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Planetarion, often abbreviated as PA, is a browser-based massively multiplayer online tick-based game developed by Fifth Season AS in early 2000, then bought by Jolt in 2003, and then purchased by Renegade Games in 2009; it is now currently owned by Jagex.
Premise[ | ]
The game puts players in control of a planet, with the ability to mine its asteroids for resources, allowing them to create a space ship fleet to attack the planets of other players.
Gameplay[ | ]
The goal of the game is to achieve a higher score than the competitors, which can mainly be accomplished by stealing their asteroids and destroying their fleets. The game offers a player the option of five races, each with ships and advantages of their own forms, allowing for a variety of strategies. The game is reset every few months, at which point winners are announced and a new playing round begins, usually with a variety of new features and improvements to keep the gameplay balanced.
The game is updated once every hour, hence why it is called an in-game tick. From building a factory to destroying another world, any move within the game requires a fixed number of these ticks, which gives the game a unique combination between turn-based and real-time gameplay, as it only allows players to respond to the actions of other players for a limited period of time. Therefore, when the players organize themselves into alliances, collaboration and contact between planets is a requirement, which contributes to a strong sense of group play. As such, Planetarion has an active presence for direct communication among players on the NetGamers IRC network.