An earthworm simulation game based on a real physical model. English documentation is now available!!
Liero is freeware. What that means is that
you don't have to pay for it and using it has not been restricted in
any way. You may distribute it to anyone and anyhow WITHOUT ANY
CHANGES MADE TO IT'S CONTAINMENTS.
The source code of this game is not distributed freely (neither
commercially). So if you thought that maybe you could... forget
it.
Liero is a worm game with weapons for 2 players. The object of the
game is definitely what you think it is. Liero is excellent for
taking out aggression and kicking buddies' butts without any real
physical violence or just for having fun.
Minimum:
386SX
VGA video card + monitor
560kB free conventional memory
Recommended:
486 or better
VGA video card + monitor
560kB free conventional memory
Sound Blaster or 100% compatible sound card
760kB free XMS memory for sound effects
To install Liero, extract LIERO???.ZIP into a
directory of its own. When you're reading this, it has probably
already been done... If you replace the files with newer ones, you
should remove the old LIERO.DAT, because it's not necessarily
compatible with the newer version. This is the list of the files that
should be found after installation:
LIERO.EXE The Game itself K
KEYSETUP.EXE The key set-up program
LEVEDIT.EXE The level editor
LIERO.CHR The graphics
LIERO.SND The sound effects
NAMES.DAT The list of names for the worms
LIERO.TXT The documentation file in Finnish
LIEROENG.TXT This file
FILE_ID.DIZ A description for Bulletin Board Systems
As you start playing the game, the following files are created:
LIERO.DAT Game settings
*.DAT Settings file(s) saved by you
LIERO.OPT The settings that are loaded while starting
the game
Whenever you quit the game, the name of the .DAT file in use is saved
to the file LIERO.OPT without the .DAT-definition. Liero uses the
settings in this file the next time you run it. If LIERO.OPT is
missing or blank, the game uses LIERO.DAT for settings. If it's
missing too, the default settings are used.
To start the game move to the directory containing the files of Liero
and type LIERO. You can also tune up the game with the following
switches (type these after "LIERO"):\
/+ Makes the game run faster (recommended on slower ><
machines)
/Sn Frameskip, where n is a number 1..5
/1Jack Sets player 1's name to Jack
/2Jill Sets player 2's name to Jill
/M MAP OFF
/Bxx AMOUNT OF BLOOD, xx% of the default amount
/Lname LEVELNAME, without the .LEV definition
/Txx LOADING TIMES, xx% of the default times
/N No sound
/R1 Player 1 is a CPU-worm
/R2 " " " " "
/Oname Uses the file NAME.DAT for settings
An example:
liero /s2 /n /lliero /oyourown
The example sets frameskip to 2, sets the SFX off, uses the level
LIERO.LEV and the settings in YOUROWN.DAT.
NAMES.DAT contains a pile of names, from which the names of the worms
are randomly chosen if the worm hasn't been individually named or the
name field has been left blank.
If you want to uninstall Liero, just delete the directory containing
the files of Liero. Make sure there aren't any important files not
having anything to do with the game in the directory.
Also remember to read the HINTS and GAME TYPES sections.
Before you start playing the worms have to be equipped with the
weapons you want. There are 40 weapons in total and you can take 5 of
them with you on the battlefield. When you've chosen your weapons
choose "DONE!" with the "FIRE" button. If you want fully random
equipment, choose on "Randomize" with "FIRE".
You can choose the availability of the weapons from OPTIONS/WEAPON
OPTIONS in the main menu. There are three options to choose from:
- Menu: the weapon can be chosen in the beginning of the game
- Bonuses: the weapon can only be found in bonus-crates
- Banned: the weapon is not in available
Other stuff
There are two kinds of objects appearing on the battlefield during
battles:
- wooden crates which contain a weapon replacing the current weapon
in use
- first aid kits which increase health by 10-50% of the maximum level
If you have a bad luck, the crates may also explode causing
damage.
Kill'em All
Kill or get killed..!!
Game of Tag
The one who gets killed first becomes "it". Both players have in
addition to the kills and lives meters a timer which shows the time
spent as "it". The player whose time is running is "it". Every time
you die, you become "it", so try to stay alive... When the numbers
are green you're winning (you've been less time as "it"); when
they're red you're losing.
Capture the Flag
The game goes like this:
The one who kills the other player first may begin collecting flags.
As "the collector" you have to take as many flags as you can to your
"home base", a little cabin painted with the colour of your worm
located somewhere on the level. When the collector gets killed the
other worm becomes the new collector. If you're carrying a flag when
you die, the flag drops off.
Simple CtF
A simple game idea:
Steal the other worms' flags and and try to avoid being robbed!!
Apart from "Capture the Flag", in this mode both worms may collect
flags at the same time.
You should learn to dig (dig by holding e.g. the "Move left" key down
and rapidly pressing the "Move right" key. In this case the worm digs
left to the direction of the crosshair.) and use the ninja rope ( The
ninja rope is thrown by pressing "Change weapon" + "Jump".If you hold
"Change weapon" button down, you can adjust the length of the rope by
"Aim up" and "Aim down" keys. The worm releases the rope when you
press "Jump".) well, these skills are very useful. E.g. if you get
stuck, you can dig yourself out. The easiest way to dig is to hold
the other "Move" button (the one which points to the way you want to
dig to) down and rapidly press the the other one. The rope is very
handy when you want to escape quickly or just move from a place to
another. Also note that the rope also sticks on the worms (pull your
friends to you and shoot them with a minigun perhaps, hehheh, they're
dead meat...).
About the weapons:
When you use weapons that use bouncy ammo (Zimm, Bouncy mine, Bouncy
larpa) it's worthwhile moving after you've fired. The shots of these
weapons tend to return to the place they were fired from.
If you want random weapons without even seeing what you get, hold the
"FIRE" key down on "Randomize". Then just press the "Up" button.
The tempo of the game can be changed by adjusting the LOADING TIMES,
e.g. 20% turns the game into pure raging. You can also set
LOAD+CHANGE ON from the OPTIONS MENU if you want to change weapons
while reloading.
If you want to fine tune you aiming, e.g. get a missile or a bullet
go through a small tunnel, the cross hair moves way too fast. Hold
"Up" and "Down" keys down at the same time, pressing the direction
you want to move the crossarm to _a little_ bit more than the other
key. Try it and you'll get it.
It's worthwhile saving different kinds of settings you use to
different files, they can be easily restored this way.
When I try to run the game, the text "Runtime error 203 at 0000:xxxx"
appears on the screen. What's the problem?
You don't have enough free conventional memory. Try to free some
memory by loading drivers to the upper memory block or removing
unnecessary drivers. You can ask for details if you have
problems.
Why is Liero so SLOW?
You've got a slow machine. Try the following:
- Run the game with "liero /s2". The higher the number, the faster
the game runs.
- Set SCREEN SYNC OFF
- Set MAP OFF
- Set SHADOWS OFF
- Decrease the AMOUNT OF BLOOD
- Set the sounds OFF by running the game with "liero /n"
- Get yourself a faster machine
More troubleshooting coming soon...
ATTENTION!! The levels created with Levedit 0.2 are not compatible
with the versions 1.30+ of Liero, and need to be "compiled" with
Levedit 0.22. Open the level file and re-save it. Similarly the
levels created with Levedit 0.22 don't work in versions older than
1.30.
Levedit 0.22 is still a very restricted. You can only use it for
placing rocks and empty space, but it can make variety to the
randomly generated basic levels. So the editor still needs some more
work, but maybe this one is good enough for starters.
The level editor starts by typing LEVEDIT in the directory that
contains the files of Liero. When you've started the editor, you can
choose a tool (empty space/stone) from the upper-left corner of the
screen. Drawing the level can be done by clicking the left mouse
button. The right mouse button changes the type of stone.
The key commands of the editor:
ALT-L Load a level
ALT-S Save the level
ALT-C Clear the level
ESC Exit the editor
Please describe us a good level editor!!
If a new version is released, it's always found in the MBnet-BBS and
MBweb (www.mikrobitti.fi). On the main level of MBnet type "sis 7"
and press Enter. Press Enter again and type "ets liero a" (Enter) and
all the files having something to do with the word "liero" are shown.
Liero should be found on the list.