Shambala MUSH - Concepts

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Basic MUSH Concepts

[ Interface ] [ Objects ] [ Commands ]

If you have never been on a MUSH before, it may seem a little bit daunting. There are commands that you have to know and no pretty pictures to guide you.

Actually, learning how to use a MUSH is easy. You'll probably be surprised at how quickly you catch on. There are only a few commands that you really need to know to interact and have fun in Shambala, and the commands are similar enough so that when you learn how to use a few, you'll know how to use the rest. With a willingness to experiment and a smattering of patience, you'll be a pro in no time.

This page covers a few of the basic concepts behind MUSH, and should help you in getting started. If you don't know what a MUSH is yet, you should probably read about it first, and then come back here.

Interface

When you participate on the MUSH, you set up a continuous link over the internet between your computer and the MUSH. That allows you to have real-time interaction with everyone else who is connected.

You can connect from your computer using a MU* Client. This is software that you can download from the internet. There are many MUD Clients to choose from, and most are freeware or shareware. You could also use Telnet, but most telnet programs aren't well-suited to using MUSHes.

When you connect to the MUSH, you are connecting to the MUSH server. The server takes all the messages coming to it from the MUSH users, processes it, and sends it back out to all the other users.

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Objects

A MUSH is more than just a chat room. It is a virtual world. The world is made up of objects. There are four basic types of objects: Players, Rooms, Exits, and Things.

Players	Players are objects that represent you and all of the other users connected to the MUSH. Because a player uniquely represents a person logged in to Shambala, no two players can have the same name. Players are able to talk, move around, pick items up, use items, and build items. Players have some basic traits. They have descriptions, which is what one player sees when she looks at another player. They have gender (male, female, or neuter). Players have inventory, which is the list of things that player is carrying. You can see what a player is carrying when you look at that player.
Rooms	Rooms are places where players can gather. While it is called a room, it can represent any place- a park, a treehouse, an ocean, a bedroom, or anything else. Like players, rooms have descriptions that tell what they look like when somemone looks at them. Rooms also have contents and obvious exits, that you also see when looking at the room. The room's contents lists all the players and things present in that room. The room's obvious exits is a list of exits, telling you where to go to get from one room to the next. In most cases, what you say in one room will only be seen by those in that very same room, and will not be seen in other rooms. Likewise, in most cases, what you do can only affect those in the same room with you.
Exits	Exits are portals from one room to the next. An exit may represent a door, a road, a window, or anything else. Like players and rooms, exits have descriptions. To move through an exit, you type the name of the exit through which you want to go. Most exits have aliases, or shortcut names, as well, so you don't have to type the whole name of the exit. An exit's alias is usually shown in <brackets> or (parentheses) after the exit's name.
Things	Things are a catch-all for any other object on a MUSH. Things can represent soccer balls, pets, cars, candles, dolls, or anything else. Like other objects, things have descriptions. Like players, they can have gender. Things can be picked up, carried, and dropped by players. Things can carry other things. Things often have special commands that allow you to use them- you might be able to ask a Magic 8-Ball a question and get an answer from it, or you can actually play chess with someone else on a chess board.

All objects have database numbers. Database numbers are what the server uses to identify and store the information for each individual object. Usually, you will only be able to see the database numbers of objects you own. When you can see an object's database number, it appears in parentheses after the object's name. The database number is followed by a series of letters and symbols called flags. Until you decide that you want to start making your own rooms, exits, and things on the MUSH, you probably won't have to worry about database numbers or flags.

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Commands

Commands are what you use to interact within the MUSH world. Some commands you can use anywhere in the MUSH; other commands you can only use in specific rooms or when specific objects are present.

Some commands are used by just typing the command name, without adding anything additional. An example is the inventory command. If you just type:

inventory

You would see a list of everything that you are carrying in your inventory:

You are carrying:
History textbook
keychain
You have 300 dollars.

Some commands require you to give a string of input. These commands are usually used in the form of:

Where <command> is the name of the command, and <text> is the string of text you want to input. An example is the say command. If you wanted to say "Hi there, everybody," you would type:

say Hi there, everybody.

You would see on your screen:

You say "Hi there, everybody."

And everyone else in the same room with you would see (if your name were John):

John says "Hi there, everybody."

Some commands act on another object, and you would have to supply the name of the object when using the command. This kind of command you use in the form:

Where <command> is the command name and <object> is the object at which that command is directed. An example is the look command. To look at a dog in your room, you would type:

look dog

And you would see:

You see a big Doberman pinscher. He has a shiny coat of short, jet black hair, but with some tan around his nose, chest, and paws. His short ears stand erect and he has a short stub of a tail.

Some commands might require you to give both an object and text to send to that object. Such commands usually use the syntax:

Where <command> is the command name, <object> is the object at which the command is directed, and <text> is the message you are sending that object. An example is the whisper command. If you wanted to whisper to Amity "I don't understand what in the world Megan is talking about," you would type:

whisper Amity=I don't understand what in the world Megan is talking about.

You would see:

You whisper "I don't understand what in the world Megan is talking about." to Amity.

And Amity will see (if your name is John):

John whispers "I don't understand what in the world Megan is talking about."

Everyone else in the room would see:

John whispers something to Amity

Some frequently used commands have shortcuts, so you don't have to type the full command. All of the commands we have used so far have shortcuts.

This shortcut form	is the same as	this long form
inv		inventory
"Hi there, everybody.		say Hi there, everybody.
l dog		look dog
wh amity=What's she talking about?		whisper Amity=What's she talking about?

For just about any command where you want to use yourself as the <object>, you can refer to yourself as me So, if you wanted to look at yourself, you could type:

look me

Some of the more powerful commands coded into the MUSH server- such as ones that change the database- start with the prefix @. You shouldn't let these @-commands confuse you- they work just like any other command. An example of one of these commands is the @desc command, which sets the description that people see when they look at you. If you wanted to describe yourself as "A tall, dark, handsome man," you would type:

@desc me=A tall, dark, handsome man.

Finally, there are commands that begin with the prefix +. These are commands that are not a part of the MUSH server (and thus most will probably not work on other MUSHes), but have been installed for Shambala. Again, don't be confused by the + at the beginning of the command name- these commands usually work like any other command. An example is the +finger command. If you type:

+finger Amity

And you would see:

--------------------------[ Amity ]------------------------- Last Here: Tue Jul 13 21:25:36 1999 Alias: am Gender: Female Location: Amity's House ------------------------------------------------------------

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What's Next?

You might feel brave enough to download a MU* Client and try to log on to the MUSH now. You'll probably be fine if you do. If you want to know a little more first, you can check over a chart of the basic commands that you will use most often.

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Last updated: August 8, 2003