This chapter will familiarize you with the basics and the user interface (UI) of ZombieMUD.
Please note that the world of ZombieMUD is massive, and so are its features. The purpose of this guide
is to give you the very basics you need without going too much in depth too soon.
Do not expect to fully learn the game within the first day, week, or month. It will take a lot more than this.
Having said that, the game is very much playable with what you will learn from this guide. Deeper knowledge
will accumulate in time.
Set
The 'set' command is used to change common settings in the game, such as colors, time zone, auto loot, email, etc.
Typing 'set' will list your current settings.
To change a value (such as email), type 'set email <your email>'.
You should first set colors on by typing 'set term ansi+'.
Password
Without a password, your character will not be saved. To set your password, type 'password'.
You can change your password at any time.
The world
ZombieMUD, and MUDs in general, are built up from 'rooms'. Each room consists of a description of where you are
and possible exits to adjacent 'rooms'. Many rooms also feature things to do in, secrets to search for, and other
types of interaction, as well as items, other players, NPCs (non-player characters) and monsters.
The world of ZombieMUD, aka the 'outworld' is a massive realm consisting of well over million rooms. In the outworld
you can find places like cities, dungeons, forests, guilds, mines, etc. These are called 'areas'. There are well over
a hundred areas to explore, consisting of over 15,000 unique, hand crafted rooms.
Areas vary both in size and difficulty. Some areas are meant for newbies, some only for higbie parties, some have only
a few rooms, some have hundreds. Exploring carelessly can and will get you killed, so you have been warned.
Looking around
When you type 'look', or move around, you get a description of the room, followed by available exits (bright white),
items (in green), NPCs (magenta), and other players (red).
To look at things (either players, monsters, items, or objects in the room's description) type 'look at <something>'.
Often you can also look at things absent in the room description, such as the sky.
Many areas in the game are mapped, you can view a map of the area you are in by typing 'map' or 'm'.
Movement
You can move from room to room through the exits listed in the room you are currently in. Usually these are described
as points of the compass such as north, east, southwest. Type the exit and you will be moved there. E.g. if you wish
to go north, type 'north' or 'n'. You can 'enter' and 'exit' places, go 'in' and 'out' as well as 'up' or 'down'.
Some exits are hidden, so you have to use your wits to figure them out.
To check available obvious exits type 'exits'.
To move more than one room in a direction, you can prefix the direction with a number up to 20. E.g. if you wish to move
8 rooms north, you can type '8 n' (This applies to any command you enter).
Most directions you will find in the game are from the central square of ZombieCity. When
you enter the game you will start inside ZombieCity, and you can see the central square as well as your current location
by typing 'map'.
It is possible to fly, explore the oceans under water, enter portals and use different means of teleportation.
The newbies' best friend is Buju whom you will find 3 north, 3 west from the central square. He will give you a
transportation stone which will teleport you back to him should you get lost. He will also teleport you to different
guilds of the realm.
Talking to other players
To see a list of who else is online, you can type 'who'. To see who are currently not idle, type 'who unidle'.
To tell things privately to another player, type 'tell <player> <what to say>'. E.g. 'tell endy hi!'.
To say something to everyone in the current room, type 'say <what to say>'.
There are also lots and lots of emotes you can use. To see a list of all emotes, type 'verbs'. These can be used with
adverbs, type 'adverbs' to see a list. For example, if you wish to laugh hard, simply type 'laugh hard'. The syntax
is '<verb> <adverb(s)>'.
Some emotes can also be targeted at another player, monster or NPC. You can for example 'greet' others.
Interaction
Most, but not all, NPCs can be interacted with in some way. They will talk with you or react to items you give them.
Some NPCs will give you quests to complete.
Inside shops and the such, you can usually 'list', 'buy' and 'sell' things with the NPCs. Most of the time the commands
available for an NPC are usually listed, but at times you must talk with them to find them out.
ZombieMUD is full of doors, containers, levers, buttons, etc etc. The world can be manipulated in many ways, usually
quite intuitive ones. You can 'open' and 'close' doors and containers, 'unclock' things with keys, 'pull' and 'push' things,
'press' buttons. At times, especially when completing difficult quests, you need to figure out the commands as they are not
always that obviously presented.
Getting help
Besides reading this newbie help, there are other ways to get info.
To list all available help topics, type 'help topics'. The help files are listed in different categories.
Help files will also suggest other related topics to read in their footer.
An extensive channel system exists in ZombieMUD. For now it will suffice to learn that there is a newbie channel,
where you can freely ask anything. When you start the game the newbie channel is automatically opened for you.
It is against ZombieMUD's rules to give misleading information on the newbie channel, so you should be able to rely
on anything you read there.
You can send a message to the newbie channel by typing 'newbie <message>'. You can view latest messages from the
channel by typing 'last newbie'.
When you start a floating skull will tell you things and help you around in your first steps. Listen to what it has to say.
Last but not least, ZombieMUD has dedicated newbie helpers whom you can ask things directly. You can identify newbie helpers
in the 'who' listing from that they have special # brackets around their level, and they have a special title in their player
info, e.g. "He is a beginner newbie helper".
You can also list newbie helpers by typing 'who helper', or list unidle helpers with 'who helper unidle'.
Type 'finger ' to see details about a player.
Useful commands
General commands you will need or find useful in your first days.
Finger: 'finger <,playername>'. Shows the player's character's information
Guild: 'guild <playername>'. Shows the player's guilds.
Summary: 'summary'. Shows experience and exploring you have done during this game session.
Rules
Yes we have rules in ZombieMUD. Make sure you read them at some point.
» Move on to races.
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