Also, metal (now mass) extractors can be upgraded by themselves - TA would require that the old extractor be reclaimed or detonated in order to place the more advanced extractor in the same place, with a construction unit. SupCom adds intermediate resource producing structures at Tier 2. TA had no middle ground between lvls 1 and 3 for resource generation with the map dependent exception of the geothermal structure - you would jump from small output lvl 1 solar collectors to super energy producing lvl 3 fusion power plants with nothing in between at lvl 2. Resource management can be tricky, but is an interesting and unique experience in the realm of RTS. The builder units can be tasked to help build something as well - the more units are on it, the faster it is built (and the faster it drains your resources). For example, if you wish to create a unit that costs 100 mass and 1000 energy, you don't need that in the bank, it just drains slowly from the pool over the course of unit construction. An interesting thing about SupCom is that the resource system is also real time, continually draining and adding to the pool at a constant rate. They only stop producing if they are destroyed. In order to generate these resources, the Com and builder units create structures that produce them at a constant rate. TA and SupCom had/have two resources - metal and energy (mass and energy in SupCom). In both games, the player begins with a powerful unit called a 'Commander (Com).' The com is a builder, starting the player off with basic resource and unit producing structures, but also acting as a formidable warrior as well.

It provides the essentials of what made TA great and adds a number of small, yet useful, improvements. Supreme Commander (SupCom) did not let me down. TA was, in my opinion, the best Real Time Strategy (RTS) game ever made, so even an updated follow up would need to be extraordinary. From developer Chris Taylor, we have what is essentially the spiritual successor to Total Annihilation (TA).

Total annihilation vs supreme commander