"Do not needlessly endanger your lives until I give you the signal."
-Dwight D. Eisenhower

Getting Started

        Ok so obviously you have a working computer and you have this game otherwise you wouldn't be here right?
       I'm not going to rattle off the whole history of computer wargames and real-time strategy games but let me at least say that when Total Annihilation was released it was a very innovative game in many ways. It was made in such a way as to be very modular and customizable. They basically did everything short of releasing the source code to make the game modifiable by players. With a little know-how and a few programs you can create your own Maps, Units, Artificial Intelligences, Campaigns, etc., etc. Basically you can almost make it a whole new game. And that is exactly what people have done since the game came out. The problem is that there is so much 3rd party/user created stuff for the game that it would be an extremely hard task to keep track of it all especially for someone who is new to the game.
       Below I have made a list of the most common stuff that just about all TA players have in addition to the basic game. Nearly all of it is stuff that most people consider "standard equipment" and what most people play with. Also, almost all of it is stuff that Cavedog officially made for the game, not player creations.

1. A copy of Total Annihilation, Disc 1 and Disc 2
2. Core Contingency expansion pack which patches the game to version 3.0 and adds a dizzying array of new units and multiplayer maps (not to mention all-new single player campaigns). Of the two expansion packs this is the more common and more important.
3. Battle Tactics expansion pack also patches the game to 3.0 and adds much of the same stuff that Core Contingency does such as new units. The main focus of this expansion was adding a bunch of one-off missions from short to very long that were designed to help players learn certain methods and tactics of the game (hence the name of the expasion). Battle Tactics also adds a few multiplayer maps that can't be found anywhere else. If you can't find Core Contingency, having Battle Tactics sort of makes up for it but most likely you will come across Core Contingency long before you find Battle Tactics. Ideally of course, it's good to have both and if you are lucky you may be able to find a copy of Total Annihilation prebundled with either Core Contingency or Battle Tactics. There was also a bundle called the Commander Pack that had the original game and both expansions plus a strategy guide. Good luck finding any of this stuff. Video game store bargain bins are your best bet. There are also places online where you can download parts of the expansions (I think just the units). You will have to find these sites on your own, however.
4. The version 3.1 patch, still available from Cavedog.com. This, of course, patches the game to it's final official version and adds quite a few new units. It is a must for playing online. Even if you don't have Core Contingency or Battle Tactics you should have the 3.1 patch. Make sure you do NOT get the Boneyards version. Boneyards was Cavedog's own multiplayer network now long gone. The special 3.1 boneyards patch installed Boneyards and added some fixes to make it harder to cheat in the game. This however, also made the game less friendly to 3rd party modification and it added a few bugs of its own. Whatever the case, since Boneyards no longer exists get the regular 3.1 non-Boneyards version. If for some reason you can't find it at Cavedog there will be some sites in the links section that should have the patch as well. Be warned it is an 8+ meg download so if you are on a slow connection be prepared for a wait.
5. The new units not included in the 3.1 patch. There are 6 new units that were released after the 3.1 patch. These are available at Cavedog.com on the same download page as 3.1. They are the Core Necro, Immolator and Hedgehog and the Arm F.A.R.K, Scarab and Flea. You have to download and install each seperately but each of them is a very tiny file.
6. Cavedog's extra multiplayer/skirmish mode maps. These are also available from (guess where) Cavedog.com in the downloads section. Most of these maps are fairly large downloads (a few megs apeice) so if you are on dial-up you might want to just get 1 or 2 a day. It can never hurt to have more maps, and some of these are pretty fun. Please note that some require you to have Core Contingency or Battle Tactics because they use new tilesets/terrain features. The map descriptions on the site will tell you if the expansions are needed for a particular map.
7. The 500 unit patch. This allows you to build up to 500 units instead of the original 200 or 250 that the game allows. This will of course use more system resources and create more lag but just about everyone has it installed and some people even have it set higher such as 1,000 or 5,000 units which is pretty ridiculous. You can download this here. Just put it in your TOTALA folder to use it. The standard path is C:\CAVEDOG\TOTALA unless you installed the game somewhere else which is a pain in the ass when you wanna install stuff.
8. The TA Demo Recorder. Now here is a 3rd party creation that is a very useful tool for learning how to play this game. It also adds a few cool features, mainly keyboard commands, that enhance gameplay quite a bit. Yeah, it could be debated whether this is really "standard equipment" but many people that I know use it, and there is no better way to learn the game than to record games you play then watch them later to see exactly what your opponent did and how they beat you. The recorder was made by a group of Swedish TA players known as the Yankspankers and they did an excellent job. I'm not going to explain the recorder in detail beause it comes with a very extensive read-me file that tells you everything. You can get the recorder from the Yankspankers site.