Cortex Command

Data Realms · Data Realms, LLC

Released: Sep 28, 2012
Platforms: WindowsmacOS
Last updated: 04 Sep 2026, 09:38 GMT

Updates & announcements

20 posts

27 Jul 2019Developer post
PPO EA Build 3: In-game CHAT, Performance, Discord
It's been really cool seeing people have so much fun with the various game modes since launch - and it's a blast to be joining you from time to time too! PERFORMANCE We have also been working hard on nailing the biggest issues people have been having with Planetoid Pioneers Onlin
It's been really cool seeing people have so much fun with the various game modes since launch - and it's a blast to be joining you from time to time too!
PERFORMANCE
We have also been working hard on nailing the biggest issues people have been having with Planetoid Pioneers Online, and this update addresses the performance one in two big ways:

First, multi-threading of the physics is working again - now alongside our perfectly deterministic networking system! That was not easy to track down.
Second, we have improved the way objects on the ground are being cleaned up during long or intense gameplay sessions.
Both these optimizations together have a huge impact on helping people with slow computers not also slow down the simulation for everyone else in any particular game. Read more about that here.
IN-GAME CHAT
The really neat thing coming out today though: The coolest in-game chat you've ever seen! Comic-book style speech bubbles over your Pioneer's head... cooperate, coordinate, and taunt - but try to keep it civil, please. We're working on a muting feature, so if what you're saying isn't appreciated, other players can just muzzle you.
DISCORD
We have opened up our community Discord server to everyone, and made all previous Contributor Edition owners special members there. Come join us to coordinate games with people, edit game modes, and talk shop: https://discord.gg/0uOKhubnen2sJ6bl https://store.steampowered.com/app/1013040/Planetoid_Pioneers_Online/
UPDATE HIGHLIGHTS:

In-game chat using comic-book style speech bubbles! Just press [T]
Improved performance with parallel physics solver
Improved performance with better scene clean up script
New Menu!
Better waves in Wave Defense mode, getting much harder!

FULL CHANGELOG:
ADDITONS

Added ServerMan
Added active games count
Added discord buttons
Added and bound c2d:SetMainWindowTitle()
Added and bound GetAimPointRel
Added effect to saw if thrown while activated
UPDATES

Prepared hosting and downloading workshop scenes
Implementing chat to network and server, wip
Input updates for game chat
Game chat, wip
Updated PP build number
Changed bubble font for more readability in chinese locale
Updates for chinese font to be more readable
Showing other lobbies count wehn in lobby
Using aimPointRel() in pioneer
Set outline color in old write to screen functions back to black
Updated build number for the coming perf update!
Enabled play while waiting, returning player to lobby if someone joined
Finished new scene:Write and WriteUpdate functions
Trap death effect
Stricter clean up including old tools and other assembled stuff, tweaked some blueprints to die for clean up
Removed out announcements from bomb ball since they dont count as typical outs anyways
Respawn protection effect also in pioneers tools
FIXES

Added server and lobby count to play while waiting, fixed some errors and warnings
Fixed Write javascript error
Fixed parallel physics solver for determinism
Fix:ignoring hologram MOs in auto-mounting joints
Fixed disconnect reason was nulled in discovery state, added kicked from lobby/game
Fixed blueprint category sorting when translation is missing
Fixed camo engine not dying when removed from body
Base def: improved performance, fixed negative wave counter
Fixed ppo settings in pp
Fixed pioneer jumping in opposite direction if cursor behind sometimes
Room rush: fixed now showing "final arena"
Original post
18 Jul 2019Developer post
Last Chance: Planetoid Pioneers Online for 50% OFF!
A heads up that the launch discount for Planetoid Pioneers Online expires in only a few hours , so if you had fun playing it for free last weekend, you might want to jump on it now: Especially since our server stats show that most of you didn't even get to some of the deeper but
12 Jul 2019Developer post
Cortex Command is going OPEN SOURCE - and gets LAN multiplayer in B33
(image by Arne and community member MaximDude) It's a monumental day for Data Realms.. Not only are we launching our first online multiplayer game today: But we are also letting our first baby out into the world! Cortex Command was something that started as a passion project in h
11 Jul 2019Developer post
Planetoid Pioneers Online is FREE THIS WEEKEND!
Well folks, it's been a decade-long journey here, but today we launch our first internet-multiplayer game, built with our own Crush2D networked physics game engine: To celebrate, we are making the game FREE to play this whole weekend - so get your friends in on some of the carnag
10 Jul 2019Developer post
Presenting Planetoid Pioneers ONLINE - launching THIS WEEK!
This month marks exactly TEN years since we started building the Crush2D game engine, which now finally also supports networking with perfect sync the super detailed game-affecting physics on up to four computers over the internet! We are proud to present Planetoid Pioneers ONLIN
08 Feb 2018Developer post
Planetoid Pioneers is LAUNCHED, and 25% OFF
Ladies and gentlemen, this craft taking off today has been over eight years in the making... Powered by a world-class 2D physics engine , a unique and modular game design on top, massive and varied content built with fully integrated editors (all included!), and extreme integrati
08 Feb 2018Developer post
Planetoid Pioneers is LAUNCHED, and 25% OFF
Ladies and gentlemen, this craft taking off today has been over eight years in the making... Powered by a world-class 2D physics engine , a unique and modular game design on top, massive and varied content built with fully integrated editors (all included!), and extreme integrati
03 Feb 2018Developer post
Cortex Command FREE + get 25% OFF our NEW game Planetoid Pioneers, launching on Thursday!
Folks, it's an exciting time over here at Data Realms. Next week we are launching our NEW game, Planetoid Pioneers - which is actually a prequel to Cortex Command! In celebration of that, we are making Cortex Command FREE for an entire weekend! Yes, you get to keep it forever aft
03 Feb 2018Developer post
Cortex Command FREE + get 25% OFF our NEW game Planetoid Pioneers, launching on Thursday!
Folks, it's an exciting time over here at Data Realms. Next week we are launching our NEW game, Planetoid Pioneers - which is actually a prequel to Cortex Command! In celebration of that, we are making Cortex Command FREE for an entire weekend! Yes, you get to keep it forever aft
30 Dec 2016Developer post
Cortex Command Build 32, the Performance Update is HERE
Your wait is over: both for this fresh build of your old faithful game, and also for the next frames in the heat of the fiercest battle! Don't wait to get a copy for yourself or a friend, since the massive 85% OFF sale will only last for a few more days ... Here's what's fresh, t
Your wait is over: both for this fresh build of your old faithful game, and also for the next frames in the heat of the fiercest battle! Don't wait to get a copy for yourself or a friend, since the massive 85% OFF sale will only last for a few more days... Here's what's fresh, thanks to Evgeniy "Weegee” Vigovskiy, Jesús “GranPC” Higueras Pica, and Chris “Montdidier” Kruger: Performance

Cortex Command now pumps up to 2x more frames per second!!

Game activities no longer slow down when played for too long.

Gameplay

Added keyboards shortcuts for weapon switch, reload, drop and pickup actions (also works with gamepads).

Gib editor now rounds all offsets.

Deployments can spawn flipped for non-flipped actors.

It's easier to find out how many gamepads were detected and who moves the cursor in UIs.

Limbless actors will inevitably and quickly die.

Reworked Test Activity to act as an ordinary GAScripted and execute Global Scripts (good for testing and debugging global scripts).

Content

Bunker breach can be used with randomized bunkers.

Added randomized fortresses for Bunker Breach.

Added new skirmish activity Siege, which uses Bunker Breach maps.

Nerfed heavy ronins a lot.

Added global script, which gives 3x more gold when digging.

Added infinite ammo global script.

Added invincible crafts global script.

Added instant and delayed delivery global scripts.

Bugfixes

Added range checks to functions, which take Team as parameter to avoid memory corruption.

When brain actor is deleted, MovableMan checks if it's a brain and if it is, set's this brain to 0 to avoid crashes.

Dead actors no longer roll and scream infinitely
Dead actors reduce their AngularVel.

Fixed crashes in allegro and luabind.

Vanilla activities now count used MOIDs on per-team basis.
Fixed the shield-related crash in Campaign.

Primitives are no longer drawn on top of game UI elements.
Fixed a bug, which caused a crash in buy menu.

Fixed crash caused by digging.

Lua binding improvements:
Scene:

function GetOptionalArea the same as GetArea, but does not render scene incompatible for Activity if specified area is missing

SceneMan:

function RestoreUnseen(const int posX, const int posY, const int team)
function RestoreUnseenBox(const int posX, const int posY, const int width, const int height, const int team);

FrameMan:

function DrawTextPrimitive(Vector start, std::string text, bool isSmall, int alignment) , alignment 0 = left, 1 = center, 2 = right

function DrawBitmapPrimitive(Vector start, Entity * pEntity, float rotAngle, int frame)

function CalculateTextHeight(std::string text, int maxWidth, bool isSmall)

function CalculateTextWidth(std::string text, bool isSmall)

GameActivity:

function int GetActiveCPUTeamCount()

function int GetActiveHumanTeamCount()

HDFirearm:

property FiredOnce, r/o , Whether at least one round has already been fired during the current activation. May be 0 because weapon might have activated but no actual rounds were fired yet.
property FiredFrame, r/o, Whether at least one round has already been fired during the current frame. Use this to check if weapon fired something.
property RoundsFired, r/o, How many rounds were fired during this frame.
GameActivity:

property BuyMenuEnabled, r/w, Whether buy menu is enabled for this activity
Actor:

property AimDistance , r/w

property SightDistance, r/w

AEMitter:

property BurstDamage, r/w

property EmitCountLimit, r/w

property EmitDamage, r/w

INI changes:
PEmitter:

Lightweight, non-rotating MOSParticle-based emitter

MovableObject:

DamageOnCollision 0,1 - When it's != 0 actors takes health damage on collision with this MO, without penetration

IgnoreTerrain 0,1 - When it's 1 MO ignores any terrain collisions and travels right through them

Settings.ini:

PreciseCollisions 0,1 - When off uses experimental simplified MO collision model which may improve performance up to 30%
Original post
30 Dec 2016Developer post
Cortex Command Build 32, the Performance Update is HERE
Your wait is over: both for this fresh build of your old faithful game, and also for the next frames in the heat of the fiercest battle! Don't wait to get a copy for yourself or a friend, since the massive 85% OFF sale will only last for a few more days ... Here's what's fresh, t
Your wait is over: both for this fresh build of your old faithful game, and also for the next frames in the heat of the fiercest battle! Don't wait to get a copy for yourself or a friend, since the massive 85% OFF sale will only last for a few more days... Here's what's fresh, thanks to Evgeniy "Weegee” Vigovskiy, Jesús “GranPC” Higueras Pica, and Chris “Montdidier” Kruger: Performance

Cortex Command now pumps up to 2x more frames per second!!

Game activities no longer slow down when played for too long.

Gameplay

Added keyboards shortcuts for weapon switch, reload, drop and pickup actions (also works with gamepads).

Gib editor now rounds all offsets.

Deployments can spawn flipped for non-flipped actors.

It's easier to find out how many gamepads were detected and who moves the cursor in UIs.

Limbless actors will inevitably and quickly die.

Reworked Test Activity to act as an ordinary GAScripted and execute Global Scripts (good for testing and debugging global scripts).

Content

Bunker breach can be used with randomized bunkers.

Added randomized fortresses for Bunker Breach.

Added new skirmish activity Siege, which uses Bunker Breach maps.

Nerfed heavy ronins a lot.

Added global script, which gives 3x more gold when digging.

Added infinite ammo global script.

Added invincible crafts global script.

Added instant and delayed delivery global scripts.

Bugfixes

Added range checks to functions, which take Team as parameter to avoid memory corruption.

When brain actor is deleted, MovableMan checks if it's a brain and if it is, set's this brain to 0 to avoid crashes.

Dead actors no longer roll and scream infinitely
Dead actors reduce their AngularVel.

Fixed crashes in allegro and luabind.

Vanilla activities now count used MOIDs on per-team basis.
Fixed the shield-related crash in Campaign.

Primitives are no longer drawn on top of game UI elements.
Fixed a bug, which caused a crash in buy menu.

Fixed crash caused by digging.

Lua binding improvements:
Scene:

function GetOptionalArea the same as GetArea, but does not render scene incompatible for Activity if specified area is missing

SceneMan:

function RestoreUnseen(const int posX, const int posY, const int team)
function RestoreUnseenBox(const int posX, const int posY, const int width, const int height, const int team);

FrameMan:

function DrawTextPrimitive(Vector start, std::string text, bool isSmall, int alignment) , alignment 0 = left, 1 = center, 2 = right

function DrawBitmapPrimitive(Vector start, Entity * pEntity, float rotAngle, int frame)

function CalculateTextHeight(std::string text, int maxWidth, bool isSmall)

function CalculateTextWidth(std::string text, bool isSmall)

GameActivity:

function int GetActiveCPUTeamCount()

function int GetActiveHumanTeamCount()

HDFirearm:

property FiredOnce, r/o , Whether at least one round has already been fired during the current activation. May be 0 because weapon might have activated but no actual rounds were fired yet.
property FiredFrame, r/o, Whether at least one round has already been fired during the current frame. Use this to check if weapon fired something.
property RoundsFired, r/o, How many rounds were fired during this frame.
GameActivity:

property BuyMenuEnabled, r/w, Whether buy menu is enabled for this activity
Actor:

property AimDistance , r/w

property SightDistance, r/w

AEMitter:

property BurstDamage, r/w

property EmitCountLimit, r/w

property EmitDamage, r/w

INI changes:
PEmitter:

Lightweight, non-rotating MOSParticle-based emitter

MovableObject:

DamageOnCollision 0,1 - When it's != 0 actors takes health damage on collision with this MO, without penetration

IgnoreTerrain 0,1 - When it's 1 MO ignores any terrain collisions and travels right through them

Settings.ini:

PreciseCollisions 0,1 - When off uses experimental simplified MO collision model which may improve performance up to 30%
Original post
28 Dec 2016Developer post
CC Build 32 COMING THIS WEEKEND - and only $2.99 NOW
Once again, just as you thought we'd given up on Cortex Command, Evgeniy “Weegee” Vigovskiy, Jesús “GranPC” Higueras Pica, and Chris "Montdidier" Kruger bring you a juicy update for the holidays! This time it's mostly focused around massive performance enhancements . With the new
28 Dec 2016Developer post
CC Build 32 COMING THIS WEEKEND - and only $2.99 NOW
Once again, just as you thought we'd given up on Cortex Command, Evgeniy “Weegee” Vigovskiy, Jesús “GranPC” Higueras Pica, and Chris "Montdidier" Kruger bring you a juicy update for the holidays! This time it's mostly focused around massive performance enhancements . With the new
28 Mar 2015Developer post
Cortex Command Build 31 released: NO MORE OBJECT LIMITS
Evgeniy “Weegee” Vigovskiy Stefan “Abdul” Winberg Ken “CaveCricket48″ Vu Do & Jesús “GranPC” Higueras Pica bring you a MASSIVE update (on Steam right now, Humble shortly): Major features: THE MOID (OBJECT COUNT) LIMIT IS GONE*!!! (*Not truly gone, but hardly reachable) Random
Evgeniy “Weegee” Vigovskiy Stefan “Abdul” Winberg Ken “CaveCricket48″ Vu Do & Jesús “GranPC” Higueras Pica
bring you a MASSIVE update (on Steam right now, Humble shortly):
Major features:
THE MOID (OBJECT COUNT) LIMIT IS GONE*!!! (*Not truly gone, but hardly reachable)
Randomized maps: create a map once, play it forever
Bunker prefabs: build your bunker of any size in no time
AI skill sliders: bored? We have ‘Unfair’ AI skill for ya.
Global scripts: add some pepper to any activity or control AI units in the campaign your way.
Mod manager: no more .rte renaming!
Constructor tool: AI brains seal themselves in tunnels to live long (and probably even prosper).
Visible inventory: guess no longer about how many nukes you have left in your pockets.
Scenes previews: you don’t have to remember all those scene names.
Content updates:
36 randomized maps for the campaign.
Almost 200 bunker prefabs.
New Dummy weapon – Lancer.
Wounds, jetpacks, headshot damage multipliers, generic variables – all exposed to Lua.
Other improvements and fixes:
Deployments can be used instead of units to make your map compatible with any player-selected techs.
AI skill adjustments.
Resolution selection fixes.
HSplitScreen and VSplitScreen work just like before.
Secret endless campaign mode.
Tooltips on/off checkbox.
Steam can be manually disabled if any start-up problems arise.
Diggers create tunnels which way easier to walk through.
Factions balance tweaks.
Campaign strategic AI tweaks.
Campaign tactical tweaks.
You can safely set health more that 100, yet it’s still not recommended.
Foreign items can be removed from the buy menu.
Press CTRL+W to dump the entire world to .BMP file.
Author can specify default gold, fog of war and other options for your activity and prevent player from changing them.
Some activities may load scenes while discarding any pre-placed actors.
Deployments now work correctly in scenario/skirmish modes. No more zombie spawns!
AI actors in sentry mode no longer ignore enemies after reloading.
The jet-pack mass indicator use jet-pack strength instead of hard-coded values.
Small objects are less likely to mysteriously gib after a collision. (MOs now automatically gib when AngularVel > 2000/(MaxRadius+1) instead of 100).
Meta Game: Crafts with MaxPassengers = 0 as are not used as drop crafts by the AI
New ini-properties:
“AutoStabilize” (1 or 0) for ACDropShips. Enable/disable hard coded use of the upper thrusters, see the Dummy Drop Ship for a lua stabilization script.
“ScuttleIfFlippedTime” for Dropships and Rockets. Craft gib if upside-down more than this value in ms. 4000ms by default, disable with -1.
“LoudnessOnGib” [0..1] for MOSRotatings
“LoudnessOnEmit” [0..1] for AEmitters
… and many more here
Lua changes:
Exposed MinThrowVel and MaxThrowVel for ThrownDevice
… and many more here
Build 31 is out for Windows and Mac OS X right now! The Linux version is being worked on and should be released shortly. Also, sign up for the Pioneer Program and be part of what’s next from Data Realms, already 5+ years in the making:
Original post
28 Mar 2015Developer post
Cortex Command Build 31 released: NO MORE OBJECT LIMITS
Evgeniy “Weegee” Vigovskiy Stefan “Abdul” Winberg Ken “CaveCricket48″ Vu Do & Jesús “GranPC” Higueras Pica bring you a MASSIVE update (on Steam right now, Humble shortly): Major features: THE MOID (OBJECT COUNT) LIMIT IS GONE*!!! (*Not truly gone, but hardly reachable) Random
Evgeniy “Weegee” Vigovskiy Stefan “Abdul” Winberg Ken “CaveCricket48″ Vu Do & Jesús “GranPC” Higueras Pica
bring you a MASSIVE update (on Steam right now, Humble shortly):
Major features:
THE MOID (OBJECT COUNT) LIMIT IS GONE*!!! (*Not truly gone, but hardly reachable)
Randomized maps: create a map once, play it forever
Bunker prefabs: build your bunker of any size in no time
AI skill sliders: bored? We have ‘Unfair’ AI skill for ya.
Global scripts: add some pepper to any activity or control AI units in the campaign your way.
Mod manager: no more .rte renaming!
Constructor tool: AI brains seal themselves in tunnels to live long (and probably even prosper).
Visible inventory: guess no longer about how many nukes you have left in your pockets.
Scenes previews: you don’t have to remember all those scene names.
Content updates:
36 randomized maps for the campaign.
Almost 200 bunker prefabs.
New Dummy weapon – Lancer.
Wounds, jetpacks, headshot damage multipliers, generic variables – all exposed to Lua.
Other improvements and fixes:
Deployments can be used instead of units to make your map compatible with any player-selected techs.
AI skill adjustments.
Resolution selection fixes.
HSplitScreen and VSplitScreen work just like before.
Secret endless campaign mode.
Tooltips on/off checkbox.
Steam can be manually disabled if any start-up problems arise.
Diggers create tunnels which way easier to walk through.
Factions balance tweaks.
Campaign strategic AI tweaks.
Campaign tactical tweaks.
You can safely set health more that 100, yet it’s still not recommended.
Foreign items can be removed from the buy menu.
Press CTRL+W to dump the entire world to .BMP file.
Author can specify default gold, fog of war and other options for your activity and prevent player from changing them.
Some activities may load scenes while discarding any pre-placed actors.
Deployments now work correctly in scenario/skirmish modes. No more zombie spawns!
AI actors in sentry mode no longer ignore enemies after reloading.
The jet-pack mass indicator use jet-pack strength instead of hard-coded values.
Small objects are less likely to mysteriously gib after a collision. (MOs now automatically gib when AngularVel > 2000/(MaxRadius+1) instead of 100).
Meta Game: Crafts with MaxPassengers = 0 as are not used as drop crafts by the AI
New ini-properties:
“AutoStabilize” (1 or 0) for ACDropShips. Enable/disable hard coded use of the upper thrusters, see the Dummy Drop Ship for a lua stabilization script.
“ScuttleIfFlippedTime” for Dropships and Rockets. Craft gib if upside-down more than this value in ms. 4000ms by default, disable with -1.
“LoudnessOnGib” [0..1] for MOSRotatings
“LoudnessOnEmit” [0..1] for AEmitters
… and many more here
Lua changes:
Exposed MinThrowVel and MaxThrowVel for ThrownDevice
… and many more here
Build 31 is out for Windows and Mac OS X right now! The Linux version is being worked on and should be released shortly. Also, sign up for the Pioneer Program and be part of what’s next from Data Realms, already 5+ years in the making:
Original post
16 Jun 2014Developer post
Build 30 OSX is out - finally!
Sorry for the delay, dear Mac folks – the Build 30 update of CC finally dropped after yet another round of heroic efforts by our porting guru Chris Kruger (pictured above)! It’s on Steam right now with full workshop integration - enjoy!
16 Jun 2014Developer post
Build 30 OSX is out - finally!
Sorry for the delay, dear Mac folks – the Build 30 update of CC finally dropped after yet another round of heroic efforts by our porting guru Chris Kruger (pictured above)! It’s on Steam right now with full workshop integration - enjoy!
17 Apr 2014Developer post
Cortex Command Build 30 is OUT: Workshop!
The first update in over a year, Cortex Command Build 30 is out, and it's MASSIVE. Visit the official site for the details on this game-changing revision.
17 Apr 2014Developer post
Cortex Command Build 30 is OUT: Workshop!
The first update in over a year, Cortex Command Build 30 is out, and it's MASSIVE. Visit the official site for the details on this game-changing revision.
13 Feb 2014Developer post
Squad Mechanics coming in next update!
Check out the game-changing new way to control your teammates with squad mechanics that is coming soon in the next build (#30) of Cortex Command! Get the full scoop on our > dev log <

Updates & announcements

PERFORMANCE

IN-GAME CHAT

DISCORD

UPDATE HIGHLIGHTS:

FULL CHANGELOG:

It's a monumental day for Data Realms..

Without further ado, here is the now open source'd repository:

Major features:

Fixes:

Added shortcuts and bindings:

New global scripts:

New collections:

PvP back-and-forth battle, room by room

Co-op building of structures to reach the highest heights

Co-op defense of you and your pals' base against AI baddies

Race customized rovers around entire planetoids; don't die

PvP battle on tiny sky islands which can be bridged

Frantic race with grappling hooks ONLY - concussions guaranteed!

Ladies and gentlemen, this craft taking off today has been over eight years in the making...

Planetoid Pioneers - the Physicsvania prequel to Cortex Command!

Ladies and gentlemen, this craft taking off today has been over eight years in the making...

Planetoid Pioneers - the Physicsvania prequel to Cortex Command!

Lua binding improvements:

INI changes:

Lua binding improvements:

INI changes:

Evgeniy “Weegee” Vigovskiy Stefan “Abdul” Winberg Ken “CaveCricket48″ Vu Do & Jesús “GranPC” Higueras Pica

Major features:

Content updates:

Other improvements and fixes:

New ini-properties:

Lua changes:

Evgeniy “Weegee” Vigovskiy Stefan “Abdul” Winberg Ken “CaveCricket48″ Vu Do & Jesús “GranPC” Higueras Pica

Major features:

Content updates:

Other improvements and fixes:

New ini-properties:

Lua changes: