Welcome to the original SWMud!

(This file is available in the game - just type welcome and go from there. All seven parts are included in this one web page for simplicity.)

HELLO!!

And welcome to play Star Wars Mud. We are really excited to have you here and hope you have a great time. We have a lot of help files to get you started. To read help files (or 'panic' files), you need to type: panic (topic name)

Here are some good ones you should read:

panic newbie- general information about being a newbie
panic newbie_faq- answers to many basic and advanced questions asked by newbies
faq- more basic questions, some repetition from the newbie FAQs
faq2- how to play once you aren't a 'newbie' anymore.
panic mudding- what mudding is actually about
panic index- lists most common panic topics
panic rules- things you are expected to know and obey
panic bouncing- we have an exceptional combat system here, which lends to the possibility of hitting monsters without ever getting hit yourself. It is called 'bouncing' though, and is illegal.
panic equipment- why equipment on this MUD is not saved.

You can ask for game-related help on the newbie channel, type: newbie (message) to use it. That channel is not for chatting. panic newbie_line for more info.

As to what to do next, here is some help:

You start with 1000 experience points on the planet of Coruscant. The log in room you start in is commonly known as the Customs on the MUD (or many players just say: the start room).

Find a guild on Coruscant (look up the guilds and general guilds information to see which are available), and join us using the exp. Coruscant has a map in most rooms which you can access by typing: look map.

First, you need to type advance and then join. You can only 'join' one guild and it will become your primary guild. You can also get two other guilds later on, which will be called your secondary guilds. The main difference is that you need to pay more experience points to advance in those.

Second, find the S.S.Essess (south and east of Customs [CUS]), enter it (type enter essess), and you will find yourself in a newbie simulator. From this simulator you can access different newbie areas. However you cannot take any items into the simulator nor out of there. There is a locker where you can store your equipment in the mean while, if you had any.

The first place you should probably try out is the Newbiway, because there you will find things lying on the ground (weapons etc.), pirates to kill or ships to fly. It will be enough to get you started. panic exp to see how much you need for new levels.

Once you are on Newbiway, you can find the plains with the pirates to the north of you and the dock with some ships to fly to the south of you.

When walking around on planets, an excellent command to use is lpeer. For example, if you type lpeer n, you will get a glimpse of what lies ahead to the north of you.

If you find Newbiway curiously empty, it probably means some other players have been there and killed everything. You need to wait a little bit for things to start repopping again. For each pirate you kill or ship you shoot down, you receive experience points and once you have enough, you can advance in levels, which will make you more powerful. You can exit the simulator and find a guild again on Coruscant and advance there. Once you have reached around level 3 you are ready to check out the other areas in the simulator.

Being a newbie can be very frustrating and you might end up dying a few times, but it is still advisable to stay a newbie until you have reached close to level 4 in all your guilds and feel quite comfortable with the way the MUD works. This because, as a new player, you get access to the simulator, which makes travelling very easy and free, and you can get equipped for free. Once you raise to level 5, things will become more costly. You will not find equipment for free and moving from planet to planet will also cost you credits. Check out faq2 for some help on what to do once you have reached that point.

So, as a newbie, always remember to sell everything you find as well and gather as much money as you possibly can. Avoid buying things, but try to rely on the free stuff you find. It will pay off later. When you quit, everything you are carrying will just fall on the ground and when you log back in, you will find yourself back at Coruscant. So before you quit, remember to sell everything in your inventory.

For pilots the change between level 4 and 5 is especially hard. As in the real world, starships are not easy to come by and they will cost a lot of money. Also, unless you buy a ship from the Sluis shipyards, you will not be able to keep your ship and you will have to buy a new one every time you log in. Even the simplest starfighters cost a few thousand credits. Then you will need to buy toolboxes or an R2-droid to do repairs on your ship. All the costs can easily amount to more than five thousand credits... every time you log in.

It may sound like being a pilot is almost impossible, but it is not. Only the beginning is hard, and that is why it is good that you come well prepared. Enjoy the free ships in the simulator as long as you can and try to scrounge up as much money as you can. You can eventually buy your own personalized ship from Sluis that you will keep always, but the costs for those are in the tens of thousands of credits. Higher level players (scientist 9+ or smugglers 17+) can break into ships and steal them. It's always a good idea to ask them for help to get you a free ship and save your money and not buy one.

No matter how much of a die-hard pilot you are, you will also most likely do ground combat from time to time. So it is a good idea to practice that as well while in the simulator and get those combat skill percentages high as well.

Each guild comes with a set of skills at different levels. Each race also comes with two skills. To find out what skills you have to use, read the panic files for the guilds and races. For example, to find out what skills pilots get, type panic pilot. Similarly to find out what skills Noghris get, type panic noghri.

Once you use a skill once, it will appear on your skill list. You can type skills, to find out what skills you have and at what percentage. You can only improve your skill % by using it, even failing to use a skill might raise your skill. The skills FAQ will have more information.

When killing monsters, you will get hurt and need healing. The scientist guild in this MUD is dedicated to healing by using medkits. If you are not a scientist, then you will not know how to use a medkit either. The exception to this is first aid. You can acquire the first aid skill by completing a quest. For more information about that, type panic firstaid_quest. As a non-scientist, you can also group up with other players who will heal you or buy a R2 droid who can also perform surgery.

NOTE: While you are below level 5, you can get free first aids from doctors. Just go to one and type: buy first aid.

To find out information about your levels etc. you can type score. For the short version, type st.

HPs, hit points, are what you use in combat. If your HPs go below zero, you will die. SPs are social points, used for talking and shouting to other players. You will get a new SP every hour you are logged on. You will get new HPs as you raise in levels.

Many of the players are helpful and will answer your questions. You have access to several channels as well: shout, team, race and guild. Shouted messages are seen by all players of the mud. Race line is seen by players of the same race. To use just type race (msg). You can also do emotes, by adding emote to the channel name, such as raceemote (msg).

There are also immortals at the mud, the people who code for the mud and can answer your questions. It is always good to ask players first though.

Good luck!