Networked Writing Environment

Digging to a new room

The two main verbs for making stuff in the MOO are @create and @dig. The first is used to make objects other than rooms; the second makes rooms and exits only.

This page will discuss how to use the dig command to make a new room. Below is a sample dig command.

@dig tunnel|escape to "Creepy Tomb"

So what does all this mean? Let's see:

Command	Required?	What it means
`@dig`	Yes	This is the beginning of the command. When you type this command, you should be standing in a room you are allowed to dig from.
`tunnel`	Yes	This is the name of the exit you will dig from the room you are standing in to the room you're going to. It should be something distinctive, but should only be one word. You should also make sure that the exit name you choose is unique -- there should not be any other exits in the room with that same name. If you have any spaces in it, players will not be able to use it. In our example, once the room is built, players will type `tunnel` to go into the creepy tomb.
`\|escape`	No	This command has two parts. The first is the 'pipe' character. It can be found on the key above the ENTER key, as a SHIFT character above the backslash. It looks like a vertical line: `\|` the word `escape` is the name of the exit that players will use to get from the room you are building back to the room you are standing in. Note that this part of the command is optional, but strongly recommended. If you leave this portion of the command out, the MOO will dig an exit to the room you are building without digging one back.
`to "Creepy Tomb"`	Yes	This is the name of the new room you are building to. If you are trying to build to a room that already exists, you must use the room's object number. See below.

Digging to a room that already exists

To dig to a room that already exists, you need to substitute the object number for the name in the dig command. See our example below.

@dig bookcase|secret to #5555

In the example above, we are digging an entrance called bookcase from the room we are in to the room numbered #5555. We are also digging another entrance called secret from #5555 to the room we are standing in. Again, to make this command work, you need to have permission to dig in the room you are standing in and you need to have permission to dig in the room you are digging to.

What now?

Once you've built a room, you should describe it, using @describe, and populate it with objects so it is a place that MOOers will gather and admire. Don't forget to lock down your objects if you want them to stay in the room.