Visit us at: telnet://barren.barrenrealmsmud.com:8000/
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Highlights from the Realms:
-Code Changes and Area Improvements
-MUD from your iPhone, Android phone, or BB
-MUD Night, One Year Later by Diren
-Barren Realms Special Report by News Correspondent Ducci
-Ideas
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A Message from Your IMP
With some behind-the-scenes finagling [Bluestar’s awesome finagling to be precise…but hey, I’m not trying to steal EB’s thunder here, sooo, I’ll leave it at that ; )], I've now got access to muck around with all the inner workings of BR, so I've started right in on various projects I've been wanting to complete for some time.
First off the little stuff: I fixed all the confirmed typos that were reported since the last time they were fixed. I have no idea how long that was, but there were a lot of them. This includes a general typo-hunt through the entirety of Gondolin, which Diren was kind enough to do for me, typos in the help files, ones in the general mud messages, and formatting issues in all of the above.
I also put in long-awaited changes in a number of areas, fixing up issues in Siberfels, Dun Candrae, and Yamanoha Fortress. (Yes, my teleporters are finally working!) The reverse connection from Fire Newts to Clanghammer has also been fixed.
In bigger area news, Diren has written a new Haon Dor which has been loaded in. This precipitated a number of area moves to accommodate his revisions. Arachnos now connects only to Treetops/Canopy. Elizabethan Theater has been moved to Malathar, near the entrance of Les Mis. Thieves Forest is connected near the border of Hobgoblin War Camp and Hunting Grounds. New Ofcol is connected off the eastern world path, along the segment that leads to Seas of the Pirate Lords and Cliffs of Insanity. The Shire and Mirage Tower (and thus, Lag Central) are now connected to Arialis Forest, which has been moved to the north side of Haon Dor. The old Haon Dor, Old Marsh, and Troll Den are fully disconnected, although still in the game. All the rest (Assault on Calathar, Horror Hills, Western Woods, Underworld, High Tower of Sorcery - and everything connected to Shadow Grove along with it) are still connected to Haon Dor, as is Arialis Forest, now. Obviously, paths have changed, so some exploring is expected.
Some issues remain that have resulted from this move - I am working on fixing them asap. Rewriting the maps and reconnecting Camelot are the biggest ones, but I'm aware of some others.
A lot of various code fixes have gone in, although some are quite specific as to what they fixed. Timer flags now start properly upon the timed-flag object being dropped onto the floor of a room. Timed containers that decay in a player's inventory now spill their contents into their inventory instead of the floor of the room - this can cause players to be carrying more items than they would be able to under normal circumstances. Undead limbs now display and receive eq according to what limb is said to be lopped off. Doors no longer report their keywords when bumped into. Timed lights were set to decay twice as fast as they should've been - this has now been fixed. Negative spell affects on magical items now work - this includes trapped containers, potions, scrolls, etc. etc. Notes now take 8 days to disappear from the note list.
I discovered that Slart, before he left, had coded in a fully working pass-proof flag for exits. This is now available for builders' use. Any questions regarding how, or where, to use it, please ask me.
I reworked speco_teleportation so that being inside a closed container causes the teleporting object to not transfer people. All other cases (including being in an open container, or series of open containers, in someone's inventory) should now transfer people properly.
I have implemented a new command available to all players, called toss. It allows players to throw potions in their inventories at targets (PC or mob) to have the effects of the used potion applied to the target. A help file is forthcoming. There are known bugs with it already that will be fixed, and some additional, fun effects in the pipeline to be added to it. Have fun playing with the new tactics it allows you.
-EB
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Mobile Mudding
By Bluestar
Did you know that you can MUD from your phone?! That’s right, folks who have the iPhone, iPod Touch, Blackberry and any Android devices can play BR!
There are many apps out there that offer telnet services for various smart phone devices, but here’s what we found:
For the iPhone and iPod Touch: http://mochasoft.dk/iphone_telnet.htm
For the Blackberry: http://www.xk72.com/midpssh/
For the Android: http://www.androlib.com/android.applica ... -nEpi.aspx
(I personally use this app and like it quite a lot and would recommend it for all android users)
Thanks to Hondaone for being the Blackberry guinea pig. He now plays BR on a regular basis from his phone, and has given us directions on how to get that above app working on a Blackberry which are now posted on the forums. (http://www.barrenrealmsmud.com/forum/vi ... 2161#22161)
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MUD Night, One Year Later
by Diren
An exhilarating one year it has been, full of laughter, friends, and tremendous competition. MUD night, taking place every Monday at 8pm system time (9pm Est), has had its share of stimulating and mind-boggling quests hosted by several of our enthusiastic Immortals. It's a time when everyone can come together and take advantage of what the MUD has to offer; a variety of unique mobiles, a vast assortment of detailed items, and an ever-growing number of quality rooms. So come on down and show us what you've got!
[In case you guys forgot, that’s barren.barrenrealmsmud.com:8000, the telnet link as at the top of this newsletter
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Barren Realms Newsletter Special Report
By News Correspondent Ducci
A large crowd of charmed and formerly-charmed mobs held a rally at Calathar fountain today, decrying what they call the "racist and criminal atrocity" of charm person. The demonstrators called for an end to the controversial practice and demanded that the term "charmie"--considered a slur--be replaced by "will-challenged npc."
"Charmed mobs are routinely stripped of their belongings, dragged into strange areas and forced into unequal fights and degrading socials," said Franz, a mob from Twilight who claims to have been charmed on hundreds of separate occasions. "We're here to send a clear message that this discriminatory behavior must stop."
Franz had to break off the interview when a passing Avian compelled him to music the first verse and chorus to "Freebird."
A cold snap in Little Haven has driven temperatures to record lows and isolated residents of the mostly pointless area. Weather researchers recorded a low of -77 degrees F, the new Realms record. With wind chills dropping 10-20 degrees below that, Havenians were forced yesterday to dismantle the maze-like entrance to their area and use it for fuel. At a press conference this morning, the Snow Queen indicated that frost giants would be the next to burn, followed by polar bears. Although some commentators have suggested that the crisis is being exaggerated for political reasons, prominent meteorologists described prevailing conditions as "colder than the Duke of Malathar's bedchamber."
The wife of the mayor of Alandra was spotted in the mountaintop city's shopping district yesterday, stunning residents after her month-long disappearance from the public eye. The first lady, sporting a new look and the latest line from Perelandran designer Quazimoto, reportedly made quite a splash. In fact, blood and viscera spatters were seen throughout the area, including an alleyway where Her Ladyship was involved in a dispute over the price of a taco. According to a spokeswoman for the Mayor's office, the mayor's wife has spent the past weeks at an upscale, subterranean health spa, where she underwent a skincare regimen of exfoliation and depilatory waxing, as well as a high-impact yoga program that reportedly "dropped her 3 sizes." Whether her stay at the spa is related to the fact that she is now a hideous, fire-breathing demon, remains unclear.
The legal battle over the fate of the Bloodswamp raged on after a judge issued another temporary injuction against construction in the area. The injuction came as a setback for the Calatharan venture that plans to drain the wetland and install a luxury housing development. The proposed subdivision has drawn fire from a broad spectrum of environmental groups, who argue that construction would threaten the rare and gross species of mob that inhabit the swamp. In May of this year, the Save the Fungidryad! Coalition and Trols Ned Luvin 2 (TNL2) filed joint suit in Calathar Municipal Court to have the area protected. A financial backer of the developers blasted today's decision as "a step backwards for the entire region."
"Cedarmaplebrookvalley Hills would mean increased employment for local Calatharans and increased property tax revenue for the city," said the investor, who spoke on the condition of anonymity. "These are issues far more important than a few stupid animals and a pair of pants." The man's confidence in the development's future seemed shaken, however. When asked to identify the weak points in the plaintiffs' case, he inexplicably spit on the Newsletter reporter and kicked him from the Calathar shop.
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IDEAS
Ducci: add the infravision effect to the avian vision skill. it's kind of silly when you birdseye a room but can't throw into it. i know, how trivial...
You have a good point. Maybe ☺
Ducci: my leggings are too tight--there should be a shop where you can them altered
Sounds like a personal problem, though my suggestion would be to lose weight.[/]
Ducci: crab people
You don’t want to see me crabby, EB can attest to that. As far as a race goes? No. If you just want to see one, bribe a builder
Ducci: let's make wild africa less gay by giving it an exit for pedestrians
This is part of the builder's design. Anyway, it didn’t choose to be gay, it was created that way. Don’t be mean to it.
Ducci: send ogrek to obedience school
I actually think it’s Withers (the butler) who wears the pants in that relationship.
Ducci: take off every zig!! you know what you doing.
Bwah?!
Ducci: move 'zig'. for great justice.
THERE IS NO ZIG! ONLY ZAG! NO ZIG![i/]
Ducci: sac all; como no?
No! Porque es muy malo. (In English: It’s really bad….you could walk into a room an sac someone else’s stuff all at once…purposely or accidentally…it’d be bad juju)
Criterion: can we have a system alias that links the look command with ls a possible shortcut?
Write an alias ☺
Criterion: Do we still have a newsletter where the ideas are exposed for ridicule and commentary?
Nooooo. Not at all. Never seen it. We would never ridicule your comment. I have no idea what you’re talking about.
Criterion: Can we appoint someone keeper of the newsletter?
Hmmm, what a FABULOUS idea. We’ll get right on that.
Criterion: Yes, I just remembered the idea command. Sorry.
You should be. Thank you for sharing your words of wisdom. I look forward to more of them to ridicule….er…not ridicule…cause we don’t do that here. *cough* (see above)
Node: mobs should be affected by nomagic rooms, too >:(
Yes, I agree, in principle.
Solomnius: There should be a 'Re-Name Item' Machine in Calathar, Everyone can wear something different...
Yeah, no. There is a reason why renames are such a valuable prizes from immortals. Participate in more quests and perhaps you’ll win some renames. (like this Monday 8/23/10 for the 1 year anniversary of Mud night at 9pm Eastern…we run 2 quests minimum….PLAY!!!)
Have something you think would be great newsletter material?
Submit anything you’ve got and we will review it for future newsletters!
Submissions and ideas can be emailed to: bluestar@barrenrealmsmud.com