Planetary Annihilation: TITANS News

Hello Commanders,

BRRRRRRRRRRRRRRTTTTTT!

That’s the sound of the Horsefly exploding its way into Planetary Annihilation: TITANS, 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.



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/




Added Horsefly advanced heavy strafing aircraft!

Flak Cannon

• 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)
  

Storm mobile flak

• 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)
  

Kestrel gunship

• Damage decreased to 15 from 20
  

Wyrm siege bomber

• Added heavy unit type UNITTYPE_HEAVY
  

Other

• Angel advanced air support platform can now manually reclaim wreckage / features and will auto reclaim nearby wreckage if nothing to repair
  
• Mend advanced combat fabricator will auto reclaim nearby wreckage if nothing to repair
  
• Stryker, Ares, Atlas and Zeus 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 unit / Dox launcher range decreased to effective range of 240 (no change to existing behaviour and range circle will now be correct)
  

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/


Local client changes:

• 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 2.8.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
  

Fixed memory leak in multi-threading async parallel for.


Local server and public server changes:

• 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
  

Fixed memory leak in multi-threading async parallel for


Local server and public server changes:

• Added splash damage to DPS calculations
  
• Added Phoenix advanced fighter
  
• Added Piranha gunboat
  

Local server and public server changes:

• Fixed average mobile health including structures in its calculations
  
• Galactic War Fixes
  
• Fixed Phoenix advanced fighter buffs not being applied
  

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 2.8.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.


Local server and public server changes:

• 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
  

Unit server mod changes:

• 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
  

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 2.8.x)

SVG fonts are no longer supported in Chromium 40.


Reverted to Coherent UI 2.5.9.3 for Linux.


Added leash_behaviour and leash_distance for Horsefly.


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)
  

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.

• 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 2.8.x as a result of html, css, layout, rendering, js and font changes
  
• Modern native Linux may black screen or segfault in CoherentUI_Host (try Steam Proton)
  

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.


https://planetaryannihilation.com/news/horsefly-and-titans-1v1-ranked-mid-season-4-winners/




https://planetaryannihilation.com/guides/titans-balance-changes/




https://steamcommunity.com/games/386070/announcements/detail/1699433555461912598

Both games are updated at the same time.




Founding Kickstarter backers from September 2012 were gifted TITANS for free.

All other owners of classic PA can upgrade to TITANS at a permanent discount of 90% off for ~$US2.99.


https://planetaryannihilation.com/news/

https://planetaryannihilation.com/timeline/

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!
  

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
  

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).


Local client changes:

• --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
  

Local client changes:

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

Local server and public server changes:

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

Local server and public server changes:

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

Stryker is now live with build bar changes.


Local server and public server changes:

• 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}]

https://planetaryannihilation.com/news/happy-birthday-update/




https://planetaryannihilation.com/guides/titans-balance-changes/




https://steamcommunity.com/games/386070/announcements/detail/1699433555461912598

Both games are updated at the same time.




Founding Kickstarter backers from September 2012 were gifted TITANS for free.

All other owners of classic PA can upgrade to TITANS at a permanent discount of 90% off for ~$US2.99.


https://planetaryannihilation.com/news/

https://planetaryannihilation.com/timeline/

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?



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/



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
  

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
  

https://youtu.be/795zUxjqcEs


https://planetaryannihilation.com/news/titans-1v1-ranked-season-4/




https://planetaryannihilation.com/guides/titans-balance-changes/




https://steamcommunity.com/games/386070/announcements/detail/1699433555461912598

Both games are updated at the same time.




Founding Kickstarter backers from September 2012 were gifted TITANS for free.

All other owners of classic PA can upgrade to TITANS at a permanent discount of 90% off for ~$US2.99.


https://planetaryannihilation.com/news/

https://planetaryannihilation.com/timeline/

Today's Deal: Save 75% on Planetary Annihilation: TITANS!*

Look for the deals each day on the front page of Steam. Or follow us on twitter or Facebook for instant notifications wherever you are!

*Offer ends Monday at 10AM Pacific Time

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.



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)
  

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
  

• 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
  

• 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
  

• 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
  

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

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

• 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
  

• 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
  

• Improved custom line formations
  

• 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
  

https://planetaryannihilation.com/news/

https://planetaryannihilation.com/timeline/