Building rooms is one of the simpliest tasks.  However, do to their
simplicity and the number of them which are needed they are often built
substandardly.  This help file is intended to help builders create better
rooms.

Each room file should have the following format:

// <your name>
// <date>

#include <std.h>
inherit ROOM;

void create() {
  ::create();
  set_short("");
  set_long("");
  set_properties(([     ]));
  set_items(([    ]));
  set_exits(([    ]));
  set_sounds(([    ]));
  set_smells(([    ]));
}


The last two, sounds and smells, are optional, infact all fields are
optional, but you should consider sounds and smells the only real optional
ones if you want to build a good area.

Writing descriptions is perhaps the hardest part of creating areas.  First
let us look at the set_short();  This is the short description used when
people are in brief mode and do not wish to view the entire room
descriptions.  A good set_short() is only a few words long.  For example
good short descriptions for a forest:
  "A dense forest"
  "A clearing in the forest"
  "In a forest"

The long description is where most people fail.  A good description should
describe in some detail the area you are in.  Do not describe items in the
area in more then a few words, use set_items() to do that instead.  You
hould avoid the word "you" in room descriptions as well.  Avoid telling
the player anything about themselves.  "You feel scared", "You are lost"
are bad things to put in a room description.  A good thing to do is
pretend you have walked into the area yourself in real life, and a blind
person is already there and asks you for a description.  Write what
someone would see, not how they would feel, not where they came from, not
what they think.

Items are next important.  These are things in the room which people can
look at.

Exits are self explanitory.  You should stick with the
n,s,w,e,nw,ne,sw,se,u,d directions most of the time.  If you have an exit
labeled "gate" from room A to room B, be sure the exit back from B to A is
also labled "gate".  The same goes for "bridge" or other such
exit.  Otherwise things get very confusing for users.

Properties are special additions which the lib will decipher where needed
for example "light" and "night light" are properties which will determine
how much light is in the area at a given time.  Read the lfun
documentation for properties for more info.

Smells and sounds are nice little additions and should be used only where
their need is warented.  A good game is a game in moderation.  If every
room had a smell it would get very annoying reading the smell description
for every room and the feature would lose its emphasis.