Sim Performance, Time Dilation and RAM Usage

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.

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.

Troubleshooting: https://planetaryannihilation.com/support/troubleshooting/

A high spec dedicated server with multi-threading enabled will always out perform a public shared server: https://planetaryannihilation.com/guides/hosting-a-local-server/

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)
number of armies
number of AIs
- increase the difficulty before adding more
- increase their eco modifier before adding more
number of units
number of unit interactions
number of projectiles
play style
- hoarding units
- area patrolling a large group of units
CPU
- number of cores
- single thread performance: https://www.cpubenchmark.net/singleThread.html
network usage (see below)

Games with large systems containing many big planets with lots of CSG and many players that horde 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:

USWest (Oregon)
USCentral (Ohio)
USEast (Virginia)
EUWest (Ireland)

Work In Progress

This is a preview of work in progress for the next major update to PA.

Technical Notes

TITANS Balance Changes

Omega orbital battleship kinetic bombardment

Reclaim metal value based on metal cost (vs max health)

New Mechanics / Automation

Allied use of teleporters (and maybe transports) for dynamic alliances and unshared team static alliances
Map units
Map wreckage

Client Improvements

Added audio routing and default audio device setting
Added first pass of terrain horizon occlusion for icons, status, blips and features
Added first pass of visible wreckage reclaim progress

System Editor Improvements

Data editor for terrain height adjustments

Client Fixes

System Editor Fixes

UI Frameworks Updates

KnockoutJS 3.5.1
bootstrap-select 1.13.14

Server / Sim Improvements

Reclaim wreckage value based on metal build cost
Update height of reclaimed wreckage

Server / Sim Fixes

Fixed incorrect initial and dead reclaim values

AI Improvements

AI retraining with air changes

AI Fixes

TBD

Galactic War Improvements

Toolchain

Updated software development toolchain: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Toolchain

C++17 optimisations
Visual Studio 2019 latest with 142 build tools / Windows 10 SDK latest
Xcode 12 / macOS 10.16 testing
Steamworks SDK 149
Windows libcurl 7.70.0 with nghttp2 1.41.0 for HTTP/2 and multiplexing
breakpad latest
AMD Optimising C / C++ Compiler (AOCC) vs Clang / LLVM 10 for dedicated servers

Modding

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)

Breaking Changes

strategic icons for metal extractors now include green metal spot
particle_icon.fs
custom URL protocols will be changing:
- atlas:// > coui://atlas/
- spec:// > coui://spec/
- bundle:// > coui://bundle/
- uncached:// > coui://uncached/

Known Issues

TODO: Fix Linux segfault in CoherentUI_Host
TODO: Fix Linux mesa corruption
TODO: Fix reclaim server crash
TODO: Reproduce line formation client 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.

AbleGamers 2020 Pay To Win Charity Community Tournament

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!~~

Be sure to join the official Planetary Annihilation Discord for all the latest!

WILL YOU JOIN THE CHAOS?

Trailer: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=KuXCU7IeN9c

HOW TO DONATE

WHERE TO DONATE

~~https://wondible.com/pa/ablegamers2020/~~ (donations are now closed).

Game A (red)

Clopse

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?

Final

Anonemous2
NimzoDragonLord
MattShadowing
NikolaMX

TITANS 1v1 Ranked Season 6

Season ends at 2020-04-24 00:00 UTC.

Three maps carried over from season 5:

Canals
Fractured Islands
Fulcrum

Two maps returning from season 4:

Surface
Ribbon

Two maps returning from season 3:

Maginot

One map returning from season 2 and season 3:

Disparity

One original map returning from season 1:

Eight NEW maps for Season 6:

Alloy
Basin
Friction
Molten Fortress
Pier
Shoulder
Superbowl
Tropics

TITANS 1v1 Ranked Season 5

Hello Commanders,

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.

TITANS 1v1 Ranked Season 4 Winners

Uber #1 (US$1,000): andreasg

Most active players (US$100 each)

Uber

clopse
nikolamx
admiralgeneral

Platinum

bakkiz
quaatal
mkfed

Gold

smirnoffIcedragon
neovalence
solumath

Silver

celestialdeed
gforce
cooperman

Bronze

frigoporco
petermeffert
bantuerfei

If you have not received your prize contact support via https://support.planetaryannihilation.com/

TITANS 1V1 Ranked Season 5 Prizes

Mid-season ends at 2019-12-05 00:00 UTC

Uber #1 – US$500
Three most active Bronze players – US$100 each
Three most active Silver players – US$100 each
Three most active Gold players – US$100 each
Three most active Platinum players – US$100 each
Three most active Uber players – US$100 each

Season ends at 2020-01-24 00:00 UTC

Uber #1 – US$1,000
Three most active Bronze players – US$100 each
Three most active Silver players – US$100 each
Three most active Gold players – US$100 each
Three most active Platinum players – US$100 each
Three most active Uber players – US$100 each

TITANS 1v1 Ranked Season 5 Maps

Three maps carried over from season 4:

Threshold
Diahyrdi
Moment

Three maps returning from season 3:

Basilica (updated)
Hopper (updated)
ASAT

One map returning from season 2:

Canyon

Eight NEW maps for Season 5:

Canals
Fractured Islands
EVAK
Bastion
Shallows
Gargantuan
Divide
Fulcrum

Maps overview: https://youtu.be/hzJHrPivihk

Happy Halloween!

Hello Commanders,

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.

May you ride the sugar high wisely.

Horsefly Updates 113953 to 113783 and TITANS 1v1 Ranked Mid-Season 4 Winners

Hello Commanders,

BRRRRRRRRRRRRRRTTTTTT!

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.

TITANS 1v1 Ranked Mid-Season 4 Winners

Uber #1 (US$500): killerkiwi

Most active players (US$100 each)

Uber

clopse
smurf
admiralgeneral

Platinum

quaatal
mkfed
reynald009

Gold

aleks.clark
bakkiz
neovalence

Silver

celestial deed
solumath
svalfish1

Bronze

906797135
petermeffert
kuna

If you have not received your prize contact support via https://support.planetaryannihilation.com/

Technical Notes

TITANS Balance Changes

Added Horsefly advanced heavy strafing aircraft!
Flak Cannon advanced anti-air
- Changed to fire 4 beams
- Damage decreased to 40 from 150
- Splash damage decreased to 40 from 150
- 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.

For other recent balance changes see: https://planetaryannihilation.com/news/happy-birthday-update/

Client Improvements

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~~
~~Coherent UI 2.5.9.4 / Chromium 28 on Linux~~

https://caniuse.com/#compare=chrome+28,chrome+40 (not all features in that list are supported within Coherent UI 2.6.8.x)

SVG fonts are no longer supported in Chromium 40.

113794

~~Reverted to Coherent UI 2.5.9.3 for Linux.~~

113801

Added leash_behaviour and leash_distance for Horsefly.

113895

Reworked start:

Responsive layout
New background
New watermark logo on top right
New build version displayed on top right
Classic style favourite or random commander
Improved events (from community mods)
Improved news
Improved videos
Improved streams
Improved mini leaderboard
Improved credits

Reworked settings: (work in progress)

Responsive layout

Reworked Galactic War card layout:

Responsive layout for system and inventory tech cards that should display all text clearly

Reworked live game eco bar: (work in progress)

Responsive mirrored layout highlighting the 3 key eco numbers (energy, efficiency, metal)

Reworked social bar visibility:

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.

Happy Birthday Stryker Updates 113553 / 113578 / 113581 / 113583 / 113600

113583 / 113600 Balance Changes

Hello Commanders,

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
Stryker!

Technical Notes

TITANS Balance Changes

Stryker (113578)
Naval speeds increased
- Narwhal frigate speed increased to 12 from 9
- Orca destroyer speed increased to 12 from 9
- Stingray missile ship speed increased to 11 from 8
- Leviathan battleship speed increased to 11 from 8
Typhoon drone carrier
- Typhoon drone carrier speed increased to 11 from 8
- Cost decreased to 5,200 from 6,500
- Ammo rate increased to 30 metal per second (20 stored drones then one per second once depleted)
- Initial launch stage decreased to 200 from 500 (shorter launch before turn)
- Now targets sea floor
- Guard layer changed to WL_AnyLayer from WL_AnySurface with guard radius of 100 (113583)
- Launch projectile lifetime changed to 3.0 from 2.0 (113583)
- Squall drones
  - Weapons priority changed to torpedoes
  - Torpedo rate of fire increased to 0.8 from max 1 (up to 10 low damage torpedoes depending on range to target)
Kestrel gunships:
- Can no longer target underwater layer (subs)
- Cost increased to 800 from 600 (113600)
Changed manual targeting of Galata AA to only damage air (113600)

Client Improvements

–local-server-port to use a different local server port
Added build bar size which can now be changed from 75% to 200% separately from GUI size (113578)
Changed settings (113578):
- Moved resolution scaling to top of graphics tab
- Duplicated GUI size at top of graphics tab
- Added build bar size to graphics tab and gameplay tab > user interface

Client Fixes

Hopefully fixed build bar hot keys not always working (113578)

AI Improvements

AI now processes path requests over time rather than all at once which should help smooth AI performance
Multiple small AI performance improvements

AI Fixes

AI platoons that fail to find a path back to base when disbanding will now try a direct move request as a last resort

113578 / 113581

Stryker is now live with build bar changes.

Modding

Added id to each unit spec
Added projectile_specs with basic info and projectile: true for buildable projectiles in each unit spec
Added buildable projectiles to unit specs with merging of projectile ammo info if already in unit list (removing the need for ammoBuildHover hacks)
Added unit specs to settings
build bar is now flexible in width and no longer restricted to 3 x 6
build bar entries are now specified as row / column with titans only / classic only flags

"/pa/units/land/attack_vehicle/attack_vehicle.json": ["vehicle", 20, {row: 2, column: 6, titans: true}]
"/pa/units/orbital/deep_space_radar/deep_space_radar.json": ["utility", 2, {row: 0, column: 2, classic: true}]

113583

Stryker health increased to 60 from 50 (may tweak further)
Typhoon drone carrier
- Guard layer changed to WL_AnyLayer from WL_AnySurface with guard radius of 100
- Launch projectile lifetime changed to 3.0 from 2.0 (should resolve disappearing squalls)

113600

Stryker strategic icon updated, accelerate / brake increased to 150 from 100 and now targets sea floor
Kestrel gunship cost increased to 800 from 600
Changed manual targeting of Galata AA to only damage air

TITANS 1v1 Ranked Season 4

Hello Commanders,

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?

TITANS 1v1 Ranked Season 3 Winners

Uber #1 (US$1,000): AndreasG

Most active players (US$100 each)

Uber

nikolamx
clopse
metapod

Platinum

smurf
n30n
broom

Gold

cuyto
iban
bakkiz

Silver

muhr
g-force
neovalance

Bronze

cooperman
isolum
petermeffert

If you have not received your prize contact support via https://support.planetaryannihilation.com/

TITANS 1V1 Ranked Season 4 Prizes

Mid-season ends at 2019-09-06 00:00 UTC

Uber #1 – US$500
Three most active Bronze players – US$100 each
Three most active Silver players – US$100 each
Three most active Gold players – US$100 each
Three most active Platinum players – US$100 each
Three most active Uber players – US$100 each

Season 4 ends at 2019-10-25 00:00 UTC

Uber #1 – US$1,000
Three most active Bronze players – US$100 each
Three most active Silver players – US$100 each
Three most active Gold players – US$100 each
Three most active Platinum players – US$100 each
Three most active Uber players – US$100 each

TITANS 1v1 Ranked Season 4 Maps

Four maps carried over from season 3:

Backbone
District (updated)
Echo
Exeunt

Four maps returning from season 2:

Bulkhead (updated)
Niflhel (updated)
Riddler (updated)
Singe

Eight NEW maps for Season 4:

Diahyrdi
Fluviaat
Moment
Ribbon
Shackle
Surface
Tia
Threshold

Maps overview: https://youtu.be/795zUxjqcEs

TITANS 1v1 Ranked Mid-Season 3 Winners and Updates 113410 / 113426 / 113430 / 113457 / 113462

Hello Commanders,

The mid-season has passed but is not forgotten. You’ll find all the prize winners below, with a couple of extra players securing activity awards due to cosmic rays interfering with our computations. All winners will be contacted shortly.

One of the eternal struggles is the balance between basic (T1) and advanced (T2) units. It has become clear recently that this is still weighed too heavily in favour of T2, primarily because of the explosive nature of T2 MEXs. To combat that we’ve made T2 MEXs more expensive and reduced their income. Let the Ant hordes terrorise the battlefield!

Grenadiers also got a range increase to help against the number of turrets the modern Commander finds on the battlefield.

The AI got smarter. Again. Now when its giant force is reduced to one Dox while en route to a target, it will give thought to whether that’s really enough to eliminate your entire base and win the game. Then when it retreats the Dox it will use a safe path rather than the most direct one. It’s also looking for more opportunities to combine its forces into ultra mega death platoons. A real thing, let us assure you; check the lore.

The mod Cover the Line had become “must have” for many players, allowing them to easily split up units to dodge AoE and put troops into optimal formations for maximising firepower. It was also responsible for a lot of crashes. Now, let it not be said that we are not merciful, so rather than executing an immediate SXX strike upon this mod and all those who use it, we have instead added custom line formations to the game. Select some troops and get to right-click dragging that mouse to unleash the power of custom line formations.

Basic Discord support has also been implemented for ranked. Amaze your friends, not only with your skills, but also the amount of time your profile shows you as playing ranked mode. They’ll be left wondering why you haven’t hit Uber yet.

This, and more, can be found in the patch notes below. Feast your eyes.

Until next time.

TITANS 1v1 Ranked Mid-Season 3 Winners

Uber #1 (US$500): NikolaMX

Most active players (US$100 each)

Uber

NikolaMX
nimzo
kiwi

Platinum

n30n
ptasior
broom
metapod (bonus)

Gold

cuyto
alive in
iban

Silver

muhr
g-force
scotter

Bronze

petermeffert
frigoporco
bigbabybear
chancer (bonus)

If you have not received your prize contact support via https://support.planetaryannihilation.com/

Technical Notes

TITANS Balance Changes

Grenadier

range increased from 125 to 135 (will out range turrets)

Advanced Metal Extractor (slowing the T2 rush in favour of expansion, map control and T1 units)

cost increased from 1,500 to 2,000
production rate decreased from 20 to 15

AI Improvements

Land, Fighter, and Bomber platoons will now path safely back to base to disband instead of taking a direct path
Land, Fighter, and Bomber platoons that lose enough of their units while enroute to their destination will re-evaluate whether they should change targets or disband
Platoons will now merge faster
AI will now retask platoons if they are enroute to an area that has already been cleared of targets, rather than wait for the platoon to arrive first

AI Fixes

Fix for AI platoons getting stuck if they attempt to path and fail after a previous successful path
Fix for amphibious units that cannot attack while underwater getting stuck
Fix for AI controlled orbital fighters/ships/railguns not targeting orbital structures

Client Improvements

Added client side custom line formations for move, attack and unload (replaces Cover the Line mod)
Added basic Discord activity support with 1v1 ranked info (macOS / Windows only with current Discord SDK)
Added check for multiple copies of PA running to avoid local storage corruption (Windows only)
Added startpa: custom protocol handler (currently macOS / windows only with no parameter support)
Changed landing zones default rules max to 32 players
Added automatic mapping of extra mouse buttons to middle mouse camera pan and rotate (113462)
Added basic Steam rich presence support (113462)

Note: Custom line formations will move server side in a future update with support for factory rally to custom line formation.

Client Fixes

Fixed macOS import / export (load / save) dialog crashes
Fixed recover account URL

113426

AI will now retask platoons if they are enroute to an area that has already been cleared of targets, rather than wait for the platoon to arrive first
Fix for AI controlled orbital fighters/ships/railguns not targeting orbital structures
Fixes for possible custom line formation crash

113430

Fix for long standing issue of area commands not always working properly in PIPs that was also causing custom line formations to fail in PIPs
Fix for long standing issue of undefined behaviour which could lose left click and also result in a crash when using custom line formations

113457

Improved custom line formations

113462

Added automatic mapping of extra mouse buttons to middle mouse camera pan and rotate
Added additional Discord activity support
Added basic Steam rich presence support