Worms HD for iPad

[swarmster]

What's going on with Team17? They have a major new release and there's no word of it anywhere on the site? Is Worms HD something they care about or should I ignore it? The game was in the top 50 most of its existence despite being completely hung out to dry.

Is it because the iPad isn't available in the UK yet? I'm wondering if issues like the stretched graphics or any control tweaks will ever be addressed.

This may be my primary method of playing Worms now that Armageddon doesn't work on OSes newer than Windows XP, so it would be a shame if it's also the least supported.

[MrBunsy]

This may be my primary method of playing Worms now that Armageddon doesn't work on OSes newer than Windows XP, so it would be a shame if it's also the least supported.

WA does work...?

[swarmster]

WA does work...?

I don't want to get too far off-topic, but:

I've switched to Mac OS now, but the last couple times I visited my brother I tried to get it working on his Vista machine and despite trying numerous patches and launchers in an attempt to get it to run, I could never get it to run in a state without garbled colours or frequent crashes. He's told me Windows 7 hasn't helped. Many other comments on the internet revealed that this is a common problem.

Speaking of Worms Armageddon, though, there are a lot of features and customization options that were in WA, but are not in Worms HD. Since the iPad has a computer-sized screen (and at least as much power as the computers I used to run WA on), I don't see any reason why all of the missing features from Worms for iPhone couldn't be added back in to Worms HD for iPad. The program could really be so much more than it is (it doesn't even seem like they resized parts of the interface and HUD to fit the larger screen and slightly different aspect ratio!).

[Kel]

I'm wondering if issues like the stretched graphics or any control tweaks will ever be addressed.


The artwork was re-done for the iPad resolution. We also tweaked the controls and camera.

It rocks.

[swarmster]

The artwork was re-done for the iPad resolution. We also tweaked the controls and camera.

It rocks.

Thank you for the reply. I guess I'll have to put the money down to see for myself. Reviews in the App Store and the one or two impressions I found online talk about stretched-looking graphics and blurry weapon/landscape art. Maybe some review copies should be sent to some of the major iPod/iPad game sites to clear up some of these issues. I have to admit, the UI in the official screenshots does look a bit off, and even the text for worm names and health seem vertically stretched and far bigger than necessary for the large iPad screen.

For example, I've included a screenshot from Worms HD (ignore the blurriness here since the original screenshot was low-res) and a screenshot from Worms Armageddon running at 1024x768 (iPad resolution). You can see that the icons are not square, and the worm text appears to be sized more appropriately for a 3-inch iPhone screen, not the 10-inch iPad screen. Are the screenshots wrong? Is this some kind of stylistic choice? In my opinion it looks bad.

http://img638.imageshack.us/img638/5929/wormsipad.jpg (http://img638.imageshack.us/i/wormsipad.jpg/)

http://img697.imageshack.us/img697/9513/wormspc.jpg (http://img697.imageshack.us/i/wormspc.jpg/)

While I'm thinking of it, one nice customization feature that appears to be missing is the ability to adjust how much of the thematic "clutter" is generated with the level (for example the guns and weird alien guys in the screenshots above). I used to turn them off most of the time in WA, as the landscapes are usually hard enough to navigate/shoot around without adding additional obstacles.

Sorry it seems like I'm doing nothing but ragging on this game. I wouldn't complain if I didn't care about it.

[MtlAngelus]

Speaking of Worms Armageddon, though, there are a lot of features and customization options that were in WA, but are not in Worms HD. Since the iPad has a computer-sized screen (and at least as much power as the computers I used to run WA on), I don't see any reason why all of the missing features from Worms for iPhone couldn't be added back in to Worms HD for iPad.
Apparently, the market T17 aim for now is the "casual" market. Something like W:A would apparently confuse and infuriate this simple minded crowd, so they avoid adding anything new and interesting in favor of keeping things simple. Kinda like what apple did with the iPad I guess. :cool:

[jcblesher]

I sincerely hope folks who bought the regular editions get the HD editions free. Unless there is extra content, the extra pixels don't justify the extra dollars.

[DrMelon]

W:A works just fine on Windows 7 for me with the latest update, WormKit and wkColorFix.

[mrplatonic]

Apparently, the market T17 aim for now is the "casual" market. Something like W:A would apparently confuse and infuriate this simple minded crowd, so they avoid adding anything new and interesting in favor of keeping things simple. Kinda like what apple did with the iPad I guess. :cool:

Couldn't they have W:A or WWP with a "normal" mode and an advanced one with all the extra weapons etc. to hopefully appeal to both the casual market and the hardcore Worms follower?

[kevinc]

I sincerely hope folks who bought the regular editions get the HD editions free. Unless there is extra content, the extra pixels don't justify the extra dollars.

Same here, any official word on this, looks like it's a separate app?

[jcwacky]

For example, I've included a screenshot from Worms HD (ignore the blurriness here since the original screenshot was low-res) and a screenshot from Worms Armageddon running at 1024x768 (iPad resolution). You can see that the icons are not square, and the worm text appears to be sized more appropriately for a 3-inch iPhone screen, not the 10-inch iPad screen. Are the screenshots wrong? Is this some kind of stylistic choice? In my opinion it looks bad.

While I'm thinking of it, one nice customization feature that appears to be missing is the ability to adjust how much of the thematic "clutter" is generated with the level (for example the guns and weird alien guys in the screenshots above). I used to turn them off most of the time in WA, as the landscapes are usually hard enough to navigate/shoot around without adding additional obstacles.

Sorry it seems like I'm doing nothing but ragging on this game. I wouldn't complain if I didn't care about it.

I completely agree with your comments, I already left a review in the app store saying how things were just too big for the iPad, and it made it feel too child like.

Your screenshots show how much tighter the original looks, and I think it makes the game feel much more solid, instead of big and flumpy.

Here is a couple of screenshots straight from my iPad showing the graphics, and how poor the landscape looks when zoomed in. Ironically, the worms look poor when zoomed out.

http://drp.ly/187Geu+
http://drp.ly/187J2i+

I'm also a bit dissapointed by the frame rate, scolling doesn't feel smooth, I'm not sure if it's due to the unneccecary 3D backgrounds.

The game is good, but it doesn't have the same in depth, polished feel of the originals. Gosh, I remember playing the Worms 1 demo on a magazine cover disc, that was a long time ago!

[Thurbo]

I'm also a bit dissapointed by the frame rate, scolling doesn't feel smooth, I'm not sure if it's due to the unneccecary 3D backgrounds.

lol, they're 3D now but don't look any better :p

My friend owns Worms for iPod and I hate it how sloppy the controls are. You usually have 45 secs per turn which is not enough though; it's just impossible to be as quick as in the other versions of Open Warfare.

And please do something about the A.I.! It's ridiculous how they do the most perfect shots human players couldn't do so often (even if they are set to stupid) and at the same time stay where they just placed their very own mine/dynamite instead of getting away (even if they are set to strategical)

[d3rd3vil]

I also tested this Worm game for the Ipad and it's really bad :(

When I create a team it ALWAYS freezes when renaming the third worm! Well I mean I can rename 2 worms, then I have to save and then rename the third worm, otherwise it freezes :D Also the performance is unbelievably bad for such graphics....

What did they do after Worms Armageddon was released? They don't know how to create good worms games anymore :(