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''Liero'' is a
video game A video game or computer game is an electronic game that involves interaction with a user interface or input device (such as a joystick, game controller, controller, computer keyboard, keyboard, or motion sensing device) to generate visual fe ...
for
MS-DOS MS-DOS ( ; acronym for Microsoft Disk Operating System, also known as Microsoft DOS) is an operating system for x86-based personal computers mostly developed by Microsoft. Collectively, MS-DOS, its rebranding as IBM PC DOS, and a few op ...
, first released by Finnish programmer Joosa Riekkinen in 1998. The game has been described as a
real-time Real-time, realtime, or real time may refer to: Computing * Real-time computing, hardware and software systems subject to a specified time constraint * Real-time clock, a computer clock that keeps track of the current time * Real-time Control Syst ...
version of ''
Worms The World Register of Marine Species (WoRMS) is a taxonomic database that aims to provide an authoritative and comprehensive catalogue and list of names of marine organisms. Content The content of the registry is edited and maintained by scien ...
'' (a turn-based
artillery game Artillery games are two- or three-player (usually turn-based) video games involving tanks (or simply cannons) trying to destroy each other. The core mechanics of the gameplay is almost always to aim at the opponent(s) following a ballistics, ba ...
). Liero is Finnish for '
earthworm An earthworm is a soil-dwelling terrestrial invertebrate that belongs to the phylum Annelida. The term is the common name for the largest members of the class (or subclass, depending on the author) Oligochaeta. In classical systems, they we ...
'. Inspired itself by the earlier game ''MoleZ'', ''Liero'' provided inspiration for the later games '' Soldat'' and '' Noita''.


Gameplay

In ''Liero'', two worms fight each other to death for score (or frags) using a choice of five weapons from a total of 40 in a two-dimensional map. Most of the terrain, except for indestructible rocks, may be dug or destroyed by explosions. In addition to the weaponry, each player has a ninja rope which can be used to move faster through the map. This grappling hook-like device substitutes for jetpacks and can even latch onto the enemy worm to drag them closer to their foe. While playing, there are health power-ups to heal the player's worm. It is also possible to replace one of the five weapons by picking up bonuses. Before playing, certain weapons can be selected to be available only in bonuses, in the entire game, or completely disabled. Unlike most side-scrolling deathmatch games, the weapons in ''Liero'' have infinite ammo. Key factors of weapons include their reload rate and how fast they shoot, whereas in most other games of this type, key factors of weapons include how much ammo they sport and how frequently more ammo for that weapon can be found. ''Liero'' depends all on timing and swift maneuverability. The gameplay mode can be
deathmatch Deathmatch commonly refers to: * A particularly brutal type of hardcore wrestling * Deathmatch (video games), a free-for-all video game mode Death Match may also refer to: Arts, entertainment, and media *'' Tom Clancy's Net Force Explorers: D ...
, Game of Tag or Capture the Flag. It can be played by two human players simultaneously in
split screen Split screen may refer to: * Split screen (computing), dividing graphics into adjacent parts * Split screen (video production), the visible division of the screen * ''Split Screen'' (TV series), 1997–2001 * Split screen, a focusing screen in a ...
or in a single player mode against the game's
artificial intelligence Artificial intelligence (AI) is the capability of computer, computational systems to perform tasks typically associated with human intelligence, such as learning, reasoning, problem-solving, perception, and decision-making. It is a field of re ...
, although the game's popularity is derived mostly from the fast-paced player-vs.-player action it provides.


Development history


Original ''Liero'' by Joosa Riekkinen

Joosa Riekkinen developed ''Liero'' as DOS game with the first version released in 1998. ''Liero'' was inspired by the previous
freeware Freeware is software, often proprietary, that is distributed at no monetary cost to the end user. There is no agreed-upon set of rights, license, or EULA that defines ''freeware'' unambiguously; every publisher defines its own rules for the free ...
game MoleZ, and took many weapons and sounds from its precursor.Liero Wiki: MoleZ
The original ''Liero''s latest version was 1.33, which was released in 1999.official Liero wiki
However, the author lost the Pascal
source code In computing, source code, or simply code or source, is a plain text computer program written in a programming language. A programmer writes the human readable source code to control the behavior of a computer. Since a computer, at base, only ...
in a
hard disk A hard disk drive (HDD), hard disk, hard drive, or fixed disk is an electro-mechanical data storage device that stores and retrieves digital data using magnetic storage with one or more rigid rapidly rotating hard disk drive platter, pla ...
crash, and due to the lack of backup, no new "classic" versions have been released since.


Community developments

Despite this, and with the author's approval, the ''Liero'' community has distributed several altered (or hacked) versions of the game through the LieroCDC, and others.


Merge

In 2009, "classic" ''Liero'' was officially merged with the OpenLiero project upon the release of ''Liero'' 1.34 (not to be confused with the
total conversion Video game modding (short for "modifying") is the process of alteration by players or fans of one or more aspects of a video game, such as how it looks or behaves, and is a sub-discipline of general ''modding''. A set of modifications, commonly c ...
by that name). The new versions are released by Gliptic, although Joosa Riekkinen endorses them as official. The original ''Liero'' data and binary files by Riekkinen were released available under the
WTFPL The WTFPL is a permissive free software license. As a public domain like license, the WTFPL is essentially the same as dedication to the public domain. It allows redistribution and modification of the work under any terms. The name is an abbrev ...
license A license (American English) or licence (Commonwealth English) is an official permission or permit to do, use, or own something (as well as the document of that permission or permit). A license is granted by a party (licensor) to another part ...
. ''Liero''s last release was version 1.36, release September 3, 2013. This version is compatible with almost any OS but lacks network gaming (unlike some of the remakes).


Clones, remakes and derivatives


''Liero Xtreme''

''Liero Xtreme'' (often called ''LieroX'', ''Liero Extreme'' or just ''LX'') is a 2D
shooter game Shooter video games, or shooters, are a subgenre of action video games where the focus is on the defeat of the character's enemies using ranged weapons given to the player. Usually these weapons are firearms or some other long-range weapons, a ...
. It is an unofficial sequel to ''Liero'', and is the most popular of all the ''Liero'' clones.eGamer about OpenLieroX
It features online play, fully customizable weapons, levels and characters. ''Liero Xtreme'' was created in
C++ C++ (, pronounced "C plus plus" and sometimes abbreviated as CPP or CXX) is a high-level, general-purpose programming language created by Danish computer scientist Bjarne Stroustrup. First released in 1985 as an extension of the C programmin ...
by Jason 'JasonB' Boettcher, an Australian programmer. With its source release on April 10, 2006, a new project has become available on October 24, 2006, known as ''OpenLieroX'', while the development of the original ''LieroX'' project has stopped. At the time of writing (May 6, 2009), ''OpenLieroX'' has tripled in code size and has many new features. The game is based on a
deathmatch Deathmatch commonly refers to: * A particularly brutal type of hardcore wrestling * Deathmatch (video games), a free-for-all video game mode Death Match may also refer to: Arts, entertainment, and media *'' Tom Clancy's Net Force Explorers: D ...
setting, where multiple players face off in a closed
level Level or levels may refer to: Engineering *Level (optical instrument), a device used to measure true horizontal or relative heights * Spirit level or bubble level, an instrument designed to indicate whether a surface is horizontal or vertical *C ...
. Each player is equipped with five weapons selected out of all the weapons allowed, and with a ''ninja rope'' that allows the player to move in any direction. Players begin with a set amount of lives, and whilst the game records the number of kills, the last man standing is usually considered the winner. ''Liero Xtreme'' also allows team deathmatches, which has made it common for players to form
clans A clan is a group of people united by actual or perceived kinship and descent. Even if lineage details are unknown, a clan may claim descent from a founding member or apical ancestor who serves as a symbol of the clan's unity. Many societie ...
. ''OpenLieroX'' runs on Windows, on MacOSX, on Linux and on FreeBSD. The first release announcement of ''Liero Extreme'' was made on October 14, 2002. ''LieroX'' has become very famous over the time. On February 14, 2006, ''Jason Boettcher'' stopped the ''LieroX'' development for good. The last version he released was 0.62b, which had many new features, but suffered from crashes and various errors, and did not catch on within the community which continues to play the 0.56b version. Before leaving the community, he released the
source code In computing, source code, or simply code or source, is a plain text computer program written in a programming language. A programmer writes the human readable source code to control the behavior of a computer. Since a computer, at base, only ...
of the even older version 0.55b under the
zlib license The zlib license is a permissive software license which defines the terms under which the zlib software library can be distributed. It is also used by many other open-source packages. The libpng library uses a similar license, libpng license, s ...
. Development of ''LieroXtreme'' is now in hands of Karel Petranek and Albert Zeyer, used the source code to create ''OpenLieroX'', which is compatible with the popular 0.56b version, but has multiple new features and bugfixes. Michał Futer took care of the new frontend. Currently the majority of players play ''OpenLieroX''. As a customizable game, it allows players and developers to
script Script may refer to: Writing systems * Script, a distinctive writing system, based on a repertoire of specific elements or symbols, or that repertoire * Script (styles of handwriting) ** Script typeface, a typeface with characteristics of handw ...
their own mods. Different mods have different sets of unique weapons, and may also differ in player gravity and movement. The default mod is ''Liero 1.0'', also called ''Classic'', which is roughly equal to the basic setting in original ''Liero''. On top of this, several player-created mods are included in the standard game packs, some of which are more popular than the default setting. Similarly to ''Liero'', the default level is ''Dirt Level'', consisting of diggable terrain with some indestructible rock. The default level is comparatively rarely played compared to more complex player-created levels. The game interface allow players to modify factors of the game such as which weapons in a mod are allowed, and how fast they reload and many other parameters which have huge impact on the game play.


''NiL''

''NiL'' (
recursive acronym A recursive acronym is an acronym that refers to itself, and appears most frequently in computer programming. The term was first used in print in 1979 in Douglas Hofstadter's book '' Gödel, Escher, Bach: An Eternal Golden Braid'', in which Hofs ...
for ''NiL Isn't Liero'') is a clone of ''Liero'', which runs on
Linux Linux ( ) is a family of open source Unix-like operating systems based on the Linux kernel, an kernel (operating system), operating system kernel first released on September 17, 1991, by Linus Torvalds. Linux is typically package manager, pac ...
and
Windows Windows is a Product lining, product line of Proprietary software, proprietary graphical user interface, graphical operating systems developed and marketed by Microsoft. It is grouped into families and subfamilies that cater to particular sec ...
and is released under the terms of the
GNU General Public License The GNU General Public Licenses (GNU GPL or simply GPL) are a series of widely used free software licenses, or ''copyleft'' licenses, that guarantee end users the freedom to run, study, share, or modify the software. The GPL was the first ...
. ''NiL'' is not limited to two players, like the original ''Liero'' is. It doesn't limit the number of players over a TCP network. It was met with considerable enthusiasm in the Linux gaming community.Open-source, networkable shooter has Linux gamers buzzing
by Lee Anderson, April 12, 2000,
CNN Cable News Network (CNN) is a multinational news organization operating, most notably, a website and a TV channel headquartered in Atlanta. Founded in 1980 by American media proprietor Ted Turner and Reese Schonfeld as a 24-hour cable ne ...
The project was initiated by Flemming Frandsen in winter
1999 1999 was designated as the International Year of Older Persons. Events January * January 1 – The euro currency is established and the European Central Bank assumes its full powers. * January 3 – The Mars Polar Lander is launc ...
after he had stumbled across ''Liero'', which he liked so much that he decided to reimplement it under Linux. He abandoned the project five months later, due to being too busy for it. ''NiL'' was dead until the beginning of
2004 2004 was designated as an International Year of Rice by the United Nations, and the International Year to Commemorate the Struggle Against Slavery and Its Abolition (by UNESCO). Events January * January 3 – Flash Airlines Flight 60 ...
when Christoph Brill, found out about the project and took over as maintainer. Thereafter Daniel Schneidereit joined the project as well, but soon left. Other contributors included Nils Thuerey, Harri Liusvaara, David Hewitt and Phil Howlett. Development proceeded slowly as the project's
source code In computing, source code, or simply code or source, is a plain text computer program written in a programming language. A programmer writes the human readable source code to control the behavior of a computer. Since a computer, at base, only ...
became almost unmaintainable and ''NiL'' was lacking developers. By mid-2005 Alexander Kahl joined development, convinced Christoph to start over and re-think the whole concept of ''NiL'', as the other ''Liero'' clone ''Gusanos'' already existed at that time. Development seems to have stopped around mid-2006.


''OpenLieroX''

''OpenLieroX'' is a remake of classic ''Liero'', built from scratch in a new engine. It adds many features to the game, such as modding support, custom sprites, maps, and weapons, and online and lan play. The game also supports more than two players at once.


''WebLiero''

Classic-like ''Liero'' clone in web browser with multiplayer capability.


Modification

''Liero'' is a versatile game in terms of modification. All of its 40 weapons can be completely replaced with new ones that can be given different images and
sound effects A sound effect (or audio effect) is an artificially created or enhanced sound, or sound process used to emphasize artistic or other content of films, television shows, live performance, animation, video games, music, or other media. In m ...
from the original set. The images of the worms themselves can be transformed into completely different characters, although their movement animations are less flexible regarding modification. The maps can be given permanent terrain other than rocks alone. Destroyable terrain can also be colored more than simply plain dirt. The AI can be modified to be harder or easier. Nearly the whole game can be converted into something entirely different, except for the main aspect having to do with slaughtering another player/AI.


Reception and usage

In 2006 ''Liero'' received a TopDog award from
Home of the Underdogs Home of the Underdogs (often called HotU) is an abandonware archive founded by Sarinee Achavanuntakul, in October 1998. Before shutting down the original version in 2009, the site provided reviews for over 5,300 games and offered downloads of so ...
.Liero
on HOTU (2006)
''OpenLieroX'' has been positively reviewed by multiple gaming news sites. In 2013
Derek Yu Derek Yu (born July 2, 1982) is an American independent video game designer, video game artist, and blogger.TIGSource TIGSource, short for The Independent Games Source, is a news blog and Internet community centered around the creation of independent video games, founded in 2005 by Jordan Magnuson but soon taken over by Derek Yu, both independent game develope ...
reviewed ''Liero'' v1.36 favorably.liero-1-36
on TIGsource.com (2014-02-14)
The ''Liero'' variants ''NiL'', ''Gusanos'', and ''OpenLieroX'' were downloaded multiple hundred thousand times from
SourceForge SourceForge is a web service founded by Geoffrey B. Jeffery, Tim Perdue, and Drew Streib in November 1999. SourceForge provides a centralized software discovery platform, including an online platform for managing and hosting open-source soft ...
alone between 2001 and 2016. Calling ''Liero'' a "masterpiece", ''Liero'' was selected for a collection of 100 classic Finnish games, which were presented on the opening of the
Finnish Museum of Games The Finnish Museum of Games () is a museum dedicated to the history of Finnish games located in Vapriikki Museum Centre in Tampere, Finland. The museum opened in January 2017. By the end of June 2017, over 100,000 people had visited the museum. ...
in
Tampere Tampere is a city in Finland and the regional capital of Pirkanmaa. It is located in the Finnish Lakeland. The population of Tampere is approximately , while the metropolitan area has a population of approximately . It is the most populous mu ...
in 2017.Muistatko vielä nämä suomalaiset klassikkopelit? Nämä 100 pääsevät Tampereen pelimuseoon
on
aamulehti ''Aamulehti'' ( Finnish for "morning newspaper") is a Finnish-language daily newspaper published in Tampere, Finland. Established in 1881 by Finnish patriots in Tampere, the newspaper aimed to bolster the Finnish language and people's identity d ...
(15.12.2016
English translation


References


External links

* - Created by fans, endorsed by Joosa Riekkinen
''OpenLiero'' official site
(obsoleted by ''Liero'' 1.34)
''OpenLieroX'' official site

''NiL'' official site

Official ''Liero Xtreme'' website
{{Webarchive, url=https://web.archive.org/web/20090220153614/http://lxalliance.net/LXRS/ , date=2009-02-20
''MoleZ'' Official Site
(spiritual precursor to ''Liero'') 1998 video games DOS games Linux games Artillery video games Video games developed in Australia Video games developed in Finland Freeware games Multiplayer hotseat games Public-domain software with source code Windows games Software using the WTFPL license