The world creation package is contained within the "bim/rpg/construction" directory.
The MUSTRO kit must be installed for tools to work properly. For installation help
see application start up. All tools should be started
up from the directory where the MUSTRO kit is installed too(this is because the
applications use relative file path names).
The tools provided are as follows(listed in the recommended cronological order for
world creation):
Quest BuilderItem BuilderSkill and Spell BuilderCreature BuilderArea BuilderStorm BuilderVirtual World Time/Calendar SetterVirtual World Master Account SetterCharacter BuilderQuest Builder
Create quests: set name, quest ID, quest points award, and quest level.
Item Builder
Executed using this command at the prompt: java bim.rpg.construction.ItemBuilder
The item builder is used for creating items that can be put into the virtual world.
This is done by giving the items created to creatures that will be inserted into the
world(using the Creature Builder) or by placing the item on the ground in the virtual
world(using the Area Builder). There are a few notes on information which is associated
with item information just below the descriptions of the item types.
There are three types of items.
The Standard Item:
This type of item can not be equipped by a creature. At this time its primary use
is for quest items, keys, or role-play. A standard item allows the creator to
define traits such as item name, item id, weight, volume, value, advantages for
the character, and disadvantages for the character(although these last two qualities
are only in affect if the item is equipped which can only be done with Weapon and
Armor Items).
The Weapon Item:
The weapon item is an item which is held in the hands of a creature and wielded.
Along with the traits of the standard item the weapon offers new traits including
size(see Note 1), type of weapon(see Note 2), reach(see Note 3), damage(see Note 4),
equip locations(see note 5). Also a weapon's weight will determine if a creature
has the strength statistic(see Note 8) high enough to wield the weapon.
The Armor Item:
The armor item is an item which is equipped on one or more parts of a creatures body.
Along with the traits of the standard item the armor offers new traits including
size(see Note 1), pierce defense(see Note 6), slash defense(see Note 6), bash
defense(see Note 6), dodge penalty(see Note 7), and equip locations(see note 5).
Note 1. Size:
MUSTRO supports 4 different sizes. Small, Medium, Large, Extra-Large. A creature can
only equip an item if it is the same size rating.
The sizes of character races(races for human controlled creatures) provided by
MUSTRO are as follows:
Human=Medium
Elf=Medium
Dwarf=Small
Giant=Extra-Large
Sprite=Small
Goblin=Small
Ogre=Large
Note 2. Weapon Types:
There are three types of weapons. Pierce(dagger, spear, etc), slash(sword, axe, etc),
bash(club, mace, etc). Certain armor protects better against different types of weapons.
Note 3. Reach:
Reach is the length of the weapon. A longer weapon can reach targets which are farther
away from the wielder of the weapon.
Note 4. Damage:
A weapon's damage is defined as a low amount and a high amount. The damage done to
a creature that is struck by the weapon is an amount between the low amount and the
high amount(this is not including damage that may be absorbed by armor).
Note 5. Equip Locations:
An equippable item can be equipped in one or more locations.
Here is a list of the equip locations supported by MUSTRO:
Holding Right
Head
Shoulders
Torso(the abdomen and chest)
Left Arm
Right Arm
Left Hand
Right Hand
Waist
Legs(Both legs are one equip location)
Left Foot
Right Foot
Holding Left
Weapons are equipped to holding right and/or holding left. Armor is equipped to
any location except holding right.
Note 6. Armor Defense Ratings:
Each piece of armor has three defense ratings. They are pierce, slash, and bash.
The higher the rating for a type the better protection the armor has against that type.
At this time MUSTRO's calculation of protection afforded by a rating is as follows:
if defenderStyle is CharObstacle.COMBATDEFENSIVE
if defenderIntensity is CharObstacle.COMBATMODERATE
x=rating * 1.5
else if defenderIntensity is CharObstacle.COMBATAGGRESSIVE
x=rating * 2.0
else if defenderStyle is CharObstacle.COMBATOFFENSIVE
if defenderIntensity is CharObstacle.COMBATMODERATE
x=rating * 0.5
else if defenderIntensity is CharObstacle.COMBATAGGRESSIVE
x=rating * 0.25
x=x / 10
x=random number from 25 percent to 100 percent of x
x=amount of damage absorbed by the armor
Note 7. Dodge Penalty:
Equipping armor usually gives the creature equipping the item a harder time of dodging
attacks. The dodge penalty is the rating describing this hinderance. A piece
of equipment with a dodge penalty of 3 would give the creature equipping this item
a -3 percent chance of dodging attacks. The hit/miss determining system implemented
by MUSTRO has several factors which come into play with dodging including level of
the creature attacking vs level of the creature dodging, dexterity stat of the two quarreling
creatures, and size of the two creatures(smaller creatures have a better chance of avoiding
attacks from larger creatures), and each creature has a base dodge chance of 15 percent(
so a creature with no dodge penalties that is the same level, size, dexterity as the
attacking creature has a 15 percent chance of dodging an attack).
Note 8. Weapon Weight and Wielding:
A weapon's weight determines who can wield the weapon. The heavier a weapon is the higher
strength stat that is needed to wield the weapon. Calculating if a creature with a certain
strength can wield a weapon is done by the following:
All creatures can wield 9 pounds of weight. Now for every 2 points above 29 and below 45
that the creature has 1 pound of wieldable weight is added. For every point above 44
and below 65 1 pound is added. For every point above 64 and below 70 2 pounds is added.
The number of pounds after this procedure is the max weight that the creature can wield.
For example:
A creature with 36 strength can wield a weight of 12 pounds(9 base + 3 points because
for every 2 points over 29 the creature gains an extra pound of wieldable weight).
The max weight wieldable is 46 pounds which is possible for a strength of 70.
Skill and Spell Builder
Executed using this command at the prompt: java bim.rpg.construction.SkillNSpellBuilder
The skill and spell builder is used to create skills, spells, and affects.
Affects are things that happen when a skill or spell is used(for example the healing of
a friend or a fireball plummeting towards a foe). A description of affects implemented by
MUSTRO can be viewed here. Every skill/spell has an affect, matrix, level, range,
cost, and duration. Skills also have a primary stat and may have a secondary stat(spells
have a set primary stat. Intelligence. and a set secondary stat. Wisdom.).
Matrix:
The matrix of a skill/spell is the area that it affects upon detonation. This may be one
block or multiple blocks wide. In the builder the matrix appears at the top of the screen.
Black blocks are blocks that are not affected by the detonation and red blocks are blocks
that are affected. If all of the blocks are black then a gaussian distribution(this can
be described as a distribution where the affect is most likely to strike at the center
of the detonation area, but could also strike outside of the detonation area with chances
of affecting a block dissipating more and more with each block farther from the center
of the detonation area) is applied for a number of times that is equal to the number
of blocks in the detonation area. The center of the detonation are will be the block which
the skill/spell is targeted on upon use.
Level:
The level required to use this skill/spell.
Range:
The max distance from the user that this skill/spell can be targetted on.
Cost:
The cost of skill/spell use. This is not set using the builder. Instead MUSTRO sets this
at the time of use and the cost will depend on the level of the user compared to the level
of the skill/spell. Primary and secondary stat for skill/spell may also affect this.
Duration:
The number of times the affect will happen before the affect dissapears.
Primary and Secondary Stats:
The stats for a skill/spell determine what stats are useful for a particular skill/spell.
These stats will be used at affect time to figure out the potency of the affect. When
the affect takes place these stats are taken from the user of the skill/spell and the
target of the skill/spell(when applicable) then they are compared against each other
to obtain the actual force of the affect.
Creature Builder
Executed using this command at the prompt: java bim.rpg.construction.CreatureBuilder
The creature builder provides an interface to create creatures. For information on
creatures' structure click here. Most of the information given in that document
applies to the creature builder.
The creature behavior editor has been removed from MUSTRO.
The creature builder provides a creature behavior editor. A creature's behavior
describes how it reacts in combat. A creature's behavior depends on how much health,
magic, and stamina it has at the time it needs to make a decision. The decisions it
may make include:
attacking with hands or weapon
fleeing
using a skill/spell(when using this decision the creature may target for self, closest, or most)
A Creature may have its statistics randomized and/or its equipment randomized. If the statistics
are randomized then the stats(strength, dexterity, vitality, resilience, wisdom, intelligence, luck)
are set to a standard number depending on the creatures level and the setting(terrible, bad,
mediocre, good, great, god-like) prescribed to it at creation. If the equipment is randomized
then at server initialization a random set of equipment is given to the creature and a new
set of equipment is given to the creature each time it is slain. The randomly assigned equipment
will grow in power with the level of the creature(randomly generated equipment can have
magical affects such as bonuses to attack, damage, and defense).
A creature's personality will determine if it will attack something that enters its
combat zone. A good or neutral creature will not attack anything unless it is attacked.
An evil creature will only attack player characters or creatures created by player characters.
Area Builder
Executed using this command at the prompt: java bim.rpg.construction.AreaBuilder
The area builder allows the creator to make a map and to put everything created using
the methods already discussed into the layout of the world. For more information on
the world click here. Also it is at this point where quests are inserted into the development
cycle. Quests can be slay the monster, or find and retrieve the item style. Another
fact to note is that blocks which are locked and require a key use a quest item
as a key(although no quest points are involved with the key item unless the key is
also part of a find and retrieval quest). It is the key's quest id that is used
to determine if the key matches the lock. After an area is created it is placed into the
"uninitializedareas" directory by using the menu item "Save Area". The area is not actually
inserted into the world until the menu item "Insert Area into Game World" is used.
Storm Builder
Executed using this command at the prompt: java bim.rpg.construction.StormBuilder
The storm builder creates storms and is fairly simple. At this time a storms only significance
is that it places a storm image onto the screen and adds to realism.
Time Setter
Executed using this command at the prompt: java bim.rpg.strategy.TimeSystemThread
The time setter allows the creator of a realm to assign a unique time/calendar to the
world. This includes:
year number
seconds in a minute
minutes in a hour
hours in a day
days in a month
months in a year
Master Setter
Executed using this command at the prompt: java bim.rpg.recovery.MasterSetter
The master setter allows the creator to specify which user is the master account. The master
account is the only account that can assign administrator status to users.
Character Builder
Execution happens remotely by selecting "Generate Character" after bim.rpg.RemoteStarter has
been executed.
The character builder is used to create human controlled creatures(characters). The character
builder is similar to the creature builder except it is more simplified. The only
differences it has it that each character has 50 creation points to use on statistics
and/or advantages. If a point is added to stats then a point is subtracted from creation
points. The same is true for advantages/disadvantages except that they are worth multiple
points.