| [ goodies | players guide | game menus | single-player ] |
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Single-player
Worms Armageddon is great fun to play on your own, and there are many varied challenges to train and entertain
you. This screen is pretty much the focal point of the menu system, from the single-player you'll see the
following four options ::
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Quickstart
Click on the Quickstart icon and you can get straight into a game. There's no need to create a team, it's just
you versus a team of computer controlled 'Wormbots' - man will not rule forever.
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Training
The training area is a spanking new addition to Worms and offers five distinct disciplines in which to train.
You're giving various tasks to complete, you've got limited weaponry and you're up against the clock. Upon
success you're given a high-score and ranked accordingly.
Tip :: If you get a Gold Medal, a hidden feature will be unlocked somewhere else in the
game!
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Missions
Missions range from EASY through to DIFFICULT. Your skill will be tested to the limit and you'll play on
specially defined landscapes against a number of Wormbots. As you progress, you're allowed to go back and play
a previous level if you wish, so you can try again to get that Gold Medal! Should you wish to accept your
mission, you'll be tested on your ability with a variety of weapons from firing your Shotgun, lobbing your
grenades or tugging on yer rope! And there's much more besides!
Tip :: Upon completion of special levels, new landscapes will be unlocked for you to play in normal
games!
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Deathmatch
Similar in play to standard games, you'll take on a number of computer teams in an ever-increasing spiral of
difficulty. Your statistics will be kept - go to the Options menu and check out your Team Statistics. Rewards
are given to highly ranked teams too - only the strong survive.
The key to Deathmatch success relies heavily upon your tactical skills such as out and out fighting and
defensive ability. First of all find a nice 'out of the way' place suitable to hide in, take just one Worm, and
from here tunnel inwards.
The next thing you need to do is take your other Worms and go all out fighting like you've never fought before,
try with each shot to damage more than one of the Enemy's Worms, always trying for the multiple kills, Oil
Drums can be handy to spread fire. In the later levels don't forget to always take a Worm and tunnel to safety.
This is due to the vast amount of Enemy Worms you have to contend with, the hidden Worm needs to then adopt the
tactic known as 'Move and Fire' with this I mean edge your Worm out into the open, not too far though or this
will leave you open to attacks, then launch a Grenade to where the enemies are then run back into your shelter.
Eventually you will grind down your Enemy to a sorry state, then if you've been careful with your weapons and
not careless, you can hit them with the old 'One Two' Air and Napalm Strike combo. Be patient and be careful,
seriously though do be careful!
Remember your strikes! Save them until they're going to be really useful, but certainly don't venture out near
the end until you've used them all up - unless you can guarantee victory anyway, of course... ... which leads
me nicely onto my next point. Try to keep a Ninja Rope and the Jetpack for the last turn, as you can often come
out of cover when there's one more Worm, and make absolutely sure you kill it. Often it's not got much health
left anyway, or you can knock it into the water as most of the landscape will be gone - either way, it's a good
deal quicker than hanging around trying to get it from a long range. Do take care that you can definitely kill
it though, and that it's the last one.
Deathmatch ranks
You gain a rank every time you win a game and lose a rank every time you lose, draw, or quit. (If you quit, it
doesn't show up as a loss but you lose the rank anyway.) Note that if you win after being Elite, then lose, you
still drop a rank - ie there's no 'buffer zone' of spare won matches.
20 :: Elite
19 :: Superstar
18 :: Hero
17 :: Field Marshall
16 :: Major
15 :: General
14 :: Highly Distinguished
13 :: Distinguished
12 :: Veteran
11 :: Highly Competent
10 :: Competent
9 :: Fairly competent
8 :: Above average
7 :: Reasonable
6 :: Average
5 :: Below average
4 :: Novice
3 :: Rookie
2 :: Inexperienced
1 :: Beginner
0 :: Absolute beginner
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| [ goodies | players guide | game menus | multi-player ] |
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Multi-player
Playing Wormbots is one thing, but playing against humans is the mother of all Worms! Anything can happen! You
can have up to 6 teams in a multi-player game - fallout with your friends.
First thing to do is create your team - sign-up your troops! You can customise teams, you can have your own
flag, your own fanfare, your choice of special weapon and your own soundbank. You can even select what type of
gravestone you want your team to leave behind as a mark of respect.
Barracks :: All your troops are kept in the Barracks ready for war. Here you can view your stats (rounds played,
rounds won and your overall rank). Before playing a game, it's also possible to handicap a team according to
its skill level - you can choose to increase or decrease a teams energy level by 50%, that's if you wanna be
fair to your adversary (who might not be as good as you).
Allied teams :: If you wanna take sides - form an alliance with yer mates. Allied games play just like normal
games, but allied players are allowed to pool their weapons - if you've got three of yer mates as allies you'll
have three times as much Dynamite and so on. If your side wins, you'll still get a victory even if your own
team got knocked out.
Game styles :: There are a number of game styles to begin with, but you're given the option of using your own
game style by modifying weapons, game and general options. It's also possible to practice the default game
styles played on WormNET. Useful if you want to make it to the top of your rank - get some
practising!
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Creating a team
First up, think of a team name and names for your Worms. If you're stuck for words, click on the question marks
and random names will appear for you. Your teams don't have to be human, you can make them computer opponents
instead and you can set how good they are with a difficulty setting from one to five.
Gravestones :: Select the type of gravestone your Worms leave behind when they pass away... Bless 'em.
Special weapons :: Select the special weapon your team will use. Practice with them and see what you prefer, you can always come
back and edit your team later.
Soundbanks :: Decide on how you want your Worms to sound. There are loads of soundbanks to choose from. It's also possible to
add new ones, you can even make your own!
Flags :: Choose your countries flag or choose a special one for your team. You can even load-in your own!
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| [ goodies | players guide | game menus | LAN/Internet ] |
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Network/Internet
Playing over a network or the Internet - This is perhaps one of the greatest things about playing Worms, the
fact that you can play other people across the globe. Worms Armageddon makes the ideal network game, great fun
when you have up to six players!
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Local Area Network games
After clicking on the Network Icon you're taken to the lobby where you can see other players, here you can chat
to other people before entering the game.
To play a game over a network, one player has to 'host' a game. The player who is hosting the game will decide
on the settings and options before the game begins. Each player has to add their team to the game and then
click on the READY button - this means that you're happy with everything and ready to fight! At this point
though if the host is not happy with you, they the have the ability to reject a player by clicking on their
name, So behave! Network games are great fun, so enjoy!
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WormNET games
Welcome to World Worm Warfare! WormNET is an exclusive environment created for the Internet gaming community,
a place where you can meet other players and talk to them directly via a built-in IRC chat facility. Log-in
and pick a fight - now you can play people from all around the world! There are four gaming channels that you
can join, the more you play the further you'll progress in the ranks - that's if you win, that is... May the
Worm be with you, but do not be swayed by the Dark Side!
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| [ goodies | players guide | game menus | options ] |
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Options
In this area you can really get to the heart of the game and alter how you want to play. From here you can
access Weapon Options, Game Options, Audio Options or you can create new teams or edit existing ones. You can
view your team stats as well to see how well you're doing in your Training and Missions. The all-new Terrain
Editor is really cool, which allows you to make your own landscapes right down to the last detail. You can now
import files, making the possibilities endless! There's a Terrain Generator included as well (for those of us
who are not so artistically inclined or if you want to create a new landscape quickly).
Want to play in hi-res? Now it's possible to play Worms up to a possible resolution of 1024*768 - so you can
get a much wider view of the landscape. Last but not least, you can turn the in-game ambience on or off -
allowing you to listen closely to those sound fx.
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Weapon Options
In the Armoury, you can alter the way in which the game is played by configuring your weapons - you can boost
(or minimise) their strength (i.e. damage potential). You can configure the way in which the weapons are
distributed to players. You can decide if and when a weapon should arrive as a Reinforcement during the game.
You can save these weapon settings along with Game Options to make up your own game style - now there are
literally hundreds of ways to play a game of Worms.
Ammo :: You can add (or deduct) the quantity of a weapon that you will be given at the start of a
round.
Power :: Weapons were made to be used - increase a weapons damage potential or why not try decreasing the
power rating for a more challenging game. Try modifiying the power of a weapon, see how it affects the game.
It can be a lot of fun.
Delay :: Select which round you want Reinforcements to arrive for each weapon.
Crates :: Select how often you want particular weapons to appear in crates. This affects the
probability of a weapon appearing not the quantity.
Other Options :: you can select to play with or without secret (super-powerful) weapons which are
usually hidden in crates. You can also select if you want to use user-selected special weapons in a game. This
is selected by default but if unselected you're allowed to choose an additional range of weapons from the
armoury.
Tip :: If a game doesn't play how you want having altered the Weapon Options, go back and fine tune them
until you get it right. One game can be vastly different to another... particularly if you have an outrageously
powerful Shotgun!
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Game Options
In this area, there are several options which govern the way in which the game plays ::
Game Options :: Set the general main style of the game by altering the various Worm options. Alter round and
turn times, paralyse your Worms (artillery mode) - decide whether you want them to move or not, relying then on
those Grenades and Bazookas! Decide if you want to stockpile - take any collected weapons and utilities into
the next round or use your one and only round of weapon supplies throughout the entire match! So think
carefully before you take a swing on that rope!
Time Options :: Time-based options in addition to increasing/decreasing Round Time and Turn Time. You can alter
the amount of time that you have to move (retreat) after a turn, after dropping from a rope, when swapping
turns in a hot-seat game etc. Also select or de-select if you would like the remaining round time to be
displayed or not. Add that extra bit of suspense by not knowing when Sudden Death will arrive!
Crate Options :: ??
Object Options :: Set the amount of Mines/Oil Drums that appear on the landscape at the start of the round.
Create a World War 2 mine field guessing game with dud Mines! They can be exploded - if you know how, but don't
try to explode a real mine by mistake! Also set the length of time a Mine will explode after detonation -
instant detonation is rather nasty!
Sudden Death Options :: Set the style of play during Sudden Death and set how fast the water rises. Set it to
rise fast and you better get to high ground quickly!
General Options :: Fancy seeing that fantastic move again? Toggle the replay mode on/off here.
Game ideas
With so many options available, there's really so many ways to play Worms, why not devise your own rules? We've
thought up a few to get you going ::
Total Paralysis :: In Artillery Mode, make it so your Worms can't move. The only way you're gonna win is with
some careful grenade lobbing. Limit the weapons you have available to just weapons you can throw, no homing
weapons and maybe Teleport (if you get stuck later on).
Mine Field :: Re-create a World War 2 mine field. Set the game so you have maximum amount of Mines on the
landscape. Set Fuse Length so they'll explode when triggered. Limit your weapons to Shotgun, Mini Gun, Uzi and
Grenades for that authentic World War 2 feel.
Bat & Blow :: Set the weapons so you've got infinite Baseball Bats . Sprinkle the landscape with Mines - the
only way you're gonna win in this game is to bat Mines at the enemy or beat 'em to a pulp.
Gettin' Medieval :: Play the game with just the Long Bow, Ninja Rope and Axe! Set each of these weapons to
infinite so you never run out.
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Terrain Editor
Now YOU can be a landscape gardener! Worms Armageddon has an in-game terrain editor which blows the socks off
previous versions. There are more tools available for you to really get the terrain you want without having to
use a separate art package.
Level transparency :: The most important thing to note is that any pixel that is coloured black (i.e. RGB
0,0,0) will be treated as transparent. It is these areas that will act as the background, where Worms are
placed and can move. You can edit the image you wish to import in any of the popular image processing
applications, colouring black any areas that you wish to appear as transparent/background in the game. This
way, you can clear sections, add tunnels and more besides. It is important to note that the game will check
levels and make its own holes if a level does not have enough free background space to start the
game.
Level colours :: It is not possible to use the terrain editor painting functions with full colour levels. The
levels are processed in a different format. If you wish to edit the import graphics, then use Microsoft Paint,
Adobe Photoshop or a similar application.
It is not possible to play on full colour custom levels in Internet games unless every player has the same
level, since the time taken to transmit the file to each player would be too prohibitive.
It is not possible to edit the starting water level with a full colour custom level. This is due to the fact
that changing the water level would mean re-processing of the image every time, which takes time. Should you
wish your level to start nearer the water, we suggest that you edit the image directly in an image processing
application and move the graphics towards the bottom of the screen.
Level sizes :: Some clipping of the level may occur if the height is too great (i.e. more than 696 pixels). If
you load an image which is smaller than the terrain size (i.e. less than 1920x696 in proportion) you will be
asked if you would like to stretch the image - in this case the image will be stretched to fill the entire
terrain area, or centre the image - in this case the image will be placed in the middle of the
terrain.
Hints & tips
To import a file, it needs to be in the required folder. Simply copy your image to the USER/IMPORT folder in
the Worms Armageddon game directory (an optional shortcut can made to the desktop for this
purpose).
It is important to realise that Worms Armageddon uses a fixed colour palette during the game. This is for a
number of technical reasons, not least the performance of the games sprite engine. Since it is a fixed palette,
all the colours for everything on screen must be included in this palette, including colours that must not
change (i.e. Worm colours, weapon colours and effects, water, explosions etc.)
The number of colours that can change during a level is fairly limited and the editor will have to take all
this into consideration when it colour-processes any image that you import. The result being that the more
colour information the picture is comprised of, the lower quality the results will be. Colour digitised images
are most likely to be grainy and washed out in appearance.
To get an idea of what the results may be before you import the image, you could use a colour reduction tool in
a graphics application to reduce the image to 64 or 128 colours (a 6 or 7-bit colour palette). For these
reasons, it's quite important to 'clean up' your image before importing it into the editor, removing large
areas of background and colour that would otherwise consume areas of the colour palette.
The best way to build levels is to draw onto, begin from or render to a black background.
The smaller an image is, the greater loss of detail will be when stretched up to fill the level. If you would
like to make the best use of the available area, then create a new image which is 1920x696 pixels in size and
save your import levels with that size. Currently, the editor doesn't handle very small images
well.
If you intend importing digitised images, you will have to consider that a lot of images will result in a
'solid' level since there is not much background. The game will create holes to play in, but the level will not
play particularly well. It's best to clear some area for background prior to importing.
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Team Statistics
Want to see how well you are doing? Well, this page shows which missions you've attempted - how many medals
you've won (bronze, silver or gold). You can see how well you're doing in training too. Got too many Bronze
Medals? Go back and do 'em again. On the right hand side of the screen you get all your Team stats - how many
Worms you've killed, how many games you've won, games drawn, games lost, how many points you've scored - all
the usual stuff. There's a ranking system too which rates your overall performance in missions and training
etc.
To check the stats of a different team, choose your team under 'Team options' from the previous 'Options' menu
before clicking on the 'View team statistics' icon.
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| [ goodies | players guide | game menus ] |
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Worms Armageddon has a pretty extensive menu system - loads of options. If you're new to Worms Armageddon and
unsure what to do, worry not. With our walk-through guide it's easy! Simply follow the menus by clicking on a
menu option as you would do in-game, to find out more information.
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Main Menu
Worms Armageddon features a useful on-line help system. If you're unsure what something does, simply move the
cursor over an icon, text or dialog box for instant help - useful text will appear at the bottom of the
screen.
[ Single-player ]
[ Multi-player ]
[ LAN/Internet ]
[ Options ]
Tip :: Pressing the ESCAPE key takes you back to the previous menu screen.
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| [ goodies | players guide | WormNET ] |
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WormNET is an exclusive environment created for the Internet gaming community, a place where you can meet other
players and talk to them directly via a built-in IRC chat facility. Once you've registered you can log-in and
pick a fight. Now you can play people from all around the world!
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WormNET (internet play)
There are four gaming channels that you can join, the more you play the further you'll progress in the ranks -
that's if you win, that is... May the Worm be with you, but do not be swayed by the Dark Side!
WormNET is constantly evolving, day-to-day tweaks are made to further enhance your gaming experience.
Check out our guide for more in-depth info or our faqs if you have a specific problem.
[ WormNET guide ]
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| [ goodies | players guide | training ] |
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Basic training
The following guide to the basic training was provided by the Team17 QA department.
[ training guide ]
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