Worms Armageddon ReadMe (English)

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This page contains a complete transcription of the Beta ReadMe. Besides minor formatting changes for the purposes of presentation and some spelling corrections, the content has been unmodified.

The original RTF is included with Beta updates, and can be found in your W:A folder. You can also download it from here.

Important Licence Information

Thank you for participating in this External Beta Test for Worms Armageddon PC. All your comments are gratefully received and we will endeavour to address all of your reported problem points where possible for the intended Update Final Release. We would also like to extend our gratitude to the countless users providing requests and points for inclusion, without which much of the improved content could not have been made possible.

Please note that we can provide beta support in the English language only.

If you do happen to encounter any bugs during play, please read the Bug Reporting section later in this document for how to produce and report any findings directly to the Team17 Development Team.

IMPORTANT: You should very carefully read and agree to the following External Beta Test Licence Agreement prior to installing this software update.

If you do not agree to the terms and conditions of the licence then please do not install the software. It is also highly recommended to view this entire document in order to fully understand the software content, specific game additions and implications of accepting subsequent installation and use.

External Beta Test Licence Agreement

This software update and accompanying documentation are a copyright of Team17 Software Ltd. This release is provided to end users specifically for evaluation and testing purposes only within the conditions of the licence agreement. Any forms of use outside the terms of the licence agreement are expressly prohibited. On acceptance to proceed with the installation of this software you agree to be fully bound by the terms and conditions of this licence agreement and the acknowledgements comprised herein.

Licence Acknowledgements

It is your understanding that this particular software update is BETA, and is therefore as such a work in progress and may possibly contain problems that could be resultant in a loss of data. Team17 Software Ltd cannot be held responsible for damage sustained to operating system and / or game setups through installation and use of this update program in its current form.

Feedback information should be provided by you, the end user, where possible relating to problematic instances that may occur during use of this software update. This supply of information should be generated and forwarded for the attention of Team17 Software Ltd via the contact method as outlined within this documentation.

The software content comprised within this update is a property of Team17 Software Ltd and should therefore not be reverse engineered, disassembled, de-compiled or altered in any way from its original compilation. If conduct such as the aforementioned is subsequently performed without prior permission from Team17 Software Ltd this will be considered a breach of licence agreement terms and may result in appropriate action being taken.

Supplementary Beta Documentation

Version History

Click an update to see a list of features and fixes for that update.

Installation

The contents of the update installer are the files required to update your current version of Worms Armageddon to v3.8.1 (Beta). This Beta includes all previous updates from the Official v3.0 and Beta versions of the game, excluding updates to GFX archives (introduced in v3.6.22.1). The Beta update installer will automatically offer to download and install the Official v3.0 Patch and the GFX updates if required. It will preserve your customized settings and teams, schemes, saved levels, replays, etc., contrary to what was done in the v3.0.5.0 Beta installer and v3.0 Patch.

INSTALLATION

Launch the WA_update-3.8.1_Beta_Installer.exe update installer, and follow the installer instructions. Automatic download and installation of the v3.0 Patch and GFX updates requires a working Internet connection. Users requiring an offline installation may download the stand-alone installers for the v3.0 Patch and GFX updates from Team17's FTP server ( ftp://ftp.team17.com/pub/t17/patches/pc/ ).

Once the update has been installed, you can then run the game as you would normally.

Known Issues/Bugs

Footnotes

  1. If a Worm dismounts a horizontally-stationary Ninja Rope in direct contact with the ground, it will land instantly, thus ready to do other things without delay. It is not always possible to extend a rope to the length necessary for this to happen — since it extends and retracts 4 pixels at a time, it may stop with 1-3 pixels of room remaining between Worm and ground. Also, even if a rope appears to be horizontally stationary, it may have a microscopic amount of momentum. Following are ways to recreate the circumstances required for an instant rope dismount:
    • (All versions of W:A) Worm is standing in a confined space (e.g. at the bottom of a tunnel 9 pixels wide and at least 8 pixels high), and shoots the Ninja Rope straight upward. It may then retract and extend the rope and/or fire a weapon, as long as it does not nudge the rope left or right. Then, when that rope is extended to maximum length (either by not moving at all, or by re-extending the rope as far as it will go) the Worm is in direct contact with the ground.
    • (v3.6.23.0 and later) Same as above, but Worm is not required to fire the rope from a confined space. It may do so from any standing position.
    • (v3.6.23.0 and later) Worm is in midair, with no horizontal velocity, and shoots the Ninja Rope straight upward. There is a 25% chance that the rope will be phased such that it is possible to put the Worm in direct contact with the ground.
    • (All versions of W:A) Same as above, but Worm must be in a 9-pixel-wide tunnel at the time the rope connects.
  2. This bug is emulated for compatibility with older versions of W:A. An emulated crash ends the game in a draw for those using a newer version. The older versions will still crash.
  3. The wa:// protocol can be used to join or host games with advanced parameters. The format is wa://address?param1=value1&...&paramN=valueN. Specifying a blank address will cause the game to host a game with the specified parameters. The following parameters are supported:
    • pass or password – specifies the game's password.
    • id or gameid – specifies the game's ID, as used on WormNET.
    • scheme – specifies the channel scheme to be used. This setting should be identical on all ends. Since this information isn't transmitted via the game peer-to-peer connection, unmatching values can cause a desynchronisation. For more information on the channel scheme format, see http://worms2d.info/WormNET_(Worms_Armageddon)#Channels

      Using the scheme parameter, it's possible to create direct IP games with rope knocking enabled. To do this, the host must run WA.exe wa://?scheme=Pf , and other players must run WA.exe wa://address?scheme=Pf .

      If the game is hosted on a TCP port other than the default one (17011), the port can be specified with the syntax: wa://address:port?parameters...

  4. The following registry tweaks allow setting certain game options, most of which can also be set using the Advanced Options screen. These files are located in the Tweaks folder, and are activated by double-clicking them (the game should not be running).
    • BackgroundGradientParallax_Disable.reg, BackgroundGradientParallax_Enable.reg – enable or disable the dithered gradient parallax effect introduced in the same version. (introduced in v3.6.30.0)
    • FrontendPaletteFix_On.reg, FrontendPaletteFix_Off.reg – Enables workarounds to prevent palette loss in the front end. Enabled by default. (introduced in v3.6.30.0)
    • FrontendUseDesktopWindow_Enable.reg, FrontendUseDesktopWindow_Disable.reg – Enables a workaround to allow the front end to render correctly under Wine. (introduced in v3.6.30.0)
    • FrontendUseVRAM_Enable.reg, FrontendUseVRAM_Disable.reg – Allows or prevents usage of video memory in the front end. Enabled by default. (introduced in v3.6.30.0)
    • ForceWineVirtualDesktop_On.reg, ForceWineVirtualDesktop_Off.reg – Causes W:A to automatically restart itself under a Wine virtual desktop. (introduced in v3.6.30.0)
    • InGameDoubleBuffering_Enable.reg, InGameDoubleBuffering_Disable.reg – Enables or disables in-game double buffering. Disabling fixes flickering under VMware. Enabled by default. (introduced in v3.6.30.0)
    • LargerFonts_On.reg, LargerFonts_Off.reg – Use a larger font in some places in-game and in the front end. (introduced in v3.6.28.0)
    • LegacyUtilityKey_On.reg, LegacyUtilityKey_Off.reg – Use the key used for typing the ` character for the current input language to select utilities, instead of using the key under Escape (for non-US keyboard layouts). (introduced in v3.6.28.0)
    • MapAreaWarnLimit_Always.reg, MapAreaWarnLimit_Default.reg, MapAreaWarnLimit_Unlimited.reg – Sets the threshold for which to display the map loading prompt, to prevent a Denial of Service attack by loading a very large map. (introduced in v3.6.28.0)
    • NoLandInVram_On.reg, NoLandInVram_Off.reg – Controls whether W:A creates land surfaces in video memory. Improves compatibility with certain Wine versions. (introduced in v3.6.28.0)
    • SkipIntro_On.reg, SkipIntro_Off.reg – Skips the intro and logos shown upon W:A startup; identical to the /nointro command line option. (introduced in v3.6.30.0)
    • OfflineRopeKnocking_On.reg, OfflineRopeKnocking_Off.reg – Enables "rope knocking" in Offline Multi-Player and Quick CPU games. (introduced in v3.6.24.2)
    • Phone_Disable.reg, Phone_Enable.reg – Disables or enables the in-game telephone icon (used for notification of new chat messages). (introduced in v3.6.26.4)
    • RegisterAssociations_Automatically.reg, RegisterAssociations_Manually.reg – Enables associating W:A with replays and wa:// on W:A start-up. (introduced in v3.6.30.0)
    • SlowFrontendWorkaround_On.reg, SlowFrontendWorkaround_Alternative.reg, SlowFrontendWorkaround_Off.reg – Enables a compatibility tweak for certain new video cards, which may resolve low responsiveness and refresh rates in the front end. Even if there is no frame rate problem, it can reduce the black-out period when switching between dialog screens. (introduced in v3.6.26.5, v3.6.28.0)
    • SmoothBackgroundGradient_Disable.reg, SmoothBackgroundGradient_Enable.reg – Disables or re-enables the dithered background gradient in all in-game detail levels. (introduced in v3.6.30.0)
    • StereoEffects_Disabled.reg, StereoEffects_Normal.reg, StereoEffects_Reversed.reg – Disable, enable (default) and reverse the stereo sound effects. (introduced in v3.6.29.0)
    • TimerWorkaround_On.reg, TimerWorkaround_Off.reg – Prevents W:A from using the system's high-resolution timer. (introduced in v3.6.20.1)

Credits

Lead Code Karl Morton
Lead Art Dan Cartwright
Original Concept Andy Davidson
Lead Support Code Colin Surridge
Support Code Rob Hill, Martin Randall
Network Code Phil Carlisle
Producer Martyn Brown
Scenario Art Tony Senghore, Rico Holmes, "Jan The Man"
Sound and Music Bjørn Lynne
Additional Audio Matinee Studios, Martyn Brown, Richie Palmer, Cris Blyth (inc vocals on WormSong98), Rico Holmes, Fraser Stewart, Mike Green
Additional Art Paul Robinson, Cris Blyth, Rory McLeish
Assistant Producer Craig Jones
Mission Design Porl Dunstan, John Eggett, Martyn Brown
Lead QA Kelvin Aston, Mark Baldwin
QA John Eggett, Grant Towell, Andy Aveyard, Kevin Carthew, Paul Webb, Brian Fitzpatrick
QA Manager Paul Field
Localisation Paul Sharp
Beta Coding/Design:
Versions 3.5 to 3.8.1 and later David Ellsworth — "Deadcode"
Versions 3.6.27.1 to 3.8.1 and later Vladimir Panteleev — "CyberShadow"
Beta Localization:
French "Jabba"
German "bonz"
Dutch "Koen"
Spanish "OutofOrder"
Russian "Mr.X", "Shtirlitz"

Bug Reporting To Team17

This software update is in a continued state of internal development and testing. The update has been primarily released for external consumption in order to capture a greater range of system setups for compatibility purposes.

In the interests of efficiency we have provided a bug reporting service that is available through the Team17 Forum. If you wish to provide feedback, registering on the forum is free, quick and easy to perform. It is recommended and we would most appreciate that you browse through forum posts prior to submitting any feedback information. This will hopefully restrict the level of duplicate reports that are received.

If, for any reason, you encounter any problems whatsoever running the game, please contact us and provide the following information via the Team17 Forum.

External Beta Submission Form

W:A Beta Version:
Operating System:
CPU:
Motherboard:
System Memory:
Video Card / Driver Revision:
Sound Card / Driver Revision:
DirectX Revision:
Nature of the problem:
Steps to recreate:

If your problem is related to a crash (W:A fails to start or closes unexpectedly, followed by the message "Worms Armageddon has encountered an error. Detailed information about the error can be found in the ERRORLOG.TXT file"), attach the file ERRORLOG.TXT (located in the folder where you installed W:A) to your post.

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