Starsiege: Tribes/Mods/Annihilation

Annihilation is a popular mod in Starsiege: Tribes. It was developed by Scavenger and then later by Sevnn and Plasmatic. The official website is annihilation.info.

Basics

Annihilation is a multiclass mod designed to promote diverse gameplay as well as strategic teamplay. This mod provides you with a group of armor classes and weapons to allow you to experience a wide variety of gameplay options. Whether you prefer stealthy sniping, juggernaughting your way through defenses, or constructing a defense system from deployable objects, Annihilation should provide the equipment you need for any style of play.

While Annihilation shares some characteristics of other multiclass mods currently available for Tribes, you'll find it also has alot to offer that is unique.

Some examples of this are the descending Dropshops, Zappy Inventories, thorough administration options, damage effects such as fire, and a variety of unique deployables. You can succeed as a lone warrior, however this mod is designed to benefit people working as a team; Certain armor classes and weapons provide great strengths as well as great weaknesses, in most cases these weaknesses can be compensated for by having a teammate.

Armors

Eight armor types are available, and can be purchased at Base or Mobile Inventory Stations. Lighter armors offer more mobility, but are more easily damaged; heavier armors supply larger amounts of protection, energy, and ammunition, as well as more and heavier weapons, but are slower, larger targets.

• Rogue Angel armor - The lightest and most agile armor, but also the most vulnerable. While capable of full flight, its weapons are light, specialized, and drain sufficient energy to kill the Angel's jets momentarily. It can drop grenades which are surprisingly powerful, comparable in power to the Mortar.
• Chameleon Assassin armor - An infiltration and assassination armor, the Chameleon comes with a variety of tools for slipping past enemy defenses, and enough to wreak havoc on any soft spots. The Assassin carries plastique grenades, which stick to their targets and detonate 15 seconds later.
• Necromancer armor - An agile, energy-centric armor with access to abilities such as teleportation and wall-phasing. The Necromancer wields spells which damage, disable, disorient, and drain its victims. It can even scatter explosive illusions around the battlefield, to the dismay of its enemies.
• Warrior armor - A good general-purpose armor with a solid selection of weaponry. The Warrior is the default spawn armor, and thus the only choice when an inventory station is not available. It carries a belt of standard anti-personnel hand grenades .
• Builder armor - Able to deploy every item in inventory, the Builder is the primary choice for base fortification, but not incapable of offensive action. The Builder's EMP Grenades fry the energy systems of anyone caught in the radius, quickly grounding them as well as inflicting light damage over a wide radius.
• Troll armor - For a heavy armor, the Troll is surprisingly fast on its feet, but it is still not so capable, in the air. It can carry a strong assortment of weapons, and makes for a strong indoors combatant, but suffers outside in the sun. Its grenades inflict minimal damage but do have a strong kinetic effect, and can be used to fling itself, or its victims, with great force.
• Titan armor - Heavier and less mobile than the Troll, this armor is more like a small HERC than an armored suit. It can carry a wide variety of the deadliest precision and bombardment weapons in Annihilation. Its grenades are roughly equivalent to a Mortar shell.
• Tank armor - The slowest and by far the most durable armor available. If the Titan aspires to be a small HERC, then the Tank is that small HERC. Every single weapon the Tank carries is built to crush, shatter, or shred whatever crosses its path. Even the Tank's massive grenades are capable of destroying most other armors with even a near-miss.

Weapons

Annihilation added over 25 new weapons to Tribes. Some of these weapons are used by only a single armor and others can be used by almost any armor. Some weapons have modes, making them more useful or configurable. Modes can be changed through the tab menu, or with the use blaster, or use laser keys. These are the one (1) and six (6) keys by default.

• Angel Fire – A mortar type weapon that an Angel can lob from great heights. It does not inflict much damage, it allows the Angel to harass enemies from the safety of the skies. This does not require ammunition, but the energy consumption can cause an Angel to lose jet power when firing repeatedly. Rogue Angel armor only.
• Baby Nuke Launcher – This is one of the most powerful weapons you can use. This nuke launcher has a very large blast radius and does a great deal of damage. Use it to clear out a hallway or room full of enemies and their defense. Titan armor only.
• Spell: Death Ray – The Necromancer's sniper spell, this beam of magic can be fired and re–fired very quickly. With less energy, though, the spell is weaker. Necromancer armor only.
• Spell: Disarm – This little doozie of spell will force the enemies in its splash range to drop the weapon they're holding. Necromancer armor only.
• Disc Launcher – One of the oldest and most used weapons, and one of the hardest to master, the Disc Launcher is one of the best general use weapons available.
• Flamer – The Flamer releases releases clouds of fire which produce a massive splash area, though its damage is lacking. A decent suppression/finishing weapon when the target is grounded or backed in a corner.
• Spell: Flame Strike – This is a fairly powerful fire shot. Occassionaly, the spell gets out of control and causes a massive explosion on impact. Necromancer armor only.
• Spell: Flame Thrower – Arching balls of flame that can be fired very quickly, this weapon is a good addition to any Necromancer arsenal. Necromancer armor only.
• Heaven's Fury – A shotgun-style energy weapon, Heaven's Fury discharges a flurry of short-range electric bolts at a rapid rate. At close range, it can kill most armors with less than a second of fire. It is most effective against slow moving targets, such as tanks, or targets with very little health, like other Angels. This weapon drains power at an incredible rate, and so jets cannot be used while this weapon is being fired. Rogue Angel armor only.
• Hyperspinfusor – Twice the output of the Disc Launcher, the Hyperspinfusor fires discs alternating from two chambers.
• Jailer's Gun – This weapon can only be used once a Jail deployable has been placed in the field. Once that is ready, fire this weapon at an enemy to trap them in that jail for about 20 seconds. This gun, however, suffers from short range and occasional misfires, which will send the user to Jail along with the target!
• Mortar – A heavy launcher which lobs large, powerful artillery shells with considerable force. Highly effective against base assets and defenses; also effective against players, though landing a hit is more challenging.
• Mini Bomber –The Mini Bomber is similar in many ways to a Grenade Launcher, however this weapon comes with a full roster of specialized firing modes and projectile types, from EMP shells to Mine laying canisters, making this one of the most unique and versatile weapons in the arsenal.
• OS Launcher – This weapon fires a single missile which is immediately taken over by the player to be guided, manually, to its destination. While powerful and accurate there are still many ways an OS can be defeated. Titan armor only.
• Particle Beam Weapon – A high–power precision energy weapon, similar in effect to the Laser Rifle, only considerably stronger. Can be fired as a normal beam or in a charged "Turret–Killer" mode. Titan armor only.
• Phase Disruptor – This weapon fires a large blue Phase Disruption, which creates a massive explosion on impact and causes high damage to anything caught nearby. One of the most powerful weapons on the field.
• Pitchfork – Technically not a weapon, per-se, the Pitchfork can be used to manipulate the position of a number of deployable objects, including Blast Walls and Force Fields. This is mostly employed in the fortification of a team's base, though it can also be used to deconstruct enemy fortifications and hurl players, friendly or not, through the air or into objects. Builder armor only.
• Plasma Gun – Another commonly–used weapon, the plasma gun can be used at medium range against players and turrets alike to great effect. The ammunition from this weapon is also highly explosive, so keep clear of discarded plasma canisters while under fire.
• Railgun – 'An energy–ballistic hybrid weapon, this long–range rifle is a solid sniper weapon, though its reliance on both ammunition and energy to fire limits its use. Though less useful than most other sniping weapons, it is still a valuable tool for picking off would–be homewreckers. Builder armor only.
• Rocket Launcher – A powerful rocket fired at high speed, this is an excellent weapon in almost any situation. Not only does it inflict heavy damage, but it also knocks the victim away from the impact point with great force.
• Rocket Pod – Inspired by a weapon of the same name from Tribes: Vengeance, this medium-weight weapon unleashes a swarm of six semi-guided missiles. The missiles will not auto-track, rather they will follow the player's crosshairs until they hit something.
• Rubbery Mortar – A close relative to the Mortar, though far more unpredictable, the Rubbery Mortar will bounce around for several seconds before detonating. Somewhat useful for suppressing or destroying targets indoors, though incapable of more precise shelling.
• Spell: Shocking Grasp – A fairly powerful spell, the Shocking Grasp locks on to a close range target and drains their health. Necromancer armor only.
• Shotgun – The Shotgun is a great weapon for finishing off an already weakened target. Because of the good sized spread, it is also effective at hitting airborne targets. Finally, it is a popular choice for eliminating most enemy deployables and base assets.
• Spell: Stasis – This is a non–splash spell, but hitting an enemy with this will freeze them completely in place for several seconds! Necromancer armor only.
• Shockwave Cannon – A specialized mobility weapon, the Shockwave Cannon fires a low-damage bolt which creates a wide shockwave around its impact point, flinging most armors away with great force.
• Sniper Rifle – One of the Chameleon's key weapons is the Sniper Rifle. This is the second most powerful sniper weapon in the game, and can take down any armor in just a couple of hits. Chameleon Assassin armor only.
• Soul Grabber – One of the Angel's most feared weapons, the Soul Grabber uses nearly all of the Angel's energy for each shot. Accuracy is required to land a hit, but only three or four hits is usually needed to dispatch most enemies. Rogue Angel armor only.
• Stinger Missile – Slightly weaker than a Rocket Launcher, the Stinger Missile will lock on and track a its victim if fired while the crosshairs are directly over the target.
• Tank Blast Cannon – A heavy cannon for when something just has to be made dead, this weapon spews rockets like a shotgun spews pellets. Devastating up close, useless at range. Tank armor only.
• Tank Rocket Gun – Twin heavy missile launchers, this weapon has much in common with the Stinger Missile, except whatever the Stinger does, the Rocket Gun does better, and in pairs. Tank armor only.
• Tank RPG – This battery of rocket launchers which deliver a massive punch to a large area. While not always enough to kill those caught in the blast outright, it is usually more than enough to force them into cover, if not full retreat. Tank armor only.
• Tank Shredder – Four chainguns mounted to the arms and shoulders of the Tank spew a wall of lead at the target. Effective against slow and stationary targets at range, and everything up close, the ammunition for this weapon may seem generous, but in practice is quickly exhausted. Tank armor only. Tank armor only.
• Vulcan – This bullet type weapon quickly fires bullets in a small spread cone, much like the Chaingun. The secondary mode on this weapon fires highly–damaging incendiary rounds, but also consuming ammunition at a frightening rate. Effective a medium ranges, and deadly up close.

Beacons, Mines and Grenades

In unmodified Tribes, Targeting Beacons were small deployables carried by players in order to mark points of interest on the battlefield. They could be used to mark such things as important waypoints, forward supply stations, or even tag enemy base assets for bombardment. In Annihilation, Beacons serve an entirely new purpose, in which each armor class has its own special ability activated through the use of a Beacon.

Annihilation does not, however, introduce much change to the classic implementation of Land mines. These hand-tossed proximity explosives can be laid just about anywhere, will burrow into most any surface, and detonate when they detect a nearby target, or are destroyed by battlefield fire.

Armor-carried Grenades also appear in Annihilation, though with some variation from armor to armor. While the Warrior armor uses the traditional time-fused hand grenade, some armors, such as the Titan, carry more powerful charges while others, such as the Builder use more specialized explosives.

Packs

A very important aspect of Tribes is the ability to wear "packs", which alter the abilities of the player. Only one can be worn at a time, so it is important to know what advantage the player will need in order to succeed. Packs can be dropped and recovered by other players on the field. Annihilation added several new packs to the game.

Worn packs

• Energy Pack – The most common pack, it improves the wearer's energy cell by increasing both capacity and recharge rate. This mainly allows players to jet for longer periods of time and possibly use a sniper rifle.
• Repair Pack – The second most common pack, and a concept unique to the Tribes games. When activated, it arms the player with a repair tool which consumes energy to repair players or damaged base assets in its crosshairs. If there is nothing close enough to repair, the tool will instead restore the holder's health.
• Ammo Pack – Increases the amount of ammo a player can hold. When dropped the player keeps the maximum allowed for their class, while the pack retains the remainder. Sometimes used by grunts to deliver ammo to teammates across the map.
• Shield Pack – When activate, this pack converts the player's energy system into an energy shield which diverts damage from the player's health to the armor's energy reserve. The shield also degrades over time, and once the player's energy is depleted, the shield dissipates.
• Sensor Jammer Pack – A less-commonly used pack, when active it drains energy from the wearer's power cell to make all teammates within 20 meters (the wearer included) invisible to enemy radar. Radar is rarely checked during most Tribes matches, however this pack finds more use in Annihilation for evading enemy defenses, such as the deadly Laser Turrets.
• Chameleon Pack – Worn only by the Chameleon armor, this pack changes the user's team to the enemy to allow him to sneak into their base. He still takes damage from them, however, and using the pack will slowly drain the pack's energy until it shuts off. This pack emits an audible hum when activated that may be a give away to nearby enemies.
• Laptop – This pack works as a portable command station allowing the user to enter the command screen to remotely control turrets or set player waypoints. The user is very vulnerable during this time because he will not be able to see what's around him.
• Ghost Pack – This pack, used by Necromancers only, allows the player to 'ghost' through verticle walls. Because of limits in the engine, only walls that are at a 90 degree angle can be ghosted through. Ghost pack will drain the player's health and should only be used a few seconds at a time.
• Phase Shifter – Another Necromancer pack, the Phase Shifter teleports the user to the location of his crosshairs, as long as it is within 400m. This pack also allows the user to switch places with another player if that player is targeted instead of a ground location.
• Tank Pack – Unique to the Tank. This pack provides the Tank with permanent energy shielding, as well as acting as a secondary weapon. This weapon functions much like the Rocket Pod available to some other armors, only without an ammunition limitation, and leaving the Tank's gun arm free to wield another weapon as well.
• Troll Pack – Similar to the Repair Pack in appearance, the Troll pack is incapable of repairing other targets, but grants the Troll constant, if not particularly rapid, health regeneration without consuming energy or requiring the use of a handheld tool.
• True Sight Pack – This pack allows players to see invisible enemies who are hidden by a Base Cloaking Device or the Invisibility Beacon.
• Stealthshield Pack – A superior choice to the standard Shield Pack, for the armors to which it is available. On top of the protective shielding, this pack also affords the wearer invisibility to standard radar.
• Suicide Det Pack – Another exclusive Troll backpack, this device will cause an immense explosion when detonated. Activating the pack tosses it to the ground and begins a countdown set by the player. A deployed Detpack can still be defused by the Touch Ability of the Builder armor.

Deployables

"Deployables" is a general term used within Tribes and its respective modifications, Annihilation included, to refer to a set of back-worn "packs" which can be placed on a variety of surfaces in the field, and which then "deploy" into a more functional object. These can range from inventory stations and monitoring devices to automated turrets and manually-controlled turrets.

Inventory Station – Popularly called an "invo", this small terminal allows players to exchange weapons and packs at a remote location. It is not large enough to allow armor changes, and has a limited energy supply, so it must be replaced occasionally in large matches.

Ammo Station – This remotely-deployable terminal allows players a place to resupply in the field, though it cannot be used to exchange weapons or inventory items. Also has a limited energy supply.

Deployable Sensors

• Camera – Standard camera.
• Deployable pussycat – Alerts you and your team to the presence of enemies who are using Chameleon packs. The message includes the player's name and the Pussycat ID # (first one you deploy is #1, second is #2, etc.) Pussycats are by far the most heavily shielded of all deployables requiring large amounts of firepower to destroy.
• Starsiege: Tribes/Mods/Annihilation/Motion sensor – Motion sensors defeat the Stealthshield pack and invisibility beacons. If turrets are not supplimented with motion sensors, invisible enemies are undetected by turrets with optical sensors, such as the Laser Turret.
• Pulse Sensor – Extends the sensing range of pulse-sensor style turrets, and supplements the sensor network. Enemies which come within range of a pulse sensors will be visible on the Command Map, as well as having the red triangle/indicator atop their head when viewed normally.
• Sensor Jammer – Nullifies enemy pulse sensors and provides a bit of disguise for teammates that are within range of enemy radar.

Turrets

• Flame Turret – Deploys on flat surfaces. Shoots a stream of hot plasma. The high splash damage makes this a good deterrent against enemies using Ghost pack so it's typically set inside near the flag. Often shielded by setting a Force Field or Blast Wall and moving it into place in front of the turret so only the gun barrel sticks out with Builder armors Pitchfork weapon.

• Fusion Turret – Deploys on flat surfaces. Fires balls of electrical energy which render enemy shields, jetpacks, and energy weapons useless by zapping their energy. Typically set as perimeter defense for your base or the objective bases.

• Ion Turret – Deploys on any surface. Fires balls of electrical energy which render enemy shields, jetpacks, and energy weapons useless by zapping their energy. Usually set on the ceiling in a corner and shielded by putting a Deployable Platform or Force Field over the turret with Builder armors Pitchfork weapon.

• Irradiation Cannon Turret – Deploys on flat surfaces. Rapidly fires missiles. Typically set as perimeter defense for your base or the objective bases.

• Laser Turret – Deploys on any surface. Shoots a laser that hits enemies instantly. Each fire of the laser drains energy from a pool and when depleted the laser turret does less damage until the energy recharges. Often set as Flag defense and base perimeter defense. Often shielded by setting a Blast Wall, Force Field, Deployable Platform, or Big Crate and using Builder armors Pitchfork weapon to move it over the turret.

• Missile Turret – Deploys on flat surfaces. Fires homing missiles at jetting enemies and vehicles.

• Mortar Turret – Deploys on flat surfaces. Shoots mortars at nearby enemies. Usually placed up high for base perimeter defense.

• Neuro Basher Turret – Deploys on flat surfaces. An electrical anti-air turret which renders enemy shields, jetpacks, and energy weapons useless by draining their energy. Also deploys an electrical defensive charge when enemies come too close. Usually set outside in valleys around your base as perimeter defense to knock enemy flag cappers down to the ground.

• Nuclear Turret – Deploys on any surface. Shoots a nuclear shell on the tip of a rocket.

• Plasma Turret – Deploys on flat surfaces. Fires balls of plasma which catch the enemies energy system on fire.

• Shock Turret – Deploys on any surface. Drops shells of electrical energy which render enemy shields, jetpacks, and energy weapons useless by zapping their energy. Often set on a ceiling or a wall and shielded with a Deployable Platform or Big Crate.

• Vortex Turret – Deploys on any surface. Creates a miniature vortex which sucks enemies toward it. Best set with supportive offensive turrets nearby, typically paired with laser turrets. Often shielded by covering with a Big Crate or Force Field.

Main article: Starsiege: Tribes/Mods/Annihilation/Turrets

Other items

• Targeting Laser – Used by grunt players to paint targets for teammates. Players using the grenade launcher or the mortar can see small triangles indicating the trajectory and direction required to hit a target precisely. Although a novel feature, it is rarely used in a standard match.
• Repair Kit – Can be used at any time during play to restore a small amount of the user's lost health. Can be dropped and given to another player, or thrown on to a damaged object to partially repair it.

Vehicles

Tribes was one of the first games with team-oriented vehicles. They normally are not the focus of the game (unlike the sequel), but just a convenient feature. Annihilation added a few more vehicles to the mix.

• Scout – A one-man vehicle, flies fast and fires rockets. Used for rapid flag snatching and "capping" (flag capturing). Difficult to master piloting, as expressed by Gabe of Penny Arcade: "I mean, you know how much concentration it takes to fly those scouts".
• Bomber – An APC capable of carrying a pilot and two passengers, moving faster than the HPC. The passengers can fire from inside the vehicle, making them very dangerous to base defenders. Additionally, the vehicle can drop bombs on targets below.
• HAPC (Heavy Armored Personnel Carrier) – An APC capable of carrying a pilot and four passengers, moving slower than the LPC. Like in the LPC, passengers can fire while in transit.
• Interceptor - Similar to the Scout, except that it has ion cannons instead of rockets.