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Molly · 07-03-2002, 03:14 AM

I do about 95% of my building directly in file, and am very methodical about it, always doing things in the same order. While working on a zone I get into a sort of manic state of mind, with the area in the back of my head at every spare moment around the clock. My procedure is as follows:
1. Decide on a theme and plot and do some research about it. Decide on a number of built in quests that fit the theme.
2. Map the zone on graph paper.
3. Write ALL descs in Wordpad, format the lines, trim the descs to about the same length in all rooms (it looks nicer when you move about) and spell check them in MS Word. I do this with all rooms, mobs and objects and scripts, before I even open OLC. (I have an off line Port, where I do all building). During this stage I often modify the descs, to co-ordinate the rooms, mobs and objects.
4. Make a few ‘pattern’ rooms in OLC. Then I go off line, and work in the file, copying all rooms with the same sector and roomflags to new vnums, so that I can just change the descs and exits and add extra descs when required. I set all descs first, using cut and paste, then link the rooms and add the exit descs at the same time.
5. Same procedure with mobs and objects. For instance I make one food object, one container object, one hidden portal etc, then just copy as many as I need to new vnums and change the descs. This saves a lot of work, because I don’t have to bother setting the flags on each similar mob/object.
6. Make the pattern scripts in the same way, copy to new vnums and change the command lines. Add the scripts to the mobs/rooms/objects, while at the same time I do a final check that everything is complete.
7. Make the resets. This is the only thing I usually do in the OLC, although I make some repetitive resets in file.
8. Walk through the zone, check the connections and resets (usually I have mis-linked some of the rooms).
9. Check all scripts with a mort in the off line Port.
10. FTP the files into the Game Port, and get some good player to playtest it. Occasionally I playtest with my own mort. Fix any remaining bugs and errors in the linking or scripts.

07-03-2002, 03:14 AM	#8
Molly Senior Member Join Date: Apr 2002 Location: Sweden Home MUD: 4 Dimensions Posts: 574	I do about 95% of my building directly in file, and am very methodical about it, always doing things in the same order. While working on a zone I get into a sort of manic state of mind, with the area in the back of my head at every spare moment around the clock. My procedure is as follows: 1. Decide on a theme and plot and do some research about it. Decide on a number of built in quests that fit the theme. 2. Map the zone on graph paper. 3. Write ALL descs in Wordpad, format the lines, trim the descs to about the same length in all rooms (it looks nicer when you move about) and spell check them in MS Word. I do this with all rooms, mobs and objects and scripts, before I even open OLC. (I have an off line Port, where I do all building). During this stage I often modify the descs, to co-ordinate the rooms, mobs and objects. 4. Make a few ‘pattern’ rooms in OLC. Then I go off line, and work in the file, copying all rooms with the same sector and roomflags to new vnums, so that I can just change the descs and exits and add extra descs when required. I set all descs first, using cut and paste, then link the rooms and add the exit descs at the same time. 5. Same procedure with mobs and objects. For instance I make one food object, one container object, one hidden portal etc, then just copy as many as I need to new vnums and change the descs. This saves a lot of work, because I don’t have to bother setting the flags on each similar mob/object. 6. Make the pattern scripts in the same way, copy to new vnums and change the command lines. Add the scripts to the mobs/rooms/objects, while at the same time I do a final check that everything is complete. 7. Make the resets. This is the only thing I usually do in the OLC, although I make some repetitive resets in file. 8. Walk through the zone, check the connections and resets (usually I have mis-linked some of the rooms). 9. Check all scripts with a mort in the off line Port. 10. FTP the files into the Game Port, and get some good player to playtest it. Occasionally I playtest with my own mort. Fix any remaining bugs and errors in the linking or scripts.