To see a list of messages on an object, type @messages object-name. You can get a list of some of the verbs and properties on an object by using @examine object-name.
Drop and Take Messages
If you @lock a thing, people who don’t meet the criteria you specify cannot take the object. The message they’ll see when they try to take it is take_failed. The message that everyone else sees when they try to take it is otake_failed. When a message is exactly the same as another message, but begins with o, the first message is for the player, or the person using the verb, and the second message (with the o) is for everyone else in the same room.
@take_failed Platter of Stale Donuts is "You pick up the entire %t, but your guilty conscience forces you to put it back. How about just eating a single donut?
@otake_failed Platter of Stale Donuts is "%N tries to hoard the %t, but %p conscience gets the better of %o.
@take_succeeded "Sword in the Stone" is "You pull the sword from the stone. Everyone else is looking at you *awfully* funny.
@otake_succeeded "Sword in the Stone" is "With a majestic flourish, %n jerks the sword from the stone. A shaft of light from the sky illuminates %o with a divine glow.
You can also set the drop messages, which the player (drop_succeeded, drop_failed) and others (odrop_succeeded and odrop_failed) see when the player drops or throws an object.
Objects: Containers
A container is a thing that can hold other things.
@create $container named steamer trunk,steamer,trunk
put staff in trunk
You put the staff in the steamer trunk.
Containers normally have an opacity of 1, which means that you can see into them when they’re open, but not when they’re closed. You can use
@opaque container is 0
to make a clear container, and
@opaque container is 2
to make a container that is opaque even when it is open. Containers can be opened and closed. If you want to restrict who can open a container, you can use keys, with:
@lock_for_open container with key
Unlock a container with @unlock_for_open. Since containers are $things, @lock works the same for containers as for other things, restricting who can and cannot take the container.
Notes and Letters
A note is a thing you can write on. A letter is a note that can be given to someone and then burned (thus saving your quota).
You can encrypt a note or letter with a key, so that only you or people you specify can read the note:
encrypt Balder's Notepad with me || CapVideo
allows only me (Balder) or Captain Video to read Balder’s Notepad. See the part about keys, on page 22, for more information about ‘constructing’ encryption keys. To make it so that anyone can read the note, use:
decrypt object
This erases the keys you’ve constructed for the object. @Locking a note or letter is the same as @locking a thing.
