Frequently Asked Questions
- How do I get connected?
To connect to Dark Places you need to have a telnet application, which is
simply a program that connects to the game just like how a web browser
connects to a web page. Windows comes with a telnet application already,
and it can be found in the Windows directory. To connect to Dark Places
with this program, first open the program. Go to file, and choose open
location. In the dialogue box that appears, enter mud.hardlink.com as the
address and where it says port, input the number 2000, and press the
Connect button. You should then find yourself at the Dark Places greeting
screen.
You may also be able to open your telnet program by typing the address
telnet://mud.hardlink.com:2000 in your web browser.
The telnet application that comes installed with Windows is a very dismal
program. You can find a number of applications across the internet by
simply going to your favorite search engine and typing "mud client". These
programs should come with their own instructions.
If you are still having trouble connecting to the game, feel free to e-mail
Tain at ax350@chebucto.ns.ca
and he will do his best to help.
- How do I create a character?
Dark Places currently has a specialized application system that involves
writing a number of descriptions. This application is evaluated by a staff
member after it is written and is either approved, or rejected with notes
on what was done wrong. The application system includes specific guidelines
that must be followed in order to get an approval. If these guidelines are
ignored, the application is most likely to be rejected.
- How do I role-play?
Role-playing means acting in the game as though you were another person,
a separate entity that is concerned with its own welfare. In order to
role-play well, you need to know who you're trying to be.
You must first consider your character's background. This need not be
extensive, but it should be enough to explain to you what your character's
motivations are, and what that character's purpose in life is, in order
to determine how that character will act and what that character will do.
Next, think about how your character speaks. This involves considering
the character's education level, where the character grew up, how old
the character is, etc. A ten year old will have different diction than a
fifty year old, and a noble educated in the finest academies will speak with
more luster than a rag-clad bum who has grown up on the street.
The most important command where your role-playing is concerned is the
emote command. With this command you will express your character's actions
to other role-players. To send an emote, you type emote followed by whatever
action you want to commit, and press enter.
Example:
emote turns to the bartender and places his mug on the counter with a clack.
Other role-players in the room might see this:
The tall, bronzed man turns to the bartender and places his mug on the
counter with a clack.
These are the basics of role-playing. But to role-play well is to make
your character unique, make him or her stand out as something that feels as
real as possible. Feel free to discuss your character with the game's staff,
who will be happy to help you by starting plots around your character.
- What happens when I die?
As in real life, when you die, you stay dead. This means that if your
character is killed, then it's time to start a new character, and that new
character must be a unique individual with no recollection of his previous
life.
The reason that death is permanent is to maintain a sense of realism, and
to enhance the feel for danger in the game. It permits people to take the
chance for death much more seriously, and avoid situations that are obviously
too dangerous.
Compared to hack and slash MUDs, death is much more rare. Because Dark
Places does not revolve around killing non-player characters to obtain
experience points, there is generally no reason to run around killing
everything in sight unless your character is insane.
- What are the rules?
There are no hard rules on Dark Places. You are free to do anything you
wish as long as it is done in character. That means you may not kill
other characters because they killed you in past lives; that is out-of-character
(OOC) knowledge.
In most on-line games, sexual activity is banned. Due to the sensitive
nature of this issue, sexual harassment that is not agreed upon by both
parties will not be tolerated. This means that if you try to role-play
anything of a sexual nature with another player's character, and that
real-life player objects to it, then you must not continue.
Dark Places, nor anyone else involved with Dark Places, cannot be held liable
for any transgressions. But if you are being sexually harassed by someone in
the game whom you have asked to stop, please contact the administration
immediately and the matter will be handled as promptly as possible.
This is the one exception to the 'no rules' idea of in-character gaming.
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