Queller AI for Total Annihilation & Core Contingency
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Last updated: 	06/05/10

AI Name:	Queller TA & CC
Author:		Quitch
Contact:	quitchy@gmail.com
Site URL:	http://www.moddb.com/members/quitchy/downloads


This AI will work with vanilla Total Annihilation, or with Core Contingency. Battle Tactics is irrelevant, it didn't include anything that affected the AI.


Recommendations
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Total Annihilation supports up to nine AIs in any one game, it just doesn't expose this functionality out of the box. On the skirmish screen press * and then X to enable all the skirmish slots.

Queller is designed around 1000 metal and energy, don't start it with more than 2000 of either otherwise it will destroy its economy very early on.

Quller will work better if the following are installed:

* TA Bugfix
* 500 unit limit
* TA Demo Recorder Patch

Without TA Bugfix Queller will not perform at its best, it will not nuke you, it will not use bombers and sometimes it will play incorrectly for the type of map you are gaming on. Having TA Bugfix will ensure that you do not encounter these problems.

Without the 500 unit limit Queller may build too many buildings to field a sizable army.

The demo recorder patch allows more than one AI per person in multiplayer, but more importantly, allows you to share LOS with AI allies in skirmish.

All these can be found at http://www.moddb.com/members/quitchy/downloads


Installing Queller
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The method of installation can be as follows:

Put the AI and AI.doc folders in your Total Annihilation folder.


What Queller Does
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Queller is a non-cheating AI enhancement. It will improve the behaviour of the AI in both skirmish and missions (with factories) by ensuring it expands faster and plays more aggressively than the Cavedog AI.


Differences Between Difficulties
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Total Annihilation has built in resource modifiers at each difficulty level, at Easy the AI gets 50% of its proper income, at Medium it gets 75% while at Hard it gets 100%. Queller also uses these difficulties to control the number of factories, construction units, jammers, decoy commanders and super weapons the AI will build. Even on Easy Queller is probably tougher than the original AI on Hard though, so be warned.


Making The AI More Challenging
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While Queller is a significent step-up from the default AI, veteran players may find it still isn't difficult enough. There are a number of measures you can take:

* Don't build Dragon's Teeth or fort walls.
* Don't build underwater units.
* Set mapping to Unmapped.
* The AI can't use anti-nukes so don't nuke it.
* Starting positions can make a big difference, try swapping with the AI or trying some of the higher number starting positions.
* Try adding AI Packs 6 and 8 for a greater challenge. Give the AI 10,000 metal and energy too.


Signing Off
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Version 17 was an update written specifically because Stardock expressed an interest in distributing Queller with their Impulse release of Total Annihilation (thanks Brad!), a good excuse I thought to tidy it up a bit. I doubt I will ever update this AI again, but I hope that those of you who have been using it found it make this incredible game just that bit more enjoyable.

P.S. Did you know that despite Queller receiving tens of thousands of downloads I received about one e-mail a year? If you enjoy a modder's work, drop them an e-mail, it feeds our hunger.