Builder's lessons

We have prepared a series of lessons for new and not so new builders to work with to help them get their area to testing point. Please note you must be pre-approved to build or design an area. See the builders page for more detail. Each lesson below is best taken in order. When writing the lessons I assumed that the builder has read the lessons listed before the one they are currently reading.

There are several ways that you can build an area. If the thought of building an area totally by yourself intimidates you and you have a wonderful area idea, then do not worry. You can choose one of the following options when it comes to building:

  • Offline builder - This describes the process of building your area offline, where the area file exists on your local computer and you use your favourite text editing tools for editing. This allows you to do things like global replaces or other useful features of typical text editing programmes.
  • Online builder - This is the process of using a 'builder' character on the game's test port to develop an area interactively. This is a fantastic way to build areas as you interact with the area as you build and can immediately see the affects of the changes you are making. Some features can be tricky to develop using OLC, such as editing very long mud programs, so we recommend the use of 'offline' building for those parts of an arae.
  • Building as a team - Building an area as part of a team can be an excellent way to build areas - a typical team might consist of a visionary a strong concept for a story they wish to use the area to tell, a writer able to put that story into words, and someone able to make it come alive by writing the programs that will animate the characters of the story. This is our recommended way of building areas!
  • Area designer - If you are a visionary or a writer with a strong concept that you wish to see made real, but lack the time or ability to write the mudprogs that are needed to complete the area - fear not! If you can describe what it is you wish to accomplish in sufficient detail - a map, descriptions of the rooms, NPCs and objects, what kind of programs are required and so on, that concept can be taken by another builder and brought through to fruition.

Building Tools

  • Textpad - An excellent text editing program for builders.

General Area Lessons and Area Design information

OLC Sources and lessons

Please note in order to gain the ability to use OLC on the testport a builder has to have completed their first area by hand. If you are checking out the lessons for the first time with the intent to build your first area by hand, then looking at this OLC links may confuse you. It may be best to skip this section if that is the case.

  • OLC Commands - A guide written by Dalvyn (Area administrator) to the basic OLC commands used in most building on FKMud.
  • Hernes OLC building Guide - External Link - OLC guides for a SMAUG, some of which is helpful to this mud, even though we have changed the code dramatically.
  • Zylara's OLC building Guide - External Link - Written for SMAUG muds, but some of it works for FKMud.

Area templates and main headers

  • Area Template - A listing of all the headers and sections in an area file.
  • Area Sample - A sample area with sample mobs, objects, rooms and resets.
  • Header flags - What do each of the header flags do?
  • Justice System - What do you need to do to make the justice system work in your area?

#MOBILES section

If you are a novice to building for Forgotten Kingdoms, please read the lessons on the mobiles section in the order given. Later on the lessons can be a good reference, especially when you need to look up a flag for a mobile.

#OBJECTS section

#ROOMS section

#SHOPS section and #REPAIRS section

#RESETS section

#SPECIALS section

#QUESTS section

Mud Programs

Other lessons

Helpful general building links

Note: Our general links pages has links to Forgotten Realms sites on the web that will aid in descriptions and the story line of your area.

Forgotten Kingdoms © 2010, artwork by Nick Deligaris