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MUSH Web Tutorial

This document is public domain. Feel free to copy and redistribute freely.

Things you type are marked in preformatted blue - type these to try them out.

Messages the MUSH will send back to you are in preformatted green.

What are Mushes?
Table of Contents:

[Return to Living Fiction's Homepage]

Reaching Mushes

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Mushes are reached via a process called 'Telnet'. Telneting is the ability to call other computers on the internet from your account to log on. Example:
If you are able to Telnet, and you typed:

Telnet cow.net

You might see:

Welcome to Cowz!
Login:
Password:

If you had an account with Cowz, you could then log on and use the system.

Mushes are reachable in the same way. You can use the link from Living Fiction's homepage to automatically telnet to the game, but not all MUSHes have homepages, and you will need to use Telnet. To reach Living Fiction from most UNIX machines, you'd type:

telnet cow.net 8888

(For VMS machines, the command is: Telnet cow.net /port=8888, and for some SLIP/PPP telnet programs, like Trumpet Telnet, the command is: telnet cow.net:8888. Consult your telnet program's help for information. Some systems also have TinyFugue - a special program for reaching MUSHes. Type 'TF' at your user prompt to see if you have TinyFugue. /help will give you help with the TinyFugue program.)

For this Tutorial, I'm going to make up a MUSH - Let's call it Tutorial Mush.

CREATING YOUR OWN ACCOUNT

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Let's say you used the quick-connect link on Tutorial Mush's homepage to reach Tutorial Mush. (Tutorial Mush doesn't exist..I just made it up for this example.)

Welcome to TUTORIAL MUSH!
------------------------------------------------------------------------
"connect <name> <password>" connects you to an existing character.
"create <name> <password>" creates a new character.
"WHO" tells you who is logged in to the game (case sensitive).
"QUIT" exits the game and saves your character.
"news" informs you about recent program changes and items of interest.
"help" gives help on the commands, "help commands" for a list.
------------------------------------------------------------------------

To create your own account, type:
create Your-players-name Your-password
Example:

create Dragonsbane dragonsrule

You are now on the system as Dragonsbane. Text will fly by, introducing you to the MUSH and giving you important notices about rules and upcoming events. Read it carefully, as it often has clues about where to get help on MUSHes.
Type 'News' to get information on the MUSH too.

You'll start in the first room of the MUSH, often called 'Limbo'.

Limbo(#0)
A dark mist swirls around you.  You can see light to the north.  Type 'new' to try the 
new player tutorial.
Exits:
North      New

Most MUSHes have a new player tutorial online, but this Web Page will give you a few of the basics so you will have a better idea of how to act once online.

To see what you look like, type:

look me

you'll see:

Dragonsbane (#3456P)
You see nothing special.

DESCRIBING YOUR CHARACTER

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Time to change that, and make yourself a real character!
The command to describe yourself is:

@desc me=message

The message can be anything - you can be a human, a rock, a dragon, a dog...anything you want! For Dragonsbane here, let's make him a fairly standard medieval fantasy human male.

@desc me=A tall man with raven hair and  sparkling steel-gray eyes.
He's wearing a blood red cloak with a silver dragon'shead clasp at
the throat.  The thick folds of cloth do little to conceal the
longsword he has strapped to his side.  His black leather jerkin and
pants look careworn, and his boots are caked with thick mud.

The Mush will tell you:

Description set.

Type 'Look me' now and see what you get.

Look me
Dragonsbane(#2345P)
A tall man with raven hair and sparkling steel-gray eyes. He's wearing
a blood read cloak with a silver dragon'shead clasp at the throat.
The thick folds of cloth do little to conceal the longsword he has
strapped to his side.  His back leather jerkin and pants look
careworn, and his boots are caked with thick mud.

Anyone who looks at you on the MUSH now will see this.

Although in the description, it's obvious that this is a male human, it's a good idea to also specify this in the @sex attribute. To set this, type: @sex me=Male Human. You can set your sex to anything - @sex me=Never..Married. Or @sex me=Howbout a game of canasta? But, usually folks use something like 'Male Human' or 'Neutral' or 'Female Dragon' or whatever. Some buildings have bathroom rooms that are locked against members of the opposite sex, so the attribute can matter.

SECURITY - Locking Yourself

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MUSH is a complex code, with all kinds of features for gameplay. You start with 'pennies' or 'marks' or 'bits' or 'pancakes' - whatever monetary unit the game happens to use, and these give you the power to make items, rooms and do commands on the MUSH. And, they can be stolen unless you @lock yourself!

To lock yourself against people stealing your pennies and other problems, you type:

@lock me=me

To keep people from being able to use commands and code on you (this is really complex - for a much later tutorial!) type:

@lock/use me=me

Setting these two locks generally keeps you safe from other characters who may try to pick you up or take your pennies.

So now you've got your description set, your sex settled, and you're all locked up and ready to adventure and meet people. What now?

MOVING AROUND THE MUSH

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Moving around the mush is similar to moving in the game Zork. You just type the exit name, and you'll move into that room (if you can - remember @lock? It works on doors too.)

Let's say we're back in that Limbo room:

Limbo(#0RJLA)
A dark mist swirls around you.  There is light to the north.
Exits:
North     New

If you type North, this may happen.

north
You head toward the light to the north and emerge in...
The Town Square(#100RLJ)
The hustle and bustle of the town rings in your ears.  Carthorses
whinny and snort as they haul heavy loads of fruit toward the
castle in the distance.  Children laugh and dart in and out of the
market tables.  A merchant calls out, "Fresh fish! Fresh fish!" as
you walk by.  A number of roads lead off to different parts of the
town.
Contents:
Bob
Tiralla
Monkey-Boy
A small dog
Flower Cart
Obvious Exits:
Tavern (T)   Clothiers (C)  BloodWolf Inn (BI)  Wizards' Tower (W)
Roads to Adventure (RTA)
Tiralla says, "Welcome, Dragonsbane."

COMMUNICATING WITH OTHER PLAYERS

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Tiralla said hi! What do we do now? Time to learn to talk to other players.

First, you might want to take a peek at Tiralla's desc to find out if she can help you learn about the MUSH. To do this, type:

look Tir
Tiralla(#123PW)
You see a tall willowy creature with green hair and pointed ears.  Her
violet eyes sparkle with merriment.  A silver gown hangs loosely off
her shoulders, billowing in the slight breeze.  Tiralla is the wizard
in charge of helping newcomers to Tutorial Mush, as well as being queen
of the silver forest to the north.
Contents:
Silver flute
Badge: Page me for help!

Seems like you ran into a staff member here. To talk to her, and to all people in the room with you, you can use the word 'Say', or the command "

Example:

"Hello, everyone!
You say, "Hello, everyone!"

Everyone in the room will see:

Dragonsbane says, "Hello, everyone!"

Talking is just that easy. But, what if you just wanted to wave, or do something even more dramatic than talking?

Mushes have the 'pose' command. ':' or 'pose' will allow you to send a message to everyone in the room preceded by your name.

Example:

:waves to all assembled and bows deeply to the Queen.

Everyone would see:

Dragonsbane waves to all assembled and bows deeply to the Queen.

Posing allows you to smile, laugh and communicate in a variety of ways.

Dragon pages, "Pppbbbbbhhht! You can't kill me!"

Hey..wait..he isn't in the room with us? Type 'look' to see the room again.

look
The Town Square
(Description)
Contents:
Bob
Tiralla
Monkey-Boy
A small dog
Flower Cart
Exits:

(I chopped these out..not important for this part)

Dragon isn't in the room. He must be in some other room and saw your name. Well, you have to answer his challenge! Time to learn the PAGE command.

LONG DISTANCE CALLING - MUSH STYLE: The PAGE

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You can page anyone anywhere on the MUSH. To see who's on the MUSH, you type:

WHO

(In all capitals)

You might see:

Name:        On for:   Idle:    Doing
Dragonsbane     0:14    0:00    
Monkey-Boy      1:02    0:53    Hanging out
Bob             1:03    0:04    My Homework - idle
Kirra           1:23    0:43    Writing Tutorials
Dragon          1:43    0:05    Razing villages
Tiralla         2:32    0:41    STAFF: Page...
There are 6 players connected.

Kirra and Dragon aren't in the room with you, so to talk with them, you'll have to page.

Page Syntax:

page player=message

Example:

page Dragon=You'll look great in my trophy room, you!
You paged Dragon with, "You'll look great in my trophy room, you!"

You can also send a message to the Dragon player that's like a pose:

page Dragon=:sharpens his sword and grins evilly.
Long distance to Dragon: Dragonsbane sharpens his sword and grins evilly.
Dragon senses, Dragonsbane sharpens his sword and grins evilly.

Just then, you realize you have a termpaper due in three hours. Time to disconnect!

QUITTING THE MUSH

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To quit the MUSH, type:

QUIT

Remember to use all capitals with QUIT and WHO.

If you're in TinyFugue, to quit, type:

/quit

SUMMARY

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That is all the basics of MUSHing - the very basics. To learn more, type 'help' once on a mush to see a list of topics and commands. Living Fiction - The MUSH has a staff of volunteers that you can page, as well as tutorials on how to make a character and build rooms for yourself. More tutorials on how to make and put code on objects, make puppets and vehicles and other things are in the works. +help, help and news on most MUSHes can help you locate people who can help you one on one.

CREATING AN ACCOUNT ON A MUSH

create name password
Example: create Dragonsbane dragonsrule

DESCRIBING YOURSELF

@desc me=message
Example: @desc me= a dashing young swordfighter.
@sex me=sex
Example: @desc me=Male Human

LOCKING YOURSELF

@lock me=me.... prevents people from taking your pennies and picking you up
@lock/use me=me.....prevents people from using any code that might be on your character.

MOVING AROUND

Type the name of the exit to go through it to the next room.
Example:
North.......this will take you to the room on the other side of the North exit.
HOME......will take you the room that's your home. This is usually Limbo

COMMUNICATING WITH OTHER PLAYERS

THE SAY COMMAND

say message
"message
Says message to everyone in the same room with you. Example:

"Hi there!
Dragonsbane says, "Hi there!"

THE POSE COMMAND

: message
pose message
Says your name and message to everyone in the room with you. Example:

:waves!
Dragonsbane waves!

LONG DISTANCE COMMUNICATION

WHO <- see what other people are on the MUSH regardless of location.
page player=message
Example:

 Page dragon=Hi dragon
You paged dragon with, "Hi dragon"

page player=:message

Example:

 page dragon=:waves!
Dragon senses, Dragonsbane waves!

DISCONNECTING

Type 'QUIT' (in all Capitals) on a line by itself to leave the MUSH
For TinyFugue, type /quit.

Return to the Table of Contents
Try the Mush Tutorial

Return to the Mush Resources Page
(Comments? Suggestions? Corrections? dragon@dreslough.com)

PLEASE! Feel free to download this tutorial and add it to your own page,change it or improve it, or even publish it. It is fully public domain.