Recent News

By Alara: I've updated SCORE and +FINGER to match! All printed lines have been migrated to subitems of the FINGER` attrib, and so the commands themselves are dramatically simplified! I'm planning on reworking some of the age mechanics (which prompted this change), but if you see any anomalies regarding the SCORE or +FINGER commands, please let me know!
--Thu, 12 Dec 2024 14:56:42 MST

By Alara: Fantastic new addition to the +HELP system! The new column `attrib_eval` is a boolean that determines if the +HELP text is a call to an objects attribute rather than static text to display! For example, the +HELP CLOTHING article pulls direct from the wardrobe parent's description rather than storing all that a second time in the database.

For those who care, we simply make the +HELP text #dbref/attrib, and then set attrib_eval = 1 in the db record, and this functionality will work.

If I haven't noted it here, all +HELP articles have also been moved and imported with all data. The old softcoded database has been completely destroyed. As such, we lost a few @functions regarding formatting (footer(), header(), midline(), and fhtml()), but I found those in an old backup and restored them to a more global object, so they should all be working now.

We're now only missing Rules. And these articles are not necessarily missing. I just haven't set them up under the global "RULES" command in the new system yet. Rather they're currently being stored under UHELP.
--Fri, 29 Nov 2024 14:55:46 MST

By Alara: Dryad Windblow is now colored bright cyan so that it's more noticeable

Movement into a room now shows others the exit from which they came, and movement out shows the exit used. This is a bit complicated, but importantly, OENTER/OLEAVE on rooms has been completely blanked. Instead we now use the standard OSUCC/ODROP on exits for regular movement and OTPORT/OXTPORT on players for other kinds of movement.

It is important to note that OTPORT/OXTPORT is set to NOT give any message if an object is teleported out by anything but itself. This, then, assumes that any instance of @tel will be paired with a custom message (like Windblow). Since HOME does not have a paired HOME/AHOME/OHOME/OXHOME attrib set, we cannot get our usual blank line prefix on "Alara goes home", but it will always show, too, so other players can see when someone goes home instead of walking out.
--Tue, 26 Nov 2024 12:02:45 MST

By Alara: At long last, the janky, complicated +HELP system written by Mercutio has been @nuked! SQL is totally live! The only thing that doesn't work yet are RULES. But the data's all been captured and +help, ahelp, rhelp, and bhelp are all accessible for those who have the permissions to them!
--Wed, 20 Nov 2024 14:36:14 MST

By Alara: The notifier service I use to keep on top of player logins, new player requests, and SQL server connection issues has been updated!! Previously the Linux machine running the MUSH would execute a cron job every minute and trigger a curl request to a local PHP script that would log into a MySQL server, search for 'notifier' records inserted by the MUSH in an event table, and php_curl up to Pushover those details.

Sound complicated? It is.

But now PennMUSH can run @http requests directly, and Pushover is extremely straightforward, taking a user ID, secret token, and message body directly from a POST request. Basically, it's a ton simpler and I'm a lot happier being IMMEDIATELY notified of you logging in, rather than waiting up to a minute! YAY!!!
--Wed, 20 Nov 2024 10:52:58 MST

By Alara: Fixed! I finally dug in, found the SQL functions needed to fix the new +HELP system, and now all categories with their respective permissions and syntaxes are working! At least as far as I can tell. And as far as it matters. If you run into any anomalies, let me know!

Additionally, all +HELP data within the new system is completely static. I do want to add dynamic +HELP (i.e. +HELP that, instead of pulling text from the SQL database is directed back into the MUSH to pull from an attribute on an object). This is potentially insecure at first glance as a simple built-in function within the object help attrib could inject code into places, but we could add some sanitization beforehand.
--Tue, 19 Nov 2024 17:56:36 MST

By Alara: I'm slowly transferring a bunch of admin-level +HELP files over to the new system. This means some of the regular +HELP entries are breaking because I don't have the back-end all up and working for multiple systems yet. I'll try my best to get this fixed really soon!
--Tue, 19 Nov 2024 16:17:09 MST

By Alara: I've just removed the AI bot. Too much craziness there, and it's squelching my creativity. I put waaaay too much work into it, and it's very distracting.
--Thu, 07 Nov 2024 14:34:32 MST

By Alara: I've added a new thing flag, wearable. This is to finally renew the 2014 "clothing system" which is still a work in progress, but will be a second option alongside the wardrobe.

Currently my thinking is to run the two in tandem. You may use one system or the other. But both may cause inconsistency. And the clothing system will, at present, try to replicate the Iron Realms system very closely, with actual items to wear, a clothes line in a player description, and clothing slots and layers for hiding. The player appearance will be stored differently. Possibly reverting to a wardrobe DESC_CURRENT or manual description minus clothing (more of an RP rule, not a coded thing).
--Fri, 11 Oct 2024 23:29:53 GMT

By Alara: ChatGPT in the Fairy Garden!! I found a really cool tutorial on how to accomplish from disloops.com! And in doing so I've recreated the author's "Oracle" mob. She resides down by the base of the Great Tree and will respond to says that start with 'to oracle!' Just ask her anything or state anything to her, and she will try to answer!

Example:
> say to oracle Hello, Oracle!
< The Oracle of Auramyth inclines her gracefully in acknowledgement. "Greetings! What knowledge do you seek from the whispers of fate?"

You can also ask her questions or requests:
> say to oracle Can you tell me how to get to the great tree?
< The Oracle of Auramyth closes her eyes, as if listening to the whispers of the wind. "To find the Great Tree, follow the path where moonlight kisses the earth. Hearken to the voice of the stream that sings of ages past. When the shadows lean toward the rising sun, you shall see its majestic boughs reaching to touch the heavens."

Note - As of right now, there is no historical, ongoing conversation. Only the initial system message is sent before your statement or question. Conversation history will be added in the near future, though, and as the original author from disloops desgined, my implementation will also delete history older than 2 hours (possibly configurable), and will have a maximum token limit. But that's for later!
--Fri, 11 Oct 2024 23:24:20 GMT