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Archive-name: games/mud/diku/part1
------------------------------------------------------------------------------
DikuMud FAQ (Frequently Asked Questions)
------------------------------------------------------------------------------
Last Update--05-14-93
------------------------------------------------------------------------------
Authored/Compiled by Frederick Myers <reni> <mondays@bsu-cs.bsu.edu>
This document will be posted bi-weekly to rec.games.mud.diku. The offical
archive site will be 147.226.11.94 in pub/reni/mud/faq/
The following is the FAQ for rec.games.mud.diku and a general game
FAQ for DikuMud games. This FAQ is divided up into three different
sections: INTRO (general information and background) , IMP_BUILDING (questions
concerning starting a mud, building areas, etc), and FTP (well known ftp
sites for various Diku mud utilities, patches, and sources).
More information on muds can be received from rec.games.mud.announce (a
general 3 part mud FAQ is posted there), online within whichever
mud you decided to play, and from the various ftp sites located at
the end of this document.
All information is correct to the best of my knowledge. I take no
no responsibility for any inaccuracies contained in this document.
This document may be distributed freely. Any use of any of the contents
here-in must be credited and the author should be notified if possible.
------------------------------------------------------------------------------
##INTRO##
"What is a Diku Mud?"
A DikuMud is s specific species of one of the fastest growing forms
of computer games called Mud. For more information on
muds in general, please consult the general mud FAQ
posted on rec.games.mud.announce.
DikuMuds are highly influenced on the AD&D format for adventuring.
Though DikuMuds are not an exact duplicate of AD&D, both share
many common qualities, enough so a person who is familar with
AD&D will feel quite at home with the DikuMud world. But by
no means is AD&D experience required for a person to prove
to be successful.
While some muds are based on pure social interaction and
some based on pure fighting, DikuMuds are evolving into the first
intelligent compromise between the two.
"Where did this DikuMud come from?"
DikuMud was originally developed by Katja Nyboe, Tom Madsen,
Hans Henrik Staerfeldt, Michael Seifert, and Sebastian Hammer.
A small bit of background of DikuMud, according to
Sebastian Hammer:
"The game originated at the Department of Computer Science at the
University of Copenhagen (in Danish: Datalogisk Institut ved
K|benhavns Universitet; or, amongst friends: DIKU) The foundations
of the code were laid out in March of 1990. Our background (Mud-wise)
was primarily Abermud (LpMud was just emerging at the time), and
our object was to make a better AberMud. We wanted to make it
fast, compact and CPU-efficient. We wanted to allow more than
the 18 (or so) players-at-a-time that AberMuds permitted in thos
days, and we wanted a bigger world, so that players could truly
get lost in there (back then, 500 room AberMuds seemed the norm).
Also, we wanted to make it more interesting for players to
cooperate, rather than just run madly around in search of beasts to
kill.
I guess we reached some of our goals, but far from all of them.
Currently, we are working on DikuMud II, which is still
under debugging. We have ceased to support the original code in any
way, since so many "improved" versions have started to circulate"
"Where and how do I connect to a DikuMud?"
DikuMuds are located on different computers throughout
the world. These computers can be at universities, companies,
or even be personal workstations. To connect to these games, you
need two things-
1)Access to telnet.
2)The mud's host name or IP number and
the protocal port that the paticular
mud is running on.
Telnet is, to put it very simply, like a telephone. From the
computer, you "dial in" where you want to connect to
and your in (assuming the game is up).
Since most people are going to play on a VAX/VMS or
Unix based platform, I will use those for examples
on how to connect. Asgard.cs.bsu.edu 6969 will be the
mud we will use as an example to connect to.
(147.226.112.94 is the IP number of that same machine).
From a unix based machine- (The % is your prompt)
%telnet asgard.cs.bsu.edu 6969
or
%telnet 147.226.112.94 6969
or
%telnet <CR> <- That means hit the return key
telnet>open asgard.cs.bsu.edu 6969
From a VMS based machine- (The $ is your prompt)
$telnet asgard.cs.bsu.edu/port=6969
or
$telnet/port=6969 asgard.cs.bsu.edu
or
$telnet <CR>
telnet>asgard.cs.bsu.edu 6969
or
$telnet/port=6969 147.226.112.94
***NOTE*** Some versions of VMS choke when you use the
IP numbers, so it is suggested that you use the
name instead of numbers.
"Where can I find out where these muds are located"
Word of mouth is a good way. So are the news groups.
Different muds are always being mentioned in
rec.games.mud.diku plus a listing is posted every
two weeks in rec.games.mud.announce. Look for the
"Totally Unofficial List of Internet Muds".
"Ok, I'm connected, what do I do now?"
Many DikuMud's have a lot of differences on how a person
goes about making a character. But there are some common
similarities between all of them.
-Name- This will be your character's name for the
game. It is suggested that you do not make up
a name that is complicated to spell (something
like Gustralieb you be a pain for other
players to type) or something that could possibly
be the name of a monster in the game (something
like Dragon or Guard has a great posibility
of being a monster (or mob) in the game). If your
name is one of the above, you can find yourself
being killed at times when a sensible name could
have saved your life.
-Password- This is what will prevent other people from
playing your character. Pick a password word that
is hard to guess and one that you currently do not
use on another mud or system.
Bad passwords include your real name, character name,
and anything less than 3 characters.
It is recomended that you choose something that
includes some non-standrard Alpha characters such as
# or @ or * (you get the idea). So, a password
like #Chapo1* would be a good, hard to guess password.
-Sex- No, not if you get any, but what gender you want
to be. Most commonly this will be Male or Female, but
a few muds have the option of being Other or Neuter.
-Class- There are usually four basic classes that
DikuMuds usually have.
1)Cleric - a healer
2)Warrior - a fighter
3)Magic User - a spell caster
4)Thief - a rogue
Some muds also have many other split style classes
such as Rangers, Paladins, Bards, etc. Usually on the
log-on screen, there will be some sort of online help
that will help you in the decision of your class.
There are a few other things some muds include such
as hometown and stats. For these items, there should
be sufficient online help to guide you through on the
paticular DikuMud you are playing.
"What is a client program, or TINTIN?"
A client program is basically a program that you
use to connect to a mud that has many enchanced features to
help (in some opinion 'cheat') in the game. The most commonly
used client for DikuMuds is TINTIN. TINTIN was specifically designed
for play on DikuMuds and is only available for Unix platforms.
Such features could be things like macros, aliases, and triggers.
Sites where you can get tintin is listed later in this document.
Further info on clients programs and their fucntions is contained
in the bi-weekely rec.games.mud.announce FAQs.
"Ok, I have a character, now what do I do?"
First thing you would want to do is get to know
the mud and it's commands. Some things you can do is type...
1)HELP- This will give a general listing
of the commands available.
2)INFO- Will give you a brief introduction
to the paticular mud you are playing.
3)COMMANDS- This command is not on all muds, but
what it does is gives you a listing of all the
commands available to your character.
4) HELP <keyword>- This will give you a more
precise definition. An example of what you
could type is HELP SAY. This will give you
an explaination and proper syntax for the
command say.
Ask around. Most people are general nice by nature and will
offer some (sometimes a lot, sometime very very little) help if
you ask nicely and are not annoying about it.
Read everything you see. Things like the MOTD (Message Of The
Day, which you see right before you enter the game) will provide
very important information sometimes.
"What are hit points, mana, & movement?"
Hit Points -- A numeric representation of the amount of hits/damage
that your character can take. Everytime you are hit, you loose
some amount of hit points. You are considered officially dead
when you reach -11 hit points, though at 0 you can not do anything
except for hope there is someone around who will heal you.
Mana -- This is the amount of spells you can cast. Everytime you
cast a spell, a certain amount of mana is subtracted from your
working total of mana. Mana is like the working energy that
you can use to cast spells.
Movement -- This is the amount that you can walk/run etc etc.
A decent comparison could be the amount of energy your
player has. Some skills also subtract from you movement
points.
"What are some other things that I should know?"
Don't be annoying. Such things are constanly whinning
to other players and wizards will be the quickest way
of being rejected by the players of the mud.
Avoid player killing unless it has been _explicitly_
allowed on the mud you are playing. Usually if player killing
is not allowed on a mud, and someone violates this, it is dealt
with very sternly.
Avoid unecessary shouts. Such things as shouting
"LAAAAAAGGGG", "GOODBYE SO-AND-SO", "LEVEL!!!", etc generally
do nothing but annoy other players and can be taken
care of by using tell or say.
Don't litter. Leaving junk around does nothing more than
drain the machines resources. See if the mud you are playing
has the junk command or a dump where you can dispose of
uneeded items.
Remeber, that it is only a game and the main purpose is for
you, as a player, to have fun, explore, and talk to people.
And do not let mud playing take priority over you school/job
work, which happens all to often.
"What is a crash?"
A crash occurs when a)The system that the mud is located
fails or b)The actual mud itself fails. When a mud crashes, you
will be thrown out of the game and you will not be able to
connect back to the game until it is rebooted.
Because of crashes, the importance of saving you character
is very important. All you need to to do is type 'save' and your
character is saved, thats it. No excuses.
In event the game does crash, and you loose items/experience, then
usually (not always, and it is not required) immortals/gods will
reimburse your items. But remember, the keys words for you to get
reimbursed is politeness and courtsey. Chances are, if you lost
something, then other players did to. Avoid telling your local god 100
times that you lost something. Usually, if you told them once,
they know and will get to you as soon as they can. And remember,
nowhere does it say they have to reimburse you.
In the event of a crash, do not go straight to rec.games.mud.diku
and post a message saying "Blah mud crashed 4 seconds ago, what
happened?". That posting will usually be met with negative
reponses. POST TO THE NET ONLY AS A LAST RESORT. If the game
is going to be down for an extended amount of time or if there
are serious problems, usually there will be a message at the
port the game ran on, or there will be a posting on rec.games.mud.diku
concerning the down time.
"What is some of the slang or jargon I hear on these muds?"
-brb --- Means be right back.
-rl --- Means real life. Something like "I'm bored rl" is
commonly heard.
-brb rl --- Put the two together and you get "Be right
back, real life". You know, like going to the bathroom.
-pk, pk'ing --- Player Killer and Player Killing.
-newbie --- Someone who is new to the game. Associated
with the word clueless.
-mob --- A mobile, a monster in the game.
-immort --- A player who has achiver immortality on the
mud and is considered a god.
-imp(s) --- The person(s) who run the mud. They have final say
over everything.
-afk --- Away from keyboard.
-afw --- Away from window.
-inv --- Your inventory, what you have on you and is not
currently equiped.
-equip --- The items that you are currently using. Like the armor
you are wearing.
"What about this newsgroup, rec.games.mud.diku?"
This newsgroup was designed to help filter a lot of
traffic that flowed through the newsgroup rec.games.mud.
The newsgroup is designed for discussions about anything
pretaining to DikuMud games. Anyone or anything is open,
though messages that obviously have no purpose, like
"Big Fat Hairy Mud Rules/Sucks!!!!" are generally frowned
upon and are a waste of people's time and of network
resources.
"What is DikuII, and when can I expect to see it?"
A note on DikuII from Sebastian Hammer:
"DikuMud II is our attempt to deal with some of the shortcomings of the
original game. The number of widely different Diku-versions out there
indicated to us that there was a need for a stronger base system for
people to work on. Some of the main improvements are:
* A much more powerful Special Procedure system, allowing an arbitrary
number of special routines to be associated with a mobile, and to
be called at different times. One procedure interprets a simple
mobile-control language, so that a lot of actions can be controlled
straight out of the data files - no recompilation needed. This system
also forms the base of an automated Law Enforcement system, which
keeps the cities clean and safe with a smile.
* A totally revised scoring system.
* A better function-call structure. The game_loop from comm.c has been
replaced by an event-driving sort of thing - adding a ton of
flexibility and greatly reducing CPU-usage.
* Cleaner internal data structures - most of the world-related
structures from structs.h have been turned into a single structure
with various appendages. This allows a bunch of fun things like
carrying eachother (horses), entering boxes, etc.
* A new format for the data files (no online building - it's still our
belief that the best worlds are written in a word processor), using
symbolic names, the C-preprocessor. Data is sanity-checked and
converted into a binary format which also forms the base of the:
* Flexible object-saving and crash-protecting system.
* Various other changes, such as much cleaner shop-code, a
mail-system, better bulletin boards, etc., etc.
The release date is still unresolved, but all of the above is
implemented and functioning quite well. Debugging and cleaning
remains."
##IMP_BUILDING##
"I really like DikuMuds, I want to start my own!"
Well, before you go off and do that, there are some
things you need to know or have.
1)A good, working knowledge of C. Though with the
amount of enhanced muds that are available, this
is still a good thing to know becuase you are never
going to find 100% bug free code.
2)A machine. Some general requirements include:
a)32-bit processor
b)5+ megs available (greater than 10 is desirable)
c)2-8 megs of available memory
d)Network bandwith running(to Internet) at about
50 kilobits/second
DikuMuds are not very CPU intensive, so very little
CPU time is needed for all practical purposes.
3)Explicit System Administrator Approval. muds do not
go unnoticed on any machine where there are any other
users. Get this before you do anything or you could
find hours and hours of hard work down the drain.
4)A large amount of time to devote to actaul work
on the mud and time to spend online in the game
doing administrative duties. This has caused the
eventual death of many muds.
5)A creative mind. Be creative about your work, no one
really cares for a dull, boring mud.
"Well, I do not want to run my own mud, but I would like to create an area."
Some tips in writting an area.
1)Get documentation- Basic DikuMud documention
is helpful, but ask a wizard at the mud you would
like to build for documentation that was made specifically
for that mud. This is helpful because the actual format
for area creation and many of the different bitvectors
vary greatly from mud to mud.
2)Muditors are very helpful. The most common is
Muditor V.5. Some muds have online creation which
will enable a person to create and area online. Consult
your local mud admin for more information about online
creation.
3)Planning. Plan out your area. Make a detailed map and
think of a good general story or theme for your
area before you start construction.
4)Don't just make an area for the sake of it. If you
make an area jsut for the sake of it, this usually
shows and people do not want a boring, non-planned
area. All you will do is waste your time and the
admin's time.
##FTP##
Below is a list of commonly used sites for DikuMud related
items. All sites/contents are subject to change.
ucbvax.berkeley.edu-- pub/games/dikumud
contains-
Source- MERC (most recent), Copper2,
v.1 Standard DIKU Release,
& Wizzy.
Patches-oset, whod, and alias.
Worlds-arachnos, dwarven kingdom, and
mage tower.
Editors-mudiotor v.5, DIKUedit.
Clients-TINTIN v.2 and v.3.
ferkel.ucsb.edu-- pub/DikuMUD
Contents vary. Most stuff is usually
found in the incoming directory. As of
this posting, this site contains MERC and
TINTIN.
ftp.math.okstate.edu-- pub/muds
Contents vary. Has Merc v1.0 and TINTIN v.2.
147.226.112.94-- pub/reni/dikumud
Archive site for this FAQ.
SillyMud.
Accepting uploads.
coyote.cs.wmich.edu-- pub/Games/Diku
Contents include Arachnos, Dwarven, and Drow areas.
ZoneMaker v1.2, TINTIN, and standard documentation.
ftp.lysator.liu.se-- pub/lpmud/clients
Has pmf, another commonly (but less) used client
program.
ftp.cis.ufl.edu-- pub/games/mud
Includes Silly.tar.Z
One final note---Playing a mud of any sort is NOT a right. The people who
run the game and the people who owns/runs the system that you
are playing from are not required to let you play. If you abuse
your privledge of playing, there are good chances that it will
be taken away
-----------------------------------------------------------------------------
Special thanks to-
Sebastian Hammer for donating some notes on DikuII and on
the history of DikuMud.
Adam Coggins for doing spelling and grammar checking.
also Furey, Jon Vahlberg, Sven Nielsen, Dan Brumleve,
Naved Surve, Mort, and Bombman for various other
contributions.
------------------------------------------------------------------------------
|||-------|||-------|||-------|||-------|||-------|||-------|||
frederick myers ||| I don't mind about the state
mondays@bsu-cs.bsu.edu ||| of mind. You know it's good
reni@asgard.cs.bsu.edu ||| for nothing and I left you
00fwmyers@virgo.bsuvc.bsu.edu ||| behind.
|||-------|||-------|||-------|||-------|||-------|||-------|||
Archive-name: games/mud/diku/faq2
This is an unoffical listing of publicly available DikuMuds. This list
is far from complete and entries are made on a request based matter only.
All submissions should be e-mailed to mondays@bsu-cs.bsu.edu and be
contained in the format that others entries are made below. Please include
in the notes section what code base the mud is (Merc, Basic, Silly Mud, etc).
Please, all entries must be sent by someone who actually _RUNS_ the mud, not
just some player or some low immortal.
All administrative messages (addidtions, deletions, corrections, etc) should
be mailed to mondays@bsu-cs.bsu.edu (Frederick Myers).
This list will be posted about every two weeks with the rec.games.mud.diku
FAQ. This list will also be archived at 147.226.112.94 in pub/reni/dikumud.
##############################################################################
Name: AlexMUD
Address: mud.stacken.kth.se (130.237.234.14)
Port: 4000
Levels: 20
Classes: 4
Areas: ?
Player Killing: No
Base Source: Gamma 0.0
Notes: Oldest DikuMUD in existence. :-)
##############################################################################
Name: AnotherDikuMUD.
Address: osiris.nmt.edu (129.138.13.14)
Port: 4000
Levels: 50
Classes: 4
Areas: 40 (2.5k room)
Player Killing: Yes
Base Source: Diku-Gamma0.0b
Notes: The mud is based upon medival, and the aim of the game is to make
it look a bit like the game Moria/Angband. Missile weapons are in,
with new skills and spells for all classes. There's a law system,
much like DikuII's law sytem.
##############################################################################
Name: Arctic DikuMUD
Address: Not Public (Beta Testing)
Port Number: Not Public (Beta Testing)
Levels: 30 Mortal Levels 9 Immortal Levels
Classes: 9
Number of Areas: Over 50 exclusive (new) zones
Player Killing: Yes
Base Source: Gamma 0.0
Notes:
DragonLance Based Theme
Brand New World (5000+ rooms)
Completely rewritten from Base Code (NOT A CLONE)
Spell Memorization, Skills Progression
New Alignment System (Chaotic Evil <-> Lawful Good)
Creation Priviledges are possible for those who earn Immortality
Open System favoring realistic player interaction. (PKing and Stealing Allowed)
Experienced Administration
Contact gt9398b@prism.gatech.edu for Beta Test Information.
##############################################################################
Name: Asgard Diku (formerly TNG Diku)
Address: 147.226.112.94
Port: 6969 (if not there, try 6699)
Levels: 50 mortal, 6 immortal
Classes: 6
Areas: 62
Player Killing: Allowed in arena.
Base Source: Sequent I
Notes: Besides normal classes, paladins and rangers are included. Our
system includes a fully adjustable graphical window prompt. Many areas
include some that are exclsive to the mud. Many "user convient" commands
have been added. Other features include mail, hospital, meta-physician,
assassins, plus more. All new characters are auto-loaded with a modest
starter package.
##############################################################################
Name: Challenger MUD
Address: 128.227.16.222
Port: 4000
Levels: 30 Mortal levels
Classes: 8 classes
Areas: about 50 zones, half original
Player Killing: Allowed with some protection for newbies
Base Source: Gamma 0.0 Heavily modified
Notes: -None-
##############################################################################
Name: Dark Shadow's DikuMUD (Used to be Sequent I ran by Savaki)
Address: hobbes.linfield.edu
Port: 7777
Levels: 24 (Standard)
Classes: 10
Areas: 75
Player Killing: No
Base Source: Scratch
Notes: Very unique MUD, many unique features, total new death system, new
guild system, new god system (Dieties, Religions), languages, and
a good player base.
##############################################################################
Name: Formosa
Address: imux200.ncu.edu.tw (im.mgt.ncu.edu.tw) 140.115.83.200
Port: 4000
Levels: mortals - 50, immortals - 10
Classes: 4
Areas: 84 zones
Player Killing: Absolutely NO
Base Source: Silly
Notes: crashed often, and cannot carry heavy loads for network..btw, the crash
reason isn't the code bug, but the sysop cut it...:(
##############################################################################
Name: GrimneMUD
Address: gytje.pvv.unit.no (129.241.36.229)
Port: 4000
Levels: 50 mortal, 10 immortal
Classes: 4
Areas: 113 zones
Player Killing: No
Base Source: Gamma 0.0
Notes: Officially opened early '91. Several more or less unique spells,
skills and areas exists along with some of the more common ones.
You can also buy stats from a shaman, but that's pretty expensive.
##############################################################################
Name: Jedi Mud
Address: stimpy.psy.jhu.edu 128.220.27.102
Port: 4000
Levels: ?
Classes: ?
Areas: 70
Player Killing: EXTREMELY limited
Base Source: Sequent I
Notes: This is a very large mud with a great number of areas/optimizations.
It is constantly undergoing changes/improvements and has been down less than
14 days since we went public in August of 1992.
##############################################################################
Name: Mud Lite
Address: haas.berkeley.edu
Port Number: 4000 (4001 or 4002 when socket freezes)
Levels: 30
Classes: 5, soon to be 7
Areas: 2000 rooms and growing
Player Killing: Yes
Base Source: Merc (though very unmerc-like)
Notes:
Site will move soon to haasnext1.berkeley.edu as soon as we fix a few
network probs. We will be 24hr then too. at the moment, we cannot run
during weekdays 9am-6pm PST, we are up all other times though.
##############################################################################
Name: Mudde Pathetique
Address: flysex.berkeley.edu (128.32.128.36)
Port Number: 2999
Levels: 20
Classes: 4
Areas: about 40
Player Killing: Yes
Base Source: modified Gamma 0.0
Notes: The worst mud on the internet.
##############################################################################
Name: The Perilous Realms
Address: odin.wosc.osshe.edu (140.211.111.20)
Port: 2150
Levels: 500
Classes: 36
Areas: 90
Player Killing: sort of
Base Source: The 1991 version of silly
Notes: If your expecting a mud that looks like silly we are not it. The source
has been almost 100% rewritten by now. If your looking for a mud where you have
to work a little to get somewhere then we might be it. We have many new and
unique things not seen on most other muds but we are also not the easiest mud
on the net. If you dont like lots of changes you also probably wont like us as
we are constantly updating and changing things. If you want to help shape a
growing mud come see us and come with your ideas in hand (or mind).
Open for a year. Hours are full time.
##############################################################################
Name: Rivers of Mud
Address: cie-2.uoregon.edu
Port: 9000
Levels: 30 mortal, 5 immortal
Classes: 4
Areas: 45
Player Killing:?
Base Source: Merc v1.0
Notes: None
##############################################################################
Name: SillyMUD
Address: doldrums.cis.ufl.edu (128.227.224.35)
Port: 4000/4001
Levels: 60 (50 Mortal)
Classes: 6 plus multi-class
Areas: ?
Player Killing: Of Course!
Base Source: SillyMUD
Notes: The developement site for SillyMUD. Current version includes vt100
display, programming language, event processing, static world (the
world saves and reboots as is, in event of a crash), on-line creation,
realistic mobiles, plus many skills and spells.
##############################################################################
Name: Snebo-Land
Address: thrash.isca.uiowa.edu (128.255.19.235)
Port: 4000
Levels: 50
Classes: 5
Areas: 58 Zones....
Player Killing: Tolerated, but being phazed out
Base Source: Sequent I
Notes:Heavily modified, friendly players, visable gods, right now in chaos mode
##############################################################################