___The Official AVATAR___________________________________
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________________________________________ 12 Jun, 1999 ___
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` ~ )Telnet to Avatar at: avatar.walrus.com 3000
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Table of Contents
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1. Editorial by Dizzy
2. Running With Blind Groupies
3. When Your Elders Speak...Listen As I Have by SunWolf
4. Slaughter in the Square (The Evil of Midgaard) by Som
5. Avatar's First Game of ASCII Pong!
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1. Editorial by Dizzy
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The question I'm asked most frequently is, "What kind of article should I
write for the Gazette?" My usual answer runs something like this,
"Anything MUD or Medieval related." Not real helpful to a new Avatar
player or anyone who hasn't made a lifetime study of antiquities.
Here's a simple primer for writing articles for the Gazette:
1. Email your article to dizzy@avatar.walrus.com by 10PM on Friday
nights. I mail out the Gazette by midnight Saturday nights, and need some
time to glue it together.
2. Be sure to include the name of your character somewhere in the
article. It usually fits best in the title, for example "The
PowerLeveler's Field Guide to Homeopathic Healing -- by Dizzy".
3. What if you're quoting someone else's work? Morally, you have an
obligation to give credit where its due. If you include someone else's
words because they illustrate a point you're making, are hilariously
funny, or capture a definitive expression of truth....go ahead and use it,
but NEVER claim it as your own and ALWAYS name the source. There are also
legal issues associated with using another person's work. Never quote
someone who says that you must have their expressed permission to use
their words.
4. Content. I'm looking for articles (both fiction and non-fiction) that
are humorous, and/or informative. If you want to spin a yarn about the
imaginary adventures of a TROG LORD who was dropped on her head as a baby
(thereby bring new meaning to the phrase "Intellectually challenged"), it
could be a wonderfully funny piece of fiction. On the otherhand, if you
like to write "how to" guides, tell camp fire stories (stuff that really
happened), fairy tales (stuff that could have happened), review fantasy
books, if you "do" poetry, or want give us a calendar of events in your
area (things like Society for Creative Anachronism (SCA) meetings......not
church bake sales), we're also interested in that.
There you go! Have fun and WRITE ARTICLES!
Diz
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2. Running With Blind Groupies
________________________________
A while ago, I wrote an article which explained how the blind and visually
impaired access Avatar. I told of synthesizers and screen reading software
which allowed access to the computer applications as well as to the
Internet. As a follow-up to that article, I would like to offer some tips
on how you can help facilitate a blind groupie. By following the
suggestions below, you can help blind and visually impaired groupies
integrate themselves into groups with the least amount of stress on all
parties involved.
1. Sneak at all times. If you are a hero (or higher), learn Shadow form
and put it into your spellup alias. You can place "sneak/vis" at the
beginning of your alias and "shadow" at the end. Shadow form will last an
entire run so there will be no worries about the possibility of your sneak
while on a run.
It is really difficult to follow the course of a run when you have to hear
every groupies setmin/setmout as the crowd moves from room to room. The
spam can become overwhelming, not to mention frustrating after a while.
2. Make sure the tank/leader repeats commands. There are times that the
synth lag can become quite excessive and commands can be missed if not
repeated. Repeating the commands even five times or more will assure that
the groupie heard the command and is able to comply.
3. Try not to spam the group with socials. It may be fun to bonk a mob
over the head ten or twelve times, but it sure isn't fun to hear it
repeated over and over when one is trying to ascertain the condition of
the tank or catch one's own tnl iin battlespam.
4. Set a trigger to wake the groupie when the leader is ready to move on.
The wake command is the most frequently missed command because of synth
lag. Be sure you don't lose your groupie by leaving him/her behind.
Trying to follow a conversation can create lag and being left behind can
be deadly.
5. If the individual is using a mud application that may allow triggers,
suggest that triggers be created which would, enter portals/nexuses, flee,
mercy, and recall when a selected groupie does any of the above. It will
help the groupie integrate with ease into a group and the leader will need
never worry that someone is being left behind.
6. Suggest triggers which will alert the group to the blind person's low
hp and mana so that the group can work as a team to keep the groupie safe.
Sometimes it is hard to catch all the vital information necessary on a run
and these triggers can save the blind char's life and the group a
sometimes messy CR.
7. If triggers are not possible due to the client being used, it will mean
showing a bit of patience and understand that net lag and synth lag may
both contribute to the individuals lack of immediate response.
8. It may be necessary to explain to other groupies that the blind person
is in a unique situation and the cooperation of all will be required to
ensure that the groupie doesn't feel like a burden to the group.
Without exception, I have found that Avatarians enjoy helping others.
There is an overall feeling that the challenges involved in grouping the
blind are well worth the reward because each level gain and every
experience that a blind person has on Avatar is a direct result of the
support, understanding, and commitment the community shares which allows
all players to grow and flourish in an environment unlike any other on the
net.
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3. When Your Elders Speak...Listen As I Have by SunWolf
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Listen to your elders for they have gone before and are wise in the ways
of this world. Many a hatchling has been eaten by orcs where goblins only
were known to tread.
Always scan your surroundings when in unfamiliar territory. Make sure you
have an escape route planned in case you have to retreat. (Flee would be
the word used for you lessor species ... you know who you are.)
Have you bitten off more than you can chew? Did you not heed the sage
words of your elders and are even now besieged by superior numbers and
unable to kill them all swift enough before you fall? Remember, before you
leave your cave and engage in any combat, you should have the forethought
to prepare for even the simplest of things. If you cannot heal thyself you
must buy healing potions to do this for you. Make sure you buy sufficient
quantities, as you probably are a bleeder ... knowing you. Do you see the
light now? No? Well, you must be one of those unfortunates who doesn't
have a permanent light source, again buy a sufficient quantity to hold you
throughout your adventure..
Mmmmm, this Knight is simply delicious, especially when you crack the
shell, and flame broil ... what? Oh, we're out of time, we must discuss
the finer points of dining and swap recipes next time. So remember, if you
heed the wisdom given you by your elders as I do, you too will live.
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4. Slaughter in the Square (The Evil of Midgaard) by Som
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The evilness was spreading. Servants of the horsemen of Apocolypse were
sending out their agents to seek conquest outside their ruined land. The
corruption of the guards, and now the corruption of the town crier made it
plain to the heros what must be done. The town crier must die. And so
Keaton gathered the citizens of the formerly peaceful Midgaard and set out
his plans to destroy this agent of evil, this town crier.
Thirty of Midgaard's finest, in their finest armor prepared to take on
this monstrous task. With a cry of "For the sake of Midgaard!" the heros
raced down the streets, directly for the town crier. The town crier smiled
evilly as they approached, and unleashed his full power upon the stunned
heros. The lords wandered in, offering to help but the heros refused. This
was their home, this was their plane, they knew in their hearts that it
was their job to defend it. And so the battle raged on. The brave Keaton
was the first to fall.
Though the heros saw the strong chance of defeat, they kept fighting on!
The bravery shown in the streets of Midgaard shall go down in the history
books forever! But alas, the dead heros soon outnumbered the living, and
they hobbled back to Aelmon to regroup and prepare another attack....
Their the heros wait now, but will they succeed this time, or fail yet
again? Will this invasion of evil be stopped in time to save the beautiful
city of Midgaard? I leave these questions for you to answer, dear reader,
and one more. Will you join the fight to save Midgaard?
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5. Avatar's First Game of ASCII Pong!
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Two heroes, sat on opposite ends of the joke channel, grimacing at each
other. They grabbed their paddles (--) and prepared for battle! The first
game of ASCII Pong had begun!
Viznabilioki jokes '...........(--)........'
Viznabilioki jokes '........(o)...........'
Viznabilioki jokes '......(o).............'
TheCheeseMan jokes '...(--)...............'
TheCheeseMan jokes '.........(o).........'
TheCheeseMan jokes '................(o)...'
Viznabilioki jokes '...............(--)'
Viznabilioki jokes '.............(o)..'
Viznabilioki jokes '............(o)....'
After many grueling rounds of this, back and forth, Viznabilioki became
the victor! The scoring of the game was that of tennis. Viznabilioki
scored the first point, 15/0. The next point was scored my TheCheeseMan
who sent one off the wall! A quick curveball by Vizzy made the game 40/30.
A dreadfully swift move by the king of cheese brought the game to deuce!
For several times we went back and forth, trying to outwit the other and
win by two points. The advantage was reversed several times. Till
eventually, the lord of inpronuncability shot a fastball right through
TheCheeseMan's paddle, winning the game! It is obvious that this game has
much potential, perhaps one day TheCheeseMan and Viznabilioki will hold a
formed ASCII Pong tournament! Until then, who knows what this new-bred
game has in store for itself? Potential, it has.
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The Avatar Gazette is what you've just been reading, and it is the
official newsletter of Avatar, it is published weekly by Dizzy, in
conjunction with The Avatar Staff.(Original concept by Asamaro).
The Gazette is written in plain vanilla ASCII text to ensure that
everyone can enjoy it regardless of computer type.
To subscribe to the Gazette, send internet e-mail to
gazette-request@avatar.walrus.com. In the body of your
email put:
subscribe username@hostname (MudName - RealName)
eg subscribe snikt@walrus.com (Snikt - Kevin Jagh)
Your real name is optional for the Gazette list.
eg subscribe snikt@walrus.com (Snikt)
You can FTP back issues of the gazette from ftp.walrus.com in
/pub/avatar/gazette.
If you have any questions, comments, suggestions, criticisms,
compliments, or (best of all) articles that you've written for the
gazette, please send them to Dizzy via my e-mail address:
dizzy@walrus.com.
You can also view the latest issue of the Gazette while playing
Avatar by typing 'help newgaz' anywhere in the game, or by surfing
our web site!
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________________________________________________________________________
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welcome, use: gazette-owner@avatar.walrus.com. For help send a message
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