Planets Command Center II

Introduction

Planets Command Center 1.x is an advanced VGA Planets 3.x client. Its major drawback is that it runs on DOS only. This is becoming more and more of a problem, especially with newer Windows versions whose DOS support is getting worse. Besides, DOS just is not state-of-the-art any longer.

PCC2 is a port of PCC 1.x to newer platforms. Actually, the term rewrite probably fits better because PCC2 is in portable C++ while PCC 1.x is in Turbo Pascal.

PCC2 is based upon the Simple DirectMedia Layer (SDL) library. Hence it runs under Windows (with and without DirectX), and verious Unix flavours, probably even on other platforms.

Like PCC 1.x, PCC2 is going to be a whole suite of related programs.

PCC2 is still incomplete. On this page, you'll find a beta version of the program suite, as well as the source code of the project. I'm working on the program, and making progress.

Currently, the program suite includes three parts:

• the client, PCC2. It is almost as complete as PCC 1.x's, and has now proven its virtues in real games.
• the VCR player and simulator, PlayVCR is probably the most comprehensive battle simulator and player for VGAP 3.x, bypassing its predecessor CCBSim in speed and function. It includes support for Tim's HOST, PHost 2, 3 and 4, NuHost, and FLAK, an experimental fleet combat system.
• a set of command line utilities: c2unpack, c2sweep and c2mkturn to replace the traditional Unpack, Sweep and Maketurn utilities, c2mgrep to replace MGrep, c2export to transfer data into a spreadsheet program (for example), and un-trn and c2dump aimed at developers and curious hosts and players).

Features & Downloads

The following briefly describes updates for each release:

• New 03/Dec/2002: Sound in the VCR
• New 03/Mar/2003: PHost 4.0 support
• New 16/Jan/2004: Italian language support by Matteo Boccafoli
• New 15/Apr/2004: Spanish language support by Lucas di Pentima
• New 02/Dec/2006: Built-in fast multi-ship simulator
• New 18/Mar/2007: Updated Italian language support by Matteo Boccafoli
• New 17/Dec/2008: third beta with tons of improvements
• New 30/May/2009: fourth beta, now really playable
• New 04/Jul/2009: fifth beta, adds more gimmicks: ship trails, auto-tax, mine lay/scoop prediction, improved display quality
• New 15/Nov/2009: sixth beta, adds "team" configuration and improves many other things
• New 15/Jan/2010: seventh beta, adds "list ship" dialog and commands to deal with PHost command messages
• New 14/Mar/2010: eighth beta, adds first version of the script interpreter, with the F7 search function, planet labels, console, etc.
• New 01/Jun/2010: ninth beta, adds script execution, user-bindable keys, etc.
• New 08/Aug/2010: tenth beta, now with play-from-map support.
• New 24/Oct/2010: eleventh beta, adds new player selection screen with Unpack, Maketurn and Sweep. Updated SDL libraries bundled with Windows package.
• New 20/Feb/2011: twelfth beta. Full Unicode support, plus improvements in the scripting language.
• New 22/Apr/2011: thirteenth beta. Adds a message parser and a c2mgrep utility, as well as tons of improvements and fixes, as well as a server module that drives this "browser game".
• New 18/Jun/2011: fourteenth beta. Adds several new information views (e.g., Imperial Statistics or Detailed Bill).
• New 17/Sep/2011: fifteenth beta. Adds ship history, global actions, help, and a couple of assorted bugfixes and improvements.
• New 25/Nov/2011: sixteenth beta. Adds auto tasks, and tons of improvements.
• New 21/Jan/2012: seventeenth beta. Adds fleets, multi-ship cargo transfer, data export, and the usual improvements and fixes.

General feature overview:

• Fully playable client
• Client can read RSTs and TRNs directly (no unpack/maketurn needed), but supports Unpack/Maketurn if you wish
• Client can run in any resolution you want (more than just 640x480)
• Client has similar keybindings to PCC 1.x (and thus, DOS Planets)
• Zoomable map
• Supports same starchart database file format as PCC 1.x
• VCR plays THost battles from any 3.x THost, and battles from PHost 2.4 to 4.1, with a pretty advanced display engine and full VCR controls
• Windows version uses DirectX when possible, but also runs without
• Optional Winplan integration: when you hit Winplan's VCR button, you get the PlayVCR player.
• Can use Winplan/PCC graphics.
• Built-in game selection.
• Screen shots (of beta 11)
• Auto tasks: give commands in advance
• Integrated scripting language and advanced search function
• Unicode support (i.e. you can play a Russian game on a Greek computer with German menus)

The following things are still missing:

• no pictures included
• people keep asking for a "32-bit VPA"; I want to implement that by offering some sort of skinnability (user-defined keybindings are already supported as of beta 9)

Windows Downloads

Note that there is no longer a separate PlayVCR download. The two distributions contain all components.

If you want it for other platforms, get the source code and compile it yourself.

If you have problems, check the FAQ.

Help File

PCC2 has a built-in help file. Press "H" to show help on the current screen.

The PCC2 Help File is also installed by the Windows installer under Start Menu -> Programs -> PCC2 -> PCC2 Help File, or you can read it online.

Linux Downloads

You need to have the packages libsdl1.2debian, libsdl-image1.2, libstdc++5 installed to be able to use this one. Until I've made a proper HOWTO, check this forum thread for some more information.

Source Code

The following archives contain the full PCC2 source code in C++. For instructions to build, see the enclosed INSTALL file.

The PCC2 source tree contains FLAK, an experimental fleet combat system. To build that, you need the PDK.

You need a pretty decent C++ compiler. I use gcc-3.3, but have for a long time used 2.95.x. It is possible to build just the command-line components, but you more likely want the graphical applications as well. To build these, you need:

• SDL: http://www.libsdl.org/
• SDL_image: http://www.libsdl.org/projects/SDL_image/ (Note: without this library, the VCR will compile but crash on ship/planet fights. Sorry. We'll solve this later). SDL_image needs
  • libjpeg: http://www.ijg.org/
  • libpng: http://www.libpng.org/
  • zlib: http://www.gzip.org/zlib/
• a means of graphics output, for example X11 or SVGAlib.

Platforms known to work:

• Linux/x86 with SVGAlib or X11 using g++
• Linux/AMD64
• Solaris/Sparc with X11 using g++ ...works sometimes. There are heavy disagreements between Solaris' header files and manpages, I have not yet figured out all necessary workarounds (and, as of 2010, do no longer have an account on a Sparc machine)
• Windows using MinGW or Visual Studio 2005 (or, if you're lucky, Borland C++ 5.5). The binary has been tried on Windows 95b and Windows XP, but I expect it to work on all other 32-bit and 64-bit Windows versions as well.
• MacOS X