Quick-Start Documentation ÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄ If you haven't read README.1ST yet, read it before reading this! This file introduces you to the basic world creation commands for Industrial Prose & Magic. Typing "Commands" from inside the MUD will get you a list of all commands available. For a more in-depth look at the product, read the WALKTHRU.TXT file. Installation ÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄ To load IP&M, first copy all of the files to a single directory, such as C:\MUD. Then type "MUD ALONE -1". "MUD" is the name of the batch file. "ALONE" means that you want to run it stand-alone, as opposed to running it as a door (in which case you'd type "DOOR"). "-1" is the com port number that you want to use. A negative number indicates a local session. To go directly into the MUD, login with the name PRODUCER, password PRODUCER. (Type "@mypassword" once in the MUD to change your password). World Creation Basics ÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄ When you get in, you'll be in a one-room MUD. Let's see how a few basic commands work. Type "@placename", 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. Wasn't that easy? 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. To do that, we'll 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. Finally, 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. Now, 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. Rules can also be created for characters. Read the introduction when first entering the MUD to see how it's done.