The information contained in
this help file is not specific to Portal©, but rather to using MUD’s in
general. In case you didn’t know yet,
MUD is an acronym for Multi-User-Dungeon.
While “dungeon” is rather specific, MUDs can be based in any world or
realm, limited only by human imagination.
As stated in the
Portal© Overview, there are
many kinds of text-based games out there.
When we use the word MUD, we also mean all the other kinds out there
(MUSHs, MOOs, etc.)
MUDding, as you probably
know by now, involves the creation of an alter ego in a virtual world featuring
combat, quests, and interaction with others.
Every MUD is different, but there are a few constants.
The most important command
for you to know on any new MUD, whether you are an experienced MUDder or not,
is help. Typing help will usually give you a menu of possible topics about
which information is available. For a
new MUDder, help newbie is often a good
choice when used on MUDs that support it.
The display of information
from the help systems is variable; some MUDs have extensive and good help
systems, and some do not. You will
nearly always, however, be able to obtain information about how the MUD works,
the penalties for dying, where to go to find an area suitable for a newbie,
etc.
The basic unit of a MUD is
the room. A room is, much like in the
real world, an area defined or limited in some respect. Rooms have two basic elements: a description
and a list of exits. You can see the
room description when you enter a new room, as well as a list of the obvious
exits. The list of exits defines, as it
were, the limits of the room; an exit can be a door or merely an open direction
in which you can travel without running into something.
There are a few commands
associated with rooms which primarily involve access to information: look,
examine, and search are the most common variants. The look
command and the examine, or exa, command do the same thing: they display
text descriptions. By themselves, the
commands simply display the room text over again. With an argument, e.g. look at
<thing> or exa <thing>,
the commands display the text description, if any, of the thing. Characters, objects in the room, and in many
cases, items mentioned in a room description can all be examined or looked at. The search
command, on MUDs which use the command, usually gives extended information
beyond that available by look or exa.
The exit list is your key to
movement, and it's usually pretty simple.
The list of exits, often cardinal directions such as north, northeast
and the like, as well as up, down, enter and some other variations, are also
commands which move you in the specified direction through the named exit. In other words, if there's an exit labeled
"north," and you type north, you'll move through that exit and into
the connecting room to the north. For
the cardinal directions, you can usually substitute "n" for north,
"nw" for northwest, etc.
MUD objects come in three
basic varieties: character objects, monster objects, and “thing” objects. The first one, a character object, is you
and any other living entity connecting to the MUD. As with any object, you can examine or look at it, including
yourself.
On most MUDs, you can do score or sc to get a quick readout on your character's
statistics. In nearly every case, these
statistics will include things like strength, constitution, and intelligence,
as well as the very important concepts of hit points (try typing hp) and spell points. Hit points represent the amount of damage
you can sustain before your character dies; spell points are usually used to
power abilities and spells. Both will
usually regenerate over time, and often eating and drinking will also heal them
more quickly.
There are some nifty
communication commands associated with player objects, and the standard ones
are say, tell, shout, and in most cases, some kind of
channel or line associated with various guilds, clans and the like.
The say command is pretty simple; it gives a message to
anyone in the same room as you. The
command syntax is say <message>
and the output would be something like "You say
<message>." Other characters
can see and respond to the message as they see fit; in some cases, monster
objects will also respond.
The tell command is much like the say command, but it delivers a message to a
specific player, and no other person can see it. It also functions over any distance. This one can be VERY useful for a newbie if they need
assistance. On many MUDs, use of tell
requires a few spell points.
Shout is a very special communication command; it typically
"broadcasts" your message to every person on the MUD, and they can
respond via tell or shout themselves.
Be careful with this command; constant shouting can sometimes irritate
other players and even wizards, builders and admin. This command often requires the use of spell points to
function. Don’t go shouting swear words
just to get a reaction from people and see if they are really out there. They are, and you will get a
reaction. Usually it will be in the
form of jail time, or some sort of banishment.
Monster objects are in many
ways similar to character objects, except that there is no player behind one;
they've been created and scripted by a wizard or builder so that they can
engage in many of the actions a character can.
Some will respond to says and tells, and nearly all can engage in
combat.
Initiation of combat is
pretty simple: kill <monster>
works on nearly every MUD. Of course,
this might result in trouble if the monster is more powerful than you are,
which leads to some other important commands, like wimpy. Type wimpy
<number> often, though not on every MUD, will make you
automatically feel from combat when your hit points drop below the number or
percentage you've specified. Be sure to
check the help files on this command, though, as there are many variations on
this command, and most MUDs have tweaked it a bit.
Basically, be careful with
what you kill. Some MUDs allow you to
kill other players (playerkilling or PK as it’s called). Don’t bite off more than you can chew, as
some monsters would eat you alive, like dragons, demons, soccer fans.
The third type of object is
the object that can be worn, read, opened or otherwise manipulated. From a wizard perspective, these objects can
be VERY different from one another, but from your perspective, it's enough to
know that there are objects you can pick up and do things with. Picking up an object is a matter of typing get <thing> or take
<thing>. When you do
this, the item is moved into your inventory---"i"
will usually list your inventory. Most
likely, your inventory is not infinite, as there will be a limit on how much
you can carry. There are also items on
MUDs which simply cannot be moved with any amount of strength, such as signs,
streetlights, Sweden.
The most important items to
you right off the bat are going to be weapons and armor. Weapons must typically be wielded so that you can use them in combat, e.g. wield <sword> before it will actually be
used. Armor must similarly be worn in
order to be of any protective value.
Nearly all items can be
traded for cash at shops. The usual
command is sell <object>. Most items have some kind of commands
associated with them which are specific to them. For example, a food item can usually be eaten (eat <thing>), beverages, can be drunk,
etc. Often examining such an item will
make it clear what commands you can expect to work, and where such an approach
fails, the command syntax will often be a matter of common sense.
You should now have enough
basic information to at least navigate around a MUD, communicate with other
players, manipulate and use basic objects, and seek additional MUD-specific
help. Remember that the help systems on
most MUDs are well developed and can often provide answers to questions you
haven't even thought to ask yet. If all
else fails, you can always ask other people for help. Just remember, these are real people too, so be respectful and
treat them how you would want to be treated.