Etiquette
From Worms Knowledge Base
Over the years Worms has grown its own unique community, with its own rules and codes of behavior. These are of course not written in stone but they are pretty well agreed upon. Keep in mind that these might change over time without this article changing (written June 2007).
Also in this article, game rules for various schemes.
Contents
Nice things to say
Wish your opponent good luck
It is common practice to wish your opponents good luck at the start of the game. Although not doing so isn't considered by many to be offensive, it is common practice. Usually a simple acronym GL & HF, which stands for Good Luck and Have Fun will do.
Say good game at the end
At the end of the game, or at the death of a player's team the other players often congratulate them on their performance in the game with the acronym GG, meaning Good Game. This is considered to be the polite thing to do, especially towards the host. Not doing so at all often leaves people with the idea that the player in question is too taken in with his own defeat that he can't be bothered with the niceties of the game. Don't do this, it's considered rude and people might take offense.
An acronym somewhat less commonly used is that of BG, which means Bad Game. This isn't all that nice a thing to say either, but at least it's an honest opinion.
Another use of the GG acronym is at the start of a player's turn. This might mean he's planning on taking an opponent's team out. In reverse; at the end of a turn this might mean he expects to be taken out himself before his own next turn.
Some people like to type "99" instead of "gg", since the "9" and the "g" have similar forms.
Other stuff
Common in-game abbreviations:
- afk – "Away from keyboard"
- bl – "Bad luck"
- brb – "Be right back"
- gg – "Good game"
- gl – "Good luck"
- hf – "Have fun"
- n – "Nice"; prefixed with "v" to mean "Very nice"
- n1 – "Nice one"
- nd – "Nice drop"
- ne1 – "Anyone"
- ns – "Nice shot"
- nt – "Nice try"
- nh – "Nice hide"
- nl – "Nice landing"
- nk – "Nice knock"
- nr – "Nice roping" / "Nice run" (for non-rope races)
- np - "No problem"
- rh – "Rehost"
- rm – "Rematch"
- t or thx – "Thanks"
- ty – "Thank you"
- u2 – "You too"
- wp – "Well played"
Leaving the game
Don't quit during the game
People don't appreciate it if players leave a game. These people are often called quitters. If a player gets the reputation of a quitter he might not be allowed to join a game at all. It's best not to leave a game at all once you are in. Team games are ruined if a player suddenly decides to leave. A 2v2 player game losing a player mid match is generally a bad one due to balance being suddenly stacked in the favor of the team who still has all players. Even players in free for all games are annoyed by players leaving.
To avoid ruining other people's fun, just don't join any game if you don't have enough time. They don't last hours so just make sure you've got enough time to finish, and if you don't it's good to ask the host if he would still want you to play. If you do find yourself in a situation where you have to leave unexpectedly, inform the other players of the situations to avoid people branding you as a quitter.
Don't leave your keyboard without notification
It is very annoying if people have to wait for a player who has left their keyboard. Because this game is turn based they can't do anything while you are getting your beverage of choice. Tell people when you leave the keyboard and expect not to be back before your turn.
Worms Armageddon has an away function which can be activated by typing /away or /afk in the chat box. This will automatically skip your turns until you are back. If you are playing WA you should use this function.
Communicate
Let people know if you have little to no experience in a game
If you have little experience in a game, it is best to say so. This way the players can then help you to understand the game/scheme better. This will prevent any conflicts in the game.
Ask for the rules
Games on W:A have a set number of rules, which can be read at the Schemes page on this wiki. However, if you want to get started before reading through these pages or they're hosting a scheme that's not described here, it's always a good idea to ask for the rules. Asking them in advance shows you're willing to learn the rules and avoids breaking rules with all ensuing flaming.
The host decides
Usually the host will state any rules for the game (e.g. All But Last), and they will be the set rules in the game. These rules are usually final, and not up for discussion. If there is any conflicts in the game (i.e. a player breaks a rule) then it is up to the host to decide what happens, whether it is a warning, skip a go and so on. Players should abide and if any disagreement speak to the host.
Etiquette for hosts
Don't mess with the schemes
Schemes have a history on Worms. Chances are, the people that join your games have been playing the scheme you're hosting for years, or even decades. Of course, schemes do change over time, so if you make your own scheme, notify the others in your game of the most important changes, so there won't be any unpleasant surprises for them.
Don't ever quit the game
As the host, you are providing the game to the other players. If you quit the game, then everyone drops out, and play ceases. It is not recommended to quit when hosting, unless you have to (and it is best to say so and why you need/want to in the chat box before you do).
Predefine player limit
When hosting a game, hosts can say in the game title '4_max' or something similar, or in the host lobby, the host can say '4 players maximum'. The host can then choose 4 players (including himself - or not if he would rather watch) to play, typically the first four players or the first four to state a correct rule. Hosts should not discriminate if they are from a different country (i.e. Mexico or Brazil)
Hosts may also drag the bottom of the player list box to set the desired maximum amount of people.
Scheme rules
Main Article: Scheme rules
Rules were added to some schemes to make the gameplay more challenging by avoiding too cheap kills, prohibiting moves considered as cheating and to designate the way for playing the particular scheme. These are not enforced by the game engine and thus is up to all players in the game to follow them. Not only should you know these rules before playing the respective schemes, but some hosts may require that you enumerate them (sometimes in a private message) to prove that you know them. In this case, enumerating the acronyms (e.g. CBA, AFR, ABL/KTL for Shopper) or even the acronyms of the acronyms (e.g. CAK/KAC/ACK/CKA/AKC and so on for Shopper) suffices.
Etiquette for creativity: avoiding plagiarism and citing influences
The community of Worms games is constantly creating stuff and contributing to the evolution of the game. There are programmers (developing software for the game), scheme makers, map makers, soundbank makers, grave makers, fanfare makers, terrain makers, flag makers, etc. The creative process may take a lot of time and effort to get something done, so people behind an artwork or any other type of labour should be credited and recognized. Usually an idea doesn't come out of nowhere, people tend to be inspired by others to create stuff, so a good practice is to cite the work or the players that inspired you (your influences), this way you'll be valorizing the effort of other people and may even be seen as a nice person by doing this.
Another thing that may happen in the creative process is the so called "coincidence", when you have the same idea someone else had, creating something very similar or equal to a previous one. To avoid this, try to use the search tools of the community websites to see if your idea is really new or not. This way you may discover that someone already had your idea and made something similar to what you were thinking or may simply find out that your idea is indeed very unique. You can also ask other players (especially the ancient, influent or experienced ones on the niche you are planning to work) if they know if there is anything similar within the community. You will avoid future criticisms and plagiarism acusations by doing this, once you searched and predicted possible coincidences.
Stealing an idea of a player and saying it is your own idea (without crediting the original author) is unethical and all the "glory" you received by the copy (or plagiarism) you made from someone else's effort might be discovered over time, thus losing a good part of that "glory" and turning it to a big decrease in your reputation.
If you want to improve an idea or simply want to make a new variant or variation, just make it clear that you worked on a previous idea to originate a new concept or possibility from that idea. Credits, references and acknowledgements are always welcome.
