The format of a room is:
#<virtual number>
<room name>~
<Room Description>
~
<zone number> <room bitvector> <sector type>
{Zero or more Direction Fields and/or Extra Descriptions}
S
There can be between 0 and 6 Direction Fields. There should not be more
than one Direction Field for a particular direction. No Extra Descriptions
are required but an unlimited number are allowed. Each room is terminated
with the literal letter S.
This number is critical; it is the identity of the room within the game. All other files will use this number to refer to this room. From within the game, this number can be used with ``goto'' to go to this room. The virtual numbers must appear in increasing order in the world file.
This string is the room's title, which is displayed before the room description when players look at the room, or displayed alone if players are using ``brief'').
The description of the room seen when they type ``look,'' or when they enter the room with brief mode off.
This number is obsolete and no longer used. Historically it contained the zone number of the current room but it is currently ignored. It is maintained as part of the format for backwards compatibility.
A bitvector (see section Using Bitvectors), with the following values:
1 a DARK Room is dark.
2 b DEATH Room is a death trap; char ``dies'' (no xp lost).
4 c NOMOB MOBs (monsters) cannot enter room.
8 d INDOORS Room is indoors.
16 e PEACEFUL Room is peaceful (violence not allowed).
32 f SOUNDPROOF Shouts, gossips, etc. won't be heard in room.
64 g NOTRACK ``track'' can't find a path through this room.
128 h NOMAGIC All magic attempted in this room will fail.
256 i TUNNEL Only one person allowed in room at a time.
512 j PRIVATE Cannot teleport in or GOTO if two people here.
1024 k GODROOM Only LVL_GOD and above allowed to enter.
2048 l HOUSE Reserved for internal use. Do not set.
4096 m HOUSE_CRASH Reserved for internal use. Do not set.
8192 n ATRIUM Reserved for internal use. Do not set.
16384 o OLC Reserved for internal use. Do not set.
32768 p BFS_MARK Reserved for internal use. Do not set.
A single number (not a bitvector) defining the type of terrain in
the room. Note that this value is not the number of movement points needed
but just a number to identify the sector type (the movement loss is
controlled by the array movement_loss[] in the file constants.c).
The Sector Type can be one of the following:
0 INSIDE Indoors (small number of move points needed).
1 CITY The streets of a city.
2 FIELD An open field.
3 FOREST A dense forest.
4 HILLS Low foothills.
5 MOUNTAIN Steep mountain regions.
6 WATER_SWIM Water (swimmable).
7 WATER_NOSWIM Unswimmable water - boat required for passage.
8 UNDERWATER Underwater.
9 FLYING Wheee!
This section defines the room's exits, if any, as well as any extra
descriptions such as signs or strange objects that might be in the room.
This section can be empty if the room has no exits and no extra
descriptions. Otherwise, it can have any number of D (Direction Field)
and E (Extra Description) sections, in any order. After all exits and
extra descriptions have been listed, the end of the room is signaled with
the letter S. The Direction Fields and Extra Descriptions are described
in more detail in the following sections.
The general format of a direction field is:
D<direction number>
<general description>
~
<keyword list>~
<door flag> <key number> <room linked>
The compass direction that this Direction Field describes. It must be one of the following numbers:
0 North
1 East
2 South
3 West
4 Up
5 Down
The description shown to the player when she types ``look <direction>.'' This should not be confused with the room description itself. Unlike the room description which is automatically viewed when a player walks into a room, the General Description of an exit is only seen when a player looks in the direction of the exit (e.g., ``look north'').
A list of acceptable terms that can be used to manipulate the door with commands such as ``open,'' ``close,'' ``lock,'' ``unlock,'' etc. The list should be separated by spaces, e.g.:
door oak big~
Can take one of three values (0, 1 or 2):
An unrestricted exit that has no door, or a special door cannot be opened or closed with the ``open'' and ``close'' commands. The latter is useful for secret doors, trap doors, or other doors that are opened and closed by something other than the normal commands, like a special procedure assigned to the room or an object in the room.
Normal doors that can be opened, closed, locked, unlocked, and picked.
Pickproof doors: if locked, can be opened only with the key.
The initial state of all doors is open, but doors can be opened, closed, and locked automatically when zones reset (see the zone file documentation for details).
The virtual number of the key required to lock and unlock the door in the direction given. A value of -1 means that there is no keyhole; i.e., no key will open this door. If the Door Flag for this door is 0, the Key Number is ignored.
The virtual number of the room to which this exit leads. If this number is -1 (NOWHERE), the exit will not actually lead anywhere; useful if you'd like the exit to show up on ``exits,'' or if you'd like to add a description for ``look <direction>'' without actually adding an exit in that direction.
Extra descriptions are used to make rooms more interesting, and make them more interactive. Extra descriptions are accessed by players when they type ``look at <thing>,'' where <thing> is any word you choose. For example, you might write a room description which includes the tantalizing sentence, ``The wall looks strange here.'' Using extra descriptions, players could then see additional detail by typing ``look at wall.'' There can be an unlimited number of Extra Descriptions in each room.
The format of an extra description is simple:
E
<keyword list>~
<description text>
~
A space-separated list of keywords which will access the description in
this E section.
The text that will be displayed when a player types
``look <keyword>,''
where <keyword> is one of the keywords specified in the Keyword
List of this E section.
Here's a sample entry from a CircleMUD world file:
#18629
The Red Room~
It takes you a moment to realize that the red glow here is coming
from a round portal on the floor. It looks almost as if someone had
painted a picture of a dirt running through a field on the floor of
this room. Oddly enough, it is so realistic you can feel the wind in
the field coming out of the picture.
~
186 ad 0
D0
You see a big room up there.
~
~
0 -1 18620
D1
You see a small room.
~
oak door~
1 18000 18630
E
portal floor~
It looks as if you could go down into it... but you can't be sure of where
you will end up, or if you can get back.
~
S
This room is virtual number 18629, called ``The Red Room.'' It is dark and indoors, with an ``INDOORS'' sector type. It has an exit north and east. The north exit leads to room 18620; if a player types ``look north'' it will say ``You see a big room up there.'' The exit east is a normal, pickable door that leads to room 18630 and which takes key number 18000. There is one extra description for ``portal'' and ``floor.''