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Gnork
13 Apr 2007, 13:25
As some of you may have noticed, a 'new' multiplayer game made it to Wormnet - called FlySurfer. The rules for this type of game are very easy, yet many people do not understand them, hence this topic.

The Roots: A FlySurfer is in fact nothing more than a combined SurfShopper and FlyShopper. While SurfShoppers usually take place in a 2 chambered map with an island below, FlySurfers are open and obviously you have to fly - sometimes. Here comes the itchy part, because first time joiners might get confused on what to do in their turn -> When to fly? When to surf? ahh i quit in stead of trying...


The Rules:
Surf to the island.
Only worms on the island may attack.
CBA and Fly Before Attack.
ABL

That's it - nothing more nothing less.

Notes on rules:
There is no need to fly before you surf to the island. (Rule 1 only states "Surf to the island", and not "Fly before Surf to the island"). However if ya like to show off or fly a bit before you take a dive into the water (or maybe you just want to get some crates on the other side of the map), nobody is gonna stop you in having that bit of fun.

ONLY worms on the island may attack, and knocking/attacking on the island is not allowed. So how can you attack worms on it then? - Aqua sheep is one option, guided missile another one, but remember: Fly before Attack. How you'd get off the island? No, not via roping through the surf tunnel, but by taking the stairs :)

Remember the traditional shopper rules that apply before attacking. Crate Before Attack is a very old rule and since this is a mutated FlyShopper, you must also Fly Before Attack (even if the attacking worm flew before he surfed!). There is NO rule telling you that you must CBS (Crate Before Surf), so just be sure you get your crate before you attack. Getting one or several crates before you surf is always good for your armory though.



QnA:

Q] So, what about worms starting on the island then? May they attack or must they surf first?

A] This had many thoughts on it, and to keep the rules simple, no additional rules are added to make those worms surf before attack. They are just lucky to start on the island already and may attack immediately. Why? If several worms start on the island and during the turns several worms also manage to surf to it, then the island may become a bit crowded. Nobody is gonna remember (or wants to have to remember) which worms on it surfed and which didn't. To 'prevent cheating' and people deploying attacks with worms on the island that have not surfed yet, that part has been legalized (KISS method, programmers should know wtf I'm talking about here). Nevertheless it's nice and fair play if that person in question at least tried to surf 1 worm to the island before he deploys the lucker(s) (but still no cow if the person doesn't). The solution not to have any worms starting on the island would be to use worm placement on game startup. Resulting in people who don't know where to place their worms, resulting in very long waiting time and explaining before all worms have been placed on the map by the players and the actual game can start. I don't like that solution, so worms on the island are simply lucky, wohoo!


Q] After I surf, how do I attack with that worm? Because his turn ends after the surf I can never complete your "Surf and Fly Before Attack"....

A] Use WormSelect on your next turn to select the worm you just surfed to the island and attack with him. Your turn ends after the surf, sure. That's the moment where you gain an attack for your next turn. With the new WA patch, it's possible to surf and fly in just 1 turn. Be sure to enable TestStuff5 before starting the game (do so by typing /test in the chat b4 u light up).


Q] Do I have to surf all my worms to the island before I may attack?

A] No need to surf your whole team to the island before you start your attacks. During your turns, simply use SelectWorm to choose if you want to surf to the island, or to attack with a worm on the island. If there is no WormSelect available in the game, then tell the host and quit - it's a basic option that should be in the game scheme and FlySurfers can't be played properly without.


Q] After an attack, must that worm surf again, or is he free to continue like in a normal FlyShopper next turn?

A] Hehe, this is not a normal FlyShopper: on his next turn he MUST surf to the island again to get a new attack ==> Surf - CBA/FBA - Surf - CBA/FBA - etc. Remember: only worms on the island may attack, so if you'd like to attack again, there is no way without surfing first, unless you'd COW horribly...


Q] Yes, but after I attack, must I surf to the island immediately, I mean during retreat time?

A] Wow, that would be an awesome hard rule. No m8, not needed but if you manage to do it, it's very cool and you'd probably get some N1's, wohoo's, VN1's and more in the chat for that xD. After you attack, just surf with the worm on his next turn, that will be fine.


Q] Ok, I surfed, took the stairs, even made a fly, but didn't manage to attack - may that worm attack next turn without having to surf again? Please?

A] No. Mess up your turn and you will have to start over again. What would you expect, b0on? quoted: "Please?" - NO.


Q] It's so hard, can't you make it easier?

A] The game knows 3 basic rules only. Play a couple of games to learn how the rules work and how to use your attacks efficiently. Also make sure you know how to surf. Yes, it's a hard gametype - it was meant to be a challenge, so you'd better know how to use a rope, too :)


Q] Any tactical information perhaps?


The FlySurfer scheme uses WormSelect by default. So players may choose if they surf a worm to the island, or use a brave soldier on it to attack the enemy.

Before you attack or choose a worm with WormSelect, check your weapons so you have a good idea of which weap you're going to use and which one might be good for Plan B if you run out of time (but doesn't this apply for all worms games?) ;)

FlySurfer maps typically have two stairs, leading to left or right part of the upper map. If your enemy is to the right, then take the left stairs so you'd only have to make 1 fly. Otherwise, you'd have to go back and forth unless you have something long ranged in your armory. Time is limited so if you like to have some time for error corrections, then start with taking the stairs on the side which has the least enemy worms on it.



Q] Scheme settings suggestions please?


TestStuff5 should be ON, otherwise the game REALLY sucks. This will let you continue after you surf ao you can both surf and fly in 1 turn.

WormSelect should be ON, otherwise the game sucks. If you can't choose the worm you just surfed to the island, there whole idea of how the game should run is messed up.

Turn time a bit more than 30 seconds. I'm using 33 secs and it seems a nice setting. Worms from the island appear at the upper parts between 27 and 20 seconds, resulting in a nice and quick Fly and Attack. Put in more seconds if you like, but it would probably be a waste of time since the game is for pro ropers intended anyway.

Retreat time set to 8 (diEharD) or 10 (possible surf after attack would be easy) seconds.

NO falldamage, the game is hard enough already, don't you think? Worms flo0sh, flush, blub and weeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeee more than they fall anyway....

NO mines or barrels



Q] Additions?

A] PodSurfer: a mutated version of PodShopper and FlySurfer is also around: involving a little pod on outer left or right side of the map from which the worms must make a very long surf to the island on the other side of the map. Those lucky ones that actually make it, go upstairs and follow normal shopper rules, so: CBA, AFR and ABL. For the rest, same basics apply as to FlySurfers, unless it involves a PodFlySurfer of couse ;)

KRD
13 Apr 2007, 13:37
I'm a fan of long posts myself, but it's hard to expect people who quit a game rather than asking about the rules to come to the T17 forums and read two full pages of text. Perhaps you could somehow separate the important bits from the less important ones or use a bit of bold where appropriate.

The scheme itself seems interesting enough, but hardly simple. Since I avoid Shoppers as much as possible, I'm not the best person to pass judgment here anyway, though. :p

Run
13 Apr 2007, 13:49
The post makes it seem far more complicated than it actually is.

Gnork
13 Apr 2007, 13:50
...use a bit of bold where appropriate...

Done, thx for suggestion KRD :)
btw, the same topic is also on the blamethepixel forum.


The post makes it seem far more complicated than it actually is.

Indeed, but I just summarized most questions that people asked during hosting over and over again. The game is very simple, yet many weird questions were asked while theirs answers are obvious. Either they don't think before asking or don't understand the concept of needing at least 2 turns to be able to attack. Small things posted together makes it look very complicated indeed, while it's only about 3 simple rules...

franpa
13 Apr 2007, 15:10
where do i get a fly surfer shoppa scheme and map from?

Gnork
13 Apr 2007, 15:27
where do i get a fly surfer shoppa scheme and map from?


Check Blame The Pixel (http://www.blamethepixel.com/) for both! The scheme can be found here (http://www.blamethepixel.com/file.php?id=2453), and here (http://www.blamethepixel.com/file.php?id=2435) is the Linux FlySurfer, which I guess was the first FlySurfer around, unless someone made something similar before the 10th of March this year :) If so, then please correct me and show your map, cuz I couldn't find anything like this and more maps are welcome (currently only 5 FlySurfers available and 1 PodSurfer prototype).

ShootMe
13 Apr 2007, 16:59
there are more surf maps than that. go to www.wmdb.org to see them all

Gnork
13 Apr 2007, 17:09
there are more surf maps than that. go to www.wmdb.org to see them all

We're not talking about regular SurfShoppers in this topic. SurfShoppers are known for a while now, but all I've seen so far were roofed two chamber types of maps. FlySurfer maps add the Fly Before Attack. But you can put it in the same category, being a Surf Shopper type of course.