During this peaceful time the CORE made a breakthrough in which they found a way for the human consciousness to be transferred safely into a machine through a process they called patterning, which theoretically granted the humans immortality. The CORE's technological and economic triumphs have allowed humanity to colonize most of the Milky Way and enjoy peace and prosperity.

The story is set many thousands of years from now and the galaxy is ruled by a benevolent central body of humans and artificial intelligence modules called the CORE (an abbreviation of ' COnsciousness REpository'). Metal (grey/blue) and Energy (yellow/orange) are displayed at the top of the screen and the Minimap, Build Pics and Unit Controls are displayed on the left hand side. The CORE homeworld is a lifeless metal wasteland known as CORE Prime, which is governed by a computer named central conciousness that is buried far below the surface of the planet The ARM homeworld is a green paradise known as Empyrrean, a planet that is rich in life and reflects the natural biological existence that the ARM strive to live for. Total Annihilation is set many thousands of years in the future during the events of a galactic war between the CORE empire and the ARM rebellion, with battles raging on various planets and moons. The lead designer of Total Annihilation, Chris Taylor, went on to create Supreme Commander, which is considered the 'spiritual successor' of Total Annihilation.

Total Annihilation is no longer sold or supported due to the bankruptcy of Cavedog, although it is possible to download the full version of the game on Total Annihilation fansites. Two expansion packs were released, The Core Contingency on Apand Battle Tactics on June 30, 1998. It sold over a million copies, and was the first RTS game to feature 3D units and terrain. Total Annihilation (abbreviated Totala or TA) is a real-time strategy video game created by Cavedog Entertainment and released on Septemthrough the distributor GT Interactive for Microsoft Windows and Mac OS.

Multiplayer: DirectPlay connection (over TCP, UDP or IPX) Cavedog Entertainment (A sub-division of Humongous Entertainment)

Total annihilation metal maps pack