Being an immortal

Requirements to be an immortal:

1. They must be a regular player. Per the current development, the absolute minimum is S-ranked.
   
2. They must have played for a considerable amount of time, in terms of real time. At least a few months and long enough for us to get to know them.
   
3. They must have been friendly and helpful to new players. New players are our key to development so being nice to them is a must.
   
4. They must have been a positive to the MUD as a whole. Whether they have ideas or bug reports or are just generally helpful, as long as they are helpful.
   
5. They must not be controversial. Anyone who is controversial in any way will not be hired. Breaking rules or causing huge problems and you won't be hired.
   
6. They must be able to handle pressure. If a difficult situation presents itself they must be able to handle it sensibly.
   
7. They must not *need* to be an immortal. Power tripping is a big problem with immortals and we don't want it.
   

Note: There is no technical requirement at all. In today's day and age, MUDs are comparatively difficult to play and building a MUD has been made a lot simpler than it once was (and ROM, our code base, is particularly easy to build with). If you can figure out how to play, you can probably figure out how to build.

DO NOT ask to be hired and especially do not ask me. This says to me that you are going to be a power tripper. The more pressure you put on me to hire you, the worse it gets.

Immortals are chosen. They do not apply for the position.

People can choose to say not to a selection if they so desire.

All immortals are initially hired on a temporary basis. They usually get about a month and need to have built one zone, at least to the stage where it can be opened to the public, before they are considered to be a permanent immortal. If they show any signs that they won't be any good, this probation may be extended. It will also be extended if they don't do much work. During the probation period, they will be watched thoroughly and if they are shown to not be suitable, they will be demoted.

Rules for immortals

1. Do not interact with any alts that you have in any way, shape or form. People will accuse you of cheating and the other immortals will smell a rat too.
   -- Do not participate in your own quests, even if the quests exist when you are not on anymore.
   -- Do not fight any mobs that you created if they have any "trick" to them, at least not until it is well known to the MUD as a whole what the trick is.
   -- Do not give your own alts any items at all, especially not any "special" items or any items that have been modified beyond their normal description.
   -- Do not modify your own alt in any way.
   -- Do not restore, power up or otherwise boost your own alt in any way.
   
2. Do not interfere with players at all, except in legitimate punishment or legitimate rewards, as described in well-known policies.
   -- Do not punish a player just because you don't like them. If they have cheated, spammed, harassed etc then punish per the normal ways (arrest, nochannel, ban etc).
   -- Do not reward a player just because you like them. If they have helped with testing, an idea, a bug report or finished a quest, then reward them. Otherwise don't.
   -- Do not create over-powered items for players no matter what they did to deserve it. Over-powered items should not exist at all.
   
3. Do not ever create under-powered mobs. If in doubt, make them too powerful.
   -- Help mob_hp, mob_ac, mob_hitroll, mob_damage all prescribe set minimum powers for mobs per level. Do not ever go under this. A single cheesy mob means that nobody at all will bother to fight the more legitimate mobs, which wrecks the game.
   -- Do not get mobs to wield weapons. Let them hold them. Wielding weapons, especially low level weapons, reduces their damage.
   -- Do not modify anyone else's mobs to make them weaker. No removing mob programs or otherwise making them easier.
   
4. Do not ever create over-powered items, especially weapons. If in doubt, make them too weak.
   -- Help creating gives guidelines for maximum power, per level, for items. Never, ever, go above this. A single over-powered item (especially a weapon) wrecks the whole game.
   
5. Do not interfere with other immortals. Everyone is assigned a zone and that is what you work on. Minor fixes or obvious fixes are excepted. If a zone is abandoned, then you can take it over. If you think that they are doing something dodgy with their building, then report it to another immortal or to Ichike.
   

Note: There is no requirement to do any work at all. You can do as much or as little as you like. It doesn't hurt the MUD at all to have an inactive immortal or someone that does nothing. On the other hand, an active immortal who is cheating or id otherwise upsetting game balance creates enormous problems.

No matter what, as an immortal you should be having fun, but not at the expense of others. A happy immortal is a good immortal. This is a game after all so let's make it fun.

Normal rules apply to immortals too of course.

It is okay for an immortal to login their own player alt at the same time as their immortal character so long as they do not interact in any way. This is so that you can either:

A) Build while training skills, regenerating hp/chakra/stamina or waiting for missions or waiting for someone else to come on.
B) Have the immortal character on, usually in wizinvis form, waiting for someone to come on.

It is not okay for an immortal to login their alt so that they can power it up or get their own alt to compete in and win their own MUD quests.

New immortals - what to do

First off, any new immortals will be told about all of the rules and what is expected of them.

They will then be asked what they want to do, in terms of a zone to work on. They will be given options of main villages, lesser villages, countries or locations to either create or take over. If they have their own ideas for something to work on then that could be considered too, so long as it was in the series.

A new immortal will then have the new area created for them and assigned some vnums. It will then be worked out where, in the "ninja world map" it should go, and linked in with that. If there is currently no linking area to it (e.g. making Sand Village before making Wind Country) then it will not be linked to start with. It is often a good idea not to link an area in until after it is nearing completion.

Usually the first thing to make will be rooms.

REDIT is the main part for making a room. As an immortal, you can see a room's vnums when you are in there. To make your first room, either REDIT CREATE <new vnum> or REDIT <vnum you are in> for a linking room then <DIR> DIG <new vnum> e.g. WEST DIG 16002. This will create a link from the room you are in to a new room.

Move into the new room and then give it a name. Simply NAME <new name> will do (when in REDIT mode). Then give it a description. DESC by itself will put you into room description mode. Type away happily then @ on a single line to finish. It is as simple as that. If you want to format it nicely, type .f .

You can then set the sector type. sector air requires treewalk while sector noswim requires waterwalk. sector forest uses treewalk optionally while sector swim optionally uses waterwalk. Otherwise, sectors affect different skills. You may want to make it ROOM DARK and to assign a clan or guild to the room or all sorts of special things.

Ordinarily, we create rooms first, then items then mobs, in that order. This is primarily as if you create mobs then someone might get a mission to kill that mob. By all means create the mob but don't load it anywhere. Otherwise it is a bit unfair if someone has to kill the mob and they don't know where it is.

Creating objects is more difficult than creating rooms.

OEDIT CREATE <vnum> is how you create an object. Where possible, use the vnum of the room you are in, or at least a vnum similar to it. If you do this, then it is easier to keep track of things. If you run out of vnums to be able to do this, then go to REDIT mode and type OLIST ALL then find a spare vnum.

There are many complexities to creating objects, depending on if you are creating weapons or armor (the easiest to create) or things like maps and sign posts (much harder). There are also things like portals (things you enter), pills and so forth. HELP CREATING gives tips for weapons and armor. Also make sure that weapons are NEVER exotic, no items at all are ever weight 0 or weight 1 and you need to assign them a cost. You also need to make sure to make them "take", at least, if you want a player to ever be able to use them. Furniture and sign posts usually you don't want to have "take", as with any weapons that you want the mob to wield but you don't want the players to be able to take from them.

More complicated than objects is mob creation.

MEDIT CREATE <vnum> creates a mob for you. Same as with items, try to give it the same vnum as the room that you want it to start from. If you have multiple mobs starting in the same room, then try to use vnums next to this. It makes it simpler to keep track of this way. In REDIT mode, type MLIST ALL to get a list of which mob numbers are already assigned if you need to find a new mob number.

Use HELP MOB_HP, MOB_DAMAGE, MOB_AC, MOB_HITROLL to give you an idea for the *minimum values* per level for mobs. You are allowed to make them harder than this, and indeed you should if they are barrier mobs or quest mobs of some kind. Do not, under any circumstances, ever go under this.

Name of the mob will be whatever names you want a player to be able to type in to kill them. This should, at minimum, include all of the main words used in both the SHORT and LONG versions of them. SHORT is simply what it says when fighting them while LONG is whatever it says when you enter the room. DESCRIPTION is what it says when you look at them (this is optional).

Be careful about VULN as this can change the difficulty of the mob. VULN FIRE might be okay if it is coupled with a RES LIGHTNING but VULN WEAPON is a very bad idea. Having a few immunities, vulnerabilities and resistances can make a mob more interesting but VULN especially needs to be used with caution.

SPEC gives the mob a skill set. Some of the common ones are SPEC_GENIN, SPEC_CHUUNIN, SPEC_TAI, SPEC_GENJUTSU, SPEC_DRAGON_FIRE, SPEC_BREATH_FIRE, SPEC_POISON, SPEC_ZOMBIE etc. If the skill set doesn't seem to match what you want them to do, then there are a limited number of things you can give them as OFF (offensive behaviours) but you may need to write a mob program.

You will also need to set their RACE. If they are a person at all, this should be RACE HUMAN. Only animals (etc) should be anything else. Even though it defaults to human, still type RACE HUMAN as this sets up their body parts and such.

There are so many elements to mob creation that the first few times you should get someone else to look at it. Also, when creating a mob, you should try to get a player who is at a level that they would normally be fighting that mob to test it to see if it is too strong or too weak.

The final, most difficult, and most dangerous, part is mob programs.

Mob programs can do all range of things, including run quests, unlock doors, give mobs skills that don't really exist in the game and so many other things.

To create a mob program, type in MPEDIT CREATE <vnum>. This should normally be the same vnum as the mob, which, hopefully, is the same vnum as the object and room too.

For example:

room vnum 11616 - Haunt of Chiriku
object vnum 11616 - Chiriku's fire kanji loincloth
mob vnum 11616 - Ghost of Chiriku
mob program vnum 11616 - Chiriku's Amida's 1000-armed death mob program

This is the ideal way to build. It isn't always possible but ideally this is how things should work. It is a lot easier to keep track of this way.

The most common type of mob program is to get them to do a skill that doesn't exist. For reference, I will display here the mob program for Chiriku's mob program:

emote yells, {y"Raigou Senjusatsu: Amida's 1000-arm Death embrace"{x
mob echo {GBeautiful music begins to play{x
mob echo {YAmida, a large 1000-armed Buddha-like image appears around $I{x
IF RAND 75
mob echo {cAmida's 1000-arm death {R<***> {WRAVAGES {R<***> {ryou{x
mob damage all 1757 2100 lethal
ELSE
mob echo {cAmida's 1000-arm death {G*=*=* {RENGULFS {G*=*=* {ryou{x
mob damage all 3157 3500 lethal
ENDIF

The above is a fairly simple area attack mob program, which has a 25% chance (RAND 75 inside a mob program means 25% actually) of doing low damage (ravages) and a 75% chance of doing high damage. Note the numbers. We have found that the actual damage that a mob program does is about 7* the damage that we type in. So I look up on HELP DAMAGE for the right damage numbers. For low level players, about 2-3* is more realistic. $I is the mob's name.

This damage type is not the only type of mob program. There are also ones that give quests. Here is another one for a quest:

IF CARRIES $n 1799
emote takes Kakuzu's secret plot
emote shakes his head
say It looks as if my fears were true. Akatsuki are here.
say Thank you for taking care of them, although it seems from what you say that they were merely illusions and they are reallyelsewhere.
say Just the same, thank you for getting rid of them.
say Now we can mount a defence and be ready for them when they come.
mob junk plot
mob remove $n 1799
mob call 1776 $n
ELSE
say I really need more evidence than this
give plot $n
ENDIF

Quest mob programs tend to be rather complicated and in fact that one isn't the entire quest mob program. See the line that says:

mob call 1776 $n

That calls a 2nd mob program, which then gives mission points for players for completing the quest. That mob program is:

IF rank $n S_rank
mob award $n B 120 Legendary
ELSE
mob award $n A 160 Jounin
ENDIF

That means that for S-rank players, they can do the quest up to level 120 and get B-rank awards for it. If they are not S-ranked, they can do the quest up to level 160 and get A-rank awards for it.

To add this mob program to the mob, you go to MEDIT mode and type in:

ADD 1777 GIVE 1799

This means that mob program number 1777 starts when you give the object with the vnum of 1799 to the mob.

For fight mob programs it is a lot simpler

ADD 11616 FIGHT 20

That means that 20% of the time the mob will activate mob program with vnum 11616

The problem with mob programs is that they are very dangerous. They can cause crashes. Before a crash happens, they can cause other mob programs to slow down.

A long mob program will crash the MUD constantly, whether someone is fighting them or not. Anything over about 15 lines is in danger of crashing the MUD. Then you can split the mob program up into several other mob programs, either by using mob call <mob program vnum> $n to call another mob program or by assigning several mob programs to the mob.

Also, badly written mob programs can crash the MUD. Some examples:

IF VILLAGE $n Leaf
say Greetings fellow Leaf ninja! I am glad to see you
ELSE
say An enemy ninja! Attack!
kill $n

The problem with this is that there is no ENDIF at the end. It thus goes onto the next mob program, stops that, and so forth until nothing works and then it crashes the MUD. The more complex the mob program, the greater the chance of a crash.

Here is another example of a bad one:

mob echoat $n {WThe bone harvest {RMASSACRES {ryou{x
mob echaround $n {WThe bone harvest {RMASSACRES {g$N{x
mob damage $n 707 770 lethal

The problem with this one is a typo. It should say "echoaround" but instead it says "echaround", i.e. is missing an "o". You might not even notice it. This could cause a crash when the mob program hits. As soon as it hits, the MUD crashes. In other words, anyone who fights this mob has a chance of crashing the MUD mid-fight.

Here are some general rules with mob programs:

1. If you can do it without using a mob program, DO NOT use the mob program.
   
2. If another mob program already exists that does the same thing, use that and DO NOT make a new one.
   
3. If another mob program exists that does basically the same thing, then copy that word for word, only making changes that you need.
   
4. If you must make a mob program that is entirely different, get another immortal to check it.
   

Mob programs are incredibly difficult things and are very risky. Badly written mobs can create crashes too but badly written mob programs are even more dangerous.

We currently have about 1,800 mob programs in the MUD and not all of them have been checked. There is a chance that some of them are badly written and are causing crashes.

To get a list of mob programs in an area, type in

MPEDIT <vnum of any mob program>
LIST

This gives a list of vnums assigned to all mob programs in the area. You can then look at the mob programs to see if they are any good. It is also handy in case you are out of vnums for mob programs.

What makes a good immortal

1. They built at least one area from start to finish and made it a good area that was fair, balanced and fun to play.
   
2. They contributed some ideas for making the MUD a better place, and helped to put those ideas into practice.
   
3. They didn't interfere with players, either positively or negatively.
   
4. They helped to settle disputes.
   

The best immortals we have had have been:

• Rico
  
• Reki
  
• Raichek
  

These immortals all contributed more than 1 zone each, from start to finish, good zones, were all helpful for an extended period of time and helped the MUD as a whole.

It is no coincidence that these 3 immortals are the only ones that I gave shell access to.

What makes a bad immortal

1. Interacts with their own alts.
   
2. Interferes with other players because they like/don't like them or even randomly.
   
3. Creates under-powered mobs.
   
4. Creates over-powered items.
   
5. Changes the damage of other mobs, removing mob programs and giving them low-level weapons to make them cheesy.
   
6. Ignores instructions for how to do things.
   
7. Causes big problems with players/immortals.
   

I am not going to list who are the worst immortals, although we have had 2 or 3 that I regarded as being pretty bad.

There have been lazy immortals who haven't done very much in their time but they are more neutral than bad. Bad immortals are the ones that upset the game balance.

What makes a good zone

1. It is from the Naruto series or else is consistent with the Naruto series
   
2. It is true to the Naruto series in all respects.
   
3. It is in a sensible place on the world map.
   
4. The area is well mapped with signposts and maps to help you to get around.
   
5. Room descriptions give an idea for how to get around and where you are.
   
6. There are well-placed mobs that sell maps and otherwise help you to find your way.
   
7. The room descriptions are detailed and help to add to the environment.
   
8. There are a few fun little quests to do in the area.
   
9. The mobs are challenging for their level but not too difficult.
   
10. Mobs vary considerably with what they are like and hence how to defeat them.
    
11. There is a wide variety of items to collect.
    
12. There are challenging things to do beyond simply the difficulty of mobs - such as quests, secret areas or mazes.
    
13. It is, as a whole, a fun area.
    

There are some great zones out there and there are some pretty ordinary ones too. There are some great ones which nobody much ever sees because they are poorly mapped, with quests that nobody really knows about other than the people who made them. Some have room descriptions that are confusing.

The good areas, though, have players flocking to them not just because the mobs are easy to fight and the items are over-powered but because they are fun to play.