What's New on Stefan's Planets Page

This page lists the most recent updates to this area. It is also available as RSS. XML
I appreciate feedback about the usability of the RSS feed; I don't personally use RSS.

24 Mar 2013

Released PCC2 Beta 20. This release includes many internal rewrites, fixes, and improvements (but no major new features so far).

19 Dec 2012

Released PCC2 Beta 19a. This fixes a last-minute bug in beta 19, a crash when watching PHost 4 combat.

17 Dec 2012

Released PCC2 Beta 19.

Added map configuration and wrapped map support.
Added configuration management (user/game config) and turn file backups.
Improved FLAK integration.
Improved interpreter.

09 Jun 2012

Released PCC2 Beta 18.

Added ExploreMap support.
Added support for cc256.res.
Added predefined search expression list.
Improved input support: now supports touchpads, and allows binding some more keys.

23 Jan 2012

Assorted updates:

Updated c2nuvcr with a small bugfix.
Updated VGAP Timeline.
Updated VGAP Client Fact Sheet.

21 Jan 2012

Released PCC2 Beta 17.

Added fleets (F10 on ship screen). Move ships in groups!
Added multi-ship cargo transfer (D on ship or fleet screen). Easy fuel distribution!
Added export function (on Global Actions menu or standalone as c2export). Transfer ship stats into Excel!
Improved interpreter
Fixed some crashes

22 Dec 2011

Updated File Format List. This update brings a little PCC2 information.

16 Dec 2011

Added c2nuvcr, a Perl program that can import VCRs from planets.nu into PlayVCR, making watching VCRs a little more fun.

25 Nov 2011

Released PCC2 Beta 16.

Added Auto Tasks (Enter on control screens). Enter commands for your ships in advance!
Added warrior information.
Improved nav chart: set up chunnels, more warp circles, ...
Improved interpreter: up to 3x faster

13 Nov 2011

Updated timeline with 2010/2011 versions.

17 Sep 2011

Released PCC2 Beta 15.

Added ship history screen (F6). This helps a lot in observing enemy movement.
Added global actions.
Added help system. It currently contains only brief help, the same text as the overview file included with PCC2, but is expected to grow.

As usual, a heap of fixes and improvements are included as well, including one important fix to movement mispredictions.

18 Jun 2011

Released PCC2 Beta 14.

This release adds a ton of information functions:

Detailed Bill ('d' on ship build screen)
Combat Diagram (Tab on VCR selection)
Population prediction on taxation, PHost-only
Imperial Statistics
Fleet Cost Comparison (Ctrl+C on simulator)

The simulator can now simulate planets with experience, which is required for the current PList.

In addition, I added the usual fixes and improvements.

22 Apr 2011

Released PCC2 Beta 13.

This release's topic is messages: first, it fills the biggest gap that PCC2 was still having: it adds a message parser. This means you can now sensibly use PCC2 with Tim's host. Unlike PCC 1.x's message parser, PCC2's is controlled by a .ini file. This makes it easy to add own templates (although the syntax is not yet set in stone). As an example, PCC2 can now plot the "Ship tonnage sunk" score sent by PHCc, and the "PTScore used" score sent by PTScore.

While at it, I also improved the message handling GUI in PCC2, so it now includes all features we know and love from PCC 1.x, and I threw in a c2mgrep command line utility.

I have also updated the fonts. PCC2 now has most fonts in regular and bold-face, allowing for some nice graphical effects.

The usual heap of fixes and improvements is included as well.

06 Mar 2011

Prepared a Debian package containing PCC2 beta 12. It should work on every x86 (i386) Debian or Ubuntu system which has the packages libsdl1.2debian-all, libsdl-image1.2, and libstdc++5 installed.

20 Feb 2011

Released PCC2 Beta 12.

PCC2 now supports Unicode. You do no longer have to mess with replacement fonts to play a Russian game, you only have to tell it to use the character set you want (for example, pcc-v2 -charset cp866 for Cyrillic, or pcc-v2 -charset cp437 for Western European DOS). Under Unix, PCC2 supports the now-common UTF-8 locales.

The script interpreter was improved a lot: it now supports file I/O and arrays.

An important bug has been fixed: the GUI maketurn didn't generate registered turns by accident. It now does. Thanks for FireAge for finding this.

24 Oct 2010

Released PCC2 Beta 11.

This release includes an all-new and improved game selection, including Unpack, Maketurn, and Sweep. Maketurn is now also available as a command-line utility (Unpack and Sweep have already been included in previous versions). In addition, it was made a lot more robust.

03 Sep 2010

Added an article about movement distances in Tim's host: How far can you get in one turn? This problem comes up every once in a while, so I've brushed up an older usenet article of mine with pictures.

08 Aug 2010

Released PCC2 Beta 10.

The starchart has been revised to include a full information display. Most commands are now implemented as scripts and are thus available from the starchart. VPA aficionados will probably appreciate this: please, tell me what you think.

In addition, PCC2 now supports multiple selections (Alt-.), and the script interpreter was improved a lot.

25 Jul 2010

Uploaded some screenshots for PCC2.

01 Jun 2010

Released PCC2 Beta 9 and PCC 1.1.18.

PCC2 now includes the scripting engine. The console accepts commands, and you can run own scripts (commonly stored in .q files). The scripting language is 99% identical to the one from PCC 1.x, but some things are still missing. Beta 10 will close the gaps, and most likely add auto-tasks.

The PCC2 language also includes some things PCC 1.x didn't yet have. Therefore, I updated PCC 1.x to include some of the new things, allowing you to write scripts that run in both versions. That, plus assorted bugfixes and minor improvements, makes up PCC 1.1.18.

14 Mar 2010

Released PCC2 Beta 8. Beta 8 add's the first version of PCC's flagship feature: the script interpreter. With that, we'll get back useful features such as the console/calculator (Alt-C) and the universal search function (F7).

The language implemented by PCC2's interpreter is almost the same as PCC 1.x's. However, its internals are completely different from the old version.

18 Feb 2010

Released CCBSim 1.1.17.1. This release adds support for the recent PHost options EModPlanetaryTorpsPerTube and UseBaseTorpsInCombat.

16 Jan 2010

Released PCC2 Beta 7. This release adds several new features bringing it closer to the state of the art of VGAP clients:

There is now an interface for PHost commands. PCC2 can generate "remote" commands as well as "give ship" and "give planet". You can also create or edit most other PHost commands using the Auxiliary Commands window (Alt-E on race screen).
PCC2 now also learned the indispensible Ship Specification display. You can invoke it from the ship screen, ship build screen, and visual scanner. The latter now also includes a useful list view which, like in PCC 1.x, can be sorted using the right mouse button or the '#' or '\' keys.

In addition, the structure of the RSS feed was changed a little, for the better, I hope. Those who use RSS more than I do, please comment.

03 Jan 2010

Updated the File Format List with new PHost and PCC2 information, and minor fixes.

15 Nov 2009

Released PCC2 Beta 6.

04 Oct 2009

The site's layout has been modernized a little. Most pages now feature a navigation bar. Some pages have been split for easier navigation. I've also added an article about web mine hit odds in Tim's host. More articles will follow.

04 Jul 2009

Released PCC2 Beta 5.

30 May 2009

Released PCC2 Beta 4.
The client is now really playable, and completely supports the PCC 1.x starchart database file format. I also threw in some new command-line programs and a help page.

17 Dec 2008

Released PCC II Beta 3.
The client should now be playable; the simulator was improved, too. Don't say there is no progress!

22 Nov 2008

Released PCC 1.1.17 and CCBSim 1.1.17.
Dozens of improvements and bugfixes: it helps to set up chunnels and send command messages, improves predictions and scripting, and the simulator can simulate FullWeaponry, PlanetImmunity and Commander ships.

20 Sep 2008

Uploaded ViewMess 1.2. This minor update had lurked on my hard disk for ages; it now supports files >64k and features a "skip group" function for quicker navigation.

29 Jun 2008

Updated CCShips to version 1.1.16. It now handles configuration files in a much more sensible way, so you can, for example, view shiplists with experience-restricted hull functions if you don't have pconfig.src. Oh, and it now knows its version number :-)

13 Apr 2008

Minor update to MGrep. Version 1.3d should now be able to search in inbox files containing up to 32000 messages (=maximum permitted by file format).

27 Jan 2008

Released PCC 1.1.16. Tons of gentle improvements and fixes: interpreter, inquiry about own and foreign units, history, messaging, etc...
The Report Editor was also updated.

19 Aug 2007

Updated file format list. Minor updates to other pages (timeline, client fact sheet).

26 Apr 2007

Minor update: peng 0.32. Now with correct quoting for XML output :-)

24 Mar 2007

Released PCC 1.1.15. It now supports the new "incompatible" options of current PHosts, and includes a few fixes and improvements as well. CCBSim and CCShips were also updated.

18 Mar 2007

Updated Check to version 0.4. It now has a few more checks, and an option to be extra picky.

18 Mar 2007

Updated Italian translation for PCC 2.

02 Dec 2006

Uploaded new version of PlayVCR. It includes a simulator. The installer and Winplan integration was completely redone, too.

12 Oct 2006

Updated Check to version 0.3. It can now check game checksums (control.dat).

13 Aug 2006

Released MGrep 1.3c. It includes some workarounds to make it work better under WinXP and FreeDOS/DOSEMU.

06 Aug 2006

Released PCC 1.1.14. Now includes export function.

06 Aug 2006

Updated File Format List.

14 Jul 2006

Very minor update: parseutil.pl can now interpret util.tmp. Those who wonder what I'm doing all the time: I updated this script because I needed it to debug new PHost / PDK functionality :-)

12 Apr 2006

Added MergeCCB utiltiy.

05 Mar 2006

Released PCC 1.1.13. Includes all the recent simulator updates, improvements to the scripting engines, plus several other improvements.

12 Feb 2006

Released Check 0.2. Can now check TRN against a RST, and generate log file in HTML format.

26 Dec 2005

Released CCBSim 1.1.12.2. 1.1.12.1 crashed instantly in some environments.

23 Dec 2005

Released CCBSim 1.1.12.1. It can now simulate cloaked ships. Import from VCRs was improved. You can now temporarily disable ships. It also fixes some bugs.

07 Nov 2005

Released PCC 1.1.12a. This fixes an evil bug that strikes if you do not use PHost 4.0's experience system - it would not recognize hull functions in this case.

31 Oct 2005

Released PCC 1.1.12. It now supports PHost 4.0j's new hull functions, and includes a few improvements and fixes as well.

01 Oct 2005

Improved timeline with information from Andrew Andrienko and some other stuff.

20 Aug 2005

Uploaded new version of the File Format List: Updated to recent PHost, and converted to Latin 1.

09 July 2005

Updated CCPrint: slightly improved the report editor, and added new field definitions.

25 June 2005

Added Check 0.1, a new client-side turn checker.

05 June 2005

Added CCShips 1.1.11.2.

30 April 2005

PCC 1.1.11 released. It now has graphical auto task display, and many fixes and improvements.
Added CCFonts release 3a. This brings back the anti-aliasing that got lost in release 3.

19 April 2005