Preface
I have been known through many names throughout the history ot Total Annihilation: Kingdoms, but we will stick with the main one in lieu of my introduction. Please excuse my conceit in this partial-autobiography, but for the latter this document is mostly one sided - of course, help has volunteered throughout the writings which has been noted dubiously.
I am first and foremost known by DoublePhantoms. The name was conceived of a weapon in the blockbuster hit, and still the classic N64 console game of GoldenEye 007. The weapons were only available in the Frigate level, and you could dual wield them assuming that you killed the appropriate NPC. Hatebreeder and Sirehade are my other prominant names, none of them, however, dominate the legacy that the six letter word "Double" has left behind apparently in this community, even to foriegners. Fortunately, you are not reading this memorandum because of who I am, but because of what you helped make and the knowledge, that you as a person, pertain to the RTS of a game that we all love to indulge in from time to time. Whether to get away from family, personal problems, boredom, or just simply have a hobby or even a competitive atmosphere in our lives, this is what you choose - and by reading this proves that point.
I would like to start off by first saying that Creon will not be in this edition, assuming that there will be another edition for third party maps where Creon fits in better. At the moment, no one has proven that Creon belongs on a CD/DC theatre.
There are several subjects which will be covered in this manifesto, most of them will be text (I do not apologize if you do not like to read) and some will be assisted by illustration. A general knowledge base will be compiled of all the races, all the units, all 3 types of maps (yes, I said three) and laws that govern each race and gameplay within the individual circumstance. Please, make note again, that these "laws" are all coming from a populus and not the ideals of a single indivudual to impose a one sided and unversed style of gameplay on the player. All views in this complilation are considered dynamic by any respect in the manner that they were concieved simply because the view comes from the collective of players themselves, not just from me. The respectable credits will be given where they are earned, tested, and truthful in the name of honorable gameplay. We, as a community, will do our best not to promote a false ideology on your subjective decision making when time is of utter importance and rarity as it usualy is in an RTS.
There are X main categories that will be covered in this field manual.
1. The Four Races
2. Game Etiquitte
3. Mana Management
4. Map Management
5. Unit Counters and Management
6. Monarch Logistics
7. Monarch Fighting
8. Unit Spreadsheet Table
9. Known Bugs and Bug Mitigation
Other sub-issues that will be noted are as follows and will be organized in the appropriate subsection later in the editing;
Option Menu
Basic Strategies
Unit Spells (Mage Archer, Acolyte, Fire Mage, etc.)
Circumstance Negotiation
Deception
Basic Strategies
The Art of War (Sun Tzu)
Total Annihilation: Kingdoms (I will refer to it as TA:K or TAK later in my manuscript as an acronym) was first released to the public on June, 25th, 1999, as a sequel to the infamous groundbreaking RTS Total Annhilation. Total Annihilation was an RTS (Real Time Strategy) game first concieved by a group of gaming programmers spearheaded by Chris Taylor in a futuristic robotic civil war between the Arm and the Core. As of this point in history, and a long and diverse history that we will not indulge, they have discontinued the franchise for business and personal preference issues. What ever they may be, it was not our choice or set of circumstances, but theirs.
TA:K has united players from across the globe, ranging from the United States, Britain, France, several other countries in Europe, Japan, and now most recently the South Americans, most prominently Brazil. Lately in this day in age (2010) Brazil has formed a formidable and very respectful clan that represents their country. For current readers, this is nothing new for you. However, for us old players, a new clan in a country that has been abstract from our own TA:K demographics that is actually succeeding is a godsend to our community. We love and pursue people to get involved in this complex game of diversity and logistics - from any nation or creed. The fact that a successful clan has been recently made from a different country is amazing. In the olden days of BoneYards or MPlayer, it was quite common for a Statesman to join a Statesman's clan, a Brit to join a Brits clan, or an Aussie to join an Aussies clan. From Brazil we have never seen this procurement, and I think we as a community should embrace this and every future TA:K collective as a whole because, in their own, they are truly phenominal considering the rarity and complexity of the game. They are truly, and I mean the Brazilians as a whole, an integral part of TA:K survival. This fact is not arguable and anyone who wishes to make a case against it is arguing a main principal of gaming economics; strength in numbers.
TA:K has suffered losses through it's shortcomings in gameplay and through it's own sheer age and graphics. New players have failed to recognize these through euphoricism and a general liking to the game mechanics. Only though MM (acronym for MicroManagement, learn it well because it will be used very often) will these faults be completely exploited - such as a move/attack/aggressive command on a mounted or very fast ground unit when attacking a power unit, such as a monarch as I have exposed the exploit on YouTube. However, this tactic seems to be accepted Monarch vs Monarch in all cases except for those who cry foul when they get smoked by a fire/water ball from nearly 3/4 screens away (which is completely legible, but the original intent is controversial). In short, there is a plethora of game mechanics that were "intended" or "not intended" that have been argued against eachother vigorously. These need to be resolved in a patch by general consensus, is my belief.
TA:K was a direct bastard child of TA (Total Annihlation). What I mean by "bastard child" is that it was abandoned as soon as it was created. The reasons why it was abandoned were heavily debated at the time but the memories of the Cavedog collapse have ceased to exist; we now just play for fun and do not dwell on the past except for ancient euphoric discussions which takes us nowhere into the future yet we embrace it because of our linked yet non-linked paradigm of a past that half the time was not even with eachother. The old players know the combatants of old, as do the new of the new.
There were four, and a forgotten 5, different cycles of TA:K.
The first was obiously BoneYards. Unfortunately, I have limited knowledge of this server so anyone is free to interject on my analasys. Boneyards was the stomping grounds of all TA'ers and TA:K'ers alike. Ranging from ladder matches, Darien Crusades matches, to clan wars alike. There was a Shield system that I am not familiar with so a citation and history here is needed.
The second age of TA:K was through MPlayer as BoneYards was in a phase of completely shutting down to the public due to internal issues within the company. MPlayer was the successor, and this was planned throughout the distribution of TA:K, and had a very wide array of features including VoiceChat, MSPaint within rooms, even KOTH (King of the Hill Tournaments) where the winner would receive a golden trophy by their name for one week until the next tournament. Many old TA:K clans carried through from BoneYards to Mplayer, and even some until this day (up until Warzone) which will be discussed in later chapter(s). The players averaged from 20-40 players a day on a consistant and cumulative basis according to my personal observations. Once again, this is up for debate.
When MPlayer stopped suporting the TA:K client, which we as a community strongly lobbied and opposed, the TA:K community went to the "forgotten third server" of IP gaming for several months (cites needed). Several players and clans as a whole dropped out when it came to IP games, yet clans came back as fragments to GameSpy. IP games were very popular through the transition of MPlayer and GameSpy and were the only means of playing TA:K for several weeks to months.
I need an entire citation on GSA if someone, or a group of players, would like to help this history lesson be accurately learned.
Subject: General Knowledgebase (WikiKingdoms if you may) 
