Solar, Wind, Tidal and Metal Makers
Each energy source follows its own rule. Some depend on the map, one stops working when it is hit, and metal makers switch themselves on and off. All the figures here are per second, added at the once-a-second settle.
Solar Collectors
A Solar Collector makes 20 energy a second, but only while it is open. Its script closes it whenever it is hit and opens it again 8 seconds later, and every new hit starts the 8 seconds again. While closed it makes no energy, and it takes a third of the damage (see closed buildings). A collector under steady fire therefore makes nothing until the attack stops.
Mission files have a solar strength setting, but the game never reads it. A Solar Collector makes 20 energy on every map.
Wind Generators
A Wind Generator makes:
30 × wind speed ÷ 5000, and never more than 30
The wind changes at random every 5 to 14 seconds. Its new speed is a random value between the map's minimum and maximum, and its direction is random too. Every wind generator on the map changes at the same moment.
| Map | Wind speed | Output | Average |
|---|---|---|---|
| Dump | 0 | 0 | 0 |
| A Hero Returns | 300 to 2000 | 1.8 to 12 | 6.9 |
| King of the Hill | 500 to 4500 | 3 to 27 | 15 |
| Titanium Fist Bay | 2000 to 8000 | 12 to 30 | 25.5 |
Above a wind speed of 5000 the extra wind is wasted. On Titanium Fist Bay the wind is above 5000 half of the time, so the average output is close to the maximum.
On most maps a Wind Generator makes less than a Solar Collector's 20, but it costs 52 metal against the collector's 145, and enemy fire does not shut it down.
Tidal Generators
A Tidal Generator makes exactly the map's tidal strength. It never changes during a game, because the sea level in Total Annihilation never moves. On CORE KBot Base, Destroy It!, with a tidal strength of 37, each Tidal Generator makes 37 energy a second; on The Purgation of Aqueous Minor it makes 48. Where the tidal strength is 0, it makes nothing.
Metal Makers
A metal maker turns energy into metal while it is switched on:
| Unit | Energy used | Metal made | Energy per metal |
|---|---|---|---|
| Metal Maker (Arm and Core) | 60 | 1 | 60 |
| Floating Metal Maker | 60 | 1 | 60 |
| Moho Metal Maker (Arm) | 800 | 16 | 50 |
| Moho Metal Maker (Core) | 625 | 12 | 52.1 |
In a second that follows an energy stall, a metal maker makes no metal, though it still asks for its energy.
The Automatic Switch
Once a second, the game checks every metal maker and may switch it for you:
- If your stored energy is no more than twice your stored metal, the metal maker is switched off.
- Otherwise, if your energy income was higher than your energy spending in the last second, it is switched on. Each time, there is a 1 in 5 chance that a metal maker waits for the next check instead.
With 800 metal in store, your metal makers switch off when stored energy falls to 1600 or less. They switch on again once stored energy is above 1600 and your energy balance is positive.
Fusion, Geothermal and Built-In Output
The Fusion Reactor, the Geothermal Powerplant and the small output that many units have, such as the Commander's 25 energy and 1 metal, flow as soon as the unit is finished. They do not depend on the map, and they do not stop when the unit is switched off.
For the computer player on Easy, every output on this page is halved, while the energy that metal makers use is not.