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Room colourisation standards

Refer to the lesson on colourising an area for the syntax on putting colour into an area.

When colourising a room we try to give an overall feeling for where the room is by the colour. For instance if the room is a dark tunnel we will use {80}dark grey, or if its the inside of a tavern where everything in predominantly wood, we will use {30}. A forest would be {A0} or {20} to give the impression on green. A forest that is darker would be {20} over {A0}. Sometimes you might want to highlight a feature of the room, like a stained glass window, or a painting, or the fireplace. When doing this, do not try to colourise every individual aspect of the room description, because when that is done, the room becomes very busy and hard to read.

Below are some sample rooms:

#QQ11
A mine shaft~
{80}The walls are pockmarked with pick and shovel marks, showing where
veins of metal had been located. Torches spaced intermittently
through the cavern provide flickering illumination. Sturdy timbers
form crossbeams for the tunnel, while the mountain overhead is
supported by carved pillars of stone.
~
0 ROOM_NO_MOB|ROOM_INDOORS|ROOM_NO_ASTRAL SECT_UNDERGROUND 0 0 0
DDIR_UP
~
~
0 -1 QQ10 1
DDIR_DOWN
~
~
0 -1 QQ12 1
S

The room above is an underground room that would be darkish in colour so the dark gray colour is used to give that over all impression.

#QQ65
Ardeep Forest~
{A0}The trees in this part of the wood are tall and mossy with the passing of
years.  The ground seems to be somewhat softer here, with many low-growing
succulent leafy plants inhabiting the area.  Perhaps this has something to do
with the sounds of water reaching you from the north and east.
~
0 ROOM_DARK SECT_FOREST 0 0 0
DDIR_NORTH
A Creek in Ardeep Forest~
~
0 -1 QQ73 0
DDIR_EAST
A Creek in Ardeep Forest~
~
0 -1 QQ66 0
DDIR_SOUTH
Ardeep Forest~
~
0 -1 QQ62 0
DDIR_WEST
Ardeep Forest~
~
0 -1 QQ64 0
E
tree trees~
{A0}Here there is a small grove of duskwood.  {50}Low bushes
with purple leaves grow about the bases of the trees.
~
E
succulent plant plants leafy~
{A0}They are brilliant green and have bunches
of tiny white flowers sprouting from their stalks.
~
S

The room above is a forest. Its descriptions are done with the brighter of the two greens available. The extra descriptions have been colourised as well. The builder has also chosen to put comments in the first comment line of the room exits. This is not necessary as it is not seen in the game at all, but as a builder you may like that kind of detail when looking through your area file.

#QQ46
Golden Horse Shoe~
{30}This long building contains the numerous stables of The Lucky Drunk.
This stable gets its name from the {B0}golden horse shoe {30}nailed above
the entrance. The stables are kept very clean and the sweet smell of
fresh hay is very strong. There are also many cages for smaller pets
and on one wall is a pegboard. Bales of hay and barrels of grains
are stacked in one corner.
~
0 ROOM_INDOORS|ROOM_PET_SHOP|ROOM_NO_RECALL|ROOM_NO_ASTRAL  SECT_INSIDE 0 0 0
DDIR_EAST
~
~
0 -1 QQ00 1
S

In the description above the builder has tastefully highlighted just one feature that he wants to draw attention to, the golden horseshoe. Drawing attention to too many things with many different colours becomes too busy for the player to read. So try and keep it to just one item if you want to highlight something.