since it actually works very well for me by default. :\