Three's Encyclopedia of the TinyWorld
-------------------------------------
BEING KILLED
Getting killed is no big deal. If you are killed, you return to your home, and
all things you carry return to their homes. You also collect 50 pennies in
insurance money (unless you have >= 10000 pennies). See MONEY.
BOGUS COMMANDS
Bogus commands can be made using exits. For example, to make a 'sit' command,
one could "@open sit", then "@link sit=here" (because unlinked exits can be
stolen), "@lock sit=me&!me" (impossible to be both at once, therefore always
fails), and "@fail sit=You sit on the chair."; "@ofail=sits on the chair.".
Since nobody can go through it, it always fails. The @fail message is displayed
to the player, and the @ofail message (preceded by the player's name) to
everyone else.
CONTROL
There are 3 rules to controlling objects: 1) You control anything you own. 2) A
wizard controls everything. 3) Anybody controls an unlinked exit, even if it is
locked. Builders should beware of 3, lest their exits be linked or stolen.
COSTS
Costs: kill: 10p (or more, up to 100p). page: 1p. @dig: 10p. @create: 10p (or
more, up to 505p), sacrifice value=(cost/5)-1. @find: 1p. @link: 1p (if you
didn't already own it, +1p to the previous owner). @open: 1p (2p if linked at
the same time).
Wizards don't need money to do anything.
DESTROYING
Nothing can be destroyed. However, everything can be reused. You can give an
object a new name with @name, redescribe it with @describe, and set new success
and fail messages for it. Exits can be @unlink'd and picked up and dropped
elsewhere, so you can pick up an extra exit and use it in another room.
DROP-TOs
When the @link command is used on a room, it sets a drop-to location. Any
object dropped in the room (if it isn't STICKY) will go to that location. If
the room is STICKY, the drop-to will be delayed until the last person in the
room has left.
FAILURE
You fail to use a thing when you cannot take it (because it's lock fails). You
fail to use an exit when you cannot go through it (because it's unlinked or
locked). You fail to use a person when you fail to rob them. You fail to use a
room when you fail to look around (because it's locked). See STRINGS, and in
the dictionary, @FAIL and @OFAIL.
FLAGS
The flags are displayed as letters following an object's ID number. Flags are
set with the @set command. The flags are: W(izard), S(ticky), L(ink_OK),
D(ark), T(emple), C(hown), H(aven), A(bode), and the gender flags M(ale),
F(emale), and N(euter). The WHO list also uses REVERSE_WHO and TABULAR_WHO,
but they do not show up in the ID number. Some systems also use B(uilder). See
TYPES, GENDER, and individual flag names.
WIZARD
If a person is WIZARD, they are a wizard, unkillable, subject to fewer
restrictions, and able to use wizard commands. It is only meaningful for
players. Only another wizard can set this flag. In general, WIZARDs can do
anything using #<number> or *<player>.
Only player #1 can set and unset the WIZARD flag of other players. No WIZARD
can turn their own WIZARD flag off.
STICKY
If a thing is STICKY, it goes home when dropped (See HOMES). If a room is
STICKY, its drop-to is delayed until the last person leaves (See DROP-TOS).
Only meaningful for things and rooms.
LINK_OK
If a room is LINK_OK, anyone can link exits to it (but still not from it).
It has no meaning for people, things, or exits. See @LINK in the dictionary.
DARK
If a room is DARK, then when people besides the owner 'look' there, they only
see things they own. If a thing or player is DARK, then "look" does not list
that object in the room's Contents:. Only wizards can set players or things
dark.
TEMPLE
If a room is TEMPLE, you can sacrifice things for pennies by dropping them
there. It has no meaning for players, things, or exits. Only wizards can set
this flag.
GENDER
@set me=unassigned|male|female|neuter. Default unassigned. If a player's gender
is set, %-substitutions will use the appropriate pronoun for that player. Only
meaningful for players. See SUBSTITUTIONS.
HAVEN
@set here=haven;@set me=haven. If a room is HAVEN, you cannot kill in that
room. If a player is set HAVEN, he cannot be paged.
ABODE
@set here=abode. If a room is set ABODE, players can set their homes there,
and can set the homes of objects there. (LINK_OK is now used only for exits,
and ABODE is for players and objects.)
REVERSE_WHO
@set me=reverse_who. If this flag is set, the WHO list will be displayed in
reverse order, with newest players listed last. This flag can only be set on
players.
TABULAR_WHO
@set me=tabular_who. If this flag is set, the WHO list will be displayed in a
tabular form. This flag can only be set on players.
GOAL
There is no ultimate goal to this game, except to have fun. There are puzzles
to solve, scenery to visit, and people to meet. There are no winners or losers,
only fellow players. Enjoy.
HERE
The word 'here' refers to the room you are in. For example, to rename the room
you're in (if you control it), you could enter "@name here=<new name>".
HOMES
Every thing or player has a home. This is where things go when sacrificed,
players when they go home, or things with the STICKY flag set go when dropped
(See STICKY). Homes are set with the @link command. A thing's home defaults to
the room where it was created, if you control that room, or your home. You can
link an exit to send players home (with their inventory) by "@link <dir>=home".
Drop-tos can also be set to 'home' (See DROP-TOS). See @LINK.
LINKING
You can link to a room if you control it, or if it is set LINK_OK or ABODE.
Being able to link means you can set the homes of objects or yourself to that
room if it is set ABODE, and can set the destination of exits to that room if
it is LINK_OK. See LINK_OK and ABODE, and in the dictionary, @LINK.
ME
The word 'me' refers to yourself. Some things to do when starting out: 1) give
yourself a description with "@describe me=<description>", then look at yourself
with "look me". 2) prevent anyone else from robbing you with "@lock me=me". 3)
set your gender, if you wish it known, with "@set me=male" or "@set me=female"
(or "@set me=neuter" to be an 'it').
MONEY
Building and some other actions cost money. How to get money: 1) find pennies.
2) sacrifice (drop) things in the temple. 3) get killed. 4) be given money. 5)
rob someone. Once you reach 10000 pennies, it becomes difficult to acquire
more. See COSTS and SACRIFICING.
Wizards don't need money to do anything.
ROBBERY
When you rob someone, you succeed or fail to use them (See SUCCESS and
FAILURE). You can protect yourself from being robbed by entering "@lock me=me"
(See ME, and in the dictionary, @LOCK). If you lock yourself to yourself, you
can rob yourself and set off your @success and @osuccess messages. Try
entering "@osucc me=is goofy." and robbing yourself in a crowd. See ROB in the
dictionary.
SACRIFICING
You sacrifice a thing by dropping it in the temple. Sacrificing an object
gives you the value of an object. You can't sacrifice something you own. If
you have >= 10000 pennies, all sacrifices are worth only 1 penny. The
sacrifice value of a thing is set at creation by "@create frob=cost", by the
formula value=(cost/5)-1. Only a wizard can change the value of an object,
once created.
STRINGS
Objects have 6 strings: 1) a name. 2) a description. 3) a success message (seen
by the player). 4) a fail message (seen by the player). 5) an osuccess message
(seen by others). 6) an ofail message (seen by others).
SUBSTITUTIONS
@osuccess and @ofail messages may contain %-substitutions, which evaluate to
gender-specific pronouns if the player's gender is set. They are: %s
(subjective) = Name, he, she, it. %o (objective) = Name, him, her, it. %p
(possessive) = Name's, his, her, its. %n (player's name) = Name. Capitalized
pronouns are also available with %S, %O, and %P. If you need a '%', use %%. Ex.
'@ofail teapot=burns %p hand on the hot teapot.' See GENDER.
SUCCESS
You successfully use an object when you take it. You use an exit successfully
when you go through it. You successfully use a person successfully when you
successfully rob them. You successfully use a room when you look around. See
STRINGS, and in the dictionary, @SUCCESS and @OSUCCESS.
TYPES OF OBJECTS
There are 4 types of objects: things, players, exits, and rooms. The first
letter following an object's ID number indicates the type: P(layer), E(xit),
R(oom), otherwise, thing. Things are inanimate objects that can be carried.
Players are animate objects that can move and carry. Exits are the means by
which objects move. Rooms are locations that contain objects and linked
exits.
Examples
--------
Igor is a new player. He sets his description by typing:
@desc me=Igor is a ferret with an evil glint in his eye.
He has guarded himself from being robbed, and set some fail messages on
himself that people will see when they try to rob him. He typed:
@lock me=me
@fail me=Igor chomps you on the knee with his little sharp teeth.
@ofail me=howls in pain as Igor bites them.
Now, here is what happens if Murf tries to rob Igor:
Murf types: rob igor
Murf sees: Igor chomps you on the knee with his little sharp teeth.
all else see: Murf howls in pain as Igor bites them.
'them' as a pronoun isn't to specific, and so Igor should do this:
@ofail me=howls in pain as Igor bites %o.
So if Murf robs Igor, this is what everyone else will see:
Murf howls in pain as Igor bites him.
This is assuming that Murf did a '@set me=male'. If not, it would have
printed:
Murf howls in pain as Igor bites Murf.
Igor wants to set a message that he will use a lot, so he sets his @osucc:
@osucc me=runs around the room nipping at everyone's heels.
Now, if he wants to display that message:
Igor types: rob me
Igor sees: You stole a penny.
Igor stole one of your pennies!
all else see: Igor runs around the room nipping at everyone's heels.
Igor wants to make an object called 'Ferret chow'. He types:
@create Ferret Chow
@desc Ferret Chow=This is a big bag full of yummy ferret chow.
@succ Ferret Chow=You tear into the end of the bag, stuffing yourself.
@osucc Ferret Chow=tears into the Ferret Chow bag, eating greedily.
Now Igor decides that he wants to be the only one who can pick up the bag.
@lock Ferret Chow=me
@fail Ferret Chow=It's icky Ferret Chow. It would probably taste gross.
@ofail Ferret Chow=decides Ferret Chow is icky.
If Igor picks up the bag:
Igor types: get Ferret Chow
Igor sees: You tear into the end of the bag, stuffing yourself.
all else see: Igor tears into the Ferret Chow bag, eating greedily.
Igor is now carrying the bag. He must drop it if he wants to see the messages
again. If Murf picks up the bag:
Murf types: get Ferret Chow
Murf sees: It's icky Ferret Chow. It would probably taste gross.
all else see: Murf decides Ferret Chow is icky.
Because the bag was locked to Igor, Murf cannot get the bag.
Igor wants to build a few rooms. He can only build off of a place where he
can get a link. He needs to ask around to find one of these if he is just
starting to build. Murf is going to give Igor a link named 'n;north'. That
means that both 'n' and 'north' activate that exit. Igor digs a room, and
links the exit to it. He types:
@dig Igor's House
At this point, the program will respond "Igor's House created with room number
xxxx". We'll pretend it gave the room number as 1234.
@link n;north=1234
The program will respond with "Linked." Now Igor sets a few messages on the
exit. He types:
@desc n=North is Igor's House.
@succ n=You crawl into Igor's House.
@osucc n=crawls into Igor's House.
These messages work just the same way they work on object, like the Ferret Chow.
Next, Igor goes in the room, and creates an out exit. Murf has been nice enough
to not only give Igor the n;north exit, but to set his room to L(ink_ok). Murf's
room number is 623. Igor types 'n' or 'north' to go in the room, then types:
@open out;back;s;south=623
The program will respond with "Opened. Trying to link... Linked." Igor now
has a south exit back to Murf's room. Murf can now set his room to !link_ok,
so no one else can link to it. Igor puts some messages on the south link as
well. He decides he wants to describe the room, so he types:
@desc here=This is Igor's home. It is a small room, lined with paper shreds.
Over in the corner is a small hole.
Now Igor wants to dig a small room that the hole connects to. He types:
@dig Igor's Hidden Room
The program tells him that the room is number 1250. He then types:
@open hole=1250
@lock hole=me
@desc hole=This is a small hole, just the size of Igor.
@fail hole=You can't fit.
@ofail hole=can't fit through the hole.
@succ hole=You slip into the hole.
@osucc hole=slips into the hole.
This creates and links the exit called 'hole' to Igor's Hidden Room. He locks
the exit to him, so only he can go through the exit. When he uses the exit,
the success and osuccess messages will be displayed. When someone else tries to
use the exit, the fail and ofail messages will be displayed. Since Igor owned
the room that he was linking from, he had to use @open to create the link first.
He now types 'hole' to go in the room, and types '@open out=1234' to create
and link an exit called 'out' that leads to his House.
If Igor wants everyone BUT Murf to be able to go 'hole', he types:
@lock hole=!*murf
This locks the hole against the player Murf. If he wants a person to be able to
go through 'hole' only if they have the bag of Ferret Chow, he types:
@lock hole=Ferret Chow
If he wants himself to be able to go in the hole, even if he doesn't have the
Ferret Chow, he types:
@lock hole=Ferret Chow | me
If he wants to lock everyone out except for himself and Murf if Murf has the bag
of Ferret Chow, he types:
@lock hole=(*murf & Ferret Chow) | me
You can get more and more complicated with locks this way.
Igor is done building his home, and wants to set his home to it, so when he
types 'home' he will go there instead of Limbo(#0RDLA). He goes in his house,
and types:
@link me=here
The program will respond with "Home set." Now Igor can go 'home', and QUIT
and not worry about his inactive body cluttering up the landscape.
Creating whole houses and adventures can be easy if you understand the way
the @ commands work.
When you build a room, you should have a very thorough description. Every
thing listed in the description should be given a bogus exit (see entry)
to detail the place. For example, here is the description of a room built
by Three.
Three's flat(#5400)
Red wall-to-wall carpeting covers the floor. A cushy brown leather
couch sits across from a wide-screen TV with a VCR and video disc
player stacked on top. Escher prints hang on the walls, hilited by
track lighting. Papers protrude from a roll-top desk to one side,
adjoining an imposing stereo whose controls rival those of 747 cockpits.
The kitchen lies north, the foyer south, and the bedroom beyond a
short passage east.
Contents:
Flitterby Award for Comprehensive Building
Now, you noticed the desk in the room. A 'look desk' will show:
Every drawer and cubby is overflowing with papers, envelopes, flyers,
leaflets, folders, booklets, binders, quick reference cards, and
other paper products. A Compaq luggable sits in a small canyon of
paper. Atop the desk stands a framed photo. Under the desk sits a
back stool.
Now, since this was done with a exit to create a bogus command, you might
try going through the exit, so you will get the fail message. A 'desk' will
show:
You rummage thru the desk drawers, finding nothing of interest.
Here is an examine of the bogus command, to show you how it was done:
desk(#5395E)
Owner: Three Key: Three(#5370PTF)&!Three(#5370PTF) Pennies: 0
Every drawer and cubby is overflowing with papers, envelopes, flyers,
leaflets, folders, booklets, binders, quick reference cards, and
other paper products. A Compaq luggable sits in a small canyon of
paper. Atop the desk stands a framed photo. Under the desk sits a
back stool.
Fail: You rummage thru the desk drawers, finding nothing of interest.
Ofail: rummages thru the desk drawers.
Destination: Three's flat(#5400R)
In this way, a highly detailed room can be built, and greatly increase the
atmosphere of the place. Take a walk around and look at the place first,
before deciding to build. Then sit down and think carefully about what you
want to build. Careful planning has made several very interesting places.
---------------- TinyMUCK mods ----------------
This document describes the differences between TinyMUCK and TinyMUD
v1.5.2. It is *not* an introduction to TinyMUD, nor a tutorial on
TinyMUCK. It is a reference guide to the changes which have been
made.
The main additions in TinyMUCK are object-local and player-local
commands, multi-destination links and player @chown.
Object-Local and Player-local Commands
======================================
In order to allow players to do interesting things with objects,
TinyMUCK adds the ability to attach 'actions' to them. Actions
are much like 'exits' on a room, and in fact use the same type in the
database (TYPE_EXIT). In order to use these actions, an object
must either be in the room, or in the player's possession.
Player-local commands can only be used by the player who owns them.
The two new commands, @action and @attach, are used as follows:
@action <action-name>=<source-object>
@attach <existing-action-name>=<source-object>
@action creates a new action named <action-name>, and attaches it
to <source-object>. <source-object> can also be 'here' or 'me'.
@attach re-attaches an existing action to a new source object.
To get an action to do something, you link it like a regular exit.
Notes: Exits and actions are interchangeable, so @action foo=here
is equivalent to @open foo.
You can no longer 'get' and 'drop' actions. Use @attach foo=me
and @attach foo=here, respectively.
TinyMUCK Links
==============
The @link command in TinyMUCK works a little differently than in TinyMUD.
The format is:
@link <action-name>=<dest1> <dest2> <dest3> ...
Where <action-name> can also be an exit name, and <destn> are the
numbers of the objects to link to.
If you @link an action to an object, using that action will summon the
indicated object. If someone else is holding the object, it will
immediately disappear from their inventory.
In the case of an action attached to an object, an object-summon will
also send the source object home. To prevent this, set the action
STICKY. Room destinations on things and players teleport the player
to that room.
If TinyMUCK is compiled with #define TELEPORT_TO_PLAYERS, <destn> can
also be another player, provided that they are LINK_OK. Using this
action will cause you to teleport to that player's location.
To provide some degree of privacy, that player must also be JUMP_OK
for the action to work. The default for new players is !JUMP_OK.
Summary: player must be LINK_OK at link-time, and JUMP_OK at use-time.
You can also link an action to a room you control (like a regular
exit), or another action. The latter I have termed a _meta-link_.
Note that meta-links override the locks on all actions below the
initial one. A recursive check is performed to make sure that
an action destination does not cause a loop. Room or player
destinations in actions which are linked to will be ignored
in a meta-link.
Meta-links can be used, for example, to restore the objects
in an adventure to their starting places, or to move objects
around in rooms other than the one that the player is in.
The JUMP_OK Flag
================
In order to restrict the use of teleport-to-player and teleport-
to-room destinations on movable things (like players and objects),
TinyMUCK has the JUMP_OK flag. If you create an action on an
object or yourself, it will always work in rooms that you own.
You can only use these actions in other rooms if the other
rooms are JUMP_OK.
When new rooms are created, their JUMP_OK flag is set to whatever
the player's JUMP_OK flag is. This allows the puzzle builder
(for example) to create a set of rooms which are !JUMP_OK,
or a social-area-builder to create a set of JUMP_OK rooms.
JUMP_OK also serves the purpose (as mentioned above) of stopping
players from teleporting to you.
Player @chown
=============
In TinyMUD, the @chown command allows Wizards to change ownership
of objects. In TinyMUCK, the @chown can be used by players to
transfer ownership of other players objects to themselves. The object
to be transferred must be a THING, it have the CHOWN_OK flag set,
and it must be in the player's inventory.
The format of the player @chown command is:
@chown <thing>
This allows two things:
1) Players can give each other gifts.
2) Players can trash old objects, and put them in public-accessible
places for re-use (until real recycling is implemented).
For example, a player might create a note, lock it to the appropriate
player, do @set note=CHOWN_OK, and then leave it in their mailbox.
The receiving player could then @chown note, transferring ownership
to themselves, and use it to reply, or leave it CHOWN_OK and drop
it to a junkpile someplace.
The #ifdef PLAYER_CHOWN must be used when compiling to allow this feature
to be implemented.
Miscellaneous
=============
#ifdef VERBOSE_EXAMINE
This causes the examine command to print a verbose list of the flags
on an object (for those who can't remember what PWDLSJ stands for).
--------------------------
My own mods
These two fields are similar to @succ, @osucc, @fail, and
@ofail. When applied to things, it gives the message when a person
drops something. When applied to links, the @drop tells the player
entering, and the @odrop tells others that he has entered. When
applied to people, the @odrop tells others how you died, and the @drop
tells the person who killed you how you died.
For instance. A thing called "desk"
@drop desk=You drop the desk with a sigh.
@odrop desk=drops the desk with a sigh.
drop desk
(you see)
You drop the desk with a sigh.
(others see)
Whoever drops the desk with a sigh.
A link/exit.
@drop out=You slide down the chute and end up in a dark place.
@odrop out=slides down the shute and enters from above, looking
surprised.
When you enter the room, you see..
You slide down the chute and end up in a dark place.
(others see)
Whoever slides down the shute and enters from above, looking
surprised.
For people.
@drop me=Whoever drops over, flops, and dies.
@odrop me=Whoever drops over, flops, and dies, with blood sprouting
from all over.
Wizard types, kill Whoever=100
(He sees:)
Whoever drops over, flops, and dies.
(Everone else except you)
Wizard killed Whoever! Whoever drops over, flops, and dies, with
blood sprouting from all over.
(You yourself will see the usual messages..)
4/21/90 --- Entering beta-test for property lists.
Property lists (p-lists) are an extension to objects, players and
rooms for TinyMUCK. Each object will now have a p-list that can be
checked against in locks and the like. p-lists are basically string
pairs, and can be anything.
The GENDER flag will now be a part of p-lists instead of being part of
the flags.
Syntax for setting properties:
@set <thing>=property:type
For instance,
@set me=sex:male
@set me=hair:red
Locks use the same syntax
@lock out=me | sex:male
Locks check the person's properties and the properties of everything
she's carrying at the moment.
To unset properties, simply use:
@set <thing>=property:
To remove all properties, type:
@set <thing>=:
Properties stay on until removed, and an object can have as many
properties as it likes.
Page can now include a message. To include a message with page, just
type:
page <person>=message.
The ABODE and HAVEN flags are optional and may change from game to
game depending on the player.
Abode is independent from link, so you can set home to here even
though it's not link_ok.
Examine now shows you the owner of a place if you don't control it.