This page is heavily based on the “help NEWBIE” file accessible in game. This file was originally penned by the player Apollo. It is a little bit long, but feel free to read it at your own pace. We highly recommend that new players read this file before jumping in!
DuneMUD is very large, very old, and requires time to learn. You begin your Dune life in a small training area. After completing training (or skipping it entirely), you have the option of travelling to one of the various planets (with the exception of Salusa Secundus) where you are left off at the AstroPort, or “AP”. Before you continue the adventure, it would be wise to learn some of the controls available, along with some of the MUD settings.
Steps you might wish to take as a new player to DuneMUD include,
Reading these help files carefully will make you more familiar with DuneMUD than you would by just asking questions.
Access 'set' to see your current variable settings, access 'variables' to see a list of the variables to set. There are guilds which
have features that need to be set in this fashion, more information is available within the specific guild help files on that topic.
Sequence 'seq command,command,command,etc' will cause the commands to be set off one per round for as many rounds as there are segments of
sequence. 'seq look,listen,,kill soldier' would result in you looking at the room, then performing the listen emote, waiting idle, and then killing the soldier mob in the room if there is one.
There are some settings which tune down the volume of battle messages you receive each round. 'briefme' and even less with 'verybriefme'. You can also use 'briefmon all' to prevent much of the increasingly spammy messages the mobs display. It can be helpful and reassuring when you are first getting used to combat seeing the combat messages in full, but you will quickly see there is a lot of battle spam.
When using a MUD client rather than TelNet, it is good to use CAPTURE and GAG functions to make your experience more pleasant. CAPTURE is a feature of zMud, sending certain text displays such as chat messages to another window so you can read it as you wish. To GAG is to cause certain word strings not to appear which you do not need to see over and over.
'set login_cmd seq verybriefme,briefmon all,defense yourchoice' This is a good basic login_cmd, it uses a sequence to perform actions that
you would otherwise need to do yourself at each login. When you have joined a guild, there may be more commands which should go in login_cmd. You need to choose a defense, roll, block or dodge. 'help defense' 'set tell_to_colour yellow' 'set tell_from_colour bold yellow'
'tell player message' to send a private tell which shows up colored yellow to you, and when they 'reply' it will show up bold yellow to you. These settings need to be spelled colour, most other usages are simply color.
'help color' gives examples of the color codes and how to use them. In addition to these setting colors, there are times when you are able to
use your own custom colors in certain channels and occasionally on items. $COLORNAME is used to begin a color string. $OFF must end the string, or the color will bleed out to the rest of your display text when viewed.
The other $-codes are BOLD, BLINK, UNDERL, INVERSE and OFF to end color. If you come across problems using colors, feel free to ask for help.
Access these help files please.
PK party channels QUESTS politics
These are just a few of the important help files, but do not touch on some other important aspects of DuneMUD, especially certain areas of combat. Try the following files for additional reading.
Your first choice of guild as a new player is important as it will determine the type of experience you have. Some guilds are more complex than others and are less suitable for one who is learning.
Each one is very different from the others in style and form. The Fremen, Bene Gesserit, Harkonnen and to a lesser extent the Atreides and Fish Speakers are easier guilds to learn with. They require fewer per-round commands and have suitable low level defense to keep you alive.
'help guilds' You are welcome to join any guild which you meet the requirements for, making the Ixian Machine Guild and Sardaukar more difficult to join before you are familiar with DuneMUD.
This does not mean those guilds are better, each guild has pros and cons just the same. Some players fall in love with a guild for it's style or it's community, in addition to how the guild itself works in combat.
Your first choice should not be your last choice, some immediately begin to explore all of the guilds. Some play a single character for a while before seeing what the others have to offer. You are allowed to have many alternate characters, alts. Within reason of course, please do
Before you begin killing the endless mobs standing around the planets of the DuneMUD universe, it is highly suggested you pick a guild.
If your guild give you a guild autoloading weapon then spend a bit of exp raising that weapon's skill. If you do not you will have a hard time hitting mobs and earning exp. If your guild does not have a weapon then spend exp in 'hand to hand' (Caladan 4w s) and use your bare fists to pummel mobs to death.
'help wimpy' 'wimpy 75' Wimpy allows you to flee if combat gets
too heavy. You need to set it somewhat high, as it does not always work.
And you would not want to be suddenly hit with massive damage and die.
If you do die, you will be transported immediately to an Axotl Tank, courtesy of the Tleilaxu. You will be weakened due to an imperfect ghola being used, resulting in a level and some stats lost along with exp and anything you may have been carrying when you died, including your money.
Death does happen and you must not let it get to you. Buy a Ghola. There are Ghola Regeneration Centers available on every planet near the Astroport, referred to as the AP. Ghola Centers require money dependent on your level, starting at small fees and working up to be quite expensive when your character level reaches the triple digits. Gholas however will not save you from losing your gear and money if you die. It is always a good idea to 'deposit all' of your money at an AP before you enter combat.
Gear on the other hand must be reclaimed if you fall in battle. Often times another player can help you reclaim your corpse, or you can try to get it back yourself if you think you can take the mob who killed you. It will still try to kill you once you enter the room though, so be careful. Tip: If you relog, the mob will no longer be hunting you.
Your MUD defense is set to random when you login, it is wise to read 'help defense' and choose one of the three. Random is not a good defense!
There is no charge for using the banking system, nor does it collect interest or fees, please use it rather than lose your money if you die. Your solaris will be on your corpse.
Before you 'kill' a mob, 'consider' it first and count the bars. The message displayed should not be trusted, as you grow larger it will begin always saying the mob will kill you. It is important to learn what the bars mean. It can also become very important to have a MUD client which supports triggers, Pearl expressions especially, to count the bars. Some mobs have over 160 of these in a row. Hard to count it all manually.
There are aggressive mobs on Dune which will attack you if you enter their room. They are not common, but you should not expect the mobs of Dune to give up without a fight. Some mobs will aid one being attacked, this is more common in larger mobs, and those in the Harkonnen Training Tower on Giedi Prime on floor 8 and above. The very top of this tower is a huge mob named Trediak, you'll find him after the empty floor above the Harkonnen Super Soldiers. It is not suggested you visit him.
Killing mobs larger than you will result in larger exp rewards, killing mobs smaller than you will result in smaller exp rewards. Money is usually specific to the mobs you fight and is not altered by who fights them. The gear mobs drop, weapons and armour are for the most part there for you to sell. Some pieces of equipment are valuable, but DuneMUD uses system in which you do not save items when you logout. There are places to save your things in various ways, including the Genesis Inn on Caladan, the Ixian Lockers on Ix, or using a function of your guild if such a function exists. Further information on guild storage is available to guild members via the 'ghelp' function.
Nearly every guild has either a guild weapon, guild armour, or both. While equipment is important for improved protection and enhanced stats, do not feel that it is required. It is however a must for PK!
All guilds have some method in which your character heals. Some of the guilds have a more effective healing system than others. If you are having trouble understanding how to heal, please ask a guildmate or on the chat or newbie channels. Some guilds have more than one heal, a primary a secondary, or many small heals that make up the sum of the whole. One or two of the guilds may require you to perform some syntax function to enable healing. Such as with a new Bene Gesserit, she must set her Bindu Rate before her very effective healing will function.
Now that you know how to kill, you need to know where to go.
Please see 'help space'. If you travel to an
AstroPort, access 'list' to view the currently
available shuttles and destinations.
To travel, you must 'order <shiptype> to <destination>' and then wait for the shuttle. Once your ship arrives you may then 'enter ship' and enjoy the (instantaneous) voyage.
Much like the guilds, each planet is vastly different from the next. Arrakis sports a massive desert, Tleilax has huge forests and swamps. Caladan seems small but has many hidden places, the same can be said for a lot of the planets. Some seem confined until you realize there might be twenty hidden areas all around you, and some hidden within those too.
You know how to fight, you know how to find more mobs to kill, and you have selected a guild. Read through their ghelp/help guild files and get ready to earn some Guild Levels.
There are two important aspects to your development, your character level, ability and stat points, and your guild level and guild skills. Your guild level and gskills will affect your guild defenses and offenses, while your character level and stats affect the MUD Defense. Guild power and level power go hand in hand, though you will learn where one may have more use than the other in certain situations.
You must advance your level and stats in your guild headquarters.
Use 'sc' which is short for 'score' to see your character information.
You've made it through the NEWBIE file and hopefully you understand the basics to success here. If you have questions or concerns, you'll find a lot of help available reading 'help full' and by asking around. 'dictionary topic' example 'dictionary ghola' to read about Dune topics.
You may see few players on at times, though there are several dozen part time Duners who fill up the 'who' list at differing times.
And remember we have players from all around the world, not everyone is easy to chat with, but almost everyone is friendly.
So good luck and prepare yourself for a new addiction life hobby.