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Introduction

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Sample Zone

Here is an example of a complete zone file containing one mobile, two objects and two locations.

Submitted zones are expected to follow a similar format with respect to alignment (use spaces, not tabs) and clarity.

#include "exits.h" 
#include "cflags.h"
#include "undef.h"

/* This is a comment. */

%difficulty
Level = 5

%mobiles

Name        = orc1
Pname       = "Unk"
Altname     = "orc"
Location    = cave1
Sflags      { Female }
Mflags      { CanDisarm SeeInvis }
MMflags     {Bashes}
Strength    = 100
Speed       = 0
Aggression  = 0
Damage      = 10
Armor       = 0
Gold        = 5
Setin       = "Unk crawls in on all fours."
Setout      = "Unk crawls %s."
Taunt       = "Enraged by the color of your hair, Unk attacks!"
DeathMsg    = "Unk lets out a piercing scream and collapses."
Description = "&+RUnk&* is scratching her fleas here."
Examine     = "
Not the sort of girl you'd bring home to meet Mom."
FamHintExam = "Salulon, she looks dangerous!"
FamHintKill = "Do you think that was wise?"
End         = orc1

%objects

Name        = biscuit
AltName     = "food"
Location    = IN_ROOM:cave2
Oflags      { Food }
Tflags      { }
Durability  = 50
Desc[0]     = "A stale &+Bbiscuit&* has been dropped here."
Examine     = "
It's better than starvation, although not by much."
FamHintExam = "No thanks, I'm not that hungry!"
End         = biscuit

Name        = club
AltName     = "stick"
Location    = WIELDED_BY:orc1
Oflags      { Weapon Lightable Extinguish }
Tflags      { }
Damage      = 15
Durability  = 50
Desc[0]     = "A heavy &+Bclub&* has been discarded here."
Examine     = "
Dried bits of its victim's brains are encrusted on this heavy club.  Don't
drop it on your toe!"
FamHintExam = "It might provide you with light, too, Salulon."
End         = club

%locations

cave1 n:cave2;
lflags { Dark }
Dark Cave^
    This is where the text of the room description goes. Line length must be 
less than 80 characters, not including color code.
^

cave2 s:cave1;
lflags { Dark }
Tunnel^
    The walls of this underground tunnel close in on you like the 
hands of some angry and powerful Earth God.
^
FamHintRoom = "I don't like it in here, Salulon!"
^

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Zone Format

Comments

Comments may appear anywhere in your zone file. Any text enclosed with within /* these marks */ is not read by the MUD. Comments may be any number of lines, and may not be nested.

Headers

Every zone starts with the following three lines:

#include "exits.h"         
#include "cflags.h"      
#include "undef.h"

Difficulty

The next lines specify the approximate player level that the zone is aimed for:

%difficulty
Level = 16

Mobiles

Mobiles are the monsters that you meet on the MUD. Begin the section of your zone file that describes your mobiles with this line:

%mobiles

Explanation of the Fields Used To Describe Mobiles:

The order these fields are laid out in the file generally does not matter, however the Name and End fields must always be the first and last, respectively, for each mobile.

Objects

Objects are the items in the MUD - the things you can examine, push, pull, get, wield, wear, etc.

Begin the section of your zone file that describes your mobiles with this line:

%objects

Explanation of the Fields Used To Describe Objects:

The order these fields are laid out in the file generally does not matter, however the Name and End fields must always be the first and last, respectively, for each object.

Doors

A door is created by linking two objects together. In the example below note that the two objects reference each other in their "Linked" fields:

Name     = InsideDoor
PName    = door
Linked   = OutsideDoor
State    = 2
MaxState = 2
Location = IN_ROOM:Sith1
OFlags   { Openable NoGet Lockable }
Desc[0]  = "The door is open."
Desc[1]  = "The door is closed."
Desc[2]  = "The door is locked."
End      = InsideDoor

Name     = OutsideDoor
PName    = door
Linked   = InsideDoor
State    = 2
MaxState = 2
Location = IN_ROOM:Sith2
OFlags   { Openable NoGet Lockable }
Desc[0]  = "The door is open."
Desc[1]  = "The door is closed."
Desc[2]  = "The door is locked."
End      = OutsideDoor

Here is an example of how the door we just created might be used to connect two rooms:

Sith1 n:^InsideDoor;
LFlags {}
Inside Brughadir^
   You stand within the great hall of the Brughadir. All around is
desolate and barren, the hall long ago ransacked by forces of
unimaginable evil.  The only obvious exit is a small wooden door to
your north.
^

Sith2 s:^OutsideDoor;
LFlags {Outdoors}
Within the great gardens^
    You emerge from the dank, dark Brughadir and find yourself in the
once great gardens of Brughadir. All around you is now a natural
wasteland. Plants and vines are tangled in an eternal battle for light.
Rosebushes are choked with vine and weed and all around there are
echoes of ancient beauty from a time long forgotten.  To your &+Csouth&* 
lies the main hall of the Brughadir.
^

Note that the exits from these rooms have the ^ after the colon. This is required when an exit points to a door. You do not have to worry about the door, it will take care of itself. As long as you ensure that the rooms reference the door objects with the ^ symbol, and that they are LINKED correctly and in the correct LOCATION, everything will operate properly.

Locations

A room is any location at which a player may stand and get a description.

Begin the section of your zone file describing the locations with this line:

%locations

When writing your locations it is advisable to work from a map. When you have completed your zone, go back over the map to ensure that all the exits lead to where you expect them to.

Explanation of Fields Used in Location Descriptions:

Locations follow the following basic template:

RoomName Exit:RoomName;
LFlags {Room's LFlags}
Room Title^
  Room Description
^
FamHintRoom = 
^

For instance:

entrance n:road e:cornfield w:orchard;
LFlags {Outdoors NoMobiles}
Kingdom Of Tolmansith^
   You stand at the entrance to the Kingdom of Tolmansith. As far as
the eye can see, low flat lands sprawl. It seems agriculture is a
mainstay of this kingdom's wealth as all around you lie cultivated
fields of many different crops. Strangely all the fields seem deserted,
all work abandoned. You can but wonder where everyone has gone. To
your &+Cwest&* lies a vast orchard. To your &+Ceast&* is a field of golden
corn. The road continues to the &+Cnorth&*.
^
FamHintRoom = I wonder if something is buried here.
^

Room Name: In this example, "entrance" is the name the code knows the room by. Please use descriptive names here, not numbers. The MUD will automatically number your locations and if you number your locations myzone1, myzone2 etc, massive confusion will result when your hard coded room names do not match those automatically generated by the MUD when it builds. If you submit a zone this way, expect to have it returned.

Room description: Please use a fixed width font such as Courier for your room text, using no more than 79 chars/line. See the style guide for guidelines for room descriptions.

Exits: Following the name, list any exits from this location. Our example room has exits to the north, east and west to other rooms in the zone. See the section on doors for handling of doors. If the exit from a location leads to a location in a different zone, that zone must be specified (i.e. s:shady@blizzard).

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Specials

At some point you are going to want to do something that is simply not possible using only the above information. Maybe you want to push a boulder off a cliff in order to kill a hideous troll. How do you do this? Well, you don't. What you have to do is let the coder know that you wish this to be done when the zone is implemented. A second file must be sent along with your zone file containing descriptions, in plain english, of what you want to have happen in these special circumstances.

For example:

I would like a special that when the boulder in location ledge is pushed off the cliff it falls down and squashes the troll in location ledge_bottom. The boulder is moved to ledge_bottom and the troll is killed.

When the player pushes the boulder they should get the message: "You watch as the boulder plummets of the edge of the cliff and hurtles towards the troll, at the last moment the troll looks up, but his Neanderthal brain cannot process the danger and is squashed to a pulp before he can move."

Other people in the room should see the message: "<player name> pushes the boulder off the cliff."

Remember to try to outline all the different scenarios that might occur when your special is executed. What if the troll is already dead before boulder is pushed? What if a Player is in the room with the Troll, what should they see? Please do not try and tell the coder how to write the special, just write in plain English what you want to have happen.

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Color Coding

Zones that are accepted for Phoenix mud must conform to specific color coding requirements:

Mobiles: Mobile names are in high red (&+R) in their descriptions.

Objects: Object names are in high blue (&+B) in their descriptions.

Directions: Direction names are in high cyan (&+C) if they appear in room descriptions.

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And Finally...

Have fun writing your zone! Make it fun and take your time to get it right. Ask peoples' advice and bounce your ideas off of them. You may be surprised how ideas can change once you begin to write a zone.

Again, most importantly, have fun. If you enjoy writing the zone it will show in the quality of that zone.

This manual may not be used by other MUDs without express permission of Phoenix MUD.