Core Exploiter armor roughly halved, but laser damage increased, and they armor up twice as fast.
NOTE: This gives the Exploiter more of an LLT balance, with heavier firepower but more fragile armor.
Core Termite and Clasher weapon reload roughly halved and damage roughly halved.
Arm Light Laser Tower, Core HLLT, and Arm Hulk weapon [ARM_LIGHTLASER] energy per shot increased to 30 (15).
NOTE: This was listed as changed in Beta 14, but got left out.
Arm Recluse speed, acceleration, brake rate, and turnrate increased.
Core Banisher and Arm Bolo weapon [TAWF_BANISHER] damage increased, reload increased, and area of effect reduced.
Arm and Core Commander and Decoy Commander scripts RestorePosition() sleep delay set back to 3000 (1000).
NOTE: This change was made back in Beta 10 but seems to have been the cause of an issue with Commanders sometimes not firing very consistently. Hopefully this will fix that.
Lowered flamethrower weapons from 100% bonus damage to 50% bonus damage:
Core Dragon's Maw
Core Pyro
Core Reaper
Core Firestorm
Arm and Core Flak weapons (Naval, Vehicle, and defenses) tolerance increased and given some guidance.
Arm Mumbo weapon range increased by 50% and damage reduced by 50%.
Hover artillery and rocket launchers brake rate increased.
NOTE: This should help these units to stop and fire at their maximum range instead of sliding to a stop closer than they need to be.
Arm Stiletto turnrate/speed/acceleration/etc improved to be the same as the Arm Hawk.
Arm Blade and Core Blackdawn weapon reload and damage doubled.
NOTE: This should make Blades and Blackdawns better at taking out a single heavier target, since their damage is more front-loaded and they have heavier armor, but the longer reload should decrease their effectiveness against smaller/multiple targets.
Arm Beamer and Core HLLT cost and armor increased about +50%.
The Beamer's damage was increased 50%.
The HLLT gained a third turret, so it now has three LLT weapons instead of two.
NOTE: The Arm Beamer and Core HLLT now cost as much as the Heavy Laser Turrets of their respective sides. The HLLT now has three turrets, instead of two. It has the same firepower as three LLTs, but costs 20% more. However, it has about 45% more armor than all three LLTs combined, and all of that armor is in a single unit instead of being spread among three units.
Additionally, it's cheaper to put Dragon's Teeth around one HLLT than three LLTs, and the HLLT will get to full veteran status much faster.
The Beamer should have similar advantages compared to three LLTs. It isn't able to fire on multiple targets at once like the HLLT, but it has more range, enabling it to hit units that could destroy the HLLT from outside its range.
Arm Freedom Fighter and Core Avenger secondary missile damage increased.
Core Cauterizer damage and area of effect reduced.
Arm Sharpshooter and Core Skuttle energy cost and buildtime doubled.
Arm Sharpshooter and Core Skuttle cloaking energy costs tripled.
NOTE: This makes Sharpshooters and Skuttles a choice you have to commit more resources to producing and which will be harder to use groups of at the same time.
Paralysis/EMP weapons and the Juno weapon now do 4x regular damage to features (Wreckage, dragon's teeth, etc).
NOTE: This allow paralysis/EMP weapons to more easily clear wreckage or blast through Dragon's Teeth and fortification walls. Area of effect weapons like the Arm Tick and Core Commando weapons will be more effective at breaching a defensive line than ones with little area of effect, like the Arm Spider or Core Bladewing.
Arm Bear weapon changed to [ARM_LIGHTLASER] ([EXPLOITER_LASER]).
Core Turtle weapon changed to [CORE_LIGHTLASER] ([EXPLOITER_LASER]).
Core Exploiter armor reduced to 428 (808).
Core Exploiter weapon [EXPLOITER_LASER] damage increased to 99 (37) and energy per shot increased to 31 (25).
NOTE: This gives the Exploiter more of an LLT balance, with heavier firepower but more fragile armor.
Core Exploiter armoring up animation doubled in speed.
Core Termite and Clasher weapon [CORE_TERMITE_LASER] reload reduced to 1.0 (2.1), energy per shot reduced to 86 (180), and damage reduced to 364 (765).
Arm Light Laser Tower, Core HLLT, and Arm Hulk weapon [ARM_LIGHTLASER] energy per shot increased to 30 (15).
NOTE: This was listed as changed in Beta 14, but got left out.
Arm Recluse speed increased to 3.42104 (3.105), acceleration increased to 0.1875 (0.15), brakerate increased to 0.1875 (0.15), and turnrate increased to 660 (510).
Core Banisher and Arm Bolo weapon [TAWF_BANISHER] damage increased to 2000 (1203), reload increased to 7.4813 (4.5), area of effect reduced to 244 (312), edge effectiveness reduced to 0 (0.1), and special damages to Commanders removed (Was 1000).
Arm Zipper weapon [ARM_FAST] tolerance increased to 5000 (2000).
Arm and Core Commander and Decoy Commander scripts RestorePosition() sleep delay set back to 3000 (1000).
NOTE: This change was made back in Beta 10 but seems to have been the cause of an issue with Commanders sometimes not firing very consistently. Hopefully this will fix that.
Lowered flamethrower weapons from 100% bonus damage to 50% bonus damage:
Core Dragon's Maw weapon [DMAW] damage reduced to 12 (16).
Core Pyro weapon [FLAMETHROWER] damage reduced to 10 (13).
Core Reaper weapon [CORE_REAP] damage reduced to 13 (17).
Core Firestorm weapon [FIRESTORM_WPN] damage reduced to 13 (17).
Arm Phalanx and Archer and Core Copperhead and Shredder weapon [ARMYORK_GUN] added the following:
turnrate=25000;
guidance=1;
tracks=1;
selfprop=1;
and tolerance increased to 5000 (1500).
Arm Flakker and Flakker NS weapon [ARMFLAK_GUN] added the following:
turnrate=25000;
guidance=1;
tracks=1;
selfprop=1;
and tolerance increased to 5000 (1500).
Core Cobra and Cobra NS weapon [CORFLAK_GUN] added the following:
turnrate=25000;
guidance=1;
tracks=1;
selfprop=1;
and tolerance increased to 5000 (1500).
Arm Mumbo weapon [TAWF003_weapon] range increased to 563 (375) and damage reduced to 39 (58).
Arm Mausser brake rate increased to 0.09 (0.045).
Arm Wombat brake rate increased to 0.09 (0.045).
Core Navarone brake rate increased to 0.082 (0.041).
Core Nixer brake rate increased to 0.082 (0.041).
NOTE: This should help these units to stop and fire at their maximum range instead of sliding to a stop closer than they need to be.
Arm Stiletto speed increased to 9.5 (7.5), acceleration increased to 0.35 (0.16), brake rate increased to 6 (0.8), and turn rate increased to 572 (450).
NOTE: These are the same movement values that Arm Hawks have, making the Stiletto much zippier.
Arm Blade and Core Blackdawn weapon [Vtol_Sabot] reload increased to 6.0 (3.0) and damage increased to 2178 (1089).
NOTE: This should make Blades and Blackdawns better at taking out a single heavier target, since their damage is more front-loaded and they have heavier armor, but the longer reload should decrease their effectiveness against smaller/multiple targets.
Arm Beamer metal cost increased to 294 (196), energy cost increased to 1617 (1078), buildtime increased to 8820 (5880), and armor increased to 588 (390).
Arm Beamer weapon [TAWF001_weapon] damage increased to 100 (67) and energy per shot increased to 27 (18.2).
Core HLLT metal cost increased to 304 (203), energy cost increased to 1671 (1116), buildtime increased to 9354 (6246), armor increased to 732 (490), third [CORE_LIGHTLASER] weapon added, and description changed to "Anti-Swarm Triple LLT" ("Anti-Swarm Double LLT").
NOTE: The Arm Beamer and Core HLLT now cost as much as the Heavy Laser Turrets of their respective sides. The HLLT now has three turrets, instead of two. It has the same firepower as three LLTs, but costs 20% more. However, it has about 45% more armor than all three LLTs combined, and all of that armor is in a single unit instead of being spread among three units.
Additionally, it's cheaper to put Dragon's Teeth around one HLLT than three LLTs, and the HLLT will get to full veteran status much faster.
The Beamer should have similar advantages compared to three LLTs. It isn't able to fire on multiple targets at once like the HLLT, but it has more range, enabling it to hit units that could destroy the HLLT from outside its range.
Arm Freedom Fighter and Core Avenger weapon [ARMVTOL_MISSILE] reload reduced to 3 (10), damage to air increased to 40 (59), and damage to ground increased to 13 (59), and model changed to missile (shipmissile).
Core Cauterizer weapon [INFERNOBOMB] damage reduced to 1066 (1731) and area of effect reduced to 320 (455).
Arm Sharpshooter energy cost increased to 124784 (62392), buildtime increased to 55016 (27508), stationary cloaking energy cost increased to 225 (75), and moving cloaking energy cost increased to 600 (200).
Core Skuttle energy cost increased to 117774 (58887), buildtime increased to 53036 (26518), stationary cloaking energy cost increased to 300 (100), and moving cloaking energy cost increased to 900 (300).
NOTE: This makes Sharpshooters and Skuttles a choice you have to commit more resources to producing and which will be harder to use groups of at the same time.
Paralysis/EMP weapons and the Juno weapon now do 4x regular damage to features (Wreckage, dragon's teeth, etc).
[ARMTICK_PARALYZER] weapon (Not currently used)
Arm Spider's [ARM_PARALYZER] weapon
Core Bladewing's [BLADEWING_LYZER] weapon
Arm Dragonfly [ARMDFLY_PARALYZER] weapon
Arm Seahawk and Core Hunter [ARMSEHAK_WEAPON] weapon
Core Commando [COMMANDOLAS] weapon
Arm Stiletto [CORGRIPN_BOMB] weapon
Arm [TICK_EMP] weapon
Arm EMP mine [EMP_MINE] weapon
Core Neutron [NEUTRON_MINE] weapon
Arm Twilight explosion and Arm/Core Spy Kbot [TWILIGHT] weapon
Arm and Core Juno [Juno_Pulse]
NOTE: This allow paralysis/EMP weapons to more easily clear wreckage or blast through Dragon's Teeth and fortification walls. Area of effect weapons like the Arm Tick and Core Commando weapons will be more effective at breaching a defensive line than ones with little area of effect, like the Arm Spider or Core Bladewing.
October 16, 2021
October XXXX, 2021
TA:T v2.0 Beta 52:
Arm Freedom Fighter and Core Avenger weapon [ARMVTOL_MISSILE_A2A] and explosionart set to explode3 (explode2).
tdraw.dll is an upgrade for Total Annihilation. It patches the game to fix many bugs and add many features.
It is an integral component of the TA Community Patch, the other parts being tplayx.dll (the recorder) and server.exe (the replayer).
tdraw.dll has a long provenance dating back to the work of SY_Yeha, who introduced whiteboard markers and the TA Hook and new hotkeys to TA.
Later work by Xpoy extended hotkey support, added new shortcut commands, uni-code font support, megamap, weapon-id crack (not present in current release) and porting music patch from GOG version,
and later support was provided by Rime.
The present release includes contributions from Axle and FunkyFresh, and owes a debt to TAG_Venom for extensive testing and critical feeback, and to Gamma and Wotan for further testing and feature suggestions.
CONFIGURATIONS
The release .zip files are annotated with a build configuration tag: "tdraw-<config>.zip". The various configurations are:
* tdraw-full.zip: all features enabled
* tdraw-escalation.zip: built for TA:Escalation. disables the following features
- mex snap
- that is all
* tdraw-minimal.zip: disables the following features
- mex/wreck snap
- options for construction units to stay put when guarding
- options for construction units to only reclaim or onlt assist while patrolling
- auto kickout construction units that are blocking another builder
- weather report at top of screen
- sync wind speed between players
- map DT's always visible.
INSTALLATION
Drop tdraw.dll into your TA directory.
Ensure the following files are also present in your TA directory:
- ddraw.dll (available from https://github.com/FunkyFr3sh/cnc-ddraw)
- totala.ini
You may need to rename totala.ini and tdraw.dll to whatever your mod is using. See below for reference. For other mods, please consult with the mod maintainers.
ini file dll file
Beta patch 3.9.02 TA.ini tdraw.dll
Escalation 9.9.6 TAESC.ini taesc.dll
Mayhem 10.9.2 Settings.ini mdraw.dll
ProTA 4.6 ProTA.ini tdraw.dll
Zero Alpha5-060322 tazero.ini zdraw.dll
NEW FEATURES IN BRIEF:
*2026.6.8
- bugfix for VoteReject - prevent local user from rejecting himself
*2026.6.3
- add "nottounderwater" flag for weapons (see NEW FEATURES IN DETAIL)
- fix bug potentially being the root cause of since-year-1997 intermittent black screen on join games
- better quality megamap render
*2026.5.28
- Fix construction units intermittently trying to sit within the footprint of rotated structures before building them
*2026.5.15
- Fix intermittent 6x8 staircase yardmap on south-facing rotatable factories
- New "PreviewObject3D=" unit key to override the 3DO model used for the nanoframe ghost preview (see NEW FEATURES IN DETAIL)
*2026.5.9
- Lag-switch mitigation: detects and freezes local simulation when network goes dark
- Vote-to-reject system for in-progress multiplayer games (see NEW FEATURES IN DETAIL)
- add "nottoair" flag for weapons (see NEW FEATURES IN DETAIL)
- add "surfacefire" flag for weapons (see NEW FEATURES IN DETAIL)
- +autoteam bugfix for occasional players stranded by themselves
- Diagnostic logging for crashes 004cbed5 and 0049cf19
- Building rotation: press '/' (configurable) to cycle the build cursor
facing for buildings whose FBI permits it (see NEW FEATURES IN DETAIL)
- Nanoframe ghost preview at the build cursor (see NEW FEATURES IN DETAIL)
- Fix for ctrl-z (and ctrl-a / ctrl-b / ctrl-c) silently truncating selections for unit ids >= 512
- Export engine-backed player elimination status to gpgnet4ta via shared memory,
so games where a commander dies but play continues are reported with the correct outcome
*2026.2.17 - Fix false trigger on version check
*2026.2.10 - Minor adjustment to diagnostic crash detection ("ERROR: dstRect out of bounds", allow CopyScreenContext all the way to the edge of destination context)
*2026.2.7 - Disable AUTOTEAM, RANDOMTEAM and CRCREPORT buttons for non-host players
*2026.2.5 - Add support for AUTOTEAM, RANDOMTEAM and CRCREPORT buttons in battleroom (guis/lounge2.gui)
*2026.2.2 - Custom ctrl-f2 menu skin for escalation
*2026.1.29 - Create seperate builds for full-featured (tdraw-full.zip), escalation (tdraw-escalation.zip), and minimal (tdraw-minimal.zip) feature sets.
*2025.12.13 - Add diagnostics for crash at 004cbed5
*2025.12.6 - Fix crash when game installed in a long path (eg C:\Program Files (x86)\Steam\steamapps\common\Total Annihilation\PROTA)
*2025.11.26 - New keys for unit definitions (units/*.fbi) to customise per-unit veterancy
*2025.8.29 - Bugfix for multithreaded version/cheat check
*2025.8.19 - Auto kickout of units under build order is now strictly only for own units (previously allowed kickout anyone's units if cheats enabled)
*2025.8.1 - Set build square preview to yellow if user can build there but it contains a unit that will be kicked out
*2025.7.12
- Allow user to queue build orders underneath their own mobile units; and auto kickout of units that are under a build order
- Mod developers can opt-in to "Improved behaviour of con units".
Modifies what construction units that are guarding factories do after completing each unit: either stay put; cavedog; or scatter.
Set byte at TotalA.exe:0x101f1f to 0x00 to disable the feature (default) or 0x01 to enable the feature.
Note that if one player's 0x101f1f setting doesn't match that of other players, an in-game cheat warning will be triggered.
Once enabled, see ctrl-f2 menu for related user configurable options.
- Fix bug with erroneous game results reported to TAF when using in-game +autoteam
- With fixed position, start positions are assigned in order given by TAF auto balance
so that players are positioned opposite an opponent of similar skill
- Fixed bugs with player placement in 2v2+ games on maps with neutral units
- Push anticheat hashing functions into background threads so as to reduce in-game slowdown experienced by some users
*v2025.5.18
- Improved behaviour of con units when guarding a factory - they stay put after finishing a build
*v2025.4.24
- Fix crash on parsing spawned unit initial commands - its now possible to copy-paste mission scripts from campaign
- Log cheat warnings to tdrawlog.txt for offline analysis
- Fix for non functional perm-los sonar patch (which otherwise requires watcher's com to be in top-left of map to work)
*v2024.12.5
- Fix crash on print-screen (and presumably many other related crashes)
Per-rotation overrides are also available — useful when the visible
pieces should differ by facing. Use any of:
PreviewPiecesS=... facing south (rotation 0)
PreviewPiecesE=... facing east (rotation 1)
PreviewPiecesN=... facing north (rotation 2)
PreviewPiecesW=... facing west (rotation 3)
Lookup order for the active rotation:
1. PreviewPieces<S|E|N|W>= if set (non-empty), uses ONLY that list.
2. PreviewPieces= the default for every rotation.
3. neither set every piece minus the ephemeral filter.
For units whose Create() script auto-rotates the structure toward
the nearest enemy Commander, the preview can be made to face the
same direction — preventing the jarring snap when the build commits
— by adding:
[UNITINFO]
{
...
PreviewFaceOpponent=1;
}
At each preview frame we find the nearest enemy commander to the
build cursor (each enemy player's first unit slot, which is the
commander in all but pathological cases), and snap the line from
the cursor to that commander to the nearest cardinal (S / E / N /
W). PreviewFaceOpponent overrides the Rotations= restriction —
setting this key is the author's explicit signal that the unit's
heading is script-driven, so the preview must face whichever
cardinal the script will pick regardless of what Rotations= permits
the player to cycle through.
To avoid leaking enemy positions through fog-of-war scanning, the
override only applies when the build cursor is within the actual
builddistance of one of the local player's selected, completed
construction units (each builder gets its own threshold from its
FBI builddistance=). Outside that radius the preview falls back to
the player's rotate-build selection — same as if PreviewFaceOpponent
were unset.
Falls back to the player's rotate-build selection in single-player
or any case where no enemy commander can be found (e.g. all enemies
dead).
Mod authors who want the preview to display a completely different
model than the unit's actual Object3D= (e.g. a simplified silhouette,
or the upgraded form of a unit whose 3DO bundles multiple variants)
can name an alternative 3DO with a "PreviewObject3D=" key:
[UNITINFO]
{
...
PreviewObject3D=corarmvp_preview;
}
The value is a 3DO base name (no extension); the file is loaded from
the HPI archive at objects3d/<name>.3DO on first use and cached
for the rest of the game session. All other preview FBI keys
(PreviewPieces, PreviewFaceOpponent, etc.) apply to this overridden
model — piece-name whitelists are matched against the OVERRIDE 3DO's
piece names, not the unit's real one.
If the named 3DO can't be found in the HPI, a warning is logged to
tdrawlog.txt and the preview falls back to the unit's real model;
no other behaviour is affected.
Reference in New Issue
Block a user
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Axle1975