<> h zones
"AREA MAKING" ZONES

By: Miax/Lloth          Kristopher Kortright

Many people have come forward with interest in making areas for
Toril, and this document was prepared to answer any questions you
might have about the process.  The entire task of area creation can be
summed up in one phrase:  "Area creation is not hard, just tedious -- it
requires a lot of imagination."


Step 1 -  The Mechanics:
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Area creation for Toril requires NO coding or programming knowledge
of ANY kind.  All it requires is patience and imagination.  All you
need to create an area is a standard word processor.  (We have a
Toril-specific area editor in the works, so stay tuned!)

* Using a Standard Word Processor

This is a fine method of making a zone (although somewhat more
time-consuming than certain area editors out there, and many gods

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prefer this method.  To create your area, FTP the Area-making docs
from sojourn.com using the login "anonymous" and your email address
as your password. The docs can be found in the /pub/sojourn directory.
If the docs can not be found at this location, email a request to
mudareas@sojurn.com.

- use any standard text scrolling program (such as more, less, or a
  word processor) to read the documents and learn the formats and
  values associated with Toril areas

Zone files are similar to the gamma Diku format, with the exception of
a lot of additions for Toril, and are simple text files.  Making a
zone with a word processor is akin to writing a book on the computer,
albeit with some added math and formatting.


Step 2 - Making the Zone:
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Regardless of what method you use to make your area, there are many
formatting and stylistic rules you MUST follow when you are
making areas for Toril.  Below we have listed the most important (or
frequently asked about) tips on zone-making:

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a) When making a room, you MUST indent 3 spaces in the beginning
of the room description.  Make sure you capitalize your room titles
appropriately, according to the accepted rules of grammar.

"Inside the Damp Cavern of Mushrooms"           - Acceptable.
"Inside the damp cavern of mushrooms"           - NOT acceptable.

In the previous example, the important descriptive words of the room
title should be capitalized.

b) Try to be grammatically correct with your zones.  Good
spelling is important, and how people view your work will reflect
either positively or negatively on the mud.  It's not something we
will get angry over, but people are quick to point out typos.

c) Room descriptions that contain only one or two lines of text
are highly frowned upon.  A room description that consists of only one
sentence downgrades your zone and detracts from the overall effect it
will have on people.  A few of these are okay, but we will send back
any zone that is predominantly one- to two-line descriptions.  Two to
five sentences per room is desirable, depending on the level of detail

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in any given room.

d) Many zone writers view making a zone as simply coming up with
ten different descriptions and duplicating them each 100 times.  This
is *not* acceptable on Toril.  However, in some cases, duplicate
room descriptions are fine, and even necessary in many instances.
Using the example of the vast Trackless Sea, it would have been sheer
madness to come up with 5,000 different room descriptions for the
ocean.  Also, in places that are *intended* to be repetitious such as
mazes or endless forests, duplicate room descriptions can be an
invaluable tool for confusing players.

As a general rule:  don't use many duplicate rooms unless there is a
good reason why they are repetitious.  However, we will not turn away
zones if you have some duplicates that are made out of laziness, but
repetition is frowned upon in practice and should be used with care.

e) Plot/Theme:  Every zone you make should be built around a plot
or a theme.  Zones that are made off-handedly, with "a little bit of
everything" thrown in, are often confusing and hard to fit into the
realism of the Toril interior world environment.  The only tip here
is that you should follow a theme for your zone.  For example, you

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could create themes such as "The Kobold Village" or "The Underdark"
and make everything in your zone fit that theme as closely as
possible.  Taking your time and coming up with interesting and
intriguing little plots and twists within your zone can often make it
famous overnight.

f) Quality over quantity!  I cannot stress this point enough.
While many area makers judge themselves and other makers by how many
rooms they have made, this is actually not a good scale in practice
unless you are considering someone's zone as their application for maker
status or some such thing.  I have seen a dozen zones in my time that
were only 100 rooms that, because of their sheer quality, walked all
over many 300-room zones.  It's easier and more rewarding to make 100
rooms of *really awesome* zone than 300 rooms of "okay" zone.

g) Maps/Ideas:  It is always a good idea to talk first with a god
about your area to make sure it is acceptable for Toril.  Once this
is done, it is considered sound practice to make a graph-paper map of
your entire zone, outlining all your connect-points and details.  This
helps you get a good feel for the area and what you might be missing,
as well as ensuring it is geographically sound.  A map also helps in mob
placement and debugging, so it is a good thing to have handy.

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The above are just a few of the more important and most frequently
misunderstood aspects of area creation on Toril.  There is also a
list of about 15 more such tips in the "sojourn.doc" file that you
*should* read if you are planning to make a zone for us.


Step 3 - What Kind of Zones Will Toril Accept?
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There are a few criteria that are a MUST for any zone going into
Toril.  These are non-negotiable terms:

a) The zone *must* be original.  We do not want to add any zone
into Toril that can be found on *any* other mud.  Soon all the stock
zones will be gone and we will be 100% original world.  To this end,
we require that any area you give to Toril not be found on other
muds as well.  We want people to be able to find Toril's zones only
on Toril.  If the zone is later found in several other muds, it
could be removed from Toril.

b) The zone *must* be realistic to an AD&D world.  We do not

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demand that your zones be built around the Forgotten Realms, but they
*must* be able to fit into that world in some manner.  For example:
no smurf zones, no silly zones, no Amazon Woman Visiting from Mars
zones, etc.  Just so long as it is in the flavor of AD&D fantasy, you
should be okay.

c) Note on zone syntax:  as stated in the past, you will receive a
MAKER status god for making a quality area.  The policy below is important,
as it is the portion that protects us, the Forgers of Toril, as we
use your area:

        "All people who donate and/or make an area for Toril and
        receive MAKER status for its incorporation into the mud are
        bound by the following:  you CANNOT at a later date demand
        that the zone be removed from the mud for ANY reason!  Once a
        zone is given to and becomes a part of Toril, it is
        permanently the property of Toril.  For example, if at a
        later date a MAKER is caught cheating and is demoted for it,
        the maker CANNOT in turn demand that Toril remove the zone
        in question."

Also, as a policy statement to protect you, the zone maker:

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        "If you donate and/or make an area for Toril, and that area
        is used in the mud, only YOU, the area maker, have the right
        to govern what happens to that zone as far as distribution is
        concerned.  In other words, we, the Forgers of Toril, hereby
        guarantee that your area will NOT be given to ANYONE for any
        reason.  It will remain under tight lock and key at all times
        so that your hard work is not stolen and distributed all over
        the Internet.  To that end, we accept responsibility for the
        security of any zone donated to us."

These policies protect both the mud owners and the area makers
regarding the legality of using someone else's work, and clarify for
all our determination to make a 100% realistic world that can be found
no where else on the (virtual) globe.


Step 4 - Details! Details!
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Here are some frequently asked questions about areas on Toril and
details regarding area creation:


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Q: How do I determine experience points for my mobs?
A: A program is in the works that will automatically assign experience
point values depending on the mobs' characteristics.  But for now,
have one of the gods stat a few mobs for you.  If you are making a
mid-level area, for example, one of the gods can give you average
experience values for some common mid-level mobs that you can base
yours on.

Q: What about equipment stats (weapon damages and such)?
A: As above, have some of our gods stat a few objects for you.  Not to
worry, if your object stats are off, we will help you adjust them once
the preliminary version of your zone is in for testing.

Q: Will I receive a god for my area?
A: Yes. *IF* the area is well done and we use it, you will receive a
MAKER status god (level 51).  This god is good for approximately three
months time per area you make.  If you want to keep the god or move up
in the world, further contributions of areas or code or cash are
required.  This ensures that someone cannot make one area and still
expect to have a god a year or two from now without continuing to
help.  It also ensures that the people who are currently gods on
Toril are actively contributing to the mud's development.

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Q: How can I extend my god's time or move higher?
A: Once your foot is in the door, there are many avenues to
advancement.  We like to reward our people for hard work, and you can
do many things to earn promotions. For example:  more zone work,
administration (if approved by Administration Forger), quests,
role-playing, contributing to any current projects (Home Pages,
role-playing guides) and code work.

Q: Can I choose where my area goes in the mud?
A: Partially.  We like to sit down with the area designers and have
them work with us on the best place for the zone's placement.  The
area designer does have first say as to where it will go, and 99% of
the time they are granted permission to put it in one of their
selected places.  We come into it in that our knowledge of the world
is thorough, and thus we can advise you on things or areas of the
world you might not be aware of.


Those are just some of the more frequently asked questions people ahve
when they are working on areas, or contemplating making a zone.  Feel
free to ask *any* of our gods for help with your area; we are glad to

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do it and to offer you other help in any way possible.  You may also
make questions/comments about items found in this document as you
please.

                                Long Live Toril!

        Kristopher Kortright
        (Miax/Lloth, Forger of Toril)


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