Things I have learned from my first tfc area ... (still learning !)

[boromir]

First things first ...

Listen to Tokugawa ! He knows this stuff!

Read the instructions ! Follow the instructions ! Pay Attention to Details !!

Follow the vnum map you created/updated - I'm fixing some strange links and
connections that have somehow appeared .... must be my evil twin ....

Make sure you get all your Capitial and lower cases verbage all sorted out for equipment and mobs and rooms etc. If you dont, it looks really really really strange ..

The Mob Reset (Boromirs version)(I could be wrong ...)
If you have 1 mob you want appearing in 1 place with 3 copies of the mob showing up - mob reset counter of 3 (total number of ALL copies of this mob being popped/ repopped)

if you have 1 mob you want appearing in 2 places with 3 copies of each mob showing up in each place - BOTH mob reset counters are set to 6 (total number of ALL copies of this mob being popped / repopped for ALL resets (3+3=6)

if you have 1 mob you want appearing in 3 places with 3 copies of each mob showing up in each place - ALL THREE mob reset counters are set to 9 (the total number of ALL copies of this mob being popped / repopped for ALL resets (3+3+3=9)

Idea! => This could be an update to Thors editor where his editor keeps track of how many of each mob is being popped/repopped and adjusts the mob reset counter(s) automatically.

The Equip reset (Boromirs version) ( I could be wrong ...)
The equip reset tells the mud how many TOTAL copies of this piece of eq will appear period. You set the equip reset count to 1, then you will only and forever see 1 copy of the equipment EVER. Make sure you always use 100 for your eq resets. If not, Tokugawa will remind you (he catches lots of stuff ... I know )

Don't worry, the mud will always pop at least 1 item of equipment per mob per defined reset.

So, if you have a mob appearing in 1 place with 3 copies of that mob showing up AND you have set an equip reset of a glass of milk for that mob - all 3 copies of that mob will have 1 glass of milk each since that is the equip reset defined for that mob reset.

Idea! => This could be an update to Thors editor where his editor keeps track of how many of each item is being popped/repopped and adjusts the equip reset counter(s) automatically.

The Give reset (Boromir version) (I could be wrong)
Same idea as Equip reset - keep it simple and just make it 100.

The Object reset (Boromir version) (I could be wrong)
2 chests popping/repopping in 3 rooms = 2 resets (1 for each chest) with both chest reset counters set to 6 (3+3) - the total of ALL pops/repops of this chest

The Place reset (Boromir version) (I could be wrong)
Same idea as Equip reset - keep it simple and just make it 100.

For some of you, this will be a "Geez, tell me something I dont know .." response, for others hopefully, it will be "What? OH!! OK!! Now it makes sense!"

One last thought ...

Be patient when asking for help and information from Tokugawa, he is quite the busy immortal. He will get back to you with the information you need. Or in my case ....
" You need to have your equipemnt reset at 100, 1 wont do it ....no, 6 wont do it either or 15 ... Remember the equipment reset is the total for all of that item, not just for this mob ... Ok?" The third or fourth time he told me that, it finally sunk in.

And there you have it, my understanding of area stuff, well the parts I had some issues with ...

I await your considered opinions!

[Tokugawa]

First things first ...

Listen to Tokugawa ! He knows this stuff!

Read the instructions ! Follow the instructions ! Pay Attention to Details !!

This is a great reminder. The instructions I send when someone is starting a new zone can be very helpful and avoid a lot of edits in the future. The instructions have been compiled from years of doing this, and identifying common things that need to be fixed later, or need to be done in a certain way.

Follow the vnum map you created/updated - I'm fixing some strange links and
connections that have somehow appeared .... must be my evil twin ....

Make sure you get all your Capitial and lower cases verbage all sorted out for equipment and mobs and rooms etc. If you dont, it looks really really really strange ..

Yeah, if you have a capitalized short description it looks like this...
Tokugawa wields A crossbow.
instead of
Tokugawa wields a crossbow.

The long should always be capitalized since it's the beginning of a sentence.

The Mob Reset (Boromirs version)(I could be wrong ...)
If you have 1 mob you want appearing in 1 place with 3 copies of the mob showing up - mob reset counter of 3 (total number of ALL copies of this mob being popped/ repopped)

if you have 1 mob you want appearing in 2 places with 3 copies of each mob showing up in each place - BOTH mob reset counters are set to 6 (total number of ALL copies of this mob being popped / repopped for ALL resets (3+3=6)

This is correct. I will also add, say you want three mobs in room A and three in B. When the zone first loads, it loads one mob in one room. Such as room A. Then on the next tick of the zone, it loads one mob in room B. This keeps happening until the mob count equals to the mob reset count. If one or more mobs are killed, this process starts over until the mob count reaches the mob reset count.

As a reminder, here is a link which may prove useful. This could help before you submit your first draft. I'll be updating this as needed. Things to check before the first draft submission.

Thanks for your patience Boromir. I know it can be frustrating dealing with things that are new, and resets can be very, very confusing until it all "clicks". I know it took me awhile to understand them, and sometimes I still have to reference the Area Writers Guide to confirm how I think something works, actually works that way.

If you can think of anything I need to add to the thread in the link above, that would be helpful also. I would like to make that information as useful as I can. Being on the other end of the area creation process, I may not know all of the good suggestions to add to it.

[Kylor]

What I've learned:
1) Don't get too eager, be patient. No matter how fast you go I can promise that this process doesn't happen over night and for good reasons.

2) If any of this seems complicated or there is some aspect that you don't understand then ask for help -before- you move on to anything else.

3) Stick to your vnum map because things will get confusing if you don't, so have that part down pact first.

4) Make a back up copy frequently because bugs happen. I learned this the hard way

5) Don't write any thing in untill its approved unless you enjoy rewriting things.

6) The more you proof read and do spell checks the less you will have to resubmit which will save on waiting time. I also learned this the hard way.

7) When things are going well the staff are awesome to work with, if you want to preserve that then do as they say muahahaha (they are normally right anyhow)

[Gwyrdain]

[...] say you want three mobs in room A and three in B. When the zone first loads, it loads one mob in one room. Such as room A. Then on the next tick of the zone, it loads one mob in room B. This keeps happening until the mob count equals to the mob reset count. [...]

So what about a spot like the MG east gate where you want all three cityguards to pop on 1st load? Does this mean each of these guards has its own vnum and its own reset with a reset counter of 1?

[Tokugawa]

Hm, I am going to have to look into this. I'm not sure it's working like I posted earlier. Maybe I was thinking about object resets. hah!

[Kylor]

i think that is P resets... cause I've seen container pop items in that fashion

[Tokugawa]

Multiple Mobs, same vnum, same room, all pop at zone reset
In the editor you would create three resets with a count of three. The resets would look like the below example. This would pop three mobs all at the same time, per zone reset.

The "M" in the below example tells the mud this is a mob reset. "2109" is the mob vnum. The "3" is the mob reset count. "1297" is the room to load the mob in.

M 0 2109 3 1297 Minotaur ring-keeper
E 1 2161 20 1 7 Huge Spiked Seste
M 0 2109 3 1297 Minotaur ring-keeper
E 1 2161 20 1 7 Huge Spiked Seste
M 0 2109 3 1297 Minotaur ring-keeper
E 1 2161 20 1 7 Huge Spiked Seste

The mob would be loaded and it would wield the Huge Spiked Seste.

Multiple Mobs, same vnum, same room, one pops in room per zone reset
In the editor you would create one reset with a count of three. The reset would look like the below example. This would pop three mobs, one mob per zone reset.
M 0 2109 3 1297 Minotaur ring-keeper
E 1 2161 20 1 7 Huge Spiked Seste

Multiple Mobs, same vnum, multiple rooms, three mobs pop per room, per zone reset.
In the editor you would create three resets with a count of nine. This would pop three mobs per room, per reset.
M 0 2109 9 1297 Minotaur ring-keeper
E 1 2161 20 1 7 Huge Spiked Seste
M 0 2109 9 1298 Minotaur ring-keeper
E 1 2161 20 1 7 Huge Spiked Seste
M 0 2109 9 1299 Minotaur ring-keeper
E 1 2161 20 1 7 Huge Spiked Seste

[Kylor]

makes sense

[soloban]

I'll add to this now that I have had an area successfully installed:

1. There is a specific way that Tamar wants the maps done. They way that I do maps on the wiki is not that format (its close!). Each level should have its own sheet in an excel workbook and should align up and down if you are flipping between tabs. I.e. If you were mapping the guild and the hallway was in cell B5, the lower hall (Mish) would at cell B5 in separate tab. Additionally, for my maps in excel they take up 4 cells that are merged. Tamar prefers that one room be in one cell.

2. My understanding is that the preference from the Area staff is that rooms be of the same size on a grid. Take a look at my map of Moria, that is an example of how not to do it!

3. Do your map first, get that approved by Tokugawa and Tamar before you write the zone in the Muditor.

4. I recommend that you write the rooms and connections and doors first. Make sure that matches your approved map. Then add the mobs, objects, shoppies, etc... Do the resets last so the rooms will all be there when you load the resets in the muditor.

[Lexie]

Oh, and I *will* find typos in your zone. No way around that.

[soloban]

Fine by me... I'm not an English major.