TA Spring: Do you need to have Total Annihilation to play?

Ildamos · Post by **Ildamos** » 30 Dec 2008, 09:54

There's no FAQ on this site (correct me if I am wrong) and the information

This installer can provide you with everything you need to play Spring, including the core files, different mods and maps and the TASClient multiplayer lobby client.

Please note that by selecting the mods XTA or BA in the installer you are legally required to own the original total annihilation game.

is confusing to me.

What I understand from the above is: it can be played without the original TA but playing the mods XTA or BA can't be played unless I have the original TA. Am I correct?

EDIT: I found the FAQ page. Digging...

EDIT 2: Ah so Spring is just the engine and you need the mods to play the games. So: BA and XTA are the only ones that require you to have the original TA while the other Annihilation mod games are totally free to download and play?

Thanks for any helpful reply.

ginekolog · Post by **ginekolog** » 30 Dec 2008, 10:53

just play everyting spring support and leave legal mumbo jumbo aside

TheBigPK · Post by **TheBigPK** » 30 Dec 2008, 11:52

Its an atari spy! AHHHHHHHHH

SinbadEV · Post by **SinbadEV** » 30 Dec 2008, 14:41

in order to Install and play Spring you do not need to have any part of Total Annihilation installed on your computer, some mods include content from the original Total Annihilation so the warning is a "protect our butts and yours" one not a technical one in any way.

CarRepairer · Post by **CarRepairer** » 30 Dec 2008, 17:32

You can but you may not.

smoth · Post by **smoth** » 30 Dec 2008, 17:55

Spring does not require TA

It would be nice if you owned it anyway.

All of the *a projects are mods of TA

Most everything else is a game by it's own right

Spring is just an engine that allows you to run your own content. In the next installer you will just get the engine.

Gota · Post by **Gota** » 31 Dec 2008, 01:10

In short,NO,you do not need TA to play spring.

Ildamos · Post by **Ildamos** » 31 Dec 2008, 04:34

Thanks for all the info!

And no, I'm not ---

---- an "Atari Spy." Some friend of mine continually gushes that TA is THE rts game. So much so that I looked at the TA wiki article, got convinced, googled for TA resources and found this site.

I'm also very much interested in freeware strategy games.

smoth · Post by **smoth** » 31 Dec 2008, 04:37

good luck and I hope you have a great time.

manored · Post by **manored** » 01 Jan 2009, 14:59

How about sticking this?

SinbadEV · Post by **SinbadEV** » 01 Jan 2009, 21:51

manored wrote:How about sticking this?

It won't help.

manored · Post by **manored** » 02 Jan 2009, 21:06

SinbadEV wrote:
manored wrote:How about sticking this?
It won't help.

In the front page, with big, menacing letters? :)

KDR_11k · Post by **KDR_11k** » 02 Jan 2009, 23:48

I think we should just remove that nonsense from the FAQ.

hunterw · Post by **hunterw** » 03 Jan 2009, 03:39

just italicize the word legally

KDR_11k · Post by **KDR_11k** » 03 Jan 2009, 10:56

But legally there's no difference either.

SinbadEV · Post by **SinbadEV** » 03 Jan 2009, 18:50

legally there is a difference, the person who is providing the copy of the base files has the legal right to require you to agree to anything they want before you download the files... even if Atari can't sue you fnordia could if he chose to. I have a program that in the user agreement indicates that it can't be used by people from a specific country until they stop harassing another country... If I don't agree to those terms I am not legally entitled to use that program... or those pages that say "you may not enter this site if you are under 21 years of age" could sue a minor for visiting the site... now... no one is going to actually DO that and the warnings are only there to protect the person hosting the site in most cases... but there is a difference.

smoth · Post by **smoth** » 03 Jan 2009, 19:26

this site is not providing the base file.

SinbadEV · Post by **SinbadEV** » 03 Jan 2009, 20:30

I guess that's true, so the warning you see is only on the provided link... I suppose the better way to say it would be that you can't play TA mods without the TA base files... and then have a link that's like "base files are available at this location but you must own a copy of TA to be legally entitled to download them"... we could still be held liable if we provide the link without a warning.

KDR_11k · Post by **KDR_11k** » 04 Jan 2009, 09:38

SinbadEV wrote:legally there is a difference, the person who is providing the copy of the base files has the legal right to require you to agree to anything they want before you download the files... even if Atari can't sue you fnordia could if he chose to. I have a program that in the user agreement indicates that it can't be used by people from a specific country until they stop harassing another country... If I don't agree to those terms I am not legally entitled to use that program... or those pages that say "you may not enter this site if you are under 21 years of age" could sue a minor for visiting the site... now... no one is going to actually DO that and the warnings are only there to protect the person hosting the site in most cases... but there is a difference.

But it's not worded as a contract and probably not legally binding (especially if it's only mentioned in the FAQ).

we could still be held liable if we provide the link without a warning.

You can be held liable even with the warning because you are not permitted to distribute any part of OTA and that's all there is to it.

Teutooni · Post by **Teutooni** » 04 Jan 2009, 15:12

There is no way you can legally play *A mods, short of building otacontent.sdz from the original TA files (derivative work for your own use). It is illegal to distribute and download that file.

The requirement to "own TA to be able to legally play" has no legal effect, unless the copyright owner says so.

So no, you do not need TA to play, but it is illegal. Don't worry, however. No one gives a shit, and if someone did, he'd target content sites and spring, not individual users.

Clarification: Only *A mods need otacontent.sdz and are thus illegal. *A are AA, BA, CA, XTA, SA (TiA) and some mutators of these. Games like KP and PURE are completely legal.

Spring RTS Engine

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