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.
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:
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.
As we prepared our costumes for Halloween, it
struck us: what better fit for a time of ghouls and goblins than an
eternal war across a cold, infinite, uncaring void with robots? Why had
we not seen this before?!
Instantly we sprang into action
devising something that would fit into the deep, rich lore of Planetary
Annihilation that we know you love. You might say we took a Commander
body and stuck a pumpkin on it, but we’re sure you’ll look deeper than
that and see a Commander that returned home and decided it must take on
the form of fear itself to defeat crime on its planet.
The aptly
named Pumpkin Commander (never let programmers name things) is available
to all players over this spooky Halloween period, after which it will
need to be purchased through the Armory, or won in an upcoming
tournament. Use it to rout your foes and claim their delicious candy for
yourself.
That’s the sound of the Horsefly exploding its way into Planetary Annihilation, the newest addition to your arsenal.
Found in the Advanced Air Factory and armed with rapid-fire cannons, it strafes targets to remove all the pesky AA (and fabbers) from the vicinity, while tanking return fire with its heavy armour. Conduct your bombing campaigns in peace once more. It will attack the land, it will attack the sea, and in a pinch it can even attack air.
For those of you running on Linux we have some good news: Planetary Annihilation will now work with Mesa when run within a Steam Proton environment. We continue to work with Coherent Labs on the native Linux issues.
We also have prizes to give out. The mid-season arrived, and with it the tightest contest for first yet. When the fires died down it was KillerKiwi who stood victorious among the wreckage. Congratulations to them, US$500 is on its way. We’ve also listed below the individuals from each league claiming the US$100 activity prizes, if you’re on that list and haven’t been contacted please raise a ticket with support. As ever, there will be further prizes issued at the end of the season (2019-10-25 00:00 UTC), so keep on fighting!
Some further adjustments to the air game have proven necessary, with Kestrel gunship damage slightly reduced. Flak has been adjusted to place greater emphasis on its splash, making it more of an anti-horde unit, while reducing its single target damage. The Storm mobile flak has also been given the ability to tilt its gun forwards and backwards to fire off a shot earlier against attacking bombers and to help it land shots in the middle of Kestrel gunship hordes, but it remains vulnerable when approached from the flank. The Angel advanced air support platform and Mend advanced combat fabricator can now auto reclaim the wreckage of your enemies or fallen comrades.
Finally, we’ve been improving various technical bits and bobs to continue enhancing performance, especially with loading of the UI and mods. SVG fonts are dead too. What’s an SVG font you ask? Look, it says SVG font in the technical notes, that’s all I know. Let’s mourn their passing together.
First target priority changed to Air & (Bomber | Gunship)
Range increased to 120 from 100 (113929)
Storm advanced mobile flak vehicle
Health increased to 400 from 300
Changed to fire 4 projectiles
Damage decreased to 15 from 60
Splash damage decreased to 10 from 30
Velocity increased to 100 from 60
Added pitch of 60 with pitch rate of 360
Second stage duration decreased to 300 from 700
First target priority changed to Air & (Bomber | Gunship)
Range increased to 100 from 80 (113929)
Kestrel advanced gunship
Damage decreased to 15 from 20
Wyrm advanced heavy siege bomber
Added heavy unit type UNITTYPE_HEAVY
Speed increased to 30 from 20 (113945)
Angel advanced air support platform
Can now manually reclaim wreckage / features and will auto reclaim nearby wreckage if nothing to repair
Speed increased to 40 from 30 (113945)
Health increased to 1,200 from 1,000 (113945)
Mend advanced combat fabricator:
Will now auto reclaim nearby wreckage if nothing to repair
Can now build Laser Defense Turret, Flak Cannon and Radar (113929)
Stryker attack vehicle, Ares hover titan, Atlas seismic titan and Zeus air titan mesh bounds adjusted
Amphibious units moving on the seafloor which are near the water or above the water surface can now be targeted as surface units (see below)
Lob Dox launcher range decreased to effective range of 240 (no change to existing behaviour and range circle will now be correct)
Dox assault bot, Slammer advanced assault bot, Stryker attack vehicle, Ant tank, Drifter hover tank and Leveler advanced tank can no longer target sea floor (113929)
Gil-E advanced sniper bot
Velocity increased to 1000 from 600 (113929)
Can now target Stingray Tactical Missile (113945)
Spinner anti-air vehicle range increased to 130 from 120 (113929)
Leveler advanced tank
Range increased to 140 from 120 (113936)
Velocity increased to 160 from 140 (113936)
Turn rate increased to 60 from 50 (113936)
Vanguard advanced heavy tank radar increased to 260 from 150 (113936)
Pelter short range artillery velocity increased to 160 from 150 (113936)
Dox assault bot, Slammer advanced assault bot and Stryker attack vehicle can no longer target air (113945)
Hornet advanced tactical bomber (113953)
Speed increased to 40 from 30
Can no longer target seafloor
Note: patrol will not normally reclaim if economy is positive and metal storage is full. Auto reclaim units will always reclaim wreckage while patrolling.
Added simple DPS calculation using damage x rate of fire x projectiles per fire to build bar and unit hover
Added POV camera weapons aim tracking with smoother transitions
Coherent UI 2.6.8.x with faster rendering and macOS Catalina 10.15 64 bit support
New download manager with HTTP/2 and multiplexing for faster mod downloads and XHR
Improved UI caching and loading times
Improved readability of top economy bar in header
Improved readability of build bar hovers
Added radius to top right planet selector details
Client Fixes
Fixed memory leak in multi-threading async parallel for
Server / Sim Improvements
Improved saving and loading of saved game / replay times up to 2.5x faster
Added amphibious units moving on the seafloor which are near the water or above the water surface can now be targeted as surface units eg Atlas titan is now targetable by any unit that target surface layers. Kestrel advanced gunships and Horsefly advanced strafer aircraft can target any unit as they appear out of water.
Added auto reclaim of nearby wreckage
Added reclaim of nearby wreckage to patrol for auto reclaim units
Server / Sim Fixes
Fixed memory leak in multi-threading async parallel for
AI Improvements
Added splash damage to DPS calculations
Added Phoenix advanced fighter
Added Piranha gunboat
AI Fixes
Fixed average mobile health including structures in its calculations
Galactic War Fixes
Fixed Phoenix advanced fighter buffs not being applied
Toolchain
Updated software development toolchain: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Toolchain
Visual Studio 2019 latest with 142 build tools / Windows 10 SDK latest
Xcode 11 / macOS 10.15.x latest for macOS Mavericks 10.9+
Latest steam linux runtime / GCC 6.2.0 (currently limited by Steam Linux runtime)
Steamworks SDK 146 with macOS Catalina 10.15 support for 64 bit only
Coherent UI 2.6.8.x with macOS Catalina 10.15 support for 64 bit only
Windows libcurl 7.66.0 with nghttp2 for HTTP/2 and multiplexing
Steam Proton compatibility
Fonts converted to WOFF and all UI html and css updated
Note: PA Launcher is not currently supported on macOS Catalina 10.15 and will be updated later this year.
AI Modding
Added --al-debug for instrumentation
Dumps unit threat analysis on start for first AI (assumes all AIs are using the same unit list)Dumps per planet influence map on pause
Added --ai-log and --ai-debug to client which will pass through to local server
Added personality.ai_path to specify a different set of AI files for side by side testing of changes eg Test: { ai_path: '/pa/ai2/', display_name: '!LOC:Test,
Added AdvancedFighter, Strafer and Gunboat / SeaScout to AI unit maps
Added personality.percent_open_vehicle, percent_open_bot, percent_open_naval, percent_open_air and percent_open_orbital to specify first factory percentages
Modding
Added auto_reclaim to build arm specs (same task as auto_repair)
Added projectiles_per_fire and dps to unit specs, build bar info and unit hover info
Added ignore_overshoot to nav specs to disable distanceToStartBraking warning
Added leash_behavior and leash_distance to nav specs to control unit assist behaviour (113801)
Mods may break in the following scenes if they make assumptions about layout:
start
gw_play
live_game_econ
settings
Mods may also break in any scene if they make assumptions about the social bar position.
There are now two versions of Coherent UI / Chromium which can make UI testing challenging:
Coherent UI 2.6.8.x / Chromium 40 on Windows / macOS
Assumes always visible with individual scenes like gw play and live game controlling visibility and layout
Live game handling via main scene has been disabled
Reworked main:
New splash handling
Reworked armoury:
Responsive layout
Improved TITANS upgrades
Improved handling when steam overlay not available
Reworked replays browser:
Responsive layout
Added winner (from community mods)
113909
Fixed live streams not clickable
Added stop_clears_nearby_targets for Horsefly advanced heavy strafer aircraft
113932 / 113929
Restored Coherent UI 2.6.8.x for Linux with fixes for boringssl/openssl segfault and mesa transparency.
TITANS Balance Changes
Dox assault bot, Slammer advanced assault bot, Stryker attack vehicle, Ant tank, Drifter hover tank and Leveler advanced tank can no longer target sea floor
Mend advanced combat fabricator can now build Laser Defense Tower, Flak Cannon and Radar
Gil-E advanced sniper bot velocity increased to 1000 from 600
Storm advanced mobile flak vehicle range increased to 100 from 80
Flak Cannon advanced anti-air range increased to 120 from 100
Spinner anti-air vehicle range increased to 130 from 120
Slammer advanced assault bot can now target air – jk
Horsefly advanced heavy strafer aircraft assist removed
113939 / 113936
TITANS Balance Changes
Leveler advanced tank
Range increased to 140 from 120
Velocity increased to 160 from 140
Turn rate increased to 60 from 50
Vanguard advanced heavy tank radar increased to 260 from 150
Pelter short range artillery velocity increased to 160 from 150
113945
TITANS Balance Changes
Dox assault bot, Slammer advanced assault bot and Stryker attack vehicle can no longer target air
Wyrm advanced siege heavy bomber speed increased to 30 from 20
Hornet advanced tactical bomber speed increased to 40 from 30
Angel advanced air support platform:
Speed increased to 40 from 30
Health increased to 1,200 from 1,000
Gil-E advanced sniper bot can now target Stingray tactical missiles
Horsefly advanced heavy strafer aircraft health decreased to 1,500 from 1,800
113953
Hornet advanced tactical bomber can no longer target seafloor.
Known Issues
PA Launcher is not currently supported on macOS Catalina 10.15 and will be updated later this year
Some mods may break with the update from Chromium 28 to Chromium 40 in Coherent UI 2.6.8.x as a result of html, css, layout, rendering, js and font changes
Modern native Linux may black screen or corrupt (toggle full screen (alt+enter), resize or refresh (F5) may correct)
PA was built with modding in mind, and while we appreciate the contribution that mod authors make to our game, please remember that running mods can sometimes lead to unexpected defects and crashes, especially after a new update.
Before reporting any issues please ensure you test the game without mods enabled. Defects with mods should be reported to mod authors in the PA forums thread for each mod.
War never changes. At least that’s what they say, yet on 18th August 2019 we celebrated one year since Planetary Annihilation Inc took over development of this mighty game, and what an exciting year of change it has been.
Modernisation of the underlying tech foundation was a big goal for us when we started. We have modernised the entire development toolchain, helping to reduce defects and improve performance. We have also upgraded the Coherent UI framework and eliminated numerous crashes. At this point if your client is crashing you probably need to update your graphics drivers. We are aware of the Linux Mesa issues so please hang tight, we’re working on it!
A huge amount of effort has been put into the server, given that it is responsible for most of the heavy lifting. We have spent a lot of time improving performance, both through changes to the AI and the mechanisms that underpin the simulation. That includes more multi-threading, more optimisation and of course less crashes. You can now get buttery smooth performance on systems and setups that would have been unthinkable a year ago.
Aiding this has been the migration to PAnet, our modern backend infrastructure. Better servers mean bigger and better games and a happier community.
Single player is still incredibly popular among our community so AI updates have remained a big focus. We keep making it smarter and deadlier, so if you are struggling to win more than before, it’s not you it’s us.
Multiplayer is not forgotten either and the ranked queue is feeling more active than ever before, with seasons ensuring everyone gets their chance to shine with map rotation and balance changes keeping it fresh. Add to that a prize pool of US$4,500 per season to keep it competitive.
Of course, while it is pleasant to feast on cake and grow fat we can’t just rest on our laurels, there is a lot of work we still want to do and a gift we want to give.
The Stryker takes on the role of a fast, low armoured raider. Giving vehicles more of an early presence, you can keep the pressure on your opponent while also defending your valuable fabbers against Dox.
The time of the Navalpocalypse is upon us, with ships now enjoying FTL (Faster Than Land) propulsion. The person who came up with this term is very pleased with themselves, don’t let it catch on or they’ll become insufferable. No longer will your naval games feel like an eternal slog, instead they will be more of an elegant duel with massive guns. There has also been a significant adjustment to the Typhoon to improve its viability and enable Squall swarms to blot out the sun, as the prophecy foretold.
Finally, we have made more improvements to the AI’s performance so that it will wait patiently and put its hand up, ensuring it is less demanding of your CPU’s time. This may be the most significant performance improvement we have made so far in our AI.
It has been a great year and we look forward to an even better one to follow.
Recap:
modernised client
modernised server with more multi-threading and AI improvements
PAnet migrated from UberNet with modern servers and more regions
1v1 ranked seasons with new maps, balance changes and a US$4,500 prize pool every 3 months
The sun sets on season 3 and the close fought contest for Uber #1. Only in the closing hours did a clear victor emerge. Allow us to offer our congratulations to AndreasG who took the title this time around. He walks away with US$1,000.
The winners of the prizes of US$100 for the three most active players in each league have also been determined and can be found below. If you’re on the list, you should be contacted shortly to arrange payment of your prize.
Now, let us enter season four without hesitation. The format remains the same, with prizes for Uber #1 and most active players awarded at both the mid-season and end of the season. All ladder ratings have been reset to create a level playing field, so fight well and fight often!
We have got 16 maps in the pool this time around, with 8 returning classics and 8 which are completely new. All of these maps will only be available in ranked for the duration of the season. A list of the maps can be found below.
We would like to draw your attention to Shackle. This is our first multi-planet ranked map. Both players start on a planet together, but both an Annihilaser metal world and a smashable planet await you among the stars. Think of this as us experimenting with the possibilities of 1v1, as well as just injecting a little additional variety into the pool.
There are also two naval maps this time. Yes, two. Some will cheer, some will cry, but we’re committed making the naval experience the equal of land, so watch this space. Backbone returns from season 3, and we’re adding Diahyrdi with two spawns for you to choose from.
As per previous seasons, we’ll monitor the maps to see what works and what doesn’t, and any necessary changes will be made at the mid-season point. Keep that (constructive) feedback rolling in, but more importantly, go blow up a planet… we mean have fun. Though blowing up a planet sounds pretty fun, right?
