Frequently Asked Questions (FAQ) for Circle DikuMud with Answers

Alex Fletcher, furry@circlemud.org

1. Introduction

• 1.1 I've never played a MUD before. What should I do?
• 1.2 I'm new to C and/or coding. What do I do?
• 1.3 I want to build my own mud. Where do I start?
• 1.4 What is CircleMUD?
• 1.5 What is the history of CircleMUD?
• 1.6 Where is the original CircleMUD so I can check it out?
• 1.7 What is UNIX?

2. Resources

• 2.1 Where do I find the source code for CircleMUD?
• 2.2 Where do I find areas, etc. for CircleMUD?
• 2.3 I have questions about CircleMUD. Where should I go?
• 2.4 How do I subscribe/unsubscribe to the Mailing List?
• 2.5 To what platforms has CircleMUD been ported?
• 2.6 How can I submit code or areas for use with CircleMUD?
• 2.7 How do I use a patch file and how can I make one?

3. Compiling CircleMUD

• 3.1 Why do I get many syntax errors with Sun's ``cc'' compiler?
• 3.2 Why do I get all sorts of errors with ``crypt'' functions and header files?
• 3.3 When I try to compile, why do I get a lot of undefined symbols referenced in comm.o for functions like socket, accept, and bind?
• 3.4 Every time I try to compile Circle (or any other piece of software) under Linux, it gives me errors and says it cannot find include header files in the linux/ and asm/ directories. What can I do?
• 3.5 I'm getting compilation errors from a header file, and I didn't even change it?
• 3.6 I'm trying to compile the mud on Windows '95 and am having problems, what can I do?
• 3.7 How can I do a ``grep'' on Windows 95?
• 3.8 While compiling the mud, why do I get errors like ``foo.c:1231: Undefined symbol `_whereamI' referenced from text segment''
• 3.9 What is a parse error and how do I fix it?
• 3.10 I have this piece of code that calls bcopy(), bzero(), and bcmp() and it won't compile, so what can I do?
• 3.11 My compiler doesn't have ``strdup()'', what can I do?
• 3.12 I am having trouble with my ``makefile'', what could be the problem?
• 3.13 How can I handle directories in C?

4. Running CircleMUD

• 4.1 I typed ``autorun'' but then my terminal just froze.
• 4.2 I typed ``bin/circle'' and got lots of boot messages, but then it said ``Entering game loop'' and froze.
• 4.3 Okay, I think the MUD is running but why don't I get a login prompt?
• 4.4 How come I get this error when running my mud: ``Error reading board: No such file or directory''
• 4.5 I just got this SIGPIPE, what is it and what Can I Do About It?
• 4.6 When I run Circle under Linux, it tells me ``gethostbyaddr: connection refused'' when the MUD boots, and then dies. Why?
• 4.7 When I run Circle under Windows 95, it tells me ``Winsock error #10047'' when the MUD boots, and then dies. Why?
• 4.8 When I run Circle under Windows 95, players can't rent---their equipment is just dropped on the ground, syslogs don't work, so what is the problem?
• 4.9 When someone logs on to my Windows 95 MUD, the console screen gives: ``gethostbyaddr: No such file or directory''
• 4.10 My Mud crashed and my connection got closed. What can I do?
• 4.11 Ok, so how do I use ``gdb''?
• 4.12 How can I hunt bugs more effectively?
• 4.13 I just added n levels to my mud (from the stock 34). How do I set my imps up to level n without a pfile wipe?
• 4.14 I decided to wipe my pfile away anyway. What steps should I take to do this?
• 4.15 I want to expand the ability to pk in my MUD, allowing ASSASSINS that'll be able to PK without getting flagged. How can I do this?
• 4.16 Why does it say ``Connection closed by foreign host.'' and not display the ``Byebye!'' message I'm trying to send before cutting someone off?
• 4.17 I run my mud on a unix system and the pfile/rent file works great, but on my home system it's all screwed up. What gives?
• 4.18 How do I get the CircleMUD to autoload when the Linux server is restarted?
• 4.19 My server shuts down my MUD everytime I logoff. How do I keep the MUD running when I logoff?

5. Code Changes for CircleMUD 2.20

• 5.1 How do I fix the bug where people can junk more coins than available?
• 5.2 How do I fix the ``vstat'' bug that crashes the MUD?
• 5.3 How do I fix the ``wizlock'' bug that lets lower immortals lock out higher immortals?
• 5.4 How do I fix the ``mudlog'' bug that lets people see me log in, even if I'm wizinvis?

6. CircleMUD 3.0 Questions

• 6.1 Are there any bugs in patch level 14?
• 6.2 How do I access Online Creation?
• 6.3 How does the new bitvector system work?
• 6.4 When will the production release of Circle 3.0 be?
• 6.5 If someone logs in and just sits at the password prompt, the MUD hangs (i.e., no one else can connect or do anything) until the person enters their password.
• 6.6 Why does CircleMUD use BUF switches all through the code, what's happening here?
• 6.7 How do I add a new class? How do I add more levels?
• 6.8 Is there a complete ``coding.doc''?