[MUD-Dev] Re: Dynamic muds

[Petri Virkkula]

>>>>> "ryan" == ryan  <ixiterra at microworld.com> writes:

ryan> Builders - Are you willing to put the extra code forth to make
ryan> rooms much more versatile as season and day/night changes occur?
ryan> Possibly other things as well.

	Inour case dynamic descriptions do not mean burden to builders
	at all. All our rooms a inheriting a common base class that
	defines the following two functions (among other things) that
	are enough for the system to generate dynamic descriptions:

--- cut here ---
set_outdoors(int level)
        Sets the outdoorness of a room:
        0 - inside, no weather effects
        1 - indoors, no windows (you can hear the rain on the roof etc..)
        2 - indoors, windows
        3 - under cover, a tent like structure, you can see most effects
        4 - outdoors, all effects

set_fertility(int amount)
        Sets the fertility level of a room. This indicates what kinds of
        plants grow in the area. Underwater areas should have a fertility.
        Only outdoors 4 areas should have this. All outdoors 4 areas
        default to amount of 1.
        level of 0.
        0 - barren, no plants
        10 - very fertile (riverbanks, good farmland)
--- cut here ---

	Time of day and seasons are handled automatically, as well as
	the weather conditions, so they do not put any burden to
	builders.

ryan> Admins - Have you done this system and found it to be successful
ryan> with builders a/o players?

	In our case builders are required to use the two functions
	listed above, it's actually part of the area checking (quality
	control) to verify that they are used meaningfully in an
	area. 

	In our case the dynamic room descriptions are a must, because
	some of our skills/spells depend on the outdoors value
	(e.g. alchemists need to find different plants), weather
	(e.g. lightning spells work only in outdoors during bad
	weather), etc.

	I have included below a short capture that shows how change in
	the weather modifies room descriptions. The last room
	description also include important info for alchemists: there
	is a lode of osmium ore in the room.


	Petri


--- cut here ---
> e
yyyyyyyRc  You are walking on a road going east and west. The road is made of
yyyyyyyRc  stones. There are some trees near the road.  The road looks like it
yyy+*--=c  is being used a lot. Above you is a warm, slowly moving, heavily
yy/yyyyRc  clouded sky. A light wind stirs the air.
y/yyyyyRc  Obvious exits are: nw, n, ne, w, e, sw, s and se.
         
> time
Today is the 14th day of the 6th month (Ingot) of the year 601.
It's autumn.  You guess it's around 12 o'clock.
> The sky clears.
It looks like rain is on the way.
look
There are no light sources here, but you can still see.
yyyyyyyRc  You are walking on a road going east and west. The road is made of
yyyyyyyRc  stones. There are some trees near the road.  The road looks like it
yyy+*--=c  is being used a lot. Above you is a warm, slowly moving, clear sky.
yy/yyyyRc  A light wind stirs the air.
y/yyyyyRc  Obvious exits are: nw, n, ne, w, e, sw, s and se.
         
> n
yyyyyyyRR  You are walking on a grassy field. The grass looks inviting to you,
yyyyyyyRc  maybe you should rest here. The open space makes you somewhat
yyyy*yyRc  nervous, there is absolutely no place to hide if some animal
yyy+---=c  attacks. A lode of osmium ore is embedded in the ground. 
yy/yyyyRc  Above you is a warm, slowly moving, clear sky. A light wind stirs
           the air.
Obvious exits are: nw, n, ne, w, e, sw, s and se.
> The wind seems to be picking up.
It starts to rain.
look
There are no light sources here, but you can still see.
yyyyyyyRR  You are walking on a grassy field. The grass looks inviting to you,
yyyyyyyRc  maybe you should rest here. The open space makes you somewhat
yyyy*yyRc  nervous, there is absolutely no place to hide if some animal
yyy+---=c  attacks. A lode of osmium ore is embedded in the ground. 
yy/yyyyRc  It is lightly spitting from a warm, slowly moving, clear sky. A
           light wind stirs the air.
Obvious exits are: nw, n, ne, w, e, sw, s and se.
> The wind gets stronger.
examine osmium
The lode contains roughly 0 kg of osmium.
--- cut here ---


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