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GMud32 Script Reference - V7.1!

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GMud32 Script Reference


Important: Each subheading is categorized as either Basic, or Advanced
If categorized as Basic: All of the features listed under the heading, will not be deactivated when the demo times out.
If categorized as Advanced: Only registered users will possess unrestricted access.

 

New Additions and Bug Fixes


Version 7.1

* Fixed: The scripts have been updated to work with JAWS 9: Key echo when typing is now fixed.
* Fixed: Pressing Alt+N will now open the Notes file.

Version 7.0

* Fixed: Interrupt Values will no longer be disabled by repetitive triggers.

Version 6.3

* Added: Subheading: Load Map into Memory

Version 6.2

* Fixed: Reading interrupt when pressing the enter key, is now optional.
* Fixed: Punctuation, Keyboard Echo, and Typing Interrupt settings can now be changed.

Version 6.1

* Fixed: Custom hotkeys failing to assign personalized key commands.
* Added: Extended arrow key support for laptops.

Version 6.0

* Modified: Profiling is now the only Advanced feature listed. Ignore Values and Interrupt Values are now categorized as Basic.

Version 5.0

* Modified: Escape key macro hotkey reassignment. Click here for details.

Version 4.2

* Fixed: Virtual memory buffers will now insert line break automatically when recording new messages.

Version 4.1

* Added: The ability to modify both the forward and reverse message buffer lengths.
* Fixed: Alt+Shift+U will now open the latest version page, where new updates will be posted.

Version 4.0

* Modified: Complete reassignment of Quick Navigation hotkeys, click here to view changes.

Version 3.2

* Fixed: Escape key not closing virtual buffer.
* Fixed: Quick Navigational Mode not refreshing virtual memory buffers.
* Added: Further hotkeys to enhance laptop support. (I.E.
Quick Navigation Mode toggle: Insert+K or Control+K.)

 

Basic Commands

Category: Basic

To toggle speech output for incoming messages, press Control+S.
At some point, you may wish to silence the speaking of incoming messages for a given amount of
time. This can be useful in preventing over-chatter, or halting speech while another task is
performed.

To toggle the use of auto re-typing, press Control+Enter.
By default, whenever you press the Enter key on a blank line, the previous command is
automatically entered. This can be useful when performing the same command repeatedly. However, it may sometimes be necessary to enter a blank line. This command will toggle the auto re-typing feature on or off. Once toggled, the setting will remain locked until either the feature is
re-toggled, or Jaws is restarted.

To open the personal note file for GMud32, press Alt+N.
This text file can be used to save any important data that crosses your path.

To maximize or restore the screen, press F12.
This will toggle between the two window states.

To hear whether the screen is currently maximized, press Control+F12.
This is useful if you do not wish to change the status of the screen.

 

Changeable Speech Output Settings

Category: Basic

Important: Each of the settings listed below work differently depending on your position in the GMud32 program. If you change one of the settings from the main window, the setting will only effect the main window of the program (where new messages are posted). To change one of the General settings, just open one of the dialog boxes, such as the Connect dialog from the File menu, and modify the desired setting from that location. A General setting will effect all parts of GMud32, excluding the main window.

 Toggle reading interrupt: Shift+Windows+Enter
In script versions prior to 6.2, speech output was interrupted whenever a script hotkey was pressed (especially the enter key). Now, this setting can be toggled whenever desired.

 Toggle typing interrupt: Control+Insert+2
This will toggle whether speech is interrupted if any key is pressed.

 Toggle keyboard echo: Insert+2
Toggles between; Say nothing, characters, words, or both characters and words when typing.

 Toggle punctuation: Alt+Shift+P
Toggles between; Say no punctuation, some, most, or all.

 

Copying Text

Category: Basic

To make a virtual copy of the message window, press Alt+C.
This will place all text in the message window in the virtual buffer. You can then browse it at
leisure using the standard navigational commands. Although incoming messages will still be
spoken, the text in the buffer will not change.
Hint: Using the Control+S command, will toggle the speaking of incoming messages. Just press
Escape to return to the standard edit field.

To copy all message window text, press Control+Shift+C.
This will bypass the virtual buffer, and instantly copy all visible text in the message window to
the clipboard. This can be useful when copying important data at runtime.

To copy the current word at the cursor, press Shift+Space.
In some instances, you might need to type a word that has previously been written to the message window. If Jaws is unfamiliar with the word, it may not have been spoken correctly. The solution, in the past, was to first find the word with the Jaws Cursor, have it spelled, then type each letter of the word as described. Now, however, all that you need to do is find the word, then use this command to copy it to the clipboard. Selecting the word beforehand is not necessary, nor
does it matter which cursor is used. It will work just as well in the virtual buffer.

To copy the current line at the cursor, press Control+Space.
Same functionality as previously described.

 

Reviewing Recent Messages

Category: Basic

There are two storage channels that you can use for this feature: The Reverse Message Buffer, and the Forward Message Buffer.

The Reverse Message Buffer will save a list of recent messages in reverse order, and the Forward
Message Buffer will save a list of recent messages chronologically.

Each buffer can hold a specific number of characters at one time. When the buffer
surpasses the character limit, it will automatically refresh by subtracting 250 characters. This will ensure that continuous feedback is available, regardless how often each buffer is refreshed.

Both buffers are set to 1250 characters by default, yet one or both of these values can be easily modified.

To modify the Forward Message Buffer length, press: Alt+Control+F
To modify the Reverse Message Buffer length, press: Alt+Control+R

To change the refresh settings for each buffer, press Alt+Control+Shift+Enter.
This will toggle how often each buffer is refreshed. I.E. You can choose to clear one or both of
the buffers whenever the enter key is pressed, or simply use the automatic refresh feature above.

To activate the Reverse Message Buffer, press Alt+Control+Shift+UpArrow.
To activate the Forward Message Buffer, press Alt+Control+Shift+DownArrow.

To listen to the Reverse Message Buffer, press Alt+UpArrow.
To listen to the Forward Message Buffer, press Alt+DownArrow.

To make a virtual copy of the Reverse Message Buffer, press Alt+Shift+UpArrow.
To make a virtual copy of the Forward Message Buffer, press Alt+Shift+DownArrow.

 

Special

Category: Basic

To speak the currently running script version, press Alt+Shift+V.
You can use this feature to compare the latest script release version with your own.

To open the Latest Version Page, press Alt+Shift+U.
Updates, new releases, and new bug fixes will be posted here. The new features of the most recent script release will also be available.

To activate the selected URL, press Alt+U
This will run the highlighted URL using the Internet Explorer Plug-in version 1.2

To enter your registration key, press Alt+Control+Shift+R.
This will unlock your scripts, and disable demo mode. (Registered users will receive their registration key by email after completing the steps on the download page.)

 

Documents

Category: Basic

To display a virtual list of all available hotkeys, press Insert+H
To open the GMud32 script documentation file, press Insert+F1 twice quickly.
To open the GMud32 program help file, press Control+F1.

 

Loop Commands with Time Delay and Search Parameter

Category: Basic

To assign a loop command, press: Insert+Shift+Tab
To activate the loop command, press: Insert+Tab
To cancel the current loop in progress, press: Control+Shift

 

Profiling

Category: Advanced

Profiles are customizable place folders where you can store game-specific information. You can
create as many profiles as you wish, and use them to enhance performance during game-play.

All settings are profile specific, and you could create a different profile for each host you have listed in GMud32.

In this manner, you could specify your script preferences for each host individually, and switch between them with a few simple key strokes.

To view a list of all available profiles, press Control+Shift+P.
To switch between profiles, press Alt+P.
To speak the name of the currently loaded profile, press Control+P.
To create a new profile, press Control+Shift+N.
To remove a profile, press Control+Shift+R.

To reload the default profile, press Control+Shift+D.
Reloading the default profile will not effect any of the other profiles, it will just unload the
current profile in place of the first.

 

Interrupt Values

Category: Basic

Interrupt values (also referred to as interrupt strings), are strings of text that will indicate
when important data appears in the message window.

Note: The word "string" refers to a line of text. Each profile can save up to ten interrupt
values, and each value can store up to 70 characters of text.

When an interrupt value is detected, speech will automatically be stopped, and the triggering
message will be spoken. Normal speech will resume after that point.

For example: If you were playing a game that would give the following prompt if an officer was
trying to arrest you: "I place you under arrest for the disturbing the peace, you have five
seconds to comply."
You could create the following interrupt value: "I place you under arrest ", and when the prompt
appeared in the message window, the message would be spoken immediately.

This can be quite useful if you only have a certain amount of time to respond.

To view a list of all interrupt values in the current profile, press Alt+F1.
To add an interrupt value to the current profile, press Alt+F2.
To remove an interrupt value from the current profile, press Alt+F3.
To toggle the use of interrupt values, press Control+F4
To toggle case sensitivity for the current profile's interrupt values, press Control+F5.
To hear whether case sensitivity is active for the current profile's interrupt values, press Control+Shift+F5.

 

Ignore Values

Category: Basic

Ignore values (or ignore strings), are the exact opposite of interrupt values. They will
automatically ignore the specified message whenever it is detected in the message window.

This can be useful if a certain message prompt is always popping up, and you get tired of hearing
it whenever it does.

To view a list of all ignore values in the current profile, press Alt+1.
To add an ignore value to the current profile, press Alt+2.
To remove an ignore value from the current profile, press Alt+3.
To toggle the use of ignore values, press Control+4.
To toggle case sensitivity for the current profile's ignore values, press Control+5.
To check whether case sensitivity is active for the current profile's ignore values, press
Control+Shift+5.

 

Maintenance

Category: Basic

To clear all settings/values from the configuration file, press Alt+F11.
Over time, as more and more profiles are created, a build up of interrupt and ignore values may
accrue. If you wish to completely remove all profiles and their settings from memory, you can do
so with this command.
Hint: This command will remove all customized data from the configuration file. However, the
GMud32Note file will not be effected.

To clear all settings/values from the default profile, press Control+Shift+0.
Since the default profile is not removable, it's values/settings are not included when deleting
individual profiles. Interrupt and ignore values may still remain in this profile as a result.
Use this command to clear out the default profile.
Hint: If you have any other profiles saved, they will not be effected by this command.

 

Telnet from Internet Explorer and Quick Connect

Category: Basic

Using the Internet Explorer Script Plug-in, it's now possible to click on a selected telnet link, and have all necessary data automatically configured for GMud32.

For instance: When viewing the website for a particular game host, and a direct telnet link is provided:
* You could press Control+Shift+Enter to automatically configure and save all necessary data;
* Then open GMud32;
* Then press Windows+Enter, to automatically add the new host to GMud32, and connect to the server.

Please note: The Internet Explorer Script Plug-in is necessary for this feature to work properly.
The plug-in itself, is an updated version of the default Internet Explorer scripts, provided by Freedom Scientific. The installer will extract the updated files into the default script directory, and move the original files into a separate folder for safe keeping. This folder will also be located in the default script directory, so it won't be hard to find.
Since the name of the folder varies depending on which version of Jaws is running, it's always given in the last message of the install process.

To get the Internet Explorer Script Plug-in, just choose the link below that best corresponds with your version of Jaws.


Plug-in Version: 1.2

Once the script plug-in is installed, the following hotkeys will be available using Internet Explorer.

Gather telnet data from highlighted link: Control+Shift+Enter
Get latest GMud scripts: Alt+Shift+G
Check plug-in version: Alt+Shift+V

 

Quick connect using GMud32

Category: Basic

Quick connect to server: Windows+Enter
This feature can only be used in GMud32, and is useable  with or without the IE Script Plug-in.
* The original functionality of the script, is to automatically connect to the most recently used game server. So, to connect to the last host, you would start GMud32, and simply press the above hotkey.
* However, when pressed after using the Gather Telnet Data hotkey above, using internet explorer, it will automatically add the new host to GMud32, and connect to the game server using the GMud client. Once the connection is complete, the Quick Connect hotkey reverts back to it's original functionality.

Quickly adde new host and port to GMud32: Alt+Enter
Provides an alternative to manually adding a host using GMud32. For example:
* Just paste the host address into the main window of GMud32, then press Alt+Enter.
* Verify that the host address is correct, then press enter.
* Type the port number in the following box, then press enter again.

 

Spam Filtering and Repeat Message Suppression

Category: Basic

Spam: An excess of undesirable data that is often posted before or after new messages.

Such Spam can also be appended to the beginning or end of new messages as well.
This can severely hamper a person's desire to connect to a particular host in the first place.

Various combinations of the following features, may help in preventing Spam from becoming a hindrance during speech output.

Toggle the combination of Spam filtering and repeat message suppression: Shift+Alt+Enter
* Spam filtering will recognize the repeated text of a new message, and ignore that section while continuing to read the rest of the message.
* Repeat message suppression will identify and ignore messages that are often posted, but contain the same information with each post.

Toggle whether leading or trailing Spam will be filtered: Control+Shift+Enter
Specifies whether Spam filtering will concentrate on the beginning  of a new message, the end, or both beginning and end.

Toggle whether the enter key will refresh the Spam filter: Control+Alt+Enter
This can prevent repeat message suppression from ignoring actual keyboard commands, especially if the keyboard commands are entered more than once.

 

Message Trimming

Category: Basic

Unlike Spam filtering, message trimming will trim a message by a specific number of characters, and only when the condition specified in the desired Ignore Comparison String is true.

Toggle message trimming: Alt+Shift+T
Toggles whether to trim the front of the message, the back, or both the front and back.

Specify the message that you wish to be trimmed: Control+T
Selects the Ignore Comparison String that will trigger message trimming to be activated.

Specify the number for both leading and trailing lengths to be trimmed: Alt+Control+T
Enter the character lengths for both leading and trailing string trimming.

 

Ignore Comparison Strings

Category: Basic

Unlike Ignore Values, which need exact matches to activate, the Ignore Comparison Strings will activate on partial matches.

Simply enter two strings that are always constant in the message you want to ignore, and make sure that Toggle Ignore Strings is on (Control+4).

Case sensitivity can also be toggled using the Ignore Strings hotkey (Control+5)

Show all of the ignore comparison strings currently listed: Alt+Control+F1
Add a new ignore comparison string: Alt+Control+F2
Remove an ignore comparison string: Alt+Control+F3

 

Interrupt Comparison Strings

Category: Basic

Unlike Interrupt Values, which need exact matches to activate, the Interrupt Comparison Strings will activate on partial matches.

Simply enter two strings that are always constant in the message you want to identify, and make sure that Toggle Interrupt Strings is on (Control+F4).

Case sensitivity can also be toggled using the Interrupt Strings hotkey (Control+F5)

Show all of the interrupt comparison strings currently listed: Alt+Shift+F1
Add a new interrupt comparison string: Alt+Shift+F2
Remove an interrupt comparison string: Alt+Shift+F3

 

Customizable Hotkeys

Category: Basic

These hotkeys are completely optional. You can assign any keyboard command you desire.

Format: The first hotkey in each row is customizable, and the second hotkey will change the value of the first.

To assign value to hotkey, Press
To assign value to Shift+Windows+UpArrow, press Alt+Windows+UpArrow
To assign value to Shift+Windows+DownArrow, press Alt+Windows+DownArrow

To assign value to Shift+Windows+LeftArrow, press Alt+Windows+LeftArrow
To assign value to Shift+Windows+RightArrow, press Alt+Windows+RightArrow

To assign value to Shift+Windows+PageUp, press Alt+Windows+PageUp
To assign value to Shift+Windows+PageDown, press Alt+Windows+PageDown

To assign value to Shift+Windows+Home, press Alt+Windows+Home
To assign value to Shift+Windows+End, press Alt+Windows+End

To assign value to Shift+Windows+NumPadSlash, press Alt+Windows+NumPadSlash
To assign value to Shift+Windows+NumPadStar, press Alt+Windows+NumPadStar

To assign value to Shift+Windows+NumPad5, press Alt+Windows+NumPad5
To assign value to Shift+Windows+Insert, press Alt+Windows+Insert

 

Quick Navigation Mode

Category: Basic

Inspired by Sean Randall

The Quick navigation Mode now makes it possible to navigate using both the standard arrow keys, as well as the number pad.

Moreover, the default values for each compass direction
(North, North-East, East, South-East, South, South-West, West, North-West, Up, and Down)
can now be changed according to your preferences.

Toggle quick navigation mode on/off: Control+Insert+NumPad5, or Insert+K, or Control+K
Note: Quick Navigation Mode is on by default.

Navigational hotkeys...


Go direction: Hotkey
North: Windows+UpArrow
North-East: Windows+PageUp

East: Windows+RightArrow
South-East: Windows+PageDown

South: Windows+DownArrow
South-West: Windows+End

West: Windows+LeftArrow
North-West: Windows+Home

Up: Control+Windows+UpArrow
Down: Control+Windows+DownArrow

To change the string assignment for any compass direction...


Change direction: Hotkey
North: Alt+Control+1
North-East: Alt+Control+2
East: Alt+Control+3
South-East: Alt+Control+4
South: Alt+Control+5
South-West: Alt+Control+6
West: Alt+Control+7
North-West: Alt+Control+8
Up: Alt+Control+9
Down: Alt+Control+0

Reset original compass directions: Shift+Alt+=

 

Auto Mapping and Quick Escape

Category: Basic

Toggle the use of auto mapping: Alt+Shift+NumPad5, or Control+Shift+F12
This will automatically map your progress when using the directional hotkeys of the Quick Navigation Mode. The map is stored using two tracks, forward and
backward. The forward track shows the commands leading you to your current location... The backward track shows the commands that will lead you back to
where you started. Backtracking is automatically adjusted, so it will not impair the accuracy of the map.

Copy the forward track to the clipboard: Alt+Shift+F
Copy the backward track to the clipboard: Alt+Shift+B
These will copy your maps to the clipboard. You may wish to paste the results into your notes file (Alt+N) for further use, to make an alias using GMud,
or for whatever reason you like.

Remove the last compass direction from the map: Alt+Control+M
Useful if a mistake is made, or an auto map ignore string was not specified beforehand.

Clear both the forward and backward tracks: Alt+Control+;

Auto Mapping - Ignore Strings


Manually add new auto map ignore string: Alt+Shift+A
This is a good way to add partial matches to the list. For instance: if you are mapping a course, and come to a closed door, and the message says: 'Theoakdoor is closed'... You could add the following quote to the ignore list: ' is closed.'
This would prevent a false direction from being mapped.

Automatically add new ignore string: Alt+Shift+C
This is good for general direction errors. For instance: If you always get the following message when trying to enter a non-enterable area: 'Alas, you cannot go there.'
You could press Alt+Shift+C, then try to enter the area. The error would automatically be added to the ignore list as soon as it showed up on the screen.

Please note: Currently, only ten ignore string slots are available to be saved within each profile. If more are needed, just let me know, and I'll add more in the next update.

Show all current Auto Map Ignore Strings: Alt+Shift+I
This will show a list of all of the ignore strings that effect auto mapping.

Remove an auto map ignore string for the current profile: Alt+Shift+M

 

Quick Escape and Command Stacking


To toggle quick escape, press: Alt+Shift+Escape
Just press the hotkey once to turn the quick escape feature on. This will enable the escape key to monitor the backward track of the auto mapping feature... And, if pressed, to trigger the backward track automatically. This can be useful if in a tight spot, when needing a quick escape, or if lost in unfamiliar territory.
Important: This feature will only work with auto mapping enabled.
Press Alt+Shift+Escape once more, to set the escape key to the standard macro functionality.

To toggle the use of automatic delay during map execution, press Alt+Shift+D
This will insert a specific length of time between the entering of each compass direction. This can be useful if multiple commands are not accepted by the game host at one time.

To change the automatic delay value, press Alt+D

To change the command stacking value, press: Alt+Shift+;
The default command stacking value for GMud32, is semicolon (;)
You can change this to any value you wish through the Options menu of GMud32. Just make sure that the value you enter using Alt+Shift+;
matches the command stacking value used by GMud32.
Important: If these values don't match, the quick escape feature will not work properly... Nor will the maps be immediately usable. So, if you would like to use any of these features, just make sure that Command Stacking is enabled through the Options menu of GMud32 beforehand.

 

Load Map into Memory


Load map into memory: Alt+L
This will load a previously copied map into memory, where it can then be directly exicuted.

Run currently loaded map from memory: Control+Shift+F1

Copy the map in the forward track to loaded memory: Alt+S
This will load the map directly from the forward track

 

Custom Macros

Category: Basic

(Definition) Macro: a command string, or series of command strings.

Custom macros can now be assigned to the Escape, Tab, and Insert keys.

If command stacking is active in the GMud32 options menu, one or more commands can be assigned to each one of these keys.

Although the macros are most powerful when used in conjunction with the Quick Navigation Mode, they will not be disabled when Quick Navigation Mode is turned off. Also, since each macro can
only be used from the main window of the program, there is no risk of menu or dialog box conflicts.

By default, the feature will only become activated once a macro command has been assigned to the specified key... And clearing the command string will disable the macro feature for that key.

Macro hotkeys


Add a macro command to the Tab key: Alt+Windows+Tab
Add a macro command to the Insert key: Alt+Shift+Insert

 Add a macro command to the Escape key: Alt+Shift+Escape
Unlike the two prior keys, the escape key can also be used for the Quick Escape function. For further details, click here.

To clear a macro: Repeat the desired hotkey above, and leaving the input field blank, press enter.
 
Copyright GutterStar.net, all rights reserved.
  In computer gaming , a MUD (Multi-User Dungeon, Domain or Dimension) is a multi-player computer game that combines elements of role-playing games, hack and slash style computer games and social chat rooms . Typically running on an Internet server or bulletin board system , the game is usually text-driven, where players read descriptions of rooms, objects, events, other characters, and computer-controlled creatures or non-player characters (NPCs) in a virtual world . Players usually interact with each other and the surroundings by typing commands that resemble a natural language , usually English . Arguably modern graphics-based massively multiplayer online role-playing games (MMORPGs), such as World of Warcraft as well as social avatar virtual worlds such as Second Life could be considered MUD variants. Traditional MUDs implement a fantasy world populated by elves, goblins, dwarves, halflings and other mythical or fantasy-based races , with players being able to take on any number of classes , including warriors, mages, priests, thieves, druids , etc., in order to gain specific skills or powers. The object of this sort of game is to slay monsters , explore a rich fantasy world, to complete quests, go on adventures, create a story by roleplaying , and/or advance the created character. Many MUDs were fashioned around the dice rolling rules of the Dungeons & Dragons series of games. Such fantasy settings for MUDs are common, while many others are set in a science fiction –based universe or themed on popular books, movies, animations, history, and so on. Not all MUDs are games; some, more typically those referred to as MOOs , are used in distance education or for virtual conferences. MUDs have attracted the interest of academic scholars from many fields, including communications, sociology, law , and synthetic economies. Most MUDs are run as hobbies and are free to players; some may accept donations or allow players to "purchase" in-game items, while others charge a monthly subscription fee. The first games which might today be recognised as MUDs appeared in 1977 on the PLATO system . In Europe at around the same time, MUD development was centered around academic networks, particularly at the University of Essex where they were played by many people, both within and outside of the university. In this context, it has been said that MUD stands for "Multi-Undergrad Destroyer" or "Multiple Undergraduate Destroyer" due to their popularity among college students and the amount of time devoted to the MUD by the student. The popularity of MUDs of the Essex University tradition escalated in the USA during the 1980s, when—relatively speaking—cheap, home personal computers with 300 to 2400 bit/s modems enabled role-players to log into multi-line BBSes and online services such as Compuserve. The first known MUD was created in 1978 by Roy Trubshaw and Richard Bartle at Essex University on a DEC PDP-10 in the UK, using initially MACRO-10 (an assembly language ) and, later, rewritten in BCPL ; also used was a database description language, MUDDL. [1] They chose the acronym MUD to stand for Multi-User Dungeon, [2] in reference to a Fortran port of Infocom's text adventure game Zork for the PDP-10 called Dungeon (or DUNGEN due to the six character filename limit). [3] Zork in turn was inspired by an older text-adventure game known as Colossal Cave Adventure or ADVENT. The classic game MIST (also part of Essex University MUD) which could be played from any computer connected to JANET (a European academic network), became one of the first of its kind to attain broad popularity. [4] Oubliette, written by Jim Schwaiger , and published on the PLATO system predated MUD1 by about a year. It was so difficult that one could not play it alone: in order for players to survive, they had to run in groups. While Oubliette was a multi-player game, there was no persistence to the game world. Following it, also on PLATO, was a game called Moria written in 1977, copyright 1978. Again, players could run in parties but in this game it was also possible to effectively play while only running one character. They were graphical in nature and very advanced for their time, but were proprietary programs that were unable to spread beyond PLATO. Textual worlds, which typically ran on Unix, VMS , or DOS , were now far more accessible to the public. Another early MUD was Avatar , begun around 1977 and opened in 1979, written by Bruce Maggs, Andrew Shapira , and Dave Sides, all high school students using the PLATO system at the University of Illinois . This MUD was 2.5-D game running on 512x512 plasma panels of the PLATO system, and groups of up to 15 players could enter the dungeon simultaneously and fight monsters as a team. Avatar, with by far the most hours played of any PLATO game, is still running, playable by anyone, on the emulated mainframe at www.cyber1.org and via the NovaNET NPT service. In the late 1970s there were numerous other PLATO games which were MUD-like, in various stages of development, some open, some never opened. Some were essentially single-player games but had some multi-player interaction such as communication and shared halls of fame. These games influenced the development of more well-known PLATO MUDs such as Avatar and Oubliette. At the time, these games were referred to as 'dungeon games'. Around this time, at least 10 and possibly as many as 100 people were actively working on MUD games on PLATO. It was common to see two to five people sitting side by side and working on different MUD games in room 165 or the author room of University of Illinois's CERL building. Many non-MUD games also came from this environment, such as empire and airfight. In 1978, Alan E. Klietz wrote a game called Milieu using Multi- Pascal on a CDC Cyber , which was used by high school students in Minnesota for educational purposes. Klietz ported Milieu to an IBM XT in 1983, naming the new port Scepter of Goth (also spelled Sceptre of Goth). Scepter supported 10 to 16 simultaneous users, typically connecting in by modem. It was one of the first commercial MUDs; franchises were sold to a number of locations. Scepter (as well as an unfinished advanced MUD by Klietz called ScreenPlay) was first owned and run by GamBit (of Minneapolis, Minnesota ), founded by Bob Alberti. GamBit's assets, including Scepter and ScreenPlay, were later sold to InterPlay (of Fairfax, Virginia ). InterPlay eventually went bankrupt, making Scepter no longer available. In 1984, Mark Peterson wrote The Realm of Angmar, beginning as a clone of Sceptre of Goth. In 1984, Mark Jacobs created and deployed a commercial gaming site, Gamers World. The site featured two games coded and designed by Jacobs, a MUD called Aradath (which was later renamed, upgraded and ported to GEnie as Dragon's Gate ) and a 4X science-fiction game called Galaxy, which was also ported to GEnie . At its peak, the site had about 100 monthly subscribers to both Aradath and Galaxy. GEnie was shut down in the late 1980s, although Dragon's Gate was later brought to America Online before it was finally released on its own. Dragon's Gate was officially closed on February 10th, 2007 until further notice. [5] These text-adventure games (both single and multi-player) drew inspiration from the paper-and-pencil based role-playing games (RPGs) that were approaching their peak popularity at this time, especially with the release of Advanced Dungeons & Dragons (AD&D) in 1977. This strong bond between RPGs and MUDs continued through the years with the release of dozens of AD&D modules and related books and stories (e.g., Forgotten Realms and Dragonlance ). Influences also came from the gamebooks such as Fighting Fantasy, Choose Your Own Adventure , and Lone Wolf ; and also other RPGs such as Vampire: The Masquerade and Middle-Earth Role Playing. Other MUDs that appeared around 1985 included Mirrorworld, run by Pip Cordrey and developed and written by Tim Rogers, Lorenzo Wood and Nathaniel Billington. Mirrorworld was the first MUD to feature rolling resets. SHADES by Neil Newell was a commercial MUD accessible in the UK via British Telecom's Prestel and Micronet networks. A scandal on SHADES led to the closure of Micronet , as described in Indra Sinha 's net-memoir, The Cybergypsies. Another popular MUD was AberMUD , written in 1987 by Alan Cox (also known as Anarchy), named after the University of Wales, Aberystwyth. Avalon, the Legend Lives , started in 1989, was the first MUD to combine a consistent fantasy story-line with a commercial venture. AberMUD was initially written in B for a Honeywell L66 mainframe under GCOS3/TSS and later ported to C , which enabled it to rapidly spread to many UNIX platforms. [6] Monster was a multi-user adventure game created by Richard Skrenta for the VAX and written in VMS Pascal. It was publicly released in November 1988. [7] Monster was disk-based and modifications to the game were immediate. Monster pioneered the approach of allowing players to build the game world, setting new puzzles or creating dungeons for other players to explore. [8] Monster was the inspiration for TinyMUD. [9] In 1989, TinyMUD began to allow players to easily participate in creating the online environment, as well as playing in it. The TinyMUD code spawned a number of descendants, including TinyMUCK and TinyMUSH , which added more sophisticated programmability. (TinyMUCK versions 2 and higher contain a full programming language named MUF , or Multi-User Forth , while MUSH greatly expanded the variety of commands and functions available and allowed them to apply to all objects.) Some use the term MU* to refer to TinyMUD, MUCK, MUSH, MUSE, MUX, and their kin; others simply allow the term MUD to apply universally. MUVE is a recent coinage, intended to stand for Multi-User Virtual Environment. UberMUD, UnterMUD, and MOO are some other MUD servers that were at least partially inspired by TinyMUD but are not direct descendants. Also in 1989, and inspired by TinyMUD and AberMUD, LPMud was developed as a more game-oriented MUD built around a C-like programming language, LPC . 1989 also saw the development of Avalon, using its own code base run through the Hourglass compiler. Developed in complete isolation from all other MUDs, Avalon adopted an object-oriented approach using the powerful British Acorn Archimedes computer technology. In Europe it was very popular for MUD writers to write in isolation. The three largest commercial examples would be Avalon, Shades and the Terris/Cosrin Engine. In 1991, the release of DikuMUD , which was inspired by AberMUD, led to a virtual explosion of hack-n-slash MUDs based upon its code. DikuMUD inspired several derivative codebases as well, including CircleMUD, Merc, ROM and SMAUG . Meanwhile, Avalon had become a commercial game operating in the UK on up to 16 simultaneous modem connections. In 1992 a second Avalon, the Legend Lives site was opened in the north of England, Sheffield, to give local users cheaper phone call access. In 1993 Avalon, the Legend Lives attempted to circumvent the expense of online connections in the UK with the Hostplay concept: providing access via terminals in Avalon's own offices in central London in addition to its 16 modem connections. In 1994, Mark Peterson rewrote The Realm of Angmar, adapting it to MS-DOS (the basis for many dial-in BBS systems), and renamed it Swords of Chaos . For a few years this was a very popular form of MUD, hosted on a number of BBS systems, until widespread Internet access eliminated most BBSes. Avalon, like other commercial MUDs, went live on the Internet in late 1994. In doing so, they closed down the local Sheffield site. It also released a specialized Windows telnet client named AvPlay, making it the first MUD to release such a client (although AvPlay can also be used for any other MUD.) Avalon, the Legend Lives is still running and under continuous development today. The closing of the Sheffield site motivated one Avalon player, Paul Barnett (now creative Director for the Warhammer Online MMO at EA-Mythic), to design and write the Legends of Terris MUD engine with Doug Goldner. Paul Barnett designed the game and Doug Goldner wrote the code. At this time, AOL US already ran several highly successful games, including Dragons Gate and Darkness Falls (by Mythic Entertainment, which later launched Dark Age of Camelot), Federation (game) (a space trading game) and Gem Stone III (Simutronics, which later launched A Hero's Journey), and AOL Europe had begun operations and was looking for a European MUD game to offer to its subscribers. Legends of Terris was selected to be AOL Europe’s flagship MUD. Legends of Terris was launched on AOL Europe at the end of the year. Legends of Terris itself was hosted at a place called Sub-Cyberia in the basement of the first UK Internet cafe, Cyberia. The game was also translated into German. Contemporary European commercial games typically had around 30-50 players connected at once; within one month, Legends of Terris had over 600 simultaneous players connected. Legends of Terris became the largest commercial MUD in Europe[citation needed] , with over 2000 simultaneous players connected at once. It was now generating over 250,000 game-hours worth of revenue for AOL. Legends of Terris would hit a number as high as 2,544 players at once, while Gem Stone III continued to dominate the commercial MUD world, attracting 6000 concurrent users at its height. Gem Stone III, Avalon and Legends of Terris are all commercially operating today. Of the commercial engines available, Avalon focused on player vs. player design, Gem Stone III was dominant in the areas of game world size and installed player base, and Legends of Terris championed the player vs. environment style of play. MUDs can be accessed via standard telnet clients, or specialized MUD clients which are designed to improve the user experience. Numerous games are listed at various web portals (see External Links). Online graphics-based games ( MMORPGs ), such as World of Warcraft and Dungeons & Dragons Online: Stormreach , as well as graphics-based social avatar worlds like Second Life , are arguably analogous to MUDs, and are sometimes referred to as "graphical MUDs" (see next section) or "next-generation MUDs". Similarities include the basic goals and objectives of the games, where games are present, and the sociality of the environments (the tendency to associate in or form social groups). One difference, among many, is that the majority of MMORPGs and social avatar worlds are commercial ventures. The Business of Social Avatar Virtual Worlds A graphical MUD is a MUD that uses computer graphics to represent parts of the virtual world and its visitors. A prominent early graphical MUD was Habitat , written by Randy Farmer and Chip Morningstar for Lucasfilm in 1985. Graphical MUDs require players to download a special client and the game's artwork. They range from simply enhancing the user interface to simulating 3D worlds with visual spatial relationships and customized avatar appearances. After the increase in computing power and Internet connectivity during the late nineties, graphical MUDs became better known as MMORPGs , Massively Multiplayer Online Role-Playing Games. A less-known MUD variant is the talker , typically based on ew-too or NUTS , with plenty of derived codebases . The early talkers were essentially MUDs with most of the complex game machinery stripped away, leaving just the communication commands -- hence the name "talker". Talkers use simple protocols and create very little network traffic, making them ideal for setting up quietly at work. People who use these tend to be called spods , and have earned a place in the Jargon File. One style of MUD is the Role-Play Intensive MUD, or RPIMUD, a somewhat obscure category of MUDs whose proponents aggressively work to define and differentiate it from other MUDs. RPIMUDs focus on realistic, enforced roleplay, often within fantasy themes. In general, the objective of the game is not goal-based hack-and-slash , but to collaborate with fellow players to create complex and multi-layered storylines in a cohesive game world. The majority of RPIMUDs do not use the concepts of character level and class, focusing instead on skills, crafts, and role-playing against the world or environment, often going as far as to request that their players engage in role-play with inanimate creatures and objects. Such dedication to role-playing, in addition to creating a vivid experience for other players, is often rewarded by staff members who monitor the game. Out-of-character communications are generally restricted, if present at all. This contrasts with other MUD role-playing styles, such as storytelling and freestyle MUSHes, in which role-play is orchestrated between players and OOC communications are more important. A Player Killing MUD is a type of MUD that encourages player versus player combat. Some MUDs have registered Player Killing, meaning a player must register as a Player Killer and can only combat other registered Player Killers.