Advice for beginners

From Wormhole Sci-Fi MUD Homepage

This page contains some basics to get you started, on your way to wealth, power and glory in the Wormhole universe. You may also want to read the 'Advice for Choosing a Class' document.

WEAR, WIELD and GRABBING: You arrive as naked as the day you were born! Fortunately we have employed a helpful character known as the ‘equipment droid’ whose job it is to give you some basic stuff, including clothes, food, drink and a weapon. You will need to wear the clothes, and wield the weapon. You might also have a light source... grab this if it gets dark. Suitably equipped, you are able to fight more effectively.

HIT, or KILL: Not far from the equipment droid, you will meet some small genetically modified aliens that we grow in order to give you some target practice. They are pretty harmless... so try out your new weapon on them.

LOOK IN CORPSE, and GET <whatever> CORPSE: With the small, genetically modified alien dead at your feet, it’s time to see if they had anything worth taking. Looting corpses one of the best ways to get hold of equipment that will make you stronger.

• The corpse of any monster can be examined with this command: LOOK IN CORPSE, and then GET <whatever> CORPSE
• If you are confident that you want everything, type GET ALL CORPSE.
• Bear in mind that there might be more than one corpse, so you might want to LOOK IN 2.CORPSE, GET ALL 2.CORPSE etc... or if you're really greedy, GET ALL ALL.CORPSE

ITEMS: If the item you have found looks useful, you could try to WEAR or WIELD it. Other items can be disposed of with DROP, or you might SELL them. More on shops later. Note that there are limits to how much you can carry at one time: see Encumbrance.

JUNK: You can junk unwanted items. They are beamed away and recycled, and you receive a few credits, depending upon the value of the item. You’re likely to be short of money in the early stages of the game, so use this tip. Every little helps. Even monsters’ corpses can be junked, for money. In some other MUDs, this action is called 'sacrifice'.

Containers: When you are picking up stuff, use a bag, so that you can carry more items. Use commands such as ‘LOOK IN RUCKSACK’, ‘PUT BREAD IN RUCKSACK’ and ‘GET ALL RUCKSACK’ to achieve this. Hint... if the bag can be worn, it’s probably best to fill it and then wear it, because then you won’t suffer the effect of the weight of your items.

Remember the syntax that was discussed in the section about looting corpses, above? You can use "x." and "all." to exercise greater control over various items, including containers.

Your skills and abilities: Find the training droid as soon as you can, and get him to teach you some skills. That way, you’ll have a better chance in the fights that lie ahead. Use the PRACTICE command.

Your vital statistics: Use the commands SCORE and STAT to see two different summaries of your character's condition. Also use the commands SKILLS and POWERS to see what you're able to do.

WIMPY - telling the game how many risks you want to take: Set the level at which you wish to try to flee from combat. Too high, and you’ll run away too often (which costs experience points). Too low, and you could be killed (which isn’t permanent, but is messy, and involves a serious loss of experience points.)

Banking: Make use of the bank, where you can keep money. This is helpful because if you should happen to be killed, your money is still safely out of harm’s way. It can be used to fund the expedition to find your corpse and get your stuff back. On a happier note, the bank pays interest from time to time, and the amount you get depends upon the number of credits you have on deposit.

Useful commands: BALANCE, WITHDRAW, DEPOSIT

Shops: Some of the characters that you will meet in the Wormhole universe run shops, either at a fixed location or in the form of wandering merchants. When you meet a shopkeeper, use the LIST command to see what's available. Anything that isn't listed with a "!" against it, you can use (although you should also check the level limitations, since you may not be able to buy it yet). Purchase items with the BUY command, and dispose of unwanted goods with the SELL command, and earn a few credits. Note that shopkeepers tend to specialise - you can't sell just anything!

Useful commands: BUY, SELL, LIST, VALUE

Your aim in the game: You are stuck in the Wormhole world like everybody else, and you will need to explore your environment. Although the Wormhole can be dangerous, it also presents tremendous opportunities, and in just a few days you can be a well-known warlord with a huge stash of loot and weaponry. Find some decent equipment, and learn your way around. Learn to trade with other players, and find some poor unfortunate monsters that you can bully. After that... it’s just a question of moving up the ladder, to tougher monsters, and trickier puzzles. Maybe you’ll even become one of the ‘top gun’ players?

Advanced gameplay: Some players have more than one set of equipment, and change their stuff about, depending on circumstances. If you have it, try to be wearing your +wisdom equipment when you level, because it might earn you extra practice sessions. When training, wear your +intelligence equipment because it makes each individual practice session more effective.

If you are able to increase your maximum hitpoints, maximum move or maximum mana, you will find that you recover those points faster. Thus, some players use items to boost their recovery rate, although they wear different items in combat. You recover fastest when you are:

• In a 'regen' room (there's one directly west from Reception)
• Resting, sleeping or meditating
• Not suffering from hunger, thirst, bloodlust or cravings for a drug
• Under the effect of a 'regeneration' psi power

Where to explore Part of the fun of Wormhole is exploring for yourself. Learning how to get into new places, whether via a transporter, a vehicle, wading through sludge in a disused hydroponics facility... you'd be surprised where you might end up.

If you're feeling a little bit lost in this brand new cosmos, remember the Hitch-hikers' Guide, and DON'T PANIC! Here's a few tips to set you on the right road...

• A little way east and then north from the room where you arrived, you'll come to Training Camp, where you can get hold of a variety of pieces of equipment. It's a good idea to go to Training Camp, if only briefly, to pick up items that you might want later. High level players can't get into the Camp easily.
• When you've seen enough of that, many players choose to put in some time at the Tessier Building, which is a short ride from reception, via transporter. Simple type TRANSPORT and you'll see a menu of destinations. Select the Tessier Building, lock and load.
• The Tessier Building is bigger that it looks at first glance. Explore carefully, and see if you can discover their dark secret.
• Another interesting place to visit to accessed via a portal in the Tessier Building's basement. It's called Evolution; an area you can explore at lots of different levels. For now, you'll be fighting the least evolved creatures of all... don't get in too deep! Remember you can use the RECALL command to get home.
• It's said there's an infestation of mutant bookworms in The Library on Paradoxia. Ask somebody for directions, and helkp the Paradoxians rid themselves of a pest! Just... make sure you behave yourself, okay? It's a library, after all. Nobody will be pleased if you start hitting citizens. In fact, they might beat the tar out of you!
• How about a shopping trip? Check out the shops and markets on the space station itself. You'll find most of the folks here too powerful for you, for a few levels (use the CONSIDER command if you want to look them over)... but there's nothing to stop you upgrading your weapons, armour and more! Type HELP STATION for an ASCII-art map.
• It you'd prefer to explore a starship, one has just landed on the docking ring, and it appears to be full of Ferengi space pirates. Please... liberate the ship! Travel s,e,e,s,s,s,s,s,e,e,e,n,n,n,n,e from reception, and then BOARD the E-class freighter. You'll be doing everyone a favour. Especially the stupid Ferengi.

New Wormhole areas are appearing all the time. Check the list of areas before you go!