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New Worms Revolution developer diary details game modes
The latest Worms: Revolution developer diary video digs into the varying single-player and multiplayer game modes. Players can guide their angry little worms to victory in Q3 2012 when the game launches on XBLA, PSN, and PC.
Worms Revolution dev diary explains landscape models, water physics
The latest developer diary video from Team 17 for Worms: Revolution has Lead Programmer Ian Lindsey explaining the game's dynamic water physics and environments. The game will head to PC, XBLA, and PSN in Q3 2012.
Worms Revolution developer diary gets everything wet
Aside from the history lesson on the Worms series given by Worms Revolution lead designer Kevin Carthew, the above developer diary gives us a few brief snippets of water-based warfare. The water gun lets you push worms down hills and potentially off cliffs, though it looks like submersion isn't the insta-death it's been in the past.%Gallery-159489%
Apple removes claim of virus immunity
As small as the threat may be, Mac users can no longer claim immunity from attack by malicious software online. Many Mac users are starting to recognize this new reality and now Apple does, too. As noted in a recent PC World article, Apple has quietly removed the claim "It doesn't get PC viruses" from its OS X website and replaced it with the phrase "It's built to be safe." Also changed is the paragraph header "Safeguard your data. By Doing Nothing," which now says "Safety. Built right in." It's a subtle difference, but it's enough to show that Apple recognizes the importance of Mac security. Mac OS X is growing as a desktop platform and increasingly will be the target of malicious attacks. Recently, the Flashback botnet infected over 670,000 computers worldwide, most of which were running Mac OS X. This botnet exploited a hole in Java that was patched by Apple in a subsequent update to OS X.
Worms 2 Armageddon gets asychronous play
Worms 2 Armageddon for iOS has just picked up an update with the most requested feature in Worms history: Asychronous play. That long word, in case you haven't heard it before, simply means that players can now play against each other on different schedules. We're talking about Worms with Friends here, essentially: You make a move, send it to your friend, he or she makes a move, and so on. It's very cool, and it should allow for some excellent face-offs among friends. The update allows for sixteen total games to be played at any time, so you can go jump on in and start throwing around some grenades, grapple hooks, and/or explosive sheep. If you haven't picked up Worms 2 Armageddon yet, the title is 99 cents for a universal build.
Team 17's Worms Revolution coming to PC and consoles, built with new engine
Developer Team 17 has announced Worms Revolution, a new title in the Worms series ... wait, come back! It really is new. Worms Revolution has been "developed from the ground up" using a brand new engine. Team 17 promises "exciting new features and challenges" as well as returning favorites. The press release specifically mentions the Holy Hand Grenade and Super Sheep, and keen-eyed observers will spot the Concrete Donkey and Airstrike weapons in the announcement trailer as well.Team 17 is keeping quiet on the new features, though there is some more info to be gleaned from the trailer. There appears to be a new water bomb (probably the water balloon seen in the logo). There are also some rather large-looking worms in the video. Could these worms be heavier, perhaps more difficult for cheap bastards crafty tacticians to knock into the drink with the baseball bat?Worms Revolution is slated for a third quarter release this year on PC and "consoles." If history is anything to go by, a PSN and XBLA release seems likely at the very least.
Harvard-designed 'soft robot' shows you how low it can go (video)
It's the stuff of slow-moving robopocalyptic nightmares: a 'soft robot' designed by a team of Harvard scientists that draws inspiration from invertebrates like worms and starfish. The wired 'bot is made from a flexible elastomer material that allows it to squeeze into spaces that are inaccessible for more traditional robots. Inside are chambers that inflate and deflate, allowing the thing to undulate forward. Definitely check out the robot in action after the break.
'Worms Ultimate Mayhem' rated in Australia
Team 17 has received a rating for Worms: Ultimate Mayhem from the Australian Classification Board. The unannounced invertebrate title will likely be digitally distributed -- like most of Team 17's most recent projects. If the Ultimate Mayhem title is a hint of what to expect from this game, then it would be fair to guess it's based on Worms 4: Mayhem. Meaning Worms: Ultimate Mayhem could be the first 3D Worms game for HD consoles. A new 3D installment of Worms certainly comes with risk, as the 3D iterations of Worms were never as well-received as their 2D counterparts.
Martyn Brown quits Team17 after 20 years
After two decades at the helm of annelid annihilators Team17, Martyn Brown has left the Worms developer to work as an independent video game consultant, according to a post on his (private) Facebook page, as noted by Eurogamer. Brown co-founded Team17, which got its start developing games for the Amiga (before your time?). "I had an amazing 20-year ride and whilst it's the end of a truly enjoyable period of my life, it equally signals the start of a really exciting new one," Brown posted before swinging away on a grappling hook, throwing a grenade, falling on that grenade and blowing himself up.
New Worms: Reloaded trailer busts our bunkers
Desperate for some new gear with which to equip your militarized annelids? The latest trailer for Worms: Reloaded gives the lowdown on some of the game's new tools, such as the Super Bunker Buster, the Magnet and, of course, the morally and theistically dubious power of Resurrection.
Worms Reloaded tunneling 'exclusively' to PC on August 26
Lordy! Another Worms game already? That seems to be the case, as UK dev house Team17 just revealed a solid release date for Worms Reloaded -- August 26 -- and even handed over a rather wormey trailer, found just after the break.%Gallery-98488%
Researchers remotely control worms using magnetic nanoparticles, tomorrow: people?
Researchers at the University at Buffalo have announced they've found a way to remotely control worms using magnetic nanoparticles attached to cell membranes, and say they can cause the worms to stop moving simply by exposing the particles to a magnetic field and heating them up. This, they say, could lead to a host of medical benefits -- but if The X-Files has taught us anything, it's that remote-controlled nanotechnology can also fall into the wrong hands, and make people stop moving.
Worms Reloaded beta going worldwide on Monday
News from the Steam Community tells us that Worms Reloaded, that new "extended" version of the old game in which sentient invertebrates do battle with rockets and/or sheep, is moving up to a worldwide beta. Previously, the game was only available for testing in Europe, but it's opening it up globally on Monday, so children of all nations will be able to throw airstrikes and ninja ropes at each other then. The only catch? You need a key, and they've only got a few. So you'll just have to hope you come up when they spin the random numbers around. We do know that you have to be a member of the official group, so sign in over there right now ... and then begins the waiting game. [via LA Examiner]
iPad games leak out, include Plants vs. Zombies HD and Worms HD
Whoops -- somebody at Apple accidentally jumped the gun on sending a few iPad titles to the App Store. A few HD titles have snuck into iTunes' web interface a little early, and while we already knew that some of them were on the way to the iPad (Flight Control HD has already been announced, and NBA Hotshot HD was rumored), there are a few interesting new names in this list: Ammoin HD Azkend HD Flight Control HD Grind HD Labyrinth 2 HD NBA Hotshot HD Numba HD Plants vs. Zombies HD Sparkle HD Worms HD Plants vs. Zombies HD? Worms HD? Yes please. Looks like Apple is already working their way through the iPad application process, and a few apps are already approved and ready for launch on April 3rd. If this list is any indication, there will be no shortage of games to play on your new iPad. Update: 148Apps has a few more of the leaked listings. [via TA]
Worms Reloaded is 'an extended edition' of XBLA, PSN versions
Remember that "new" edition of Worms that Team 17 announced for Steam? It turns out that it may not be that "new" after all, which isn't a bad thing. Big Download did a little sleuthing and discovered that the game is actually based on the recent versions that have appeared on Xbox Live Arcade and the PlayStation Network. Specifically, Team 17's Facebook page notes that Worms Reloaded will be "an extended edition of the console versions of late." Again, however, the studio leaves any other details to your expansive imagination. In other words, it's time to start arguing about why it's absolutely essential that Reloaded includes your favorite weapon. Not your stupid best friend's favorite weapon though. That thing totally ruins the game, Stephen!
New 2D Worms game squirming its way to Steam
A recent tweet from Team 17's Martyn Brown has revealed that everyone's favorite combative invertebrates will soon star in a new 2D outing on Steam, titled Worms Reloaded. That's literally all we know about the game at the moment, though Brown's tweet promises more details soon. Until then, we're left to worry that it's going to be an all-annelid remake of The Matrix: Reloaded, which would be totally awesome, until, of course, the big rave/orgy scene.
PSA: Worms 2: Armageddon is today's Xbox Live deal for $5
Worms 2: Armageddon here! Get your Worms 2: Armageddon here! Worms for sale! Worms, I say! Low, low prices -- one day only! 400 spacebucks or five Earth dollars, whichever comes first! Cutesy, creepy, blasty, explodey Worms here! Buy today and get the Buffalo of Lies with your order! If you can find a better deal, you're a magician! Get 'em while they're cheap! Tell your friends, and come back tomorrow for another Xbox Live deal. Only ten days left! %Gallery-67104%
Worms 2 gets patched up on XBLA
We've all felt the pain of pressing the jump button a second time just barely too late in a game of Worms 2, sending a brave worm soldier free falling off the side of a mountain or, worse yet, into the watery depths below. Recognizing that the game might have some issues – and rather than simply calling us "newbs" like most people do – Worms 2 developers Team17 have just released a patch aimed at ailing all that is wrong with the adorable multiplayer strategy games. Listing everything from "Back flip input slowed down to stop incorrect jumps harming the player" to "Fixed bug which made crates in Forts matches only land on the right hand side," as well as a slurry of other fixes, Team17 seems to have given the nearly five-month-old release a full overhaul. An overhaul that'll perhaps feel all the more worthwhile when the developers make good on next year's DLC for the game. In the meantime, we'll be over here waiting for you with a Buffalo of Lies. [Via CVG]
Worm rickrolls unsecured jailbroken iPhones via SSH
For the last few days, some jailbroken iPhone users have found their home screen background a little different than they remembered. A hacker, going by the name "ikee," created a worm that changes the home screen background on jailbroken iPhones whose owners failed to change the default password after installing SSH. Simply jailbreaking your iPhone will not make you vulnerable to this sort of hack. The iPhone OS, in general, is also immune to this hack. Still confused? Let's back up a bit. On jailbroken iPhones, SSH is installable with a package from Cydia that allows you to connect to your phone and make changes to the filesystem. It does this by logging into the root user with the password "alpine." After installing SSH, it is always recommended that you change "alpine" to the password of your choosing. This hack can only affect people who chose not to change that password -- no one else. This hack originated in Australia, the home country of ikee, and has possibly spread to other iPhones in other countries, but we've been unable to verify that. A gentleman by the name of JD held an interview with the hacker over IRC and posted it to his blog. In ikee's own words, here's how the worm has spread: ...The code itself is set to firstly scan the 3G IP range the phone is on, then Optus/Vodafone/Telstra's IP Ranges (I think the reason Optus got hit so hard is because the other 2 are NAT'd) then a random 20 IP ranges. I'm guessing a few phones hit a range that another vulnerable phone was on. Basically, once your phone is infected, the worm starts looking for other iPhones on the cellular network that use the root:alpine combination. Once it finds another vulnerable iPhone, it installs itself and begins the process again... and again... and again. Luckily for the jailbreakers in the audience who may have been affected, there's really no harm done -- at least not with this version of the worm. According to the hacker, this was more of an experiment than anything else. The worm changes your background and then disables inbound SSH, which is a good thing. If SSH was left turned on, a similar worm could follow along but conceivably do much more damage. For instructions on how to delete this worm, read JD's interview with ikee. I would recommend reading the interview just for the information it presents; I found it pretty interesting. If you've got a jailbroken iPhone or iPod touch and you've never changed the default device password, now's the time. Here's how, if you are using terminal: Type: ssh root@(iPhone IP address) When prompted for the password type: alpine Now you're connected the phone... type: passwd It should then prompt your for a new password -- type one that you'll remember. There's no easy way to reset it if you forget it. That's it. Please remember to be responsibly secure with your devices. Hackers like ikee are troublesome, but this could have been much worse. While I don't personally condone his actions, he's prevented a lot of people from being vulnerable to more malicious attacks later down the road. Thanks, James!
iPhone It In: Worms
There isn't a whole lot to say about my six or so hours spent with Worms, and as such, this won't be one of the longer iPhone game reviews you read anytime soon. In fact, if you've played past Worms games, then you're going to find some pretty glaring issues to complain about here and not much of anything new. The game looks great, has tons of content (near equivalent to the recent XBLA release, Worms 2: Armageddon), and doesn't cost a whole lot of money ($5). There are, however, a handful of niggling complaints that could be made about the lack of precision control necessary for a time-based game, as well as long load times strewn throughout the game's menus. Unfortunately, these little issues add up to a much bigger one -- they make me not want to play the game. %Gallery-68930%
