DragonSpeech - A
New Beginning
•
What Is Dragonspeak?
• The Dragonspeak Editor
• What is a...
(Cause, condition,
etc)
• Basic Codes
• Things to note with DragonSpeak.
• DragonSpeak Tips.
• Links
Most Countries in the world have their own
language, some use multiple languages when it comes to communication, English,
French, Etc...
Think of furcadia as a "Country" and all the different maps as "Cities" [main
maps - e.g Naia Green] & "Towns" [Permanent maps, e.g Zeiferoth] & "Villages"
[Custom Dreams] - Now this "country" would also have its own language.
This language is called "DragonSpeak". In the most basic of forms you
use dragonspeak like saying
"If this happens, then do this." Cause & Effect.
More advantaged codes may be more towards something like
"If this happens, and this condition is true, then in this area, with this
filter, do this."
Cause, Additional Condition, Area, Filter and Effect.
All this language for the "Cities" & "Towns" are
pre-set by the server, the "Villages" dragonspeak is created Customly by the
owner.
This is a very easy language to learn, but patience is the #1 Requirement when
it comes to creating your own "dragonspeak".
#Back
To Top
The Dragonspeak
Editor
Opening the editor
There are a number of
ways to open the dragonspeak editor - here, Three will be covered, via furcadia,
via the DreamEditor, and via the start menu.
1. Opening the dragonspeak
editor through furcadia.
Open the furcadia client as normal and click on the C-Tab on the bottom left
half of the furcadia screen, and click on "Script Editor"
That will open the DragonSpeak Editor automatically on a new file.
2. Opening the dragonspeak
editor through the dream editor.
Open the furcadia client as normal, click on the C-Tab on the bottom left half
of the furcadia screen and click on "Dream Editor"
That will open the Dream Editor program and its onto the next step.
Once the DreamEditor program is open, you will see a screen like this one ->
Click on the menu "DragonSpeak" then "Run DS Editor".
3. Opening the dragonspeak
editor via the Start Menu.
Start Menu -> All
Programs/Programs -> Furcadia -> Furcadia Tools -> Select
"DragonSpeak Editor"
Again, this will open up a new file, Alternatively you can use the same method
for the Dream Editor, which when opening a dragonspeak file from there will open
the file appropreate to that dream.
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
Above is a screenshot of when the DragonSpeak Editor is opened for the very
first time.
-< This setting is the default, Personally i suggest clicking the + button
once to change to Experimenter setting, and do not change this until
you are more comfortable with basic design codes.
On the Beginner Setting, you will only have access to use a limited amount of
"Causes" & "Effects" - This is very useful for the beginning dragonspeak-er
as it is an ideal "stepping stone" before moving up to the next level.
There are 6 difficulty levels to DragonSpeak; these are (in-order):
Beginner (Cause/Effect) "If this happens, then do this."
Experimenter (Areas) "If this happens, then in this area, do this."
Tinkerer (Conditions) "If this happens, and
this condition is true, then in this area, do this"
Advanced (Filters) "If this happens, and this condition is true, then in
this area, with this filter, do this."
Journeyman
(additional codes.)
Expert (Variables)
(variables, arrays and other advantaged codes added)
Beginner, allows you to access Causes, and Effects - I
suggest moving upto the Experimenter setting until you are ready to move
on further.
Experimenter adds new commands to both Cause & Effects, as well as the Areas
tabs - Useful for more "detailed" commands
Tinkerer adds even more new commands, along with making the "Additional
Conditions" tab available to use, giving you chance to set
something "else" to as a condition for a particular effect to occur, such as
"And their name is {...}" for setting the effect to occur for only that
particular furre's name
Advanced Once more, adds new commands to causes & effects, but also equips
the "Filters" tab - this is useful for only allowing codes to happen to
particular objects, floors, etc.
Journeyman adds new commands to Causes, Additional Conditions, Areas &
Effects. These new commands are based mainly around species,
dice-rolls, rectangle/diamond positions and summon/joins. Such commands
are very self-explanatory and are very easily learned.
Expert adds the rest of the commands to all areas, giving you access to
ALL the available commands be warned however, that the variable-codes used here
can be extremely difficult to learn, this setting is a recommend to avoid unless
your up for a challenge.
#Back
To Top
What is a...
Cause:
These are what trigger a block of code in your dream. Stepping on a certain spot
in the map, picking up a pillow, pressing the F3(use) button while holding a
blue key ("using" a blue key) are a few examples of Causes. You need a Cause in
any block of DragonSpeak, and it should be the first line of code in that block.
Additional Condition:
These are what you use to control if/when you want a block of code to execute.
Lets say you have a cause and effect. But what if you only want that cause to
trigger upon certain conditions? Does that triggering furre have shared control,
Are they holding object type # in their paws? where they standing at a certain
position? These are just a few examples of conditions, using conditions helps to
only allow an effect to happen providing that condition is met.
Area: These are what you use to control
where the effect is going to happen. Do you want it to happen everywhere on the
map, only in a certain rectangle, only at a certain position? You use Areas to
define this.
Filter:
Filters are probably the most confusing of the five groups. They are used to
filter down the Area of the Effect. They are sort of like Areas, but they are
far more specific. If your area is set for the whole map, but what if you only
want the effect to be used at certain floor types? Only where places can be
walked? Use Filters to specify this.
Effect: Effects are what you see when you
execute a block of code in your dream. Effects either change the map, play a
sound file, move a furre, or set a timer to go off that will trigger another
effect later on. Like Causes, each block of code needs to have at least one
Effect in it. Unlike Causes, however, a block of code can have as many effects
as you want.
#Back
To Top
Basic
Codes
Some very basic code examples under the 'Experimenter'
setting are showed below.
Arrival Placement - Move the triggering furre to
location (#,#) on the map ; Used for placing any
furre that enters at a location on the map that Differs from location 10,10.
(0:9) When a furre arrives in the dream,
This line [(0:9)] is NOT included in
Experimenter, but is required to move a new arrival to a different location then
the default of 10,10
(5:15) move the triggering furre to (#,#), or to someplace nearby if it's
occupied.
Teleporting - when the triggering furre wonders
into the set-position, they are instantly teleported
to another location on the map, for example if you set the position to 16,16 on
(0:7) and 26,26 for (5:15) Any furre that moves into position
16,16, will instantly be teleported to 26,26 - Be sure to use this code TWICE
however to teleport back again. ;)
(0:7) When somebody moves into position (#,#),
(5:15) move the triggering furre to (#,#), or to someplace nearby if it's
occupied.
Voice Commanding - Set what the speech is and
when triggered the triggering furre is then teleported to the specified
location.
For example if you set the spoken word to "&Entry" - Whenever a furre says
that, they will be teleported to the specified location i.e 20,20.
(0:31) When a furre says {...},
(5:15) move the triggering furre to (#,#), or to someplace nearby if it's
occupied.
Sound Speech - Whenever anyone says anything, a sound is played to anyone who
can see the triggering furre - I'd suggest
sound number - 8 or 9 , Quiet sounds that add that little piece of background
sound whenever a person says something.
Try not to use loud-ish sounds, as they can get annoying ;)
(0:30) When a furre says anything,
(5:11) play sound # to every furre who can see the triggering furre.
Object Changing - Whenever anyone moves into
position (#,#), at another set-position on the map, two object types will switch
with each other
So for example, if the object types were 1 and 2, and the position was 39,52 -
whenever a furre moved into position (#,#) at position 49, 52, if the
object type was 1 it would switch to 2, and if the object type was 2, it would
switch to 1.
(0:7) When somebody moves into position (#,#),
(3:2) at position (#,#) on the map,
(5:6) swap object types # and #.
There are many other codes you can design, the ones above are basic examples of
codes you can use very easily.
#Back
To Top
Things
to Note
* Firstly, many people
have said they do not know what the positions are - Lets Explain Shall We :)
Positions can easily be found on the DreamEditor program, move your mouse
around the squares on the map, while in the Lower-Left
side of the screen you will see Current X & Current Y this is
entered as (X,Y)
So, if your:
Current X = 48
Current Y = 85
Then your position is (48,85).
A screenshot of the lower-left menu is shown below.
The lower-left window however, not only gives you the Current X & Y positions,
it also gives you the Map Width, Map Height and the details on that position -
On the screenshot we can see the position (2,14) - At that position is Object
type 0, and Floor type 161.
* DreamEditor -
** The Map Size Limit for a standard dream is Width 208 & Height 200, You
cannot excede this no matter how many times you try.
* DragonSpeak Editor -
** The dragonspeak line limit is 8000 lines
not including any notes or spaces.
** The line DSPK V03.00 Furcadia or an earlier version is required
and all dragonspeak must be placed below this line.
** On the current V03.00 version, the line *Endtriggers* 8888 *Endtriggers*
Doesn't appear to be a requirement,
However be sure to place this under all dragonspeak
lines.
#Back
To Top
DragonSpeak
Tips
* When moving up to a new
differcult level, take time, and read through all the new codes [the new codes
for that difficulty level appear
in a grey-background.] before attempting to design new codes - this way
you can spot what will and may work, and even develop new ideas
* When your stuck at a point where you don't know a code, don't struggle on,
seek help from the 'DreamChannel'
or a friend,
Quite often, you may come across unfamiliar situations, asking
for that little bit of help can not only increase your own knowledge
it saves you a lot of time when coding dragonspeak.
* Don't try to go too fast while coding, there is a high chance you will
make some-kind of mistake while designing codes by trying to go too fast.
* Sometimes, when your at a lower difficulty level, a quick read of the next
level can help you make new codes you can understand easily but be warned that
you could also find yourself even more confused that way, be curious when
upgrading to the next level when you don't feel ready.
* Don't limit yourself when you feel comfortable at a certain difficulty,
Try moving on when you feel ready. ;)
#Back
To Top
DragonSpeak
Links
Simon Potters Dragonspeak snippets (Basic/Intermediate) -
http://www.angelfire.com/my/furcadia/dsmain.htm
Masons Knowledge Database (Basic) -
http://www.furcadia.com/beekins/masons/knowledgebase/
Furcadia Frequently Asked Dragonspeak Questions Forum (sub-advanced) -
http://forums.furcadia.com/cgi-bin/forums/ikonboard.cgi?s=406f864b4e9effff;act=ST;f=3;t=13830
Sidereal's Dragonspeak Snippets (advanced.) -
http://siderealdreams.tripod.com/furcadia/dragonspeak-scripts/index.html
#Back
To Top
Back Home
http://www.mysticallands.com/tutorials/
This page was created by
mysticsentry, as a tutorial guide to players just beginning to learn about
DragonSpeak,
Furcadia is a multi-user online chat system that has multiple things
to do, even try your hand at dreams and patching
Release The Furre Within - Furcadia!
