Your eyes do not deceive you, this creature of majesty above is both half-Commander and half-unicorn. Touch its horn if you will, but the only wish it grants is the pillaging of the galaxy’s resources to ensure the demise of your enemies. Friendship is temporary, but a well-placed ubercannon is forever.
The Unicorn Commander is available to all players during the Steam Summer Sale, after which it can be purchased through the Armory. It also comes with its own strategic icon so that everyone else knows that you’re better than them, both as a player and a person.
Lobbies now have the option to shuffle player starting locations. No longer can you know who is where without any scouting in FFA and team games. Live the mystery.
The AI has had an easy difficulty added to skirmish and normal in Galactic War as part of some more extensive changes. We hear your eyebrow lift (just one, you’re classy like that) at the addition of an easier difficulty, but once improvements land and it’s kicking your hiney, you’ll be sorry you got all sniffy about an easy difficulty.
Translations have been updated and expanded to include community mods like Legion Expansion and Queller AI.
Updated water shader to show different depths (115280)
Water hover shallows
Deep water commander danger zone
Deep water
Client Fixes
Fixed SDL2 full screen toggle / resize issue on Windows (114628)
Fixed intro video loss of focus (114673)
Fixed tutorial commander specs (114716)
Fixed custom line formations crashes (114726 / 114823)
Fixed settings mod compatibility issue (114726)
Fixed join modded game crash from modded new game lobby or live game (114726)
Fixed landing crash on slower systems (114726)
Fixed setCommandMode crash (114759)
Fixed line command crash (114759)
Fixed API data access (114880)
Fixed get units crash (114880)
Fixed icons not showing with one or more unit server mods (115280)
Fixed handling of Unicode surrogates eg 🔥 (115447)
AI Improvements
Added easy difficulty for AI skirmish to match galactic war (work in progress)
Improved AI start location selection (114716)
AI landing policies now avoid planets with others AIs so they spread across planets (115050)
Galactic War Improvements
Added normal difficulty between easy and hard (work in progress)
Added Default personality placeholder to gw minions (114716)
Server / Sim Improvements
Improved attack (focus fire) task
Added shuffle landing zones
Added early exit for sim tasks that set failed during initialisation (114673)
Added radar jamming (114862)
Added support for 128 bit UNITTYPE flags and masks expanding max types from 63 to 127 (114980)
Added SIMD optimisations for 128 bit flags (114980)
Add new units types
UNITTYPE_Vehicle (114980)
UNITTYPE_Shield (114980)
UNITTYPE_Amphibious (114980)
UNITTYPE_WaterHover (114980)
UNITTYPE_Interplanetary (115506)
UNITTYPE_TacticalDefense (115506)
UNITTYPE_Radar (115506)
UNITTYPE_RadarJammer (115506)
Server / Sim Fixes
Fixed AI server crash in evaluateBases
Fixed server crash for modded units with ORDER_Attack and no weapons (114673)
Fixed target priorities vision (114716)
Fixed Windows 4GB replay / saved game limit (114862)
Fixed moving to target assist task crash (114862)
Fixed auto repair / reclaim while transporting (114862)
Fixed water-hover pathing around structures, walls, TITANS, etc (114980)
Fixed handling of Unicode surrogates eg 🔥 (115447)
Fixed beam weapon collisions with structures, terrain and water surface (115447)
Maps
Added shuffleLandingZones
Updated the following maps to use shuffleLandingZones: true
Clutch
Lock
Crag
Bedlam
PAX
Medea
Roc
Blitz
Forge
Berg
Duat
Pacific
Styx
Meso
Amplus
Modding
Exposed locTree for localislation parsing of modified DOM nodes avoiding the need for concatenated loc strings or data-binding locTree(document.getElementById('#nav-link'));
Added gOffline and gModsOffline for offline mode (work in progress)
Added api.audio.getDevices():[string]
Added api.audio.setDevice(string)
Reworked SettingItemModel to support
options.function(currentValue)
options.deferredFunction(currentValue) for async
options.refresh: seconds
option.empty: string
Added support for JSON // single line comments
Improved modding support for multiple selectable skybox mods in settings: (114776)
Added gw mod support for bounty_mode, bounty_value, sudden_death_mode, shuffle_landing_zones and land_anywhere (114716)
AI mods can use personality.ai_path to specify their own complete set of templates, builds and unit maps as the default AI may be changing significantly
Did you want to know what Planetary Annihilation Inc is doing to help you stay safe during COVID-19? No? Didn’t think so. Instead we’ve spent the time adjusting the dials, tweaking the numbers and fiddling the stats, all to create the new perfect™ balance. We’re making adjustments to make it easier to create your initial base, make tanks more viable as an early game option, and also make it easier to get into the orbital layer.
For the map makers among you, we fixed metal on the equator, allowed you to quickly create backups as you work, and height adjustments are now possible for terrain. You’ll need to dive into the pas files with your preferred text editor to make the changes, no fancy UI just yet, but it will allow you even more control over your creations. In return, don’t create systems with planets as far apart from one another as possible and orbital travel times so long they verge on the realistic. No one likes those systems. Please stop.
Fixed attack (focus fire) delayed targeting and charging to their death for units with a firing delay, ballistic solutions, etc. eg Commander, Grenadier, Hornets, etc.
Queued area load and unload can now be used to create a temporary ferry.
Added support for interplanetary area and line formations with load / unload
Added control build range preview
Added official support link to start menu and removed community support link
Added alt / option alternative area build (114438)
Added max radius for alt / option alternative area build (114445)
Changed Armory to be available offline and show locked commanders not available to purchase without steam overlay (114473)
Client Fixes
Fixed black screen issue where load event for splash image failed to fire (patched by community mods)
Fixed strategic icons and fog of war lighting showing when units teleporting
Fixed invalid userIds causing empty friends list (114473)
System Editor Improvements
Added export to system editor for fast backups while creating maps
Added description, creator and version to system editor
System Editor Fixes
Fixed system editor metal sport validation
Fixed unselectable sunken CSG in system editor
Server / Sim Improvements
Added continuous area load / chase and interplanetary area load / unload (queued area load / unload orders can be used for temporary ferry)
Added terrain height adjustments to planet builder
Added water-hover navigation type for low draft brown water navy access to shallows (114438)
Server / Sim Fixes
Fixed transport / distance with teleport load / unload exploits
Fixed death explosion damaging their own wreckage
Fixed move sub tasks targeting a unit only targeting initial position resulting in missed air / orbital loads for moving units
Fixed nav agent targeting of lower layers by air / orbital not excluding radius of each agent resulting in missed loads as vertical move outside of goal range
Fixed attack (focus fire) charging to their death for units with a firing delay, ballistic solutions, etc
JavsScript example of 10 equally spaced terrain height adjustments using golden circle for a 600 radius planet in the System Editor scene using the debugger:
(function(count, adjustment, radius)
{
var planetRadius = model.radius();
var increment = Math.PI * (3 - Math.sqrt(5));
var offset = 2 / count;
var adjustments = [];
for (var k = 0; k < count; k++)
{
var y = k * offset - 1 + (offset / 2);
var r = Math.sqrt(1 - y * y);
phi = k * increment;
adjustments.push({
normalizedAdjustment: adjustment,
radius: radius,
pos: [planetRadius * Math.cos(phi) * r, planetRadius * y, planetRadius * Math.sin(phi) * r]
});
}
model.heightAdjustments(adjustments);
model.heightAdjustments.valueHasMutated();
model.update_planet_spec();
model.previewTerrainSelectedPlanet();
})(10, 1, 100)
Lave biome with generated terrain height adjustments:
Added normalizedAdjustment property to terrain height adjustments with range -1 (water bottom) to 1 (max height)
Added water-hover navigation type for low draft brown water navy access to shallows
Changed Piranha gunboat / sea scout to new water-hover navigation type with new flat bottom model
Faster and more accurate alt-fire ubercannon d-gun
Fixed all commanders to have identical mesh bounds based on base commander spec
Fixed attack (focus fire) delayed targeting and charging to their death for units with a firing delay, ballistic solutions, etc. eg Commander, Grenadier, Hornets, etc
114445
Updated translations
Added alt / option alternative area build
Double Lob
Double Turret
Double Pelter
Double Catapult
Double Holkins
Added max radius for alt / option alternative area build
Land mine
Nuke Launcher
area_max_radius
alt_area_max_radius
Fixed alt / option area feature crash
114473
Updated translations
Changed Armory to be available offline and show locked commanders not available to purchase without steam overlay
Over the past seasons many players have proven themselves to be among the best commanders out there, capable of adapting to the ever changing pool of maps. An even smaller number of commanders can lay claim to the title of Uber #1, the highest symbol of skill in the game. Holding this rank at the end of a season also comes with the reward of the prestigious Beast Commander.
Of those few who hold this title to their name, two have consistently shown they can stand out from even the highest echelons of commanders with the sheer size of their egos. Now it’s time to put them head-to-head to determine once and for all who really has the biggest pair of tusks!
On Saturday, June 6th, starting at 17:00 UTC, AndreasG and NikolaMX will compete in a best-of-9 series. The winner will take home US$1,000 while the loser departs in disgrace and audience catcalls.
They will NOT know the map list in advance. The maps may be from the 1v1 ranked pool, or they may be confronted with brand new maps. We’ve allowed them to submit one map each to try to exploit their opponent’s weaknesses.
This titanic grudge match permits no excuses for defeat other than distinct and tangible inferiority. The defeated will be, officially, a loser.
Join us over at WPMarshall’s Twitch where this event will be cast live for your pleasure. It’s going to be quite a spectacular tussle between these 2 players where we will determine who is truly deserving of the Beast Commander.
Starting with build 114220 we have upgraded our Ubuntu based toolchain to gcc-9 with LTO which is available in the default repositories or backports of most distributions.
Barnacle support barge navigation changed to new water-hover with updated flat bottom model and can now build teleporters on land
114716
Fixed target priorities vision
114438
Fixed attack (focus fire) delayed targeting and charging to their death for units with a firing delay, ballistic solutions, etc. eg Commander, Grenadier, Hornets, etc.
Added water-hover navigation type for low draft brown water navy access to shallows.
Note: patrol will not normally reclaim if economy is positive and metal storage is full. Auto reclaim units will always reclaim wreckage while patrolling.
Amphibious Sea Floor Targeting
Amphibious units moving on the seafloor which are near the water or above the water surface can now be targeted as surface units.
The following can no longer target sea floor (113929):
Planetary Annihilation is a cross platform client / server networked OpenGL application.
Any software that interferes with network connections or OpenGL can cause issues.
When playing you are connecting to a local server or hosted server over the internet.
A cabled Ethernet connection to your router will perform better than Wi-Fi for most games. After your router your ISP, their backhaul and their transit to PAnet AWS servers will determine the quality of your network connection.
Like most games you need free memory to run PA especially with a local server. A minimum spec Windows system with 8GB RAM and a dedicated GPU should normally have 6GB RAM free before starting PA.
System level crashes or mouse / keyboard freezes during live games are almost always a hardware / driver issue with your system. PA can really push your hardware to the max.
Client Performance Does Not Impact Server Performance or Other Clients
The performance of individual clients has no impact on servers or other clients. ie a player with a low spec computer has no impact on the server or other players.
Sim Performance and Time Dilation
When the sim is under pressure the sim rate will slow down causing time dilation.
ie the sim time is slower than real time (this is not lag).
Sim performance depends on:
map
number of planets (sweet spot is under 8 unless they are tiny with MAX_PLANETS = 16 defined in media/server-script/sim_utils.js)
radius (recommended maximum size is 800 – 1000)
CSG (more CSG = more complex pathing and navigation)
Games with large systems containing many big planets with lots of CSG and many players that hoard thousands of units are not going to perform well on any server.
Each shared team is considered to be a single army in the sim so a 5v5 shared is only two armies and will impact the sim less than a 5v5 unshared or 10 FFA.
Moving large groups of units will impact the sim with planet wide area patrol having the most impact.
Sim Network Throttles
The sim currently throttles to maintain each history viewpoint at a maximum of 4 Mbps (megabits per second).
Each PIP is a separate viewpoint connection multiplexed into a single TCP connection.
The maximum bandwidth per client TCP connection or socket is 16 Mbps (megabits per second).
32 players might use up to 512 Mbps (megabits per second) of outgoing bandwidth on a server.
Server RAM Usage
Server RAM usage depends on:
system (see sim performance above)
history
game time
number of units created / killed
number of unit interactions
number of projectiles
Large systems containing many big planets with lots of CSG will require more initial RAM during loading on both the server and clients.
RAM usage will continue to grow over time based on the number of units created / killed and unit interactions.
History is very compressible so memory compression in latest macOS, Windows 10 and Linux will help to limit RAM usage as the history grows.
Public Shared Servers
Our PAnet shared public servers currently run on Amazon Web Services (AWS) in the following regions:
USWest (Oregon)
USCentral (Ohio) – this was USEast (Virginia) on UberNet from March 2018 to May 2019
USEast (Virginia)
APSouthEast (Singapore)
APNorthEast (Japan)
The following regions have higher capacity servers for bigger games:
AMD AOCC (Optimising C / C++ Compiler) vs Clang / LLVM 12 for dedicated servers
PAnet
Linux servers
Modding
Skybox selector
Added wreckage_mesh_bounds for visible wreckage reclaim (defaults to mesh bounds)
Added icon_vertical_offset for terrain horizon occlusion (defaults to top of mesh bounds)
Reworked mod mounting, uploading and downloading
Breaking Changes
strategic icons for metal extractors will include a green metal spot for terrain horizon occlusion
health and ammo bars will move to top for terrain horizon occlusion
particle_icon.fs
custom URL protocols will be changing for Coherent GT:
atlas:// > coui://atlas/
spec:// > coui://spec/
bundle:// > coui://bundle/
uncached:// > coui://uncached/
Known Issues
TODO: Fix Linux segfault in CoherentUI_Host (deferred to Coherent GT)
TODO: Fix Linux mesa corruption (deferred to Coherent GT)
TODO: Fix reclaim server crash
TODO: Reproduce load game crash
Attack Task Fixes
The recent attack task fix to prevent mobile units charging to their death exposed some other issues with the attack task and multi-threaded updates.
The previous implementation of the attack task would accidentally require mobile units with ballistic weapons to move towards their target prior to setting a weapons target even if they were in weapons range.
This was most obvious with the commander ubercannon (d-gun) where the commander turns or moves towards the target.
Without a weapons target the weapons task could not iteratively calculate ballistic firing solutions for either high or low arcs.
Meanwhile the attack task would be waiting for a firing solution during the first tick which would never be calculated.
The second tick of the attack task would then create a move task even when in range assuming no ballistic firing solution could be calculated and the unit needed to move closer.
The third tick would be waiting for the move with the weapon firing no early then the fourth tick.
The original implementation would also create a move task with a target goal based on 50% of the existing move range causing units to charge to their death even when in range.
This was most obvious with grenadiers, hornets, etc.
A small move distance or failed move might also stall the task by not setting the weapon target.
This was most obvious with the commander ubercannon (d-gun) where the minimum commander movement was too small at close ranges.
The attack task now sets the weapon target as early as possible when in range to allow for parallel calculation of a firing solution and only moves units their minimum navigation distance when required to keep them at range.
Welcome to the most shamelessly pay-to-win tournament in your gaming calendar!
The Planetary Annihilation community proudly returns to host our sixth annual AbleGamers tournament in support of our favorite AbleGamers charity.
Sixteen veterans of this uniquely cataclysmic real-time strategy game will skirmish in a series of chaotic free-for-all battles. They will need to use all the wit, skill and diplomacy they have available to them as they try to claw victory from this frantic scrum. However, there is a twist:
YOU CONTROL THE CARNAGE
You, the spectators, have the ability to donate units to the player of your choice, LIVE, as you watch the battle unfold. Give an underdog a second chance, drop a Titan in the middle of a rampaging horde, or just throw down a load of nuclear missiles to watch the world burn… literally.
Our unique donation system gives you unprecedented control over the battlefield. We price up a selection of in-game units, allowing you to specify what you want to buy, how many of them, who you’re buying them for, and where you want them. Every single cent donated goes directly to the wonderful AbleGamers Charity. If you’re not able to be there on the night you will be able to make donations in advance!
SMASHING PLANETS FOR CHARITY
Join us for an evening of fun, philanthropy and frivolity over at https://www.twitch.tv/wpmarshall at 6pm UK time (18:00 UTC) on Saturday March 14th, hosted by PA casting veterans WPMarshall and TheWrongCat. Save the date in your phones, calendars, diaries, or whatever you use to organise your lives – do not miss your chance to participate in this awesome event.
Want to play? We are hosting a qualifying event one week prior on Saturday March 7th. Sign up here!
The base is on fire, the Commander is almost dead, but he’s still fiddling with a bomber somewhere to get the perfect bombing run. Will need you to build an economy for him because he’s not going to have the time, not with that bomber to fiddle with.
FerretMaster
No, not a weasel, he’s the cute not-a-weasel-but-really-similar-and-who-knows-the-difference-anyway one. But he’s not just one ferret, he is the lord of ferrets. Help him unleash cute, furry hordes upon his enemies with a donation of Booms. Tens of Booms. Maybe one hundred.
Anonemous2
The sheep amongst the wolves. They proved themself the strongest sheep, but will that help them? No. The answer is no. Send them the aid they need quickly before they get stomped in the first five minutes.
TheIban
A FFA is won by the individual who looks least threatening, and no one looks less threatening than this. Throw some units his way to get him the attention he doesn’t want.
Game B (blue)
NimzoDragonLord
He listens to classical music, evidencing a level of sophistication beyond your apish ways. Allow just a little of that class to rub off on you through a donation, and see him time the destruction to Mars the Bringer of War.
Quaatal
Described by friends as “frequently seen playing the game”. That’s the best you got? Terrible friends. Kickstart this woman’s self-esteem with a Catalyst and make her the destroyer of worlds.
Sinoccence
He has sin in his name, so that’s how you know he’s a bad boy. Or someone who misspelt Sinnocence. Look, what do you want from me? It’s for a charity for God’s sake, donate the man some units!
ThatSonOfABroom
Let him teach you the ways of PA, how to expand, how to produce, how to raid. Want to learn more? Donate the unit you wish to see demonstrated and let him show the way of the true PA master. Or learn from his mistakes.
Game C (yellow)
KillerKiwi
Map connoisseur. May not have time to build anything due to typing into chat all the problems he has with the map design. Send units to help him demonstrate those problems.
Smurf
Don’t let the terrible name fool you, this man knows his Planetary Annihilation. Rarely found playing under his own name, donate to honour him finally revealing himself for once. If he plays as blue though you should donate to his opponents to show what you think of a reference that lame.
MattShadowing
Strapping on his big boy pants, he’s newly qualified to the PA’s top division: uber. The light of hope shines in his eyes, and the power of friendship runs through his veins. But better to have the power of a Thor for annihilating his enemies paid for and delivered to his door.
VioletAnia
Embarrassing the young players of PA with her stories of “when I was uber rank”, she needs all the help she can get. Failing to make it through the first round last year despite massive donations, the challenge is on to find exactly how much money is needed to overcome her skill at claiming defeat.
Game D (green)
NikolaMX
Nik is of clan Nik. Naming a clan after himself should tell you everything you need to know about the confidence levels in play. Whatever you give, he will show you how to BM an opponent with it and still claim victory.
MaréchalGryzzly
Every time Nik loses a game he has a new excuse. Lag? Check. Spilled drink? Check. Misclick? Check. Trash panda attack? Check. Donate to France’s #1 player, defeat Nik, and discover new excuses together.
N30n
So bad at the game he wrote a balance mod specifically to ensure his dominance in some arena. Probably doesn’t know what half the units even do anymore. Send nukes, because he might just remember how to use the attack command still.
Diskraip
They said you couldn’t turtle in PA. He proved them wrong and dominated the ladder, leaving opponents feeling guilty, sad and depressed. Donating to him is trolling the enemy, and you wouldn’t want to troll, would you?
It’s Halloween, and the appearance of the Pumpkin Commander marks the end of season 4. It was a season filled with drama, but we’re happy to announce that the Uber #1 spot was finally clinched by andreasg. We also have three winners of the activity prize in each league, so check below to see if your name is listed.
For season 5 we’re getting a little experimental, trying out some new ideas for maps. Some will work, some undoubtedly will not, but we hope it’ll be a fun ride either way. A breakdown of all the maps, both returning and new, has been prepared by WPMarshall.
The prize distribution for this season remains the same as before, with the three most activity players in each league, and the player that holds Uber #1, gaining a cash prize at both the mid-season and end-of-season points. See below for exact dates and times.
Good luck on the battlefield and may the best Commander triumph.
