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README.1ST
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1994-11-28
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"Playing MUDs is becoming the addiction of the '90s."
- Wired Magazine, March 1994
Other Files You Should Read
───────────────────────────
QUICK.TXT Quick-Start Guide
WALKTHRU.TXT A complete look at IP&M features and commands
PROBLEMS.TXT Common problems setting up the demo version
EXAMPLES.ZIP Contains good examples of Internet MUDding
SUBMIT.TXT Guidelines for submitting freelance IP&M modules
MONEY.TXT Making money with IP&M
INDUSTRIAL PROSE & MAGIC
The Commercial MUD Developer's Studio
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You probably run a BBS. And you'd probably like to make it more
popular. At least, that's our assumption about everyone who's reading
this. You also probably like to stay on the leading (bleeding?) edge of
the online revolution.
So let's talk about MUDs.
Before we even define the term, consider what recent books and
magazines are saying about the addictive quality of MUDs:
"I am concerned about the degree to which people find MUDs
enchanting. We have people who use LambdaMOO who are not in control
of their usage who are, I believe, seriously and clinically
addicted...These people aren't addicted to playing video games. It
wouldn't do the same thing for them..They're communication
addicted...We're talking about people who spend up to seventy hours
a week connected and active on a MUD. Seventy hours a week, while
they're trying to put themselves through school at Cambridge. I'm
talking about a fellow who's supposed to be at home in Cambridge to
see his family for the holidays, missed his train by five hours,
phoned his parents, lied about why he was late, got on the next
train, got home at 12:30 in the morning, didn't go home, went to a
terminal room at Cambridge University and MUDded for another two
hours. He arrived home at 2:30 in the morning to find the police
and some panicked parents, and then began to wonder if maybe he
wasn't in control."
- Pavel Curtis, Xerox Palo Alto Research Center
THE VIRTUAL COMMUNITY, by Howard Rheingold
"MUDs are the latest rage on college campuses all around the world.
They are online virtual worlds built from words; they are so popular
that educators are alarmed. Australia has even banned them."
- Wired Magazine, July/August 1993
"Strange and wonderful things are happening out where the Internet
ends. It's not just on LambdaMOO, one of the biggest and most
versatile of the MOOs, but on the hundreds of MUDs, Mucks, Mushes
that are propagating on the Net like jackrabbit warrens. There's a
virtual place for everyone. You can live in some of these places, in
the sense that you can spend most of your waking hours there, in a
computer-simulated space. A lot of people do. They're moving in
and setting up camp."
- Josh Quittner, Wired Magazine, March 1994
Since the chances are good that you're new to MUDs, let's continue by
answering a few basic questions.
What is a MUD?
──────────────
MUDs, or Multi-User-Dungeons, are virtual worlds built primarily
with text, but now (with the release of IP&M) graphics as well. Most are
based on science fiction or fantasy worlds, like Star Trek and The Lord
of the Rings. They originated on the Internet back in 1979, but are just
now available to people in the DOS world (again, with the release of
IP&M).
Whole chapters of books have been devoted to the MUD phenomenon, in
an attempt to figure out why they're so popular. Most researchers seem
to feel that it's the ability to offer new identities to callers, and to
roleplay them with others in real-time, in a shared-imagination world,
that makes them so popular.
How does this new medium work? As a MUD producer, you are the one
that creates the scenery, the background, and the dramatic reason for
there to be a community. Perhaps you make a starship that boldly goes
where no one has gone before. Or a fantasy world, in which an evil
sorcerer has subjugated the world. Or a gothic world, in which vampires
lurk in the shadows for their next victim.
But instead of getting actors to act out your story, you open your
MUD to the outside world. Anybody who wants to experience your creation
can invent a character to live there. Callers can hack through dungeons
together, explore new worlds together, and create new myths together.
And as producer, you get to throw puzzles, monsters, and all sorts
of difficulties at your callers. But you also get to watch and be a
part of the drama as it unfolds, without knowing what will happen next.
To those in the online service industry, MUDs are an exciting new
opportunity. In essence, a new entertainment medium has arrived. One
just as revolutionary as the television and silver screen. And one
that's apparently the most addictive of all.
For Newcomers
─────────────
If you are a newcomer to MUDs, unzip the EXAMPLES.ZIP file that came
with this file. It contains text files describing two popular Internet
MUDs: one based on Anne McCaffrey's Dragonriders of Pern series, the
other on Roger Zelazny's Amber novels. You'll also find an excellent
essay on the dramatic and roleplaying dynamics of MUDs in the file
TINYPLOT.TXT. These files will give you a much more in-depth
introduction to MUDs.
Internet MUDs vs. Industrial Prose & Magic MUDs
───────────────────────────────────────────────
If you have experienced Internet MUDs, then you know some of what we
are offering with IP&M. But we have also taken MUDding to new
territory:
o You can create MUDs that run under DOS, that communicate not through
the Internet but through standard phone connections. You can run
them stand-alone, or integrate them into BBSs as doors using a
DOOR.SYS drop file. This means that commercial MUDding is now
feasible, since callers can subscribe to them just as they do to
BBSs.
o While Internet MUDs are straight text, IP&M MUDs support both RIP
and ANSI graphics, adding the visual dimension to the experience.
The display is fully windowed, and an on-screen map allows easy,
single-keystroke navigation for callers.
o IP&M characters are persistent, meaning that they live in the MUD
even when the callers that created them log off. For example,
hot-phrases can be defined that allow a character to respond
automatically to the conversations of others. And verbs can be
defined by the callers themselves to work with their characters.
o With Internet MUDs, producers have had to invest a lot of time to
create and maintain their worlds. Many Internet MUDs can't be
developed online in real-time. With IP&M, you can develop a
full-blown world interactively, and over a weekend. And you don't
need to be a C programmer. In fact, you don't need any technical
expertise at all, because:
o IP&M MUDs are developed without using a complicated script language.
All development is prompt-oriented. You tell the system what you
want to make, it asks you a few questions, and it does it itself.
All this can be done locally or from a remote location.
The Details
───────────
Industrial Prose & Magic will work with any BBS that can generate a
DOOR.SYS drop file (check your BBS documentation). It can also be run
by itself, without a BBS, taking care of the features you'd need a BBS
for.
Industrial Prose & Magic sells for $249. The package includes a
detailed, indexed manual, in which all of the commands and functions are
thoroughly explained, and plenty of real examples given. You will also
receive unlimited technical support at our home BBS, Software Creations:
(508) 368-7139.
You can use your credit card to order (Visa/MC), either by calling
our voice number at (404) 635-0931, or by leaving a message to our staff
on our MUD, at (404) 627-4161. In your message, make sure to leave your
name, the name on the card, your address, card number, card type,
expiration date, and phone number. (Don't worry, nobody else can read
messages directed to our staff).
If you'd rather pay by check, make it out to Continuum Software and
mail it to: Continuum Software, 916 Underwood Ave SE, Atlanta, GA 30316.
Features and Specifications
───────────────────────────
o Recommended hardware: 386/33 or better; 4 megs of RAM or better;
10 megs of free disk space or better
o Runs under DOS, Windows, or Desqview
o Runs stand-alone or as a BBS door (using DOOR.SYS)
o Supports both RIP and ANSI graphics
o Supports real-time, online world building, by producers, wizards,
and users
o Onscreen map indicates user location graphically, and allows
single-keystroke navigation
o Supports open-ended vocabulary and rule creation
o Producer-definable skills and attributes for characters
o Has an internal mail system
o Producer-definable treasure, weapons, and monsters
o User-definable characters, including descriptions, actions, and
hot-phrases
o Unlimited number of definable objects, puzzles, places, and
non-player characters
o Unlimited number of bulletin board objects, which can contain files
and messages
o Simple, non-programmer interface, usable by anyone
o Internal callback verification system
o Extensible News and Help systems
o Definable screen fonts for producer
o Fully configurable security and access levels
Future Enhancements
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Industrial Prose & Magic is not a static product; like any good
software, we have lots of plans for improving it. Our best ideas come
from you, our users, and if you ask any of our veteran customers they
will tell you that we listen and quickly implement nearly all of the
changes that are doable and fit in line with where the product is
heading.
We welcome any and all feedback on this package. We want to make it
the most enjoyable experience to be found online today. The easiest way
to give us suggestions is on our support conference (220) at Software
Creations, our home BBS: (508-368-7139). While some may not be feasible
in the near future, we guarantee that we look in depth at any and every
suggestion that crosses our desks.
All upgrades to future version are free for one year; after that, a
minimal upgrade fee will be charged on a yearly basis for new releases.