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.

Windows: https://planetaryannihilation.com/support/windows/

macOS: https://planetaryannihilation.com/support/macos/

Linux: https://planetaryannihilation.com/support/linux/

Official Support: https://support.planetaryannihilation.com/

Official Discord: https://discord.gg/pa

System Requirements

	Minimum	Recommended
CPU	MODERN Quad Core	MODERN Quad Core+
Memory	8GB RAM for dedicated GPU 12GB RAM for integrated GPU 4GB free for local server	16GB RAM
GPU	OpenGL 3.2+ / 1GB VRAM	Dedicated GPU
Storage	5GB available space	7 GB available space
Internet	Broadband	Broadband via Ethernet

Update Your Graphics Drivers

On Windows please update your graphics drivers: https://planetaryannihilation.com/support/windows/#drivers

Older CPUs

• AMD Phenom
• Intel Core 2

Try the legacy build.: https://planetaryannihilation.com/guides/planetary-annihilation-public-test-environments-pte/

Older AMD / Intel GPUs or Brightness Issues

All modern GPUs should now support sRGB and sRGB multiple render targets blending.

Historical sRGB workarounds for AMD / Intel GPU’s were removed in 114880.

Use the following if you need to enable the previous settings:

• --gl-disable-srgb
• --gl-disable-mrt-srgb

For Intel GPUs on Windows 10 make sure you have the latest GPU driver and the Intel Graphics Commander Center:

• https://www.intel.com/content/www/us/en/support/articles/000055840/graphics.html

Lost TITANS Ownership After Linking Steam with PA Account

Open a support ticket at: https://support.planetaryannihilation.com/

Verify Your Game Files

• Steam: https://support.steampowered.com/kb_article.php?ref=2037-QEUH-3335
• PA Launcher: click the verify button.

Clear Your Download Cache

Delete the contents of the download directory in your Planetary Annihilation Data Directory.

Remove Special Characters from your Display Name

Special characters in display names can cause issues like:

• hanging on the login accepted screen
• game over not appearing

To change your display name in-game, click on the social icon in the lower right-hand corner. A menu should appear with your name and a dropdown box to change your online status. Below that says, “Change Display Name.”

A box will appear where you can type in your New Display Name. If the name you’ve entered has already been taken, a message will appear to notify you.

Disable FPS Counters / Overlays / Memory Optimisers

The safe way to check stats is via control-p in-game to toggle between:

• Client FPS
• GPU memory usage

When connected to a local or public server:

• Server (always max 1FPS)
• Sim (max 10 FPS once game has started)

Close Other Applications / Browsers

PA is a CPU heavy game especially when running a local server.

Close unnecessary applications and browser tabs especially on older systems.

Clean Testing

You can start a clean copy of PA without deleting your existing Planetary Annihilation Data Directory by using the --localstorageurl command line parameter.

Planetary Annihilation Data Directory

The data directory or folder is separate from your install directory and contains:

• logs
• local configuration localstore
• file system mods client_mods and server_mods
• downloads for community mods download

The data directory is shared by all installations of Planetary Annihilation:

• steam
• launcher
• stable or PTE streams

Updating or reinstalling PA does not impact the data directory.

By default all installations use the same local configuration. You can override this using the --localstorageurl command line parameter.

--localstorageurl=localstore-testing

Windows Planetary Annihilation Data Directory

The default location is in your local app data directory:

%LOCALAPPDATA%\Uber Entertainment\Planetary Annihilation

C:\Users\YOURUSERNAME\AppData\local\Uber Entertainment\Planetary Annihilation

Your user AppData directory is hidden by default so you have a couple of options:

• paste the full path into the address bar of an explorer window
• show hidden files and folders: http://windows.microsoft.com/en-us/windows/show-hidden-files

macOS Planetary Annihilation Data Directory

The default location is in your local library folder:

/Users/YOURUSERNAME/Library/Application Support/Uber Entertainment/Planetary Annihilation

~/Library/Application Support/Uber Entertainment/Planetary Annihilation 

Your user library folder is hidden by default and can be accessed via:

• Finder > option key + Go menu > Library: https://support.apple.com/kb/PH18928

Linux Planetary Annihilation Data Directory

The default location is in your home directory:

• ~/.local/Uber Entertainment/Planetary Annihilation/

Steam Installation Directory

• Open your Steam library
• Right click on Planetary Annihilation: TITANS or Planetary Annihilation in your list of games
• Select Properties
• Click the LOCAL FILES tab
• Click BROWSE LOCAL FILES

Steam Command Line Parameters

1. Open your Steam library
2. Right click Planetary Annihilation: TITANS then select Properties
3. Click Set Launch Options…

PA Launcher Command Line Parameters

1. Open the PA launcher and sign in
2. Click on your username then select Build Options… from the list
3. Additional command-line options

Crash Dumps

PA generated crash reports with logs (and dxdiag on windows) are usually automatically uploaded to our crash reporting system.

When reporting crashes it also helps if you include the crash ID from your logs (same as the filename of the generated minidump):

xxxxxxxx-xxxx-xxxx-xxxx-xxxxxxxxxxxx.dmp


The default location for crash dumps generated by PA is now the logs directory in your Planetary Annihilation data directory.

The environment variable MINIDUMP_DIRECTORY can be used to change the location where PA crash minidump files are saved and will also generate more detailed (and larger) minidump files similar to the new --enable-detailed-minidump command line option.

Windows Error Reporting (WER) and macOS may also generate different crash reports:

• WER: https://planetaryannihilation.com/support/windows/#WER
• macOS: https://planetaryannihilation.com/support/macos/#crash-dumps

Repeatable Crashes Within N Minutes

When there is a repeatable crash after starting a game, clicking on preview PIPs, etc it’s often caused by local issues like:

• out of date drivers
• out of date BIOS
• faulty / failing hardware
  • faulty or mismatched RAM
  • old or underrated power supply

PA can stress your hardware more than other games and we can normally spot local issues by:

• uniqueness of crash
• type of crash
• location of crash
• kernel events

Full Screen Desktop Resolution and 4K

Full screen uses a borderless window at your native desktop resolution to allow for quick alt-tabbing to desktop and other applications without disruption.

Subsampling

If you are playing on an older or lower spec GPU then try subsampling:

• SETTINGS > GRAPHICS > RESOLUTION SCALING > SUBSAMPLE (75%)

Subsampling does not pixelate the user interface.

Supersampling

If you have a high spec GPU then you can also supersample:

• SETTINGS > GRAPHICS > RESOLUTION SCALING > SUPERSAMPLE (175%)

GUI Size

You can increase or decrease the GUI size using:

• SETTINGS > GAMEPLAY > GUI SIZE

Save will make the changes permanent. Cancel will temporarily change so you can test.

Build Bar Size

You can increase or decrease the build bar size using:

• SETTINGS > GAMEPLAY > BUILD BAR SIZE

Bigger Icons Mods

You can install the Bigger Icons mods for larger icons.

Streaming

Use game capture with a specific window to avoid jitter when scrolling.

• Twitch: https://stream.twitch.tv/encoding/
• YouTube: https://support.google.com/youtube/answer/2853702
• Trovo: https://trovo.live/support?topicid=CA08264516974D9F%2F4021D138E4CE1F17
• Nvidia: https://www.nvidia.com/en-us/geforce/guides/broadcasting-guide/

HDR10

Experimental hardware HDR10 support can be enabled on latest Windows 10 for modern Nvidia 10 series or newer GPUs connected via DisplayPort 1.4+ or HDMI 2.0+ using:

• --hardware-hdr

Note: macOS HDR10 support is automatic.