need a new laptop... want one that will support worms!

[pokolo]

my laptop recently died so i need a new one

one problem with it is i could never figure out how to get it to run worms world party

i miss playing it especially the shoppa modes! i know armageddon has more players though so i could see myself switching to that

any suggestions on a laptop i could get that will for sure be able to run it?

[GreeN]

Worms Armageddon has been given a lot of unofficial updates over the years; it is pretty much compatible with all new Windows setups. The only warning you may want to heed is that AMD/ATI graphics cards seem to have more problems than Nvidia cards. But providing you install the latest update (http://forum.team17.co.uk/showthread.php?t=61023), it is quite safe to assume that the game will run perfectly on anything you buy.

[franpa]

Most laptops that don't come with only an integrated video card should work well.

[Obn3g0n]

Any laptop will be able to run it. Windows 7 and 8 don't cause any problems. The most demanding thing in worms is an optional component called ProjectX which adds a ton of new weapons and possibilities, with updated graphics. I'm pretty sure the modern integrated AMD Radeon and/or Intel graphics should be able to run ProjectX smoothly without any difficulties. But someone else will have to confirm that.

A laptop with a high resolution screen is way better for worms, especially big map shoppers and tower races. And it's just way better in general for everything. There are tons of deals on laptops with 1366x768 screens, but in the end you have a laptop with a crappy screen. I wouldn't buy any of them. It will take a lot more work to find a good deal on a laptop with a nice screen, especially if you have a small budget.

In Canada the best deal on a laptop with a crappy 1366x768 screen right now is probably the refurbished Lenovo p580 from bestbuy for $379cad.

Dell Inspirons with 1080p screens go on sale from time to time. This is probably the cheapest 1080p screen laptop you can get, but it's not the most attractive. It was just on sale for $599cdn with a 1gb Radeon graphics card included.

If you have a bit more money, the Lenovo y580 is a good bet, and it has a latest-gen intel core-i7 and very powerful nvidia graphics card built in, even on the base model, which will run pretty much any modern game. The cheapest I've seen this is about $850cdn. A very good value for the performance you get - this is the one I'd buy.

If budget is no issue and you want something sleeker (the above laptops are relatively big and clunky), you could consider an ultrabook. Vizio makes probably the cheapest option, a 14" Macbook clone with a 1600x900 screen and 128gb ssd, which goes for sale at $599 all the time, but it has some flaws - the keyboard and trackpad are trash. Samsung series 9, Sony Vaio-Z or Asus Zenbook are all pretty solid and have screen upgrades available, but I haven't looked into these much. Not sure if samsung series 6 has a screen upgrade option. A Macbook Pro running Windows would work if you want to pay out your ass. Lenovo makes higher quality stuff with 1080p in their W and T models. There are some more. Do not get an HP laptop, they suck!

Right now you pay a big premium for an ultrabook with a good screen. This should change in June when Intel's new processors are released, with the rush of new ultrabooks that will come on the market then. They will all be competing with Apple's awesome Retina screen, and also on price. If both thinness and price are important to you, and you can wait, that might be a good idea.

I live in Canada, so I can't speak for the USA deals. Dell and Lenovo both have online "outlet" stores where you can buy refurbs/open box/scratch and dent/some new laptops for reduced prices. The public can also buy from Lenovo's EPP (Employee/Friend Prices) website, if you Google for the password to access the site.

Sites like Slickdeals are your friend because there aren't many good-screened laptops out there at the moment at affordable prices. You can't expect to just walk into Bestbuy and pick something out.. they won't have anything decent for a reasonable price. Do your research..

[Muzer]

The elephant in the room here is keylock. Many laptops fail to register the space press in one or more {up,down}+{left,right}+space combinations, making roping significantly harder if you're used to a keyboard not doing this. I would ensure you can test the laptop does not do this - usually just opening a word processor and making sure the space actually takes effect will suffice (but I have seen a few keyboards with more weird effects that you could probably only spot with a keyboard testing program) - before buying it.

Of course, if you plan on using an external keyboard, this is moot.

[Obn3g0n]

That's an excellent point Muzer. If you're buying the laptop with worms in mind, you'll definitely want to find out if there's a keylock.

Along that line, the keys you'll use the most in Worms are the arrows, the F-buttons (F1 to F12) and the space bar. Some laptops only have half-size F-buttons. Some are even worse, and the keys that should be F1-F12 are assigned different functions like volume and screen brightness, with the F-buttons as a secondary function that you have to hold Fn down to use. You don't want any of that.

Likewise, some laptop keyboards have half-size/compact arrow keys, which you definitely don't want. That Vizio laptop for instance would be awful for roping. Which is a shame because it's so stylish and cheap. But remember even if you have keylock or the button layout/size is crap, it's always a good idea to use an external mouse/keyboard, for both the better performance you get, and to save wear on your laptop.

[keiyakins]

Any laptop will be able to run it. Windows 7 and 8 don't cause any problems

Windows 8 makes the Wormnet dialogs unusable without registry hacks. ... but it fixes the color corruption, go figure.

[Pac-Man]

i dont have problems with any wormnet dialogs on w8

[StepS]

Windows 8 makes the Wormnet dialogs unusable without registry hacks. ... but it fixes the color corruption, go figure.

good morning. this was fixed in 3.7.0.0 :)

[keiyakins]

good morning. this was fixed in 3.7.0.0 :)

That's nice that it's in a patch that I can't use without breaking my install.

[SgtFusion]

Why would it break your install? Do you have the Steam version of W:A?
EDIT: Never mind. Apparently you do.

[Obn3g0n]

keiyakins: WormkitDS + windowmode.

http://myfiles.my1.ru/wa/wk/windowmode.rar
http://myfiles.my1.ru/wa/wk/WormKitDS.zip

[Pac-Man]

Ahhh isn't it beautiful, all these advantages users of those drm software platforms have! [/squidwardvoice]

[keiyakins]

Ahhh isn't it beautiful, all these advantages users of those drm software platforms have! [/squidwardvoice]

Yeah, now let's see you play without a disk. If the disk version was actually DRM-free I could just use the patch, its the DRM that breaks it!

[Obn3g0n]

The cd version has no protection whatsoever. I've been playing for many years without the cd, using Daemon Tools lite.

The updates just don't work with cracked p2p versions of the game..

[franpa]

Yeah, now let's see you play without a disk. If the disk version was actually DRM-free I could just use the patch, its the DRM that breaks it!

The DRM was disabled years ago, the only reason the game needs the disc is because everything isn't installed and Cybershadow/deadcode haven't made an improved installer that installs it all for you... yet.

[keiyakins]

The cd version has no protection whatsoever. I've been playing for many years without the cd, using Daemon Tools lite.

The updates just don't work with cracked p2p versions of the game..

I demand an immediate retraction of your statement and an apology. You were very clearly insinuating that I have a pirated copy, which I do not.

In any case, yes, if you use tools to circumvent the DRM the DRM is circumvented. That should be obvious. But it doesn't mean it's not there.

[Obn3g0n]

Woah, calm down. I didn't mean to insinuate anything. It was a slightly ambiguous sentence; you interpreted "just" to mean "simply", as in "the updates simply don't work with your (pirated) version of the game".

Rephrased: The only versions of WA that the updates don't work with are cracked p2p versions of the game. And the trymedia version iirc.

DRM would prevent someone from using Daemon Tools. Like franpa said, the only reason you need a CD is because the game doesn't install everything to your hard drive. There is no DRM.

Happy now?

[Muzer]

...and the Steam version, which still hasn't been released yet ;)

[naskdn]

how much do you wanna spend?

[keiyakins]

Woah, calm down. I didn't mean to insinuate anything. It was a slightly ambiguous sentence; you interpreted "just" to mean "simply", as in "the updates simply don't work with your (pirated) version of the game".

Rephrased: The only versions of WA that the updates don't work with are cracked p2p versions of the game.

We already established it doesn't work on my copy. I interpreted "just" correctly, that if it doesn't work on my copy my copy must be pirated.

If that case, where's the lawsuit from Team17 to Valve to prove it, and how do I get a refund for the falsely-advertised copy of Worms Armageddon I got from there?

[Obn3g0n]

I explained why that's the wrong interpretation.

At this point it's clear you're trolling. I'm done with this thread.

[SgtFusion]

We already established it doesn't work on my copy. I interpreted "just" correctly, that if it doesn't work on my copy my copy must be pirated.

If that case, where's the lawsuit from Team17 to Valve to prove it, and how do I get a refund for the falsely-advertised copy of Worms Armageddon I got from there?

"Even though you just explained what you meant to say, I'm going to continue to respond to what I thought you meant as if you hadn't explained at all, because I know better than you what you meant to say."

This is how things are:
1. The Updates that CyberShadow and Deadcode make currently only work with the CD version of W:A.
2. The Steam version of W:A isn't the CD version.
3. There's no DRM - it's just that if you have installed the Update onto your Steam version, the updated .exe will think that it's the CD version of W:A and not work because you don't have the W:A CD inserted into your optical disk drive.
3b. The reason for this is that the Update is currently specifically designed for the CD version, which, unlike the Steam version, doesn't install all of the game's files to your hard drive.
4. Point #3 is also true for cracked/pirated versions of the game.

[Squirminator2k]

And, FYI, it seems an update is inbound for the Steam build. We should get it in the next few days if my instincts are correct.

[Muzer]

"Even though you just explained what you meant to say, I'm going to continue to respond to what I thought you meant as if you hadn't explained at all, because I know better than you what you meant to say."

This is how things are:
1. The Updates that CyberShadow and Deadcode make currently only work with the CD version of W:A.
2. The Steam version of W:A isn't the CD version.
3. There's no DRM - it's just that if you have installed the Update onto your Steam version, the updated .exe will think that it's the CD version of W:A and not work because you don't have the W:A CD inserted into your optical disk drive.
3b. The reason for this is that the Update is currently specifically designed for the CD version, which, unlike the Steam version, doesn't install all of the game's files to your hard drive.
4. Point #3 is also true for cracked/pirated versions of the game.
Well, technically-speaking there is a bit of DRM - the game executable needs to check that you have Steam running, that your account is authorised to play the game (ie that you have purchased it), etc.. Considering that, without kludgy workarounds you can only be logged into one place at a time, I would personally consider this DRM.

[keiyakins]

3. There's no DRM - it's just that if you have installed the Update onto your Steam version, the updated .exe will think that it's the CD version of W:A and not work because you don't have the W:A CD inserted into your optical disk drive.

3. There is no DRM - it's just that you can't fulfill the conditions of the DRM.

[SgtFusion]

3. There is no DRM - it's just that you can't fulfill the conditions of the DRM.

I was talking about the CD version, actually. The problem in this case isn't due to DRM - it happens with any version of W:A that installs all of the game files to the hard drive, including, as mentioned, cracked/pirated versions of the game, Trymedia versions, and the Steam version.

[keiyakins]

CD checks are DRM, is my point. You keep whining that there's no DRM. If that was true, it wouldn't be a problem.

[Pac-Man]

it would be drm if it would be a pointless cd check. this cd check is important for checking the availability of files, so it's not drm **** as we know it from today.

[Muzer]

CD checks are DRM, is my point. You keep whining that there's no DRM. If that was true, it wouldn't be a problem.
Let's say a game requires Windows XP to run, and you try to run it on Windows 98. It would check for this, and say "no, you can't run it". Would this be DRM? No, because Windows XP is a requirement for the game. In the same way, a CD is a requirement for the usual WA.exe because many of the game's files are loaded from there and never installed onto the HDD, for the CD version.

[franpa]

CD checks are DRM, is my point. You keep whining that there's no DRM. If that was true, it wouldn't be a problem.

Keep in mind the game came out quite a long time ago. It would have seemed like a good idea to minimize the amount of HDD space wasted back then by having games run off the CD. It was unlikely to have been done for piracy reasons.

[keiyakins]

If it would read them from the directory if they existed, then being able to read them from the CD instead isn't DRM. If it won't, as in this case, it's a means to require the disk to be there. An (admittedly primitive) form of DRM.

[Squirminator2k]

Can I just say, I love this conversation. Seriously, I've got chills.

[thomasp]

Can I just say, this thread is now wildly off topic. Please steer it back to discussing about laptops that support WA before I go crazy with my big red deleting button.

[Pac-Man]

If it would read them from the directory if they existed, then being able to read them from the CD instead isn't DRM. If it won't, as in this case, it's a means to require the disk to be there. An (admittedly primitive) form of DRM.
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Digital_rights_management
Everything said.

Back to topic: I wouldn't know a laptop which doesn't support W:A, except maybe one of those uber old netbooks which didn't support the 640x480 resolution needed for the frontend. However, there's an (outdated?) WormKit module to let it run in 800x600.

[Muzer]

My friend had a Dell Mini 10 (I believe), with an Intel GMA500 "Poulsbo" graphics chipset.



If you ever see something labelled "GMA500" or "Poulsbo", RUN. Run for your life, never look back. It is the most horrible, evil, stupid graphics chipset I've ever seen with awful drivers to match, on all operating systems.

[Pac-Man]

Mostly, I do not recommend any Intel graphics chip since they are really badasses in things about backwards compatibility.