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.

28 Apr 2024

New versions of PCC (1.1.22), PCC2 (2.0.16), and PCC2 NG (2.41.2)!

One major new feature for all of them is the ability to filter ship missions by category, e.g. "Lay" (mine laying) or "Gather". This is especially useful for PHost games, where missions come in multiple flavors.

Another helpful feature is that, on the hull function list for a ship, if an ability is available only at certain experience level, you will now see how many turns it takes to reach it. This prediction considers aging and training.

Otherwise, PCC was updated with fixed and improvements its big brothers got previously, e.g. percentage population growth on the taxation dialog.

PCC2 got a small number of minor improvements. One new feature is that you can now build a starbase from a planet auto-task (Orders > Build Starbase). This is useful if you do not have all the material right now, because it will tell you how much is missing.

PCC2 NG now comes with preloaded ship images. (For the other versions, those are available as an addon.) It also received the improvements the others got.

01 Mar 2024

Added Next Generation Images.

This is a brand-new picture set with ship pictures created from actual 3-D models. It greatly improves the look of PCC1 (and PCC2).

01 Jan 2024

Released PCC2 2.0.15:

This version adds improvements to the starchart and the console. The improvement that you might notice most is that distance mode now gives a precise estimated travel time using actual movement formulas, not just "distance divided by warp-squared". A 81.8 ly distance will be reported as one turn, not two.

This version fixes some bugs in the VCR, in particular a long-standing one affecting carrier-vs-carrier fights in PList 3.2 games.

Among other bugs and improvements, a crash in the Command Edit dialog was fixed.

15 Jul 2023

Released PCC2 2.41.1 (c2ng):

Compared to version 2.41, this version mainly adds more small features, details missing compared to PCC2.

This version also improves stability. Unfortunately, Windows network code is still unstable. However, Windows local operation is pretty stable, and all functionality can be used in Linux without concessions.

The graphical user interface still is a bit rough. But if you're brave, give it a try!

26 Mar 2023

Released PCC2 2.41 (c2ng):

With this version, PCC2 Next Generation reaches feature parity with PCC2. It even includes some PCC1 features that, until now, never made it into PCC2. In addition, it includes a prototype feature of playing directly from the PlanetsCentral server.

The graphical user interface still is a bit rough. But if you're brave, give it a try!

18 Dec 2022

Released PCC2 2.0.14:

New features include:

starchart can display minefields after decay (Alt-Y; from PCC1);
starchart can use 'x' to switch between ship position and waypoint (from PCC1);
ship-task prediction considers towing;
when locking when locking at a planet, consider time. Sometimes, farther move will be faster;

One major bugfix applies to map geometry; you can now use wrapped maps with a gap (as is common with non-THost).

27 Aug 2022

Released PCC2ng 2.40.13.

New features include:

Lots of improvements to starchart;
Global Actions including Export;
Fleet Screen (F10);
Ship History Screen (F6).

16 Apr 2022

Released PCC2ng 2.40.12.

It is still a development preview only, but made big steps toward feature completeness:

Auto Task editor;
Imperial Statistics;
Starchart Object Labels;
Starship Cost Calculator;
Turn file saving for PlanetsCentral managed games (network play).

11 Apr 2022

Released PCC2 2.0.13:

New features include:

taxation can show relative growth
when drawing circles, type <digit> W or <digit> G to make a circle of N² or 2N² ly (warp/gravitonic warp)
fix some crashes
a bunch of prediction improvements, for example taxation when you have hissers AND terraformers

29 Sep 2021

Released PCC2 2.0.12:

New features include:

auto-warp can be turned off in configuration
ESC offers save-without-exit and exit-without-save
updated FLAK support: add simple 3D mode, and fix some bugs (including crashes)
build queue manager shows planned builds, summary
bugfix: simulator now correctly implements Aggressor/Opponent distinction for PHost, also shows roles of a ship in VCR

In addition, released PCC2ng 2.40.11. This version ports a few more features from PCC2 (especially, related to combat), and a fancy new FLAK viewer. That aside, it is still a development preview.

31 May 2021

Released PCC 1.1.21.

The Imperial Statistics now show some more information (Colony page, climate statistics) learned from PCC2. When invoking mine sweep information (indirectly) from a ship, it will compare the beems needed to sweep to the ones you have. The battle simulator got the Randomize FCode on every fight option.

As usual, the script interpreter got a few updates to match PCC2 where possible, and history/prediction got a little smarter.

I also updated the standalone battle simulator to 1.1.21, upgrading its foundations to the new version. In addition, support for the FLAK combat system is now built in by default, and is no longer a separate version.

08 May 2021

Released PCC2NG 2.40.10.

This version adds a few major new features, towards meeting feature parity with PCC/PCC2 "classic":

Battle simulator: set up, simulate and watch battles.
A number of features for the starchart, e.g. drawing, distance mode.
Multi-ship cargo transfer.
Ship building.
Score tables and charts.

16 Apr 2021

Released PCC2 2.0.11. This version adds one new features that was missing from PCC1: you can now sell torpedoes or fighters you accidentally bought this turn, and do not have to reset the entire location.

Among the minor improvements, PCC2 now uses the engine's nominal speed when you activate the hyperdrive, which gives better tow resistance. Previously, this was hardcoded as warp 2.

Bugs fixed include that PCC2 accidentally wasn't showing some ships you should see, as well as a crash in the starbase task editor.

Deprecation notice: PCC2 still runs on Windows-95-class operating systems. This is becoming more and more of a maintainance problem. For example, some virus scanners no longer know the compiler used to build it, and therefore mark it suspicious. I therefore plan to drop Windows 95 support in the near-to-mid future.

30 Nov 2020

Released PCC2 2.0.10. This version adds two new features:

Ship abilities are now shown as icons. If a ship has many ship abilities (i.e. PList 3.2), icons use less space on screen than textual descriptions. Availability of the abilities is color-coded (grayed out: you don't have it). For now, this is an experimental feature and can be turned off in Options > Preferences > User Interface.
PCC2 can receive file transfers from host, e.g. the pconfig.src sent by PHost's "send config" command. Previously, only the race name file was supported this way.

In addition, there's a number of smaller improvements and fixes. The most notable one probably is that we now predict mine laying correctly for PHost when there's multiple fields to enlarge.

19 Oct 2020

Released PCC2NG 2.40.9. This version adds two brand-new features:

The Universe Almanac provides a new view on ship list, configuration, racial abilities etc. This feature will probably arrive at PCC2 and PCC2 Web soon.
The (command-line) battle simulator now can use multiple threads.

Otherwise, this release improves and completes on the invisible back-end parts, and is therefore still a development preview not suited for general public use.

29 May 2020

Update Timeline and Client Fact Sheet with current information.

19 Apr 2020

Released PCC2 2.0.9. This version adds a major new feature: the build queue manager. It improves upon the planet scan (F5) and chunnel setup (A) functions, and adds a bunch of smaller improvements.

Released PCC 1.1.20. This version also includes the build queue manager, as well as dozens of smaller improvements, features and fixes from PCC2.

14 Apr 2020

Uploaded two older but still unreleased versions:

Check 0.5 adds an extra option "/Z" to hide problems caused by stray "-1" values that are most of the time harmless.
ViewShip now knows PHost 4.1 hull functions.

These versions lingered for years on my hard disk and never made it out here; I finally set up the DOS compiler again, and uploaded them in case anyone still has a use for them.

01 Feb 2020

Released PCC2NG 2.40.8.

Milestone Eight adds a few more commands, such as various build orders, ship and planet information, and ship missions.

24 Nov 2019

Released PCC2 2.0.8.

This release improves many information displays and predictions. It improves small details and the script interpreter.

24 Aug 2019

Released PCC2NG 2.40.7.

This release adds Search and Auto Tasks, as well as minor additions to PlanetsCentral servers and others.

17 Jun 2019

Released PCC2 2.0.7.

This version closes many gaps that were still remaining to PCC 1.x: the simulator can now sort/filter the hull list when adding a new ship, and it can simulate custom alliance or enemy settings. Technically inclined users can view util.dat (Alt-U).

In addition, many small details were improved, i.e. one or another additional information shown here and there, and dialogs starting at sensible defaults (i.e. current ship).

24 Apr 2019

Released PCC2NG 2.40.6.

This release adds a starchart, cargo transfer, and a few more functions.

This version also includes major additions to the PlanetsCentral microservices.

23 Feb 2019

Released PCC2 2.0.6.

This version fixes a few bugs and adds the ability to simulate more planets.nu ship abilities.

02 Sep 2018

Released PCC2NG 2.40.5.

This version adds the ability to save data, for now, for local games only.

18 Aug 2018

Released PCC2 2.0.5.

This release fixes a few bugs. As a new feature, plugins can now provide additional help pages. The PHost 4 documentation plugin will add the PHost 4 documentation to the help system.

06 May 2018

Released PCC2NG 2.40.4.

This version adds a few more prototype features: VCR, message reader, and game directory setup. On the infrastructure side, we can now support SDL2, and there are several new algorithms and utilities ported.

This still is a development preview not suited for general public use.

01 May 2018

Released PCC2 2.0.4.

This release improves a lot on predictions. If a ship does more than just moving, you can press Q on a ship screen to get an explanation what missions and actions are considered for fuel usage computation. This is intended to clean up the confusion whether your lfm order had been honored or not. On planets, Borg assimilation prediction was totally off previously. Tax prediction can now honor terraforming and Hisss.

The "export" function (and the c2export utility) can now save and restore an export setup to a file.

Among minor fixes, two major bugs have been fixed: you could previously create illegal turns by buying too many supplies using the undo-supply-sale function. Intercept chains could cause the list-ships function to crash.

23 Jan 2018

Released PCC2NG 2.40.3 (Milestone Three).

This release includes most PlanetsCentral servers and improves on the scripting language. It still is mostly a tech demo.

25 Nov 2017

Released PCC2 2.0.3.

This release adds one new feature: a ship's/planet's messages can be retrieved from the ship/planets object, and a marker on the starchart (Alt-N) can show presence of messages.

In addition, this release fixes a few bugs. More work in this release has been put into the code that drives PlanetsCentral, not all of it is current "live", though.

15 Jan 2017

Released PCC2 2.0.2.

This release fixes many bugs and adds a few display improvements.

Along with this PCC2 release goes PCC2 NG Milestone One. This (still) is a tech demo of a possible future PCC2 release, but it's not yet ready for playing.

25 Sep 2016

Released PCC2 NG Milestone Zero.

This is a tech demo of a possible future PCC2 release. Its main features are network play and (finally!) support for history viewing. It's not yet ready for playing.

02 Jul 2016

Released PCC2 2.0.1.

This release fixes multiple crashes, brings ship predictions up on a par with PCC 1.x, and adds proper support for MapTruehullByPlayerRace and SRace.

21 May 2016

Released c2nuvcr 0.3.

This version (finally) updates the program to current Nu server APIs, aka, "it works again".

05 Mar 2016

Released PCC2 2.0.

After 15 years in development, it's probably justified to let it have its target version number. This release fixes a few bugs, among these some crashes, and cleans up a little.

28 Feb 2016

Updated the Namer plugin. It now has names for all races.

20 Jul 2015

Released PCC2 1.99.26. This release adds many tasty features that were missing from version 1.x: ship prediction, sensor range visualisation, the ability to unpack turn files, and - of course - PCC 1.x's inofficial flagship feature: ion storm forecasts. Several minor features were added and bugs fixed as well.

02 May 2015

Released PCC2 1.99.25. This release introduces plugins. I also reworked the website to look a tiny little bit more modern. In addition to that, small improvements and bugfixes. In particular, alliance commands now work correctly.

01 Mar 2015

Released PCC2 1.99.24. This release fixes a serious bug with the new Reset Location function. It also adds some new configuration options, including the classic RST password, and a user-interface to PHost features like "rename your race".

12 Jan 2015

Released PCC2 1.99.23. This release adds more features (alliance editor, reset location, improved mine/ufo/ion screens, thousands-separator option) and improves the simulator (more options, ability to watch sample battles for minimum/maximum results).

20 Dec 2014

Updated the VGAP Timeline with last year's events in PCC and PHost.

Updated the File Format List with new information about PCC2, FLAK.

15 Feb 2014

Released PCC2 1.99.22. This release adds improvements and fixes to the combat simulator, in a first attempt to simulate more planets.nu features. Also, the script interpreter was improved.

21 Sep 2013

Released PCC2 1.99.21. Again, this release features few new features, but many improvements and fixes, bringing it closer to PCC 1.x's feature set.

04 Jun 2013

Released PCC 1.1.19. It now supports PHost's BaseTechCost option, but otherwise there were only few fixes. It's a mature program after all.

And for editor specialists, there's an update of ccscript.el.

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