Building Objects

Object Type

The first step to creating an object is figuring out what type of object you want to create. I will show a tutorial of how to create a clothing item, but this tutorial acts as a guide for building the basics to any object. Weapons and Armor attributes are all explained in their respective tutorials.

To see a list of the types of objects you can create, type: ? type
There is a list of explanations for every type on the Advent website which can be found at Object Flags.

Since this will be a clothing item, we just type: type clothing
To change an object type, just type: type <new type>

Object Level

Setting an objects level is simple, you only type: level <number>

Generally, level has no effect on an object.  Just set the object as level 1.

The biggest exception is for objects that cast spells.  For these objects, level determines the spell’s strength.  See the tutorial on Magical Objects for info on how to make an object cast a spell.

Other exceptions:

Poisoned Water Sources – level determines the power of the poison.

Object Wear Flags

Object wear flags determine where the object would be placed on the body.

To toggle a wear flag on or off you type: wear <flag>
A list of wear flags can be found by typing: ? wear

Note: About body is for blankets and mantles. Tunics, shirts, etc would use the body flag. Cloaks and capes would use a neck flag.

To remove a wear flag, type: wear <old flag>

Object Extra Flags

Extra flags help detail an item further. If you wish the item to glow, or hum, or maybe even make the item cursed.

To toggle an extra flag on an item type: extra <flag>

If the item should not be picked up, you -must- flag the item as no_take. Otherwise it will be able to be picked up.

To see a list of the extra flags type: ? extra
There is a list of explanations for every extra flag on the Advent website which can be found at Object Flags.

To remove an extra flag, type: extra <old flag>

If you have an idea of an extra flag to add, note it to Crystal.

Note: We offer the flags hide_behind, hide_under, hide_in, hide for objects. The first three should be used frequently for big objects like trees, benches, beds, so that players have the ability to hide behind/under etc. The hide flag is for hidden objects in the room, and should only be used where it makes sense.

Object Spell Affects

Spell affects on objects allow builders to activate allowed spells and skills when a player does a certain action with an object. An example of this would be a pair of boots of flying that would allow the wearer to fly permanently while the boots were worn.

Perm Spell is where you set the spell that is activated. Objects are not limited right now in what spells can be put on them, so there is no ? option (since it’s all spells)

Activation is where we determine how this spell is activated with this object (when worn, when picked up, etc). To set the activation type, type: activation <activation type>, and to see a list of choices, type: ? activation.

Act Chance is the percentage chance that this spell will go off when activated with the method above. To set a percentage, type: chance <percentage>, the range is from 0% to 100%.

Object Material

Materials will eventually determine the strength of the object you are making. Steel vs. wood, etc.

To see a list of all the materials available, type: ? material

To set the material of an object, type: material <material type>

To change the material of an object type: material <new material>

If you want to suggest a material, note it to Crystal. I will be working on a material consistency guide soon.

Object Condition, Weight, and Cost

I’m summarizing all these up at once because they are short explanations, and I’m lazy 😛

The condition of the item, is what condition the item presently is. We may eventually incorporate objects as being damaged, but for now I suggest all the items being set at 100, unless you intend on making a damaged item.
To set the condition of an item, type: condition <number>

The weight of an item is pretty generic, you use your own (stones) and set it by typing: weight <number>

Cost, unless the item is being sold, cost does not have to be accurate. However if you wish the item to be sold, you would determine a suitable price for the object by it’s level and added affects. Please keep in mind that most shopkeepers hike up the price when sold.
To set the cost of an item type: cost <number>

I am in the process of making generic Cost, Weight, and Condition Guides. Right now a good guideline for cost is to compare it to real life costs and add a 0 at the end. For example: a $20 piece of clothing would be 200 silver here.

Timer allows you to set how many ticks until an item rots. To set the timer, you type: timer <number> for the amount of ticks. A small guide will be available eventually for tick amounts till rot.

Object Size

Setting an objects size, helps determine which races can use it. Or you can also say that it can be worn by any race by typing: size all

To set the size of an object type: size <size>

We like to have a large variety of different sized objects so go wild with em. Objects in generic shops should always be size all, unless the shop is a pixie armor shop in a pixie village, then obviously they’d be size tiny.

Here’s the size chart (when setting a mobs race, it will (eventually) set all dice and sizes for you:

Object Short and Long Description

Short descriptions, are what is shown when the object is worn.
For Example: <wielded> a steel broadsword
There are to be no periods at the end, and the beginning is to -always- be lowercase.
To set a short description, type: short <short desc>

Long descriptions are what is shown when the object is on the ground.
For Example: A steel broadsword has been discarded here.
Always start the long description with a capital, and -always- end it with a period.
To set a long description, type: long <long desc>

Long descriptions can not be something like: A purple flower. It has to show what the object is doing. Is the purple flower lying there? Floating? Is it on a plant? Is it in a garden? It should be something like: A potent purple flower towers disobediently above a patch of green foliage.

Object Extra Description

Extra descriptions allow us to add detail and originality to our objects. Extra descriptions are what is shown when we ‘look’ at our objects.

To set an extra description, type: ed add ‘keywords’
(Be sure to include all possible keywords for the object)
Note: Be sure to include all your keywords in the apostropies.

Note: In spring of 2007 we updated our OLC description editor for objects, so please follow the new guidelines below for the extra description (the description that you see when you ‘look’ at the object).

To see all of the commands for the object description editor, type: ed
This should bring up the menu you see to the left. A description of these options is below:

ed add [keyword] – Lets you choose what keywords people are going to use in order to look at this object. Note: You can add as many “sets” of keywords as you want, such as ‘long broad sword broadsword’ and ‘silver ruby hilt’ on the same object, for them each to have their own separate description.

ed remove ‘keyword’ – Lets you remove a series of keywords you added. This does not let you remove individual keywords, it removes the entire string of keywords that have been added in your single quotes.

ed rename ‘keyword’ ‘new keyword’ – Lets you change a set of keywords without having to delete the description and readd it (like the old way). It will change -ALL- your keywords to the new string of keywords you enter, so be sure to include the keywords you want to remain for that description.

ed edit ‘keyword’ – Lets you edit the description for a series of keywords. Make sure you enter all the keywords for that “set”.

ed + <desc> – This is the command that allows you to enter in your description. You can enter them in with one large paragraph and then format as needed.

ed insert [starting line] [text] – This command allows you to insert a line into your description. It is especially useful if you have to reword an entire line (see delete below) and replace it with a new line. This will insert the line ABOVE the line number you specify.

ed delete [starting line] [number of lines to delete] – This allows you to delete a line, or a series of lines in a description, starting at the line you specify and below.

ed pretty [starting line] [number of lines to format] – This command allows you to format your description. If you have several paragraphs in your description, but only want to format the first paragraph (assuming it is 3 lines), you would type: ed pretty 1 3, which translates to: format starting at line 1 for the next 3 lines.

ed show – This command allows you to see the description you are currently working on.

ed save – This command saves your description. But typing ‘done’ will also save the description you enter, like normal OLC.

Object Name

I usually set the name for an object last, because the name should consist of -all- the keywords from the short and long description. So any possible combination people use to pick it up or wield it is used.
For Example: <wielded> a large steel broadsword
A large steel broadsword has been discarded here.
All the keywords are highlighted, so all those would be in the name of the object.

To set the name/keywords of the object, type: name <all keywords>
To change the name/keywords, type: name <new keywords>
Note: Do -not- add commas between each keyword.