
                           AIME codebase
                       version 0.57 (August 2000)
 
                          written by Slate
                          (noelg@acm.org)


   This is just a little "starter" file to help lead you through what
you need to get the mud up and running.  The installation should be
fairly straight-forward on a linux box as it does not really use
special libraries.  It has been successfully compiled on a Debian 2.1 and
Redhat 6.1 box with libc6.  It has been less thoroughly tested on 
Slackware, Caldera, Mandrake, and SuSe.  Anything beyond these 
I can't attest to how well it will compile but will be happy to help 
anyone get it working on their box (at least while it is still in beta 
and there are a small number of folks requesting help).


Directory Structure:

   The directory structure of the mud was laid out to provide 
functional division of the data.  The src directory contains the
C source code while the include directory contains the header files
for that source code.  One file to note, the data/aime.conf file
is a key file towards configuring the mud to your liking.  The data
directory stores most of the data that gives the mud a unique feel.
This includes spells, skills, actions (socials), levels, quests,
and various help and info files.  It also includes the user
database.  The areas directory stores the areas that make up the
world of the mud.  Finally, the utils directory stores mud
utilities, such as the password generator and the area converter
(used to convert areas from other muds to AIME format).


World Packaging and Install Tool:

   In the main mud directory are two scripts which provide a way
to package your world for distribution or backup and install
other's worlds.  By typing "./package myworld", the script will
package all the data up that makes up your mud, to include
areas, spells, skills, actions, levels, and quests and place
it in a file called myworld_pack.tar.gz.  This way, you can
backup the mud in case it gets corrupted or pass on your work
to others so they can install it in their mud.  To install the
package, one would type ./install_package myworld and it would
install the myworld_pack.tar.gz file into the mud.

   
Mud Installation:

   Once unpacked, the mud should be fairly simple to install.  The
defaults in data/aime.conf should work but it would be wise to change
a few things.  First, ensure the Gameport and Buildport are set
to the ports you want the game port and builder port to use.  If
you expect the mud to crash, you should undefine the Daemonize
feature.  This way you can get a core dump to debug.  Next, set the
Basedir to the directory that the "aime" directory of your mud
will be at.  Autowiz can be used to give everyone who logs on
full priviledges.  You will probably want to ensure that is 
undefined as this way, any joe player can log on and mess with
things.  Finally, set the MasterName and MasterPasswd.  The
MasterName should be a name you will rarely ever use.  You will
use it the very first time you logon to the mud to give your
character full priviledges.  It can then be used if your character
ever gets corrupted to restore full priviledges.  You will need to
create the encrypted password string to include in config.h using
the makepasswd utility.  In the utils directory, type:
gcc makepasswd.c -lcrypt -o makepasswd
and then run makepasswd.  It will convert what you type in into
an encrypted string which you can place into config.h.

   Finally, you are ready to compile the mud.  Go to the src
directory and type "make depend; make" and let the compiler do 
the rest.  As long as you don't get any errors, type 
'../bin/mudbin' or if you don't have Daemonize defined, type 
'../bin/mudbin &' and it will start up the mud.


Getting Started:

  You can now telnet into the game port you defined and login as
the master name you defined (be sure and use the password you defined
or you won't get full powers!).  Once logged in, you can use that
master account to create other players who are full powered.  One word 
of caution, it would be more secure to define a master account that 
you will never use except on the first login, as it is more secure 
to use this master account to bump your normal character up to full 
power and never login with the master account again.
  
   To permit your character to login at the builder port, you will
need to add your host to the bhosts allow list.  Type 'help bhosts'
for the syntax.  Typing 'help' will give you a list of commands and
typing 'help <command>' will provide help on a specific command.

   To use the builder port, reference the tutorial found at
http://aime.sourceforge.net/tutorial.html.  Once you have
created a location, you can ensure the players enter the game at
that location by typing 'set defstart <locname>@<area>' in the
game port. 

   A zone I wrote has been included to demonstrate many of the
capabilities of the code.  Your character will start in the town
of Courtland initially, but you can change it as necessary.  The
town is really for demonstration purposes and while I wouldn't
force you not to use it, you should really develop your own world.
Also, not everything has evolved in the zone along with the code,
so you may get some errors when using it.

   This is the quick and dirty for getting started.  As I am sure
I have failed to explain many aspects of this codebase, don't
hesitate to send me an E-mail at noelg@acm.org and I will help
clear things up as necessary (and add the explanation to this
documentation for later distributions).  Please report bugs,
suggestions, or criticism to noelg@acm.org as well.  I am not a
professional coder, more a hobbyist, so you may have some criticisms
with the way I did certain things.  I would be happy to hear them
so I can improve my coding style.












