[7-4] Balancing the resources

Master resource management in Total Annihilation! Learn how to secure vital metal income and balance energy needs for your expanding forces.

Alright, let's talk about keeping your war machine fueled in Total Annihilation. You're going to find that metal is usually the trickiest resource to get your hands on. Unlike energy, which you can pretty much generate anywhere with solar panels if you have to, metal deposits are often few and far between, especially on maps that aren't CORE Prime. This means you've gotta be smart about where you place your Metal Extractors and Moho Mines to get the best bang for your buck.

Here's the kicker: both your Metal Extractors and Moho Mines need a steady supply of energy to actually produce metal. If they don't get that juice, they're just sitting there doing nothing for your metal count! This is super important because it means you absolutely cannot let your energy or metal levels dip to zero, especially when you're building a bunch of stuff. Normally, this isn't a huge deal, but if you're using multiple construction bots to speed things up, you can burn through your resources so fast that you'll completely run out. Keep an eye on that!

Now, Metal Makers can be a decent option when you're on a map with limited natural metal. Just be aware that they guzzle a ton of energy, so managing your power grid becomes even more critical. A neat trick is that you can actually turn them on and off. So, if you've got a bunch of them, assign them to a hotkey (like Ctrl+#). This way, you can quickly switch them all on for a burst of metal when you really need it, and then turn them off to conserve power.