My 2 Cents

[Snoots]

*rant alert*

So having finally got round to getting WA to work perfectly on Vista having spent the last few months playing WWP I was looking forward to experiencing all the benefits of the patches I'd read about. First stop is WormNet and I immediately realise I've been missing out on the sharper more intuitive interface - very impressed with both the amount of people online and the information conveyed to me (things like when people leave aren't displayed in WWP). "Great! Always going to be guaranteed a game in here" thinks I and sure enough I get to grips with the WA world in a few test games.

However, can I just say that to me the WA community is far far less welcoming and facilitating than the WWP one, despite being on average 6 times the size. Half the people in the channels seem to be doing nothing, 25% are flaming one another while the other 25% are engaged almost exclusively in roping games (seriously, shoppa etc interested me for about a week before they became repetitive and just downright dull - wheres the tactical knowledge of weapons, strategies and how the terrain will transform? All the things I play worms for). I try to raise this in chat and people just tell me how **** WWP is, spouting off about how roping favours the unskilled etc etc, how gravity is 'mucked up' and other reasons they consider it not worth their time.

Basically I just want to say that I don't give a monkey about any of this as to me WWP is much much much more worthwhile to me as someone who doesn't want to rope all day and doesn't want to be bombarded with elitism. I was looking forward to finally having a patched WA working well on my system but I'm damn well considering uninstalling it as all the 'improvements' in gameplay do not make up for, in my eyes, a community that is shockingly one sided and utterly un-accommodating (god only knows what it would be like for a newbie to walk into) and it is for that reason that I'm sticking with the 'inferior' smaller community of WWP.

Say what you will, I daresay it will be the same retorts that were dished up to me in chat, in which case it will only reaffirm my opinion as I'm yet to see enough empirical evidence of improved gameplay that makes up for the community.

</outrage>

[bonz]

Forget the idiots on WormNet!

Join #worms on the Gamesurge IRC (http://worms2d.info/Worms_on_GameSurge) network in the evening (GMT) and play with the good people.
Gametypes like T17, Hysteria, BnA or simply Elite/Normal are gladly played there.

Ask if someone wants to give you an introduction into the new beta features (especially big maps, 48 worms and 250 mines) with a few games (most likely a BnA game with all 3 features mentioned before). :)

I might be there myself tonight at around 8PM GMT today.

[Run]

Yeah, wormnet is full of idiots, that's why all the sensible people hang around on IRC and organise games through that instead. Follow bonz's link, it's well worth it.

Also you're more likely to find interesting schemes through the IRC channel, since only a few people there actually play a lot of rope games. I tend to find there's a big overlap between "idiocy" and "penchant for roping", and fortunately they also overlap with "not on IRC"

[DarkOne]

Run and bonz have said it all :)

I'd like to add that you can still optimize weapon usage in shoppers and have tactical battles in 1on1 games.

[bonz]

I'd like to add that you can still optimize weapon usage in shoppers and have tactical battles in 1on1 games.
My favourite tactic for 3+ player shoppers is to keep a low profile: just get crates and hide properly.
That way, people can't hit you and focus on the other player(s) and it seems to me that they'll forget about you.
You can then wait for the perfect moment to use one of your weapons you gathered and strike with maximum efficiency.

It also helps if you make a few clumsy attempts at attacking and hurt yourself a bit.
Activates the schema of childlike characteristics in your opponents, who subconsciously start to feel sorry for you and attack you less. :D

[Plasma]

It also helps if you make a few clumsy attempts at attacking and hurt yourself a bit.
Activates the schema of childlike characteristics in your opponents, who subconsciously start to feel sorry for you and attack you less. :D
Actually, I would've thought that would be due to being perceived as less of a threat than to just sympathy.

[redwraith]

I haven't been in wormnet for quite a while. Today I played a few games in AG. In each of these games my opponents left when it was clear they were going to lose. I really hate that.

At first, I was amazed that more than 50 people were in AG (much more than the last time I was in AG) but if most of them are idiots, it's not really that cool.

If I remember correctly, some years ago the W:A online community was a bunch of nice lads (with only a few exceptions) but it looks like this has changed.

[bonz]

I haven't been in wormnet for quite a while. Today I played a few games in AG. In each of these games my opponents left when it was clear they were going to lose. I really hate that.

At first, I was amazed that more than 50 people were in AG (much more than the last time I was in AG) but if most of them are idiots, it's not really that cool.

If I remember correctly, some years ago the W:A online community was a bunch of nice lads (with only a few exceptions) but it looks like this has changed.
I suggest you go here: http://worms2d.info/Worms_on_GameSurge
The finest selection of wormers is waiting there.
My humble self included.

[yakuza]

You're exagerating. And I can't agree with the comparison of communities either. Having played both games for almost a decade I can guarantee you that the community in WWP is much more childish. However, since WA right now is much more active it might be easier to bump into idiots.

Also, you're much more likely to find a good ground game in WA, elite, intermediate, team17 et al. But that might be in a higher level to what you're interested in. Based on my experience, the ground schemes in WWP are almost non existant never mind people who are actually good at them.

Also, the elitism is nothing compared to what it used to be. And whilst it's not as present in WWP that's only because they're just not leet enough kthx

But seriously, one of this threads complaining about the lack of ground games and the popularity of roping pops up a couple of times per month, if you could tell us what schemes you're interested in we might be able to give you more insight. It will also help if you become more open mionded about rope games.

[DarkOne]

You're exagerating. And I can't agree with the comparison of communities either. Having played both games for almost a decade I can guarantee you that the community in WWP is much more childish. However, since WA right now is much more active it might be easier to bump into idiots.

All in all wise words, sir!
However, I can compare the amount of idiots I find on WN, on mIRC and on a few forums and I must say that by far the lowest percentage is on mIRC. (note though that I don't check the T17 forums thoroughly enough to make any kind of comparison with the community on these forums)

This is just WA btw, I don't play WWP

[Run]

All in all wise words, sir!
However, I can compare the amount of idiots I find on WN, on mIRC and on a few forums and I must say that by far the lowest percentage is on mIRC.

we make a concerted effort to run any idiots out of the channel, purifying it nicely

[Plainplane]

I suggest you go here: http://worms2d.info/Worms_on_GameSurge
The finest selection of wormers is waiting there.
My humble self included.I haven't been worming in a while and this looks a bit interesting. How do I make it work?

[bonz]

I haven't been worming in a while and this looks a bit interesting. How do I make it work?
The last link in that article tells you how to install and set up a common IRC client.

[Plainplane]

Do you recommend mIRC?

[bonz]

Do you recommend mIRC?
I use Miranda IM, an instant messenger that can handle ICQ, MSN, AOL, Yahoo, IRC and others.

So if you don't already have a multi-protocol client, I'd suggest you go with mIRC.
(Also because that tutorial I linked you to describes how to set up that.)

[Plainplane]

I haven't used a Multi-protocol client before.

Also, how would hosting work from the mIRC?

[bonz]

Also, how would hosting work from the mIRC?
You mean hosting a WA game? That won't work.

You can merely join WormNet (which is basically an IRC channel) and chat, which is convenient if you use IRC anyway for other channels.

[Plainplane]

So the games are discussed on the IRC channel, and then the games are hosted on WormNet like normal?

[yakuza]

So the games are discussed on the IRC channel, and then the games are hosted on WormNet like normal?

It's a Worms channel. Games are ogranized quite often, but there's chatting about anything. Even beans.

[Snoots]

Woah, totally forgot about this thread...just thought i'd say i joined #worms and it has immeasurably improved the game for me so anyone feeling the same, go for it.

[b1llygo4t]

the reason half the people on wormnet just sit there is because they use a snooping program to stay logged into womnet during a game. i use prosnooper, which has a buddy list and pings you when you receive a msg. i dont see much elitism on wormnet, just the same ol guys, people that speak some other language and dont know the rules, and noobs.

i see more elitism on this board

[exrarne]

I generally play on WormNET. Well, I've only been playing for about a week. I'm not a massive fan of shoppa games, so I host normals.

That brings me to my first problem. Shoppa games and WxW are the memes of WormNET. Boring to some, but others obsessed with them, flooding the channel with "host shoppa plz host shoppa plz".
And when you join a shoppa game...

"OMG COW KTC KTC KTC U R BANNED FROM FUTURE GAMES NOOB OMFG KTC KTC COW BANNED ROFL"
"Chill, let him skip next go"
"NO KTC"
*takes go, kills leader*
"WTF COW KTC KTC..."

That's the problem. The main problem. You make one mistake, and you're ****ed. If you don't understand the rules, you're forced to GTFO. If you make a single mistake, you're forced to GTFO.

So, taking advice from this thread I decided to go to #worms on gamesurge. The atmosphere is much calmer there. They play a wider variety of schemes (t17, hysteria etc, contrary to "OMFG NO SHOPPA HOST SHOPPA LOL NOOB"), and since it's on IRC there's more conversation, more of a community.

BTW, a good IRC client is ChatZilla for Firefox (it's easy to use) but if you want a more advanced client you should get mIRC+NNS. NNS owns.

[knkn]

About the #worms channel, don't forget great multiprotocol chat programs that include irc such as: Pidgin, Trillian, and perhaps Digsby.

[CyberShadow]

Last time I checked, Trillian didn't support Unicode. In my book, no communication program is anywhere near "great" if it doesn't have decent international support.

[Muzer]

I use XChat