Best Of
Mudlet 4.4 – MSP, mapper dot option, stopwatch improvements, and selection fix
Added a new option for customising the mapper’s “you are here” location marker, added notepad autosave, re-added stopwatches overhaul and fixed a possible crash when copying text in this update!
MSP (Mud Sound Protocol)
Thanks to Tamarindo from StickMUD, Mudlet now supports MSP! This allows the game to ask Mudlet to play sounds automatically (say, when you enter a room or start a fight). This is different from playSoundFile(), a function you can use in triggers/aliases to play sounds.
If your game already supports MSP, try enabling it today! If you’re a
game admin and you only allow specific clients to enable MSP, add
Mudlet to the list 
Tamarindo also developed a more modern replacement for MSP (last updated in 2001) called MUD Client Media Protocol (MCMP) – something that is more fitting for 2020. If you’re interested in adding media to your game today, consider adding this.
Customisable room marker
SlySven added a feature to customise the room marker – there’s now several different styles as well as an option to create your own!
Overhauled stopwatches
SlySven put in a lot of work to improve stopwatches: they can now persist across sessions, be deleted/recreated as needed, adjusted on the fly, be given names and more. See all of the new functions in the API.
While stopwatches worked as expected, their functionality was very limited. Additionally, they worked differently from their real world counterparts which made their use not very intuitive.
Credits
Thanks to all coders: aaronjoslyn, CriusMacOldenly, demonnic, keneanung, mpconley, SlySven, and vadi2.
Thanks to all translators: finalcn, Garagoth, Leris, Marco “M0lid3us” Tironi (wiploo), Shoryu Shin (shoryu49), and wendeli alves (wilcoxjvkb).
Changelog
added:
- custom look’n’feel for the mapper red ‘you are here’ dot in settings
- support for more than 3 mouse buttons for the event engine
- overhauled stopwatches with a ton of new features
- portugese (brazilian) language for translation
- MSP (Mud Sound Protocol)!
improved:
- notepad content is autosaved every 2mins (previously, only ever saved on profile close)
fixed:
- crash on selection
- temporary aliases are now removed like everything else with resetProfile()
- font size in composer no longer huge
infrastructure:
- support for 64bit Discord libraries on Windows (Mudlet on Windows does not yet do 64bit, but it does on Linux and macOS)
- Mudlet now uses latest Qt 5.13.2 on Windows
- Travis CI configuration modernised
Vadi
1
Announcements post #95: Classleads are now open!
<pre>From: Ilyos, the Arbiter
Subject: Classleads are now open!
Now that there is more PvP around, it's time for another round of classleads.
Classleads will be open for submission for the next week - closing Sunday, December 15th. At that point, submissions will be closed and you'll be able to comment on the submitted reports.
For more information on how the system works, and how to submit your ideas and suggestions, please see HELP CLASSLEADS.
One notable change from last time is that we've increased the submission cap per person from 5 to 10.</pre>
Subject: Classleads are now open!
Now that there is more PvP around, it's time for another round of classleads.
Classleads will be open for submission for the next week - closing Sunday, December 15th. At that point, submissions will be closed and you'll be able to comment on the submitted reports.
For more information on how the system works, and how to submit your ideas and suggestions, please see HELP CLASSLEADS.
One notable change from last time is that we've increased the submission cap per person from 5 to 10.</pre>
Re: Proposal: dungeons in space
STATION DISTRESS BEACONS, perhaps -- same generation mechanism as STATION PIRATE REFINERIES
Steve
1
Announcements post #93: December is Winterflame
Greetings Starmourn,
While everyone (including us) was busy hacking and figuring out how Ta-Deth crystals work, December has creeped up on us, a cold month of celebration, gift-giving, family and friends! To that end, December in Starmourn is all about the Winterflame.
Five hundred years ago, a Tukkav by the name of Laus Koldain began a new tradition, which he called Winterflame (sometimes also called Winterhearth). The holiday was modeled after traditional Toof Circles, but with a decidedly more inclusive bent. Occuring once every quarter century, Winterflame is focused around togetherness, a way for Tukkav in all corners of the galaxy to extend their natural feelings of hospitality and warmth to non-Tukkav. This multi-racial holiday has become rather popular, with gift giving, story circles, and of course, drinking, as popular mainstays and traditions.
We'll be celebrating Winterflame in a specially arranged festival area behind the hunter's lodge in the Tosmar Preserve. Arrangements for transportation (courtesy of Araxi Lamentation) have been made from Omni to Tosmar for those that are generally unwelcome on Uycheon III. As the Tukkav are just setting up the festival now, expect it grow and have more and more people show up as the month runs its course. There will be activities to be done, laughs to be had, gifts to be bought and special, limited time rewards to be earned based on what do you this month for Winterflame.
Right now, you can go and enjoy the snowmounds, start a snowball fight, make some snowmen (be sure to PUSH mounds and snowmen), learn about Winterflame and get accustomed to the cold climate.
Now let's talk about Giftcatchers.
Giftcatchers are a Winterflame tradition that evolved from the Tukkav custom of hanging gift-laden nets in the doorways of their huts before a hunt. Originally meant to appease the local spirits, the custom became associated with prosperity and generosity over time. It was enthusiastically adopted by offworld celebrants as an integral part of Winterflame gift-giving.
Giftcatchers are available for purchase on the website and you are able to hang them in-game for you or your friends! Once you've purchased them, you can simply HANG GIFTCATCHER FOR ME or HANG GIFTCATCHER FOR <player> and it will be placed in the room! You can additionally add ANONYMOUS to the end to give someone an anonymous gift!
Once hung, they will be filled with gifts sometime during the in-game day! Giftcatchers come in 4 varieties: Simple, Silver, Gold and Platinum, with each tier containing higher and higher values of gifts inside! That's not to say that you'll luck out if you stick with the Simple giftcatcher, as they have a chance to contain all the gifts as well. After a giftcatcher is full, you may OPEN GIFTCATCHER and retrieve your prizes. Check out HELP GIFTCATCHERS to learn more about the workings of these Winterflame specials.
Among the prizes you can get are:
- a brand new snowfox minipet
- frost-cold genevaults
- Snow machines and space heaters
- Credit prizes up to 500 credits
- Artifacts up to 800cr in worth
- Matter articulators
- Goredog fight tickets
and more
Additionally, for every 5 giftcatcher of each type you purchase, you'll receive either a hunter's or tracker's version of that tier! So if you purchase 5 gold giftcatcher you'll get a tracker's (or hunter's) gold giftcatcher. These special versions contain double the reward value as the regular versions! However, these giftcatcher will only be filled on December 25th (tracker) and January 1st, 2020 (hunter). These tallies count over multiple purchases, so if you purchase 5 single giftcatchers over the month, you'll get a special version with your 5th purchase.
Also, you might have noticed a large capital ship orbiting certain planets...It seems even pirates take an interest in Winterflame. Nobody knows who captains the mysterious Ironbeard, but this enormous ship that flies the flag of the Iron Corsairs emerges from the pirate fleet every twenty five years to make its stately way around the galaxy. When it falls into orbit around a planet, it is always an ominous sight – surely, such an immense vessel would pack enough firepower to obliterate a civilization. Instead, however, the SS Ironbeard does nothing but discharge ordnance in the form of harmless gifts, delivered to lucky recipients on the planet’s surface.
NOTE: The SS Ironbeard will only orbit racial homeworlds (and Scatterhome, since it counts as a racial homeworld. But not Glisal II or Song) and will toss gifts to everyone who happens to be on the surface at the time. You may only receive one such free gift per day.
While everyone (including us) was busy hacking and figuring out how Ta-Deth crystals work, December has creeped up on us, a cold month of celebration, gift-giving, family and friends! To that end, December in Starmourn is all about the Winterflame.
Five hundred years ago, a Tukkav by the name of Laus Koldain began a new tradition, which he called Winterflame (sometimes also called Winterhearth). The holiday was modeled after traditional Toof Circles, but with a decidedly more inclusive bent. Occuring once every quarter century, Winterflame is focused around togetherness, a way for Tukkav in all corners of the galaxy to extend their natural feelings of hospitality and warmth to non-Tukkav. This multi-racial holiday has become rather popular, with gift giving, story circles, and of course, drinking, as popular mainstays and traditions.
We'll be celebrating Winterflame in a specially arranged festival area behind the hunter's lodge in the Tosmar Preserve. Arrangements for transportation (courtesy of Araxi Lamentation) have been made from Omni to Tosmar for those that are generally unwelcome on Uycheon III. As the Tukkav are just setting up the festival now, expect it grow and have more and more people show up as the month runs its course. There will be activities to be done, laughs to be had, gifts to be bought and special, limited time rewards to be earned based on what do you this month for Winterflame.
Right now, you can go and enjoy the snowmounds, start a snowball fight, make some snowmen (be sure to PUSH mounds and snowmen), learn about Winterflame and get accustomed to the cold climate.
Now let's talk about Giftcatchers.
Giftcatchers are a Winterflame tradition that evolved from the Tukkav custom of hanging gift-laden nets in the doorways of their huts before a hunt. Originally meant to appease the local spirits, the custom became associated with prosperity and generosity over time. It was enthusiastically adopted by offworld celebrants as an integral part of Winterflame gift-giving.
Giftcatchers are available for purchase on the website and you are able to hang them in-game for you or your friends! Once you've purchased them, you can simply HANG GIFTCATCHER FOR ME or HANG GIFTCATCHER FOR <player> and it will be placed in the room! You can additionally add ANONYMOUS to the end to give someone an anonymous gift!
Once hung, they will be filled with gifts sometime during the in-game day! Giftcatchers come in 4 varieties: Simple, Silver, Gold and Platinum, with each tier containing higher and higher values of gifts inside! That's not to say that you'll luck out if you stick with the Simple giftcatcher, as they have a chance to contain all the gifts as well. After a giftcatcher is full, you may OPEN GIFTCATCHER and retrieve your prizes. Check out HELP GIFTCATCHERS to learn more about the workings of these Winterflame specials.
Among the prizes you can get are:
- a brand new snowfox minipet
- frost-cold genevaults
- Snow machines and space heaters
- Credit prizes up to 500 credits
- Artifacts up to 800cr in worth
- Matter articulators
- Goredog fight tickets
and more
Additionally, for every 5 giftcatcher of each type you purchase, you'll receive either a hunter's or tracker's version of that tier! So if you purchase 5 gold giftcatcher you'll get a tracker's (or hunter's) gold giftcatcher. These special versions contain double the reward value as the regular versions! However, these giftcatcher will only be filled on December 25th (tracker) and January 1st, 2020 (hunter). These tallies count over multiple purchases, so if you purchase 5 single giftcatchers over the month, you'll get a special version with your 5th purchase.
Also, you might have noticed a large capital ship orbiting certain planets...It seems even pirates take an interest in Winterflame. Nobody knows who captains the mysterious Ironbeard, but this enormous ship that flies the flag of the Iron Corsairs emerges from the pirate fleet every twenty five years to make its stately way around the galaxy. When it falls into orbit around a planet, it is always an ominous sight – surely, such an immense vessel would pack enough firepower to obliterate a civilization. Instead, however, the SS Ironbeard does nothing but discharge ordnance in the form of harmless gifts, delivered to lucky recipients on the planet’s surface.
NOTE: The SS Ironbeard will only orbit racial homeworlds (and Scatterhome, since it counts as a racial homeworld. But not Glisal II or Song) and will toss gifts to everyone who happens to be on the surface at the time. You may only receive one such free gift per day.
Happy Flameday!
Proposal: dungeons in space
One of the often mentioned issues with space is that it doesn't do a good job of incorporating other aspects of gameplay, like ground combat and hacking. I've enjoyed seeing how IRE has been working towards integrating these systems, and I had an idea for blending all three, inspired by pirate refineries and hacking missions. Pirate refineries are neat except that they essentially require a cruiser or battleship and they reward commodities only, which are of interest only to people engaged in incursions, making some marks, or CP raids.
Remember that quest that involves attacking a defense platform that spawns fighters? Destroy the fighters, then disable the platform, then dock and advance. What if we had dungeons that combined that mechanic, incursion difficulty ratings, hacking, and ground-based, 2+ player dungeons that scale with level (like how New Dikamazi scales from 50-75)? Before I go on, here's what I mean by incursion difficulty ratings combined with level scaling:
- Easy difficulty would spawn ships of similar difficulty to Easy incursions, would scale in level with a minimum scaling level of 20, and, if applicable, would have hacking terminals at level 4.
- Medium difficulty would spawn ships of similar difficulty to Medium incursions, would scale in level with a minimum scaling level of 40, and, if applicable, would have hacking terminals at level 8.
- Hard difficulty would spawn ships of similar difficulty to Hard incursions, would scale in level with a minimum scaling level of 60, and, if applicable, would have hacking terminals at level 12.
So, where we are now is that a player approaches the defense platform, engages it, and the platform deploys some fighters to defend itself. We blow up all the stuff and dock with it, and then there's mobs that scale with level.
Here's where it gets thematic. I'd love to see there be a variety of these space dungeons.
Imagine you find a Loroi slave den on an asteroid. You want to shoot the slaver scum and free the slaves, so you open fire on the asteroid's defenses. The Loroi smell an opportunity for more slaves, so they attack you. Foolish slavers! They're ranked Easy, and you've shot their ships to bits a million times before. You blast their ships out of the sky, fire a few shots at a ground-based turret, and dock. It's time for the raid.
You get on foot and your quest begins in earnest. (Sound like hacking quests? Yeah, that's the idea.) You raid the slaver den, slaughtering all the Loroi. You free the slaves, who thank you profusely -- quest complete; they ask to hitch a ride with you back to whatever backwater station you call home, and you, Hero, assent. But while you're walking back to your ship, you notice a locker with a big, juicy lock on it. Naturally, you walk on over, inspect the lock, and hack it. Bingo! You find a weapon cache and some money. Mission accomplished. Time to take these freed souls wherever; surely they'll tell tales of your heroism.
There could be a lot of versions of this. Here are a few ideas:
- A corporate factory's bots have gone berserk, and you've got to set things straight. But they'll pay you better if you don't destroy all the equipment; they just want you to get in and reboot the systems. But hey, bots are terrible, and, knowing this, they pay you handsomely. Would they notice if you hacked another terminal and stole some corporate secrets while you're at it?
- Binaries, trinaries, what have you -- they're odd. Ata's NPC twin sees that you're in the vicinity of one such cluster of these weird things, and, now that you're blowing things up, he contacts you and asks you to do some "research" on them.
- Some bored Sahakren have taken up a hobby of pitting drugged up Bushraki against each other in pit fights, tinkering with them between competitions. The Bushraki aren't happy with the arrangement. Do you help the Sahakren, who offer to pay you handsomely to preempt rebellion by finding and killing Spartacus? Or do you help the Bushraki kill their captors?
As for hacking, I'd want most of the hacking options to be either alternative means of completion (maybe a safe pathway) or means of getting more loot (chests). Making hacking a requirement for completion of a quest for one such dungeon would be fine, but making them all complete with hacking would gate people out too much.
I'd want generous experience rewards, generous marks rewards (in the form of marks, equipment, or both), and maybe some commodities, too. I'd also really like to have different, known floor plans, a la hacking dungeons. But probably bigger.
Bonus: Very Hard difficulty. Hard (or very hard? please?) ships plus generators, deadly monsters intended for 75+ (meaning talents), hacking level 16 or higher. Appropriately grand theme, like Ishvana or a HETE facility gone rogue.
Steve
3
Announcements post #91: IRE Helper Android App.
Author: Starmaker Eukelade
Subject: IRE Helper Android App.
Those of you with Android devices will be excited to know we have updated the app. It has been completely rewritten. It now includes Starmourn and all known bugs are now eradicated.
You can find the app here: https://play.google.com/store/apps/details?id=org.vadisystems.irehelper
If you used the app before, you will have to log back into the app again. We apologize, but there was no way to work around this in a way that made sense. Major thank you to David Edwards who helped get this project completed. Thank you to Vadi from Mudlet who built the initial project and helped get this version rolled out.
You can find the app here: https://play.google.com/store/apps/details?id=org.vadisystems.irehelper
If you used the app before, you will have to log back into the app again. We apologize, but there was no way to work around this in a way that made sense. Major thank you to David Edwards who helped get this project completed. Thank you to Vadi from Mudlet who built the initial project and helped get this version rolled out.
If you find any bugs, please email us at irehelper@ironrealms.com and we will get all over them.
We are planning an iOS version if we can track down someone interested in the work.
We are planning an iOS version if we can track down someone interested in the work.
Enjoy!
- The IRE Android Development Team
Eukelade
4
Re: Binge Watching in Space
"Rekt" - Battlebot style show, Engis putting their drones up for tournaments.
"Dumb Flakkers" - Group of misfits doing dangerous stunts for laughs. Usually results in dying due to ineptitude or sabotage by another misfit. Sponsored by HETE.
"Kith the Cook" - hosted by a fan of Shulamit's cooking style, attempts to expand on what's been done.
"Xeno Hunter" - GCEPS funded nature show, similar to Crocodile Hunter
Ikchor
2
Re: Requesting: Ban on rape RP, admin transparency, newbie protection
The admin of this game are not law enforcement officials and should not be expected to report as if they are. They are providing a service and have provided plenty of means by which these situations can and should be handled. Just because they were not handled correctly, does not mean we are innundated with it.
Also, the only muds that I know of that have to explicitly describe exactly what types of sexual roleplay are and are not allowed are games that are either made for or highly emphasize sexual roleplay.
What makes more sense is to simply put "any rp that you are not comfortable with is banned". You're going to have to make all rp and pk consent only though because I am quite sure that some people are not comfortable with having someone tie them up and shove a grenade down their throat. That is a skill hard coded into the game. If you draw hard lines in the sand for one sub-group, you better draw them for everyone.
Common sense says that no one is required to participate in any rp they do not want to. If that means not playing the game, so be it.
Now, don't think I am justifying rape at all. I am not. I am trying to advocate against putting so much emphasis on one evil that the perception becomes that Starmourn is some sort of haven for those types of people.
It certainly is NOT.
Also, the only muds that I know of that have to explicitly describe exactly what types of sexual roleplay are and are not allowed are games that are either made for or highly emphasize sexual roleplay.
What makes more sense is to simply put "any rp that you are not comfortable with is banned". You're going to have to make all rp and pk consent only though because I am quite sure that some people are not comfortable with having someone tie them up and shove a grenade down their throat. That is a skill hard coded into the game. If you draw hard lines in the sand for one sub-group, you better draw them for everyone.
Common sense says that no one is required to participate in any rp they do not want to. If that means not playing the game, so be it.
Now, don't think I am justifying rape at all. I am not. I am trying to advocate against putting so much emphasis on one evil that the perception becomes that Starmourn is some sort of haven for those types of people.
It certainly is NOT.
Minion
11