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<h2>Discworld Documentation:</h2>
<h2>LPC for Dummies</h2>
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<p><font size="+1"><!-- #BeginEditable "Title" --><font size="+1"><b>Tutorial
Exercises </b></font><!-- #EndEditable --></font></p>
<p><i>N.B - This is a work in progress... a living document if you like.
If it appears to be dead when you view it, don't worry. It's most likely
just playing possum.</i></p>
<p>Comments on these chapters and tutorials can be e-mailed to <a href="mailto:drakkos@cableinet.co.uk">Drakkos.</a></p>
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<p><b>Easy: </b>
<p>1) A plural for objects is automatically created when the object is setup.
We've already looked at how set_main_plural() can be used to change the default
way the mud pluralises our object. Using add_plural(), demonstrate how we can
add further plurals to an NPC.
<p>2) It's possible to make an NPC auto attack any players who enter the room.
Using set_aggressive(), how would we do this?
<p>3) We can provide our NPC with some cash by using the adjust_money() function.
How would we do this to provide our NPC with two Ankh-Morpork dollars and fifty
Ankh-Morpork pence?
<p>4) Discworld being a magical place, it's not unusual for areas to have high
levels of background magic. How would you use the set_background_enchant() function
to give a room some ambient, residual magic?
<p>5) Add_alias() can also be used on rooms to add additional labels for exits.
Demonstrate how you can alias exits to synonyms using this function.
<p>6) Some rooms are, obviously, larger than others. Demonstrate how we can make
a room larger or smaller using the set_room_size() function.
<p><b>More Difficult: </b>
<p>7) load_chat() allows for special character strings to be passed in which are
later expanded. The help file for expand_string() details the codes for this.
If passing in a command as 'emote swings $mposs$ hips.' will be expanded as
'The grey blob swings his hips.', what would we pass in to get: a) The capitalised
name of a random living object in the room b) The pronoun (he/she/it) of an
object attacking our NPC c) The short description of a random object in the
NPC's inventory.
<p>8) If we pass in an array as action to be executed as a part of add_respond_to_with(),
the NPC will randomly perform one of the commands. How would you write an add_respond_to_with
to make an NPC say either 'bing' or 'bong' when the player says hello?
<p> 9) An NPC will execute a story of sorts if a load_chat action is passed in
as an array. How would we define a load_chat to make our NPC perform three actions,
one after the other, in order?
<p>10) We've shown above how to move an object into a room. If we had a physical
object, such as a sword or a chest, how would it be possible to add the object
to a room without it appearing in the inventory line? Add_hidden_object() may
prove useful.
<p>11) Modify exit is an extremely useful function in room coding, Have a read
of the helpfile and see if you can work out the code to a) Change the exit message
of a player so that it would appear as "<name> staggers off to the <direction>".
b) Change an exit so that it does not appear in the list of obvious exits in
a room.
<p>12) We can give NPCs access to guild commands using the add_known_command function.
Using this and an add_combat_action, show how we can make an NPC crush and strike
at an enemy, should they have an appropriate weapon.
<p><b>Notes on Tutorial Questions: </b>If you have any ideas for tutorial questions
based on what is located in the newbie coding tutorial, then please mudmail
them to Drakkos. Also, if you have an idea for some neat little thing you'd
like to do in your objects, and it seems like it would make an instructive example,
mail your query to me and I'll see if I can make a tutorial exercise out of
it, with the appropriate answer code. Thx, flyheads!!
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