1.11 AN INTRODUCTION TO MUDS

This brief introduction is intended for those who are unfamiliar with MUDs (or MUGs, MOOs, MUCK, MMOGs, etc. as they are also called). If you have played them before, it's unlikely you'll need to read the information below.

Since you are reading this, we can assume that you have successfully created a character. What this means is that you have made a persona for yourself that will grow as your knowledge and experience in the land increases. This is _you_ for the purposes of the game, and soon enough you will begin to feel when playing Lusternia, that it really is you.

MUDs as a whole are structured to provide real-time interaction between many players, and between various computer-controlled elements. They can be as varied as the imagination and to attempt to characterise the content of them here would be pointless. However, briefly, Lusternia takes place in an interdimensional fantasy universe of conflict and adventure.

Currently, you are standing in what is called a "room" or "location". You will always be in a room in Lusternia. The structure of Lusternia is such that there are thousands of locations, each representing an area of space. A location could be a field, a section of desert, a part of a city street, or just a room in a house. These locations are generally connected to each other by directions like north, northeast, etc., up, down, in and out. There may also be portals that connect far-flung locations.

To "see" the room you are standing in, simply type LOOK, or just L. This will show you the name of the room (always a single sentence, like "At the centre of Dockhand Square"), the description of the room, and whatever is in the room, be it an item, an animal or monster, or other players. You can move around easily enough by simply typing the direction you want to go in. For instance, northeast or ne to go northeast.

Oftentimes, you will not want to read the entire description of the room, and you will just want to see the name of the room and the items, 'monsters' and players that are in it. To do this, just type QL (which stands for Quick Look).

Since you are reading this, you are probably new to MUDs and will initially experience confusion in dealing with the medium. However, the other players will generally be willing to help you, and all you need to do is use the "NEWBIE" command to ask for help. For instance, "NEWBIE Could someone please help me?". You can also see who is online by typing WHO and then asking an individual player for help by using the TELL command. If you read all the help files in the Introduction section (type HELP on its own for more information about this), then you will get detailed instructions on how all this works.

I'm sure that at this point, you still do not have a clear idea of what goes on in MUDs, and I can only recommend that you jump right in and start playing. Take a visit to Newton Caverns (remember, type HELP to see a directory of the help files), and never be afraid to ask other players for help. Just remember that there are people who will gladly help you, so don't get frustrated and quit at the first thing that confuses you. It may take some getting used to, but this is a highly entertaining and involving art form that hundreds of thousands of internet users find hopelessly addicting. Give it a try, and you'll discover a brave new world waiting to be explored!