Worms Armageddon v3.8.1 Released

[Deadcode]

This "hotfix" release addresses most of the worst bugs introduced in v3.8, as well as some more minor issues. It was finished and ready for release on 2020-08-11, intended to be released soon afterward. That is the reason the changelog is so short. But then there were delays beyond our control, and I chose to rebuild it on 2020-11-08 to include some finishing touches to the set of translations.

Work is already in progress on the next release, which will probably be v3.9.

CD-ROM Edition: Download Here
Steam Edition: Update automatically through Steam.
GOG Edition: Update through GOG Galaxy, or by fully installing the game (must be logged in on GOG).

SHA-256 sum:
b33b3a1f0833cc41bb75a956f7c32fb277b464870fd0c720db114ee1be6beb29 *WA_update-3.8.1_[CD]_Installer.exe

v3.8.1 Update

Fixes

• [DC] Bug in a feature introduced in v3.6.28.0: If a .PNG file with more than 112 non-black colours was loaded in the Map Editor, it could then be resaved (using the "Save" button) without being reduced to 112 colours, resulting in a .PNG file with the W:A-specific chunk that was nevertheless not a valid W:A map.
  
• [DC] Bug in a feature introduced in v3.8: If "RubberWorm anti-sink" was enabled, and "RubberWorm bounciness" was not, the anti-sink state would not be saved for instant replays, and thus would result in a desync if anti-sink was actively used during an instant replay.
  
• [DC] Bug introduced in v3.6.29.0: In the Offline Multiplayer screen and the Options Menu, if the current scheme was intrinsic or "[ User defined ]" (i.e., "transparent select all" was active, such that typing anything into the scheme name box would clear/overwrite its entire contents), and then a scheme file was loaded, "transparent select all" was not deactivated as it should have been.
  
• [DC] Bug in a feature introduced in v3.8: Tweening was completely inactive during playback of replays extracted from network logs (a special kind of replay file that currently only W:A developers can create).
  
• [DC] Bug introduced in v3.8: In the Steam edition of the game, the hotkeys to open the Steam overlay (default Shift+Tab) and to take a screenshot (default F12) did not work while in-game. (Note that it is recommended to remap or disable the screenshot key, because F12 is used by W:A in-game, to select weapons in the bottom row of the weapon panel.)
  
• [DC] Bug introduced in v3.8: When at least one player in an online game was using v3.6.22.0-v3.7.2.25, and a .PNG map with >96 non-transparent (i.e. non-black, if no tRNS chunk is present) colours was in use (which is supposed to result in the soil texture being fully transparent), and the game was not emulating a logic version earlier than 3.6.22.0, v3.8 would fill the soil texture with the colour at palette index 110 of that map (or if the map used fewer colours than that, one colour from the background gradient).
  
• [DC] Bug introduced in v3.8: If a Super/Aqua Sheep detonated while in flying mode (without switching to falling mode first), or an Aqua Sheep disappeared off the ocean bottom while in swimming mode, then Home Lock (activated by pressing Ctrl+Home) would never work again for that team (but would still work for other teams) for the rest of the round.
  
• [DC] The Reset button in Advanced Options (added in v3.6.30.0), and the registry script ResetRegistryOptions.reg (added in v3.6.31.0), did not reset the following:
  
  • The current pseudo-random number generator Logic Seed
    
  • The "Export Video" dialog box's remembered parameters (added in v3.8)
    
  • The "Assisted vertical sync" tuning parameters (added in v3.8)
    
• [DC] Bug introduced in v3.8: Any PNG map saved using v3.6.28.0 or later (excluding those converted from LEV or BIT maps), when loaded, would have the cavern status in its W:A metadata ignored, and autodetected instead, as if loading a PNG image lacking W:A metadata. For example, if a regular (non-W:A) PNG image was loaded in W:A's Map Editor, such that W:A autodetected it as an island (with no cavern border), and the user then manually turned on the top cavern border and resaved the map, then this map, when loaded later, would have the cavern border turned off.
  
• The Finnish, French, German, Portuguese, Russian, Spanish, and Swedish translations have been updated by Juho Toivanen, LTK, schaf, Kaleu, StepS, OutofOrder, and Olle Settergren, respectively, encompassing all new strings added since v3.8. This also includes some corrections and improvements to existing strings.
  
  • [DC] A bug in the Spanish translation has been fixed by OutofOrder: The lines "Hold Shift for fine tuning" and "Hold Shift to change the amount" were missing.
    
• [CS] Bug in a feature introduced in v3.8: When using the OpenGL (shader) Graphics API with a screen resolution with a width that is not a multiple of four (for example, 1366×768), the video output would appear skewed.
  
• [DC] Fixes affecting game logic
  
  • [DC] An explosion happening anywhere on the map would nullify the horizontal velocity of all Frozen Worm(s), regardless of where they were. (A frozen worm may have horizontal velocity if it was moving in mid-air when another worm on the same team used Freeze.) Now, explosions have no effect on the horizontal velocity of frozen worms, affecting only their vertical velocity; this is indistinguishable from the previous behaviour when they already have zero horizontal velocity.
    

Changes

• [DC] With skipwalking facilitation enabled (which was part of TestStuff, and is now an extended scheme option), it is now possible, during retreat time and after the first shot of a Shotgun or Longbow, to skip-walk by right-clicking the mouse (and not only by pressing the up/down/middle arrow keys).
  
• [DC] The W:A v3.7.0.0 fix "When W:A is run under Windows 8 for the first time, it will offer to configure Windows compatibility flags which should improve compatibility and performance under Windows 8." was removed in v3.8, but because this compatibility flag is in fact harmful to DirectDraw performance, and may still be enabled if v3.7.0.0 or 3.7.2.x has previously been run under the same Windows installation, W:A will now check for its presence when started, and disable it if it is currently enabled (showing a dialog box to explain that this has been done).
  
• [DC] W:A v3.7.0.0 and v3.7.2.1 set the default renderer to DirectDraw (32-bit), and this would be saved in the registry even if the user hadn't altered the setting from its default. However, due to increasingly poor DirectDraw performance in modern Windows versions, and the fixing of various bugs in the Direct3D 9 (shader) renderer, since v3.8 the recommended and default renderer has been the latter, so long as the necessary support is detected. The first time v3.8.1 is launched, W:A will therefore now change the renderer to Direct3D 9 (shader), if it would otherwise normally have chosen that renderer as the default, and if the renderer was already set to DirectDraw (32-bit).
  

[Kradie]

Thank you

[j0e]

Amazing, awesome work, thank you! More fixes than I was expecting. Hope this means Team17's rubber-stamping department is back on track. Perfect timing for some additional holiday worming vigour. Long live WA!

[Matteobin007]

Thank you very much for the hard work.
This is a wonderful Christmas present.

I have two questions.
First, how can I donate some money to you, Deadcode?
Second, how do I install this update using only GOG.com offline installer?
Are you going to release a patch for GOG users as well? Because right now the offline installer is still at the old version (3.7.2.1).

Thank you again. Love you and CyberShadow!

[StepS]

Are you going to release a patch for GOG users as well? Because right now the offline installer is still at the old version (3.7.2.1).

GOG Galaxy is already at 3.8.1. The offline installers may take a few days to update as they pass through GOG.

[Matteobin007]

I love you, StepS, and all the great people who are still updating and working on this incredibly fun game as well!

[The Extremist]

The joy continues!!!!

[DENnis]

This "hotfix" release addresses most of the worst bugs introduced in v3.8, as well as some more minor issues. It was finished and ready for release on 2020-08-11, intended to be released soon afterward. That is the reason the changelog is so short. But then there were delays beyond our control, and I chose to rebuild it on 2020-11-08 to include some finishing touches to the set of translations.

Work is already in progress on the next release, which will probably be v3.9.

CD-ROM Edition: Download Here

Thank you very much!

[Talon79]

Thanks!

[TheWalrus]

Work is already in progress on the next release, which will probably be v3.9.

Sounds suspiciously close to 4.0

*heavy breathing intensifies*

[wtc]

Won't we be able to play the game without Steam? This was bad!

[StepS]

Won't we be able to play the game without Steam? This was bad!

If you want to play the game without Steam, get the GOG edition.

[SigmaTel71]

Whoa, I kinda missed that update. Already updated my WA installation!

[Edoardo Moretti]

Work is already in progress on the next release, which will probably be v3.9.

Nearly 4.0! That's my actual reaction:

[pantop]

Does the CD version installer work with a cracked CD version?