<?xml version="1.0"?>
<feed xmlns="http://www.w3.org/2005/Atom" xml:lang="en">
	<id>http://legendarytimes.org/index.php?action=history&amp;feed=atom&amp;title=Volume_Eleven_Issue_Thirteen</id>
	<title>Volume Eleven Issue Thirteen - Revision history</title>
	<link rel="self" type="application/atom+xml" href="http://legendarytimes.org/index.php?action=history&amp;feed=atom&amp;title=Volume_Eleven_Issue_Thirteen"/>
	<link rel="alternate" type="text/html" href="http://legendarytimes.org/index.php?title=Volume_Eleven_Issue_Thirteen&amp;action=history"/>
	<updated>2026-06-02T21:16:21Z</updated>
	<subtitle>Revision history for this page on the wiki</subtitle>
	<generator>MediaWiki 1.35.2</generator>
	<entry>
		<id>http://legendarytimes.org/index.php?title=Volume_Eleven_Issue_Thirteen&amp;diff=337&amp;oldid=prev</id>
		<title>Mertjai: Created page with &quot; &lt;nowiki&gt; =-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=  .............._______  ............./      /            THE LEGENDARY TIMES  ............/...&quot;</title>
		<link rel="alternate" type="text/html" href="http://legendarytimes.org/index.php?title=Volume_Eleven_Issue_Thirteen&amp;diff=337&amp;oldid=prev"/>
		<updated>2018-03-24T23:01:56Z</updated>

		<summary type="html">&lt;p&gt;Created page with &amp;quot; &amp;lt;nowiki&amp;gt; =-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=  .............._______  ............./      /            THE LEGENDARY TIMES  ............/...&amp;quot;&lt;/p&gt;
&lt;p&gt;&lt;b&gt;New page&lt;/b&gt;&lt;/p&gt;&lt;div&gt; &amp;lt;nowiki&amp;gt;&lt;br /&gt;
=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=&lt;br /&gt;
 .............._______&lt;br /&gt;
 ............./      /            THE LEGENDARY TIMES&lt;br /&gt;
 ............/      /         http://www.legendmud.org/&lt;br /&gt;
 .........../      /.....______.._____.....______.._____.......____&lt;br /&gt;
 ........../      /...../     /./     \.../     /./     \...../    \&lt;br /&gt;
 ........./      /...../  ___/./  ____/../  ___/./  __   \.../  /\  \&lt;br /&gt;
 ......../      /...../  /_.../  /....../  /_.../  /..\   &amp;gt;./  /./  /&lt;br /&gt;
 ......./      /...../  __/../  /____../  __/../  /.../  /./  /./  /&lt;br /&gt;
 ....../      /_____/__/__../  \_\  /./  /__../  /.../  /./  /_/  /&lt;br /&gt;
 ...../ Celebrating    / /./       /./     /./  /.../  /./       /&lt;br /&gt;
 ..../ our 10th year  /_/..\______/./_____/./__/.../__/./_______/ MUD&lt;br /&gt;
 .../________________/      running on         mud.legendmud.org 9999&lt;br /&gt;
=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=&lt;br /&gt;
 VOLUME ELEVEN, NUMBER THIRTEEN                   September 11, 2004&lt;br /&gt;
=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=&lt;br /&gt;
&lt;br /&gt;
                         TABLE OF CONTENTS&lt;br /&gt;
                         The Editor's Note&lt;br /&gt;
&lt;br /&gt;
                       NEWS, REPORTS, UPDATES&lt;br /&gt;
                         Calendar of Events&lt;br /&gt;
                           Recent Updates&lt;br /&gt;
        Notes from the Tech Corner: Towards a More Smooth Mud&lt;br /&gt;
&lt;br /&gt;
                             LEGENDITES&lt;br /&gt;
                             &lt;br /&gt;
                             CLAN NEWS&lt;br /&gt;
                                {E}&lt;br /&gt;
&lt;br /&gt;
                             PK Front&lt;br /&gt;
                              BaTtLe&lt;br /&gt;
&lt;br /&gt;
                Dino's AutoBiography - Chapter Three&lt;br /&gt;
                       5 o'clock Somewhere...&lt;br /&gt;
&lt;br /&gt;
                       A Word from Our Sponsor&lt;br /&gt;
___                                                               ___&lt;br /&gt;
\  |-------------------------------------------------------------|  /&lt;br /&gt;
/__|                      The Editor's Note                      |__\&lt;br /&gt;
   '-------------------------------------------------------------'&lt;br /&gt;
&lt;br /&gt;
Thanks to everyone who participated in this year's Summer Odyssey&lt;br /&gt;
events and took the time to generate some ideas for the builders!&lt;br /&gt;
We hope you enjoyed our trek through time.&lt;br /&gt;
&lt;br /&gt;
Remember, you can drop your ideas on how to improve specific mobs or&lt;br /&gt;
general things you'd like to see included in an area onto the idea&lt;br /&gt;
channel any time! It's better if you can go to the specific area to&lt;br /&gt;
submit the ideas, and you don't have to try to fit everything on one&lt;br /&gt;
report, it's pretty easy for me to piece several together.&lt;br /&gt;
&lt;br /&gt;
Lots of changes in the mechanics of how and when things happen this&lt;br /&gt;
week, be sure to read Rufus' article on &amp;quot;Towards a More Smooth Mud&amp;quot;.&lt;br /&gt;
It's the same information as his &amp;quot;Upcoming 'Tickless' Changes&amp;quot; post&lt;br /&gt;
on the welcome board in the game.&lt;br /&gt;
&lt;br /&gt;
The discussion board has been rather quiet lately. Please take a&lt;br /&gt;
moment to post about the things that you want to see more of, things&lt;br /&gt;
that annoy you, things that bore you, and the types of things that&lt;br /&gt;
would engage you more in the LegendMUD community. The discussion&lt;br /&gt;
board isn't just for rants and raves about the latest game mechanic&lt;br /&gt;
imbalance, but it can also help us expand in other areas as well.&lt;br /&gt;
&lt;br /&gt;
-Kaige&lt;br /&gt;
___                                                               ___&lt;br /&gt;
\  |-------------------------------------------------------------|  /&lt;br /&gt;
/__|                LegendMUD Calendar of Events                 |__\&lt;br /&gt;
   '-------------------------------------------------------------'&lt;br /&gt;
       [All times are system time unless otherwise specified]&lt;br /&gt;
&lt;br /&gt;
         AUGUST: INDUSTRIAL ERA              SEPTEMBER&lt;br /&gt;
          Su Mo Tu We Th Fr Sa          Su Mo Tu We Th Fr Sa&lt;br /&gt;
           1  2  3  4  5  6  7                    1  2  3  4&lt;br /&gt;
           8  9 10 11 12 13 14           5  6  7  8  9 10 11&lt;br /&gt;
          15 16 17 18 19 20 21          12 13 14 15 16 17 18&lt;br /&gt;
          22 23 24 25 26 27 28          19 20 21 22 23 24 25&lt;br /&gt;
          29 30 31                      26 27 28 29 30&lt;br /&gt;
&lt;br /&gt;
Wednesday,  September 15th,   2pm-10pm    PK BattleZone &lt;br /&gt;
Thursday,   September 16th,    7:30 pm    Q&amp;amp;A in the OOC Auditorium&lt;br /&gt;
Wednesday,  September 22nd,   2pm-10pm    PK BattleZone &lt;br /&gt;
Thursday,   September 23rd,    7:30 pm    Q&amp;amp;A in the OOC Auditorium&lt;br /&gt;
Wednesday,  September 29th,   2pm-10pm    PK BattleZone &lt;br /&gt;
Thursday,   September 30th,    7:30 pm    Q&amp;amp;A in the OOC Auditorium&lt;br /&gt;
&lt;br /&gt;
Coming in September:&lt;br /&gt;
  Autumn Casino, the conclusion of the Trivia Challenge -- including&lt;br /&gt;
  the final showdown contest -- and much more!&lt;br /&gt;
___                                                               ___&lt;br /&gt;
\  |-------------------------------------------------------------|  /&lt;br /&gt;
/__|                       Recent Updates                        |__\&lt;br /&gt;
   '-------------------------------------------------------------'&lt;br /&gt;
&lt;br /&gt;
    /\                      CODE UPDATES&lt;br /&gt;
   /  \     &lt;br /&gt;
  /    \    GENERAL CHANGES&lt;br /&gt;
 /_    _\     o Ticks will be of static length, but affects will no&lt;br /&gt;
   |  |         longer stop directly on tick boundaries.&lt;br /&gt;
   |  |       o Mobs will heal throuoghout the tick in the same&lt;br /&gt;
   |  |         fashion that players do.&lt;br /&gt;
   |__|       o Store and recall options added for PROMPT editing.&lt;br /&gt;
    /\        o PROMPT and GROUPFORMAT now take preview argument that&lt;br /&gt;
   /  \         will show who online is sharing their prompt/group&lt;br /&gt;
  /    \        settings.&lt;br /&gt;
 /_    _\     o PROMPT/CPROMPT SAVED will show your saved prompt&lt;br /&gt;
   |  |         without resetting your current one.&lt;br /&gt;
   |  |       o New group command: MAKELEADER&lt;br /&gt;
   |  |       o Blow kiss (bkiss) social added.&lt;br /&gt;
   |__|       o Charmies will send a tell to their masters when they&lt;br /&gt;
    /\          are ordered to report, giving them some text&lt;br /&gt;
   /  \         indicating their aggressive/wary stance.&lt;br /&gt;
  /    \      o Dex will help you target your opponent a little more.&lt;br /&gt;
 /_    _\     o ARMSLORE can now show minimum weapon damage.&lt;br /&gt;
   |  |     &lt;br /&gt;
   |  |     BUG FIXES&lt;br /&gt;
   |  |       o PROMPT deals with timeless rooms for @t.&lt;br /&gt;
   |__|       o GROUP and prompt formating will now handle no report&lt;br /&gt;
    /\          items.&lt;br /&gt;
   /  \       o Rings of fire will only ignite objects if the victim&lt;br /&gt;
  /    \        doesn't have complete immunity to fire.&lt;br /&gt;
 /_    _\     o GROUP ALL no longer groups people not following you.&lt;br /&gt;
   |  |       o If a mob is standing, and it is set to sitting, wind&lt;br /&gt;
   |  |         gust will now add a delay so it doesn't stand&lt;br /&gt;
   |  |         immediately.&lt;br /&gt;
   |__|       o RETREAT will work better against stunned/para'd&lt;br /&gt;
    /\          opponents.&lt;br /&gt;
   /  \       o Fast commands will only run one command per pulse.&lt;br /&gt;
  /    \      o Crashing bugs squashed.&lt;br /&gt;
 /_    _\   &lt;br /&gt;
   |  |     TYPO FIXES&lt;br /&gt;
   |  |       o Wrestling typo fix.&lt;br /&gt;
   |  |       o Typo fixes for moods: approving, bored, confident,&lt;br /&gt;
   |__|         content, depressed, excited, giddy, heroic, meek,&lt;br /&gt;
    /\          mischevious, patient, relaxed, relieved, reluctant,&lt;br /&gt;
   /  \         respectful, rude, sincere, timid, unhappy, wicked,&lt;br /&gt;
  /    \        and wise.&lt;br /&gt;
 /_    _\   &lt;br /&gt;
   |  |     &lt;br /&gt;
   |  |                   HELPFILE UPDATES&lt;br /&gt;
   |  |     &lt;br /&gt;
   |__|     Updated Topics:&lt;br /&gt;
    /\           CONFIGURE, HERBLORE, HUNT, MAKELEADER, NIGHT VISION, &lt;br /&gt;
   /  \          RIDE, TAILOR, TICK&lt;br /&gt;
  /    \    &lt;br /&gt;
 /_    _\   &lt;br /&gt;
   |  |                     AREA UPDATES&lt;br /&gt;
   |  |     &lt;br /&gt;
   |  |     If you want to suggest specific improvements or new&lt;br /&gt;
   |__|     additions to existing areas please don't hesitate to&lt;br /&gt;
    /\      submit them with the idea/bug/typo commands or drop&lt;br /&gt;
   /  \     mudmail to the builder currently responsible for the area&lt;br /&gt;
  /    \    (check AREAINFO to find out!).&lt;br /&gt;
 /_    _\   &lt;br /&gt;
   |  |     Thanks to everyone that submitted bug/typo/idea reports!&lt;br /&gt;
   |  |     &lt;br /&gt;
   |  |     Paul in the Wild Boar Tavern (OOC) will be offering skill&lt;br /&gt;
   |__|     reimb packages for ONE MORE WEEK until Sept 17th, 2004.&lt;br /&gt;
    /\      There are two options to choose from: BACKSTAB and CHANT&lt;br /&gt;
   /  \     which take all the appropriate skills if known. All 1st&lt;br /&gt;
  /    \    circle spellwords are reimbed at 1 practice per word and&lt;br /&gt;
 /_    _\   all 2nd circle words wil be reimbed 2 practices. ASK PAUL&lt;br /&gt;
   |  |     UNLEARN for character specific eligibility.&lt;br /&gt;
   |  |     &lt;br /&gt;
   |  |     ANCIENT EGYPT&lt;br /&gt;
   |__|          Mobs reminding you about burkos should be a little&lt;br /&gt;
    /\           less spammy. Various bug/typo fixes.&lt;br /&gt;
   /  \     &lt;br /&gt;
  /    \    ANCIENT SEAS&lt;br /&gt;
 /_    _\        Weather section added.&lt;br /&gt;
   |  |     &lt;br /&gt;
   |  |     ARABIAN NIGHTS&lt;br /&gt;
   |  |          New mini quest added.&lt;br /&gt;
   |__|     &lt;br /&gt;
    /\      BOSTON&lt;br /&gt;
   /  \          Take some caution fighting in the area, a number of&lt;br /&gt;
  /    \         mobs have changed - some have changed levels.&lt;br /&gt;
 /_    _\        Various bug/typo fixes. An item that should have&lt;br /&gt;
   |  |          been made of fur but was not, now is. Various&lt;br /&gt;
   |  |          bug/typo fixes.&lt;br /&gt;
   |  |     &lt;br /&gt;
   |__|     CELTIC IRELAND&lt;br /&gt;
    /\           Some mobs are more responsive. Various bug/typo fixes.&lt;br /&gt;
   /  \          &lt;br /&gt;
  /    \    FRENCH INDIAN WAR&lt;br /&gt;
 /_    _\        Some mobs wear their equipment now instead of just&lt;br /&gt;
   |  |          carrying it around. Be careful fighting  natives,&lt;br /&gt;
   |  |          they have changed some! Various bug/typo fixes.&lt;br /&gt;
   |  |          &lt;br /&gt;
   |__|     GYPSY CARNIVAL&lt;br /&gt;
    /\           Some mobs will be a little more responsive. New&lt;br /&gt;
   /  \          skill teacher. Various bug/typo fixes.&lt;br /&gt;
  /    \    &lt;br /&gt;
 /_    _\   HOSPITALLER MALTA&lt;br /&gt;
   |  |          Dragut has learned some new tactics, be careful!&lt;br /&gt;
   |  |          Skill teacher added. Various bug/typo fixes.&lt;br /&gt;
   |  |     &lt;br /&gt;
   |__|     MISC&lt;br /&gt;
    /\           Changes some general axes to chop damage. Generic&lt;br /&gt;
   /  \          cotton shirt and pants are now COTTON.&lt;br /&gt;
  /    \    &lt;br /&gt;
 /_    _\   SALEM&lt;br /&gt;
   |  |          Over the years, many trees have grown large enough&lt;br /&gt;
   |  |          to shade several people. Take some caution fighting&lt;br /&gt;
   |  |          in the area, a number of mobs have changed - some&lt;br /&gt;
   |__|          have changed levels.&lt;br /&gt;
    /\      &lt;br /&gt;
   /  \     SAN FRANCISCO&lt;br /&gt;
  /    \         The doctor has done some studying and now offers a&lt;br /&gt;
 /_    _\        new service. Various bug/typo fixes.&lt;br /&gt;
   |  |     &lt;br /&gt;
   |  |     SHERWOOD&lt;br /&gt;
   |  |          Be careful, the draper has changed some. Various&lt;br /&gt;
   |__|          bug/typo fixes. &lt;br /&gt;
    /\      &lt;br /&gt;
   /  \     ST DENNIS ABBEY&lt;br /&gt;
  /    \         Fixes a problem with the roof. War banner changed to&lt;br /&gt;
 /_    _\        be more beneficial, with the rent adjusting&lt;br /&gt;
   |  |          accordingly. Various bug/typo fixes.&lt;br /&gt;
   |  |     &lt;br /&gt;
   |  |     THE CRUSADES&lt;br /&gt;
   |__|          George's death is more difficult to profit by.&lt;br /&gt;
    /\           Various bug/typo fixes.&lt;br /&gt;
   /  \     &lt;br /&gt;
  /    \    1802 ALASKA, 1930'S PITTSBURGH, AFRICAN SAVANNA,&lt;br /&gt;
 /_    _\   ALHAMBRA, ANCIENT GREECE, ANCIENT INDIA, ANCIENT NAZCA,&lt;br /&gt;
   |  |     ARABIAN NIGHTS, AZTECS, BENGAL, BEOWULF, GENERIC ANIMALS,&lt;br /&gt;
   |  |     KLEINSTADT, LAND OF SHADOWS, LOTP, MEDIEVAL ANDES,&lt;br /&gt;
   |  |     MEDIEVAL SEAS, PICTISH COUNTRY, PORT OF LONDON, PR, ROMAN&lt;br /&gt;
   |__|     BRITAIN, SEONI JUNGLE, SOUTH SEAS, VICEROYAL LIMA, and&lt;br /&gt;
    /\      WW1 SOMME&lt;br /&gt;
   /  \          Various bug/typo fixes.&lt;br /&gt;
  /    \    &lt;br /&gt;
 /_    _\                  In Progress Area Updates&lt;br /&gt;
   |  |     &lt;br /&gt;
   |  |     This section is intended to share what builders are &lt;br /&gt;
   |  |     working on behind the scenes. It is not a perfect record&lt;br /&gt;
   |__|     of progress as all builders do not commit updates every &lt;br /&gt;
    /\      week. Badgering builders about their progress will get &lt;br /&gt;
   /  \     you flogged.&lt;br /&gt;
  /    \    &lt;br /&gt;
 /_    _\           Firefly       Japan&lt;br /&gt;
   |  |             Kae           Larderello (Dante's Inferno)&lt;br /&gt;
   |  |             Kaige         Port of London Expansion&lt;br /&gt;
   |  |             Nestor        Ancient Carthage&lt;br /&gt;
   |__|             Rufus         SL Expansion&lt;br /&gt;
___                                                               ___&lt;br /&gt;
\  |-------------------------------------------------------------|  /&lt;br /&gt;
/__|    Notes from the Tech Corner: Towards a More Smooth Mud    |__\&lt;br /&gt;
   '-------------------------------------------------------------'&lt;br /&gt;
&lt;br /&gt;
Ticks, love them or hate them, are rapidly becoming a thing of the&lt;br /&gt;
past.&lt;br /&gt;
&lt;br /&gt;
Since its inception, LegendMUD has operated on the basis of the tick.&lt;br /&gt;
Behind the scenes, though, many things happened at a far faster pace.&lt;br /&gt;
In order to accomodate the hardware it was running on and everything&lt;br /&gt;
that needed to get done, a number of methods for dealing with subsets&lt;br /&gt;
of all the data that the mud had to process were created.&lt;br /&gt;
&lt;br /&gt;
The overall result was that, after a long enough time, there are no a&lt;br /&gt;
number of methods of cycling through characters, objects, players,&lt;br /&gt;
people fighting, people not fighting, objects that don't need&lt;br /&gt;
updating versus objects that did need updating. Mobile regen was&lt;br /&gt;
handled so radically differently than player regen that we had to rig&lt;br /&gt;
things in the code so that mobs set to 0 hit points didn't magically&lt;br /&gt;
gain 30 or more hit points if they happend to be at that point when a&lt;br /&gt;
tick happened (and even after many attempts at fixing things like&lt;br /&gt;
that, there were still occassions and situations where unfair things&lt;br /&gt;
happened). Players had to coordinate using skills such as entrance so&lt;br /&gt;
that they would maximize the benefit. And probably the single most&lt;br /&gt;
annoying bug (at least to me) was the fact that the the 29th and 59th&lt;br /&gt;
minute of every mud hour was twice as long as any other minute.&lt;br /&gt;
&lt;br /&gt;
There were other side effects. Because we often wrote new update&lt;br /&gt;
functions when something else needed to be updated, we did a&lt;br /&gt;
tremendous amount of work at certain points in the tick (usually the&lt;br /&gt;
beginning or the end of a tick). What this created were certain&lt;br /&gt;
spikes of activity while the remainder of the time inbetween the&lt;br /&gt;
beginning and end of a tick, we were doing fairly little. Other minor&lt;br /&gt;
issues which were mostly cosmetic... mobs would all try and attack&lt;br /&gt;
(if they were agressive) at the same time, and mobs would all wander&lt;br /&gt;
at the same time. Ever wonder about areas where there are a lot of&lt;br /&gt;
roming mobs, how they seem to move on a set schedule?&lt;br /&gt;
&lt;br /&gt;
To delve only briefly into the technical side, Legend operates on&lt;br /&gt;
something called a pulse. A pulse is a quarter of a second 'heart&lt;br /&gt;
beat' that drives the pace of the mud. During every pulse, a game&lt;br /&gt;
loop occurs which handles everything, handling input, processing that&lt;br /&gt;
input, updating everything, handling fighting if necessary, handling&lt;br /&gt;
acts, mobs going agressive, mobs wandering, weather changing, time&lt;br /&gt;
changing, sunlight changing, and finally buffering output, delivering&lt;br /&gt;
that output and finally taking a 'nap' for the remainder of that&lt;br /&gt;
quarter-of-a second. When you consider we have 30,000+ objects, 8000+&lt;br /&gt;
characters, 5600 rooms, 181,000+ acts, and 23,000+ resets to go&lt;br /&gt;
through, that's a lot of things to handle in a quarter of a second.&lt;br /&gt;
The problem here is that when you do a lot of things at once (say,&lt;br /&gt;
updating weather, and the mobs, and the acts, and the resets, and the&lt;br /&gt;
the players, and this and that) it adds up, and often exceeds the 250&lt;br /&gt;
milliseconds we have to 'get everything done.'&lt;br /&gt;
&lt;br /&gt;
That being said (and this should be the last technical paragraph),&lt;br /&gt;
some things are very, very fast. Looping through the character or&lt;br /&gt;
object list can be done thousands of times before it's even a blip on&lt;br /&gt;
the radar for time consumption... it's just what we do when we do&lt;br /&gt;
that loop that is the problem.&lt;br /&gt;
&lt;br /&gt;
The changes that are upcoming remove many of the jury-rig, additional&lt;br /&gt;
stuff-to-keep-track-of, error-prone sub-sets of data that need to be&lt;br /&gt;
updated. They also remove any semblance of looping through the&lt;br /&gt;
character list or object list more than once in a pulse. We were&lt;br /&gt;
already looping through the character list once (guaranteed) but&lt;br /&gt;
often looping through it 2, 3, 4 or 60 times. The absolute worst case&lt;br /&gt;
scenario was that we were looping through the character list once for&lt;br /&gt;
each character in the character list (a whopping 64,000,000 times!) -&lt;br /&gt;
though this was rare indeed.&lt;br /&gt;
&lt;br /&gt;
This should also cure another problem: Objects not updating when they&lt;br /&gt;
should. We had a set of objects that were supposed to tick down, or&lt;br /&gt;
have some other change happen. They weren't always getting put there&lt;br /&gt;
or they were getting put there twice.&lt;br /&gt;
&lt;br /&gt;
This all being said, there are still things that need to happen on a&lt;br /&gt;
once-per-half-our (formerly once-per-tick) basis. But instead of&lt;br /&gt;
everything happening all at once, it will now be (somewhat) evenly&lt;br /&gt;
distributed around the tick.&lt;br /&gt;
&lt;br /&gt;
What this means for you, the players, is that things might happen a&lt;br /&gt;
bit differently than you were expecting them to. Players will bleed&lt;br /&gt;
and be poisoned at different points (or rather, suffer from their&lt;br /&gt;
bleeding and poisoning) rather than at the same time. That will be&lt;br /&gt;
the first, most notable place.&lt;br /&gt;
&lt;br /&gt;
Other things you might notice:&lt;br /&gt;
&lt;br /&gt;
  - Spells ('preps') will last their full duration now. Before if you&lt;br /&gt;
    had a strength spell that is supposed to last 10 ticks and you&lt;br /&gt;
    cast it halfway through a tick, you would only get 9.5 ticks of&lt;br /&gt;
    time out of the spell. Now you will get the full 10 ticks, it&lt;br /&gt;
    will just wear off 'mid-tick' rather than at the beginning of a&lt;br /&gt;
    tick.&lt;br /&gt;
&lt;br /&gt;
  - Entrance will 'last over a tick'. Entrance now has a random&lt;br /&gt;
    duration but will not automatically go off when a tick happens.&lt;br /&gt;
&lt;br /&gt;
  - Affects (such as poison, etc) can update more or less frequently&lt;br /&gt;
    than they used to. Though likely these won't be used for a while,&lt;br /&gt;
    expect mobs as well as future poisons that come into the game&lt;br /&gt;
    work faster or slower than at tick.&lt;br /&gt;
&lt;br /&gt;
  - Rage will wear off almost immediately after you stop fighting.&lt;br /&gt;
    This was sort-of an unintended side effect, but it was better&lt;br /&gt;
    than not having rage wear off, ever (which was very disasterous&lt;br /&gt;
    when I went to test a few mobs!)&lt;br /&gt;
&lt;br /&gt;
  - Objects might vanish mid-tick. Keep an eye on the timers for&lt;br /&gt;
    those preservable ones.&lt;br /&gt;
&lt;br /&gt;
  - When you first log in after this change, any affect spells&lt;br /&gt;
    ('preps') you had up will decay almost immediately. This cannot&lt;br /&gt;
    be avoided. Any spell you cast after this update will last its&lt;br /&gt;
    full duration offline.&lt;br /&gt;
&lt;br /&gt;
  - Weather will still happen on a tick as well as season and date&lt;br /&gt;
    changes. I don't anticipate this changing any time soon (or ever&lt;br /&gt;
    in the case of date changes!).&lt;br /&gt;
&lt;br /&gt;
  - Some (many) mobs may reset at any point during the tick, rather&lt;br /&gt;
    than right on a tick.&lt;br /&gt;
&lt;br /&gt;
  - Mobs regen much like players do. Low level mobs will not gain the&lt;br /&gt;
    majority (or any, really) of their hit points back mid-fight.&lt;br /&gt;
&lt;br /&gt;
This code is a massive change in how LegendMUD operates. It is not&lt;br /&gt;
intended to 'speed up' the game at all, but make use of some excess&lt;br /&gt;
processing that was going unused in hopes of smoothing out some of&lt;br /&gt;
the spikes that occur (these won't go away, naturally, because we can&lt;br /&gt;
never predict exactly how many or what type of acts will be going off&lt;br /&gt;
at any one point in time). This also allows us to do more at any&lt;br /&gt;
given time, adding a depth to the system that we did not have before.&lt;br /&gt;
&lt;br /&gt;
That being said, there will likely be bugs. Please use the 'bug'&lt;br /&gt;
channel to communicate any strangeness. I've tested this, I've&lt;br /&gt;
commited this change such that we can spend the most amount of time&lt;br /&gt;
pounding away at it before you see it, but, as always happens, the&lt;br /&gt;
players will undoubtedly find more bugs and do more things in&lt;br /&gt;
stranger ways than we can ever imagine.&lt;br /&gt;
&lt;br /&gt;
The overall effect is edging close to a complete removal of ticks as&lt;br /&gt;
a concept from the playable end of the game. With this update, they&lt;br /&gt;
are nearly virtually meaningless, as updates to many things occur&lt;br /&gt;
more or less frequently, or at different times than a 'tick'. Taken&lt;br /&gt;
as a whole, very little should change in the basic day-to-day&lt;br /&gt;
operations of the mud.&lt;br /&gt;
&lt;br /&gt;
Your spells will last a little bit longer, 'entrance' will be a shade&lt;br /&gt;
more balanced, and mobs won't heal in such gargantuan steps. The hope&lt;br /&gt;
is, that through this new method of updating everything, the game&lt;br /&gt;
will run smoother overall.&lt;br /&gt;
&lt;br /&gt;
On the other end of the spectrum, this opens up a whole set of new&lt;br /&gt;
ways that builders can tailor mobs to kill you. *ouch* *stop it*&lt;br /&gt;
*ouch* Okay, sorry, I misspoke. Let me correct that: ... this opens&lt;br /&gt;
up a whole new set of ways in which the builders can provide&lt;br /&gt;
challenging and rewarding encounters!&lt;br /&gt;
&lt;br /&gt;
Play safe and have fun out there,&lt;br /&gt;
&lt;br /&gt;
Ruf&lt;br /&gt;
___                                                               ___&lt;br /&gt;
\  |-------------------------------------------------------------|  /&lt;br /&gt;
/__|  LEGENDITES: Information Regarding the People of Our World  |__\&lt;br /&gt;
   '-------------------------------------------------------------'&lt;br /&gt;
&lt;br /&gt;
            Quintis has reached 100 million experience!&lt;br /&gt;
&lt;br /&gt;
             =-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=&lt;br /&gt;
&lt;br /&gt;
You are cordially invited to register at http://www.prodigalstranger.dk&lt;br /&gt;
to participate in the new unofficial LegendMUD discussion forum online.&lt;br /&gt;
This forum obeys the same rules as regards information and knowledge&lt;br /&gt;
as the in-game boards but is a tad easier to use -- for starters,&lt;br /&gt;
you don't need to camp OOC to do so.&lt;br /&gt;
&lt;br /&gt;
  ___                                                          ___ &lt;br /&gt;
  \  |--------------------------------------------------------|  /&lt;br /&gt;
  /__|                     Clan News                          |__\&lt;br /&gt;
     '--------------------------------------------------------'&lt;br /&gt;
&lt;br /&gt;
                              {E}&lt;br /&gt;
&lt;br /&gt;
          Ladies and gentlemen, children of all ages!&lt;br /&gt;
&lt;br /&gt;
          The First Church of Epicurean Enlightenment &lt;br /&gt;
        is once again opening its doors to new members!&lt;br /&gt;
&lt;br /&gt;
Are you tired of the same old groups? Sick of following orders or&lt;br /&gt;
prancing about the world in a bloodthirsty craze? Of course not! And&lt;br /&gt;
we don't care! What do we care about?&lt;br /&gt;
&lt;br /&gt;
Enlightenment through Ecstasy! That's right! Good times will lead to&lt;br /&gt;
understanding! Parties will lead to truth! Whoa! Hold the phone! You&lt;br /&gt;
heard me right!&lt;br /&gt;
&lt;br /&gt;
If you're interested in becoming a member of our illustrious clergy,&lt;br /&gt;
do contact Mr. Tennessee Loftis.&lt;br /&gt;
&lt;br /&gt;
                     We'll see you in Church!&lt;br /&gt;
&lt;br /&gt;
             =-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=&lt;br /&gt;
&lt;br /&gt;
There are currently 19 RP clans and 3 PK clans. This leaves open&lt;br /&gt;
slots for ten (10) more clans to form. For more information, read&lt;br /&gt;
HELP CLAN and see the clan information list via the CLANS command&lt;br /&gt;
while logged into the game. For a basic handbook and reference guide&lt;br /&gt;
for players interested in starting and running a clan, we recommend&lt;br /&gt;
that before you even type FORM, you visit:&lt;br /&gt;
             http://www.legendmud.org/Reference/gm.html.&lt;br /&gt;
  ___                                                          ___ &lt;br /&gt;
  \  |--------------------------------------------------------|  /&lt;br /&gt;
  /__|                     PK Front                           |__\&lt;br /&gt;
     '--------------------------------------------------------'&lt;br /&gt;
&lt;br /&gt;
                            BaTtLe&lt;br /&gt;
&lt;br /&gt;
I, Psylin, would like to invite Devlin to Battle til death. I&lt;br /&gt;
wouldn't mind a good jumpin or what not, I would just like to say&lt;br /&gt;
BrInG iT!&lt;br /&gt;
&lt;br /&gt;
             =-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=&lt;br /&gt;
&lt;br /&gt;
If you witness or commit any glorious or nefarious deeds, send a&lt;br /&gt;
short report to us at the LT. If you are looking for a fight,&lt;br /&gt;
recruiting, or anything else related to PKill (not necessarily PK&lt;br /&gt;
Clan related), send it in! It's free AND you'll get a prize token! Be&lt;br /&gt;
a celebrity, the envy of all your friends! Tick off your enemies or&lt;br /&gt;
just tell your side of the story! Get YOUR name up in lights! We&lt;br /&gt;
can't report it if you don't tell us!&lt;br /&gt;
              _______________________&lt;br /&gt;
             /                       \&lt;br /&gt;
        o O | Wonder what folks are   |&lt;br /&gt;
  `\|||/    | doing over at LegendMUD?|&lt;br /&gt;
   (o o)     \_______________________/&lt;br /&gt;
ooO_(_)_Ooo__________________________________________________________&lt;br /&gt;
_____|_____|_____|_____|_____|_____|_____|_____|_____|_____|_____|___&lt;br /&gt;
__|_____|_____|_____|_____|_____|_____|_____|_____|_____|_____|_____|&lt;br /&gt;
&lt;br /&gt;
              Dino's AutoBiography - Chapter Three&lt;br /&gt;
&lt;br /&gt;
We entered the small cottage and looked around. The kind of house a&lt;br /&gt;
regular family in Celtic Ireland has. One big room, usually a family&lt;br /&gt;
room, two doors leading to two tiny rooms, a small bathroom, and a&lt;br /&gt;
kitchen. The family room was fairly large. A small couch stood near&lt;br /&gt;
the wall and a fireplace near the other wall. A bunch of flowers&lt;br /&gt;
stood around it. Usually the children would go out during the day and&lt;br /&gt;
bring flowers. I guess these were flowers from my mother's&lt;br /&gt;
disappearance as sympathy gifts from neighbors.&lt;br /&gt;
&lt;br /&gt;
'Well feel free to look around, this is your home now.' He said and&lt;br /&gt;
left to the kitchen. I looked around again and it a feeling went up&lt;br /&gt;
my spine, as though this was the same house I had been in when I was&lt;br /&gt;
younger. It probably was. Even though I didn't recognize it, the&lt;br /&gt;
feeling told me that it was. Most houses were passed on from&lt;br /&gt;
generations to generations so this was it. I looked at the shelf&lt;br /&gt;
above the fireplace. A couple of picture frames stood on top of it. A&lt;br /&gt;
picture of my mom, a picture of Jaenrik, and a picture of my mom and&lt;br /&gt;
Jaenrik together. I left the family room and moved into the one of&lt;br /&gt;
the tiny rooms. Both tiny rooms were the same. A bed stood in the&lt;br /&gt;
corner, neatly made. A nightstand with a lamp stood next to the bed.&lt;br /&gt;
A small dresser stood at the other end of the room and some pictures&lt;br /&gt;
hung on the wall. There was also a huge window. I guess that one of&lt;br /&gt;
these would be my room. I glanced into the bathroom. Everything was&lt;br /&gt;
still there. Pretty silly of me to check the bathroom. I was very&lt;br /&gt;
hungry now. I decided to skip the kitchen and go out and hunt for&lt;br /&gt;
some food. Rarely did I eat human food, usually people! Yum. Well not&lt;br /&gt;
people like skins of people. The usual vampire meal, blood. I'll skip&lt;br /&gt;
the telling of the process. So when I was done, I was full and tired.&lt;br /&gt;
It was around nine and the sun had set. The moon was a perfect white&lt;br /&gt;
circle and the sky had more stars then ever! I returned to the house&lt;br /&gt;
and entered. My father was still in the kitchen so I decided to&lt;br /&gt;
question him a bit. I walked into the kitchen.&lt;br /&gt;
&lt;br /&gt;
'What were our dogs named?' I questioned.&lt;br /&gt;
&lt;br /&gt;
'Atos and Aramis.'&lt;br /&gt;
&lt;br /&gt;
'What breed were they?'&lt;br /&gt;
&lt;br /&gt;
'Two Airedales, wonderful dogs.'&lt;br /&gt;
&lt;br /&gt;
'What of them?'&lt;br /&gt;
&lt;br /&gt;
'They passed away a year ago.'&lt;br /&gt;
&lt;br /&gt;
'Why not get more?'&lt;br /&gt;
&lt;br /&gt;
'Why?' He asked, obviously not wanting more dogs around. I shrugged.&lt;br /&gt;
&lt;br /&gt;
'Their helpful.' This time he shrugged. I stood around and waited for&lt;br /&gt;
one of us to say something but nobody did.&lt;br /&gt;
&lt;br /&gt;
'Well good night then,' I said and left the kitchen.&lt;br /&gt;
&lt;br /&gt;
'Pick any room you like,' He yelled from the kitchen. I picked the&lt;br /&gt;
second room, the corner room. Without even turning on the light, I&lt;br /&gt;
fell on the bed and as soon as my head touched the pillow, I feel&lt;br /&gt;
asleep. It was nice to sleep on a soft bed, and in a warm house. My&lt;br /&gt;
feet throbbed from the long walk but that didn't wake me up. I had&lt;br /&gt;
pleasant dreams of the past. I woke up the next morning around nine&lt;br /&gt;
and opened the window. The pleasant smell of flowers blew into my&lt;br /&gt;
room. I left the room and looked around. Guess dad was still asleep.&lt;br /&gt;
I left the house and went into town hoping to find some breakfast.&lt;br /&gt;
While I was in town, I bought some clothes to replace my rags, found&lt;br /&gt;
some breakfast, and explored around town for a little bit. I decided&lt;br /&gt;
to go back home around noon. As soon as I stepped into the house, I&lt;br /&gt;
had a weird feeling. It wasn't just my father and me anymore. I&lt;br /&gt;
walked into the kitchen and to my surprise'&lt;br /&gt;
&lt;br /&gt;
                       -End of Chapter Three-&lt;br /&gt;
&lt;br /&gt;
             =-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=&lt;br /&gt;
&lt;br /&gt;
                       5 o'clock Somewhere...&lt;br /&gt;
&lt;br /&gt;
A wedge of early morning sunshine sliced through the heavy curtains&lt;br /&gt;
and proceeded to prey upon the closed eyelids of one sleeping&lt;br /&gt;
Tennessee Loftis.&lt;br /&gt;
&lt;br /&gt;
Said eyelids flickered open...and hands were quickly raised to block&lt;br /&gt;
the unwanted intrusion of light. 'Good lord,' he sputtered, wiping&lt;br /&gt;
the drool from his chin. 'Good lord,' he repeated as he swept his&lt;br /&gt;
legs over the side of his large bed and his bare feet found the cold&lt;br /&gt;
marble floor. Wrapping his blanket around his waist, he made his way&lt;br /&gt;
to the window, pushed aside the curtains (which, consequently, let&lt;br /&gt;
all of the light in...to which our hero responded, 'Good lord...'),&lt;br /&gt;
and leaned out of the open window, hands over his eyes.&lt;br /&gt;
&lt;br /&gt;
'Jose!' he yelled down to his gardener/butler/masseuse/security.&lt;br /&gt;
'Jose!'&lt;br /&gt;
&lt;br /&gt;
Jose looked up, eyebrow raised.&lt;br /&gt;
&lt;br /&gt;
'What time is it for crissake!'&lt;br /&gt;
&lt;br /&gt;
Jose stared up, trying not to smile.&lt;br /&gt;
&lt;br /&gt;
'Alright, then...what DAY is it, Jose?'&lt;br /&gt;
&lt;br /&gt;
Continuance of smirky stare.&lt;br /&gt;
&lt;br /&gt;
'Holy majole...what YEAR is it, Jose? Not what YEAR is it?'&lt;br /&gt;
&lt;br /&gt;
Jose nodded, chuckled a bit, and went back to weeding a small rose&lt;br /&gt;
garden.&lt;br /&gt;
&lt;br /&gt;
'Good lord,' Tennessee muttered under his breath. 'This hangover is&lt;br /&gt;
going to just destroy me, I know it.' He turned, wiped his eyes, and&lt;br /&gt;
then turned back to lean once more from the open window.&lt;br /&gt;
&lt;br /&gt;
'Jose! Make me a bloody mary! Quick-like!'&lt;br /&gt;
&lt;br /&gt;
             =-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=&lt;br /&gt;
&lt;br /&gt;
             A Word from Our Sponsor: King's Inn, Quebec&lt;br /&gt;
&lt;br /&gt;
              Experience French-American Cuisine Today!&lt;br /&gt;
&lt;br /&gt;
Quebec is more than salmon and furs! Visit the King's Inn this summer&lt;br /&gt;
and sample exotic dishes combining established traditions of the Old&lt;br /&gt;
World with the exciting new foods from the New!&lt;br /&gt;
&lt;br /&gt;
For starters we recommend fish or vegetable broth, then dine on a&lt;br /&gt;
lovely pie of lamb or pork with a side dish of squash, maize, and&lt;br /&gt;
potatoes, and finish off with a delightful blueberry pie or a stack&lt;br /&gt;
of flapjacks with genuine maple syrup. How can anyone resist this&lt;br /&gt;
domestic goodness?&lt;br /&gt;
&lt;br /&gt;
Marguerite Broussau, our cook, stands ready to take your order!&lt;br /&gt;
&lt;br /&gt;
=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=&lt;br /&gt;
=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=&lt;br /&gt;
  The Legendary Times is published by the immortals of LegendMUD.&lt;br /&gt;
Please send replies, additions, or corrections to lt@legendmud.org&lt;br /&gt;
for inclusion in the next issue. All subscription options are handled&lt;br /&gt;
at this url:&lt;br /&gt;
       http://www.legendmud.org/lists/listinfo/legendarytimes &lt;br /&gt;
For RP submissions, copyright ownership remains with the author. We&lt;br /&gt;
do reserve the right to moderate the forum and edit or reject any&lt;br /&gt;
submission.&lt;br /&gt;
=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=&lt;br /&gt;
=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=&lt;br /&gt;
&amp;lt;/nowiki&amp;gt;&lt;/div&gt;</summary>
		<author><name>Mertjai</name></author>
	</entry>
</feed>