History

Newbie Handbook

This handbook introduces the world of Dreamverse and provides new users with the information and tools required to start their careers.

Getting your bearings

Common commands:

The first thing that every character needs to be able to do is to look around and be aware of their surroundings. They need to be able to answer questions such as:

  • Where am I?
  • Where can I go from here?
  • Who else is near me?

Most questions of this nature can be answered with the look command. Typing look by itself will describe your surroundings. This description will include the directions in which you may travel as well as other characters and items that are in your immediate vicinity.

Example:

> look
You look around.
Bernice's Tannery [w]
This back room of Hector's Boutique is a stark contrast to the entry area.
Where Hector has bright, cheery colors and open, roomy area, Bernice has a
dark, cramped shop.  All sorts of animal skins hang from the walls and
cover nearly every horizontal surface.  A single, dim glowbulb hangs on a
string from the ceiling, providing just enought light to see by.  Hector's
Boutique is back to the west.
Bernice the tanner
>

In the example above, you are in Bernice's Tannery. Your only option for leaving the tannery is to go west. In the room with you is Bernice the tanner.

You can also look at a specific character or item. Any nouns included in a room description can also be looked at. Using the example above, you may look at Bernice, the glowbulb, the skins, the ceiling, the boutique, and so on.

> look at glowbulb
You look at a glowbulb.
These little magical objects provide the light for many of the buildings in
this region.  This particular one has seen better days, and probably should
be replaced.
>

Communicating with others

Six of the most commonly used common communication verbs include

Verbal communication

The newbie and gossip verbs are used for communicating over two of the more commonly used communication channels. Channels are a mud-wide communications mechanism that allows characters to chat no matter where they are in the game world.

The say and whisper verbs are for conversing with characters in the same environment as yourself. When you whisper
to another player only that player will be able to hear you.

> say I like to eat meat.
You say, "I like to eat meat." 
> whisper to hilapdatus I think vegetarians smell funny.
You whisper to Hilapdatus, "I think vegetarians smell funny."

The tell command, like whisper, allows for private one-on-way conversations. Tell, however, can be used to communicate with other characters no matter where they are in the game world. In fact, using the Intermud3 system, the tell command can even be used to communicate with characters that are logged into a different mud.

> tell hilapdatus Hey, what're you doing this weekend?
You tell hilapdatus, "Hey, what're you doing this weekend?" 
> tell hilapdatus@dreamverse "Are you idling on both servers or just this one?" 
You tell hilapdatus@dreamverse, "Are you idling on both servers or just this one?"

Emotes

The emote command allows you to express emotion or perform psuedo-actions. A psuedo-action is where it looks like you have performed some action but it is purely descriptive in nature and no action has really taken place.

> emote appears to be happy.
Hilapdatus appears to be happy.
> emote leaps into the air while unsheathing a hidden dagger and hurling it at the orc.
Hilapdatus leaps into the air while unsheathing a hidden dagger and hurling it at the orc.

Did I really leap into the air and hurl a dagger? No but it looks cool and can be used to add a bit of role-playing flair to the gaming experience.

The emote command can be abused very easily. Please execute restraint when using this command and do not abuse it by harassing other players. Use your judgement and common sense.

Emotes can be sent over the command channels by appending emote to the channel name.

> gossip I'm hungry.
(gossip) Hilapdatus: I'm hungry.
> gossipemote gnashes his teeth and stares hungrily at the potroast.
(gossip) Hilapdatus gnashes his teeth and stares hungrily at the potroast.

Feelings and Adverbs

In addition to the emote command, Dreamverse has a library of predefined feelings and adverbs. You can get a list of these by executing the commands help feelings and help adverbs in the game. As of 22 December 2009, Dreamverse has 352 feelings and 420 adverbs registered. Feelings are executed just like regular commands.

> smile
You smile happily.

Adverbs are used to modify feelings.

> smile sheepishly
You smile sheepishly.

Feelings and adverbs can be chained together.

> smile we and sigh
You smile weakly and sigh.
> yawn and stretch and grin trium
You yawn, stretch lazily, and grin triumphantly.

As you can see from the example above, you don't need to type the entire adverb as long as you type enough to identify the adverb you wish to use.