StrangeMUD Builder FAQ The purpose of this document is to make publicly available the answer to many questions aspiring builders may have. Please read this document thoroughly before contacting the administration, as your question may be addressed herein. Thanks! FAQ Contents 1. Getting started 1.1 Who can build? 1.2 What theme should my area have? 1.4 Who should I notify of my interest in building? 1.5 What are zone numbers, and where do I get them? 1.6 Does StrangeMUD have OLC (on-line creation)? 1.7 What about area editing software? 2. The building process 2.1 Where can I find assistance when I have a building problem? 2.2 What are mob_progs and where do they come from? 2.3 What are spec_procs and where do they come from? 2.4 Are there any rules each area must follow? 3. Once the area is complete 3.1 Who do I submit my area to when it is complete? 3.2 Who will test my area for bugs? 3.3 Are there rewards for building? 3.4 Will my area ever be modified? 3.5 What happens to my area if I stop playing StrangeMUD? 4. Helpful resources 4.1 Web links 4.2 Other sources of information 4.3 FAQ credits 1. Getting started 1.1 Who can build? Anyone may build an area for StrangeMUD. Prior building experience with StrangeMUD, or any mud, is not necessary, nor is any programming skill required. It is, however, helpful if you have some familiarity with StrangeMUD and its existing areas. 1.2 What theme should my area have? Areas on StrangeMUD (unlike some other MUDs) are not restricted by theme. You may choose to write a medieval-themed area, or you may choose to model it after a modern city. You may base it on a favorite book, movie, or legend, or you may simply make it up as you go along. Any reasonably creative content is eligible for implementation. Of course, any discriminatory or harassing content will not be accepted. Please use common sense, and if you are in doubt, ask an immortal. 1.3 What tools do I need to build? The only requirement for area creation is a good idea. Helpful tools include a computer with a text editor (such as DOS edit or Notepad/WordPad for Windows). You may also use a text editor in an ISP shell account, such as Pico for Unix/ Linux, or an area editor (covered later in this document). 1.4 Whom should I notify of my interest in building? While it is not necessary to notify us of your intent, doing so will let you know if an area of your theme has already been implemented or is under construction. The best contact would be Caila, head of building (ladycaila@aol.com) 1.5 What are zone numbers, and where do I get them? Zone numbers are numbers assigned to an area that the game uses to cross- reference all related files (the structure of files is detailed in the StrangeMUD builder documents). How many zone numbers your area requires is determined by the number of rooms it contains; each one hundred rooms is assigned one zone number. If you have 300 rooms, you will need three zone numbers. A master list of all assigned zones is kept by the MUD administration. Please contact Caila for available zones. 1.6 Does StrangeMUD have OLC (on-line creation)? No. Stock CircleMUD OLC is not entirely stable and does not afford a player who is not an immortal the opportunity to build online. Since building an area is one method of achieving immortality, OLC is counterproductive for StrangeMUD. 1.7 What about area editing software? Programs designed for editing areas do exist; however, they often require maintenance. Two popular editors are MUDitor, which permits editing of mobile, world, and zone files ONLY, and DikuEd, which permits editing of mobile, object, world, and zone files. MUDitor is DOS-based, but DikuEd is available in DOS and Unix format. We recently discovered a Windows-based editor called ShadowSoft, which has great potential. The current version does not support user-defined bitstrings, but the author has advised that its next version will. Keep your eyes here for info about the release of this cool program! 2. The building process 2.1 Where can I find assistance when I have a building problem? Many of our immortals have building experience, and will gladly answer any questions they can. In addition, the builder's documents (CircleMUD builder's docs revised to apply specifically to StrangeMUD) are freely available via e-mail request to Caila (ladycaila@aol.com). Those documents are also available for download on http://www.strangemud.net/downloads.html. 2.2 What are mob_progs and where do they come from? Mob_prog is short for mobile program, a term used to describe special functions performed by a mobile in an area. These special functions are detailed in a document available by e-mail request to Caila (ladycaila@aol.com), and is also available on http://www.strangemud.net/downloads.html. A background in programming is helpful, but not necessary, to implement these functions. If you want your mobiles to do special things, simply submit a detailed description (including zone/mob/object/room numbers where applicable), along with your area. A coder will be assigned to assess your request and will implement it as best as possible. 2.3 What are spec_procs and where do they come from? Spec_proc is short for special procedure, a blanket term used to describe code functions that must be added to make things occur in an area that is not already built into the game. These functions are used to add atmosphere to an area, and must be written by a programmer. If you are not a programmer, never fear -- StrangeMUD has programmers available to implement almost any spec_proc for your area. When you know that you want something to happen in your area that is not built into the game, write down a detailed description (including zone/mob/ object /room numbers where applicable), and submit it with your area. A coder will be assigned to assess your request and will implement it as best as possible. 2.4 Are there any rules each area must follow? The rules we apply to areas are few, but they are important ones. They are as follows: All DTs (death traps) MUST be clearly marked as potentially dangerous rooms. They must contain an exit so a death cry may be heard. They must be flagged as NO_MOB, and must not be flagged as DARK. In addition, the PRIVATE flag must be set to prevent players from teleporting into the room. Any DT that does not meet these requirements will be altered until it does. Any area based on a copyrighted work will be removed at request of the copyright owner. (For instance, the estate of J.R.R. Tolkien has expressly forbidden the use of his written material in stories and such.) Any legal ramifications of area content are the sole responsibility of the author, as StrangeMUD will not research each theme. 3. Once the area is complete 3.1 Who do I submit my area to when it is complete? When your area is finished, you should e-mail it to Caila (ladycaila@aol.com). Your area will be reviewed and evaluated, and you will be advised of any suggestions we may have. It will be at least two weeks, and possibly more, before you hear anything back, so please be patient. 3.2 Who will test my area for bugs? Once your area is approved for implementation, it will be tested for crash bugs by the StrangeMUD coding team. Once the area is stable within the game, you will be brought in to review that all the exits are where they should be, that the mobs are loading the correct objects, and check other details. The playtesting stage then begins, in which mortals may volunteer to preview the area and give feedback on its mobs and objects. Once the building team, the coding team, and you are satisfied with the end result of these tests, the area will be opened to the public. (The testing phase of an area takes time -- as many as six months in extreme cases -- so please be patient during this process also.) 3.3 Are there rewards for building? Building is generally undertaken by those with a desire to add to the game. It is also a means by which a mortal may become an immortal, or an immortal may move upward within the immortal ranks. If you are a mortal who will be using area creation to achieve immortality, please understand that an immortal rank will be bestowed upon you when your area is completely tested AND open to the public. 3.4 Will my area ever be modified? Undoubtedly, the answer is yes. In addition to the revision process detailed above, an area will probably be modified several times even after it is open to the public. The reasons for this are generally related to game balance and bug fixes. Your input is, of course, welcome, but the balancing team has final say in modifications of existing areas. 3.5 What happens to my area if I stop playing StrangeMUD? Once your area is submitted to StrangeMUD, it becomes game property. This means that we reserve the right to copyedit your area for grammar, spelling, and punctuation, as well as fix bugs and add features that may improve it. Should you choose to leave StrangeMUD, you may certainly submit it to other MUDs, but we retain our copy of your area. For this reason, you should keep a copy of your area files. 4. Helpful resources There are many sources of information available to would-be builders and experienced builders alike. Some are listed here, and others will be added as this document is revised. 4.1 Web links http://www.strangemud.net - StrangeMUD http://www.circlemud.org - CircleMUD http://www.mudconnector.com - The MUD Connector http://www.godlike.com/muds - The MUD Resource Collection http://www.game.org/ftpsite - FTP.GAME.ORG http://www.zuggsoft.com - Zugg's MUD Client (zMUD) ftp://ftp.princeton.edu/pub/tintin++/dist/tintin++v1.5pl6.tar.Z - The Kickin' Tickin' DikuMUD Client (tintin++) http://tf.tcp.com/~hawkeye/tf/ - TinyFugue MUD Client http://www.dejanews.com - DejaNews forums on MUDding: rec.games.mud.diku rec.games.mud.announce rec.games.mud.admin 4.2 Other sources of information The StrangeMUD Builder's Bundle: request by email from Caila - ladycaila@aol.com download from our website - www.strangemud.net 4.3 FAQ credits Created 8/12/98 by Caila, head of building. Contributors include: Questor, head implementor; Trillian, head administrator; Lucifer, head coder. Updated 9/25/98 by Caila. Updated 11/8/98 by Caila. Updated 2/11/99 by Caila.