Welcome to Hippo Campus!

This online tutorial is designed to help first-time visitors to Hippo (`newbies' in MOO slang) learn a basic set of commands that allow them to control the way they appear to others.

The very first thing you should do, though, if you are not a guest character and if you haven't already done so, is to set your password to something that you can easily remember, yet not so easy that someone else will be able to figure it out.

To do this, type

@password <old-password> <new-password>

The next time you log in, the new password must be used.

Characters at Hippo Campus can have one of three genders: male, female, or neuter. Other genders may be added in the future!

Syntax: @gender <gender_type>

Examples: @gender female

@gender male

@gender neuter

Setting your @gender allows the system to automatically use the appropriate pronouns (she, he, it, his, hers, its, etc.) when referring to you and your actions. If you don't set your gender with this command, your @gender will remain *neuter*.

In MOO environments, as you'll see later, you will be able to LOOK at the people, places, and things you discover. If someone looks at you, they will also get a description of you.

To see what you look like now, type:

look me

Not very interesting, is it? The system allows you to change your description to just about whatever you want. There are two main ways of doing this.

The easiest way of changing your description is using the command

@describe me as <description>

Example:

@describe me as A rounded and rather hirsute man.

If your name were Simon, and if someone looked at you after describing yourself in this way, that person would see

Simon

A rounded and rather hirsute man.

One problem with the @describe command is that you don't have much control over the format of the description. If you want to make a description that runs to more than one paragraph, for instance, you may want to edit the description as follows:

@edit me.description

You will then find yourself editing your description. If you are in the built-in editor for the environment, then follow the instructions that appear on the screen, and type `look' to see the commands that are available to you. If you are using external editing, then you must use the commands for that editor.

If for some reason you get tired of your name, you can always change it (provided that you are not a guest).

To change it, the syntax is:

@rename me to <new-name>

For example,

@rename me to Quasimodo

@rename me to kate

@rename me to PetrolHead

To avoid losing all your friends, it might be a good idea to keep your old name as an *alias* for a while. To find out how, go to the next page.

If your favourite choice of name is a bit long to type, you can give yourself aliases which are shorter.

Syntax: @rename me to <new-name>,<alias1>,<alias2>,...

Example: @rename me to Quasimodo,qm,almost_fashionable

This will set your name to Quasimodo, but qm and almost_fashionable can also be used to refer to you.

Now that your password has been set, and you've chosen a name, gender, and description which suit you, you are ready to face the world.

To learn more about the basic commands that will allow you to communicate and interact with other people and objects, leave this tutorial and enter the next tutorial:

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Copyright © NJO 2001.
For problems or questions regarding our site, contact our [WebMaster].
Last updated: August 25, 2001.