Creating a scheme

(Up to Guides, FAQs, and ReadMes or Schemes or Scheme ideas or Scheme file)

Creating a scheme is a process that is not necessarily as simple as editing the ammo, the power or the delay of some weapons of an existing scheme file. Some schemes may take years to be developed (they are not simply a file), requiring special maps, several testings including different players to avoid problems or to balance the scheme.

A scheme can be published or not. When published, sometimes only the upload will not necessarily make it get noticed by people and if it is not explained well enough, people may not understand it and lose interest or play it wrongly. That's why usually a good description (like a real life board game manual), with the rules (if needed), game setup, and details is part of the scheme making process.

If the intention is to make the scheme noticed, known and played by many players, some effort to "advertise" it or at least host it several times on WormNET, or organize competitive events like tournaments or cups may help. Creating videos, GIFs, icons and banners for a scheme is something that many scheme creators do.

There is etiquette regarding scheme creation. Check Etiquette for creativity: avoiding plagiarism and citing influences.

Few schemes become widely played on WormNET. This happens due to several reasons. Put in mind that it's common to players dislike or just don't feel interested on new schemes. Some might have negative behaviour regarding your effort creating and showing a new scheme. So, it can be frustating. Be prepared for these possibilities.

The idea

Everything starts with an idea. A scheme can start with inspiration on other sports, games, movies, etc. what is called adaptations. It can start as a small edit on a scheme file, to change something that could be different, changing the gameplay experience. Many original schemes are actually a mixture of two or more schemes. Many schemes are developed to explore one or more specific features of the game. There are schemes that were created to train for other schemes, or to train a specific weapon or trick. It's all about the players imagination!

The scheme file

The scheme file can be created using WA itself or an external scheme editor.

WA updates and features

The map

Which type of map would the new scheme idea work best? This question is very important, because nobody can play a scheme without a map. An "empty" map is still a map.

Sometimes, a scheme idea starts with a map, and then the scheme file needs to adapt to it. However, the opposite is more likely to happen: first you create the scheme file, then you make or choose a specific map for it.

The first thing to do is to try the new scheme on a map that can potencially suit it well. This map is a provisory map, because it is still unsure how it would work during the very beginning of the testings, so the details about the gameplay and map characteristics are yet to be discovered.

The map can be any (or a specific type of) randomly-generated map by the game's Map Editor (dual-layered caverns, twin islands with border, complex open island, cave, etc.), it can be these mentioned maps, but edited (like Quickdraw maps), it can be another map 100% done via the game's map editor (Flat Earth Apocalypse), like an "empty" map (Holy War, Burning Girders, Snooker) or completely filled with terrain map (Mole Shopper ones), it can be a map designed for other schemes (for example, Driver uses Boom Race maps and Teleport Shopper uses Shopper maps), or it can be a completely new design of map specific for the scheme (requiring some work, check next section: "Creating a special map").

Creating a special map

For technical details about creating custom maps, see Colour map.

Testing

It's always better to test a scheme before releasing it. The more a scheme is tested, the more its bad aspects can be detected and fixed. Also, good ideas may come while testing a scheme, upgrading it for a better experience.

A scheme can be tested alone (playing against yourself), or tested with more players. Testing alone is easier and you can focus on every aspect with the time you have and want to work on. Testing with more players requires scheduling or finding interested people with free time, but it can be a lot more fun to do this, and the players may contribute figuring out, opining and suggesting things that you could not realize playing alone. Testing with other players is a way to make people notice your future scheme too.

Note: testing a scheme can also make the author give up the idea. Sometimes, if the scheme is not fun or original enough, should it be published? If there are problems in the scheme that cannot be fixed, well, it's like releasing something that doesn't work or a game with a bug. Saying "NO" to a scheme is ok. Testing is important to realize if a project should go on or not. If not, at least you are sure about it after the testings, what can be a relief if you always think "oh, there's that unfinished project to work...".

Balancement

The rules

The description (game manual)

The description of a scheme is something very important. Schemes without description might be interpreted as laziness/clumsiness of the author, or that the scheme is very likely to be played without house rules, or that it can be played the way the players want (any worms, any map, with house rules, etc.), or that it's just a random conventional gameplay or variation of other scheme. No description is very vague: it is a .wsc file, not a game explanation (like buying a product without a manual, you'll have to figure it out alone and might do it wrongly). Players may play the scheme completely different from the author's intentions, so a scheme without a description can be played in a bad way, so that people may think that the scheme is very bad, when it can potentially be good. For example, playing with few worms on a ploppy map can be very unbalanced for a scheme that the author planned to be played with 8 worms on a bulky complex map.

The description can be very short, concise and simple or it can be a full book with several chapters, explaining all the details and aspects of the scheme. Both forms of description can exist.

A short description is useful for lazy people or people without much free time (the famous expression TL;DR) that are curious to play, but doesn't want to read a lot for a single scheme. It is specially useful when a scheme doesn't have house rules, or it is a simple variation of other scheme.

A full and complete description will help to clarify all the scheme nuances to the players, specially when there are complex house rules in it, or when it's a completely new gameplay style (original concept).

When writting a description, the author of the scheme must have this in mind. Even if it's a small variation, describing the differences from the original will make it easier to players understand, because they will not need to look carefully in all the settings of the file. The description may arise the player's interest on a scheme.

Game setup

Rules explanation

History

The icon

Many schemes of the past still don't have an icon, and the icon may be considered unnecessary. However Worm Olympics medals were often designed with a small image representing the scheme being played. Possibly other websites had images to represent schemes before WO. The Ultimate Site probably was the first to systematize this. When submmiting a scheme, a player can upload a scheme icon to be displayed along with the scheme page.

So, creating an icon is optional, but it helps to attract the attention of other players to it. It shows that the scheme had some effort, some artistic feeling and that the idea really deserves to be noticed. Also, the cliché needs to be said: "One image worths more than 1000 words". With a simple look at the image, a player may understand the whole idea of the scheme, or a big portion of it.

The GIF

The GIF is something that few scheme makers put an effort to make. It can be the scheme icon (animated), a banner introducing the concept, like an advertisement, or just gameplay moments to show clearly how the scheme is played in practice.

Notable examples of GIFs made specifically for scheme icons are the ones from Drive for Weapons and Supermarket Shopper. There are also GIFs made to represent a scheme gameplay, like the ones used for Darts, Pool and Hoops.

The icon of Drive for Weapons for example was handmade, being in total 20 frames, which weren't an ideal number, because with more frames the animation could be more fluid. Some elements were taken and edited from the internet, though.

A recommended program for beginners or even experienced gif makers is the website ezgif. Although, many advanced GIF makers recommend a program called FFmpeg.

The Video

A video can help promoting your scheme and get attention from players. A video can be made before the release of a scheme, like a teaser or a trailer, or after the release of a scheme showing all the details of it. It can be a tutorial video, a full match or a compilation of good example gameplay moments.

Example of schemes that received videos are: Fly-Forts, Beat The Sheep, Rope Knocking (although the video was deleted and probably lost), and Drive for Weapons.

See Creating a Worms movie for details about video making process.

Publishing

Reception

After a new scheme is published, it may generate some expectations and enthusiasm to the author, however, the reality is: it's hard to make a scheme that people apreciate and is widely played. Scheme creation depends on the available features of the game version. Considering Worms Armageddon is maintained by a very restrict group of people and that they work as a hobby and for free, new features for schemes can take a lot of time to come. Without new features, it's hard to make a new and impressive scheme that people will enjoy.

This being said, be prepared for possible frustrations with the reception of the players when you present them a new scheme. Most players will ignore your scheme's public page and if you host games, people will often just quit the game when they realize it's a different scheme and not one that they were expecting to play. Hosting a new scheme in WormNET may bring people that will insult your work, because it's a not a classic scheme that the "pros" play, or because they may think you created the scheme to have an advantage and win. Most people don't have patience to try new schemes, they prefer to play the schemes they are familiar with. The classic schemes have already a strong culture of competitive play and high level games, so these people are seeking for these schemes. There are people that are against new schemes and think that only the classics should be played, they think it's a waste of time to create more schemes. Although, all the classic schemes were made by people and some of the classics are not played anymore, some of the classics only got famous after years and years because a player revived the idea. So, new schemes can become popular and classic in competitive play. If you don't take the negative comments too deeply in your mental health, it should be fine. A scheme can always inspire other schemes, so if your idea do not become a success, don't worry, it may help another scheme get popular, or your idea can simply exist there, who said it needs to be popular? You can publish a scheme for you and for anyone else who is interested.

Updates to the scheme

After a scheme is released, with more time passing by, the scheme creator or other players may notice things that could be changed to the scheme. So, updating a scheme is something common. Specially when there is a new update with new features or a handy Wormkit module (a mod) that can increase the gameplay experience, updating a scheme or making a new variation is natural.

Either the scheme author can update a scheme, or fans of the scheme can update it. Or, the fans may at least release a personal variation with the new features or simple changes.

Never forget: schemes evolve!

Note: Some schemes are good the way they were made at their release. So, it is not necessary to update a scheme, specially if there are no insteresting new features to add to it. It is nice to play the original scheme the way it was conceived. Original schemes have historical value.