NOOBS Q's

Discussion in 'Planetary Annihilation General Discussion' started by texyuk, August 13, 2014.

  1. texyuk

    texyuk New Member

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    Hi,
    I just got the Early Access Edition, and I have a few questions regarding the game.
    Firstly, are my graphics screwed, or can planet surfaces look like this :

    upload_2014-8-13_18-25-44.png

    I,ve played a few rounds of Galactic War, and they all seems to look the same, ie all very dark and few features. I have played around with the in-game graphic settings, but it doesn't seem to change much. My spec is Intel i5-2500K, 3.3G onWindows 7 64-bit, 8gig RAM, and a Nvidia GTX 560Ti, 1gig RAM.
    Also, how do the orbital transporters work - (Atraeous). I have just started a round with the enemy commander on another moon and I want to drop a scout on it. I've got the scout loaded and moved the transport to the other moon, but I cannot get it to drop the scout? I have another tranporter on my home moon, but he wont pick anything up at all?
    Thanks in advance,
    Texy
  2. squishypon3

    squishypon3 Post Master General

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    Can you upload a dxdiag.txt? Chances are graphics drivers are out of date.
    DeadStretch likes this.
  3. texyuk

    texyuk New Member

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    Hi,
    thanks for the reply. I'll need to find out how !! According to my installed GeForce Experience app, I was already on the latest, however now that I,ve gone directly to the Nvidia website, it is not, so I will try new drivers - thanks.
    Texy
  4. kjotak109

    kjotak109 Well-Known Member

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    Shouldn't this thread belong in the support forum? This thread describes a technical issue.
  5. nixtempestas

    nixtempestas Post Master General

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    As for the graphics, almost definitely a outdated graphics issue.

    As for the orbital transport, right click on a unit to load, move to the other planet and select the unload command from the command bar and click on the ground.

    You can also use area load with multiple transports selected by selecting the load command and dragging a circle around the units you want to pick up.
  6. stonewood1612

    stonewood1612 Well-Known Member

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    He asked a gameplay question too.

    When your astreus is loaded, use the unload command on the action bar at the right of the screen.

    If you right-click with a transport on a unit it will pick it up. But if you use the load command you can draw a circle by dragging. This will cause multiple transports to pick up units in area.

    Also if you want to scout a another planet, try using radar satellites.

    And welcome to the forum!
  7. cdrkf

    cdrkf Post Master General

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    He's playing gw so I'm assuming no orbital tech
  8. texyuk

    texyuk New Member

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    Hi,
    Thanks for the replies guys. Yes the graphics were corrected by updating the drivers. What threw me was that the GeForce Experience app told me I was up to date, but when I went directly to the nvidia website I had an update. Sorry if that question was asked in the wrong forum.
    Regarding the transporters, I got it working. For some reason when I first tried it, it refused to unload the cargo. I guess only 1 item can be carried at a time?
    In the mean time I am seriously getting my A@@ kicked by this game - far too difficult for me on normal level at the moment. I'd hate to think what the harder levels are like. It doesn't help that you are unable to save the game, so I hope I don't lose interest and it starts to collect dust!
    Cheers
    Texy
  9. emraldis

    emraldis Post Master General

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    It's easier (in my opinion) if you just play a skirmish of you vs. AI (via the multiplayer menu). Then you can set AI economy multipliers, and you have access to all of the tech.
    squishypon3 likes this.
  10. squishypon3

    squishypon3 Post Master General

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    Here, if you'd like some help you'd be welcome to come into the NOVA Teamspeak server, we've got some really great players that could help you learn to play the game.

    First things first... Never stop expanding. :D

    209.247.83.121:9145 <- Teamspeak IP

    (We decided it'd be better for our clan's population to stop trying to hide away the ip unless someone asks for it, haha. :p )
  11. japporo

    japporo Active Member

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    PA is as much a war of economy and logistics as it is about strategy and tactics. The key thing to remember is that rapid expansion and constant raiding are mandatory. You must grab and defend as many metal deposits as you can and destroy as many enemy metal extractors as you can as early as you can. If you let the enemy's economy get ahead of yours, it's very difficult to recover.
    squishypon3 likes this.
  12. Geers

    Geers Post Master General

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    Did you just say 1 gig of RAM? That'll cause issues.
    stuart98 likes this.
  13. nixtempestas

    nixtempestas Post Master General

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    Don't feel too bad if the game feels a bit overwhelming at first, this game has no real skill cap, even for experienced players this game and fry your brain.

    on top of the advice above, I'd add to play only on single planet systems for starters, it'll help keep your brain from exploding.

    otherwise, expand expand expand, and keep building more factories, more units, more deathballs :)

    Some useful tips(off the top of my head):
    shift + # to save a camera location, alt + # to jump to it. Mostly important for multi-planet systems but can be very useful for single as well.
    Area commands are your friend. Most commands have an area version. Area build, area load, area patrol (careful with this one, if you send too many units on a large area patrol, it can kill server performance. Can be used with fabbers and they will automatically run around your base assisting stuff), etc.
    Its ok if you run out of metal occasionally, but you really don't want to run out of energy.
    Don't underestimate the AI, it is evil. That being said, there are some patterns to watch out for. For example, expect it to target the weakest part of your base. If you successfully repel an attack on one side, keep your eyes peeled on the others for the next attack (radar really helpful here). And keep your expansions safe, they WILL be targeted by roaming units. I like using a few stationary defenses (couple laser towers and a missile turret) plus a group of dox for fast response.
  14. stuart98

    stuart98 Post Master General

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    I'm going to assume that that's a typo; there's no way the game'll even run with 1 gig of ram.

    EDIT: He meant 1 gig VRAM.
  15. Geers

    Geers Post Master General

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    Woops I didn't see the 8 gig bit.
  16. texyuk

    texyuk New Member

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    What he said ;-)
    Yes the driver update sorted out the graphics - as it usually does.
    I'm not one for online play, I prefer just the single player mode for my games.
    Thanks for the hints and tips - I shall endeavour to try them out and see how I get on.
    cheers,
    Texy
  17. cdrkf

    cdrkf Post Master General

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    Hi, when they mentioned 'multiplayer' for a 'skirmish' that is still single player- it's just the menu names are a bit confusing.

    If you host a 'skirmish' type game (i.e. not through the galactic war mode) you can control everything:
    What system you play on (you can load a standard one, or create your own in the system designer and play on that).

    What enemies you play, obviously for single player you play with the AI, however you can control the teams, have AI allies, basically any combination of up to 10 players you like. You also have the option to set an 'economy multiplier' which is a little box next to each player. Setting this to less than 1 (e.g. 0.8) will reduce the amount of resources the AI gets and slow them down- a very good way to practice.

    The final advantage of doing this is that in a skirmish game you have access to all the tech, no limitations.

    To load a skirmish game all you need to do:
    Go to the 'Multi player' menu in PA. When in there, click the 'create game' shown top left. This will bring up a game lobby. Make sure you game is set to 'Private' and no other players will join.

    You can then add in slots, change the map, add in AI players as opponents or allies and so on. Another thing you can do- if you set the game up with AI opponents and leave 1 ally slot open then go to 'public' mode you can create a co-op against the AI type game with other human players should you wish :)
  18. texyuk

    texyuk New Member

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    Cheers - I got the jist of that already, but thanks for confirming. I guess there is still no 'save-game' option in skirmish?


    Texy
  19. Geers

    Geers Post Master General

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    Alt+F4 if you lose and you can exploit the autosave in Galactic War.
  20. schuesseled192

    schuesseled192 Active Member

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    No although if I understand correctly it is planned to be included at some point.

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