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OLC Manuals | Building Utilities | Building Tips | Background and reference materials | World-building pages For fundemental building tips check out Miss Moondancer's Guide to Smaug Building


o, you dream of building great castles and filthy dungeons?  Constructing large cities and tiny shires?  Here's your chance. Now you are probably asking yourself 'Yes, but WHAT is building, and HOW do i go about it??' Not to worry, below you will find much of what you need to know to build on any basic SMAUG mud (and many things that will help you build on most other muds, as well!).
Building links!!!


***Guidelines for builders***

1. If you need to learn how to build on a smaug mud there are always those around who you may ask. There are a number of good txt files on the subject, as well. Keep in mind, however, that those files you may be lead to were NOT written will not be 100% accurate and should be used only as guidelines to help you on your way, not as bibles. :)

2. Theme areas are always a plus. Read your mud's version of 'help story' to get an idea of these if you don't know already. Areas that fit well with the theme will earn extra brownie points with (as well as blending in more).

3. Descriptions are important. Any room should have an average of from 4-6 lines of description included in it. Spelling and grammar are also important. If you need, have a dictionary and "The Elements of Style" by Strunk and White, in front of you as you work. Don't make your head builder's job any harder then it already is.

4. SAVEAREA early, SAVEAREA often. You never know when you might crash, or reboot and if you have not learned to use this command on a moment-by-moment basis, you WILL lose work.

5. Quality, not quantity is the rule. If it takes you months to make the greatest area ever seen on a mud, that's ok. Better that, then tossing off an area a week that you aren't proud of.

6. Spend your time wisely. Some things are more important than building.

Some Things that Should be Obvious, But Aren't Always

Room descriptions should describe the ROOM. Whats in it, whats it made of, whats it smell and sound like, and things of that nature. Rooms do NOT 'make you scared' or 'send shivers down your spine'. People can do that, (I know a few) but a ROOM cannot. In a similar vein, rooms cannot make you 'suddenly remember that this place is supposed to be haunted'. If you want a player to know that, let him hear rumors from the odd fellow in town. Rooms don't talk. I can't stress this enough, people, you AREN'T writing a novel, you're describing a room. These skills are VERY different, and call for an entirely different set of rules. The above is just a start.

Writer's block can strike at any time. The best cure is to stop and do something different for a while, then come back to it. Rome wasn't built in a day, neither should your area be unless you want to burn yourself out MIGHTY quick.

If you are planning to be away for any time longer then a week, however, please post a note about it, its only common courtesy.

Come join us at Cryptic Inspirations!
cryptic.genesismuds.com port 3060

Back to  Celainn's Grove

All images copywright LUIS ROYO or JOHN BOWSER

If you know of any other info that should be here, or you take issue with anything i've said, or you just wish to contact me, point your quill to Celainn's Mailbox and I promise to respond on this page. An online SMAUG builder's forum would be very exciting. :)

"Hey Ho! Into the Greenwood" by William Bryd (1543-1623)
All midis on this site are copyright and curtesy of Curtis Clark and The Internet Renaissance Band