Wormux
Encyclopedia
WarMUX is a free and open-source game in the genre of "turn-based artillery games" like Scorched Earth
or Worms. The project was started in December 2002 by Lawrence Azzoug Moy as Wormux, and was renamed to Warmux in November 2010. Using at a time the ClanLib
library, it now uses SDL
; the game is multiplatform, available for Windows
and Unix-like
systems (including Linux
, FreeBSD
, Android, Maemo
, Symbian^3 and Mac OS X
). The latest version is 11.04.1, released on the 30th of April 2011. The game became quite popular, and has reviews and interviews in specialized magazines in that area. In addition, it is now packaged by several Linux distributions, although the packaged version may vary between distributions.
projects, such as GNU
, Linux
, FreeBSD
, KDE
, GIMP
, OpenOffice.org
, Firefox
, Thunderbird
, Suse
, Workrave
, NuFW
, SPIP
, and Bugzilla
. Warmux, both code and data, is free software
distributed under the terms of the GNU General Public License
.
Several players can play together, typically each one using a team. The game can be played online if every player uses the same version of the game. There are 2 modes: private mode (one must provide opponents one's address and port) and public mode (an index server will publish your game). Online games have been available since 0.8beta1.
As of 0.9.0, a CPU player
can be selected, allowing to compete against computer-driven teams. The feature first appeared in 0.7.9 but was hidden due to its limited abilities.
.
The name 'Wormux' originally was a homage to the old classic 'Worms'-games, who were among the most popular of the
artillery game genre. The developers decided for renaming their project in order to avoid possible confusion.
Scorched Earth (computer game)
Scorched Earth is a popular shareware artillery video game, which is a subgenre of strategy game. The game was developed in the DOS era, originally written by Wendell Hicken , in which tanks do turn-based battle in two-dimensional terrain, with each player adjusting the angle and power of their...
or Worms. The project was started in December 2002 by Lawrence Azzoug Moy as Wormux, and was renamed to Warmux in November 2010. Using at a time the ClanLib
ClanLib
ClanLib is a cross-platform C++ game SDK, currently supporting Microsoft Windows, Linux and Mac OS X. It has full hardware accelerated graphics support through OpenGL, and also a software renderer...
library, it now uses SDL
Simple DirectMedia Layer
Simple DirectMedia Layer is a cross-platform, free and open source multimedia library written in C that presents a simple interface to various platforms' graphics, sound, and input devices....
; the game is multiplatform, available for Windows
Microsoft Windows
Microsoft Windows is a series of operating systems produced by Microsoft.Microsoft introduced an operating environment named Windows on November 20, 1985 as an add-on to MS-DOS in response to the growing interest in graphical user interfaces . Microsoft Windows came to dominate the world's personal...
and Unix-like
Unix-like
A Unix-like operating system is one that behaves in a manner similar to a Unix system, while not necessarily conforming to or being certified to any version of the Single UNIX Specification....
systems (including Linux
Linux
Linux is a Unix-like computer operating system assembled under the model of free and open source software development and distribution. The defining component of any Linux system is the Linux kernel, an operating system kernel first released October 5, 1991 by Linus Torvalds...
, FreeBSD
FreeBSD
FreeBSD is a free Unix-like operating system descended from AT&T UNIX via BSD UNIX. Although for legal reasons FreeBSD cannot be called “UNIX”, as the direct descendant of BSD UNIX , FreeBSD’s internals and system APIs are UNIX-compliant...
, Android, Maemo
Maemo
Maemo is a software platform developed by the Maemo community for smartphones and Internet tablets. It is based on the Debian Linux distribution, but has no relation to it...
, Symbian^3 and Mac OS X
Mac OS X
Mac OS X is a series of Unix-based operating systems and graphical user interfaces developed, marketed, and sold by Apple Inc. Since 2002, has been included with all new Macintosh computer systems...
). The latest version is 11.04.1, released on the 30th of April 2011. The game became quite popular, and has reviews and interviews in specialized magazines in that area. In addition, it is now packaged by several Linux distributions, although the packaged version may vary between distributions.
Features
The game is being actively developed. The teams are styled after the mascots of various free softwareFree software
Free software, software libre or libre software is software that can be used, studied, and modified without restriction, and which can be copied and redistributed in modified or unmodified form either without restriction, or with restrictions that only ensure that further recipients can also do...
projects, such as GNU
GNU
GNU is a Unix-like computer operating system developed by the GNU project, ultimately aiming to be a "complete Unix-compatible software system"...
, Linux
Linux kernel
The Linux kernel is an operating system kernel used by the Linux family of Unix-like operating systems. It is one of the most prominent examples of free and open source software....
, FreeBSD
FreeBSD
FreeBSD is a free Unix-like operating system descended from AT&T UNIX via BSD UNIX. Although for legal reasons FreeBSD cannot be called “UNIX”, as the direct descendant of BSD UNIX , FreeBSD’s internals and system APIs are UNIX-compliant...
, KDE
KDE
KDE is an international free software community producing an integrated set of cross-platform applications designed to run on Linux, FreeBSD, Microsoft Windows, Solaris and Mac OS X systems...
, GIMP
GIMP
GIMP is a free software raster graphics editor. It is primarily employed as an image retouching and editing tool and is freely available in versions tailored for most popular operating systems including Microsoft Windows, Apple Mac OS X, and Linux.In addition to detailed image retouching and...
, OpenOffice.org
OpenOffice.org
OpenOffice.org, commonly known as OOo or OpenOffice, is an open-source application suite whose main components are for word processing, spreadsheets, presentations, graphics, and databases. OpenOffice is available for a number of different computer operating systems, is distributed as free software...
, Firefox
Mozilla Firefox
Mozilla Firefox is a free and open source web browser descended from the Mozilla Application Suite and managed by Mozilla Corporation. , Firefox is the second most widely used browser, with approximately 25% of worldwide usage share of web browsers...
, Thunderbird
Mozilla Thunderbird
Mozilla Thunderbird is a free, open source, cross-platform e-mail and news client developed by the Mozilla Foundation. The project strategy is modeled after Mozilla Firefox, a project aimed at creating a web browser...
, Suse
SUSE Linux distributions
SUSE Linux is a computer operating system. It is built on top of the open source Linux kernel and is distributed with system and application software from other open source projects. SUSE Linux is of German origin and mainly developed in Europe. The first version appeared in early 1994, making...
, Workrave
Workrave
Workrave is a free software application intended to prevent computer users from developing or aggravating occupational diseases such as carpal tunnel syndrome, repetitive strain injuries, or myopia....
, NuFW
NuFW
NuFW is a GPL extension to Netfilter . It adds authentication to filtering rules. NuFW is also provided as a hardware firewall, in the EdenWall firewalling appliance.- Introduction :...
, SPIP
SPIP
SPIP is a free software content management system designed for Web site publishing, oriented towards online collaborative editing....
, and Bugzilla
Bugzilla
Bugzilla is a Web-based general-purpose bugtracker and testing tool originally developed and used by the Mozilla project, and licensed under the Mozilla Public License....
. Warmux, both code and data, is free software
Free software
Free software, software libre or libre software is software that can be used, studied, and modified without restriction, and which can be copied and redistributed in modified or unmodified form either without restriction, or with restrictions that only ensure that further recipients can also do...
distributed under the terms of the GNU General Public License
GNU General Public License
The GNU General Public License is the most widely used free software license, originally written by Richard Stallman for the GNU Project....
.
Several players can play together, typically each one using a team. The game can be played online if every player uses the same version of the game. There are 2 modes: private mode (one must provide opponents one's address and port) and public mode (an index server will publish your game). Online games have been available since 0.8beta1.
As of 0.9.0, a CPU player
Artificial intelligence
Artificial intelligence is the intelligence of machines and the branch of computer science that aims to create it. AI textbooks define the field as "the study and design of intelligent agents" where an intelligent agent is a system that perceives its environment and takes actions that maximize its...
can be selected, allowing to compete against computer-driven teams. The feature first appeared in 0.7.9 but was hidden due to its limited abilities.
Reception
Critiques of the game are generally positive. Raiden's Realm praised the game's similarity to the original Worms games, saying "for anyone who ever loved and played the famous Worms PC game series, then Wormux is the game for you" as well as noting that "Even if you weren't much of a fan... you'll find Wormux none the less captivating and enjoyable". FOSSWire declared that "Wormux makes a formidable clone of the original series" and that it was "absolutely in love with Wormux right now." MiniFrag.com said that "Wormux is loaded with turn-based cartoon combat goodness" and that "for the netbook gamer, Wormux has everything going for it." It is also included on LinuxLinks listing of the "42 of the Best Free Linux Games" as well as holding a four out of five star rating at the The Linux Game TomeThe Linux Game Tome
The Linux Game Tome is a website which provides a comprehensive list of games for Linux.- History :The site was started by Tessa Lau in 1995...
.
Name Change
In November 2010 the old name 'Wormux' was dropped in favor for 'WarMUX'.The name 'Wormux' originally was a homage to the old classic 'Worms'-games, who were among the most popular of the
artillery game genre. The developers decided for renaming their project in order to avoid possible confusion.