Worms Armageddon manual/WORMNET

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WORMNET

Internet play

You can play Worms Armageddon over the Internet by connecting to WORMNET, which is an exclusive gaming environment created especially for Worms Armageddon players.

NOTE: The game requires a preliminary ID check when accessing the server which only takes a short time. This allows the system to authenticate your game version.

Nickname

How others will see you, this must be unique. The server will prompt you if the name already exists.

Select team

Select a team you wish to use from your own team roster.

Proxy setup

If you are behind a firewall and are using a proxy server (usually for companies, check with your network administrator if you are unsure) you should check this box and enter the address of the proxy server.

Once connected to WORMNET within the system you will be taken to the server status screen which provides useful information / updates as they become available. Click the LETS PLAY button at any time to go to the game channel selection area.

The channel selection area lets you view a list of the available channels (which may vary from time to time) or a list of current players, whereby you can quickly locate anyone in WORMNET and double-click to join them.

Gaming channels

There are four game channels that you may join, the three official channels play set game rules which cannot be configured by the host.

Beginner

(This channel is currently not available.)

A game setting tailored to suit new players, which allows more movement time and friendlier options. Once you have reached a certain rank, you will no longer be able to play games in this area since it is aimed at pitching less experienced players together.

Intermediate

(This channel is currently not available.)

This gaming room plays with the default Worms Armageddon settings, hosts cannot alter any of the game configuration details. This is the same game style as the Worms Armageddon game-style setting you can select in the Create Game menu.

Everyone is welcome into this area.

Advanced

(This channel is currently not available.)

This channel features tournament play options and entry into games is only available to players achieving above the required ranking in Beginner/Intermediate rooms. You will be informed when this is possible.

Free style

This is a completely open area where hosts can configure the game to their own liking. Ranking players in this channel makes little sense. This area is open for everyone.

Other areas

Team17 may, from time to time, open / close areas at their discretion.

Changing areas

You can opt to jump into the different areas at any time by going back to the main WORMNET screen. You can see how many people are in each room and also view the rankings. You can opt to jump into the different channels at any time by going to the channel select screen (simply exit the current channel by pressing the CANCEL button) and selecting a new channel.

Channel chat

When in a channel, you are able to view the games available, who is involved in each game, where people are from and also chat to people.

Hosting

We also rank players ability to host quality games. Hosts will be penalised for not completing full games and players penalised for quitting before the game ends, this enables players to avoid teams which cheat by quitting the game. We feel that this is in the best interest of the game, to promote friendly hosts.

Servers

By default, the game will connect to WORMNET via a server at Team17 HQ in England. However, more servers will become available and it's best that you connect to the one closest to your location.

Note : Unlike previous online Worms games, you will see EVERYONE connected on ALL servers.

In-game network chat

Open the chat box by pressing the PAGE DOWN key. You can see messages sent by other players (private messages are indicated but not revealed).

/me <msg> sends an action to all players

/anon <msg> sends an anonymous message to all players

Other players in the game are listed in the right of the chat panel, the colour of the player indicates the status of their connection;

Grey	Player disconnected
Blue	Player not connected
White	Player connected
Red	Player lagged/connection problems

Network set-up information

Proxy information

You will need to enter information during registration that allows us to connect with the Worms Armageddon game servers, these servers use a combination of protocols (one being http that web browsers use), if you are behind a firewall then you may be required to use a proxy server (a web server that you can use that gets information for you from other web servers), if this is the case (please check with your network administrator), then you MUST enter the proxy information in the registration screen for Worms Armageddon to connect properly.

Note : This is only normally necessary on direct connections to the Internet (not modems) and does not affect local network play at all.

Connection and firewalls

The network is based around a central HOST, this machine is the proposer of the game and hence controls the settings/options and also controls the player roster (and has the option to disconnect unruly players).

This machine also acts as a central HUB where network information is channelled to all other players, as a consequence of this we are able to support machines connecting through a firewall providing the host machine is outside of a firewall.

Note : Because firewalls are set-up differently for each company, it cannot be assumed that the game will work with all firewalls. However, if the machine is able to connect via TCP to machines outside the firewall then generally the game will be able to connect.

Contact your system administrator to enable outgoing TCP connections on the port the host is using (the default Worms Armageddon port for hosting is 17217 (TCP) and requires 17317 (UDP) open for local chat (although if only TCP is available this will still function). (The default port used for hosting games is 17011, not 17217.)