Rooms are without a doubt the easiest thing to create, but building a quality room is a different matter. This section only covers the commands, not tips or guidance on quality and style.
 
 

Creating rooms is a relative simple matter and can be accomplished in two fashions:

1. EDIT ROOM CREATE [VNUM] which both creates the new room and automatically transfers you there.

2. Linking a door to a non-existant room will automatically create one. You will not be automatically moved to rooms created in this fashion.

The method you use isn't important as long as it works for you. Some people prefer to just map out their entire area by creating doors to their new rooms. While this will initially set up the entire area, remembering the location of rooms relative to each other for additional doors might become complicated. The method I use, use it or ignore it as you prefer, is to initially sketch out my area on graph paper. Then I fill in the rooms inside the sketch and label them with their VNUMs. This helps me keep track of which rooms need to be linked with each other and prevents further confusion down the road, but please feel free to use whatever method works for you.
 
 

EDIT ROOMwill allow you to edit your rooms after you have finished laying them all out, or if you prefer, to finish them while creating.
 
 

DESCwill enter the APPEND mode, the standard editor for note spools, descriptions and MOBprograms. If you aren't that familiar with the editor from playing Macula, I suggest you become an expert with all its functions. It even has a spell checker, so there is no excuse for blatant mispelling. Grammar errors, however, require a watchful eye and proofreading by both yourself and other builders.
 
 

The commands for extended descriptions are:

ED ADD [KEYWORD LIST]
ED CHANGE [id] [NEW KEYWORD LIST]
ED SHOW [id]
ED EDIT [id]
ED DELETE [id]
ED FORMAT [id]
ED COND [id] [condition]
ED DEED [id] [deed id] [type] [TITLE string]
 

This is where you make your money as a builder. Extended descriptions add depth and flavor to your rooms. Players, especially those exploring your area for the first time, will want to look around and examine everything. Prominent features in your room description should be given their own extended description. Some builders actually go as far as placing keywords in their room description in a different color, letting players know which words are linked to extended descriptions. There can be, and often warranted, multiple keywords for an extended description as seen in this example:
The trail of sticky memo pads leads to a dusty corner.
 

Here, both memo and pads could be keywords to an extended description detailing what the memo pads look like--perhaps there is even a secret message on them or more likely just useless scribbles and tic-tac-toe games played during admin sessions where nothing is getting accomplished.

With good imagination and planning, a builder doesn't just make a nifty leveling area but actually tells a story if the players delve into the descriptions. Further extended descriptions might be embedded in the first set of extendeds, visible in the room description. Looking at a desk might detail the fact that its a plain oak desk with three drawers. Examining the drawers might reveal a secret message scratched in the wood telling players how to bypass the overly nasty mobile in the next room or reveal the location of a buried treasure--whatever.

Typical ed conds are based on skills:
ed cond 1 actor skill 'german' 40 -1
will result in the ed only being activated, when the person triggering it has a GERMAN skill of 40 or higher (-1).
But also more global stuff can be used:
ed cond 1 world not hour_of_day 7 19
will result in the ed only being availiable by between 8pm and 6am

Getting an ed can also give you a deed:
ed deed 1 1234 private You looked at Pickman's portrait.
will give you the deed 1234 with this title. Other deed types are public and secret.
 
 

There is quite a number of numeric settings for your room. In most cases the defaults will be sufficient but sometimes you should fine-tune them a bit.
 

RECALL [vnum]

This sets the recall location for this room. If it isn't set, your area recall location will be used.
 

 RESPAWN [vnum]

This sets the respawn (starting point after death) location for this room. If it isn't set, your area respawn location will be used.
 

MORGUE [vnum]

This sets the morgue location for this room. If it isn't set, your area morgue location will be used.
 

DREAM [vnum]

This sets the dream location for this room. If it isn't set, your area dream location will be used.
 

MARE [vnum]

This sets the nightmare location for this room. If it isn't set, your area nightmare location will be used. If it's set to -1 this room issafe for dreaming. No nightmares will happen.
 

NIGHT [vnum]

This sets the vnum for an alternate night room. You'll be taken there by night making the room appear different. If none is set, the room is used as its own night room (default).
 

DAY [vnum]

This sets the vnum for an alternate day room. You'll be taken there by day making the room appear different. If none is set, the room is used as its own day room (default).
 

RENT [cost]

This is the rent cost for the room, which only makes sense if the room is rentable. 5000/month is used as default value.
 

HEAL [%]

This is the healing rate. 100 is default; 0 means, you don't regenerate hit points in here.
 

MANA [%]

This is the mana rate. 100 is default; 0 means, you don't regenerate mana points in here.
 
 

FLAG [FLAG]

These flags define what affects the room has, the possible flags are:
 
 

SECTOR [Type]

Sector flags determine the terrain which affects movement and access:
 

Type	Move Pts	Notes
inside	1
city	2
field	2
forest	6
hills	4
mountain	6	climb check
swim	4	swim check
noswim	1	needs boat
air	10	must be flying
desert	6
underground	4
swamp	8
moor	4
space	10	must be flying, no air, cold
underwater	8	swim check, no air
small-fire	4	fire
fire	5	fire
big-fire	6	fire
cold	4	cold
acid	6	acid
lightning	4	lightning
holy	4	holy (evil chars)
evil	4	negative (good chars)
jungle	8
path	2
road	1
plain	2

 
 
 

From the room editor, doors require the following syntax followed by the extended commands.

[DIRECTION] [COMMAND]

Extended Commands (Required for any door operation)
 

DIG [VNUM]

Creates a standard two-way exit to another room. The editor will automatically create the room.
 

LINK [VNUM]

Creates a standard two exit to another room. The room must already exist.
 

ROOM [VNUM]

Creates a standard oneway exit to another room. The room must already exist.
 

KEY [OBJECT VNUM]

This commands restricts all lock/unlock actions to those with they key object of the specified VNUM. This can only be used on exits defined already as DOOR. Keys are set only on one side of the door. If you want a keyhole on both sides, you got to set it on both sides.
 

NAME 'DOOR NAME'

Sets the exit/keywords. Someone can only open/close the door if they use the keywords defined here. The following example set exit keywords to rat hole.
WEST NAME 'RAT HOLE'
 

DESCRIPTION

This will take you straight into the APPEND Mode to edit the description of an exit text. This is seen when looking in that direction and usually contains the name or clues to the name of a NAMEd exit.
 

TRANSITION

This will take you straight into the APPEND Mode to edit the transition of an exit text. It's being displayed, when you're using an exit.
 

DELETE

Deletes an exit in the specified direction. Can be used to delete only one side or both at once.
 

DOOR [EXIT-FLAG]

Sets the door flags to an exit. Whether it IS a door for example and whether players will be able to use pass door or pick the lock. You MUST define a door as DOOR first before applying any other flags!
 
 

Pet Shops require special addressing as most shops can be generated as regular rooms with an NPC shopkeeper mobile. A pet shop is in reality two rooms, not one. The first room is the actual shop where players will buy the pets. The second room is the pet storage room.

The room VNUMs MUST be sequential!
The first room MUST be flagged with Pet_shop

So if room VNUM 1000 is the pet shop (and flagged pet_shop), the pet storage room MUST be room VNUM 1001. The pet storage room is where you will place the resets on the mobiles that the shopkeeper will sell.

All pet storage rooms should be flagged No_mob and Gods_only. The first is to prevent mobiles from being teleported into the room. Though I'm sure players would love to buy Tiamat as a pet, we don't want to see that happen. The second flag is to prevent players from entering the room, they have no business being in there.