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Frequently-Asked Questions
Every so often a question is asked about Tempora Heroica that warrants being added to
the MUDs list of Frequently-Asked Questions. More questions will be added to the
list as the need arises.
Questions about playing Tempora Heroica:
Is there a newbie area? Yes, the Wivernhoe Guild Hall
Cellar is a specially-designed area to help newcomers to Tempora Heroica learn about the MUD by playing. The cellar can be entered by sliding down the brass
pole in the MUDs entry room, or by descending down the stone staircase in the southwest corner of the Guild Halls main floor.
Is there a newbie guide? Yes, there are two. To assist creating your first hero and entering the MUD, there is the
Creating Your Hero guide. The New Players Guide can help you learn the ropes
after you enter the
MUD and begin playing. It may also answer many other questions new players might ask.
What are some of the MUDs characteristics?
Tempora Heroica takes place in a persistent world where each player creates a hero (also known as a character) to
roleplay.
The player
chooses to be a member of one of the four kiths: the Faerie Kith consisting of brownies, elves, pixies, satyrs, and selkies;
the
Hominid
Kith consisting of humans and halflings; the Jotun Kith
consisting of
giants, ogres, and trolls; and the Nibelung Kith
consisting of dwarves, gnomes, and goblins. With their hero,
a player
explores the game world, which is centered around the town of Wivernhoe,
and battle
monsters.
In June 2005, a new combat engine and skill system was introduced to the MUD. The combat engine uses events, instead of the rounds or
turns found in most role-playing games, to regulate battles. Heroes are able to queue tactics before and during melee. The skills system
arranges skills
in a skilltree and skills are improved, when challenged, through
use.
Can another players character kill my hero?
Yes, BUT only after you opt-in to the PvP (player-versus-player) part of Tempora Heroica. To opt-in to PvP system your hero joins
a clan. With the benfits that clan-life brings, there are also a few risks, including death by another players character. If
you choose to have your hero not join a clan, he or she will not be able to be killed by other players characters.
Do I have to role-play on this MUD?
No, but then even if you dont specifically role-play, youre still playing a role.
There are not any role-play enforcers that are counting the number of times you say thee and thou like on some other MUDs. Tempora
Heroica believes that you should have the freedom to play your hero in any style you wish to play him or her. So, if you want to role-play your
hero, then feel free! The players on Tempora Heroica are encouraged to play their hero in any way they choose, as long as they are respectful of the
other players and follow the Rules of Conduct.
How often does the MUD change?
Tempora Heroica is a living, constantly evolving project. Changes can come fast and furious, or slow and gradual. All major changes are announced in
advance in the MUD on the announcement boards. The MUD staff listens to the ideas of the players and we grow in the ways that improve the MUD.
How can I see any recent changes that have taken place?
Log in to the MUD and type bravoroll. A list of
recent changes will be
displayed.
How much does it cost to play the MUD?
There are no direct costs to play Tempora Heroica. We wont charge
you a penny to play. We are a volunteer-run MUD and do
not accept any donations, other than that of time and hard-work.
What does A strange force bars your movement in that direction.
mean?
The area in that direction is unfinished. Rather than let your hero wander in empty
rooms, the MUD prevents movement into that area.
Does my hero have to pay rent to keep his or her equipment?
There are four ways to keep your heros hard-won equipment from one gaming session to another. First, your hero can simply quit anywhere in
Wivernhoe if you have ten or fewer items. Second, your hero can camp outside of towns and cities and save up to
twenty-five items with him or her. Third, your hero can store up to thirty-five items by renting a room at the inn. (Tempora Heroica does not
charge a daily rent fee. The rent fee is an upfront, one-time charge.) Forth and last, your hero can purchase a house and store up to one hundred
items,
plus thirty-five items on his or her person, plus allow up to four friends as your houseguests.
What if I have specific questions about my hero?
The staff of Tempora Heroica is responsive to all of your questions. The MUD also has
extensive help files. On the MUD, type help index and it will list all the help files
available to you.
Questions about the MUD and the Server:
Who hosts Tempora Heroica?
The publics library and digital archive, ibiblio.org,
hosts the MUD. It is a great home!
Geographically, the MUD and the ibiblio.org servers are located
in the continent of
North America in the country of the United States of America in the
state of North Carolina in
the county of Orange in the town of Chapel Hill at the
University of North Carolina at
Chapel Hill in Manning Hall.
In February 1999, Tempora Heroica was invited to move from its place on ruby at the School of Information and Library Science to ibiblio.org.
Physically, the MUD moved from Manning Halls first floor to its second floor.
Spiritually, we moved from being squatters on SILSs ruby to a welcomed contributor on
ibiblio.org.
What is the IP address for Tempora Heroica?
The MUD can be found at:
WEB: http://www.ibiblio.org/TH/
DNS: login1.ibiblio.org
2895
IP: 152.19.134.132 2895
Did Tempora Heroica once have another name?
Yes, it began its life in November 1993 as Archipelago. It was run by Ponder out of the
Psychology Department at the University of Essex. In 1996, Ponder left his job at the
university and Magnifico took over running the MUD. After a rocky start, Archipelago
evolved into Archipelago Classic and then Tempora Heroica.
Why did the MUD change its name?
When Ponder retired from Archipelago, he and the other immortals were idealistic and
thought it was a good idea to put the code publicly available on the Internet. A few
splinter MUDs formed using that code and began using the MUD name Archipelago.
The name Tempora Heroica was chosen in April 1997 to help distinguish the MUD from
a rash of Archipelago clones that were badly run and poorly maintained.
What code base does the MUD use?
The MUD started out in 1993 using CircleMUD
2.2, which is based off of DikuMUD. Since then the code has evolved into the ArchCode short for
Archipelago Code.
Where can I get the source to Tempora Heroica?
From nowhere. The source code for Tempora Heroica is not publicly (or privately) available.
Where can I get the source to Archipelago?
Ponders original source can be downloaded from the CircleMud source code repository
site. It has a few problems that prevent it from compiling with
ease. To help out, a compilable version of source for
Archipelago is available. It is unsupported code. A
step-by-step walk-through
for compiling this version with Cygwin is also available.
Whats the difference between the publicly available source code for
Archipelago and the source code for Tempora Heroica?
Quite a bit has been changed and improved since Summer 1996, and those changes are too
numerous to list in detail. The MUD is maintained daily and large new areas of
functionality have been added since the source was publically available.
Why was there a player wipe (pwipe) in October 1999?
The MUD had gotten out of control and wasnt fun anymore for new players. From 1997 to 1999, Tempora
Heroica
was an unrestricted player kill (pkill) MUD and the players at the time had become very
predatory.
Additionally, a few administrators were cheating for their friends and basically things
were screwed up. The MUD was closed for two months for reworking. Also during the closure, the players and the corrupt
administrators were deleted. Tempora Heroica reopened for New Years Eve 1999.
MUD Trivia:
What does Tempora Heroica mean?
It is Latin for the Heroic Age. The phrase was coined by the Greek poet Hesiod and was one of the Five Ages of Man. The Latin form was
chosen as homage to the MUDs Ars Magica roots.
Is it true that Tempora Heroica is one of the oldest MUDs around?
Having been founded in 1993, TH is one of the oldest DikuMUDs (and therefore one of the oldest online
games) still
running. Ponder made the first public announcement for Archipelago on August 12, 1994 in a Usenet post to rec.games.mud.diku, 'Need area builders and playtesters':
We are creating a new mud based on modified Circle 2.2 code. We have thrown
away all stock circle zones and are in the process of building a completely
original world. So far we have just over 1200 rooms built. Our intention is
not to blossom overnight into some gargantuan 30,000 room mud but rather
expand slowly in a structured and planned manner with (hopefully) well thought
out and well laid out totally original areas.
We need primarily builders but playtesters are welcome...
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Now, more than 15 years later, we still are a custom-crafted MUD and expanding "slowly in a structured and planned manner" with
"totally original areas." And, of course, we still welcome builders and playtesters players!
Why is Wivernhoe spelt with an i instead of a y?
Wivernhoe is named
after Wivenhoe; a town near Colchester and the University of Essex in East
Anglia, England. The town is where Ponder was living at
the time he started Archipelago. An r was added to the towns name to make it more fitting for a
fantasy
role-playing game.
Who was on the original Archipelago staff?
This is a list of the most active staff when the MUD was running on port 24 at
island.essex.co.uk.
The original implementors were Ponder, Kalliste, and
Scarrow.
The original builders were Arg, Ansalon, Magnifico,
Ratatosk, Saladin, Grace, and Xero. The original
home page and
game credits for
Archipelago are in the MUDs archives.
Who was the MUDs first avatar?
On Archipelago, the first
avatars were Eq and Littleone. Many of the characters who were avatars on Archipelago continued their avatarship when the MUD was renamed
Tempora Heroica. Min was the first to avatar on Tempora Heroica since the 1999 player file reset. She beat Pea to avatardom by a few days in a hotly contested
race.
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