#1300
The Builder's Academy~
Congratulations on your new found immortality. Now all you need to know is
how to use your new abilities. This zone describes how to create CircleMUD
areas. The intended audience is builders interested in creating new worlds.
There are a few basic rules to understand while exploring this zone and
learning how to build, everything in @RCAPITAL LETTERS@n is something that
can be further explored by typing @RCAPITAL LETTERS@n and hitting return.
Test this out, @RHELP DISCLAIMER@n.
~
13 de 0 0 0 0
D1
Seperate hallways branch off to the north from this main hallway. Each
covering a different topic.
~
~
0 0 1301
S
T 1303
#1301
The Beginning~
By simply following the different halls new builders will be taught the
basics of building on a Circlemud. If new to immortality and building then I
highly recommend the hallway to the north for an overview of immortal commands.
For those that have a grasp on all commands listed under @RWIZHELP@n continue to
the east.
~
13 de 0 0 0 0
D0
The hall to the north is labeled "The Basics" and should be browsed by all
new builders.
~
~
0 0 1314
D1
The hallway continues in this direction covering the more advanced topics of
building.
~
~
0 0 1302
D3
The beginning of TBA where all new builders are sent.
~
~
0 0 1300
S
#1302
The Builder's Academy Implementation~
The room to the north will explain to you everything you need to know about
The Builder's Academy. Though we try to not restrict builders with rules and
regulations, some are required in order to make this place run smoothly.
Please realize we handle alot of newbie builders with a very minimal staff so
be patient with us and obey all the rules and explanations that are found
within this hallway. Everyone new to The Builder's Academy must go through
this hallway, no matter what their prior experience may be.
~
13 d 0 0 0 0
D0
The hallway on TBA specific information continues.
~
~
0 0 1319
D1
The hallway continues in this direction covering the more advanced topics of
building.
~
~
0 0 1303
D3
The hallway continues in this direction to the topics covered earlier about
building.
~
~
0 0 1301
S
#1303
Building~
To the north, you will be taught what it really means to be a builder.
The long hallway running west to east is the route you will advance upon
after completing each hallway leading off to the north.
The first thing all builders need to realize is that their area is not going
to be the best, it is not going to have the best equipment or toughest mobs in
the game. All new builders want to make a piece of equipment that is better
than any other and they all want the large group of players to remember the
trials and tribulations they went through while trying to kill a mob that they
have created. If you are a veteran of any MUD, you know that the toughest mobs
have already been made, and to try to create a mob that is tougher is almost
impossible and will only duplicate existing mobs, or throw off the balance of
the game. So start out small and do not expect to create a perfect zone the
first time around. Do not make anything overly powerful. It will not be
allowed and you will have to redo it, wasting both your time and the staffs.
~
13 d 0 0 0 0
D0
~
~
0 0 1322
D1
The hallway continues in this direction covering the more advanced topics of
building.
~
~
0 0 1304
D3
The hallway continues in this direction to the topics covered earlier about
building.
~
~
0 0 1302
S
#1304
Writing Good Descriptions~
The hall to the north goes into the lengthy subject of writing good
descriptions. This will also cover proper grammar and the use of the text
editor that comes with Circlemud.
This hallway is dedicated to helping you with the writing aspect of
building. We assume that you are reasonably literate and know basic English
grammar and spelling. If this does not describe you, we humbly suggest that
you take some English classes, get a dictionary, and start learning. Proper
grammar should be used at all times. If you can write reasonably well,
great! I am sure you will still find this hallway useful. We will discuss
some of the issues related to writing specifically for a MUD.
~
13 d 0 0 0 0
D0
~
~
0 0 1326
D1
The hallway continues in this direction covering the more advanced topics of
building.
~
~
0 0 1305
D3
The hallway continues in this direction to the topics covered earlier about
building.
~
~
0 0 1303
S
#1305
How to Use Redit~
By exploring to the north you will learn how to use the room editor to make
rooms. This includes linking rooms, writing descriptions, extra descriptions
and the meaning of all room flags and settings.
Room edit, or redit, is how you create, link, and describe the rooms that a
player explores. It can be used by simply typing redit in the room you wish to
edit. If you get a message that you do not have permission to edit that zone
it is because your OLC is not set to that zone. @RSTAT SELF@n to see what your
@mOLC[]@n is set to. OLC, or on-line-creation is set to the zone number
assigned to you by the staff. The zone number is then divided into VNUM's ##00
to ##99. For example, Zone 13 has VNUM's 1300 to 1399. These numbers are
critical; they are the identities of the rooms within the game. They can be
used with "goto" to go to that room.
~
13 d 0 0 0 0
D0
~
~
0 0 1338
D1
The hallway continues in this direction covering the more advanced topics of
building.
~
~
0 0 1306
D3
The hallway continues in this direction to the topics covered earlier about
building.
~
~
0 0 1304
S
#1306
How to Use Oedit~
The hall to the north will teach you the intricacies of creating objects
with the object editor. Please remember that every mud has different ideas of
balance and the basics of building you learn here should be universal, but
expect limitations on objects from your local mud administration. To further
help your training we have added object standards to all values a builder can
set. This way you know what values are appropriate and will not have to redo
objects because you did not know what values to set.
Oedit can be used by typing "oedit <<VNUM>>". A zone is divided into VNUM's
##00 to ##99. For example, Zone 13 has VNUM's 1300 to 1399. These numbers
are critical; they are the identities of the objects within the game. It is
a good habit to start using all VNUMs from ##00 to ##99 consecutively.
~
13 d 0 0 0 0
D0
~
~
0 0 1347
D1
The hallway continues in this direction covering the more advanced topics of
building.
~
~
0 0 1307
D3
The hallway continues in this direction to the topics covered earlier about
building.
~
~
0 0 1305
S
#1307
How to Use Medit~
To the north you will learn how to create mobiles with the mobile editor.
Mobs are the non-player characters within the game (NPC's). To the north you
will learn how to create a mob, modify all of its stats (statistics), flags,
and settings.
Mobile edit, or medit, is how you create the monsters a player can interact
with. Notice I use the word interact. Every mob should not be made for just
killing. There can and should be a variety. For example, one mob could be
made for high experience value, another for gold, another for a unique object,
another to fill a storyline, another as part of a quest. The options are
limitless, especially with triggers, mobs are meant for much more than just
killing. Medit can be used by typing "medit <<VNUM>>". A zone is divided into
VNUM's ##00 to ##99. For example, Zone 13 has VNUM's 1300 to 1399. These
numbers are critical; they are the identities of the mobs within the game. It
is a good habit to start using all VNUMs from ##00 to ##99 consecutively.
~
13 d 0 0 0 0
D0
~
~
0 0 1364
D1
The hallway continues in this direction covering the more advanced topics of
building.
~
~
0 0 1308
D3
The hallway continues in this direction to the topics covered earlier about
building.
~
~
0 0 1306
S
#1308
How to Use Zedit~
To the north you will be taught how to use the zone editor. Zedit is what
is used to load mobiles and objects into rooms. Every zone goes through a
zone reset, each one depending on how you set it. Upon a zone reset all rooms,
mobs, and objects will reload if they are no longer present.
Most new builders think mobs and objects are loaded by the "load" command.
This is not how it is done. Instead you use zedit in each room you wish a
mob or object to load. This way whenever the zone resets it will execute the
zone commands to load all of your mobs and objects.
~
13 d 0 0 0 0
D0
~
~
0 0 1377
D1
The hallway continues in this direction covering the more advanced topics of
building.
~
~
0 0 1309
D3
The hallway continues in this direction to the topics covered earlier about
building.
~
~
0 0 1307
S
#1309
How to Use Sedit~
Shops are stores within the mud that players can list the items for sale
and then buy or sell from. Shops are one of the more complicated aspects of
building and should not be attempted until you are comfortable with the other
forms of OLC (except trigedit).
When you make a shop I suggest you use the shop vnum that matches the room
you wish the shop to be in. For example, say I want a shop in room 1333. I
would sedit 1333 to create that shop. Now, let us look at the sedit menu.
Type the following: @RHELP SEDIT-MENU@n. That is an example of the sedit menu
you will see when you edit a shop. Notice how each important line has an
associated help topic. To learn more about it just see the appropriate help
file. If this is your first experience with sedit read ALL the help files.
~
13 d 0 0 0 0
D1
The hallway continues in this direction covering the more advanced topics of
building.
~
~
0 0 1310
D3
The hallway continues in this direction to the topics covered earlier about
building.
~
~
0 0 1308
S
#1310
How to Use Trigedit~
The hall to the north will show you how to use the trigger editor.
Specifically the triggers most circleMUD's now use are called dg scripts
(dg stands for deathgate, the name of the MUD they originated from). To try
to prevent confusion I will always refer to them as triggers. This is the most
advanced form of OLC we have to offer. It is the hardest, but also the most
rewarding.
Are you looking to pour life into your mobs? to enliven your rooms? or just
make your objects special? This can all be done with trigedit.
~
13 d 0 0 0 0
D0
~
~
0 0 1395
D1
The hallway continues in this direction covering the more advanced topics of
building.
~
~
0 0 1311
D3
The hallway continues in this direction to the topics covered earlier about
building.
~
~
0 0 1309
S
#1311
Planning~
The ideas discussed in the help files below are tried and true. Though they
may not work for everyone, they will for the majority. Learn from others
mistakes and understand the planning required to make a good zone. Building a
great zone takes many things; such as time, patience, good grammar/spelling,
knowing how to balance your zone, a lot of work, and most importantly
planning. Now this all may sound like a lot to do, but I can assure you that
with this zone, and others help, you can do this.
@RHELP DICTIONARY@n
@RHELP WORK@n
@RHELP PLANNING@n
@RHELP MAPPING@n
@RHELP LOCATION@n
@RHELP THEME@n
@RHELP PLOT@n
@RHELP SIZE@n
@RHELP ALIGNMENT@n
@RHELP BIAS@n
~
13 d 0 0 0 0
D1
The hallway continues in this direction covering the more advanced topics of
building.
~
~
0 0 1312
D3
The hallway continues in this direction to the topics covered earlier about
building.
~
~
0 0 1310
S
#1312
Lessons Learned and Advanced Building~
To the north a lengthy hallway lists the lessons that have been passed down
from builder to builder through out the years. Take heed to the words within
these walls as they have been and done what you are now doing many times over.
~
13 d 0 0 0 0
D0
~
~
0 0 1411
D1
The hallway continues in this direction covering the more advanced topics of
building.
~
~
0 0 1313
D3
The hallway continues in this direction to the topics covered earlier about
building.
~
~
0 0 1311
S
#1313
The End of the Beginning~
For those of you who have read this far and actually made something out of
it, Congratulations. You have the patience to become a builder and make
CircleMUD zones. If you wimped out or skipped some areas then please MUDmail
me why. @RAT POSTMASTER MAIL RUMBLE@n. Also, please MUDmail or email me any
questions, comments, concerns, or suggestions about this zone. What did I do
wrong, forget, mispell, anything! If you have something to add feel free to
MUDmail or email me. @RHELP EMAIL@n.
This area is a culmination of help files I have come across and my own
experiences in the CircleMUD community. I thank all those before who have
helped in the creation of this masterpiece. Special Thanks to Welcor,
Elaseth, Manivo, Snowlock, and Lance for their additions.
Remember, MUDding is fun!
Respectfully,
Rumble
~
13 d 0 0 0 0
D3
The hallway continues in this direction to the topics covered earlier about
building.
~
~
0 0 1312
S
#1314
Immortal Commands~
As an immortal you have some new commands available to you. To see all
of your immortal commands simply type @RWIZHELP@n. Every command in the game
has a help entry. So the best way to learn how to use all these commands is
by simply typing @RHELP <COMMAND>@n. This will bring up some information
about the command. For example, this is what you will see if you type
@RHELP NOHASSLE@n:
@WNOHASSLE -------->> help topic
Usage: nohassle ---------->> what you need to type to do it.
Toggles a flag to prevent aggressive monsters from attacking and also prevents
immortals from firing triggers. If you wish to test triggers you must turn
nohassle off. -->> description
See Also: HOLYLIGHT, ROOMFLAGS ------->> other related commands in help file.
@n
Now is the time to practice all of your immortal commands, make sure you
understand what they do and how they can be used. Read all the help file
entries on every command!!! Do not worry too much about redit, oedit, medit,
zedit, sedit, and trigedit. We will get to those later. Know how to use all
the commands available to you.
~
13 d 0 0 0 0
D0
The basics hallway continues to the north.
~
~
0 0 1315
D2
The main hallway with its many different topics is to the south.
~
~
0 0 1301
S
#1315
Overview of the MUD World~
The first thing you need to build is a good telnet client. Everyone has
their preferences. But, some work better than others. A few clients can not
color codes and other important special characters like the backslash. I highly
recommend ZMUD. It is even worth the 25$ registration fee. If that is too
much, download the free version. You can see an indepth list of clients under:
@RHELP TELNET@n
Once you have a good client you must understand a few basics:
@RHELP VIRTUAL-NUMBERS@n
@RHELP TERMINOLOGY@n
~
13 d 0 0 0 0
D0
The basics hallway continues.
~
~
0 0 -1
D2
The basics hallway continues.
~
~
0 0 1314
S
#1319
The Builder's Academy Learning Process~
Read the following help files:
@RHELP TRIALROOM@n
@RHELP REPORT@n
@RHELP LEVEL@n
@RHELP ADVERTISING@n
~
13 d 0 0 0 0
D2
The main hallway with its many different topics is to the south.
~
~
0 0 1302
S
#1322
What is a Builder?~
Read the following help files:
@RHELP BUILDER
HELP PREREQUISITE
HELP BALANCE
HELP BREATHE@n
~
13 d 0 0 0 0
D2
The main hallway with its many different topics is to the south.
~
~
0 0 1303
S
#1326
Writing for a MUD~
Check these out:
@RHELP DESCRIBING
HELP YOU
HELP BIAS
HELP GRAMMAR
HELP REDIT-DESCRIPTIONS
HELP REDIT-EXTRA
HELP OEDIT-EXTRA
HELP D-DESC
HELP MEDIT-L-DESC
HELP TEXT-EDITOR
~
13 d 0 0 0 0
D2
The main hallway with its many different topics is to the south.
~
~
0 0 1304
S
#1338
The Basics of Redit~
Now, lets look at the redit menu. Type the following: @RHELP REDIT-MENU@n
That is an example of the redit menu you will see when you edit a room.
Notice how each important line has an associated help topic. To learn more
about it just see the appropriate help file. If this is your first experience
with redit read ALL the help files.
~
13 d 0 0 0 0
D0
The tutorial hallway continues.
~
~
0 0 1339
D2
The main hallway with its many different topics is to the south.
~
~
0 0 1305
S
#1339
Your Trial Vnum~
Feel free to continue reading through this zone and the help files or begin
working on your trial vnum.
@RHELP STYLISTICS@n
~
13 de 0 0 0 0
D2
The tutorial hallway continues.
~
~
0 0 1338
E
h help /h~
Editor command formats: /<letter>
/a - aborts editor
/c - clears buffer
/d# - deletes a line #
/e# <text> - changes the line at # with <text>
/f - formats text
/fi - indented formatting of text
/h - list text editor commands
/i# <text> - inserts <text> before line #
/l - lists buffer
/n - lists buffer with line numbers
/r 'a' 'b' - replace 1st occurance of text <a> in buffer with text
/ra 'a' 'b' - replace all occurances of text <a> within buffer with text
usage: /r[a] 'pattern' 'replacement'
/! <command> - escape the editor and run command
usage: /! say I'm busy!
/s - saves text
~
S
#1347
The Basics of Oedit~
Lets start off by checking out the oedit menu. Type @RHELP OEDIT-MENU@n
That is an example of the oedit menu you will see when you edit an object.
Notice how each important line has an associated help topic. To learn more
about it just see the appropriate help file. If this is your first experience
with oedit read ALL the help files.
~
13 d 0 0 0 0
D2
The main hallway with its many different topics is to the south.
~
~
0 0 1306
S
#1364
The Basics of Medit~
Lets start off by checking out the medit menu. Type HELP @RMEDIT-MENU@n
That is an example of the medit menu you will see when you edit a mobile.
Notice how each important line has an associated help topic. To learn more
about it just see the appropriate help file. If this is your first experience
with medit read ALL the help files.
~
13 d 0 0 0 0
D2
The main hallway with its many different topics is to the south.
~
~
0 0 1307
S
#1377
The Basics of Zedit~
Zone edit, or zedit, is how you control how mobiles and objects are
integrated within the zone to create an inhabited world. Using "load obj
<VNUM>" does not ensure that the mob will always be there, in fact if someone
kills it or the mud reboots it will be gone. So you need to load mobs and
objects through zedit.
It can be used just like redit, by simply typing zedit while you are in the
room you wish to edit or "zedit <<VNUM>>." Now, lets look at the zedit menu. Do
the following: @RHELP ZEDIT-MENU@n. That is an example of the zedit menu you will
see. Notice how each important line has an associated help topic. To learn more
about it just see the appropriate help file. If this is your first experience
with zedit read ALL the help files.
Zedit contains zone settings, followed by a series of reset commands. Each
time a zone is reset, the server executes all the commands in order from
beginning to end. All zones are reset when the server first boots, and
periodically reset again while the game is running.
~
13 d 0 0 0 0
D2
The main hallway with its many different topics is to the south.
~
~
0 0 1308
S
#1395
Triggers~
Well then, come and read the wonderful scrolls of wisdom at:
@C http://welcor.n3.net@n
They describe what DG scripts are, what are their uses, and of course, how
to make them, and they do it well! Dont forget, for optimal results, Use the
pages in conjuction with the help files here: @RHELP TRIGEDIT-MENU@n and the @RTLIST@n
and @RTSTAT@n commands.
Have fun with the power of (minor)coding!
Make sure to disable @RNOHASSLE@n. Triggers will not work on you otherwise.
~
13 d 0 0 0 0
D0
The tutorial hallway continues.
~
~
0 0 1435
D2
The main hallway with its many different topics is to the south.
~
~
0 0 1310
S
$~