Projects

groundzeromud

-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=- Summary -=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=- GroundZero is the only MUD (multi-user-dungeon) ever to incorporate guns and ammo into a text-based game. Game battlegrounds are generated automatically for every game which lasts about 2 hours on average. Random weapons, explosives, and ... [More] ammo are dropped around the map randomly on boot too. NPCs are initially dropped into specific spots and move around the map on their own hunting each other and players. The game has been out since 1992, but has never been released to the public in it's final completed version. -=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=- About The Code -=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=- What makes GZ different? For you pople who always wanted to start a mud from scratch but didn't have any idea how to write up socket and handling code, here it is. Instead of area files, a multilevel cube (or whatever shape you want) is generated on boot. Items from BOOT files are loaded and given vnums, the mobs load if you want any, and are also given vnums. This makes things kind of weird because objects load before mobs, and so every time you add or remove an object, you have to modify each mob to reflect the new vnums. Hey we're working on that! Rooms that do not exist in the grid are generated in the code (db.c) and can be dropped into rooms on the grid or set aside from the grid where players can't get to them. Instead of swords and clubs, we have an extremely advanced weapons system for present-day/futuristic weapon types. Guns, Ammo, Explosives, Napalm, Smoke bombs, Rockets, and even an airforce (or cavalry depending on how you set it up, but we'll get into that later.) Weapons have ranges, and can fire single and multiple rounds. In the current game, we even have backup radios that call in paratroopers who land at your coordinates on the grid and shoot anything that gets in your way. In another scenario we called them cell phones, and you can use them to call up some bodyguards! We have droid construction sets that will hunt your target down and waste them, and of course the airforce can be called into to drop napalm on parts of the grid and waste people too. BUT, this is all just one scenario! The game has infinite possibilities. One: A prison...players must try to escape to win the game and/or hit the emergency button and release toxic gas the guards use in case there is a no-win situation and don't want anyone to escape. Two: An undersea battle, players are automatically assigned to teams (in current code) and may either seek out the other teams and kill them, or group with other members of their team and drive around the depths in subs and do some serious damage. Since the game is three-dimensional, depth is easily configured. Four: My favorite; Star Trek...everyone gets in their ships (either as a team or solo) and rules the galaxy. There are also objectives that are easily implemented, and will probably BE implemented in the first real release of 2.0 such as Capture the Flag, or Capture and Hold... the MUD can be designed just like your favorite 3D multiplayer games such as Half-Life TeamFortress or Starsiege Tribes. Classes could be created such as medic, soldier, demonman, hwguy, engineer, who can only perform certain tasks or use certain weapons. And graphical maps are already implemented so players have a radar-like display that they can use to view their current level and get around easier. Remember, the map is generated randomly on every boot, and you can determine how many exits there will be up and down between each level. -=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=- Info for Players -=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=- GroundZero is a completely different way of Mudding. There are no room descriptions or pretty things to look at. If you've played Half-Life or Counter-Strike or Quake you'll feel right at home. The battlefield is generated randomly on boot and packs of gear are dropped by parachute around the top level of the grid. There are two teams, alpha and bravo who fight their way to the lower level of the grid, depress the big red button, and detonate a large nuclear mechanism that wipes everyone out, gives your team points, and restarts the game. Simple, right? GroundZero is the only game that lets you... ....speak freely. There's nothing better than a lot of cursing and bitching when you kill someone 40 times in 5 minutes while they whimper about losing their stuff. ....PK like you've never PK'd before. It's a PK mud above all others. ....snipe a player off with your US Postal Service rifle. ....plant mines and traps to stun or mangle your victim ....call upon an airforce to nuke large areas of the grid ....has no 'areas' like other muds, so every time you play, the game is different ....load a clip of real ammo into your machine gun and spray everyone within range (bullets fly off walls, guns jam, and more) Some muds with "guns" are simply swords renamed with cute damage messages..bah! ....get two friends to man positions in a tank (sheild, turret, and drive) and race around the grid wasting everything in sight. ....get a big gun, lots of armor, and lead your team to victory. There are no levels, so if you don't want to play for a while, fine, go away, and you can always come back and be just as equal as everyone else as far as hp go, only skill will keep you alive at GroundZero. There are a few ranks we threw in for fun... JOSH - actually a player, who's gotten more than 20000 deaths and under 5000 kills over the last year. If your kill/death ratio gets that bad, you join the JOSH rank. MERc - got 1000 kills? You're a Mercenary and you can leave your team if you want and become a merc, wiping out everyone. You do gain HP for kills being a merc, but you lose twice as many when you die, so you'd better be good. HUNTER - 5000 kills...you get a few new commands and you can hide your kills/deaths haha BADASS - You have more than 10000 kills and you are BAD! You can type BOOM to light all the explosives you're currently holding and just rush toward people, killing them and yourself, but being a Badass, you've earned it. You also have sudden bursts of rage and rip people's heads off and kill them instantly..it could happen in a fight or while chatting with your friends...pretty funny, but sometimes it happens at just the right time. A bit from the FAQ Q: How do you use these radios? A: If you have a radio to your airforce, type: use radio . The room and the surrounding rooms will be set on fire. If you have an emergency evac radio, type: use radio . I.e. "use radio 0 0" If you have a radio to your backup units, type: use radio . Or if you leave out the coordinates, your paratroopers will land in your room and will follow you around and help you. Q: What's this droid set do? A: If it's a set for a seeker droid, type: use set and the droid will hunt the victim down. If it's a regular droid set, type: use set, and the droid will just kill anything that comes nearby. Q: How do I talk to my teammates? A: Type: team to talk to your teammates. -=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=- Brief History of the code. -=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=- First there was what became Diku, then ROM...then ROM was removed and GroundZero was born. The original Ground Zero was created by Corey Hilke (aka., Randar). It closed down several years ago, but was followed by a stripped-down release of the code. Ground Zero II was started in August of 1999 by Aaron Tucker (Euthanasia) and a small group of others based upon the crippled code release. A large amount of work has been put into the code to even get it to a level where it was as stable and featureful as the original GZ. Even more work has gone into going beyond the original GZ concept, making GZ2 not just Ground Zero reborn, but the true successor to Ground Zero. [Less]