Planetary Annihilation [TA on Steroids]

Zaxxon · Post by **Zaxxon** » Mon Mar 03, 2014 6:35 pm

wonderpug wrote:I don't get how it can possibly be difficult to have it so single player matches have a pause button and multiplayer ones don't.

Because there's no such thing as a single-player match. Every game is a multiplayer game; some of them just have one human participant.

Tampa_Gamer · Post by **Tampa_Gamer** » Mon Mar 03, 2014 7:10 pm

OK, thanks for the quick feedback. I will hold onto my $$ for now and be content with Forged Alliance Forever.

wonderpug · Post by **wonderpug** » Mon Mar 03, 2014 7:39 pm

Zaxxon wrote:
wonderpug wrote:I don't get how it can possibly be difficult to have it so single player matches have a pause button and multiplayer ones don't.
Because there's no such thing as a single-player match. Every game is a multiplayer game; some of them just have one human participant.

Same deal with Diablo 3 but you can pause if you're playing solo.

Zaxxon · Post by **Zaxxon** » Mon Mar 03, 2014 7:41 pm

wonderpug wrote:
Zaxxon wrote:
wonderpug wrote:I don't get how it can possibly be difficult to have it so single player matches have a pause button and multiplayer ones don't.
Because there's no such thing as a single-player match. Every game is a multiplayer game; some of them just have one human participant.
Same deal with Diablo 3 but you can pause if you're playing solo.

Neither of us knows the degree to which that's true given the architectures of the games involved. Nonetheless, I'm not defending the fact that there's no pause--merely reiterating the rationale that Uber has given for the design decision. As one with young kids, I'd love a pause feature.

IceBear · Post by **IceBear** » Mon Mar 03, 2014 7:44 pm

And it's still in Gamma do possibly it will be added to the final release. I am not expecting it, but it could happen and would make me happy

Lorini · Post by **Lorini** » Mon Mar 03, 2014 8:07 pm

There will be a pause feature for single player.

https://forums.uberent.com/threads/freq ... ons.54326/

I was thinking on screen pause which I still doubt but a pause where the menu comes up would make a lot of sense.

Zaxxon · Post by **Zaxxon** » Mon Mar 03, 2014 8:09 pm

Sweet.

abr · Post by **abr** » Wed Mar 05, 2014 3:06 am

Zitterbacke wrote:Got it today from uber themselves, who asked $29 via Paypal, ~€21 instead of €24,95 on Humble Store and Steam (you can convert their key to Steam, too, if one wanted to do so).

Thanks for the tip!

Sepiche · Post by **Sepiche** » Thu May 22, 2014 7:33 pm

New update today added in the single player galactic war campaign!

IceBear · Post by **IceBear** » Fri Sep 05, 2014 1:13 pm

BTW, this is now officially released. I believe there is more content coming as not everything promised in the kickstarter is in (at least that's what I hear from some people.

Planetary Annihilation has officially released across PC, Mac, and Linux.

You can now download the full game on Steam, Humble Bundle, Origin, or through the Uber launcher.
For those of you who already have Planetary Annihilation, getting the gold version of the game is as easy as updating.
We think you'll love the new features. Our single-player component, Galactic War, has seen notable enhancements, including bigger map sizes. Resource-rich gas giants have been added as well, giving you more reasons to race to the stars quicker than ever before. If total obliteration is more your speed, the game-ending celestial weapon of doom, the Annihilaser, does the job nicely.
Years ago, we started making our take on a next-generation RTS with massive scale and incredible tools. Without your generous help and support throughout development, this game wouldn't have been possible.
The entire Uber Entertainment team thanks you. <3

Tampa_Gamer · Post by **Tampa_Gamer** » Fri Sep 05, 2014 1:19 pm

Did they ever put it in the ability to give orders while the game is paused (e.g. Forged Alliance, etc.)?

IceBear · Post by **IceBear** » Fri Sep 05, 2014 1:22 pm

I don't think so... That might be one of the things to be added

GreenGoo · Post by **GreenGoo** » Fri Sep 05, 2014 1:57 pm

I'm interested in opinions of the "final" product.

IceBear · Post by **IceBear** » Fri Sep 05, 2014 3:10 pm

As a TA fan I've been enjoying it for awhile now. The galactic war mode is a nice change of pace

Lordnine · Post by **Lordnine** » Fri Sep 05, 2014 4:20 pm

From what I’ve played so far, which mind you isn’t a lot, leaves me disappointed. The truth though is that I’m not sure it’s really the games fault or just that I don’t care much for this “type” of RTS anymore.

I’ve really come to embrace the Relic style of RTS, where tactics trump unit count, and PA definitely falls on the side of mass production. This probably shouldn’t come as a surprise given the scale they were going for, but it just isn’t very appealing to me anymore.

I plan to dig into the multiplayer tonight and see if that can convince me otherwise.

Zaxxon · Post by **Zaxxon** » Fri Sep 05, 2014 4:22 pm

My impressions are similar to Lordnine's. I do think in my case, at least, the problem is me. We were promised a TA-like RTS with enormous scale, and unit count was always going to be one of the big core aspects. As far as I'm concerned, Uber has done a great job with the game. I think I'm just getting old.

IceBear · Post by **IceBear** » Fri Sep 05, 2014 4:24 pm

Yeah, that's why I prefaced my statement with being a fan of TA. It's nothing new so if you're past TA it's probably not worth getting it. They gave what they setout to do... A modern TA clone.

I likewise prefer the Dawn of War style RTS, but I got my Kickstarter money's worth for a TA clone, which right now is what I feel like playing (to be honest don't feel like playing much right now, especially not anything deep)

Sepiche · Post by **Sepiche** » Fri Sep 05, 2014 5:33 pm

Zaxxon wrote:My impressions are similar to Lordnine's. I do think in my case, at least, the problem is me. We were promised a TA-like RTS with enormous scale, and unit count was always going to be one of the big core aspects. As far as I'm concerned, Uber has done a great job with the game. I think I'm just getting old.

Yeah +1. Nothing against Uber... they did a pretty amazing job delivering almost exactly what they said they would, I just don't seem to enjoy it as much as I used to.

I will say though that Galactic Warfare is a bit of a letdown for me at least... I was hoping for something with a little more depth.

IceBear · Post by **IceBear** » Fri Sep 05, 2014 5:40 pm

True, I was just happy it wasn't just a typical ai skirmish in that you don't have access to all your tech until you find it which makes things interesting. Since originally there wasn't a single player campaign at all I guess my expectations were pretty low

IceBear · Post by **IceBear** » Fri Sep 05, 2014 5:44 pm

Guess I did a bad, you'll enjoy it.... IF with my first post. I don't think many here like RTS as it is, especially the old school build a ton of units and throw at the enemy type. I paid the lowest tier in the Kickstarter so it'll be something I'll play from time to time when I need something mindless.

I can't argue with anything anyone said, but for some reason RIGHT NOW it's satisfying an itch

Moat_Man · Post by **Moat_Man** » Sat Sep 06, 2014 1:13 pm

Sorry guys, I'm getting up there in years now too (43) but I love the game. Holy crap it's amazing! I can respect that when you get older your tastes can change and I also respect that each of you can see how others would like it and you don't immediately say it's crap because you don't like it. Kudos for maturity.

Moving on, what they have pulled off is remarkable. Spherical maps? Hell ya! Infinite zoom through the solar system, hell ya! Planet smashing, woo hoo! A death star-like laser that blows up planets? Wow! What other game allows you to blow up a whole map? It's crazy.

I hope Icebear, Sepiche, Zaxxon and Lordnine are still reading because if you want a slower paced game with less emphasis on unit count then the mod-ability of this game should be your highlight. There is a mod called RCBM that changes all the stats of the units (adds health, I think ~2x), changes some abilities, and even adds some new units altogether. This changes the focus of the game and makes the fights more tactical and the game a bit more strategic.

I think if you enjoy a slightly slower paced game this might be up your alley, and you still get all the benefits of the smashing and the lasering.

Get the community mod manager here to check out some of the mods that already exist:
https://forums.uberent.com/threads/rel- ... orm.59992/

Finally, the developers look at the 1.0 release as another milestone like the Galactic War release. They will be continuing to add features and improving the game into the future. I really hope that it is very successful because I see the massive potential in the game as a platform, plus it's hella fun.

Zaxxon · Post by **Zaxxon** » Sat Sep 06, 2014 1:51 pm

To be clear, I think it's a very good game, and I do like it. I just rarely have time for a drawn-out game, and that seems to be PA's strength.

Lordnine · Post by **Lordnine** » Sat Sep 06, 2014 1:58 pm

That mod does sound interesting.

I had a little bit of fun by skipping the early meat grinder phase last night. My ally started on a planet with the two enemies and I opted to start on a separate planet. I skipped early ground units entirely and developed interplanetary travel. At that point I convoyed a builder to my allies’ planet and built a teleporter there to connect us.

I built up a bunch of orbital platforms and used them exclusively to attack. They kill enemy commanders almost instantly so I just ignored everything else and chased them around the planet.

All of this sounds pretty cool but anytime I was forced to fight in the traditional way I couldn’t get over how dull it seemed to me. I like to WATCH my units fight, not send 100’s to their instant death. I’ll keep my eye on the mod but I think I’m already done with the base game.

Turtle · Post by **Turtle** » Sun Sep 07, 2014 3:31 am

Yeah, that's the reason why I skipped supcom and this. The whole giant scope and zoom sounds nice, but it just means that you're sitting looking at tiny icons shuffle across a zoomed out map, and disappearing.

TA got it right in that it stayed zoomed in and after you queued up those attack and production orders, you could take a moment to watch it unfold.

Is the same reason why I hate production games like StarCraft, you have to look away from the fighting all the time to build crap.

Moat_Man · Post by **Moat_Man** » Sun Sep 07, 2014 3:07 pm

Lordnine wrote:I like to WATCH my units fight, not send 100’s to their instant death.

RTS games might not be your cup of tea then. Any player who "watches" the game isn't "playing" the game and will get stomped pretty badly, even by the AI (which was done by Sorian famous for his modded SupCom: FA AI).

Here's the thing, I am in the same boat! Sometimes I catch myself watching the game, which is why I will never be a top tier player (well, one the many many reasons anyway,

). However, when I remind myself to keep focused on playing because I can watch the game after I usually play a lot better.

I should add that the ChronoCam feature in Planetary Annihilation might be one of their coolest features. It's underselling it to call it a replay feature. You can replay and watch previous parts of the game while you are still playing it! It works exactly like a DVR. You can skip back and then watch in regular time parts of the game while the game continues on in real time. Mind you, when this is happening you aren't playing the game which is a problem, right?

Anyway, the amount of time I "watch the game" while playing it has decreased significantly because I know I can always watch the replay. BTW, when using the ChronoCam to watch a replay you can see all the units, zoom just like you are playing it, etc.

To see how this works you can watch the PAMatches youtube channel. Currently the guy is doing commentary on the best player submitted matches. They are normally about 15 minutes each so not a large investment and often they are nail biters.

IMHO The "best" caster out there is ZaphodX. Watching his casts is very entertaining. The other really good caster is WPMarshall. I like his commentary as well.

Watching those casters made me more interested in the game and improved my game a lot.

Lordnine · Post by **Lordnine** » Sun Sep 07, 2014 6:05 pm

Moat_Man wrote:
Lordnine wrote:I like to WATCH my units fight, not send 100’s to their instant death.
RTS games might not be your cup of tea then. Any player who "watches" the game isn't "playing" the game and will get stomped pretty badly, even by the AI (which was done by Sorian famous for his modded SupCom: FA AI).

Or I may have made it to the top 50 global ranking in Dawn of War 2.

Different types of RTS games for different people.

Turtle · Post by **Turtle** » Sun Sep 07, 2014 7:11 pm

Yeah, people confuse RTS with having to jump through base building hoops, just to jump through more base building hoops, just to jump through even more hoops like some trained dog, just to pump out enough units to start a fight.

RTS can be just as much about the fight, and less about playing SimCity.

I'd argue, the biggest RTS games right now are ones that aren't considered RTS games, MOBAs, which may have deviated off to focus on single character combat, but at least all the hoop jumping is limited to stuff that directly affects your character.

When we say "watching" the fight, I mean having time to actually manage the fighting, not having to be clicking on 50 things at the same time as busywork. We want to see the battle unfold from start, to finish, adjusting tactics along the whole way.

Moat_Man · Post by **Moat_Man** » Sun Sep 07, 2014 10:06 pm

Lordnine wrote:Different types of RTS games for different people.

Fairball. I'm not a fan of MOBA's, too much unit micro. I like the larger scale games with more emphasis on grand strategy. If the game has different units with "powers" that can be used then I tend to get pwned game because I don't use the powers enough.

Daehawk · Post by **Daehawk** » Sun Sep 07, 2014 11:32 pm

Not rereading the thread fo r a quick question...was all for this but now all I see if multiplayer. Does this have single player? And does it have 2 player co-op vs cpu?

Zaxxon · Post by **Zaxxon** » Sun Sep 07, 2014 11:33 pm

Daehawk · Post by **Daehawk** » Sun Sep 07, 2014 11:35 pm

Thank you.

And meant to put "dont want to reread the thread. Didn't mean it to sound so assholy

Lordnine · Post by **Lordnine** » Mon Sep 08, 2014 12:09 am

Moat_Man wrote:
Lordnine wrote:Different types of RTS games for different people.
Fairball. I'm not a fan of MOBA's, too much unit micro. I like the larger scale games with more emphasis on grand strategy. If the game has different units with "powers" that can be used then I tend to get pwned game because I don't use the powers enough.

I’m not a fan of MOBA’s but my greatest achievement in DoW2 was getting 187 kills and only having 19 unit deaths.

It was a good day for the Eldar! I loved that game.

Moat_Man · Post by **Moat_Man** » Mon Sep 08, 2014 12:48 am

Lordnine wrote:
Moat_Man wrote:
Lordnine wrote:Different types of RTS games for different people.
Fairball. I'm not a fan of MOBA's, too much unit micro. I like the larger scale games with more emphasis on grand strategy. If the game has different units with "powers" that can be used then I tend to get pwned game because I don't use the powers enough.
I’m not a fan of MOBA’s but my greatest achievement in DoW2 was getting 187 kills and only having 19 unit deaths. It was a good day for the Eldar! I loved that game.

I've never played DoW but that kill ratio is crazy. Wow.

Turtle · Post by **Turtle** » Mon Sep 08, 2014 5:34 am

I think you can have grand strategy, while still also not boiling thing down to little dots appearing and disappearing.

I think the best example of this was Kohan 1 and 2 Ahriman's Gift. That series of games is long dead, but it had the best grand strategy, while avoiding needless base building, and keeping units in interesting groups of troopers, instead of forcing a grand general to build individual tanks.

In Kohan, you built cities/settlements instead of individual factories, and those helped secure resources. Your units were collections of various troops that you created and combined. You could play on small skirmish maps, or absolutely gigantic maps that could take weeks of play to finish.

I wonder if a mod could be made for PA that would change the game to be more like that, instead of a SupCom clone.

Zaxxon · Post by **Zaxxon** » Mon Sep 08, 2014 8:05 am

I loved Kohan.

Freyland · Post by **Freyland** » Mon Sep 08, 2014 12:20 pm

Kohan was the only MP game I ever excelled at.

baelthazar · Post by **baelthazar** » Mon Sep 08, 2014 11:03 pm

This conversation is a little weird, wanting PA to be something PA is not. It certainly will be more like SupCom, given that some of the devs worked on SupCom and they bill PA as a spiritual successor to SupCom. While I also liked Kohan, PA never set out to be like Kohan or DoW2.

Turtle · Post by **Turtle** » Mon Sep 08, 2014 11:35 pm

It is a little weird, until you realize this all comes from bad attempts to recreate total annihilation.

All of which are textbook examples of over boating the base and resource mechanics, to the detriment of the actual combat.

Moat_Man · Post by **Moat_Man** » Tue Sep 09, 2014 1:52 am

Turtle wrote:It is a little weird, until you realize this all comes from bad attempts to recreate total annihilation.

All of which are textbook examples of over boating the base and resource mechanics, to the detriment of the actual combat.

It's funny, most of the people on the interwebs complaining about PA's game mechanics are people who *loved* some other game and are criticising PA for not being more like their game of choice (TA, Sup Com, Sup Com:FA, StarCraft, etc.).

While PA does have some standard RTS mechanics I feel that it really moves things forward with the use of spherical maps, map destroying weapons, and a 4th layer to fight over (water, ground, air, orbital). To me it is reinvigorating.

The thing is, I have never played TA. I was weened on the Age of Empires, Age of Kings, and Rise of Nations fork of RTS games. I played Sup Com and Sup Com 2 a lot but I couldn't see myself playing them now that I've played PA.

The good news is that I think it did reasonably well, it's been in the top 10 on Steam since release. Only time will tell though.

Lordnine · Post by **Lordnine** » Tue Sep 09, 2014 10:31 am

Moat_Man wrote: It's funny, most of the people on the interwebs complaining about PA's game mechanics are people who *loved* some other game and are criticising PA for not being more like their game of choice (TA, Sup Com, Sup Com:FA, StarCraft, etc.).

To be fair, that has more to do with the state of the industry than anything. RTS used to be a very big genre but for the last 10 years or so you’ve pretty much had two options; Blizzard or Relic. Now I like Relic RTS but they are currently stuck in CoH mode, which is not a setting I enjoy.

The flood of backers to PA shows that there is still a demand that is not being filled and I suspect a lot of those backers supported the game just because it was a new RTS, without considering if it was the type of RTS they really wanted.

I never criticized PA as being a bad game. It is almost exactly what they promised. I’m just disappointed that it’s not a game that I can enjoy.