The Ultimate Site of Worms Armageddon
Worms: Armageddon => Promotion Project => Topic started by: JayP on May 21, 2019, 05:09 PM
-
Upon my recent visit to these forums that I have not seen in a while, I was thinking what could reignite WA and attract new people to the game and I was thinking since the day when the walls fell (The day I refer to ranks disappearing never to return) it has been a slow demise.
So I think it's safe to say this community has some interesting personalities both big and small and some of the banter I have been involved in over the years has been bursting my sides laughing... Anyway coming to the plan of action... we need the following.
A sizeable amount of people to sign up to this I am talking 20-50 people.
An agreed time realistically speaking U.S. centric EST or PST is a good bet around 5 pm either side.
Everyone who signs up to have a gaming Twitter page. Agree a Hashtag e.g. #WAWorms #Gaming #Twitch and link to our Twitch streaming account
People will also need a Twitch account and stream the game and not be afraid to talk, answer questions about WA etc.. and build a following and push people to this site.
This site would need an overhaul as most people access content on their phones these days.
We need people to commit to playing for 2-3 hours and have folks who cannot play, retweet their links to get the message out there.
N.B. Everyone will need the same version, graphics turned on all the bells and whistles to showcase the game
I think if we agreed to this like once a week if not multiple times a week, we could start to see an impact and start attracting people to the game.
Apologies if people have already discussed this, I just think it's an interesting thought that could help the community in the long run and who knows perhaps create some stars in the community.
Just a thought!
JayP!
-
I'm all for promoting W:A in many ways, directly on indirectly. By indirectly I mean that I'm developing a game (https://www.tus-wa.com/forums/off-topic/webysteria-fast-paced-artillery-and-roping-game-31397/) which should share a lot of what W:A provides currently under different sauce. As you said, the community is demising, and is actually one of the main reason for the development. The novelty factor plays a huge role, and people feel reluctant playing something what seems to be an old game. W:A is like a frog that needs to be kissed. :-*
-
I'm in.
-
IMO we need big streamers to consistently stream WA and getting good at it, as well as promoting other schemes.
Also telling that WA is on Steam and all the guides on how to setup WA
-
Everyone will need the same version
You'll miss a chance to showcase backwards compatibility!
On a serious note, I don't think last few old versions miss something super important that'd require banning them. It's also not a good idea if planning interactions with randoms in-game, as 3.6.31.0 is rather popular for some reason.
I'm also assuming that 3.7.2.2 and 3.7.2.1 will be treated as one version, because AFAIK .2 is exclusive to Steam and doesn't have noticeable changes.
graphics turned on all the bells and whistles
I imagine blackground is pretty common among high level players, following the stereotype of pros disabling everything to reduce lag and distruptivity of visual effects. But yeah, it shouldn't cause major inconvenience in W:A.
Everyone who signs up to have a gaming Twitter page
People will also need a Twitch account and stream the game
I am talking 20-50 people
Sounds like an unrealistic goal in this small community.
-
I'm also assuming that 3.7.2.2 and 3.7.2.1 will be treated as one version, because AFAIK .2 is exclusive to Steam and doesn't have noticeable changes.
There was an issue with this because I had to revert from 3.7.2.2 that came installed with WA on Steam back to 3.7.2.1, if I remember correctly it didn't support Wormkit or something.
Afaik 3.7.2.1 is the standard right now, with 3.6.31.0 being popular because it's the last version that works with Project X, at least I think it's that version, I could be wrong.
-
As I said, guys, it's just a thought. On the version piece, I think you need to find one version and stick to it as that is what you are show casing. As new versions come out it gives new content to stream also e.g. check out WA v4. Realistically speaking Backwards compatibility should not be a thing. By introducing stuff like that you make it needlessly complicated in trying to attract new people to the game, which is the aim of this??? It's like going to buy a car - I want the blue one, perfect then you see all the extras, etc.... but from the outside people still, only see the blue car. Go with whats simplest to give you the best chance of success. That may piss off the purists but it's not them we should be trying to satisfy.
@WTF - no issue with you shooting down ideas, but I'd appreciate some solutions to what "won't work" there is nothing more infuriating to me than people saying "Hey this is shit or that's shit" with no thoughts on how to make it work.
Yes, there is an uplift needed with coordination, but if people were serious about getting the game back up and running then you would think they would be open to putting in some effort???... If not then maybe it's best the game is left to rest in peace and enjoy what's left of it until the end of Wormnet.
It's been fun being back on the forums for a bit I must say :)
-
new versions come out it gives new content to stream
You seem to imagine the difference between the latest version and Team17 WormNET1's lowest allowed version, 3.6.31.0, bigger than it is. Content (maps, schemes, flags, ...) has always been community's responsibility; 3.6.28.0 is the last version I remember that heavily expanded the possibilities for content, because big maps.
The "Keep everyone on latest version" way definitely has reasons behind it, but wouldn't that make the Elite Caste of Streamers appear even more disconnected from normal players, who'd be kicked simply because they have a different version that barely matters?
And don't bring up 4.0, Work on it hasn't even begun
, especially when the much more likely 3.8 superfails its deadline.
Realistically speaking Backwards compatibility should not be a thing.
Replay files.
@WTF - no issue with you shooting down ideas
I'd say I merely voiced my concerns on certain points.
with 3.6.31.0 being popular because it's the last version that works with Project X
Yet PX isn't anywhere as popular as 3.6.31.0; when I was playing PX on public hosts, I've only seen the same familiar faces again and again. I dunno, maybe they want to be on the same version as HostingBuddy, imagining this gives the least desynch chance. Or go "I'll try PX... someday" but procrastinate to.
-
Yeah, backwards compatibility is definitely a good thing man.
Don't worry about which version people are using, it's ok to encourage the latest version and all that, but don't make it a dealbreaker.
-
And this is why the game is dead. There is a difference between voicing concerns and just being critical for the sake of point scoring. I shall call you Captain Negativity going forward. :)
You need to move past shite like backwards compatibility replay save files etc... Its 2019 the game needs to move with times or it doesn't work. As I said you have to be willing to let the purists behind. But honestly it's negativity like this that made me realise I don't need this in my life and I moved away from it.
Best of luck with it! See you guys in a year or so again, I'll pop into a random convo :)
Everyone will need the same version
You'll miss a chance to showcase backwards compatibility!
On a serious note, I don't think last few old versions miss something super important that'd require banning them. It's also not a good idea if planning interactions with randoms in-game, as 3.6.31.0 is rather popular for some reason.
I'm also assuming that 3.7.2.2 and 3.7.2.1 will be treated as one version, because AFAIK .2 is exclusive to Steam and doesn't have noticeable changes.
graphics turned on all the bells and whistles
I imagine blackground is pretty common among high level players, following the stereotype of pros disabling everything to reduce lag and distruptivity of visual effects. But yeah, it shouldn't cause major inconvenience in W:A.
Everyone who signs up to have a gaming Twitter page
People will also need a Twitch account and stream the game
I am talking 20-50 people
Sounds like an unrealistic goal in this small community.
-
Why do you take any criticism as big evil?
You need to move past shite like replay save files
Excuse me, what? How would I do gifs then? And how would a league function without replays? You're not going to say "just record the games", right?
I'm afraid to say that you are way off track here. Recording third-party software records video! A video file generated by a third-party software has no value to the community. Why?
1. The file size is large.
2. Not even %1 of the gamers will ever bother with recording their game. Not to mention if their machine is suited for such task.
3. It is only a video. No processing can be done on a video file.
What is a replay file?
The game itself records user inputs such as keyboard strokes, mouse movements/clicks etc. When the replay file is opened, the game simply plays it as if user inputs are coming off the recorded replay.
Pros:
1. File sizes are small.
2. Game auto saves the replay file. The process happens in game and would be tiny. That allows us to ask anyone to provide their match replay.
3. Replay file could store what external modules the user might be using while playing. (catching cheaters)
the game needs to move with times
Yet you suggest moving backwards by cutting functionality.
-
You need to move past shite like backwards compatibility replay save files etc... Its 2019 the game needs to move with times or it doesn't work. As I said you have to be willing to let the purists behind. But honestly it's negativity like this that made me realise I don't need this in my life and I moved away from it.
how would you prove a challenge or a league game? youtube/twitch vids are going to get buried stupidly easy
-
Guy just came here due to nostalgia. He's not the first nor last that "tried" to make game more active all of a sudden.
I've put tried in " " , cause all it took for him to leave again was few different opinions on forums.
Let's move on.
-
You need to move past shite like replay save files
Excuse me, what? How would I do gifs then? And how would a league function without replays? You're not going to say "just record the games", right?
I agree, and on top of that, many excellent (and terrible) moments in this game's history would be LOST. If you don't like replays, try watching the silent films of early cinema. Only 10% have survived to this day. If we don't want the Worms Armageddon game to be like that, we have to keep the replay functionality.
-
I've said it before:
1. Add unicode support (chinese etc)
2. Make a wormkit module that automatically translates chat to the player's language
-
Replay system is crucial indeed, it's what allowed the whole community to grow, some other modern games implement this functionality successfully. Creating replay system is not easy if not available out-of-the-box, which makes it a valuable feature in games. And I think W:A's replay system is one of the most convenient ones, not a lot of games allow you to simply click on the replay file to watch it any moment.
-
I've said it before:
1. Add unicode support (chinese etc)
2. Make a wormkit module that automatically translates chat to the player's language
Unicode support is easier said than done, due to the fact that this game actually uses a bitmap font. If you want to add more text, you'll have to either make the image of the bitmap font bigger (which would mean taking the file and designing all letters from the ground up) or switch to a vector font (which doesn't support the outlines that this game has, and might BREAK compatibility with older versions and replays unless the ancient bitmap font is kept.). Either way, it would be a chore to do, and would only set back development of the vital 3.8 update.
As for the translation, maybe we should put that functionality in a snooper to see if it works. Plus, how will it translate text? Google Translate? That wouldn't work if you don't have the internet! That would also be another slog of a feature to do, and there might be bad translations. Maybe doing it in Wormkit is alright, but we should test in a snooper to see if it works or not. Everyone playing this game speaks English Anyways, so we could make. If it's done in WormKit, 3.8 might actually BREAK it. Then, you'll have to make a new version for 3.8, and some players might become dinosaurs sticking to 3.7 in the meantime, which we can already see with 3.6 and Project X, which is a WormKit module which sadly hasn't been updated for 3.7, basically forcing players to use an older version. I know I rambled on in that sentence, but I was just explaining my point.
tl;dr - These would be difficult to implement, and would waste time better spent on getting 3.8 out, which is necessary if we want this game to not become a ghost town.
-
I've said it before:
1. Add unicode support (chinese etc)
2. Make a wormkit module that automatically translates chat to the player's language
Unicode support is easier said than done, due to the fact that this game actually uses a bitmap font. If you want to add more text, you'll have to either make the image of the bitmap font bigger (which would mean taking the file and designing all letters from the ground up) or switch to a vector font (which doesn't support the outlines that this game has, and might BREAK compatibility with older versions and replays unless the ancient bitmap font is kept.). Either way, it would be a chore to do, and would only set back development of the vital 3.8 update.
As for the translation, maybe we should put that functionality in a snooper to see if it works. Plus, how will it translate text? Google Translate? That wouldn't work if you don't have the internet! That would also be another slog of a feature to do, and there might be bad translations. Maybe doing it in Wormkit is alright, but we should test in a snooper to see if it works or not. Everyone playing this game speaks English Anyways, so we could make. If it's done in WormKit, 3.8 might actually BREAK it. Then, you'll have to make a new version for 3.8, and some players might become dinosaurs sticking to 3.7 in the meantime, which we can already see with 3.6 and Project X, which is a WormKit module which sadly hasn't been updated for 3.7, basically forcing players to use an older version. I know I rambled on in that sentence, but I was just explaining my point.
tl;dr - These would be difficult to implement, and would waste time better spent on getting 3.8 out, which is necessary if we want this game to not become a ghost town.
Yandex has a free translation API allowing up to 1 million translated characters per day.
We'd have to keep the bitmap fonts I think. Maybe a system that hot-swaps the bitmap file depending on the player's language could be devised, maybe even fully through wormkit. Similar to how people can make/use custom map terrains for random maps. Might be impossible if those asian languages require more letters/glyphs for basic communication than we can fit in a bitmap. In that thread about Asian worms Pac-Man unpacked a bunch of the files from the games- I wonder if there's anything usable in there.
An alternative - now that WA has built-in windowmode support with 3.8, we could potentially disable WA's native Page Down chat menu and make a new chat window that seamlessly appears on top of the game window. That'd bypass having to make bitmap fonts for all languages. There's probably some existing open source chat program we could use/modify, which might allow copying/pasting/selecting text and voice chat in-game too. Even if unicode could only be used in-game, it'd be a big improvement.
This thread: https://www.tus-wa.com/forums/other-worms-games/(history)-online-worms-wwp-aqua-installation-running-instructions-32291/
-
There's probably some existing open source chat program we could use/modify, which might allow copying/pasting/selecting text and voice chat in-game too. Even if unicode could only be used in-game, it'd be a big improvement.
IRC?
-
it is like with girls, more u will ignore them, more they will want u, lets ignore worms, they will be fine. No need to make another 20 topics "how to get more active bla bla bla bla.."
-
VERY VERY Bad News.
When Hostingbuddy got updated, IT BROKE WORMNET! Now, I go onto wormnet, only to realize that Wormnet Servers and Players are having domestic problems. Chat in the MOTD box. Small WA windows. Infinite loading that I have to halt by selecting something else. Crashes after games. WILL THIS EVER STOP?!
Forget translations, we have to focus on the unstable servers. Then, and ONLY THEN, can we focus on cool things like Translations and Mobile. WA Servers could DIE if we don't.
-
how about you stop spouting your personal imaginary issues everywhere