Prerequisites for replaying a recorded game

At first you need to have installed the map the game was played on. Secondly you should have installed the same set of units as the players in the recorded game had. If you have the TA Core Contingency expansion, the TA 3.1c patch and the six additional official Cavedog units installed you are well prepared for most of the recordings. Of course you also need to install the TA Demo Recorder which includes the replayer as well.
Usually game recordings are stored in a compressed format called Zip archive in order to save space on the web servers. If the file you downloaded has a 'zip' suffix you have to use a program called pkunzip or Winzip to extract the actual recording file before you can watch the game. If the file has a 'exe' suffix it should contain a self extracting Zip archive which unpacks itself by double clicking it from within the Windows Explorer. The advantage of a self extracting archive is you don't need to bother with getting the unpacker program to extract the archive contents.
If the file name ends with a 'tad' suffix it's already a recording in uncompressed format and you can immediatly launch the replayer by just double clicking on the file from within the Windows Explorer.

Keep in mind any file with an 'exe' suffix you download from the web could have a trojan or virus piggy-backed on it so you better check them with an up to date virus scanner before you double click them and install the devil knows what kind of ugly back door program on your system.
If you are unsure about what a virus scanner is and what it does then you probably haven't installed one and shouldn't download any of the files here (and from the web at all).

Recorded cheaters

This section covers recordings showing more or less obvious use of cheating programs for TA. Expect to see effects of instant build, invulnerabilty and resource cheating programs/modifications of TA here.

Using the recorder to detect cheating

With the version 0.98ß5 of the TA Demo Recorder you will see all players metal and energy storage status as well as their metal and energy income in a small window (which you can place anywhere on the main screen by drag and drop) so you pretty much get all the information you need to detect resource cheats like sudden energy/metal boosts or a never dropping storage. If you want to check for Line of Sight (LOS) cheats or instant kill and invulnerability cheats or if you still have an older recorder/replayer version installed you have to use the +view n and +los commands. Both have to be issued from within the game being replayed. To execute them just hit the Enter key to bring up the in game chat input at the bottom of the screen and type the commands into the chat. Finish the input by hitting the Enter key again.
+view switches the focus on the player with number n in the game. n ranges from zero to the number of players in game less one. Just play around with the numbers until the focus is on the player you want to focus on. All units of the player you are currently focused on will show their health bars (if you activated this option by using appropriate key) and the regular metal/energy storage display at the top of the main screen will reflect the players current storage status. The +view command is also the only way to see underwater units and structures on the main screen which is in range of the Arm sonar jammer sub owned by the focused player. This sub is called Fibber and can be built in the Arm advanced shipyard if you have the TA:CC expansion installed. If you issue the +los command after you set focus on a player by using the +view command you will see exactly what was visible in their LOS at this point of time in the game. To switch off the LOS filter just issue +los again. To change focus to another player execute the +view command with another player number. To release the focus from any player issue the +view command without a player number. You have to unfocus from any player if you want to use the .sonar command which comes with the TA Demo Recorder. It places a sonar unit at the top left corner of the map that will unreveale all underwater stuff on the main map for the watcher (you) except structures and units jammed by Fibber submarines (see above).

Benefit of logged IP addresses

If the IP address of the cheater was logged during the game you will find it in the according column of the Game List table. Keep in mind though most IPs are taken from a pool of the Internet Service Provider the cheater was using so this address may change in case the cheater used a dial in connection or disconnected his cable/dsl modem to get a new IP address assigned. The good news is the address will most likely change only at the last two numbers in this case. So all you people out there using a firewall: Add a netmask to the address and block these idiots out of your games.
I added also the approximate location returned by tracing the route to the logged address immediatly after the game. It's usally a larger city next to the place from where the cheater was actually connected to Internet during this game. If the cheater is a redneck living close to the end of the world this will be a very inaccurate information.

Micromanage your units

Sometimes you are able to cause some incredible damage with just a few units mircomanaged perfectly. Micromangement covers a wide area of interesting tactics like sneaking into the backyard of your opponent with a small jammed attack group, using air lifter(s) to bypass defenses or terrain obstacles thus allowing you to take out key structures considered being safe, launching a coordinated attack with at least two groups of units from different directions, a perfectly performed roach bombing or a flawless bomber run.

Let me introduce you to Mr. Lag

Did you ever watch one of these after game debates taking place in a TA game service chat room and wonder what the heck the term lag stands for? Ever got insulted for lagging like hell in a game you played while you had no idea at all what they have been talking about? If the answer is yes then you should check the lag explanation first and then check the recordings in is section out in order to understand the problems arising when playing a computer game like TA online.

The stupid mistakes show

Yes, even a seasoned player can't play a flawless game every time. But sometimes a single mistake can cost you the victory. This is not about just leaving metal spots uncovered by extractors the whole game nor is about the lack of reclaiming debris or other resources lounging around completely ignored by the player. And it's not about starting expensive structures or units without a sufficient resource base either. The recordings here show Commanders going to a better place with a big bang due to a single little mistake.

In the air tonight

You can take pretty nice snapshots while your Comander is attached to one of those air lifters. Just be sure it's your own Atlas/Valkyrie. Some people call it 'Commander napping' we call it 'Involuntary Air Ride'. The player who managed to kidnap the Commander will just self destruct the air lifter thus killing the Commander being air lifted too. In team games the kidnapper usally tries to bring his victim as close as possible to another Commander of the enemy team in order to get two birds with one stone when he blows up the air lifter: The blast of the napped Commander will kill the second Commander too if the lifter made it close enough.
Many people call this a lame tactic some people call it cheating. I think there is nothing wrong with it. You can easily defend against by having a single anti air unit in range. A sole air lifter can even be handled by the Commander itself if you are aware of the situation. The light laser of the Commander will kill the lifter as long you move him around (changing direction often to cause the air lifter turning around for a new attempt) and have him set to fire at will.

Unexpected winners

I thought it would be funny to put some recordings on the site which demonstrate winning a TA game dosn't depend from the resource production ratios only but also from building the right things according the actual situation. If you ever played a game when you thought you or your team is almost dead just to see the tide turn you know what I'm speaking about. What makes this kind of games so interesting is the fact the team/player losing at the end is usually far ahead resource wise but still lost the game due to lack of scouting, losing their Commander to a sudden strike (most online games are played with the Dead Commander - Game Ends option turned on) or just picking a wrong strategy. The games in this section prove that resources do not necessarily determine the denouement of a TA game.

Flash flood rising

Flash Flooders just ignore the the fact even standard TA without the CC expansion comes with more than one cheap level one attack unit. I'm not talking about using like 10 or 15 flashes at once. At least one player in all the recordings here is building nothing else than flashes - for early attack at least and in huge numbers. Lean back and enjoy - if you can.

Strange recordings

Sometimes you don't know how to assess stuff going on in recording. You may not know for sure if the strange stuff to be seen is a result of lag or cheating or if one of the players is doing strange things on purpose to make it just look such.
So this is the place where I put all recordings that can't be ranged into any other existing category.

CC insanity

Some really cost ineffective units have been included in the TA:CC expansion by Cavedog. They eat up tons of resources for being built, have a long build time and are considered TA's equivalent of a black hole - resource and effect wise.
On the other hand those units are really funny to watch in action. Anyone who ever experienced a group of Krogoths going rampage in their base or was on the receiving end of a Buzzsaw will understand what I mean...

PhoeniX WorX sector winners

A selection of recordings that features games that finally decided ownership over a IGW (Inter Galactic War) meta game sector on the Phoenix Worx game service. This is the only thing that makes those games special, the TA skills shown in them may range from expert to newbie level.

Page last updated 2005/02/05 by tcbw@tcbw.net