1 BunnyHugger goes to the board and writes, "I. Special Effects, II. Best Practices and Review, III. Final Exams"
2 Beltrami nodnods?
3 Skyler doesn't have homework and such, but enjoyed listening in last week, so stopped by again. :)
4 J.P. steps off of the floating disk that carried him up.
5 J.P. has arrived.
6 You say, "Hello, J.P."
7 BunnyHugger says, "Aha! Hi!"
8 BunnyHugger says, "No homework was assigned last week."
9 BunnyHugger says, "OK, let's get started."
10 Claude earperks.
11 BunnyHugger says, "First, I want to make sure all of you know about the public MUF library, and a little bit about how to work with MUFs. Not writing MUF, of course, just using ones that others have helpfully provided."
12 BunnyHugger says, "So, first question for the class: who knows how to view the public MUF library?"
13 Claude raises a paw after looking around.
14 BunnyHugger says, "Claude?"
15 You say, "It should be listed by @register."
16 Chandra says, "@Plib <search expr> or @Plib for a full listing.""
17 BunnyHugger says, "Pardon, Austin, I'm getting a request that this room be on 'wa' for some reason."
18 BunnyHugger says, "Do you think we should? The directions to get here are really convoluted."
19 Niny'ah steps off of the floating disk that carried her up.
20 Niny'ah has arrived.
21 Niny'ah, late sorry
22 Skyler says, "It's 'park'."
23 Skyler says, "Right now, I mean."
24 BunnyHugger says, "I know."
25 You say, "Hello, Niny'ah."
26 BunnyHugger says, "Hi there."
27 Austin says, "It should be, yeah. D you have the whole mess?"
28 BunnyHugger says, "Actually Chandra, it's 'plib', no @."
29 BunnyHugger says, "For 'public library.'"
30 Chandra says, "Yeah, I never remember what has @ in front of it unless it's something I use all the time."
31 BunnyHugger says, "OK, it's 'luge S2 W1, mb, mb, hallway, classroom 1'"
32 Chandra says, "But close enough."
33 Austin gads. "We've got to get this place fied."
34 Austin says, "But it's on whereare now."
35 BunnyHugger says, "Thanks."
36 BunnyHugger says, "OK, so, right. 'plib' is for viewing the public MUF library. Of course, this is only applicable on SpinDizzy."
37 BunnyHugger says, "On FurryMUCK, for instance, it's 'programs', so there's no universal standard."
38 Chandra says, "Other MUCKs may or may not have a Plib facility at all, too."
39 BunnyHugger says, "And, it does accept a search string. 'plib karaoke' will find my karaoke program."
40 GreenKai has disconnected.
41 Niny'ah . o O ( 'fied'? )
42 BunnyHugger says, "That's correct. However, Claude's suggestion of searching by @register may or may not work because a program may not be properly registered, though it should be."
43 BunnyHugger says, "In fact, last night I found a program in the public library that was not registered, 'keypad.muf,' and I had Austin fix it."
44 BunnyHugger says, "In theory, all programs in the plib should be @reg'd by the name of the program, e.g. $keypad.muf, $noises.muf... but in practice if you find one that isn't, tell a wizard."
45 Skyler says, "Also, in the case of @register, I (well, speaking for myself, anyway) get several hundred entries."
46 Austin says, "Please. Often we don't realize something's supposed to be in there."
47 BunnyHugger says, "Now, the search function for 'plib' will turn up stuff from the name of the program or its description. So for instance, I wanted to find out if there was a public program for setting up apartment buildings, when I built Candor Terrace."
48 BunnyHugger says, "So I put 'plib apartment' and found 'AnotherDirectory.muf' which does just that. Hooray!"
49 Claude giggles.
50 BunnyHugger says, "OK! Sorry, conferring with wizards, I found another un-reg'd program."
51 BunnyHugger says, "OK, so... let's say I want to have a door in my apartment that I can give people a code to open, but is otherwise locked."
52 Chandra says, "So, question -- do Plib and $register use independent sources for maintaining and index of software, or is PLib reliant on the register listing/index for generating its own listing?"
53 You say, "Interesting!"
54 BunnyHugger says, "They're independent."
55 BunnyHugger says, "The owner of a program enters it into the public library him or herself, and perhaps sometimes forgets to have it registered."
56 BunnyHugger says, "Here, at least, 'plib' is going to generally get you the best list of usable programs."
57 BunnyHugger says, "But all this stuff is manually done."
58 BunnyHugger says, "So back to my idea for a code system for unlocking my hideout. Using the plib, do you think you can find a program that does that?"
59 Beltrami nods.
60 Chandra says, "Keypad.muf."
61 BunnyHugger says, "Did you already know that, or did you find it with a search, Chandra?"
62 Chandra says, "It's used extensively on the Freeloader and I use it on the Europa."
63 BunnyHugger says, "Aw."
64 Chandra says, "You can actually find it via Plib, too."
65 Skyler says, "Maybe privacy-lock."
66 Chandra says, "Plib keypad"
67 Chandra says, "It also comes up if you do 'Plib lock'"
68 BunnyHugger says, "Right. I wanted to see if people might try something like 'plib lock' to find it."
69 Chandra says, "Along with about five other programs."
70 Austin says, "Yes, that's what I leapt to. 'plib lock', that is."
71 Skyler nods. "It's why I thought there might be another possibility or two."
72 BunnyHugger says, "So Skyler was wondering if 'privacy-lock.muf' might do it."
73 BunnyHugger says, "Just looking at the short descs, it might not be obvious what that does."
74 BunnyHugger says, "So that leads to the next thing I wanted to show you: how to figure out what something does and how to install and use it."
75 Chandra says, "ManualLock might be a good option, too."
76 Claude listens and nods.
77 BunnyHugger says, "So let's say I want to know what privacy-lock (or for that matter manual-lock) does. The plib should tell you how to look at the 'docs' of a given program. If it's set up sensibly, it SHOULD always be using the command '@view'."
78 GreenKai has connected.
79 BunnyHugger says, "So, '@view $privacy-lock.muf' should, if the program has been registered right, view the documentation for the program. (I've checked and in this case it does.) If not, you can use the DBREF, which the plib also gives."
80 BunnyHugger says, "Try having a look at the documentation. (You have to confirm that you do in fact want to view it. Because what @view does is basically @forces the player to @list certain lines of the program. And it's dangerous to let things @force you, so it checks to make sure the action it's going to force really is just viewing some program lines as opposed to some exploit of @rec'ing all your stuff. n.n)"
81 You say, "So we shouldn't be too upset if looking at the program doesn't yield any useful information?"
82 Chandra ponders something for a moment then eases back into his chair.
83 BunnyHugger says, "You mean, if you @view it and the documentation isn't very useful, or...?"
84 You say, "No, I mean if you do look $privacy-lock.muf."
85 BunnyHugger says, "Generally you won't be able to look at the program directly, unless it's in the room with you. But most folks don't put any information in the program's description."
86 Austin says, "Oh, no, the descriptions of MUF is just scrolls. It's the muck's default for programs."
87 BunnyHugger says, "Remember, a program is an object like any other -- it does have a sort of physical 'presence' and thus is located probably in a big chest of programs somewhere."
88 Austin says, "And most programs are kept in various wizardly archives. Individuals who code keep their scrolls wherever they like."
89 BunnyHugger says, "Right."
90 BunnyHugger says, "I own a couple of plib programs and they're in a container I call 'Chest O' MUFs'."
91 BunnyHugger says, "They can be anywhere; doesn't matter where."
92 BunnyHugger says, "Because a program in the plib will be set L, meaning Link_OK, so that anyone can use it."
93 Chandra says, "Except for some programs."
94 Chandra says, "For example, you can't do that with pose, if I recall correctly."
95 Chandra says, "So not all MUF programs installed on the MUCK will be accessible."
96 BunnyHugger says, "That's not really a library program. It's a global, which is different. But -- actually, Morticon has changed 'pose' and 'say' so they ARE linkable, for reasons I'll explain some other time."
97 BunnyHugger says, "Normally they're not."
98 Beltrami nods?
99 BunnyHugger says, "Because they're not publicly linkable programs. They are linked by the wizards to a publicly available ACTION, but the programs themselves are not actually public programs."
100 Royce steps off of the floating disk that carried him up.
101 Royce has arrived.
102 BunnyHugger says, "You could do the same if you owned a MUF -- put an action that uses it in your property so anyone can run it, but leave the program itself inaccessible by others."
103 Chandra nods. "That was an issue I ran into and I needed Morticon's help to get that set up last week."
104 You say, "Sounds complicated. O hai, Royce"
105 Beltrami smiles to Royce.
106 Royce churrs, "Hello."
107 Niny'ah looks lost
108 BunnyHugger says, "It is, but it's not important at the moment. Right now I want to talk to you about looking at docs for a program."
109 BunnyHugger says, "In theory, the documentation should be accessible by @view. If it's not... that's annoying. But you might still be able to find it yourself manually."
110 Chandra says, "On two fronts: 1) Linkage, 2) enablement, but enablement is a bit of a separate thing, and I'm slightly digressing anyway. The only reason I bring it up is because at some point, a user might want to actually link to a piece of installed software and they might need special permissions or Wizard assistance to do so."
111 BunnyHugger says, "Because @view just lists the lines of the program where the docs are written. If that's not set up, you can @list the whole program, which will blast you with a wall o text. But at the START of all that wall, should be the documentation."
112 BunnyHugger says, "So if you try to '@view $privacy-lock.muf' and it says there are no documents, then you could try '@list $privacy-lock.muf' and then ignore everything but the lines at the start where the documents ought to be."
113 BunnyHugger says, "In this case, though, it does have @view set up. Good!"
114 BunnyHugger says, "But, it turns out, this isn't what we want. Chandra had it the first time: I was thinking of keypad.muf."
115 Claude nodnods.
116 BunnyHugger says, "@view $keypad.muf will show you the programmer's documents, which generally include a step by step guide to installing and using the program. Some programs, it's as easy as just setting up an action and linking it to the program (e.g. my 'karaoke.muf'). Others, you need to set up some properties, and that's the case in keypad.muf."
117 BunnyHugger says, "Now, if you're totally new to this stuff, it might seem intimidating."
118 BunnyHugger says, "And in all honesty, how well the programmer has written the documents will vary."
119 You say, "Heh."
120 BunnyHugger says, "But generally if you do exactly what they tell you there in the docs, you will be able to run all kinds of fun stuff."
121 Chandra says, "No unified coding or documentation standards, but they're generally good enough. Some are ... sketchy."
122 Chandra says, "But the best part about coding is breaking stuff and learning from your mistakes."
123 BunnyHugger says, "And if you don't understand the docs, ask a wizard! Or a helpstaffer if we ever get a staff again. Ha ha."
124 You say, "Based on my limited experience, the situation is better than in the software world at large."
125 BunnyHugger says, "Or ask me! I like helping out and know how to run a few of the popular MUF programs."
126 BunnyHugger nods to Claude.
127 BunnyHugger says, "It's usually not bad. They do want people to make use of stuff, after all. Everyone's very proud of MUFs they write."
128 You say, "And for good reason. Mwahaha."
129 BunnyHugger says, "Any questions about using the public library or viewing documentation or anything related?"
130 Beltrami shakes no.
131 BunnyHugger says, "Great. Before we leave the topic of using MUFs from the library, I'd like to point out a few MUFs that I think are especially useful in your building."
132 Claude earperks.
133 BunnyHugger says, "First, let me propose a situation. Let's say I want to create a tent that I can pitch in various places, and that has an interior room. I want to be able to enter the tent wherever the tent object is located, and then be able to exit the tent back to the room where the tent is pitched."
134 BunnyHugger says, "How do you think I should do that?"
135 BunnyHugger looks around at the class for hands.
136 Chandra says, "Well..."
137 Claude raises a paw.
138 BunnyHugger says, "I'll call on Claude."
139 BunnyHugger says, "How would you do that, Claude?"
140 You say, "Sounds like it could use the code for vehicles."
141 BunnyHugger is quite sure Chandra knows. n.n Probably Claude too.
142 BunnyHugger says, "IT is actually related to what you use for vehicles, yes!"
143 BunnyHugger says, "Or what you can use for vehicles, at least."
144 BunnyHugger says, "Do you know the MUF you'd want to employ?"
145 Niny'ah says, "a vehicle with no wheels"
146 BunnyHugger says, "Right, Niny'ah. A stationary vehicle."
147 Niny'ah cheekygrin
148 GreenKai giggles at the thought of using StarDrive to make a floating tent.
149 You say, "Not by heart, no."
150 Niny'ah <.<
151 BunnyHugger says, "Well then, Chandra?"
152 Chandra blinks and chuckles. "I was going to give a more general Answer."
153 Austin says, "Gets better, GreenKai. You can use it for puppets too."
154 BunnyHugger says, "Oh, all right. Well, let me set up the problem this way."
155 <Verbatim start: Chandra>
156 1) Search the existing available public MUF software available to see if something meets your needs.
157 2) Search for integrated MUCK methods for handling the issues (i.e. editvehicle)
158 3) See if MPI has something for this.
159 <Verbatim end: Chandra>
160 Chandra says, "Ali's VARDIS is actually a good example of a 'stationary vehicle.'"
161 BunnyHugger says, "Good. I'm actually aiming at 1), but you're right."
162 BunnyHugger says, "It's easy to make it so your tent object linked to an interior room. As I've told you folks before, you can put an exit on an object and link it to a room."
163 Niny'ah says, "Vardo"
164 Chandra nods. "I just always remember that it's like a Vulpine TARDIS."
165 Chandra says, "Especially since, you know, it makes the sound."
166 BunnyHugger says, "So you could '@action enter tent=tent' and '@link enter tent=<room 'inside' tent>'"
167 BunnyHugger says, "And then if you did 'enter tent' when the tent was in the room, you'd go into the tent interior room."
168 You say, "That's the easy part."
169 BunnyHugger says, "Right. The problem is, there's no built-in way to exit the tent back to the room it's located in."
170 BunnyHugger says, "What now? Well, we need something that will link to an @action that's inside the tent interior room, and teleport us back to the room the tent's in."
171 BunnyHugger says, "The first time I made such an object, I did 'plib exit' to figure it out. That gets you a lot of stuff, but it does get you the basic program that will do this, if you pick through the listings."
172 GreenKai looks, "Umm, what about ObjExit? It has objects, and exits in! That sounds good."
173 BunnyHugger says, "Good!"
174 BunnyHugger says, "Yep."
175 BunnyHugger says, "ObjExit.muf is used for vehicles, but can also be used for my tent. It takes you from the interior room of a vehicle or tent or anything, back to the room it's sitting in."
176 BunnyHugger says, "So now you know! And this is also most of what you'd need to build a vehicle manually, though as noted, StarDrive and other programs make the vehicle process even easier."
177 Claude ooh, never thought of using it independently.
178 Niny'ah will probably have to get someone to step her throgh it, really isn't grasping the linking concepts properly
179 BunnyHugger says, "Which part can I help you with? Let me review a little and maybe that will help."
180 Niny'ah headshakes, "It's partly being sick is draining my brainpower, part that I need a project to wrap the lessons around
181 Niny'ah has trouble with learning things abstractly
182 You say, "Open secret: everyone does. :P"
183 BunnyHugger says, "An @action has two 'ends' -- where it's attached and what it's linked to. The basic format is '@action <name of action>=<what it's attached to> . Once you've got that end of the rope tied, you tie the other end by linking it: @link <action>=<what it's linked to>"
184 BunnyHugger says, "What it's attached to, the first end of the rope, determines where it's accessed from. For instance, if it's attached to a room, anyone can access it. Same if it's attached to an object in your vicinity."
185 BunnyHugger says, "What it's linked to determines what you find when you grab the rope."
186 BunnyHugger says, "It can be a room, in which case you go to that room when running the action (so it's a door), or it can be a program in this case, in which case using the action runs the program."
187 BunnyHugger says, "So in the case of my tent, I can attach an exit to a tent object, and link it to a room, and so if the tent is near me, I can 'enter tent' (name of exit) and it will bring me to the 'tent interior room' I made."
188 Niny'ah says, "so where it is and what it does"
189 BunnyHugger says, "Exactly."
190 BunnyHugger says, "The trouble is getting back out, but I can use a program that does that for me. So I create an action called, say, 'out' and attach it to the tent interior room -- then link it to ObjExit.muf. Because the tent will move around, so you can't just link the interior exit action to any particular room."
191 Niny'ah says, "link action to room = on ACT, transport triggering ENTITY (PLAYER, ZPET) to linked room"
192 BunnyHugger says, "That's why we need a MUF to help. It basically teleports you out to the room the tent's in using MUF magic."
193 BunnyHugger says, "That's one way to put it, Niny'ah."
194 Niny'ah says, "well, that's what it Does, innit?"
195 Niny'ah says, "is there a MUF behind that?"
196 BunnyHugger says, "Yes, that's exactly what it does. I just tend to think of it colloquially as, well, a door! >:D"
197 BunnyHugger says, "No, not for an ordinary action-linked-to-a-room. That's part of the MUCK's built in structure."
198 Niny'ah says, "ahh"
199 BunnyHugger says, "But, the good news is, I AM going to give you a project at the end of class and that may help you."
200 Niny'ah says, "awesome"
201 BunnyHugger says, "Oh, so the other half of a vehicle, really, is being able to listen outside the vehicle. Otherwise it's just going to crash into stuff if you can't look out the window. >;)"
202 BunnyHugger says, "If you were setting up a vehicle 'manually' (or closer to manually), you could use 'listen.muf' for that. There are others too, that's just the one I know better."
203 Claude nodnods.
204 ( Hey, listen! )
205 Niny'ah facepalm
206 BunnyHugger says, "Oh, but I wanted to mention how this, again, can be useful beyond vehicles."
207 BunnyHugger says, "During the Olympics, you might remember we had a running race that went across several rooms."
208 BunnyHugger says, "And a swimming race that did the same."
209 BunnyHugger says, "For the running race, I created a viewing tent with 'monitors' in it to allow the judges to see what was going on in all rooms at once."
210 Niny'ah headtilts. Hangon. did ZPet Whereare get defaulted to not show names?
211 You say, "I wasn't there... but had RPs like that."
212 BunnyHugger says, "Whereare never finds zombies. >:/"
213 Niny'ah says, "nonono"
214 BunnyHugger says, "It's a known annoyance."
215 Niny'ah headshakes
216 BunnyHugger says, "Oh?"
217 Niny'ah says, "using the WA ~from~ a Zpet didn;'t show names just now"
218 BunnyHugger says, "Odd."
219 BunnyHugger says, "It works if you add the #names stipulation."
220 Austin huhs. He didn't know that.
221 <Verbatim start: Niny'ah>
222 TL> WhereAre 1.3b -- 20 Players awake -- 1 to show a room
223 TL> -Location-----------------Players-Comments-----------------------------------
224 TL> Adh Venturo Store 1 The SpinDizzy branch of Adh Venturo, Inc.!
225 TL> The Rose Garden 1 The 'rose' garden -- center of the world!
226 TL> The Old Lighthouse (N0 E2) 1 N0 E2
227 TL> Classroom 1 10 luge S2 W1, mb, mb, hallway, classroom 1
228 TL> -----------------------------------------------------------------------------
229 TL> 4 rooms listed.
230 ...
231 WhereAre 1.3b -- 20 Players awake -- 1 to show a room
232 -Location-----------------Players-Comments-----------------------------------
233 Adh Venturo Store 1 The SpinDizzy branch of Adh Venturo, Inc.!
234 - Present: Xor
235 = Directions: N0 E4, A
236 The Rose Garden 1 The 'rose' garden -- center of the world!
237 - Present: Azure
238 = Directions: Just type 'rose'
239 The Old Lighthouse (N0 E2) 1 N0 E2
240 - Present: JasonRDT
241 Classroom 1 10 luge S2 W1, mb, mb, hallway, classroom 1
242 - Present: Royce Niny'ah J.P. Chandra Beltrami Claude Austin BunnyHugger
243 - GreenKai
244 -----------------------------------------------------------------------------
245 4 rooms listed.
246 <Verbatim end: Niny'ah>
247 BunnyHugger says, "'<zombie action> wa #names' will do it, but why it defaults differently I have no clue."
248 Niny'ah says, "i don't mind"
249 Niny'ah says, "i just thought it was different"
250 Niny'ah says, "it's less spammy"
251 Austin says, "I know why. When a character is created it's with the default wa settings of 1 #n #dir. But a zombie isn't created through the character-creation template and so has the built-in whereare defaults of nothing."
252 BunnyHugger says, "Anyway, what we did was used a combination of 'objexit.muf' and 'listen.muf' to make a stationary vehicle with multiple 'windows'. We dropped the viewing tent object in a room and had an action on it that went to the 'viewing room'."
253 BunnyHugger says, "And one going out that used Objexit."
254 Niny'ah ohhh
255 Claude nods?
256 BunnyHugger says, "Then, we set up 'monitors' in the room by having several cameras in different locations that used listen.muf to broadcast to the tent interior room."
257 Niny'ah says, "neat"
258 J.P. has disconnected.
259 BunnyHugger says, "The cameras were also zombies, so we could 'talk' through their 'intercoms' to tell racers what to do next."
260 BunnyHugger says, "It got REALLY hard for me to keep track of. n.n"
261 BunnyHugger says, "I had five cameras talking at me, and me doing 'cam1' 'cam2' etc. to talk to racers."
262 You say, "I'm not surprised. But that's really ingenious."
263 BunnyHugger says, "So that's just to show how stuff designed for vehicles can be useful for other purposes, particularly things like movable doors."
264 You say, "Now you know how they must feel in a TV studio."
265 BunnyHugger says, "You could use objexit.muf to make a magical door to somewhere that can be moved around... Jaxen even uses it to make his foxholes that can be dropped in two locations."
266 BunnyHugger says, "So that you enter in one and pop out the other."
267 You say, "So that's how they work!"
268 BunnyHugger says, "And you can use 'listen.muf' to make something like a security camera."
269 BunnyHugger nods! "I asked him and he confirmed that he uses objexit.muf to do it."
270 Niny'ah says, "back to back objexit?"
271 You say, "Makes sense once you know about it."
272 BunnyHugger says, "You can have the target object (the one you leave from) be different from the one you enter from. It looks for a property called 'goto:' and you can enter the 'far' foxhole in that instead of the 'near' one."
273 J.P. has connected.
274 GreenKai thinks it could be good if the idle timer could be disabled for a period in particular rooms so that people didn't fall asleep in classe.
275 J.P. giggles.
276 BunnyHugger says, "So you can have the 'entering' action also be the 'exiting' action at the same time."
277 BunnyHugger says, "And just skip the interior room."
278 BunnyHugger says, "It was clever of him to realize it could work that way. >:)"
279 You say, "Indeed."
280 Servaldroid has teleported in.
281 Servaldroid has arrived.
282 BunnyHugger says, "The other two MUFs I want to mention as being GREAT ones to use for atmosphere, are noises.muf and movie.muf."
283 Chandra street luges away...
284 Chandra has left.
285 Claude waves to the droid.
286 BunnyHugger says, "You can @view either one to read how to install them. They are rather complicated because you have to set a lot of properties, but the docs tell you how."
287 Austin says, "Those are really great. I think noises.muf might be as useful as a room description, really, for giving a setting its sense of place."
288 BunnyHugger says, "noises.muf is the thing in the Rose Garden that tells you that a nonanthro fish just hugged an anthro wombat or whatever."
289 BunnyHugger says, "And I agree with Austin."
290 You say, "I used noises.muf, it's great."
291 BunnyHugger says, "It makes a room feel like stuff is going on in it even if there are only a couple of players talking."
292 You say, "Though tuning it is a delicate balancing act."
293 BunnyHugger says, "Yes. Austin and I were discussing this."
294 BunnyHugger says, "A big, common mistake is to have noises.muf fire too often and with too small a list of possible noises."
295 BunnyHugger says, "Sally, for instance, initially set up the Olympic areas so that noises.muf had a 'chance' property of 1 in 30."
296 ( I used to be an Olympian like you, until I took a javelin to the knee . . . )
297 J.P. giggles.
298 BunnyHugger says, "This property tells you how likely it is to go off for each line of activity in the room. It only goes off when there's visible activity."
299 BunnyHugger says, "Unfortunately, 1/30 meant it was firing about once for every 30 lines of stuff happening, which is really very often."
300 Claude nodnods. "But that depends on how active the room is."
301 BunnyHugger says, "In a busy room, that's going to make it way too frequent."
302 BunnyHugger says, "It might be appropriate, as Claude notes, to have it be more frequent if it's something like a maze that a player is wandering around solo."
303 BunnyHugger says, "In a busy room, I tend to set it at 1/600. Austin says the Rose Garden is set at 1/750. Just to give you an idea of frequency."
304 You say, "Amazing."
305 You say, "We need to write articles on this kind of stuff."
306 BunnyHugger says, "The awesome thing about noises.muf is how tunable it is. You can do stuff with it that probably isn't what the programmer imagined, yet that's a sign of a good program."
307 BunnyHugger says, "Let me give you an example."
308 BunnyHugger says, "I use noises.muf a lot in my Bates Motel haunted house, which I Should bring out again come to think of it."
309 Austin says, "Oh, definitely."
310 BunnyHugger says, "I had one room where I wanted to *guarantee* that a certain thing would happen, but only after a long delay."
311 BunnyHugger says, "So. I made a noises.muf list with only one item on it."
312 You say, "Right!"
313 BunnyHugger says, "Gave it a 1/1 chance of happening... and then made the 'delay' (how often 'til it can go off again) very long, so long that people would have left the room by then."
314 BunnyHugger says, "So that people would walk in, stand there looking at the props and scenery, and then in 30 seconds... BAM! A startling event!!"
315 BunnyHugger smiles.
316 BunnyHugger says, "So you can play with stuff and if it's flexible, get what meets your needs with a little experimentation."
317 BunnyHugger says, "movie.muf is also good for simple triggerable actions that do more than one line of stuff."
318 GreenKai says, "Can you have a noise that turns itself off?"
319 BunnyHugger says, "Unfortunately, noises.muf, at least, has no way to tell it to turn itself off after going once. But I set the 'wait' time so long that in a haunted house, well, it's your own fault if you hang around that long. I set it at half an hour or something."
320 GreenKai says, "Like, if there were a fire, but maybe it would burn itself out sometime."
321 BunnyHugger says, "Maybe someone should write an add-on. >;)"
322
323 [Connection froze here.]
324
325 BunnyHugger says, "Now, movie.muf was used by a number of builders in the amusement park... it's also used for showing the MST3K text movies."
326 Claude earperks.
327 BunnyHugger says, "What it does, is allows an action that you trigger, to set in motion a 'movie' -- a script of text that goes by according to a delay that you set."
328 BunnyHugger says, "It's also quite customizable. You can set the default delay between each line, but then if you want one line to have a long delay, you can include that in the script."
329 You say, "I could have used that for the House of Cats if I knew about it."
330 BunnyHugger says, "It's complicated if you want it to be, but pretty simple if you don't want it to be."
331 BunnyHugger says, "Yes, Claude, it would be a good thing to use for that!"
332 BunnyHugger says, "The Shooting Star roller coaster that I built in Edgeworld Park uses it. When you trigger boarding the coaster, it gives you messages of climbing the lift hill, going down the hill, going around the turnaround, etc."
333 BunnyHugger says, "It's just another great MUF to use for making your stuff more interactive."
334 BunnyHugger says, "But the plib is HUGE. I find new stuff in there all the time."
335 Claude should poke his nose in it sometime.
336 BunnyHugger says, "There are 70 programs in it currently. You can do 'plib *' to view every darned one."
337 ---DBRef-Name---------------------Owner----------------Modified-Docs---------
338 - #19 lib-index SpinDizzy 02/18/06 @view
339 Make your own indices, for fun and profit.
340 - #106 Zomcont.muf SpinDizzy 02/18/06 @view
341 An easy way to work with puppets/zombies (also replaces "pet")
342 - #108 do-nothing.muf SpinDizzy 04/10/09 @list
343 Do nothing. Link actions that run MPI to this.
344 - #139 sq-action.muf SpinDizzy 02/18/06 @view
345 Make your own hug-like globals, and live with them.
346 - #147 gen-mesgboard-3.muf SpinDizzy 02/18/06 @view
347 read;write;editmesg;erase;protect your own message board
348 - #165 obv-exits.muf SpinDizzy 02/18/06 @list
349 A better wrapping obvious exits. To quickly use: '@succ here=@165'
350 - #1562 StaffManager.muf Austin 02/18/06 @view
351 Make up lists of people, who do stuff.
352 - #2005 liarpic.muf Boki 04/08/12 @list
353 Graphically display 6-sided dice. For example: [Command] 1;2;3;4
354 - #2027 @name.muf SpinDizzy 02/18/06 @list
355 A program to rename things, if @name isn't enough by itself.
356 - #2301 Add-Remove-Names.muf SpinDizzy 02/18/06 @view
357 Add or remove names from exits you own, keeping the order the same.
358 - #2304 bcastall.muf SpinDizzy 02/18/06 @view
359 Broadcast everything from one room to another
360 - #2305 mirrorhack.muf SpinDizzy 02/18/06 @list
361 Mirror program compatible with MPI descriptions
362 - #2306 PeekWho.muf SpinDizzy 02/18/06 @view
363 See who's through that exit, if you can peek.
364 - #2372 fishies.muf SpinDizzy 02/18/06 @view
365 Makes a fishtank full of randomly moving fish
366 - #2375 odrop.muf SpinDizzy 02/18/06 @view
367 Change odrop message on an exit to vary according to the room left
368 - #2376 quiet-sweep.muf SpinDizzy 02/18/06 @view
369 Sweep players without notice to the room
370 - #2383 noises.muf SpinDizzy 02/18/06 @view
371 A program to make random noises in a room
372 - #2391 doorbell.muf SpinDizzy 02/18/06 @view
373 A simple doorbell program
374 - #2434 Rand-Exit.muf SpinDizzy 02/18/06 @view
375 Multiple exits from one action? It's not madness, it works!
376 - #2460 privacy-lock.muf Austin 02/18/06 @view
377 Secure your room against those pesky intruders.
378 - #2638 timelock.muf SpinDizzy 02/18/06 @view
379 Lock an exit/object for a specific time of day
380 - #2665 map.muf Terry 09/18/12 @view
381 Create, edit, and display maps.
382 - #2793 vlisten.muf Austin 02/18/06 @view
383 Listen inside and outside a vehicle
384 - #2830 t-hugall.muf Terry 02/18/06 @view
385 hugall that pays attention to noglobals, nohug, etc.
386 - #2851 ObjExit.muf Austin 02/18/06 @view
387 Vehicle -- Go from inside to outside, in one easy exit/action
388 - #3138 AnotherDirectory.muf Austin 02/18/06 @view
389 Set up your own apartment building, with claimable rooms for all.
390 - #3208 TRaM-finish.muf SpinDizzy 02/18/06 @view
391 Undo the worst temporary transmogrifications that hit you.
392 - #3239 containment-shell.muf SpinDizzy 02/18/06 @view
393 Create a more customized container/inventory/library
394 - #3486 farhug.muf SpinDizzy 02/18/06 @view
395 Make your own slightly annoying farhug globals
396 - #3553 grandfatherClock.muf Austin 12/15/07 @view
397 Overly configurable grandfather clock program
398 - #3631 gotoxy.muf Terry 02/18/06 @view
399 Goto a room on the map by x,y coordinates. Safer than the old one. Really.
400 - #3687 fox-com.muf Austin 10/21/12 @view
401 Vehicle -- Your own interstellar radio/TV network!
402 - #3727 TRaM-start.muf SpinDizzy 02/18/06 @view
403 Temporary transmogrification, courtesy an incomprehensible interface
404 - #3874 fakemunchies.muf Austin 02/18/06 @view
405 Create your own fake food or drink objects, to order.
406 - #3875 makefood.muf Austin 02/18/06 @list
407 Make your own food.
408 - #3876 makedrink.muf Austin 02/18/06 @list
409 Make your own drinks.
410 - #4277 gwen-sit.muf Austin 02/18/06 @view
411 Red-hot seating action, in your own home!
412 - #4377 dice.muf Austin 02/18/06 @list
413 Roll dice for fun and profit
414 - #4580 pageturner.muf SpinDizzy 02/18/06 @view
415 A program to turn a set of lists into a book that you can 'turn' pages of.
416 - #5566 Window.muf Austin 05/21/06 @view
417 Vehicle -- Look at what's outside (good desc for 'out;exit;leave')
418 - #5757 commandCounter.muf Austin 02/18/06 @view
419 Count the uses of your actions
420 - #5828 Sensor.muf Austin 02/18/06 @view
421 Vehicle -- What's happening all around you? Find out!
422 - #5848 zoneWhoSpe.muf Morticon 02/18/06 @view
423 Find out who is in an area you own, subject to privacy restrictions.
424 - #6287 lingo.muf Austin 02/18/06 @view
425 Try to "dig" that "hip" "new" talk of the "cool" folks
426 - #6489 StarDrive.muf Austin 04/03/10 @view
427 Vehicle -- Make your vehicle work!
428 - #6860 Listen.muf Austin 02/18/06 @view
429 Vehicle -- Stop, Children! What's that sound?
430 - #7365 vote.muf SpinDizzy 11/12/11 @view
431 Set up voting machines! Dangling chads sold separately
432 - #7892 movie.muf Austin 02/18/06 @view
433 Be your own Eric von Stoatheimm!
434 - #8844 Perudo.muf Boki 02/18/06 @list
435 GAME: Liars Dice / Perudo for up to nine players!
436 - #9956 aibot-stub Austin 03/01/07 @view
437 Intelligent Artifacts -- cread for help
438 - #11609 makeFakeSouvenir.muf Austin 08/25/10 @view
439 Create fake items, as a souvenir vendor might do.
440 - #11733 rockpaperscissors.muf Morticon 02/18/06 @view
441 Play rock paper scissors with a friend!
442 - #12072 EZcom.muf SpinDizzy 08/06/11 @view
443 As the name suggests, a nice easy com program. Written by Kinsor.
444 - #12240 NickNack.muf SpinDizzy 07/30/12 @view
445 A boggle-like game.
446 - #12386 remoteTram.muf Austin 01/01/09 @list
447 Add remote control to TRaM objects
448 - #14216 hurl.muf Morticon 07/12/10 @view
449 Records URLs said in a room for later viewing.
450 - #15648 countdown.muf Logan 02/18/06 @list
451 Simple countdown timer with notice every ten seconds countdown for final ten
452 - #16550 ManualLock.muf SpinDizzy 02/18/06 @view
453 Allow others to lock and unlock a doorway. Good for homes.
454 - #16582 mancala.muf Boki 04/08/12 @list
455 Mancala - The ancient Game of stones.
456 - #17497 snow.muf Austin 12/07/06 @view
457 Create your own snowstorms!
458 - #19425 coaster.muf Austin 08/24/11 @view
459 Build an amusement park-style ride
460 - #20809 proplock.muf SpinDizzy 09/23/12 @list
461 @lock exits based on an object's prop and value.
462 - #20844 keypad.muf SpinDizzy 09/23/12 @view
463 Remote keypad to unlock exits for brief periods.
464 - #21210 dartboard.muf SpinDizzy 09/23/12 @view
465 Throw darts with the power of math!
466 - #21810 CorkBoard.muf Morticon 10/17/12 @view
467 A new an improved bulletin board program (courtesy of Kelketek).
468 - #21879 karaoke.muf Ping 08/23/11 @view
469 Facilitates scripted performances like songs (by BunnyHugger).
470 - #22092 makeFakeSouvenir-new.muf Morticon 03/28/12 @view
471 Create fake items, like makeFakeSouvenir.muf, but uses props and money.
472 - #22378 RoomSweep.muf Austin 09/18/11 @view
473 Auto-sweep someone who's fallen asleep in your room.
474 - #22512 DoorCheck.muf BunnyHugger 08/24/12 @view
475 Find out the type of thing an exit is linked to (by BunnyHugger).
476 - #22979 AltSafety.muf BunnyHugger 01/27/12 @view
477 Helps avoid embarrassing mistakes when playing more than one character.
478 -----------------------------------------[ 70 programs found ]--------------
479 BunnyHugger says, "Poke through it sometime and you might find stuff you didn't know was possible, to make your rooms really snazzy."
480 BunnyHugger says, "Quirky stuff. Like '$fishies.muf' that makes randomly moving fish for a fishtank."
481 BunnyHugger says, "Er, which isn't @reg'd."
482 BunnyHugger facepaws.
483 BunnyHugger says, "And useful nuts and bolts stuff, like ObjExit.muf."
484 Skyler says, "(Which _also_ isn't re...oh, wait, it is.)"
485 BunnyHugger says, "That one is."
486 Claude giggles. "Don't tempt the cat!"
487 You say, "Wow, a game of Mancala."
488 BunnyHugger says, "It's all stuff some MUF writer either thought would be cool, or created to solve a problem that was driving hir crazy."
489 Austin says, "Got fishies.muf registered now."
490 BunnyHugger says, "Thanks!"
491 BunnyHugger says, "That's my little presentation about using the public library..."
492 GreenKai tries @reg, blinks at wall of text.
493 BunnyHugger says, "I'd recommend, by the way, the vehicle editor (editvehicle) for setting up vehicles."
494 BunnyHugger says, "Normally I like to tell people to learn to do stuff manually for experience, but vehicles are so bothersome to set up I really think this is a case where automation is warranted."
495 BunnyHugger says, "You can use the various programs to set up listening/exiting/moving etc. separately, but ..."
496 BunnyHugger smiles.
497 Claude nodnods.
498 BunnyHugger says, "OK, any questions about using the public program library or setting up programs?"
499 You say, "It's all clear now."
500 BunnyHugger says, "I hope so! Please, feel free to ask me for help."
501 BunnyHugger says, "I know how to use movie/noises pretty well and can definitely assist with those."
502 BunnyHugger says, "Remember, '@view $movie.muf' and '@view $noises.muf' to learn to set them up."
503 BunnyHugger says, "Last thing for today is a bit of final review of good building hygiene."
504 Claude earperks again.
505 BunnyHugger says, "First question: what properties should be set on exit/actions?"
506 GreenKai considers, "So if there's a property I have to set for the program to work, I @set it on the action, right?"
507 BunnyHugger says, "GreenKai, it depends. If it doesn't tell you, it probably means on the action. Sometimes, though, it'll be on an object, but if so the docs should tell you that."
508 Austin says, "It's just unpredictable enough to keep wizards in business."
509 GreenKai nods, "This one said there was one that could be set on players as well."
510 BunnyHugger says, "IT could even be on yourself (karaoke.muf looks for props on the user)."
511 You say, "noises.muf looks at the room it's set on."
512 BunnyHugger nods.
513 BunnyHugger says, "It's different for each program, in other words."
514 BunnyHugger says, "It really depends on what the program does, which it's going to need."
515 BunnyHugger says, "But it should tell you that."
516 GreenKai says, "I guess you have to have a certain level of M to do that, though. Otherwise anything could sneakily look at everything on you."
517 BunnyHugger says, "It requires M2 to read props off the user."
518 BunnyHugger says, "But it can't read the wizard-only ones like your alt list or your force-lock."
519 Claude idles for a moment.
520 BunnyHugger goes to the board and writes, "Tidy actions" as a header and draws a line under it.
521 BunnyHugger says, "This is a bit of review and recommendation for best practices."
522 BunnyHugger says, "In general, for any ordinary action (such as a door from one room to another), it should have set:"
523 Austin says, "Or our secret files on everyone. Just saying."
524 BunnyHugger writes along with what she says, "@succ, @osucc, @drop, @odrop, and @desc." She adds, "It also should ALWAYS be linked to something, lest it be @chowned by someone else. Even if it's only linked to $nothing."
525 BunnyHugger adds, "If an action is ever going to be locked, it should also have @fail and probably @ofail set."
526 Claude shakeshakes and listens.
527 BunnyHugger writes next to it, "Tidy objects" and puts the same list there too. "An object should also have the same properties set, including @fail; @ofail is a bit more optional, I would say, since others may not need to know someone just tried to pick something up and failed."
528 BunnyHugger says, "Plus, an object should be @locked to yourself if you don't want others carrying it around. Generally, unless you really want it to be pick-up-OK, I would recommend locking."
529 BunnyHugger says, "Sorry, by 'object' I actually mean 'thing type object' -- that was a bit unclearly put."
530 BunnyHugger says, "Since of course everything we deal with on the MUCK is an object of some sort!"
531 Claude nods!
532 BunnyHugger says, "A thing also needs to be @linked to a home. This defaults to you when you @create it, but you can change it with @link thing=<wherever>. You should remember to @link a thing when it's @chowned to you, since it will still have its old home otherwise."
533 ### Azure has posted a new message entitled "Imaginary Time" in board "SpinDizzy Main Bulletin Board". Type '+read 46' to read it.
534 BunnyHugger erases the board to make her column read, 'Tidy things'!
535 BunnyHugger writes, "Tidy rooms!" and under it writes "Environment rooms" and "Obvious exits".
536 BunnyHugger says, "A room should have an appropriate environment room, either one of the basic ones like '$indoors' or '$outdoors' or -- if you're building a whole area -- one that you create for your area."
537 BunnyHugger says, "Generally, too, you should leave your exits obvious, which is the MUCK default and is part of the building code. If you have a real reason to make them non-obvious, like it's a puzzle or it's actually a program action and not an exit to somewhere, you can set them DARK and they will no longer show up."
538 You say, "I only needed to do that once, for mood. It was strongly hinted at in the room desc."
539 GreenKai wags her tail, "My room *is* an environment!"
540 BunnyHugger says, "Giving local exits the same name as global exits/actions is generally a bad idea. The local will usually override the global, but it could cause confusion. The exception is when this is done for a specific reason: Aleister, for instance, once had an RP in which he made a local 'say;"' and @linked it to $nothing in order to indicate that everyone had been magically muted."
541 BunnyHugger says, "Which I thought was brilliant."
542 Beltrami blinks?
543 Servaldroid opens its mouth and says, in a flat, baritone voice, "There are also times when you want to override actions higher up on the food chain, particularly when you want more control over your environment."
544 Claude tilts his head at Beltrami.
545 BunnyHugger says, "Well, for people unaccustomed to it, that was a big hindrance, Beltrami."
546 BunnyHugger says, "Right. As I said, you might have reasons. But normally, it's something to be cautious about."
547 BunnyHugger looks over her notes.
548 BunnyHugger says, "I think that's it for my lesson today."
549 Beltrami nodnods.
550 BunnyHugger says, "Now let me leave you with your take-home FINAL EXAM. If you complete this successfully, and also complete a short written final, you will receive your diploma for this class."
551 Servaldroid says, "Another case might be if you want to implement your own version of a software program. The best way to handle this is to 1) understand what you want to do differently, 2) implement those changes in your own code, 3) work with the Wizards to get this set up. This is pretty atypical, and some MUCKs might allow you to set your own MUCKer permissions for an action (which allows for precedence) but for the most part, it's an exercise in collaboration and care."
552 BunnyHugger nods.
553 BunnyHugger says, "Now, Austin and I are going to be away at FurFright this next weekend."
554 BunnyHugger says, "I'm thinking of holding the written final on Sunday, November 4, at 10:00 (our normal class time). That's in two weeks."
555 BunnyHugger says, "If that's OK with everyone we'll do that. Anyone who WANTS to take the final and can't make that time, can arrange a make-up with me."
556 BunnyHugger says, "Taking the final/doing the final project is going to be limited to anyone who has come to AT LEAST ONE class. I don't want a bunch of folks suddenly appearing to take the final who've never been to class. I get enough of that in real life. >;)"
557 Austin grins.
558 [OOC] GreenKai says, "Do any of them pass?"
559 BunnyHugger says, "Sometimes."
560 Skyler says, "Sheesh."
561 BunnyHugger says, "Often they pass, but with a much lower grade than they probably could have easily gotten... because the fact that they can pass without ever going to class shows they're pretty sharp,b ut sharp enough that they should have been able to get an A or B in the class instead of a D."
562 [OOC] GreenKai had a friend who did that once and scored 97% on the exam. Got a 5 for effort (6 is worst) and a 1 (best) for achievement in the class review.
563 BunnyHugger says, "Are you all ready for your final instructions?"
564 GreenKai nodnods.
565 Niny'ah is
566 You say, "Sure!"
567 Beltrami nodnods.
568 <Verbatim start: BunnyHugger>
569 Final exam (practical section)
570 You are to create a building project that meets the following specifications. Although I won't know for sure whether you "cheated" and used something you already own, I would prefer that it be a new creation. (Exception: you may use objects created for previous homework assignments as part of this.)
571 You are to build an area that:
572 -- Makes use of at least one environment room of your own creation, and that environment room should be appropriately parented also
573 -- Contains at least three rooms, linked by exits
574 -- Is either linked to from somewhere accessible from the grid (e.g. an apartment room, a grid square...) or via an object (e.g. a teleporter, a magic door).
575 -- Contains a resident zombie that you can control via an action
576 -- Contains a thing type object with some sort of interactive element
577 -- Uses noises.muf, movie.muf, keypad.muf, or some other "special effects" type MUF for atmosphere or functionality
578
579 Remember to follow best practices in building your area! I reserve the right to award bonus points for creativity. Your building project is due before you take the written final exam, and I will inspect it anytime before then; just find me and ask.
580
581 The written final will cover technical knowledge, definitions, etc. It will be open notes, but timed. It will be held on November 4 during our usual class period or by appointment.
582 <Verbatim end: BunnyHugger>
583 BunnyHugger passes out the exam instructions.
584 Skyler hmms. "What of the 'thing type object'? Something that say, you can look at, or more?"
585 BunnyHugger says, "Skyler, this refers to an earlier lesson."
586 Claude rubs his eyes and reads.
587 Skyler says, "Yeah, I kinda figured it did."
588 BunnyHugger says, "I taught the class how to put @actions on objects to make them 'do things.'"
589 Skyler aaahs! "Oh, okay."
590 BunnyHugger says, "So it could be, like, a record player you can start up, or a refrigerator you can open... or anything like that. It doesn't have to link to a MUF, though it could if you wanted."
591 BunnyHugger says, "Or use MPI. For students who know MPI, that's not off limits either, but it's not required. A little MPI will have to be used to make the zombie work, but otherwise not."
592 BunnyHugger says, "Now, you ARE allowed to ask me questions while you work."
593 Claude nodnods. "I have an idea, but it will need developing."
594 BunnyHugger says, "I may try to make you work through things with assistance rather than telling you straight out, but asking is OK. Asking others is also OK."
595 BunnyHugger says, "Being able to use the community's resources is, after all, part of learning to build."
596 BunnyHugger says, "But struggling on your own as much as you can stand, is also good for your skills."
597 Claude will need help with the concept. :P
598 BunnyHugger says, "So I'd say, work through until you're frustrated, then, instead of throwing things, ask me or someone else for help."
599 Skyler says, "What if what I want to do is use throw.muf?"
600 BunnyHugger laughs.
601 BunnyHugger says, "That's OK then."
602 BunnyHugger says, "The final exam won't allow asking assistance, but WILL allow you to use the help files and any notes you have including the logs."
603 BunnyHugger says, "The written final, that is."
604 J.P. has disconnected.
605 PatchO'Black has arrived.
606 BunnyHugger says, "I'm modeling the final after Joshua's MUF class final, though in his case, the practical and written exams were one and the same and were timed. I wanted to let you have more time to do the practical part."
607 Beltrami smiles to PatchO'Black.
608 You say, "Hello, Patchy."
609 BunnyHugger says, "Have fun with this!"
610 BunnyHugger says, "It would be fun to have an 'open house' after graduation to look through everyone's building projects."
611 BunnyHugger says, "My understanding is that Joshua will start his MPI class as soon as we're done with this."
612 PatchO'Black sits in the back, so as not to interupt the lesson, if it is still going on.
613 You say, "Ooh, that's a great idea!"
614 BunnyHugger says, "I recommend moving onto that, because MPI combined with building gives you a lot of power even if you don't write MUF."
615 BunnyHugger says, "I for one hardly know MPI and will be taking that class."
616 BunnyHugger says, "Claude, you can close the log if you're logging. I think we're done!"
617 BunnyHugger says, "Class is dismissed!"
618 You say, "Thank you!"
619 Beltrami touches her chin.
620