Perhaps that might seem like a slightly premature statement, given that people are still posting every day, but the community departed the Team17 Forum a good long time ago. OD is the last remnant of those days, and it appears to be on the outs as well. I can't see this community lasting beyond two years at best. And frankly, I think it's far too late to reverse the changes that brought us to this point.

But every death requires an autopsy. And the way I see it, there are a few main things that caused it. Perhaps if we saw the signs earlier, we could have prevented it from happening. But it's much too late now.

First, any coherent community completely evaporated. I registered in 2003, and remember a surprisingly vibrant internet community, the likes of which I have yet to see elsewhere. Real people, real humor, and a distinct lack of freaks. The Worms games were only a small portion of what the forum was at that point - forum stories, personal issues and the sort were actually all very common. Hell, remember this?

http://img341.imageshack.us/img341/1641/futurewormmy9.gif

You guys made it for me when I was sick in the hospital, at the request of PinkWorm. I can't imagine seeing anything close to that now. This forum served as a sort of training wheels to the "real" internet for me. You might remember that when I registered, I was 13 years old and very, very green. Having a friendly, supportive community like this was incredibly helpful, and allowed me to make mistakes while learning along the way.

That community is pretty much gone now. The current idiots of this forum are pretty much exactly the same as they were two or three years ago. Inflated egos, along with bizarre senses of self-worth and entitlement, have led to a group of incredibly obnoxious users (Cyclaws, Cisken, Splinter, Alien King, Plasma) who do little aside from backseat modding and stupid avatar-related circlejerks. Forum stories, games, and everything else that made OO fun are gone completely, or have been replaced with lackluster imitations. Nobody calls each other out for being idiots, which helps it to stagnate like waste in a pond.

Secondly, a sense of humor has completely evaporated. Nobody, and I do mean nobody, got the joke behind the "what are you listening to" thread that Pickleworm and I made a while back. You can damn well believe that if that thread had popped up in 2003 or 2004, it would be full of people singing the praises of Eric Prydz - Call On Me. Instead, we got a couple "wtf. i'm so confused." posts, as well as people posting the songs they were actually listening to. Fúcking sweet.

If you need further proof, Plainplane is perhaps the most clever person in OO right now. That should say it all.

Third, the Teamsters have pretty much stopped interacting with the community at large, aside from discussing game development. They used to participate in funny threads, offering their own unique (and frequently hilarious) input. Now they don't. You'll see a few posts from the developers in the development forum, but that's about it.

In all fairness, I can't really blame them. As I've already mentioned, the forum used to be worth posting in. Now it isn't. And there are much better communities if someone is actually looking for halfway decent, intelligent conversation, or humor for that matter.

Finally, people stopped posting good fan art. Believe it or not, forum users actually used to put effort into their creations before they posted, because they knew that if they didn't, they would get torched into submission. Given the rather low quality of my early fan art, I'm quite surprised that it was posted on the Worms 3D website along with the creations of Mocoworm, Kjatte, Blendworm and Vader. Go figure.

But even my old stuff is a damn sight better than most of what the forum has to offer now. Case in point: this thread (http://forum.team17.co.uk/showthread.php?t=33399). If CHRIS had posted this in the fan art forum a few years back, he would be flamed so hard he would have to spend a few days in the burn ward. Now?

"that rooooools dooooood!!! :) :D :) :D"
"Excellent comics, keep making them! I can't wait for next comic!"
"It looks pretty good, but it can be even better.
Though,it's better than what I have seen lately."

What the HELL? This does not roooooool. It is not excellent. It is awful in almost every regard, and should not be praised for being something it isn't. But somewhere along the line, Fan Art became AnythingGoes. And I bet half of non-ODers wouldn't even get that joke.

I think it's too late to turn it around. I hope nothing but the best for Team17 as a company in the future. Independent game development is important to the industry, and Team17 has a truly impressive history. But I've pretty much given up on the forum entirely. It's just unhealthy to stick around a dead man.

I agree. It used to be a much more fun place.
I'll probably leave sometime soon too, not before making another "I'll draw you" thread with some piece of impressive art on display, only to leave all the idiots requesting and then wondering why I never came back. :p

Aww why did I not sign that card? :(

You know, as cheesy and dumb as this sounds, this thread just makes me want to say how glad I am that I've met each and every one of you. I know we've had our differences, well, some of us at least, but I honestly don't know who I'd be if it weren't for you all. I think I was 13 or so too when I joined, August 6, 2002, for the sole purpose of asking a dumb question (http://forum.team17.co.uk/showthread.php?t=4049) but for some reason I stuck around and I'm so glad I did.


I think this forum died when W3D was released. I think that's when the onslaught of morons first invaded and it went downhill from there. I also believe this was the point where the Teamsters became mostly inactive on these boards, also contributing to the downfall. I think all the speculation about W3D, or I guess W3 as it was called at the time, kept the community vibrant and interested, because it was just such an interesting and novel concept to have this radical new game. Then it got released and we were swarmed with morons asking about this or that, and then I think that's basically what started to kill it. And then we of OD have just been slowly leaving, one at a time...

Oh the memories!
Where are the T17 competitions?
The April Fools Jokes?
Where's Nutter?
:(

I think this forum died when W3D was released. I think that's when the onslaught of morons first invaded and it went downhill from there. I also believe this was the point where the Teamsters became mostly inactive on these boards, also contributing to the downfall. I think all the speculation about W3D, or I guess W3 as it was called at the time, kept the community vibrant and interested, because it was just such an interesting and novel concept to have this radical new game. Then it got released and we were swarmed with morons asking about this or that, and then I think that's basically what started to kill it. And then we of OD have just been slowly leaving, one at a time...

Yes I agree, that's what I was going to say aswell. This forum was so much fun when the teamsters actively visited and would discuss the games, and after W3D they seemed to vannish. They hadly spoke about Worms 4.Talking to Team17 was what did it for me, and after W3D it just got boring here, so I left and didn't come back for about a year (I missed Worms Forts compleatly while I was gone)

Also, they had removed post counts and I was upset. ;)

I too joined when I was <15, and I think most of the core users who are still around today did aswell. So is it hard to beleive that we've simply grown up and get annoyed with the magic beein lost? And then there are thenew kids who are repeating our old mistakes and that's annoying as hell. Well, I just I think getting older counts for some of it..

You know, as cheesy and dumb as this sounds, this thread just makes me want to say how glad I am that I've met each and every one of you. I know we've had our differences, well, some of us at least, but I honestly don't know who I'd be if it weren't for you all. I think I was 13 or so too when I joined, August 6, 2002, for the sole purpose of asking a dumb question (http://forum.team17.co.uk/showthread.php?t=4049) but for some reason I stuck around and I'm so glad I did.I'm with you. I remember all too well how much support I got during my whole May 31st Incident meltdown. This community above all else helped me through. I consider many/most of you to be very valuable friends, and wherever this community goes, I'm sticking with it until it falls apart from under my feet. I'll be the last one here. :p

That's the trouble with this type of internet forum, we all mature, but Team17 don't "mature" their games at the same rate - increasing the age rating etc, etc, so preventing younger people from playing their games (yes this would be a totally stupid idea).

Consequently, as we grow older, younger people join the forum as they have just started playing T17s games. And the "OAPs" ;) can't cope with their younger generation of "humour"


One thing you could do in response to the bad fanart is to post detailed, constructive comments about why it's bad and how it could possibly be improved.


Edit:

You'll also be pleased to know that as soon as tal05 came off quite a long Being Watched status (including a temp. ban), he created a thread which broke a few FanArt rules and consequently put him right back on BW :D

Nice one Andrew :)

I consider many/most of you to be very valuable friends, and wherever this community goes, I'm sticking with it until it falls apart from under my feet. I'll be the last one here. :p

Well, why not abandon ship? Team17 doesn't talk to us anymore.. what's keeping us from emigrating to a new clean forum? It'll be revolutionary!

*Reads FW's post*

*feels invisible*


Figures. :p

I was never around during the golden years, and I am rather jaded to the forum's current status, so I believe that I will be staying for a while (Though I wonder if college will be too stressful for that...)

It will be a rather boring place if you all leave, though. This place became rather dull when Splapp left, and it would become a pain if ALL of you leave.


And Slick, you are probably my favorite person on the forums. (Seriously) :cool:

One thing you could do in response to the bad fanart is to post detailed, constructive comments about why it's bad and how it could possibly be improved.There was a time we did that but people just got annoyed at us and didn't change so we're no better now. :p

Anyways, like most of you, I joined this forum back when it started (4 years ago?). It was the first forum I had ever visited since I got the interwebs so it was quite the learning experience. (even though I eventually noticed not every forum uses vBulletin, post moderation and disallows [img] tags :p)

It's probably the only forum I still hang around in to this day. Every other forum eventually makes me lose interest in it and I only pop up every now and then. I wonder why that hasn't happened with this one.

It is a bit shame how much the community has changed. I think it's a side effect of the forum growing stale, which makes good members leave, which makes the forum grow staler, and so on. From older members like Ploegman, Svenn, Compudragon, Nutter, Rambo, Kjatte, Macobsession, ..., to newer members (specially all the good artists) like HuntaKilla, Saffya, Splapp, Error, .... Though obviously you can get in touch with most of them on MSN or such, but it's just not the same.

I suppose it's because we used to be the community, but now we're just the minority. The community is mostly mindless and annoying but they're happy that way, and what we say won't change them. So I suppose it's easier to just move and start over, though the few other forums we hang on simply don't seem as active as this one.

The teamsters still hang around every now and then, just not a lot. They're too busy and no longer have any spare members just to hang around, talk, start compos, do beer gardens, and other such. Now they're just business as usual. Took down all the fun stuff off the site to keep professional.

I don't think W3D was the start of the decline of the forum. If anything, it was when Fan Art started, and when it was actually good, both 3D and 2D artists, not to mention Team17 keep publicizing every step of the way instead of keeping us in the dark like now, which was what made them different. (admittedly, this also contributed to over-hyping W3D which became a bit of a disappointment) And the W4 Beta was a great event, I had a lot of fun, playing with the community and the teamsters.

I guess the real solution is not to just move or try to change the community. It's to bring back the charm to the forum, make the community wanna change. All the stories, all the games, all the events, all the compos, all the fun stuff we used to have. Remember the compos, the good Worm Stories, Forumsville, all that.

Anyways, like most of you, I joined this forum back when it started (4 years ago?).

Err, more like six. The forum opened in July 2001 didn't it?
http://forum.team17.co.uk/showthread.php?t=3

not to mention Team17 keep publicizing every step of the way instead of keeping us in the dark like now, which was what made them different. (admittedly, this also contributed to over-hyping W3D which became a bit of a disappointment) And the W4 Beta was a great event, I had a lot of fun, playing with the community and the teamsters.

I imagine it's the publishers that are preventing T17 from releasing the information - or at least that's what Spadge always says.

http://forum.team17.co.uk/showthread.php?p=601548#post601548

Hate to say it, but I just feel like giving up. We had something great for a while, but it just fell away. And I've been trying to stop it falling for too long.

Might be worth showing them that picture, though. And saying something like "See this? This is community."

These (http://www.angelfire.com/apes/wormdimensions/Worm_Dimensions.html) sites (http://forumsville.wurmz.net/) also showcase a fair share of community.

*Reads FW's post*

*feels invisible*


Figures. :p

I really appreciate everything that you, Zero, Paul, Pigbuster, and the rest of you guys have tried to do to keep hope alive for the fan art forum. But idiocy somehow always seems to overpower even the very best attempts. Like I said, I really think it's a lost cause at this point.

Well, why not abandon ship? Team17 doesn't talk to us anymore.. what's keeping us from emigrating to a new clean forum? It'll be revolutionary!We kinda tried something like that once, when the Dream17 Forums were new... aaaand it just kinda didn't work out. It's just not the same. :p

Well.

Why don't we have a badgers at another Worm's Story sometime? I remember I started two sitcoms awhile back. I might flesh them out again.

But being a lazy ass, don't expect it anytime soon.

I've been in several Worms communities over the years. That's life. The community changes all the time. When I thought the Worms Community Message Board on The Allotment (which was the epicentre of the community, back then) was going downhill, Worm Mad came along with his FAQ and proved new blood freshens things up. I just accepted that old times are old times and that new times are inevitable, and it's up to me whether I want to jump on or stay off in nostalgia.

Good though OD is, it has had a bad effect on the forum in general. What do you think happens when you take all the good posters and cordon them off from everyone else? There is no backbone, no model for newbies to learn from. We have proved we're capable of talking fairly sensibly but we don't let others in on the act. They need education and to be shown by more experienced users the best way to use a forum.

I don't like the idea of turning OD out in to the masses, I.E. making it a public forum because that would destroy all we keep sacred in it. I've said it before, we need to go back to the rest of the forum; back to the streets and show them some old-skool loving. Forget using the majority world as a playground and joke butt. Provide for it. Show them what we all can be capable of. Make examples. Set the standard and the tone. Fight for what you believe in, and educate those who can't grasp our expectations by explaining to them what they should do to improve themselves, in a polite fashion and manner.

I think we need to take an extended vacation from OD and conduct all of our business outside, instead. Think about what this means. And take Euan's point if you think doing what I suggest will break us apart: We make the community, the forum is just how we maintain it. Of course, if you've private business that you don't want to be made public, that you'd rather keep to a more closed circle of friends, that can go in OD. Let's face it, you don't publish your love life to the world, except if you're named Ben and make web sites about it.


Every journey begins with a first step. This plan, if all of you agree with it and want to see a difference in the Team17 forum, should begin on a set date. But what do you all think?

I remember S2K suggesting a similar idea a while back, and I remember a good amount of opposition, but I say we should do it now.

For what it's worth, possibly very little, the community on these forums isn't the only one that's suffered. The symptoms OD people are noticing have killed or at least maimed other, perhaps slightly smaller, but just as tightly knit website and forum communities surrounding Worms.

CL2K was the first to go this particular path as far as I can tell. I loved that league, its forums and the people who posted on them very much, but not unlike here, things slowly got less interesting. Why? I'd say both here and on CL2K it was a combination of masses of new people arriving, the oldies finding themselves with too much to do as far as educating the newbies went and eventually enough of them gave up for the snowball to roll out of control.

Of course it didn't help that most of the so called oldies literally grew up as the years went by and had, or thought they had, better things to do than to sit around doing charity work for something as vague as the future of an internet community. Some abandoned ship completely, some only distanced themselves from the public affairs and continued enjoying the community, albeit in smaller, less open circles, via MSN, IRC and other, less public forums.

In the end, few who genuinely care about the future remain, but even those seem to be busy with other things, which makes it a bit more of a drag to assume a Buddhist pose every time you're coming up with a witty forum thread or a fad or whatever. I know quite a bit about the drag I mentioned; I'm still trying to get people to get along and be generally interested in the people around them on the forum of a league I help run as well as on WormNet when I'm in the right kind of mood.

One solution would be for the private circles of all the separate communities to merge or at least begin to overlap to a certain degree. We already attempted something similar with the IRC channel from my Location line, but so far it's been kept quite small. Personally I'd very much like seeing the community reform go on on IRC, but lately it's proven relatively hard to get people interested. Anyway, if a significant part of the OD'ers active now came to #worms [or another channel created for the purpose], invited everyone else they deem worthy from other forums, their private circles and WormNet itself, we could then get them to start posting on the T17 forums as well, hopefully resulting in a general quality raise.

Though Matty is right in saying the manner in which the reform is to be done should be polite and not too grumpy and invasive. But I'm overdoing it with the length already, so I'll save this inspiring paragraph for later and finish reading what everyone else put down first. Ha.

I'm pretty much behind that entire post, Matty. I oughta fire my Forum Comic back up soon... It's not much, but it's a step.

I was going to PM tal05 about a dumb post he made, just saying why it was dumb and how he can be less dumb in the future, but he's Watched and can't get PM's. Go fig! :) Ah, wouldn't have helped anyway.

Anyway, if a significant part of the OD'ers active now came to #worms [or another channel created for the purpose], invited everyone else they deem worthy from other forums, their private circles and WormNet itself, we could then get them to start posting on the T17 forums as well, hopefully resulting in a general quality raise.
That's the best and yet simplest suggestion made so far.

No need to create a new forum or get people to register on such.
You don't even need a dedicated IRC client, an online Java client like Gamesurge's one will do.
http://www.gamesurge.net/chat/

Also, one could assume that younger, inexperienced forum posters (the noobs) might be discouraged.
In fact, #worms is quite free of notorious culprits like Plasma.

*goes to #worms*

*follows link through to WormTube*

Sodding hell, those are good players.

This rather puts the efforts of the OD crowd (i.e. Andrew, Ben, Daniel, me, and so on) in perspective :p. I seem to win the most, because I accept that I'm rubbish at the skill side of things and focus on strategy (aaand sometimes I get lucky. As I did when I won that game of fruit BnA due to bonz making a mistake).



EDIT: VICTORY THROUGH INACTIVITY! (Probably requires those "big map" and "eight worms per side whenever" patches. And Melon's fruit map):

EDIT 2: How did I win this. How.

That's the best and yet simplest suggestion made so far.

No need to create a new forum or get people to register on such.
You don't even need a dedicated IRC client, an online Java client like Gamesurge's one will do.
http://www.gamesurge.net/chat/

Also, one could assume that younger, inexperienced forum posters (the noobs) might be discouraged.
In fact, #worms is quite free of notorious culprits like Plasma.Whenever I've been on #worms, it's been as idle as any other IRC channel, only second to #dream17 :p

Third, the Teamsters have pretty much stopped interacting with the community at large, aside from discussing game development. They used to participate in funny threads, offering their own unique (and frequently hilarious) input. Now they don't. You'll see a few posts from the developers in the development forum, but that's about it.

The last couple of years have been really busy here. I think that might explain a drop in the Teamster forum input. There was a lot more dev action in the W3D/W4 period, when we could talk a little more freely about what we were doing. Spadge is a still a very frequent poster though.

I think the launch of WOW2 might warm things up a bit. I certainly think its time for a new forum competition. Its a long time since we gave some stuff away. I bet Kel's got all kinds of mechandise stashed away in the producer's room that we could use.

I certainly think its time for a new forum competition. Its a long time since we gave some stuff away. I bet Kel's got all kinds of mechandise stashed away in the producer's room that we could use.
Yay!
Finally another chance I can win some T17 merchandise for the first time.
Do you have T17 beermats? http://www.trailerparkboys.org/forums/Smileys/default/beer.gif
Hehe!

Waw. Remember I made that competition? Guess how many worms there we're in the screenshot? And I won it :D I've still got that prize here somewhere. I'll have to find it one day.

I certainly think its time for a new forum competition. Its a long time since we gave some stuff away. I bet Kel's got all kinds of mechandise stashed away in the producer's room that we could use.That'll make the place seem like home again. :D

Remember I made that competition? Guess how many worms there we're in the screenshot? And I won it :D

Isn't that cheating lol?

Not really. I made the competition but I didn't know the answer myself. I set it up as just a source of fun and not a serious competition. XD

Dead?

Well, apparently, the Fan Art section livened up just a moment ago.

Yep. I was worried for a sec -- didn't look like any of the mods were around.

I won't miss fhqwgads.

Paris Hilton Bl-oh-jobs? Odd.

That was probably the most-viewed thread in FanArt, before I deleted it :p

Still, the "art" was probably of a higher quality than what we regularly see in fanart :rolleyes:

By the way. Who... is this (http://forum.team17.co.uk/showthread.php?t=33790)?

Whoever it is was involved in that thread on some level, from the looks of it, aaaand is pretty obviously in on OD via whatever means.

By the way. Who... is this (http://forum.team17.co.uk/showthread.php?t=33790)?

Whoever it is was involved in that thread on some level, from the looks of it, aaaand is pretty obviously in on OD via whatever means.
For the record: this user: http://forum.team17.co.uk/member.php?u=71996

By the way. Who... is this (http://forum.team17.co.uk/showthread.php?t=33790)?

Whoever it is was involved in that thread on some level, from the looks of it, aaaand is pretty obviously in on OD via whatever means.
invalid link specified...?

edit: beaten to it

As Luther says, the last 2-3yrs here have been incredibly busy for everyone (in a good way) and we look like we'll still be busy for the next few. Unfortunately our agreements with publishers mean we can say little without it going through them, that's just the way it is.

As it is, people grow up, move on, opinions change, as do interests, points of views. Communities ebb and flow, move and change.

Martyn reiterates the first point I made in my last post. Real life communities are just the same but on a larger timescale as you have people dying, having kids and all that. This does not mean that everyone should leave, however; you have a choice of what to do. If new neighbours move in you either ignore them or try to make friends. If we miss the feeling of a larger, more sensible community then it's best to go and be a good influence for it. You could call yourself an elder and everyone else child and young grasshopper.

I won't miss fhqwgads.

What?
What did Fhqwgads do?

I always miss everything...

Posted porn in a thread that was deleted in pretty swift order by thomasp. It was started by Acerwhatever.

Posted porn in a thread that was deleted in pretty swift order by thomasp. It was started by Acerwhatever.
are you sure? i thought it was just a spambot

I definitely saw fhqwgads post porn.

Was it even good porn?
*******s.

I didn't really look. :p

I mean, this is the Team17 forum... it's not for... that. :eek:

What?
What did Fhqwgads do?

I always miss everything...

Posted some pornographic pictures in a thread created by a Spambot

are you sure? i thought it was just a spambot

That was the thread creator. Fhq.... was a real posted.

Was it even good porn?
*******s.

Well, when you consider porn is technically an art form, it was probably of a higher quality than most of the art in the fanart forum, but that's not saying much :p

So that the idea doesn't as per usual get buried under mountaing chat, does anyone else agree with this (http://forum.team17.co.uk/showpost.php?p=602038&postcount=18)?

I think, if we decide to go ahead with a plan like that, we should have a charter that governs our attitude and what we should do and say, should certain situations arise. For example, how we treat idiocy, how we respond to personal attacks, how we help other users who may not know what they're doing.

As I said in the leak thread, I don't go outside of these walls much anymore because OD is the main reason I come here. I'm willing to put in full commitment to the outside world to help ensure we steer it toward what we think is a good direction.

There's no way Acerloo was a spambot.

Keep it in the leak thread please, Andy.

That was the thread creator. Fhq.... was a real posted.

well i knew that, because it really caught me off guard at first

well i knew that, because it really caught me off guard at first
I only realised the porno pics were posted by someone different when I read this thread. I'd just skimmed down through it and assumed it was posted by the same "person" who created the thread. Still, both have been put on 6-month bans, awaiting permabans when volcadmin returns after the weekend.

I'll be the last one here. :p

Not if I can help it. I'll be charging my X-Buster at point blank range in your face if when we're the last two.

Worms has had so much impact on my life, in so many ways, that to leave the community would be like denying my own existence.

Very honestly, if it wasn't for Worms, I would be a totally different person now. Arguably the most important years of my life were spent within this community, as were most other veterans'. On top of that, some of the most impacting and guiding events of my life have happened as a direct or indirect result of Worms.

Worms helped me push myself artistically. It helped me develop a sense of communal spirit. It gave me a family when mine was falling apart. It taught me how to deal with disappointment; it taught me how to appreciate awesomeness. It brought me real-life friends. I became part of CoW, one of who's sisters I am now happily practically-married to. It motivated me through university. It practically forced a better judge of character on me; it helped me decide on my character. It made me into who I am now.

Frankly, **** the idiots. There are idiots everywhere but I'm not about to top myself as a result. So what if they're annoying? Stick them on "Ignore" and forget about them if it's that bad. They don't have to ruin your experience, just let them get on with their own thing. At the same time, I think Matty is absolutely right. Since it began, some of the noobiest noobs in all Noobingshire have joined our community. Some have left, others are still here, but one thing that spans those two 'factions' is that a lot of them improved to be at least bearable.

Don't jump ship. If this was a real ship and all the good sailors jumped ship, the ship would eventually hit some spiky rocks and tear open, letting the seven seas fill her lacerated belly and pull her mercilessly to Neptune's cold, dark bed. Obviously we can't chuck idiots out just because they don't fit in but returning to the metaphor, the stupid sailors would probably fall off the ship eventually, just through sheer idiocy.

And now, a story:

The Last Lucky Strike, by Vader.

As the dusky sky paints its transitional shadows over the hillside, Boggy B whips open his cigarette case and his fingers casually flick through them as though he is unsure which to smoke. He knows it makes no difference; he's going to die soon and it isn't going to be the smokes that do it.

His fingers settle on one and pulls it out slowly. He snaps the case shut and taps the cigarette on it before resting it between his chapped, dry lips. A moment passes while he remembers how his brethren were effortlessly massacred in friendly fire. But that was a long time ago and that worm has long since paid his dues. Boggy feels a tingle run from the end of his tail, right up his spine, to the back of his neck. The memories of torching that worm. The heat of the flamethrower, the paling colour of the oil drums, the colossal, earth-shattering noise as shards of drum and flaming oil screamed through the air. It was quite a sight.

With a satisfying fwoosh, the flame from Boggy's lighter gently licks the end of the cigarette and his countdown begins. The smoke bellows out and quickly dissipates into nothing. At least, nothing he could see.

A third of the cigarette has gone when Boggy checks his rapidly diminishing ammunition. The clip in his gun has been empty for what feels like eternity and still he keeps the full one in his belt. There's enough blood on his hands for it not to matter anymore anyway.

Half of the cigarette has gone when he looks into the distance and sees a young wild horse. It's galloping across the dimly lit meadow, distraught with something he can't define until he see its mother lying on the grass. Clearly this isn't a trained performance animal; this young steed has lost its guide and mentor.

The cigarette passes the 3/4 mark and Boggy looks at his knife. It's dull in appearance but sharper than a katana. He considers cutting his jaunt short and slicing his own throat but two things stop him; if he's going to drown, he'd rather it wasn't in his own blood and he'd rather see what comes next anyway.

The sky is darker now and the heat on his lips tells him the cigarette is almost finished. Two factions are on his tail, both of whom want him dead. He can't escape them but he's going to have some fun while they chase. It's a big place and Boggy knows a thing or two about survival.

He bolts. Dashing through the dark fields he comes to the conclusion that his life will almost certainly be better than his death.

The End.

And now, a story:

The Last Lucky Strike, by Vader.

As the dusky sky paints its transitional shadows over the hillside, Boggy B whips open his cigarette case and his fingers casually flick through them as though he is unsure which to smoke. He knows it makes no difference; he's going to die soon and it isn't going to be the smokes that do it.

His fingers settle on one and pulls it out slowly. He snaps the case shut and taps the cigarette on it before resting it between his chapped, dry lips. A moment passes while he remembers how his brethren were effortlessly massacred in friendly fire. But that was a long time ago and that worm has long since paid his dues. Boggy feels a tingle run from the end of his tail, right up his spine, to the back of his neck. The memories of torching that worm. The heat of the flamethrower, the paling colour of the oil drums, the colossal, earth-shattering noise as shards of drum and flaming oil screamed through the air. It was quite a sight.

With a satisfying fwoosh, the flame from Boggy's lighter gently licks the end of the cigarette and his countdown begins. The smoke bellows out and quickly dissipates into nothing. At least, nothing he could see.

A third of the cigarette has gone when Boggy checks his rapidly diminishing ammunition. The clip in his gun has been empty for what feels like eternity and still he keeps the full one in his belt. There's enough blood on his hands for it not to matter anymore anyway.

Half of the cigarette has gone when he looks into the distance and sees a young wild horse. It's galloping across the dimly lit meadow, distraught with something he can't define until he see its mother lying on the grass. Clearly this isn't a trained performance animal; this young steed has lost its guide and mentor.

The cigarette passes the 3/4 mark and Boggy looks at his knife. It's dull in appearance but sharper than a katana. He considers cutting his jaunt short and slicing his own throat but two things stop him; if he's going to drown, he'd rather it wasn't in his own blood and he'd rather see what comes next anyway.

The sky is darker now and the heat on his lips tells him the cigarette is almost finished. Two factions are on his tail, both of whom want him dead. He can't escape them but he's going to have some fun while they chase. It's a big place and Boggy knows a thing or two about survival.

He bolts. Dashing through the dark fields he comes to the conclusion that his life will almost certainly be better than his death.

The End.

http://www.planet-eggplant.com/xinos/worm_gifs/pickleworm_hellyes.gif

Not if I can help it. I'll be charging my X-Buster at point blank range in your face if when we're the last two.this was really hard to get

*saved forever*

If the community does implode, that image is going on my wall as a HUGE canvas print.

Don't jump ship. If this was a real ship and all the good sailors jumped ship, the ship would eventually hit some spiky rocks and tear open, letting the seven seas fill her lacerated belly and pull her mercilessly to Neptune's cold, dark bed. Obviously we can't chuck idiots out just because they don't fit in but returning to the metaphor, the stupid sailors would probably fall off the ship eventually, just through sheer idiocy.Quoted for great justice.

I think the beginning of the end was when I left.

I think the beginning of the end was when I left.

What the-- who are you? How did you get in here?

fear not young padawan strong in you the brightside is ...

I think the beginning of the end was when I left.
whoooaaaaaaaaaa

Good to see you!:)

Greetings, fellow Brightside founder.

Greetings Generalissimo, I really must get the old Worms CDs out and reinstall WA and W2, I do miss the old days.

What Worms game has the most online players these days?

WA, I think. What with all the beta patching and stuff.

Latest patch adds 8-a-side capability regardless of the number of teams playing, and really big maps, among other things.

I forget how someone could be a figment of their own imagination, how did that work again?

Get your **** in #worms on GameSurge to arrange matches! We're playing more now.

And welcome back! I don't remember you.

Maybe I should stop in there some time. I've had W:A for some time now, but I've only ever played against Munkee, and he advantages himself with unlimited full-powered Ninja Rope after spending like 3 years practicing with the thing. :mad:

What now? Apollo?
Has Nutter also reported back yet? Or is that next February?

What now? Apollo?
Has Nutter also reported back yet? Or is that next February?

Glod damn it. He's called Sniper. :(

Glod damn it. He's called Sniper. :(

Ahhh, those were the days....