Line #18 VideoGame/PlanetaryAnnihilation


1	[[quoteright:336:https://static.tvtropes.org/pmwiki/pub/images/planetary-annihilation_7765.jpg]]
2
3	''Planetary Annihilation'' is an [[RealTimeStrategy RTS]] set '''InSpace''' Created by [[VideoGame/MondayNightCombat Uber Entertainment]] and funded by Website/{{Kickstarter}}, it follows factious robots in their separate (and conflicting) quests to conquer the galaxy. Players have control over all robots in their army and can build an empire across multiple star systems.
4
5	As you might guess from the title, it's another SpiritualSuccessor to ''VideoGame/TotalAnnihilation'' (the other being ''VideoGame/SupremeCommander''), this time on a galactic scale. Not being limited to just a single planet's surface like in its spiritual predecessors, players can now build and deploy armies across multiple planets in a single map.
6
7	A standalone expansion with the subtitle ''Titans'' was released in August 2015.
8
9	A sequel, ''Industrial Annihilation'', was [[https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=yaX05r98emI announced]] in October 2023, with a release date in Q2 2024. It incorporates FactoryBuildingGame mechanics into the base building, and adds a second playable race; the ramshackle, diesel-powered engines of "Chaos" (with the classic ''Planetary'' units christened "Machina").
10
11	----
12	!!This game provides examples of the following tropes:
13	* AwesomeButImpractical: Averted with most of the titans/superweapons, which each have their own niche.
14	** Atlas/Zeus/Ares titans are slow and expensive, but can easily annihilate massed armies and bases on their lonesome, and can be built surprisingly early.
15	** The Helios titan is vulnerable to orbital defences, but is a rapid transporter that is otherwise hard to destroy and provides its own air support; plus it's movable, unlike ground-based stargates.
16	** Nukes can 2-hit commanders and destroy armies, but are instantly defeated by anti-nukes; however, they can be launched anywhere in the solar system and are comparatively cheap superweapons.
17	** ColonyDrop often completely destroys not one but two planets... which also automatically destroys a lot of precious resources and build space, to say nothing of the cost of building the engines required to move a planetoid. However, without a way to move the commander away it's an [[InstantWinCondition instant win]] and reduces the potential places they can hide, on top of being a no-questions-asked instant destruction of a planet, [[OneHitKill all defences be damned.]]
18	** Played straight with the Ragnarok (which can also explode planets, but is slow to build and takes time to charge as well, making it easily destructible) and the Catalyst (requires a metal planet and 5 catalysts to be built, so you probably could have won twice by the time you fire it).
19	* AbsentAliens: The only thing known about the Progenitors is that they came before the commanders. One of the factions believes 1) they must be eliminated at all costs, and 2) they are even now preparing to attack and destroy the robots. There's a "Progenitor" commander, but functionally it's just a bit more anthropomorphic than the others and otherwise identical.
20	** The background info does mention another race (Xziphid) the robots were originally created to fight by the Progenitors, but there's no sign of them either.
21	* ActionBomb: Bomb bots. Incredibly cheap, quick to produce, and with very low health, they have no actual armament. They do, however, explode when close enough to an enemy unit or building. One or two can be picked off with ease... [[ZergRush but you never send just one or two]].
22	** To an extent, Commanders are this - upon dying, they explode in a nuclear fireball, and some games with multiple Commanders on a side would see a Commander just walking into an enemy base and suiciding, taking out half the base at the same time (this technique is called "ComBomb" by the community and is now not as feasible anymore due to the much lower commander explosion damage).
23	** The Manhattan is this too but slower, more expensive and has a nuke.
24	* AfterTheEnd: [[FramingDevice "The Age of Humanity is long past..."]]
25	* ApocalypseHow: All the way up to [[ApocalypseHow/ClassX physical annihilation on a planetary scale]], at least for small planets.
26	* ApocalypseWow: The dev team's goal, at any rate. If you're going to see it a lot (it's the ''name of the game'' after all), it might as well be spectacular!
27	* AntiAir: Every unit class and the defenses have 1-2 things capable shooting Air. Effectiveness varies greatly depending on what you need and the enemy has.
28	* ArbitraryHeadcountLimit: Completely averted. Though with enough units, even a high-end computer will begin to crawl.
29	* BabyPlanet: All the planets seen are substantially smaller than would be stable spheres. The smallest of those can be equipped with engines. See ColonyDrop.
30	* {{BFG}}: Several advanced buildings and units.
31	** The commander has the "Uber cannon", similar in function to the two predecessors
32	* ColonyDrop: The Halley Engine allows players to change the orbits of medium to small planets. The new orbit does not have to be stable, or free of other planets...
33	* ColourCodedArmies: With no unit cap, this is the only way to have a ''hope'' of telling what's going on in any large battle.
34	* ConstructAdditionalPylons: Completely justified in-game, as you're taking part in a rolling war where only the commanders travel to planets, use up all the resources and then move onto the next, requiring that they construct everything needed to wage war on-the-go.
35	* CripplingOverspecialization: The AI opponents in Galactic Conquest mode have preferred strategies like swarms of aircraft or bots which are easily countered. It gets really sad when an AI puts all of its resources into naval dominance of a planet with barely enough water to hold its base.
36	** And equally annoying if you're unlucky enough to have only unlocked vehicles at the time.
37	* CriticalExistenceFailure: Commanders can walk around just fine with next to no HP, but one hit over that and they turn into a mushroom cloud.
38	* CyberCyclops: A few of the robots have this.
39	* DeathFromAbove: Orbital Lasers take a while to build, but if the other side doesn't have anything to shoot them down...
40	** The unit description even ''says'' "death from above".
41	* DeathOfAThousandCuts: A lot of the Bots are cheap, weak, and short-ranged. Two or three - heck, even five or six - are no match for most other units. But get twenty or thirty, or fifty or sixty... Now with the Titans expansion there is the nano swarm.
42	* DecapitatedArmy: Rather justified in that the Commander is supposed to be controlling everything. Once he's dead, the rest of the army [[DefeatEqualsExplosion self-destructs]].
43	* DefeatEqualsExplosion: Everything explodes when defeated, but Commanders explode ''massively'' when destroyed.
44	** Exploited with nuke tanks, which have a similarly massive explosion triggered on death
45	* DropPod: How the Commander arrives on a planet.
46	* DoomsdayDevice: Oh, let us count the ways!
47	** At the smallest scale, nukes or nuke tanks will destroy almost everything in their country-sized area of impact.
48	** An orbital loader can be equipped with [[GreyGoo locust nanites, which will destroy everything in their path.]]
49	** A Ragnarok titan can destroy the planet it's built on via a missile fired directly into its core, and most of the other titans are [[OneManArmy One-Unit Armies]] capable of laying waste in their paths unless they meet truly monumental opposition.
50	** The use of a Halley engine can allow you to [[ColonyDrop shove a planetoid into another, destroying them both.]]
51	** And finally, refitting a Metal planet can allow you to use a [[Franchise/StarWars distinctly familiar]] laser to destroy planets... And it's reusable, allowing you to kill planets consecutively!
52	* EarthShatteringKaboom: It's in the name.
53	* EarthShatteringPoster: The cover art of the box.
54	* EasyLogistics: The only thing you need to worry about are energy production and metal extraction; everything else is automatic.
55	* EnergyWeapon: The Orbital Laser, Umbrella, and Uber Cannon, and most artillery cost power to recharge.
56	* ExcusePlot: Unlike ''VideoGame/TotalAnnihilation'' or ''VideoGame/SupremeCommander'', the game doesn't present much of a plot or story to the game. There's some background explained on the website, but it's mostly cosmetic. Even in-universe the robots only have a vague idea of what's going on.
57	%%* FragileSpeedster: All unit types have a basic scout that is this, but bot and T1 air are build around this
58	* FogOfWar: You can only see what your troops see, and some buildings have a firing radius larger than their sight range. Radar is a must for getting their full effect... and getting warning of approaching hordes.
59	* GameMod: For ''Titans'', there's all sorts of game mods one can install, from simple QoL such as changing laser colors, to total overhauls such as the Legion Expansion which adds the titular sidegrade faction.
60	* GameplayAndStorySegregation: The background briefings on enemy commanders in Galactic Conquest mode make it clear that defeated Commanders are often captured and reprogrammed to serve a new side rather than destroyed. There is no possible way to do this in-game.
61	* GlowingMechanicalEyes
62	* HeroUnit: The Commanders; once they're destroyed, it's GameOver.
63	* HumongousMecha:
64	** The Commanders are [[http://www.uberent.com/pa/?attachment_id=207 a bit over 10 meters tall.]] The rest of the buildings and units are similarly large, as seen in [[http://www.uberent.com/pa/2013/03/06/planetary-annihilation-blog-edition/pa_units_01_public/ these]] [[http://www.uberent.com/pa/2013/03/06/planetary-annihilation-blog-edition/pa_units_04_public/ scale]] [[http://www.uberent.com/pa/2013/03/06/planetary-annihilation-blog-edition/pa_units_02_public/ images.]]
65	** The titular Titans are, well, titanic in size compared against the other units.
66	* InstantWinCondition: Kill the enemy's Commander? Victory!
67	** Fully activating a metal planet is this even against multiple opponents, since it will then destroy every other planet in the game in rapid succession.
68	* KeystoneArmy: Lost your Commander? [[GameOver Buh-buy now]].
69	* KillItWithFire: Flame Tanks. Short-ranged and moderately slow, but tough enough to get within reach and strong enough to take out most buildings and even commanders in seconds.
70	* KillerRobot: Everything in the game.
71	* KillSat: Orbital lasers.
72	* MacrossMissileMassacre: Many units shoot missiles. There is no unit cap.
73	* NotHyperbole: Yes, you can actually annihilate planets over the course of the game.
74	* NuclearOption: Little bit on the small scale, but still devastating to bases built compactly.
75	** Terrain can sometimes force attacking armies to come at one or two easily-blockaded points. Just cram the opening with defensive structures and you're safe... unless you forget to add an Anti-Nuke Launcher, an oversight that can lead to instant annihilation.
76	* OhCrap: Can happen in numerous ways. Enemy got a KillSat over your base and you've got nothing that can hit it? A thousand tanks closing from all sides? Nuclear missiles roaring in with no counter-missiles to stop them? Minor planet about to fall on your head? OhCrap.
77	* OminousLatinChanting: Several of the tracks sport legitimate Latin choirs. [[https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=8y3BQPQ9qk4 Preservation]] stands out in particular.
78	* OrbitalBombardment: If the enemy doesn't have any Umbrellas to shoot down orbital units, an orbital laser is practically unstoppable. Just make sure that while you're busy reducing buildings to dust, the other side isn't returning the favor...
79	* PlanetaryCoreManipulation: [[DoomsdayDevice Ragnarok titan]] can drill a hole to the core of the planet it's built on before launching a powerful missile that explodes the core, [[EarthShatteringKaboom destroying the entire planet in process]].
80	* {{Planetville}}
81	* PointDefenseless: [[AvertedTrope You should never be that.]] If you forgot to guard against air or orbital attacks, this could be a game over in less then 30 seconds of the enemy making their presence known.
82	* PointlessDoomsdayDevice: Launching the last 2 planets at eachother, or using a ragnarok device on your commander's planet is basically suicide...but still amusing.
83	* QuantityVsQuality: Do you hurry and build the most advanced units to wipe out enemies from distances at which they can't even see you, much less respond? Or do you rush five hundred cheap, weak units and overwhelm everything in your path through sheer numbers?
84	* RealRobot: Pretty close.
85	* RefiningResources: From the start you can built "Tech 1" energy and Metal Extractors; "Tech 2" buildings can only be constructed once you've built a higher level worker.
86	* RidiculouslyFastConstruction: Everything is built and repaired by spraying glowing green stuff at it.
87	* RobotWar: The backstory suggests it started out like this, but by the time the game starts, its Robots Vs. Robots.
88	* RuleOfCool: In the words of designer John Comes - "We are not shooting for realism; we're shooting for '''awesome'''."
89	* ShockAndAwe: The new Titans expansion adds the spark tesla bot
90	* ShoutOut:
91	** There's a tank called the {{Literature/Bolo}}.
92	** The loading screen will occasionally as [[Film/{{Airplane}} "What's your Vector Victor?"]] instead of "Rendering Vectors".
93	** Among the possible names for random planets are [[Franchise/{{Metroid}} SR388]], [[Videogame/{{Borderlands}} Badass Crater of Badassitude]], and [[Franchise/{{Gundam}} GUNDAM]].
94	** In Galactic War mode, the description for the Qiong system mentions a system-wide scavenger hunt hosted by a food company. [[Literature/CharlieAndTheChocolateFactory People gained a spot to participate by finding a golden compass in a box of cereal; the eventual winner was an eleven-year-old boy named Charlie Buket.]]
95	* SpaceBase: Currently has the "Moon Base" variant.
96	* SpamAttack: If you can't match their quality, you can try overwhelming them with quantity.
97	* SingleBiomePlanet: Averted with Earth-Like planets having polar regions, wooded areas, deserts, and seas/oceans. Played straight with Lava, Desert, and Ice planets. Realistic with Moons and Metal planets.
98	* SpiritualSuccessor: To ''VideoGame/TotalAnnihilation''.
99	** Also a bit to ''VideoGame/SupremeCommander'' by taking the scale and unit limits up to eleven.
100	* StraightForTheCommander: Since taking the Commander out is the only way to win, this will happen eventually.
101	* SuicideAttack: Often, waves of units will be sent out as distractions or delays, with no intent of having them survive. Also the whole point of existence for the Bomb Bot, whose only weapon is the bomb on its back. Even Commanders can do this, if you have more than one - just walk into the middle of the enemy base and die in a nuclear fireball. (This is generally only done by the supremely confident or the supremely desperate, because - as previously mentioned - once your last Commander is dead, it's GameOver)
102	** Blowing up the planet your commander is on is this... at best.
103	* TankGoodness: All the vehicle units look like some kind of tank. Some have anti-air missiles, some have BFGs, and some are mobile artillery.
104	* TacticalRockPaperScissors: Comes with the territory of being an RTS: Bots are good at raiding or hit/run but die to defenses. Defenses die to vehicles. Vehicles are rather vulnerable to Air. Air should really not fly too close to bot swarms.
105	* TacticalSuperweaponUnit: ''Titan'' class war-robots from the eponymous ''VideoGame/PlanetaryAnnihilation'' ExpansionPack are built to solo enemy armies and bases, and violently explode on death. ''These are not the most powerful weapons in the game.'' That honour goes to the Metal Planet, an InfinityPlusOneSword that is a CaptainErsatz of the Death Star, which can destroy worlds, something that otherwise involves smashing them together or the Ragnarok's special attack.
106	* TeleportersAndTransporters: Teleporters look a lot like [[Franchise/StargateVerse stargates]] and single unit transporters are in the game. As of this writing, multi-unit transports are still taking their time.
107	* ThereIsNoKillLikeOverkill: Actively encouraged.
108	* [[ThatsNoMoon That is just not a Metal Planet]]: Metal planets are actually Death Stars that have laid dormant for millenniums. Starting a late game construction project lets you reactivate them.
109	* ThisIsGonnaSuck: One of the possible reactions to seeing five hundred enemy tanks appear from one direction while three hundred (each) fighters and bombers roar in from the other. Give or take a few hundred.
110	* WaveMotionGun: The Annihilaser found on metal planets. Power it up with five Catalyst structures and it'll remove any planet of your choice.
111	* WeHaveReserves: By the end of a planet-side campaign, many players are cramming out so many units they tend to send out hordes with little regard to whether they survive or not. Averted early game where losing a few [[WorkerUnit Worker units]] can be a large setback.
112	* WalkDontSwim: Commanders walk on the bottom of seabeds while all construction in the water are placed on floating rafts.
113	** Several Bots can do that too to support their mobility and ability to raid enemy economy.
114	* WalkingTank: A few of the more powerful Bots are this.
115	** The Commander can survive a nuclear missiles to the face. You need a planet to kill him with only one attack.
116	* WorldShapes: [[http://www.mavorsrants.com/2013/02/planetary-annihilation-engine.html The default shape is spherical, but any mesh shape could be imported if desired.]]
117	* WorkerUnit: Fabrication units, nicknamed "Fabbers". Your commander can create basic buildings, but you're going to need some dedicated units to get anything done before your untimely death. Tier 1 fabbers are faster at moving and slower at building than the Commander, but have an expanded build menu and are [[WeHaveReserves significantly more expendable]]. Tier 2 fabbers build faster and have even more build options, but are themselves more expensive and take longer to produce.
118	* YouAreTooLate: This sometimes happens with the Ragnarok titan. If it gets blown up between firing and the weapon taking effect the planet blows up anyway. Happens quite often against AI opponents, which try to time attacks to make you waste resources by finishing it just before their nukes land.
119	* YouRequireMoreVespeneGas: Energy and Metal. Though both are theoretically infinite, the challenge comes from producing enough to meet demand. If you can get a force behind enemy lines, generators and metal extractors can better targets than factories - they have less health, and if you leave the factories running the actual efficiency will nose-dive as resource debt skyrockets. Taking out the factories instead leaves plenty of surplus resources for rapid rebuilding.
120	* ZergRush: A viable tactic in the early stages of the game is overrunning limited defenses with weak (but cheap) units, particularly bots; this was a popular tactic of Uber's Community Manager Brad.
121	** Being a mix of glass cannon and speedster Bot's need to use that against anything that shoots back.

Context VideoGame / PlanetaryAnnihilation