

  NOTE: This text is excerpted from the documentation for Industrial
Prose & Magic.  While not the complete manual, this walk-through covers
every feature of the system.




                        Industrial Prose & Magic
                              Version 1.4

                  The MUD Producer's Studio for MS-DOS


      Copyright (c) 1994 Continuum Software.  All rights reserved.




TABLE OF CONTENTS

PREFACE

PART I: INTRODUCTION
    WHAT'S NEW IN 1.4................................................1.1

PART II: PROGRAM SETUP
    ASSUMPTIONS......................................................2.1
    INSTALLATION.....................................................2.2
    RUNNING IP&M AS A DOOR...........................................2.3
    RUNNING IP&M STANDALONE..........................................2.4
    RUNNING IP&M LOCALLY.............................................2.5
    MULTITASKING.....................................................2.6
    SETTING ENVIRONMENT VARIABLES....................................2.7
    SETTING THE BAUD RATE............................................2.8
    USER TYPES.......................................................2.9
    COMMAND SETUP....................................................2.10
    SECURITY.........................................................2.11
    FILE TRANSFER PROTOCOLS..........................................2.12
    NEWS AND HELP....................................................2.13
    LOGIN TEXT.......................................................2.14

PART III: DEFINING THE GAME
    PICKING A GENRE FOR YOUR MUD.....................................3.1
    CHARACTER ATTRIBUTES.............................................3.2
    CHARACTER SKILLS.................................................3.3
    CHARACTER RACES OR TYPES.........................................3.4
    CHARACTER ALIGNMENT..............................................3.5
    DEFINING WEAPONS.................................................3.6
    DEFINING ARMOR...................................................3.7
    DEFINING SPECIAL ITEMS...........................................3.8
    DEFINING TREASURE................................................3.9
    DEFINING SPELLS..................................................3.10
    GUILDS...........................................................3.11
    QUESTS...........................................................3.12
    MONSTERS AND GATES...............................................3.13
    WEATHER SETUP....................................................3.14
    FILES AND BULLETIN BOARD OBJECTS.................................3.15

PART IV: CREATING THE MUD
    CREATING PLACES..................................................4.1
    CREATING EXITS...................................................4.2
    CREATING OBJECTS.................................................4.3
    CREATING RULES...................................................4.4
    CREATING NON-PLAYER CHARACTERS...................................4.5
    TIME-BASED PLACES AND EXITS......................................4.6
    MODIFYING YOUR CHARACTER.........................................4.7
    WIZARD MUD BUILDING..............................................4.8

PART V: ADMINISTRATION
    INTERNAL BACKUPS.................................................5.1
    PRUNING SHOPS....................................................5.2
    PURGING USERS....................................................5.3
    COMPRESSING THE DATABASE.........................................5.4
    ADMINISTRATIVE COMMANDS..........................................5.5
    CREDIT ACCOUNTING (COMMERCIAL EDITION)...........................5.6

PART VI: OTHER ISSUES
    RIP AND ANSI GRAPHICS............................................6.1
    FREELANCE MODULE SUBMISSIONS.....................................6.2
    TROUBLESHOOTING..................................................6.3
    TECHNICAL SUPPORT................................................6.4

APPENDIX A: THE FANTASISTS GUILD


PART I

1.1 WHAT'S NEW IN 1.4

    WIZARDS

    There is more in-depth support for wizard-based MUD building.
    Locations can be marked as "pending", meaning that only producers
    and wizards can see them; other users can not.  They can then be
    "opened" by the producer, once they have been inspected and
    approved.  (On the on-screen map, a dotted line is drawn for pending
    exits, which only wizards and producers can see).  Wizards can be
    given their own areas, which only they can modify; other wizards can
    see them and make suggestions, but not changes to that portion of
    the MUD.  Once the locations are opened, the ownership reverts to
    the producer, and they can no longer be modified by the wizard.


    NPCS

    There are lots of new features available for NPCs.  Greetings can be
    defined for NPCs, which list keywords that invoke action rules.  For
    example, you might have a greeting as follows for a NPC bartender:

        "Hmmmf".  The rather unfriendly bartender glares at you
        impatiently, waiting for your order.  Type GROG, DRAGONALE, or
        SPINWATER to order one of those drinks.

    Three separate rules can be defined for what happens when the user
    types "GROG", "DRAGONALE", or "SPINWATER", including giving them
    mugs of each drink and charging them money for them.

    Also, an unlimited number of automatic actions can be defined for
    NPCs, of the following types: GO, SAY, and EMOTE.  So, you can
    add an action to a NPC that gets randomly invoked, for example, to
    GO NORTH, GO SOUTH, SAY "Watch it!", etc.  This gives them more an
    appearance of life, as they wander around and say and do things.

    There are now four different types of NPCs: Guild Master, Guild
    Member, City Official, and Normal.  These categories have to do with
    learning skills and spells from them, and recieving quests from
    them.  Guild Masters and City Officials can give out quests (see the
    QUEST section for details).  Players can learn skills and spells
    from other players and NPCs that are members of the same guild.
    Also, players can petition Guild Masters for an increase in guild
    level, which will succeed if they have earned enough experience
    points.


    GUILDS

    Guilds are organizations that players can join to learn specialized
    skills.  An unlimited number of specialized skills can be defined
    for each guild.  You can call guilds anything you like, depending on
    the genre of your MUD, such as "Organization", "Profession", "Branch
    of Service", etc.  Players can join guilds by GREETing an NPC and
    typing the keyword JOIN.  You can set up mimimum attribute ratings
    needed to qualify, and you can set up a minimum number of quests
    that need to be completed before any guild can be joined.  You can
    also restrict guilds by race, if appropriate.

    As characters gain experience points, they can petition the guild
    master for a raise in guild level.  The amount of points needed for
    each level is configurable.


    QUESTS

    Quests are special missions that characters perform for NPCs.  They
    are meant to provide a way to help users get familiar with the
    layout of your MUD.  There are currently three types of quests that
    can be generated by NPCs for players:

        1. Give a specific object to a specific NPC
        2. Give a specific object to a random NPC
        3. Go to specific place and return to the NPC

    If the player succeeds, he will earn a set number of experience
    points.  If the player can't find the location or NPC, he has the
    option of typing "ADMIT FAILURE", but will lose points in doing so.
    Also, a player can type "REMEMBER" at any time to remember what the
    current quest is.  You can define a minimum number of quests that
    need to be accomplished before players can join any guilds.


    LOCATIONS

    There are lots of new features for locations.  They can be marked as
    dark, meaning that players need a source of light to see anything.
    (If the location is outside and they are in quarters 2 or 3 of the
    day, it will be assumed that they can see anyway, from the light of
    the sun).

    Locations can be marked as drop-capable, meaning that objects can be
    dropped in them, or drop-incapable, meaning that they can't.  This
    can help prevent a MUD cluttered with objects laying around
    everywhere.  (There is a new GIVE command that allows players to
    give objects to each other directly, without needing to drop things
    and then have others pick them up).

    Shops can be defined to only sell certain classes of items; for
    example, you can make a weapon store that sells swords and knives,
    but nothing else.

    All problems with quarterly exits have been fixed.  You can now set
    an exit heading east during 1st quarter to lead to one location, and
    an exit heading east during the 3rd quarter to another location.

    New commands have been written to make location building easier,
    including @dig and @digx.  These are streamlined, and help you avoid
    needing to take separate steps as you did before to first define a
    location, then an exit, then a location, then an exit, etc.  Four
    out of five MUD builders recommend using these commands over the old
    way of building locations.

    Locations can be set to restrict entry based on player alignment,
    guild, score, and security type, using the @restrict command.

    Public locations can be restricted by weather zone.  For example,
    if the users are in one region of your MUD (defined by weather zone
    3, for example), you might want to only allow them to go to public
    locations in weather zone 3.  This still gives them a quicker way of
    moving around, but they can't jump from the north pole to the south
    pole in one fell swoop.

    Also, locations that have gates now have creation probabilites based
    on the quarter of the day.  For example, you might want a forest to
    be very safe during the day (only a 2 percent chance of creating an
    orc), but be dangerous at night (when there's a 75% chance).  If you
    already have gates defined in your 1.3 MUD, you'll need to define
    the probability levels for each quarter of the day.


    SPELLS

    Due to popular demand, Industrial Prose & Magic now directly
    supports the concept of spells.  A spell spreadsheet is defined that
    is similar to the item spreadsheet, defining powers and values for
    each spell.  Users learn spells from other members of their guild
    that know them.  Spells can be set with a minimum experience level
    needed to learn.  Players can be allowed a set number of spells per
    experience level.  The new "cast" command is used to cast spells.

    An attribute can be set to define the starting number of "spell
    points" for a player.  (The terms for "spells" and "spell points"
    are configurable).  Spells can be defined to require a certain
    number of spell points to cast.  If a player's spell points drop
    below 0, he won't be able to cast any until they become positive
    again, either by "resting" (as for hit points), or waiting for the
    passage of time.


    SKILLS

    Skills can now be linked to commands.  For example, the new "rob"
    command should be linked to a skill, such as thievery, that allows
    only players with that skill to the rob command.  Any command can be
    linked to any skill.

    The learn command is used to improve skills.  When a character first
    joins a guild, he gets a rudimentary level of competence with every
    guild skill (the starting rating is configurable).  He can then pay
    other players or NPCs that have a better rating for instruction, and
    the rating will be increased.  You can set up the maximum number of
    skill rating improvement allowable per day.

    Weapons are treated a little differently in regards to requisite
    skills.  If you define a swordplay skill that is used for swords,
    for example, any player can still use a sword even without knowing
    that skill; they will just be using it at a very rudimentary level.
    This is a bit more realistic than not letting them use it, since
    weapons are usually designed to be used by anyone.  Items, however,
    still require a skill to be present before they can be used at all.


    RULES

    The variety of things that can be done with action rules has
    increased enormously.  There is a SimItem button when defining rules
    that allows the rule to simulate the action associated with an item.
    If you have a wand of lightning strike, for example, using the
    SimItem button for that item will cause a lightning strike to hit
    the player.

    The new MakeItem button creates a new object from the item
    spreadsheet and puts it in the player's inventory.  Going back to
    the bartender NPC example, typing GROG to order a mug of grog can
    create a "mug of grog" item and give it to the player.

    The new -Money Button subtracts (or adds to, with a negative number)
    the amount of money the player has.  If they don't have enough, the
    rule is cancelled.  (It's important to choose this button first when
    defining the rule, so the other steps are not taken if they don't
    have enough money).

    The Pause button prompts the user to press ENTER before continuing.
    This is useful for complex action rules, where lots of steps are
    defined.

    The %Chance button makes a flat percentile roll against a branch in
    an action rule.  For example, you could define a 25% chance of
    something bad happening when a user touches a statue; the roll is
    not based on an attribute or skill of the player.

    Also a rule can be defined for all items created from the same entry
    in a spreadsheet.  Going back to the bartender and mug of grog, you
    could define what the mug looks like just once, and then every mug
    of grog in the game will get the same response when players look at
    them.


    ITEMS

    There are a slew of new item powers that can be defined in the item
    spreadsheet.  The new codes, which are mostly self-explanatory, are
    as follows:

        S. Enhance skill
        R. Enhance attribute
        B. Enhance weapon
        C. Enhance armor
        O. Create money
        P. Enhance max hit points
        L. Lose money
        V. Degrade weapon
        W. Degrade armor
        X. Degrade max hit points
        Y. Degrade attribute
        Z. Degrade skill

    There are new commands for the producer to instantly make items from
    the item, armor, and weapon spreadsheet: @item, @armor, and @weapon.


    INTERFACE

    There are lots of new interface features.  IP&M now senses graphics
    automatically, including ANSI graphics (RIP graphics were already
    sensed).  Users can now use a straight-text interface, without any
    colors or graphics, if they so desire.  The MODE command can be used
    to toggle the graphics mode.

    The WHO screen, which shows online users, has been reworked.  Like
    some Internet MUDs, users can now enter a tag line for their entry
    on the WHO screen.

    The INFO command gives a lot more information about their own and
    other characters, including specialist skills and spells known, the
    character's birthplace, how much they charge for skill or spell
    lessons, etc.

    Login and logoff messages are now broadcast to everyone on the MUD,
    saying who logged in where, etc.  These can be turned off with the
    QUIET command.

    The names of months, days of the week, and the MUD calendar can all
    be defined now.  (It's the 12th day of Winterhelm, 412 years since
    the Orc War, etc).


    ACCOUNTING

    An internal credit system can be used now to allow users so many
    minutes in the MUD total before they need to purchase more credits
    (1 credit=1 minute).  This allows you to keep a separate accounting
    system than that used on your BBS, to charge the use of the MUD for
    those users that want to use it.

    The credit accouting system is available only in the commercial
    edition.


    ADMINISTRATION

    The producer can now @lock out troublesome users from ever entering
    the MUD.  The producer can also @boot people off the MUD if needed
    (to perform some administrative task, etc), or boot everyone off the
    system with the @bootall command.

    The @mapmem command reports how much memory is used in building the
    on-screen map.  This is useful in helping to break down your MUD
    into manageable chunks.

    You can now make multiple backups, and restore from different
    directories, as opposed to only having one backup.

    A new command, @initworld, allows you to totally wipe clean the MUD
    rules and locations, and optionally wipe spreadsheets as well (but
    only ones you select).


    PLAYERS

    Characters can now ressurect when killed, if you want them to do so,
    in a specified location.

    When player characters are first created, the new CITY spreadsheet
    is reviewed, and a city is chosen at random as that character's
    birthplace.  They then are placed in the MUD at a specified location
    for that city.

    The new follow command allows you to automatically follow other
    players or NPCs.  If they move north, you'll move north, etc.

    The new discard command allows players to get rid of unwanted items
    permanently.  Discarded objects are deleted permanently.

    Players can now give things to each other directly.  The "taking"
    command is used to set whether a player's character will accept
    items given to them or not.

    Some player character races can be defined to only allow specific
    genders.  For example, you might have a "droid" race in a sci-fi MUD
    that only allows characters with a "neuter" gender.  In that case,
    they won't even be prompted for a race, it will just assume neuter.
    (Also, the term for "neuter" is configurable now).


    NETWORK FUNCTIONS

    It is now possible to set the delay to be used between file open and
    lock retries.  This will help larger systems cut down on network
    traffic.  We have found that delays of between 10/100ths and
    20/100ths of a second seem to work well.  This can be set by
    pressing "N", for Network Setup, on the General Setup screen.



PART II   SETUP


2.1 ASSUMPTIONS

    Although no technical expertise is required to either install or
administer your MUD, we do assume that you are familiar with basic DOS
commands: making directories, copying files, etc. If you are not
familiar with DOS, you will need to educate yourself in the basics.
Either consult the documentation that came with your computer, or buy a
third-party DOS book from any bookstore. Also, many of the larger
computer stores, such as Comp-USA, offer classes in DOS operation.


2.2 INSTALLATION

    Installing Industrial Prose & Magic on your hard drive is very
simple. First, make a directory on the target hard drive, naming it
anything you like. Then copy all of the files from the diskette to that
directory.

    The first time you run IP&M, the program will create a BACKUP
directory under your MUD directory. If you are running on a network,
make sure that you are logged in with an account that allows you to
create a subdirectory. If you are not sure, go ahead and make the BACKUP
directory first, after you have copied all the files to the directory.
It won't hurt the installation process for the directory to already
exist.


2.3 RUNNING IP&M AS A DOOR

    You can run an IP&M MUD from any BBS package that supports the
DOOR.SYS drop file format. This includes almost every package available,
including Wildcat, PCboard, and a host of others. A few exceptions are
The Major BBS and TBBS, for which you will need special setups to run
correctly.

    When a BBS runs a door program, it calls a batch file to execute the
door. The following is a typical example of one such batch file:

    CD \MUD
    CALL MUD DOOR C:\BBS\NODE1\DOOR.SYS
    CD \BBS
    BBS

    You will probably need to take all of these four steps in setting up
your door batch file. Check your BBS documentation for specifics.

    The first line of the example changes to the MUD directory (whatever
you've decided to name it).

    The second line calls the MUD.BAT batch file. Note that the "call"
keyword is very important; without it, control will not return to the
current batch file when MUD.BAT is finished. The last parameter on the
second line is the full pathname to the DOOR.SYS file.

    The third line changes back to the BBS directory, and the last line
calls the BBS batch file to return control to the BBS.


2.4 RUNNING IP&M STANDALONE

    To run an IP&M MUD without a BBS (commercial edition only), simply
invoke the MUD batch file as follows:

    CALL MUD ALONE 1

    The last parameter, in this case a 1, tells the MUD to use COM port
1. You can specify any valid COM port value in that position.

    If you are running the MUD without BBS software, there are some more
issues you need to consider, mostly in the area of daily time limits,
etc. This is because when running the MUD as a door, the BBS tells the
MUD how many minutes each caller can be in the MUD, but without a BBS,
you need to decide how much time callers can spend in the MUD (based on
security levels that you define).

    See the SECURITY section for more details.


2.5 RUNNING IP&M LOCALLY

    To run IP&M in local mode, simply invoke the MUD batch file as
follows:

    CALL MUD ALONE -1

    When the MUD sees that the last parameter is a negative number, it
knows not to worry about communicating with a COM port.


2.6 MULTITASKING

    You can run as many sessions of IP&M as memory allows on your
machine. You will need to use a third-party multitasker, such as Windows
or DesqView.  If you are running Windows, you should try invoking IP&M
without a .PIF file; most people do better that way.


2.7 SETTING ENVIRONMENT VARIABLES

    There are a number of DOS environment variables that can be set in
your AUTOEXEC.BAT startup file to modify how IP&M works. With the
exception of COMxBAUD, you will only need to use these if you are using
non-standard IRQs and addresses on your computer.

    COMxBAUD=<baudrate>     These variables are used to set the baud
                            rate for COM ports that are different from
                            the setting inside the MUD.  For example, if
                            you have a 14400 modem on COM1 and a 28800
                            modem on COM2, you can't use the single
                            field in the MUD to specify the baud rate
                            for both.  In that case, you need to include
                            the following lines in your AUTOEXEC.BAT
                            (before calling the MUD): "SET
                            COM1BAUD=14400" and "SET COM2BAUD=28000".
                            (It's important that there be no spaces on
                            either side of the '=').

    COMxIRQ=<IRQ number>    These variables can be used to set the IRQ
                            number to be used for a COM port. To use IRQ
                            4 with COM port 1, you would have the
                            following line in your AUTOEXEC.BAT:
                            "COM1IRQ=4". This variable must be used in
                            conjunction with COMxADR; both lines must be
                            present for either to work.

    COMxADR=<address>       This variable is used to set the address of
                            a COM port. Note that it is expecting the
                            number to be in DECIMAL format. This
                            variable must be used in conjunction with
                            COMxIRQ; both lines must be present for
                            either to work.


2.8 SETTING THE BAUD RATE

    As described in the previous section, there are environment
variables you can use to set the baud rate to be used. In fact, there
are three distinct ways to set the baud rate. IP&M MUDs go through three
steps to determine which baud rate to use:

 1. The command line is checked for an override baud rate. For
    example, if you wanted to set the baud rate to 28800, you could use
    the following command in starting the MUD:

        CALL MUD DOOR C:\BBS\NODE1\DOOR.SYS 28800

    This fourth parameter is known as the baud rate override parameter.
    You should normally only use it during diagnostic situations, when
    you're trying to determine the correct baud rate to use with the
    MUD, although it won't hurt to include it whenever you need to.

    Assuming that the override parameter was used, no further checking
    would be done to determine the baud rate to be used. That value
    would be used.

 2. The DOS environment is checked to see if variables have been set for
    the current COM port. For example, if you included the following
    line in your AUTOEXEC.BAT batch file:

        SET COM1BAUD=14400

    If the MUD was invoked for COM port 1, then the baud rate to be used
    would be 14400. No further steps would be taken to determine the
    proper baud rate.

 3. At this point, the value that was entered on the "Modem Setup"
    screen for baud rate would be used for the baud rate.


Please note that if you're running IP&M as a door, you probably don't
need to set the baud rate at all; the BBS will already have initialized
the modem at the correct speed.  In this case, you can just leave the
Baud Rate field blank on the Modem Setup screen.



2.9 USER TYPES

Users are the real-life people who control characters on MUDs.  There
are four basic types of users:

    Guests      Guests are users that generally can use the MUD but not
                bulletin board objects.  These are people who are still
                looking around, trying to decide if they want to join
                the MUD permanently.
 
    Players     These users make up a large portion of any MUD.  They
                are regular users that may or may not be subscribers.
                Access levels can be defined, along with security
                levels, that restrict non-subscribing players from
                certain areas and activities (like downloading files).
 
    Wizards     Wizards are users that can build new areas and objects
                in the MUD.  Some MUDs have them and some don't; some
                sysops prefer to do all the building themselves.  They
                can be restricted to building only in certain areas, so
                as to not disturb the already-existing sections.

    Producer    That's you. You can do anything.
 
    You might want to make "becoming a wizard" a goal for your users,
but they should have to earn it; they should have solved many of your
puzzles and be very familiar with the MUD before being given this
privilege.
 
    As with players, wizards can be divided between subscribing and
non-subscribing types.  You may or may not want to allow there to be
non-subscribing wizards; it might be a good incentive for them to become
subscribers!
 

2.10 COMMAND SETUP

As the MUD producer, you can decide which types of users can use which
commands. Press "C" for "Command Setup" on the Waiting For Call screen.
You'll come to a spreadsheet that lists all of the internal commands.
Move around the fields in the spreadsheet by using your arrow keys. Note
that fields will often exist off the right side of the screen; pressing
the right arrow past the edge of the screen will make them visible.
On this screen, you'll see the following fields:


    USERS       This is where you enter codes that define which users
                can use this command. The codes are as follows:

                    G   Guest.  You will generally want to restrict most
                        activities from guests.

                    p   Player, non-subscribing.  This is the access
                        levels used for people who are regular users,
                        but have not subscribed.

                    P   Player, subscribing.  As the name implies.

                    w   Wizard, non-subscribing.  Wizards generally have
                        more rights than players, including rights to
                        build new parts of the MUD.

                    W   Wizard, subscribing.  As the name implies.

                    !   Producer.  That's you.


    CMDFLAG     This field can be used to link a command to a skill.  In
                other words, you might want to require that a user have
                the "thievery" skill before using the "rob" command.  In
                that case, you would put a flag of T (or whatever makes
                sense to you) in this field, as well as in the CMFLAG
                field of the skill spreadsheet.


    CMDNAME     The name of the command to be defined, like "look" or
                "@placedesc" or "@obj".


    DESC1       The description to be listed when a use types
                "COMMANDS", to see what commands are available.


2.11 SECURITY

    As seen in the last section, there are six different types of users:
guests, non-subscribing players, subscribing players, non-subscribing
wizards, subscribing wizards, and producers. You don't have to use all
of these types; if you're running a free MUD, for example, you don't
need the subscribing user types.

    Don't confuse these different types of users with security levels,
however; security levels are numbers, like 10, 20, 99, etc. You might
want to have three different types of subscribing players, based on the
amount of money they have sent you; you might create a security level of
10 that gives players 20 minutes in the MUD per day, a security level of
20 that gives players 40 minutes in the MUD per day, etc.  Both of these
security levels would be for subscribing players, however, so they can
perform the same commands.

    If you're running IP&M as a door, you'll need to set up the security
levels in the MUD the same as they're set up in the BBS. To do this,
press "E" for "Security Setup" on the Waiting For Call screen. You'll
see a spreadsheet with the following fields:


    SECLEVEL    The level to be defined, like 10, 20, etc.


    DAILYTIME   The number of minutes allowed in the MUD per day. This
                is only used when running the MUD standalone; otherwise,
                they have as much time in the MUD as they have remaining
                in the BBS.


    DAILYBYTES  The number of bytes that can be downloaded from the MUD
                per day, from bulletin board objects.


    SECTYPE     The type of access that this security level provides.
                Enter one of the following six codes:

                    G   Guest.  You will generally want to restrict most
                        activities from guests.

                    p   Player, non-subscribing.  This is the access
                        levels used for people who are regular users,
                        but have not subscribed.

                    P   Player, subscribing.  As the name implies.

                    w   Wizard, non-subscribing.  Wizards generally have
                        more rights than players, including rights to
                        build new parts of the MUD.

                    W   Wizard, subscribing.  As the name implies.

                    !   Producer.  That's you.


2.12 FILE TRANSFER PROTOCOLS

Earlier versions of Industrial Prose & Magic had file transfer
capability built-in: X-Modem, Y-Modem, Z-Modem, etc. This would allow
users that had sufficient security levels to download files from
bulletin board objects.

    The built-in file transfer ability was removed from Industrial Prose
& Magic to allow room for other features to be added. File transfer
software is widely available, and it really made no sense to take up
valuable program resources to duplicate what is already being done with
other packages.  Users can still download from bulletin board objects,
but you will need a file transfer program such as DSZ.EXE or GSZ.EXE to
accomplish this. These programs are widely available as shareware, and
can be found on any major bulletin board.

    To set up your MUD to work with one of these programs, press "R" for
"Protocol Setup" on the Waiting For Call screen. You'll see a spreadsheet
with the following fields:


    PROT_CHAR   The letter to be highlighted in the button when
                prompting the user. For example, if you had X-Modem
                defined, you'd probably want to put an "X" in this field
                to highlight that character. Each protocol type must
                have a different character in this field.


    PROT_NAME   The name of the protocol, to be used in the button when
                prompting the user.


    SEND_CMD    The command line to be used when transmitting a file
                with the file transfer program. The following variables
                are substituted in the line when executed:

                    %p      The number of the COM port being used.

                    %f      The name of the file to be sent.

                So, if you were using GSZ.EXE, you would have this line
                set to the following for Z-Modem:

                    gsz port %p sz %f


    RECV_CMD    The command line to be used when receiving a file with
                the file transfer program. The following variables are
                substituted in the line when executed:

                    %p      The number of the COM port being used.

                    %f      The name of the file to be received (often
                            not needed).

                So, if you were using GSZ.EXE, you would have this line
                set to the following for Z-Modem:

                    gsz port %p rz


2.13 NEWS AND HELP

These are two extensible systems that allow you to create custom topics
in your MUD.  For example, if you wanted to set up a help display that
provides in-depth information on an element in your game (a political
situation, a new type of monster, etc), you could assign a keyword that
would allow the user to ready that display.

    Suppose you invent a new type of monster, called a JORD. Your users
won't know what a jord is. But you might want it to be common knowledge
to the characters inside your game. You could set up a JORD help
keyword, so that when users type "HELP JORD", the system explains the
nasty feeding habits of your monster. If they just typed "HELP", a
listing of all defined keywords would be displayed, including "JORD".

    You could also use news in a similar manner. You might want to
explain the latest intrigues going on in court, gossip about well-known
characters, etc, by defining news keywords just as you would help
keywords.

    Press "H" for "Edit Help" on the Waiting For Call screen to set up
the help keywords. Press "W" for "Edit News" to set up the news
keywords. The same screen will appear for either, with the following
command buttons:


    ADD ITEM        Use this button to add a new keyword. You will see
                    it displayed on the screen after you've defined it.


    DELETE ITEM     Use this button to delete a keyword.  It will be
                    removed from the screen.


    EDIT ITEM       Use this button to edit the item.  Press Ctrl-W to
                    save your text, or ESC to abort.


    QUIT            Use this button to return to the Waiting For Call
                    screen.



2.14 LOGIN TEXT

There are numerous types of login text that you can define for your
callers. To do so, press "X" for "Login Text" on the Waiting For Call
screen.  You'll see the following options:

    C   Mud Charter. You can use this area to describe the basic
        operating tenants of your MUD; why you started it, what the
        theme is, etc.

    S   Subscription Info. You can use this area to describe how users
        should go about subscribing to the MUD.

    G   Ground Rules. If you forbid players from attacking each other,
        for example, this would be the place to put that information.

    F   File Library. This area can be used to describe that kinds of
        files stored in the MUD. Some producers hide bulletin board
        objects around the MUD, making access to certain files part of
        the reward for solving puzzles.

    A   Access Levels. This area can be used to describe the different
        security levels supported in your MUD.  You probably only need
        to use this if you're running the MUD standalone, otherwise you
        doubtless already have a similar bulletin in your BBS.

    T   Title.  This is the few lines of text that appears after the
        IP&M banner, and can be used to display the name of your MUD,
        the names of the producer and wizards, etc.

    L   Login Bulletin. This message is displayed every time users log
        in to the MUD.

    B   Basic Commands. This text is hooked to the "Basic Commands"
        button in the introductory menu. If you want to customize it,
        you can, but it already explains the common commands available.

    W   What's a MUD?  This text is hooked to the "What's a MUD?" button
        in the introductory menu. Again, if you want to customize it,
        you can.

    If you want to divide your text into logical components (the login
bulletin is a likely candidate), you can use the special "<MORE>"
keyword in the text to create a "[More]" prompt, as follows:

    This text is displayed first.

    <MORE>

    This text is displayed after the user has pressed ENTER on the
    [More] prompt.



PART III  DEFINING THE GAME


3.1 PICKING A GENRE FOR YOUR MUD

MUDs are imaginary worlds. You need to decide what kind of imaginary
world you want to create. The easiest way to do this would probably be
to look at the kinds of fiction you like to read the most. What type of
novel have you really enjoyed lately? Science fiction? Fantasy? Horror?
Mystery? Any of these genres would work splendidly as a MUD. Your only
limitation is your imagination.

    Many MUD producers pick themes specific to books they have enjoyed;
for example, a Pern MUD or Amber MUD or Middle-Earth MUD. Feel free to
do so, but be aware that if you're charging money for people to use your
MUD (i.e., a commercial MUD), and you use copyrighted worlds, you might
face legal problems down the road. In that situation, we would recommend
that you loosely base it on those types of worlds, but refrain from
using the same exact terms and phrases.

    If you're still having difficulty getting inspiration for a MUD
genre, visit your local role-playing store. Look at all of the different
types of role-playing genres that other people have already created.
Look at multi-genre RPG systems like GURPS, that have different
supplements for different genres. You'll get some good ideas that way.
You might even want to buy one of those supplements and use them for
ideas.


3.2 CHARACTER ATTRIBUTES

Having decided on a genre, you're now ready to define the physical and
mental characteristics associated with the inhabitants of your MUD.  In
a fantasy MUD, it would often be best to used a system that's already
been proven usable by RPG games, like Dungeons & Dragons.  D&D uses six
attributes to define characters: Strength, Intelligence, Wisdom,
Dexterity, Constitution, and Charisma. Feel free to use fewer if you so
incline; most MUDs could probably get by with just Strength,
Intelligence, and Dexterity.  The maximum number you can define is 8,
although 6 should be a realistic maximum.  (Six is also the maximum
number that can be shown on the status line).

    Each of these attributes is assigned a number, on a scale of 1 to
20+.  10 is average for a human.  1 is really, really pitiful.  20 is
superhuman.  For each of your attributes, you define averages for each
race.  An average Strength for a human would be 10, for a dwarf, perhaps
8, for an elf, perhaps 6.  And so on.

    To look at the attributes as they are currently defined, choose "A"
on the Waiting For Call screen, then "A" for attribute setup.  You'll
notice the following fields defined in the spreadsheet:


    ATTRNAME        This field defines the name of this attribute.  It
                    can be absolutely anthing.


    FLAG            There are the following special flags that you can
                    put in the attribute spreadsheet:

                        S   This attribute represents the physical
                            strength of the player.  This is useful
                            information for the combat sequences.

                        D   This attribute represents the dexterity
                            of the player.  This is also used during
                            combat sequences.

                        M   This attribute represent the magical essence
                            of the player.  This attribute will be used
                            to set the starting number of skill points
                            for the character.


    DESC1-4         These fields describe the attribute to the users,
                    when they select the "Explain" button during
                    character creation.


    How are attributes used in the game?  You'll find out in-depth in
the "Creating Rules" section.  Basically, you create rules in your world
which test various attributes at different times.  For example, you
might create a fissure that has to be leaped to be crossed.  When a
character tries to leap it, you have the system test their Dexterity
attribute.  An "electronic roll" (using 3 6-sided dice) is made against
their Dexterity; if the roll is lower or equal to their rating, they
succeed.  Otherwise they fail.  Your rule will specify what happens in
either situation.


3.3 CHARACTER SKILLS

Now let's talk about skills.  Skills are like optional attributes. They
are scaled the same way, from 1 to 20+, but define the things that a
character knows how to do and use.  They are tied directly to weapons
and items, about which you will learn in the next section.  In other
words, to use a magic scroll, you might need the Scroll lore skill.  In
the example with leaping the fissure in the last section, you might also
define a "Leaping" skill, that would be tested in those types of
situations. Leaping, though, is something everyone can do (to some
extent, at least), so it's really not appropriate as a skill.  Skills
are special knowledge that a character has learned, which enables him or
her to use specific types of weapons and items.

    If you were creating a fantasy MUD, you might decide on skills like
Bladed Weapons, Blunt Weapons, Scroll Lord, and Wand Lore.  Two fighting
skills and two magical skills. In an actual MUD, you'll probably want
six to a dozen skills available total.

    There are two distinct types of skills: General and Guild-Specific.
General skills are open for anyone to learn when they are first creating
their character.  They are the skills that a player can give his
character before ever joining a guild.

    Guild skills, on the other hand, are skills that are learned after
joining a specific guild.  Once a guild is joined, a character learns
ALL guild skills at a very rudimentary level (set by you on page 4 of
the General Setup section).  He can then improve his rating on those
skills by finding NPCs or players that belong to his own guild, and have
a higher rating in that skill than the player.  By using the LEARN
command, he is charged an amount set by the producer (if learning from
an NPC), or set by the other player.  You can set an upper limit on the
number of increases allowed in a certain day on page 3 of the General
Setup section.

    To see what kinds of skills are currently defined in the skill
spreadsheet, type "A" from the Waiting For Call screen, and then "S" for
skill setup.  The following fields will appear:


    SKILLNAME   The name of the skill, like "Scroll lore". Anything you
                can imagine is fine here, as long as it's descriptive.


    SKILLCOST   When character are assigning their starting character
                points to various attributes and skills, they will need
                to spend X number of points to purchase each point of
                skill.  This is where you enter the X.  Fencing, you
                might reason, is not a very rare skill in a fantasy
                world: it should only cost 1 character point for each
                point of skill.  Dragon Control, on the other hand,
                might be a rare magical skill that is extremely
                difficult to learn and master, and you might want to
                make it cost 5 character points, or 10, for each point
                of skill.  It's up to you, although I don't think I'd
                ever make a skill cost more than 10 points.


    GUILDCLASS  Guilds, as you will learn in the GUILDS section, are
                each assigned a single-character class specification,
                such as "A", "B", "C", etc.  "A" might stand for the
                Mages Guild, "B" for the Thieves Guild, etc.  This
                field, GUILDCLASS, is where you specify that a guild
                teaches this skill to its members.  If both the Mages
                Guild and Thieves Guild taught this particular skill,
                you would put "AB" in this field for both of them.


    CMDFLAG     This is where you tie a skill to a command.  For
                example, you might want to tie the "rob" command to the
                "thievery" skill.  In this case, you would select a
                character to represent this connection; any letter or
                number will be fine, so long as you aren't using it for
                another command/skill tie.  You might choose "R" or "T"
                in the example above, for example.  You would put this
                character both in the CMDFLAG field here and in ther
                CMDFLAG field in the commands spreadsheet.


    DESC1-DESC4 These are the text fields that describe what each skill
                is, and what it's used for.  Use as few or as many of
                these as you need.


    Please note that in this version of IP&M, weapons are treated a
little differently in regards to requisite skills than they were in
previous versions.  If you define a swordplay skill that is used for
swords, for example, any player can still use a sword even without
knowing that skill; they will just be using it at a very rudimentary
level. This is a bit more realistic than not letting them use it, since
weapons are usually designed to be used by anyone.  Items, however,
still require a skill to be present before they can be used at all.


3.4 CHARACTER RACES OR TYPES

Depending on the genre you've selected for you MUD, you might either
want to create character races or character types. Both are the same
thing, but the term "race" is only appropriate in certain genres. For
example, in a fantasy MUD, you might want to have Human, Elf, Dwarf, and
Halfling races defined.  In a mystery MUD set in the 1940's, however, it
would be more appropriate to have character types, such as Detective,
Reporter, Movie Star, etc.

    To look at the races or types as they are currently defined, choose
"A" on the Waiting For Call screen, then "R" for race/type setup. You'll
see the following fields:


    RACE        Enter the name of the first race or type, like "Elf" or
                "Detective".


    ATTR1-8     We're getting slightly ahead of ourselves here.
                Attributes will be discussed in a moment.  When you
                discover what attributes are, you'll come back here and
                enter them in for each race. These are the base
                attributes for each race.


    DESC1-4     This is the text description callers get about the race,
                explaining what it is.  Remember to use the right and
                left arrows to move between all the fields.  Use as many
                of these fields, 1-4, as it takes to describe the race.


    HITDICE     This field defines what type of "dice" are used to
                generate hit points for the characters.  Hit points are
                the number of points a character has left before he or
                she dies, so a high number is definitely desirable.  If
                you entered a 10 here, a random number, between 1 and
                10, would be added to the character's hit points each
                time they scored another 10,000 points.  Characters
                start off with the maximum afforded by one roll of the
                die (10 in this case).  4 is probably the lowest you
                should ever use, for real weak races. 14 or 16 would
                probably be the highest number you'd ever want to use,
                for extremely strong races.


    GUILDS      This field defines the guilds that this race can join,
                using the character defined in the guild class field in
                the guilds spreadsheet.  If the field is left empty,
                players of this race can join ANY guild.


    ONLYGENDER  It might make sense for some player character races to
                be defined to only allow specific genders.  For example,
                you might have a "droid" race in a sci-fi MUD that only
                allows characters with a "neuter" gender. In that case,
                they won't even be prompted for a race, it will just
                assume neuter. (Incidentally, the term for "neuter" is
                configurable, under the General Setup section).


3.5 CHARACTER ALIGNMENT

Depending on the genre that you've chosen for your MUD, character
"alignments" might or might not be appropriate. In a fantasy MUD, most
producers would set up alignments of "Good" and "Evil". In a MUD based
on Star Trek, you might have political alignments of "Klingon" and
"Federation", or "Bajorran" and "Cardassian". A middle alignment of
"Neutral" also exists. You can set up the MUD to use or not use
alignments by pressing "G" for "General Setup" on the Waiting For Call
screen.

    If you do use alignments, all characters will start life as
"Neutral". Which alignment they move towards ("Good" or "Evil", for
example) depends on their actions in the game. If they attack and defeat
other users that are "Good", the will slide towards "Evil". If they
attack other users that are "Evil", the will slide towards "Good".

    There is an exception to this, however.  There are some types of
genres in which it would be appropriate to define the "Good" alignment
as peaceful, only attacking other users in self-defense. (This does not
apply to monsters, of course; when a user attacks a monster, it is
obviously in self-defense, so it does not affect their alignment).

    In a fantasy MUD, you might reason that good characters would act
like Knights or Paladins, and not wantonly attack innocent victims.
Likewise, in a MUD based on the Star Wars universe, you might reason
that characters like Jedi Knights would only attack other users in
self-defense. In a MUD based on Star Trek, you might reason that
Federation officers do not go around attacking everyone in sight, while
Klingon warriors are not so scrupulous.

    This "peaceful" quality to good characters is completely optional.
To turn it on or off, press "G" for "General Setup" on the Waiting For
Call screen, and then set the "High Peaceful" field to yes or no.

    It should be noted that all characters automatically fight back in a
reflexive manner when attacked, and this has no effect on the defending
character's alignment. If an evil wizard casts a fireball at a good
knight, for example, the knight will counter-attack automatically, and
his alignment will not be adjusted. If the knight initiates an attack,
however, he will slip towards evil. And again, this is only if the "High
Peaceful" flag is set to yes on the General Setup screen.


3.6 DEFINING WEAPONS

For any MUD, you'll probably want to define weapons that characters can
use to further their goals, whether they be swords in a fantasy MUD,
pistols in a mystery MUD, or blasters in a sci-fi MUD. To see the
weapons that are currently defined, press "A" for "Game Setup" on the
Waiting For Call screen, and then "W" for "Weapon Types". You'll see the
following fields:


    NAME        The name of the weapon, like "blaster" or "long sword".


    SYNONYM     A short-hand name that can be used in place of the name.
                If the NAME of a weapon was "LONG SWORD", you might want
                a synonym to be "SWORD", to allow the user to type in a
                shorter word when referring to it.  If no synonym seems
                appropriate, leave this field blank.


    ATT_DICE    The number of dice to use in determining damage
                inflicted by the weapon. The type of hit dice to use is
                determined by the next field.


    ATT_TYPE    The type of hit dice used to determine damage inflicted
                by the weapon.  The number of these dice to use is
                determined by the previous field.  For example, if
                ATT_DICE were set to 2 and ATT_TYPE were set to 8, the
                weapon would have an attack value between 2 and 16 (as
                if using 2 eight-sided dice).


    HITTEXT     The text description to be displayed when the character
                makes a successful attack on a monster.  Two special
                characters can be used in this field: the `*' and the
                `$'. The * will be replaced with the name of the
                character being attacked.  The $ will be replaced with
                the name of the monster.  So, if you had a field defined
                as follows:

                    * gashes the $ with his short sword!

                The users in the vicinity of the battle would see the
                message:

                    Bilbo gashes the goblin with his short sword!


    MISSTEXT    The text to be displayed when the user attacks a monster
                but misses.  The $ and * characters work the same as
                with HITTEXT.


    BASEVALUE   The amount of money a generic version of this weapon
                would cost in a weapon store.  A special version of the
                weapon would cost more, according to it's abilities.
                For example, a +1 version of a weapon costs twice as
                much as the generic version; a +2 version costs three
                times as much.


    SKILL       The name of the skill to be used when determining
                whether a character knows how to use a weapon, and
                whether he or she uses it successfully.  If a character
                does not have the skill, he or she will still be able to
                use it, but at a very rudimentary level.


    FLAGS       This field will be expanded in the future, but for now,
                there is only one flag associated with weapons: whether
                the user can use it as a light source or not.  If so,
                put an "l" in this field.  (It might be glowing, for
                example, which would allow the character to see in a
                location that is marked @dark).


    CLASS       If you want to divide weapons into classes, you can
                restrict what types of weapons can be bought and sold in
                weapons stores.  For example, you could put an "A" next
                to all the swords you define, and then when creating a
                weapons shop, indicate that only class "A" weapons are
                bought and sold there.  This is strictly optional, a
                feature that is available for those who want to do so.


3.7 DEFINING ARMOR

Just as you define weapons for your MUD, you'll probably want to define
armor as well, to help protect characters from injury. The armor might
take the form of a suit of chain mail, a bullet-proof vest, or a suit of
battle armor, depending on the genre of your MUD. To see the armor
that is currently defined, press "A" for "Game Setup" on the Waiting For
Call screen, and then "O" for "Armor Types". You'll see the following
fields:


    NAME        The name of the armor, like "suit of chain mail" or
                "combat vest".


    SYNONYM     A short-hand name that can be used in place of the name.
                If the NAME of the armor was "COMBAT VEST", you might
                want a synonym to be "VEST", to allow the user to type
                in a shorter word when referring to it.  If no synonym
                seems appropriate, leave this field blank.


    EFFECT      The modification this piece of armor has to the wearer's
                armor class. Typically, this will be a negative number,
                meaning it subtracts that amount from his or her armor
                class, making them more difficult to hit, or less
                vulnerable to damage when hit.


    BASEVALUE   The amount of money a generic version of this armor
                would cost in an armor store.  A special version of the
                armor would cost more, according to it's abilities. For
                example, a +1 version of a piece of armor costs twice as
                much as the generic version; a +2 version costs three
                times as much.


    TYPE        Armor is subdivided into different types, each assigned
                a letter.  The reason for this is that for most types of
                armor, you don't want the user to be able to wear
                multiple instances of the same thing. For example, if
                they are already wearing a suit of plate mail, you don't
                want them to be able to also put on a suit of chain
                mail!  To solve this problem, you would assign the same
                letter to both of these types of armor.  Then, they
                would only be able to put on one of them at a time. The
                one exception to this is the Z class, which by
                definition allows as many instances of the armor type to
                be worn as desired.  You can use this feature if you
                feel it is appropriate.


    FLAGS       This field will be expanded in the future, but for now,
                there is only one flag associated with armor: whether
                the user can use it as a light source or not.  If so,
                put an "l" in this field.  (It might be glowing, for
                example, which would allow the character to see in a
                location that is marked @dark).


3.8 DEFINING SPECIAL ITEMS

The kinds of special items you'll want to define depends, again, on the
genre you've picked for your MUD.  For a fantasy MUD, you'll probably
want to define scrolls, wands, and such, that will allow non-warrior
users (the ones who don't have the weapons skills you've defined) to use
magical powers.  You'd want to create skills to go along with these
items; for example, a Wand Lore skill that allows users to use wands, a
Scroll Lore skill that allows users to use scrolls, etc.

    Let's bring up the special item spreadsheet and look at the fields
involved.  Type "A" at the Waiting For Call screen, then "I" for "Item
Setup". You'll see the following fields:


    NAME        The name of the item, like "tricorder" or "wand of
                healing".


    SYNONYM     A short-hand name that can be used in place of the name.
                If the NAME of an item was "WAND OF HEALING", you might
                want a synonym to be "WAND", to allow the user to type
                in a shorter word when referring to it. If no synonym
                seems appropriate, leave this field blank.


    TYPE        There are two types of items:

                    O   An item that can be used once per day.  If
                        you're running a fantasy MUD, and want to stick
                        with the D&D idea of casting a spell once per
                        day, you can create an item (like a scroll) that
                        only works once per day.

                    C   An item that has a certain number of charges
                        before it becomes useless, but can be used more
                        than once per day.


    CLASS       If you want to divide items into classes, you can
                restrict what types of items can be bought and sold in
                stores.  For example, you could put an "M" next to all
                the "map" items you define, and then when creating a
                shop, indicate that only class "M" items are bought and
                sold there (thus making it a "map shop").  This is
                strictly optional, a feature that is available for those
                who want to do so.


    POWER       There are the following types of item powers:

                A   Attack a monster; this inflicts damage in the same
                    manner that a weapon would, using the ATT_DICE and
                    ATT_TYPE fields below.

                T   Teleportation to any part of the MUD (assuming you
                    know the name of the location).

                H   Heal hit points that have been lost.

                S   Enhance a player's skill by a specific amount (see
                    POWERDATA).

                R   Enhance a player's attribute by a specific amount
                    (see POWERDATA).

                B   Enhance the bonuses for the current wielded weapon
                    (see POWERDATA).

                C   Enhance the bonuses for a piece of armor being worn
                    (see POWERDATA).

                O   Create a random amount of money and give it to the
                    player (see POWERDATA).

                P   Enhance the maximum number of hit points for a
                    character, as well as his or her current hit points
                    (see POWERDATA).

                L   Lose a random amount of money (see POWERDATA).

                V   Degrade the bonuses for the current wielded weapon
                    (see POWERDATA).

                W   Degrade the bonuses for armor being worn (see
                    POWERDATA).

                X   Degrade the maximum number of hit points for a
                    character, as well as his or her current hit points
                    (see POWERDATA).

                Y   Degrade a player's attribute by a specified amount
                    (see POWERDATA).

                Z   Degrade a player's skill by a specified amount (see
                    POWERDATA).


    POWERDATA   This field is used to indicate a value to be used with
                certain powers.  For example, if you selected a power of
                "P", to add to a character's maximum hit points, you
                would place in this field the maximum amount to be
                adjusted.  The items that are expecting this field to be
                filled in are as follows:

                    O   Create money (to determine the maximum amount to
                        create)

                    L   Lose money (to determine the maximum amount to
                        lose)

                    P   Enhance max hit points (to determine the maximum
                        amount to add)

                    X   Degrade max hit points (to determine the maximum amount to
                        degrade)

                    R   Enhance attribute (to specify the attribute
                        number)

                    Y   Degrade attribute (to specify the attribute
                        number)

                    S   Enhance skill (to specify the skill number)

                    Z   Degrade skill (to specify the skill number)


    FLAGS       This field will be expanded in the future, but for now,
                there is only one flag associated with items: whether
                the user can use it as a light source or not.  If so,
                put an "l" in this field.  (It might be glowing, for
                example, which would allow the character to see in a
                location that is marked @dark).


    ATT_DICE    The number of dice to use in determining damage
                inflicted by the item (if it's power is type A).  The
                type of hit dice to use is determined by the next field.


    ATT_TYPE    The type of hit dice used to determine damage inflicted
                by the item.  The number of these dice to use is
                determined by the previous field.  For example, if
                ATT_DICE were set to 2 and ATT_TYPE were set to 8, the
                item would have an attack value between 2 and 16 (as if
                using 2 eight-sided dice).


    CHARGES     The maximum number of charges this item can have
                (determined randomly on creation).


    SKILL       The name of the skill needed to use this item.


    HITTEXT     The text description to be displayed when the character
                makes a successful attack on a monster with this item.
                Two special characters can be used in this field: the
                `*' and the `$'.  The * will be replaced with the name
                of the player using the item. The $ will be replaced
                with the name of the victim.  So, if you had a field
                defined as follows:

                    A ball of lightning flashes from *'s wand and
                    smashes into the $!

                The users in the vicinity of the battle would see the
                message:

                    A ball of lightning flashes from Bilbo's wand and
                    smashes into the goblin!

                This text is also used for other powers, besides
                attacking.  For a wand of healing, you might define the
                text field:

                    A glow of energy surrounds *'s body, healing his
                    wounds.

                And he would see the message:

                    A glow of energy surrounds Bilbo's body, healing his
                    wounds.


    MISSTEXT    The text to be displayed when the user attacks a monster
                with the item but misses.  The $ and * characters work
                the same as with HITTEXT.


    BASEVALUE   The amount of money this item would cost in a store. For
                once-a-day items, this is the actual value.  For charged
                items, this amount is multiplied by the number of
                charges left to determine the actual value.


    DESC        This field is used internally, and should not be
                modified.


3.9 DEFINING TREASURE

Treasure will probably be a major part of your MUD, especially if you
have chose a fantasy theme for your MUD. Treasure is found when killing
a monster, and different classes can be linked to different types of
monsters; kill a weak monster, you might find a few silver pieces; kill
a dragon, you might find a ton of money, or a really nifty sword. To see
the types of treasure currently defined, press "A" on the Waiting For
Call screen, and then "T" for "Treasure Types".  You'll see the
following fields:


    CLASS       Treasure classes are each assigned a letter, and an
                unlimited number of instances of a treasure class are
                allowed.  For example, you might set up treasure class A
                to be the treasure associated with weak fantasy monsters
                (maybe goblins, orcs, and hobgoblins). Whenever a user
                kills one of these monsters, a random entry in this
                spreadsheet associated with treasure class A will be
                picked and given to the user.


    TYPE        Treasure can either be one of the following types:

                    M   Money.
                    I   An item from the item spreadsheet.
                    W   A weapon from the weapons spreadsheet.
                    A   A piece of armor from the armor spreadsheet.


    NAME        When defining types I, W, or A, the name as defined in
                the corresponding spreadsheet.  When defining money,
                leave this blank.


    MAXBONUS    The maximum + bonus for weapons or items, such as a +1
                sword or +2 suit of chain mail.


    MAXAMT      When defining money, the maximum amount of money that
                might be found (determined randomly).


3.10 DEFINING SPELLS

If you're running a fantasy MUD, chances are you're going to want to set
up the spell spreadsheet.  Even if you've decided on a different genre,
you might want to use the same concept: a MUD based on Star Wars might
define "force" power for Jedi Knights, etc.  The terms "spell" and
"spell points" are both configurable, so you're not limited to just the
generic fantasy terms.  (Go to page 3 of the General Setup screen to
configure those terms).

    To see how spells are configured, bring up the spell spreadsheet by
pressing "A" for game setup (at the main menu), and then "P" for Spell
Setup.  A spreadsheet with the following fields will appear:

    NAME        This is the name of the spell.  Whatever you think is
                appropriate goes here.  This is the same name that will
                be viewed when using the INFO command on characters,
                when it displays which spells they know.


    POWER       This field is identical to the POWER field in the item
                spreadsheet.  The following powers can be used for
                spells, just as for items:

                    A   Attack a monster; this inflicts a random amount
                        of damage on a specified monster or character.
                        The amount is determined by the DATA field.  If
                        DATA was filled in with 12, a maximum of 12 hit
                        points of damage would be inflicted.  If a 12X
                        were in the DATA field, the amount inflicted
                        would be a maximum of 12 multiplied by the guild
                        level of the caster.

                    T   Teleportation to any part of the MUD (assuming
                        you know the name of the location).

                    H   Heal hit points that have been lost.  The amount
                        is determined by the DATA field.  If DATA was
                        filled in with 10, a maximum of 10 hit points of
                        damage would be healed.  If a 10X were in the
                        DATA field, the amount healed would be a maximum
                        of 10 times the guild level of the caster.

                    S   Enhance a player's skill by a specific amount
                        (see DATA).

                    R   Enhance a player's attribute by a specific
                        amount (see DATA).

                    B   Enhance the bonuses for the current wielded
                        weapon (see DATA).

                    C   Enhance the bonuses for a piece of armor being
                        worn (see DATA).

                    O   Create a random amount of money and give it to
                        the player (see DATA).

                    P   Enhance the maximum number of hit points for a
                        character, as well as his or her current hit
                        points (see DATA).

                    L   Lose a random amount of money (see DATA).

                    V   Degrade the bonuses for the current wielded
                        weapon (see DATA).

                    W   Degrade the bonuses for armor being worn (see
                        DATA).

                    X   Degrade the maximum number of hit points for a
                        character, as well as his or her current hit
                        points (see DATA).

                    Y   Degrade a player's attribute by a specified
                        amount (see DATA).

                    Z   Degrade a player's skill by a specified amount
                        (see DATA).


    DATA        This field is used to indicate a value to be used with
                certain powers.  For example, if you selected a power of
                "Y", to degrade an attribute of the player, you would
                place in this field the maximum amount to be adjusted.
                The items that are expecting this field to be filled in
                are as follows:

                    O   Create money (to determine the maximum amount to
                        create)

                    L   Lose money (to determine the maximum amount to
                        lose)

                    P   Enhance max hit points (to determine the maximum
                        amount to add)

                    X   Degrade max hit points (to determine the maximum
                        amount to degrade)

                    R   Enhance attribute (to specify the attribute
                        number)

                    Y   Degrade attribute (to specify the attribute
                        number)

                    S   Enhance skill (to specify the skill number)

                    Z   Degrade skill (to specify the skill number)



    MIN_LEVEL   This field indicates the minimum guild level a player
                must have attained to learn this spell.


    GUILDS      This field is filled in with the guild classes that are
                able to teach this spell, which are defined in the guild
                spreadsheet.


    TEXT        This field describes what happens when the user casts
                the spell.  As with items and weapons, two special
                characters can be used in this field: the `*' and the
                `$'.  The * will be replaced with the name of the player
                casting the spell. The $ will be replaced with the name
                of the victim or recipient.


    COST        This is the maximum amount of spell points that will be
                deducted after casting the spell.  It's a random roll,
                to make things interesting; this field just defines the
                maximum.

                If a player's spell points drop below 0, he won't be
                able to cast any until they become positive again,
                either by "resting" (as for hit points), or waiting for
                the passage of time.


    Players can be allowed a fixed number of spells per guild experience
level, on page 3 of the General Setup screen.

    An "magical essence" attribute, or whatever you'd like to call it,
can be created that users assign points to just like any other attribute
when they're first creating their characters.  This attribute is used to
set the starting number of "spell points" for that player.  This
attribute is selected by putting an "M" in the FLAG field of the
attribute spreadsheet.


3.11 GUILDS

    Guilds are organizations that players can join to learn specialized
skills.  An unlimited number of specialized skills can be defined for
each guild.  You can call guilds anything you like, depending on the
genre of your MUD, such as "Organization", "Profession", "Branch of
Service", etc.  Players can join guilds by GREETing an NPC and typing
the keyword JOIN.  You can set up mimimum attribute ratings needed to
qualify, and you can set up a minimum number of quests that need to be
completed before any guild can be joined.  You can also restrict guilds
by race, if appropriate.

    As characters gain experience points, they can petition the guild
master for a raise in guild level.  The amount of points needed for each
level is configurable.

    To see where the guilds are set up, press "A" for game setup on the
main menu, and then "G" for Guilds.  You will see the following fields:


    NAME        This is the name of the guild.  If it were for the Mages
                Guild, for example, you would put in "Mages".  (You
                would leave off the "guild" because that term is
                configurable, on page 3 of the general setup screen, and
                is added automatically by the system).


    MINATTR1-8  These are the minimum attribute ratings necessary for
                joining the guild.  If you leave it at 0, the attribute
                will not be considered a prerequisite.


    MASTER      This is an internal field and should not normally be
                messed with.


    CLASS       This is a unique character that represents this guild in
                other spreadsheets, such as "A", "B", etc.


    ALIGNMENT   This field can be filled in with a "H", "N", or "L", if
                the guild is restricted to characters of certain
                alignments.  "H" stands for High Alignment, "N" for
                Neutral, and "L" for Low Alignment (see the CHARACTER
                ALIGNMENTS section for details).  If you leave this
                field blank, characters of any alignment will be able to
                join.


3.12 QUESTS

    For some genres, especially fantasy ones, quests might be
appropriate; for others, they might not.  Quests are special missions
that characters perform for NPCs.  They are meant to provide a way to
help users get familiar with the layout of your MUD when first getting
involved with it.

    If the player succeeds, he will earn a set number of experience
points.  If the player can't find the location or NPC, he has the option
of typing "ADMIT FAILURE", but will lose points in doing so. Also, a
player can type "REMEMBER" at any time to remember what the current
quest is.  You can define a minimum number of quests that need to be
accomplished before players can join any guilds.

    To see how quests are defined, type "A" for Game Setup from the main
menu, and then "U" for quests.  You will see the following spreadsheet
fields:


    TYPE        There are currently three types of quests that can be
                generated by NPCs for players:

                    1   Give a specific object to a specific NPC

                    2   Give a specific object to a random NPC

                    3   Go to specific place and return to the NPC

                Depending on the type of quest, some of the following
                fields, but not all, will need to be filled in.


    OBJECT      This is the name of the object in the item spreadsheet
                that is created for the character, for quest types 1 and
                2.  Quest type 3 does not use this field.


    PERSON      This is the name of the NPC that should be give the
                object to complete the quest, for quest type 1.  Quest
                types 2 and 3 do not use this field.


    PLACE       This is the name of the place that a character must
                journey to and return, for quest type 3.  Quests 1 and 2
                do not use this field.


    POINTS      This is the number of points the character will earn if
                he completes the quest.


    POINTSFAIL  This is the number of points the character will lose if
                he gives up on the quest, by typing "ADMIT FAILURE".


    TEXT1-5     This is a description of the granting of the quest.  The
                following special characters can be used: "$" will be
                replaced with the name of the NPC granting the quest,
                "#" will be replaced with the name of the object, "%"
                will be replaced with the name of the NPC the object
                should be given to, and "^" will be replaced with the
                name of the place the character needs to journey to.
                For example:

                    The $ nods and bestows a worthy quest on you.  "Take
                    this # and give it to the %.  Return to me
                    afterwards and your quest will be complete".

                This text might become:

                    The sage nods and bestows a worthy quest on you.
                    "Take this parchment and give it to the castle
                    guard.  Return to me afterwards and your quest will
                    be complete".


3.13 MONSTERS AND GATES

No matter what genre you've decided on, you'll probably want to create
some "monsters".  In a fantasy, they might be goblins and dragons.  In a
Star Trek MUD, they might be Klingons or Romulans.  In a mystery MUD,
they might be gangsters.  In a horror MUD, they might be vampires or
werewolves (or humans!).

Let's bring up the monster spreadsheet by pressing "A" for game setup
(at the main menu), and then "M" for monster setup.  The following
fields will appear:


    NAME        The name of the monster, like "goblin" or
                "stormtrooper".


    SYNONYM     A short-hand name that can be used in place of the name.
                If the NAME of a monster was "RED DRAGON", you might
                want a synonym to be "DRAGON", to allow the user to type
                in a shorter word when referring to it.  If no synonym
                seems appropriate, leave this field blank.


    HIT_DICE    The number of dice to use in determining hit points for
                a monster.  The type of hit dice to use is determined by
                the next field.


    HIT_TYPE    The type of hit dice used to determine hit points for a
                monster.  The number of these dice to use is determined
                by the previous field.  For example, if HIT_DICE were
                set to 3 and HIT_TYPE were set to 6, the monster would
                have a starting number of hit points between 3 and 18
                (as if using 3 six-sided dice).


    ATT_DICE    The number of dice to use in determining damage
                inflicted by the monster. The type of hit dice to use is
                determined by the next field.


    ATT_TYPE    The type of hit dice used to determine damage inflicted
                by the monster. The number of these dice to use is
                determined by the previous field.  For example, if
                ATT_DICE were set to 2 and ATT_TYPE were set to 8, the
                monster would have an attack value between 2 and 16 (as
                if using 2 eight-sided dice).


    HITTEXT     The text description to be displayed when the monster
                makes a successful attack on a character.  Two special
                characters can be used in this field: the `*' and the
                `$'. The * will be replaced with the name of the
                character being attacked.  The $ will be replaced with
                the name of the monster.  So, if you had a field defined
                as follows:

                    The $ smashes * with a club!

                The users in the vicinity of the battle would see the
                message:

                    The goblin smashes Bilbo with a club!


    MISSTEXT    The text to be displayed when the monster attacks a
                character but misses. The $ and * characters work the
                same as with HITTEXT.


    TREASURE    The treasure class associated with this monster.  This
                defines what type of treasures a character might earn
                when killing this sort of monster.  Treasure classes are
                defined in step 5.


    ARMOR       The armor class associated with this monster.  Armor
                classes modify how difficult they are to hit, and how
                much damage will be inflicted when hit.  0 is the
                average armor class; negative numbers indicate harder to
                hit creatures, positive numbers indicate easier to hit
                creatures.  A good range would be between -10 (very,
                very hard to hit) and 10 (extremely easy to hit).


    ATTACKVAL   This value indicates the skill associated with the
                monster's method of attack.  10 would be average; 3
                would be pitiful; 20 would be incredibly lethal.


    SCORE       The score a user should earn when defeating this type of
                monster.  Scoring is entirely up to you.


    ANSI_PIC    The name of the ANSI file to display that shows what
                this monster looks like.  If you don't have one, leave
                this blank.


    RIP_PIC     The name of the RIP file to display that shows what this
                monster looks like.  If you don't have one, leave this
                blank.  As a general rule, if you have a RIP picture
                defined, you should have an ANSI one define, and
                vice-versa.


    CLASS       Monsters can be grouped together in classes to allow
                some variety when they are created by "gates" (read
                below).


    DEXTERITY   The dexterity rating is used to decide whether the
                monster or the player can strike first in combat; the
                higher value strikes first, with ties going 50-50.


    DESC        This is an internal field and should not be modified.


    Monsters are not generated directly by you in the game.  Think of
how often you'd have to create new ones, with all of your users killing
them constantly!

    Instead, you create monster gates with the @gate command. These
gates are invisible objects that generate a random number of either a
specific type of monster, or monsters in a monster class. You can set
the percentage chance that the gate will create a monster every time a
user enter the location (assuming that no monsters already exist).  In
fact, you can specify different percentages for different quarters of
the day.  (A forest might be very safe during the day, for example, and
very dangerous at night).

    You can use the @gateinfo command to display information about the
gate in the current location.  If you want to delete the gate, use the
@gatekill command.


3.14 WEATHER SETUP


Weather is optional; it might or might not be appropriate for your MUD,
depending on the genre you've chosen. If everyone is always aboard a
spaceship, you probably won't want to use it. But if everyone's on the
surface of a planet (whether it be sci-fi or fantasy), you'll probably
want to use it. The weather system is totally configurable; you can
having raging thunderstorms, biting sandstorms, snowy downfalls, or
anything else you think appropriate.

    To turn the weather system on or off, press "G" for "General Setup"
on the Waiting For Call screen. You will see the following
weather-related options:


    USE WEATHER?        Press "Y" or "N", depending on whether you want
                        to use it or not.


    MULTIPLE ZONES?     If your MUD is spread out over a large area, you
                        might want there to be multiple weather zones,
                        each independent. If so, when you create new
                        places, you will be asked which weather zone
                        corresponds to the new place.  You can define as
                        many zones as you like.


    CHECK HOW OFTEN?    In real time, how often should the weather be
                        checked to see if it changes?  Enter the time in
                        minutes.  Most MUDs could probably stand to have
                        it checked every 60 minutes or so, but it really
                        depends on how active you want the weather to
                        be.


    If you do decide to use weather, you'll want to customize the
related weather spreadsheets. Press "A" for "Game Setup" on the Waiting
For Call screen, and then press "E" for the first weather spreadsheet,
"Weather Setup".  You'll see the following fields:


    TITLE       For your own convenience when setting up the weather;
                the caller won't see this description. You can call it
                "Partly Cloudy" or "Heavy Rain" or "Severe Storm", etc.


    DESC1       The description for this weather to be used during the
                first quarter of the day (Midnight-6:00 AM).


    DESC2       The description for this weather to be used during the
                second quarter of the day (6:00 AM-Noon).


    DESC3       The description for this weather to be used during the
                third quarter of the day (Noon-6:00 PM).


    DESC4       The description for this weather to be used during the
                last quarter of the day (6:00 PM-Midnight).


    GETBETTER   The text to be displayed when this weather progresses to
                a "better" state (less rainy, etc).


    GETWORSE    The text to be displayed when this weather progresses to
                a "worse" state (more rainy, etc).


    RAINFALL    The amount of "wet points" a user accumulates each turn
                while exposed to this weather. (Only in outside
                locations, obviously).


    CHANCE_BET  The percentage chance that this weather will get better
                the next time the weather is checked for modification.


    CHANCE_WOR  The percentage chance that this weather will get worse
                the next time the weather is checked for modification.


    DANGER      The danger associated with this weather; the following
                codes are currently defined:

                    F   The user might slip and fall, dropping
                        everything, because it's slippery or icy outside

                    D   The user might take damage, such as a strike
                        from a lightning bolt, falling rocks, or debris
                        being hurled around from a tornado.


    DANGERHIT   The text description of what happens when the current
                weather event occurs, as defined by the DANGER,
                DANGERCHAN, and DANGERDAM fields.


    DANGERMISS  The text description of what happens when a weather
                event almost occurs (a bolt of lightning almost hit the
                user, etc).


    DANGERCHAN  The percentage chance that a weather event will occur in
                a given turn, such as being struck by lightning.


    DANGERDAM   The maximum amount of damage (subtracted from the user's
                hit points) when the weather event occurs.


    To see the next weather-related spreadsheet, press "A" for "Game
Setup" on the Waiting For Call screen, and then press "Z" for the second
weather spreadsheet, "Weather Zones".  You'll see the following fields:


    ZONE        The weather zone being defined, like "1", "2", etc.


    SEVERITY    The current severity in that weather zone, as defined by
                the records in the previous spreadsheet. (The first line
                in the previous spreadsheet is severity 1, the second
                line is severity 2, etc).  Unless you want to force the
                weather to a certain condition in a zone, you shouldn't
                ever have to modify this field.


    MIN_SEV     The minimum severity number for the current zone.  In a
                tropical rainforest, you might never want it to be a
                clear, sunny day, for example.


    MAX_SEV     The maximum severity for the current zone.  On a
                peaceful island, you might want the weather to never get
                worse than a light rainfall. (Or, you might want to make
                it the roughest part of the MUD, with hurricanes and
                everything!)


    LASTCHANGE  The last time the weather was changed, in terms of
                seconds elapsed since midnight.  You shouldn't ever have
                to modify this field.


    To see the last weather-related spreadsheet, press "A" for "Game
Setup" on the Waiting For Call screen, and then press "N" for the third
weather spreadsheet, "Wetness Setup".  You'll see the following fields:


    THRESHOLD   When a user accumulates "wet points" as defined by the
                RAINFALL field in the first weather spreadsheet, they
                can progress through wetter and wetter stages of
                wetness.  (Although "wet" is the term being used, is
                could just as well define states of coldness, hotness,
                etc). In this field, you put the number that defines the
                number of "wet points" that a user needs to accumulate
                to be at this state of wetness.


    DESC        The description to the user of what wetness state
                they're in.  For early states of wetness, you might
                enter "You're a bit damp".  For later states, you might
                enter "You're thoroughly drenched".


    CHANCEDAM   The percentage chance per turn that the wetness state
                they're in will subtract from their remaining hit
                points.  If they get thoroughly drenched, for example,
                you might reason that they could start to get sick and
                lose hit points, if they don't get inside and dry off.


    DAMAGEMAX   If they do take damage for their state of wetness, this
                is the maximum amount of hit points they could lose per
                turn.


    DAMAGEDESC  If they do take damage for being too wet (or cold, or
                hot, etc), this is the description they see.



3.15 FILES AND BULLETIN BOARD OBJECTS

Bulletin board objects are special objects that you might decide to have
in your MUD.  When they are looked at, bulletin board objects present a
menu of choices to the user, allowing them to upload or download files
(if they have a sufficient security level), leave messages on the
current topic, etc.

    Defining bulletin board objects takes several steps.  First, you
must decide on the different topics to support. You might want to make
one object be dedicated to "Windows Utilities" files and messages,
another dedicated to "Adult Graphics", etc. To set up the different
topics, press "T" for "Setup BBSs" on the Waiting For Call screen.
You'll see the following fields:


    TOPIC_CODE  Decide on an arbitrary code for this topic, like "T1"
                for text files, "G1" for graphic files, "W1" for windows
                files, etc.  Each topic must have a unique topic code.


    ACCESS      Enter one or several of the following codes, to allow
                users to download files from this topic area:

                    G   Guest.  You will generally want to restrict most
                        bulletin boards topic codes from guests.  You
                        can do this on the "Setup BBSs" screen by not
                        putting a G in the ACCESS field.

                    p   Player, non-subscribing.  This is the access
                        levels used for people who are regular users,
                        but have not subscribed.

                    P   Player, subscribing.  As the name implies.

                    w   Wizard, non-subscribing.  Wizards generally have
                        more rights than players, including rights to
                        build new parts of the MUD.

                    W   Wizard, subscribing.  As the name implies.

                    !   Producer.  That's you.


    DESC        The description of this topic code, like "Windows
                Utilities" or "C Programming Files".


    UPLOADPATH  The full path to be used when uploading files, to
                indicate which directory uploaded files in this topic
                should be placed.


    CAN_UPLOAD  Using the same codes as the ACCESS field, specify which
                user types can upload to this topic area.


    Once the topic table is complete, you can add a topic to a bulletin
board object by using the "@bbsadd" command, or remove one by using the
"@bbsdel" command.  One bulletin board object can be related to as many
topics as you'd like.

    If you're not sure which topic codes you've added to a bulletin
board object, type "@bbslist" to display the topic codes.

    If you already have some files on your hard disk that you'd like to
import to a bulletin board object, use the "@bbsmassul" command to
import a group of files at once. You can use wildcards to specify
whichever files you wish to add to the object. You will be prompted
after each file for a description of that file.

    Conversely, to delete a group files from a bulletin board object, use
the "@bbsmassdel" command.

    If you want to change a description of a file, use the "@filedesc"
command.

    If you want to delete a single file, use the "@filekill" command.
This gives you the option of either deleting the file from the hard
drive, or simply removing it from the list of files for the topic.

    To set a password for a file, use the "@filepass" command.  That
way, only users that know the password for the file can download it.



PART IV   CREATING THE MUD

4.1 CREATING PLACES

Creating places is the most common task in setting up the MUD.  Places
are locations that users can visit.  There are five types of them:


    NORMAL PLACES       Just what the name implies.

 
    PUBLIC PLACES       These are places that users can instantly move
                        to by using the "GO" command.  This is a
                        compromise between being able to teleport
                        anywhere and taking forever to get anywhere, a
                        historical problem with MUDs.  These can be
                        grouped together in weather zones (see the
                        CREATING PLACES section for details).


    WEAPONS SHOPS       Places in which users can buy and sell weapons.
                        They can be configured to sell only certain
                        classes of weapons.


    ARMOR SHOPS         Places in which users can buy and sell armor.
                        They can be configured to sell only certain
                        types of armor.


    GENERAL SHOPS       Places in which users can buy special items.
                        They can be configured to sell only certain
                        classes of items.


    When places are first created, there are no exits attached to them.
The sequence of creation is: create place, attach exit, create place,
attach exit, etc.

    When you first load the software, you'll be in a one-room MUD.
To modify the name of this place, type "@placename", and then hit ENTER.
This command changes the name of places. Right now, we're in a place
called "Entry Point". So, at the first prompt (Old Name?), type in
"entry point". At the next prompt (New Name?), type in "bridge". The
name has been changed. Type "L" (for Look), and you'll see the name has
been changed at the top of the description window.

    Now, let's describe what the bridge looks like.  Type "@placedesc",
then hit ENTER.  Type in the following:

  "You're standing on the bridge of the USS Enterprise.  Glowing" (Press ENTER)
  "display stations surround the walls." (Press ENTER)

    Or, describe the bridge however you'd like. When you're done, type
"L" to look around again, and you'll see that your description now
appears in the description window.

    Now, let's create a new place.  Type "@place" and press ENTER. At
the first prompt (Name?), type in "Ready Room". At the second prompt,
just press ENTER. (If you wanted there to be another way to refer to
"Ready Room", you could have entered it there as a synonym).

    That's it!  The new place has been created.  It doesn't appear on
the map yet, however, because the MUD doesn't know how to connect it to
your current location.  For that, you'll need to create an exit.

    If you want to delete this exit, use the "@placekill" command.

    Also, you can create a numbered place, just as you can create
numbered objects (see CREATING OBJECTS).  The "@placex" command can be
used for this purpose.

    You can also use the new @dig and @digx commands to build places.
These are streamlined, and help you avoid needing to take separate steps
as you did before to first define a location, then an exit, then a
location, then an exit, etc.  They require that you type three things on
the command line: the name of the place to build, the direction the exit
should lead from your current location to get to the new one, and the
length of the exit.  For example:

    @dig wooden_bridge north 3

    Notice that the first parameter, "wooden bridge", is typed in with
an underscore where you would expect a space.  This is because the
parser needs to know that "wooden bridge" is a single object.

    @digx, as you would expect, is like @dig but creates a numbered
location.  This would allow you to create lots of places with the same
name:

    @digx forest north 3
    @digx forest east 3
    @digx forest south 2

    These can all use the same name because, as with items, the numbers
keep them unique.  However, places are not displayed with their numbers,
to make them more legible during game play.  So, in the example above,
the three places would be all be listed with the same title, "FOREST",
as opposed to "FOREST (#1212)", etc.

    Locations can be marked as dark with the @dark command, meaning that
players need a source of light to see anything. (If the location is
outside and they are in quarters 2 or 3 of the day, it will be assumed
that they can see anyway, from the light of the sun).  This status can
be removed with the @darkkill command.

    Locations can be marked as drop-capable with the @drop command,
meaning that objects can be dropped in them, or drop-incapable, meaning
that they can't.  This can help prevent a MUD getting cluttered with
objects laying around everywhere. (There is a GIVE command that allows
players to give objects to each other directly, without needing to drop
things and then have others pick them up).

    Locations can be set to restrict entry based on player alignment,
guild, score, and security type.  This would come in handy, for example,
where you'd want a guild headquarters that only guild members can
enter.  Also, you could create a temple that only good character can
enter, a "wizard conference area" that only wizards and the producer can
enter, etc.

    Public locations can be restricted by weather zone.  For example, if
the users are in one region of your MUD (defined by weather zone 3, for
example), you might want to only allow them to go to public locations in
weather zone 3.  This still gives them a quicker way of moving around,
but they can't jump from the north pole to the south pole in one fell
swoop.


4.2 CREATING EXITS

Now let's create our first exit. Type "@exit" and press ENTER.  At the
first prompt, enter "E", meaning that the new exit leads east from here.
At the next prompt, type in "Ready Room". At the next exit, type "2".
That's the length of the line to be drawn on the map to represent the
exit. At the next prompt, type "door", as the description for the exit.
At the last prompt, type "Y" to create the corresponding counterpart for
this exit (meaning that once in the ready room, an exit leading west
will take you back to the bridge).

    The exit now exists.  Type "L" to look around, and you'll see the
exit and the new location on the map.

    Let's see how the map changes when moving between places.  With your
NUMLOCK on, press the 6 on your numeric keypad (which corresponds to
"east").  You'll notice that you've moved to the ready room.  Press 4 on
your numeric keypad, and you'll be back on the bridge.

    Now, suppose you really meant for that to be an exit to the north to
get to the ready room, not the east.  Let's modify it.

    Make sure you're back on the bridge.  Type "@exitdir" and press
ENTER. At the first prompt, type "E" for east, meaning that's the exit
you want to change.  At the next prompt, type "N", meaning that's the
direction you want the exit to lead.  Then type "L" to look around, and
you'll see that it's been modified.

    Now, let's change the length of the exit.  You created it with a
length of 2, making it pretty small.  Let's make it longer.  Type
"@exitlen" and press ENTER.  At the next prompt, type "N", meaning that
it's the north exit you want to modify.  At the next prompt, type "3".
Then type "L" to look around, and you'll see that the exit line is
longer than before.

    To change the description that appears in the main text box for an
exit, use the "@exitdesc" command.

    To delete an exit, use the "@exitkill" command.



4.3 CREATING OBJECTS

Objects are things that users can observe, use, pick up, etc.  There are
the following types of objects (not including characters and NPCs, which
are technically "objects" from a system command standpoint):

    Weapons.  These are objects that, when wielded, can be used to
    attack monsters.
 
    Special items.  Objects that have special powers, like healing hit
    points, inflicting damage, and teleporting users.  In a fantasy MUD,
    these might be scrolls or wands.
 
    Armor.  Objects that, when worn, improve a character's armor class.

    Non-takeable objects.  These are things that for some reason, either
    because they are too heavy or whatever reason, cannot be taken.
    This is the default type of all objects that are created with the
    @obj command. (@objtype can then be used to modify the object type).
 
    Takeable objects.  These objects can be picked up and added to the
    character's inventory.
 
    Bulletin board objects.  These are objects that act as bulletin
    boards.  When users look at them, they will see messages and files
    that have been left there by others.
 
    Now let's create an object.  Go back to the ready room.  We'll
create an aquarium that displays a message when you hit it.  First, type
"@obj".  At the first prompt, type "Aquarium".  At the next prompt,
press "N" for neuter.  At the next prompt, type "fishtank" for a
synonym.  Then press ENTER.  The object is created!  Type "L" to look
around, and you'll see the aquarium in the status description.

    To describe what an object looks like, use the "@objdesc" command.
This will allow you to enter the text to be displayed when a user tries
to look at the object.

    Just as with characters, you can create hot-phrases to work with
objects.  The "@objhot" command allows you to create an automatic
response from an object when a specific word or phrase is mentioned in a
conversation between characters that are in the same location as the
object.

    The "@objhotkill" command is used to remove a hot-phrase from an
object.  The "@objhotlist" command will display all hot-phrases that
have been defined for an object.  To see the effects of a hot-phrase,
use the "@objhotsee" command.

    If you wish to delete an object itself, use the "@objkill" command.
All rules and text that have been defined for the object will be deleted
as well.

    If you would just like to delete the rules and text but not the
object itself, use the "@objwipe" command.

    To simply change the name of an object, use the "@objname" command.

    As for object ownership, every object is owned by the person that
created it.  The "@objowner" command will display the name of the user
that owns an object.  If you have given wizard access to some of your
users, you can use the "@objownernew" command to change the ownership of
a location or a place that you have previously created.  By doing so,
they will be able to modify that particular place or object (but not any
others that you as the producer own).

    As you know if you've created some objects already, you can define
synonyms for objects; you can call a "long sword" a "sword" if that
synonym has been defined for it.  If you want to add another synonym to
an object after you've already created it, use the "@objsyn" command.
To see all of the synonyms defined for an object, use the "@objsynlist"
command.  To remove a synonym from an object, use the "@objremsym"
command.

    Now, let's get back to our example.  Let's create a rule that works
with the aquarium.  Type "@objrule" and press ENTER.  At the first
prompt, type "bump".  At the next prompt, type "aquarium".  At the next
prompt, type "N" for "No Modifier".  (This prompt allows you to create
more detailed rules, like "hit aquarium with crowbar").  At the next
prompt, type "S" for "Say", meaning that you want the MUD to say
something when this rule is executed.  At the next prompt, type: "A
delicate-looking fish cringes in horror."  Press ENTER twice.  Then
press "D" for done.

    That's it!  Try typing "bump aquarium", or "bump fishtank", and
you'll see that the poor fish does indeed cringe in horror. For more
information on creating rules, read the next section.

    To delete the rule you just created, use the "@objrulekill" command.

    To create a simple rule for an object (no ANDs), you can use the
"@objverb" command, which is a streamlined version of "@objrule".

    If you'd like to create a numbered object, use the "@objx" command.
Because two objects cannot share the same name, you might want to do
this to create similar objects.  For example, if you only had one
"button" object for users to push in your MUD, you could just call it a
"button".  But if you're on a starship, you'll probably have lots and
lots of buttons.  Using "@objx" will create an object like "button
(#121)", allowing there to be many objects with the same root name.

    The "@objspecdesc" command allows you to provide a special
description for the object on the lower half of the screen. For example,
suppose you create a weed object, but you don't want the user to know
that it's there automatically.  You want to hide the weed in a clump of
grass.  To do this, you would first use the "@obj" command to create a
weed, and define synonyms for the weed as "clump of grass" and "grass".
Then you would use "@objspecdesc" to create a description that says, "A
clump of grass is also nearby."  Then, when the user enters the room,
he/she would first need to LOOK at the clump of grass, or some similar
arrangement, to which you've defined a description such as "It's just a
bunch of weeds". But if the resourceful user decides to try taking a
weed, he will be successful.  By doing this, the weed is not
specifically named in the text unless the user digs deeper.

    In addition, you can create "noise" for an object.  Noise is text
that is displayed at random occasions, usually to add some color or
realism to an object or place.  For example, if you defined a location
called a "bazaar", you could define the following phrase that would
every now and then be displayed to a user: "Throngs of people surge
around you", or some such phrase.  Use the "@noise" command to create
these phrases.  Use the "@noisekill" command to remove them.


4.4 CREATING RULES

    Rules are what tie the components of a MUD together; they are the
glue that binds user actions to MUD responses.  Rules are structured
along the lines of "VERB+NOUN=RESULT".  If the user types the command
"drink soda", then a certain result is defined to deal with that
situation.

    Action rules can also branch to true or false conditions, based on
three factors: a random "die" role against a character skill, a "die"
roll against a character attribute, or testing the setting of a flag.
(There are 128 definable flags).

    Rules can also be linked to one another, to form chains of results.
In other words, you might decide that every time a character tries to
drink a soda, you want to do three things: display the message "It
tastes terrible", add 10 to the user's score, and reduce his online time
by 10 minutes.  This is done by choosing the "AND" option after defining
each step, instead of the "DONE" option.

    Rules can be created to work with either objects or places. To
create a rule for an object, type "@objrule".  To create a rule for a
place, type "@placerule". You will be prompted for the following
information:


    VERB?           The verb to initiate this rule. If you were defining
                    a rule for "Sniff Coin", for example, you'd type in
                    "Sniff".


    OBJECT?         The object of this rule.  In the "Sniff Coin"
                    example, you'd type in "Coin" here.


    Then you'll see a command bar giving you several different options
for this rule, allowing it to be simple or complex.  The following
buttons will appear:


    NO MODIFIER     Select this button for a simple, two-word rule, like
                    "Sniff Coin".


    TO              Select this button when defining a rule with "TO" as
                    the third word, like "Give Coin To Bartender".


    FROM            Select this button when defining a rule with "FROM"
                    as the third word, like "Take Coin From Bartender".


    ABOUT           Select this button when defining a rule with "ABOUT"
                    as the third word, like "Ask Monk About Monastery".


    WITH            Select this button when defining a rule with "WITH"
                    as the third word, like "Touch Snake With Staff".


    IN              Select this button when defining a rule with "IN" as the third
                    word, like "Put Bowl In Shelf".


    ON              Select this button when defining a rule with "ON" as
                    the third word, like "Touch Dwarf On Shoulder".


    You will then see an even larger number of command buttons, that
will allow you to define what happens when this rule is invoked:


    MOVE            This button moves the users to a new location that
                    you define.


    PAUSE           The button causes a [More] prompt to appear at this
                    point in the rule execution.  It's useful for longer
                    rules, where you might have several different
                    messages displayed (multiple SAYs).


    SAY             This button allows you to give a textual description
                    of what happens.


    SCORE           This button allows you to add a fixed number of
                    points to the user's score.



    SETFLG          This button allows you to set a status flag,
                    indicating that a certain condition is true for a
                    user.  For example, you might want flag 1 to
                    indicate that a lamp is turned on; the "light lamp"
                    rule would then set this flag to 1.


    CLRFLG          This button allows you to clear a flag, indicating
                    that a certain condition is no longer true for a
                    user.  If the user turned off the lamp, you would
                    then set this flag to 0.


    FLGTST          This button allows you to test the status of a given
                    flag. If the user entered a dark pit, and you
                    defined flag 1 as above to indicate whether a lamp
                    was lit, you would define the two results based on
                    the setting of that flag.


    SKL             This button allows you to test a skill of the user,
                    and proceed based on whether they pass or fail that
                    test.


    ATR             This button allows you to test an attribute of the
                    user, and proceed based on whether they pass or fail
                    that test.


    MORE >          This command takes you to the second line of rule
                    buttons, defined below.


    -TIME           This button allows you to subtract a fixed number of
                    minutes from the online time remaining for the user.
                    (A punishment, obviously).


    -MONEY          This button allows you to subtract a fixed amount of
                    money from a character.  If they don't have enough,
                    the rule is cancelled.  It's important that you
                    select this button first when defining a rule, so
                    that the remaining steps are NOT taken if they don't
                    have enough money.


    TAKEOBJ         This causes the object that the rule was defined for
                    to be placed in the possession of the player.  If
                    the current rule was defined for a note, for
                    example, selecting this button would cause the note
                    to move to the user's inventory.


    MAKEITEM        This button creates an item from the item
                    spreadsheet and places it in the inventory of the
                    player.  Obviously, it creates a numbered item.


    SIMITEM         This button causes the rule to simulate the use of
                    an item on the item spreadsheet.  You could, for
                    example, simulate a "fireball wand", which would
                    cause a fireball to strike the user.  No skills are
                    checked, this is automatically assumed to happen.


    % CHANCE        This is similar to the ATR and SKL buttons, in that
                    the rule branches to success and fail threads, but
                    no skills or attributes are checked; this is a flat
                    percentage of something happening.


You will then see the following command buttons:


    AND             This allows you to select another command button, in
                    conjunction with the one just set.  For example, you
                    might define the rule "touch button" to do two
                    separate things: move the user to a new location,
                    and describe what happens.  In that case, you'd
                    select the "MOVE" button the first time, and the
                    "SAY" button the second time.


    DONE            This button informs the system that the rule is
                    complete; no other command buttons need to be
                    selected.


    To delete a rule from a place, use the "@placerulekill" command.

    To change the type of a place, use the "@placetype" command.

    The "@placewait" command defines an action rule to be executed when
waiting in the current place.  If the user types "wait" in the specified
location, the rule will be executed.



4.5 CREATING NON-PLAYER CHARACTERS

Non-player characters are similar to characters; they are fictional
people (or things, if you're running a real strange MUD), but no user
controls them.

    NPCs, first and foremost, can add scenery to your MUD.  If you have
a garden near a mysterious mansion, you might add a NPC gardener that
cringes whenever you say the word "mansion" (defining a hot-phrase for
the NPC).  I'm sure lots of other possibilities come to mind.

    Greetings can be defined for NPCs with the @npcgreet command, which
list keywords that invoke action rules.  For example, you might have a
greeting as follows for a NPC bartender:

        "Hmmmf".  The rather unfriendly bartender glares at you
        impatiently, waiting for your order.  Type GROG, DRAGONALE, or
        SPINWATER to order one of those drinks.

    Three separate rules can be defined with the @npcrule command for
what happens when the user types "GROG", "DRAGONALE", or "SPINWATER",
including giving them mugs of each drink and charging them money for
them.

    Also, an unlimited number of automatic actions can be defined using
@npcact, of the following types: GO, SAY, and EMOTE.  So, you can add an
action to a NPC that gets randomly invoked, for example, to GO NORTH, GO
SOUTH, SAY "Watch it!", etc.  This gives them more an appearance of
life, as they wander around and say and do things.  Use @npclist to list
the actions defined for a NPC, @npcactkill to remove an automatic
action.

    There are actually four different types of NPCs, set with the
@npctype command: Guild Master, Guild Member, City Official, and Normal.
These categories have to do with learning skills and spells from them,
and recieving quests from them. Guild Masters and City Officials can
give out quests (see the QUEST section for details).  Players can learn
skills and spells from other players and NPCs that are members of the
same guild. Also, players can petition Guild Masters for an increase in
guild level, which will succeed if they have earned enough experience
points.

    NPCs remember everything said and emoted in their presence for the
current day.  Other users can then use the "QUESTION" command to make
the NPC recite everything they've heard on that day. This can add a
sense of continuity to the MUD, especially on ones with fewer incoming
lines.


4.6 TIME-BASED PLACES AND EXITS

As you might have noticed when describing places or objects, the quarter
of the day can be used to determine what to display.  For example if you
type "@mydesc" to define what your own character looks like, you'll see
the following prompt:

    Use description during which quarter of day (1-4,0=all)?

    Likewise, when defining exits using the "@exit" command, you'll run
across the following prompt:

    Exit exists during which quarter of the day (1-4,0=all)?

    Both of these prompts expect a number between 1 and 4, corresponding
to the following schedule:

    1st Quarter     Midnight - 6:00 AM
    2nd Quarter     6:00 AM - Noon
    3rd Quarter     Noon - 6:00 PM
    4th Quarter     6:00 PM - Midnight

    If you enter a 0 at either of these prompts, the exit or description
will be in effect at all times, unless you have previously defined them
for specific quarters.  In that case, the "0" description or exit will
be the default when not in those specific times.


4.7 MODIFYING YOUR CHARACTER

There are a number of system commands that are used just to modify one's
own character.  These are usually the only system commands that the
average user can use.

    The "@mydelete" command deletes a user's character.  The character
is history, completely wiped from the MUD.  The user is logged off,
unless he or she is the producer.

    The "@mydesc" command creates a specific rule for a character: what
to SAY when others look at him or her.

    The "@myhot" command allows hot-phrases to be defined for a
character; it creates an automatic response your character when a
specific word or phrase is mentioned in a conversation between
characters that are in the same location as your character.  Hot-phrases
will only be invoked if the user controlling the character is logged
off.

    To remove such a hot-phrase from a character, use the "@myhotkill"
command.  To see all of the hot-phrases defined for a character, use the
"@myhotlist" command.  To see the effects of a hot-phrase, use the
"@myhotsee" command.

    To change the password for your account, use the "@mypassword"
command.

    Just as there is a streamlined version of rule creation for objects,
"@objverb", there is one for your own character: "@myverb". This allows
you to create simple rules with fewer steps.

    The @myteach command is used to set how much a user will charge per
skill level another character for lessons on improving a skill.  This
amount is also multiplied by 100 to determine the cost of teaching a
spell to someone else.

    A user can also the the @mytag command to update the tag line on the
WHO screen for his or her character.


4.8 WIZARD MUD BUILDING

If you're a busy person that doesn't have much time to spend building a
MUD, or if you'd like to spread the fun around, you can let other people
build the MUD for you.

    To give an area to wizard for development, you would first created a
new area, using the @dig or @place command.  Then, you would use the
@pending command to hide this location from normal users.  The @pending
command asks for the name of the person to develop this area.  Type in
the name of the wizard.

    At this point, the wizard will be able to perform whatever commands
you have set up in the command table for world-building.  The way the
command table comes initially is probably sufficient; it allows them to
create new areas and describe them, create new objects, NPCs, etc.
However, it does NOT permit wizards to define rules.  This is really a
matter of how well you know your wizards.  If they are personal friends
of yours, you'll probably want to let them create rules.  But if they're
online associates that you've never met and really don't know that well,
you probably don't want to give them a way to boost their own skill and
attribute ratings, hit points, etc., through the roof.

    After a wizard has built a bunch of new locations, you'll probably
want to open them up to everyone else.  To do so, use the @open command
from the location you want to open.  Once the locations are opened, the
ownership reverts to the producer, and they can no longer be modified by
the wizard.

    As a side note, on the on-screen map, a dotted line is drawn for
pending exits, which only wizards and producers can see.  Other wizards,
besides the one that owns the area under construction, will also be able
to visit and make suggestions, but won't be able to make modifications.



PART V  ADMINISTRATION

5.1 INTERNAL BACKUPS

A built-in backup system will allow you to save a copy of your MUD
database in a BACKUP# subdirectory under your MUD directory.  Just type
"@backup" from inside the MUD, and the files will be copied to the
specified backup directory.  You can just hit ENTER at the "Backup #?"
field, and they'll be copied to BACKUP\, or you can select a number like
"1" and a BACKUP1\ directory will be created.

To restore the database for whatever reason (power failure, you messed
up creating a new world and want to start fresh, etc), just type
"@restore" from within the MUD, select the desired backup, and the files
will be copied to the active MUD directory.


5.2 PRUNING SHOPS

As your MUD progresses over time, users might generate so many new items
by killing monsters, and then sell those items to stores, that the
number of items for sale in a given shop is unwieldy.  To cut back on
the number of items in a shop, just type "@shopprune".

Conversely, if you want to add some more items to a shop, use the
"@shopfill" command.


5.3 PURGING USERS

You will probably want to periodically delete characters in your MUD
that users have not used for a given length of time.  For example, you
might decide that any character that has not been used in the last six
months is cluttering up the MUD.  Use the "@userpurge" command to
specify the length of time used to decide whether to purge a character
or not.


5.4 COMPRESSING THE DATABASE

This is a very important administrative task, as any MUD database will
grow significantly over time.  The "@compress" command will do all of
the work, but nobody else can be on the system.  We would recommend that
you use this command at least once a month, more often if you have a
limited amount of disk space.


5.5 ADMINISTRATIVE COMMANDS

There are a number of commands the producer can use to manage the MUD.
Commands that relate to characters are as follows:

    @adjhp          Adjusts the number of hit points for a character,
                    either one's own or another.

    @adjmoney       Adjusts the amount of money a character has.

    @boot           Disconnects a specific user immediately.

    @bootall        Disconnects all users, immediately.

    @charkill       Deletes a character from the MUD, permanently.

    @charkillall    Deletes all characters from a MUD, except for one's
                    own.

    @lockout        This command is used to prevent a specific,
                    troublesome user from ever logging in to the MUD.

    @modskills      This command is used to modify the skill levels of a
                    character, whether player or NPC.

    @move           This command is used to move an object from the
                    current location to another place.

    @userlevel      Modifies the security level (40, 50, etc). of a
                    character.

    @usertype       Modifies the security type ("G", "p", "W", etc). of
                    a character.

    Administration commands that are related to the MUD setup are as
follows:

    @currency       Allows the user to define the currency string, what
                    money is to be called (Dollars?  Silver Pieces?
                    Credits?)

    @edit           This is the MUD low-level editor.  With it, you can
                    edit many of the spreadsheets that you can from the
                    Waiting For Call screen.

    @help           Allows you to add, delete, or modify topics in the
                    internal help system.

    @initworld      This command is used to totally wipe out the MUD,
                    except for the spreadsheets.  You can also
                    optionally wipe clean specific spreadsheets.

    @login          Allows you to replace the login bulletin text with
                    new text.

    @logoff         Allows you to replace the logoff text with new text.

    @messagedays    Allows you to set the message retention days, just
                    as you can on the "General Setup" screen.

    @news           Allows you to add, delete, or modify topics in the
                    internal news system.

    @remphone       Removes a specific phone number from the callback
                    verification log.

    @remphoneall    Removes all phone numbers from the callback
                    verification log.


    There are also some diagnostic commands that can be used to
determine general information about the MUD, and whether the MUD is
functioning correctly.  They are as follows:

    @database       Displays the amount of bytes used by the various
                    database files.  If they are taking up too much
                    room, try using the "@compress" command to free up
                    some space.

    @dumpid         An internal command that should only be used when in
                    contact with Continuum Software technical support.

    @dumpname       An internal command that should only be used when in
                    contact with Continuum Software technical support.

    @dumplace       An internal command that should only be used when in
                    contact with Continuum Software technical support.

    @infox          Display extended information about a user, using the
                    name of a given character.

    @log            Displays the system activity log.

    @mapmem         This command displays how many nodes are accessed
                    when building the on-screen map, and the amount of
                    memory used to do so.  This is useful when breaking
                    up sections of the MUD into manageable chunks.

    @pool           Displays the amount of free memory available. For
                    best performance, this should be over 100K.

    @purgelog       Deletes the system activity log.

    @quarter        Changes the quarter of the day the system thinks
                    that it is in, but just for your character.  If you
                    want to insure that a quarter-based description or
                    exit is working correctly, you can use this command
                    to change your "apparent" quarter.

    @sessions       Displays a list of all MUD sessions, both active and
                    inactive.

    @sesskill       Changes the status of a session from active to
                    inactive.  If a node is dropped unexpectantly (as in
                    a power failure), the system might still think that
                    a user is logged in to the system.  The MUD will
                    self-correct this error over a few days, but is you
                    know that a session is not really active, you can
                    use this command to mark it as inactive.

    @shell          This command is used to shell to DOS.

    @whereis        Displays the location of a given character.


5.6 CREDIT ACCOUNTING

Many of you are running MUDs as a commercial venture.  The credit
accounting system was developed with you in mind.  This is how it works:

    1.  Users are given a starting number of credits, as defined on page
        3 of the General Setup screen.  Each credit corresponds to a
        minute in the MUD.  300 credits = 300 minutes of access time.

    2.  When a user runs out of credits, he or she will not be able to
        log in.  They can leave a message to you, or however you have
        decided to handle the ordering of credits.

    3.  When a user purchases 300 credits, for example, you then go in
        to the MUD and type @credits.  It will ask you the name of the
        user that purchased the credits, and the number of credits they
        purchased.  Type in the relevant information.

    4.  The user will now be able to use the MUD again, for however many
        minutes (credits) were purchased.

    Of course, a user does not need to wait until his or her number of
credits hits zero before purchasing more.  You can add credits to a user
that still has remaining access time.


PART VI  OTHER ISSUES


6.1 RIP AND ANSI GRAPHICS

Once you've created your MUD, you'll might want to illustrate it with
some ANSI and RIP artwork.  Don't get nervous, it's not that hard to do,
even for the non-artistic person.

    For ANSI artwork, use a good ANSI editor like THEDRAW.  Look at some
of the ANSI artwork that comes with Trade Wars and other quality door
games for inspiration.  When you are ready to start, use the BLANK.ANS
file that came with IP&M as a starting point; it will let you know where
the boundaries are for the window.  Look also at PLANET1.ANS,
PLANET2.ANS, and PLANET3.ANS that come with IP&M for ideas.  Make sure
when saving your ANSI artwork that you inform the ANSI editor to save it
with screen-clearing codes.  Otherwise, it won't work with IP&M.

    For RIP artwork, use a good RIP paint program like RIPPaint or
Tombstone Artist. Again, look at existing artwork for inspiration.
PLANET1.RIP, PLANET2.RIP, and PLANET3.RIP come with IP&M, and BLANK.RIP
can be used as a template, indicating window boundaries.

    Also, with RIP 2.0 coming out soon, you might want to get some .GIF
and/or .JPG files ready, since the new terminal will support those.  It
is rumored that those files will actually transmit quicker than the
vector-style traditional RIP graphics.  .GIF and .JPG files are easier
to create, regardless.

    When you've created some pictures, you'll need to link them to the
desired locations. You can do this with the @placepic command.  Just
enter the name of the ANSI picture and the RIP picture, and you'll be in
business.  You can use the planet pictures that come with IP&M to see
how this is done; link PLANET1.ANS and PLANET1.RIP to Khal, PLANET2.ANS
and PLANET2.RIP to Bendii, and PLANET3.ANS and PLANET3.RIP to Ilium.

    Conversely, you can use the "@placepickill" command to remove a
picture from a place.

    As a note, when you use the "@place" command to create new places,
the pictures associated with your current area are automatically copied
to the new area.  If you don't want to use the current pictures for the
new area, use the @placepic command in the new area to redefine them.


6.2 FREELANCE MODULE SUBMISSIONS

We accept and review qualified freelance submissions for our line of
pre-built MUDs. We expect to set the price of most modules between $40
and $100.

    To qualify, you need to be a member of The Fantasists Guild.  For
your submission to be accepted, however, it must, among other things,
have a new element or theme in your MUD that a previously published
module does not.

    Be warned, our standards are high. We do not publish every module
that crosses our desks. Check your spelling especially. And if you're
wanting to create a MUD that is similar to others (like a fantasy
world), it must have some new element or twist that will make it stand
apart. Here are some other general guidelines:

    1. Create worlds that use the "quarter of the day" feature. Have
       place and object descriptions modify based on the time of day.
       Create exits that for some reason would only be available during
       certain parts of the day. (Shops open/closed? Ships in port only
       in the morning, and at different ports later that evening?)

    2. Create a good mix of puzzles, monsters, weapons, and items, that
       are appropriate for your theme.

    3. You should include several public areas, and have at least 50-100
       normal areas for users to explore.

    4. If possible, include some NEW, NEVER-SEEN RIP and/or GIF/JPG
       graphics in your MUD for various locations and monsters. We pay a
       higher royalty rate for submissions with graphics. If you're not
       the artistic type, you can get in touch with some RIP artists at
       the following locations:

        Ina Strickland -- You can call her voice at (706) 733-0515 or
                          mail her at 1722 Forest Creek Crt. Augusta, GA
                          30909.

        Pauland BBS    -- the Grave of Dead RIPpers' Society
                          (504) 383-2864

    5. You need to include designer's notes with your submission that
       can inform the sysop of the puzzles in the game (with solutions),
       the idea and theme for the MUD, and anything else he or she will
       need to know.


NON-DISCLOSURE AGREEMENT

When you're ready to send in a submission, you will need to include the
following signed letter. (Sorry, our lawyers made us). We cannot review
any submissions without it.


    I, ___________________________, am submitting the enclosed files for
    your review, for possible publication as an add-on module for
    Industrial Prose & Magic. I understand that other people, including
    those at Continuum Software, may be working on similar projects, and
    agree not to hold liable any person publishing a module that has
    similarities in any aspect to my submission, even if my submission
    is rejected.

    I understand that all files that are developed and modified with
    Industrial Prose & Magic, and all files using formats contained by
    said program, are the property of Continuum Software, and may not be
    re-sold except by Continuum Software. I further understand that this
    submission, if accepted, is still the sole property of Continuum
    Software. I understand that the only compensation for acceptance of
    this module are the royalties based on net revenues as outlined by
    Continuum Software.

    I understand that Continuum Software has the sole right to set the
    price of modules, and may adjust the prices at any time.

    I understand that if I wish this submission to be returned to me, I
    must include sufficient postage to cover that cost.

    I understand that Continuum Software makes no assurances, whether
    implicit or implied, that a published module will be advertised
    through any media other than that through which Industrial Prose &
    Magic is advertised.


    Name (Print):  _______________________________

    Signature:     _______________________________

    Date: ________________


To submit your MUD, send in the following:

    1. Your designer's notes as explained above.

    2. The above non-disclosure agreement, signed and dated.

    3. A ZIP file that was created with the PACKMUD utility (distributed
       to all members of The Fantasists Guild).

       Note that you should run the @charkillall command from inside
       your MUD before you send it in, to delete any user characters
       that may have been exploring your MUD.

       If the ZIP file is too big for one diskette, use the -& option
       with PKZIP to span multiple diskettes. Both 3 1/2" and 5 1/4"
       will be accepted.


6.3 TROUBLESHOOTING


If you are having difficulties setting up Industrial Prose & Magic, make
sure of the following:

    1. You have SHARE installed. When you type SHARE at the DOS command
       line, you should see the message "Share Already Installed."  If
       you don't, add a line to your AUTOEXEC.BAT that reads "SHARE".

    2. Make sure you have enough file handles set aside in your
       CONFIG.SYS. On the line that says "FILES=XX", XX should be a
       number great enough to hold 35 handles per session. So if you're
       using a multi-tasker and have two windows running IP&M, you'll
       need at least 70 file handles.

    3. If you're trying to install IP&M as a door and are having
       problems, try blanking out the baud rate on the modem
       configuration screen.

    4. If you get a "Out of environment space" message when loading the
       MUD, add the following line to your AUTOEXEC.BAT: "SET
       CLIPPER=f255"; also, add the following line to your config.sys:
       "SHELL=C:\COMMAND.COM /E:2048 /P". If a shell line already
       exists, modify it to match.

    5. If you have non-standard com port addresses or IRQs, read the
       section in this manual dealing with environment variables
       (SETTING ENVIRONMENT VARIABLES).


6.4 TECHNICAL SUPPORT

If your problems persist, you can call our technical support at (404)
635-0931 10am-5pm EST, or contact us 24 hours a day at our support BBS,
Software Creations: (508) 368-7139.



APPENDIX A:  THE FANTASISTS GUILD

    The Fantasists Guild is an international association of MUD
designers. The current mission of the Guild is threefold: to educate
members on designing interactive fantasies, to gather ideas and
suggestions for Continuum Software products, and to keep members
up-to-date on the latest features and upcoming changes to Industrial
Prose & Magic and related software.  Guild membership is not limited to
Continuum Software customers.

    We are excited about the prospects of what the Guild will be able to
accomplish.  When the Guild has grown to a sufficient level, we have
lots of plans: a regular publication (including articles written by
members), a yearly convention, and possibly merit, degree, and
certification programs, among other things.

    For the present, members recieve regular announcements of upcoming
releases and enhancements to IP&M-related software; members provide
input into the direction of our software line; and members recieve The
Fantasists Guide, an interactive tutorial for designing IP&M MUDs.
Unlike the IP&M manual, the guide focuses on aesthetic, artistic, and
thematic issues that should be considered when designing commercial
MUDs.  Members who have studied the Guide and become well-rounded
fantasists are encouraged to submit their work for review and possible
commercial publication by Continuum Software.

    Annual membership rates are $30 for US residents, $40 for Canadian
residents, and $50 for international residents.  Dues can be purchased
by check or credit card (Visa or Mastercard).  Credit card orders can be
purchased by phone at (404) 635-0931.  Checks can be mailed to the
following address (make checks payable to Continuum Software):

                        The Fantasists Guild
                        916 Underwood Ave SE
                        Atlanta, GA 30316

    Please note that membership dues will need to be adjusted as we
begin mailing regular publications, so please check our current rates
before purchasing a membership.  (Current memberships will not be
affected by dues increases until they expire; no additional monies will
need to be paid during a Guild membership).


