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--- aliases [2024/03/17 20:49] – Credsticks reimplemented bloodninja
+++ aliases [2024/05/21 15:57] (current) – external edit 127.0.0.1
@@ Line 1: / Line 1: @@
+====== Aliases ======
+In the MUD implementation, an ''ALIAS'' is a string containing a sequence of commands which are executed as a batch when the alias is executed. It is private to the character on which it is defined. There are two steps to using aliases:
+  - //declare// the alias using ''ALIAS yourword instruction1 arg1 arg2; instruction2 arg3'' etc.;
+  - //invoke// the alias using ''yourword''
+For //some// instructions, you can supply an argument (here "rat") to a parameter (here ''$1''). For example:
+<code>
+alias q shoot $1
+q rat
+</code>
+will cause your character to shoot a rat in your present Room. For //other// instructions, this doesn't work. For example:
+<code>
+alias q kill $1
+q rat
+</code>
+will fail because ''kill'' requires an argument consisting of at least four characters to unambiguously identify its target, and ''$1'' is (naïvely) too short to qualify. FIXME
+You can redefine aliases in-situ:
+<code>
+alias test echo yawns
+alias test echo roars
+test
+> FirstLast roars.
+</code>
+If the incoming alias definition fails validation, the original alias //is still deleted// but the new alias is not stored. FIXME
+You can list aliases by executing ''ALIAS'' in isolation. You can delete an alias by supplying its name to alias, //with nothing --- not even a space --- after it//: ''ALIAS TEST''.
+===== Buffing =====
+Many characters have a list of ongoing effects they would like to keep active while playing, however these effects are often terminated when logging out, when picked up by DocWagon, when a ''copyover'' takes place, etc.
+  * Hydraulic Jacks;
+  * Pain Editor;
+  * Levitate spell;
+  * [[adeptpowers|Adept Powers]];
+  * Astral Perception;
+  * Ritual casting a bunch of spells;
+  * Power focus;
+  * slotting a Skillsoft into a Chipjack;
+  * etc.
+A quick way to get back up to speed is to bundle them together into an alias that is uniquely tailored to your character. An example might be:
+<code>
+alias buff jack Negotiation; activate Quintessence; activate Pain Editor; spool 6 0 0; cast Levitate self; spool 0 0 6; cpool 0 10 0
+</code>
+You will need to build your own recipe specific to the weapons / augmentations / powers / spells your character has collected.
+Then you can type ''buff'' to quickly restore a known state. (If DocWagon doesn't bring your equipment, you might not //have// all the items referred to in your alias and get some errors. The fact that implanted augmentations always come with you is a significant advantage here.)
+===== Communication =====
+When someone sends you in-game mail, your Pocket Secretary beeps. If you're currently engaged in a private-message conversation (with ''tell'') then incoming messages will bounce an error back to the sender if they transit while you're pocsecing. Avoiding that can mean you don't get to read your new mail until the conversation concludes. This alias rapidly displays your most recently received message, narrowing the window you're unavailable for incoming tells:
+<code>
+alias pocsec use poc; 1; r; 1; ; b; b
+</code>
+Likewise you can rapidly send a one-liner with this alias:
+<code>
+alias pocsend use poc; 1; s; $1;Hi $*;;@; b; b
+</code>
+used by typing the recipient followed by the entire message on one line:
+<code>
+pocsend FirstLast it was great running missions with you today - thanks!
+</code>
+Test it by //pocsend//ing your own character a test message.
+If you use a pocsec for an extended period, you can type ''history OOC'', ''history newbie'', etc. to check what you missed.
+===== Navigation =====
+==== Closed doors ====
+Doors close periodically. You might open a door, complete an objective, and on the return journey find the door has closed and blocked your path. Although you can type ''N'', ''E'', ''S'', ''W'', etc. to move, you //cannot// type ''OPEN N'' to open a door in that direction due to a bug in the interpreter first trying to match an item in your inventory before considering Exits from the Room (//You can't open a Docwagon Modulator//, etc.) FIXME Therefore this block of aliases are short and easy to type when approaching a closed Exit:
+<code>
+alias nn  unlock north; open north; north
+alias ss  unlock south; open south; south
+alias ee  unlock east; open east; east
+alias ww  unlock west; open west; west
+alias nne unlock northeast; open northeast; northeast
+alias sse unlock southeast; open southeast; southeast
+alias ssw unlock southwest; open southwest; southwest
+alias nnw unlock northwest; open northwest; northwest
+alias uu  unlock up; open up; up
+alias dd  unlock down; open down; down
+</code>
+Exits are reported in clockwise order starting with North. Some Exits are hidden until you ''SEARCH''. If you fail to unlock a locked door, you bump into it. If you cannot unlock an //already unlocked// door, you get an error for that step and move unimpeded.
+Lifts start at Ground floor and go up to first storey, second storey etc. or down to Basement 1, 2, etc. Some Room descriptions are desynchronised from which storey they are actually located on. Pushing buttons quickly gets tedious so:
+<code>
+alias pb push button
+alias lp look panel
+</code>
+==== Vehicles ====
+When you ''ENTER'' a vehicle, it unlocks. You can write an Alias which locks it again.
+<code>
+alias truck enter my.truck; lock
+</code>
+When you finish using the Autonav to a GridGuide destination, you are not driving, so you can leave easily. But if you have been manually driving (eg to enter a (Garage)) you are instead told that you can't safely leave a moving vehicle. In theory, ''STOP'' should stop your vehicle. In practice, this does the job:
+<code>
+alias ll wake; speed idle; lock; sheathe; leave; exits
+</code>
+This covers characters who sleep in their cars and ensures you don't step out of your vehicle directly into aggressing Lone Star by having a weapon wielded.
+If you want to be able to Autonav directly to [[gridguidelist|GridGuide coordinates]]:
+<code>
+alias gridref grid add temp $*; grid temp; grid del temp
+</code>
+Then you can execute ''gridref lat,long'' directly (eg ''gridref -121172, 60686'').
+==== Checkpoints ====
+Some checkpoints require you to show a visa object before you can proceed:
+<code>
+alias visa get visa backpack; show visa guard; put visa backpack; exits
+</code>
+===== Health recovery =====
+==== Medical Shop ====
+When you wake in Seattle DocWagon at low health, you can try to First Aid yourself up; you may be able to cast Healing spells on yourself. You can also run to Splat! and use their Medical Shop which is better than your Medical //Kit//:
+<code>
+alias medlab holster; s; e; s; w; n; n; w; w; w; w; n; n; n; w; s; treat self
+</code>
+Once you explore / get rescued further afield, you won't have such convenient access to a Medical Shop and if DocWagon didn't manage to bring your stuff, you may even not have your Med Kit. An alias can't help you with that.
+===== Interaction =====
+==== Mission running ====
+<code>
+alias y say yes
+alias no say no
+alias done say done
+alias jcycle job; yes; endrun
+</code>
+If you're an adept:
+<code>
+alias done activate Kinesics; say Done; deactivate Kinesics
+</code>
+You may need to ''DEACTIVATE'' something or ''POWERDOWN'' entirely if you don't have enough headroom to fit Kinesics in.
+==== Trade ====
+If you find yourself frequently considering and comparing a sequence of items in a shop, you can streamline this:
+<code>
+alias ip info #$1; probe #$1
+</code>
+and then type ''ip 1'', ''ip 2'', etc.
+Certain commands are less obvious to remember than they could be:
+<code>
+alias bribe availoffset $1
+</code>
+and it's easy to accidentally forget that availoffset has been left in an extravagant state, causing all your future purchases to spend more than necessary until you think of turning availoffset on next only to find out it has been on all along. To avoid this:
+<code>
+alias hardbuy activate Kinesics; jack Negotiation; availoffset 5; buy #$1; availoffset 0; unjack 1; deactivate Kinesics
+</code>
+and then type ''hardbuy 5'', ''hardbuy 11'', etc. before continuing with your day, confident that availoffset is back to zero.
+You can see which pieces of gear need to be repaired:
+<code>
+alias dmg equip damaged
+</code>
+==== Inventory management ====
+You will inevitably loot large quantities of completely worthless garbage in your efforts to //not miss// looting something worthwhile but at some point having an inventory full of garbage blocks you from looting anything else. At this point, an alias can be defined (and continuously refined) to purge all the chaff:
+<code>
+alias gg get all all.corpse
+alias jj junk all.sweeper; junk all.green; junk all.davis; junk all.marten; junk all.suspender; junk all.iron; junk all.humanis
+</code>
+//etc. et al. ad nauseam.//
+If you have something in your bags that matches such a keyword that you don't want junked, ''KEEP'' it first to protect it.
+You may find that certain items consist of a worthless heavy component and a valuable light component that's worth caching and selling. An alias can assist such a routine:
+<code>
+alias smart detach smartlink 1.predator; put smartlink backpack; junk 1.predator
+</code>
+===== Pools =====
+You will need to adjust these aliases based on the size of your own pools as they grow.
+==== Combat Pool ====
+The Combat Pool array is remembered and reinstated based on whether you're wielding something. This can be surprising to encounter while reading back through the scrollspam from the DocWagon recovery room. But consider this scenario:
+  - prepare to do battle with your sword out;
+  - set CPool to 0 0 6 (all assigned to offence to try to win each contest);
+  - sheathe your sword (and not notice your CPool resetting, since you're now Unarmed and don't have 6 ranks in Unarmed Combat);
+  - wander around doing a bunch of unrelated stuff in safe areas where having your sword out would cause a Lone Star Pile On;
+  - at some point, recognise you're approaching a gauntlet / chokepoint / killzone;
+  - assign CPool to 0 6 0 (all assigned to staging down incoming damage) for survivability;
+  - walk into the Room;
+  - an NPC aggresses, so you draw your ready sword (and not notice your CPool resetting to 0 0 6 which is what it was when you last had your sword out);
+  - fail to Stage Down incoming ballistics and wake up in DocWagon;
+CPool being adjusted automatically to adhere to the rules //is a good thing// but to help protect my cerebral wetware from surprises, I use aliases like these to equip my [m]êlée, [r]anged, or [gh] to loot everything and holster everything:
+<code>
+alias mm holster; draw pole; cpool 0 4 6; stand; activate Counterstrike
+alias rr sheathe; draw rifle; cpool 4 0 6; mode bf; reload; pockets
+alias gh cpool 0 10 0; holster; cpool 0 10 0; get all all.corpse; look; scan
+</code>
+In the above lines, ''draw pole'' finds an equipped ''polearm strap'' with a weapon inside it, and puts that weapon in your hands. If your weapon is in something else (like a boot knife sheath) you'll need to put the name of that container here. If you are not a Physical Adept, omit the Counterstrike power.
+Likewise, ''draw rifle'' finds an equipped ''rifle strap'' with a weapon inside it, and puts that weapon in your hands. If your weapon is in something else (like a concealed shoulder holster) you'll need to put the name of that container here. Sometimes weapons can forget their firing mode, or maybe last time you used it you went ''PRONE'' with a tripod and forgot you left it on FA-10, so the alias ensures next time you draw it, it's in an expected firing mode.
+''gh'' here sets CPool to defence, twice: once with a weapon out, and once with no weapon out. That way when you walk into an ambush, you're Staging Down already, and when you automatically draw in response, you're //still// Staging Down.
+As a [[houserules|houserule]], the MUD implementation disallows Dodge while prone. Therefore to avoid inadvertently wasting CPool on Dodge, you could define an alias:
+<code>
+alias prone cpool 0 6 4; prone
+</code>
+==== Astral Projection ====
+When you first Astrally Project, your Spell Pool is inherited and your Astral Combat Pool is recalculated. Your priorities while Projecting will likely be different from when on the Physical plane (since Drain causes Physical, not Stun, damage; and since there are no ranged attacks to Dodge) therefore you may prefer a specific pool distribution while Projecting. These aliases set you up for resilience and reorientation.
+<code>
+alias pj time; project; cpool 0 12 0; spool 0 0 12; pools
+alias rt return; stand; status; penalt; exits
+</code>
+Begin projecting with ''pj''; return with ''rt''.
+Remember to include ''@Z'' in your ''PROMPT'' to keep track of your Essence depleting over time. ''TIME'' helps you see how much time has elapsed.
+===== Matrix =====
+==== Jacking in ====
+When you jack in, you want a carefully curated set of Utilities ''LOAD''ed from your Deck's storage memory to your Icon's active memory without loading (so many) (unnecessary) Utilities that you have inadequate capacity for the essentials. Entry-level Cyberdecks have enough active memory to load most Utilities you'll need so can lean on the ''DEFAULT'' command (''HELP DEFAULT'').
+As rating rises, [[houserules#decking|Utility MP rises faster than Deck memory does]], so there comes a point where you might want to load specific ratings of specific Utilities for specific runs -- without wanting to work that out and type it in every time:
+<code>
+alias jackin connect; load armour; load browse; load sleaze; load read; load analyze; load deception; load decrypt; load attack
+</code>
+Substitute the generic names above for the specific brand names you've chosen.
+==== Jacking out ====
+When you jack out, you first want to attempt to gracefully log off and erase your trail so you can't be traced. If sentry software blocks your escape, you can forcibly disconnect anyway and wake up to a nosebleed.
+<code>
+alias jackout logoff; disconnect; stand; exits
+</code>
+==== Cybercombat ====
+Most Matrix commands like ''LOCATE'', ''DECRYPT'', ''DOWNLOAD'', //et al.// automatically run what needs to be run to get the job done. But //not the Attack Utility!// It's //special!//
+<code>
+alias atk run attack $*
+</code>
+then you can ''atk IC'' just like you ''locate IC''.
+==== Convenience ====
+While the Decrypt Utility provides the ''DECRYPT'' command, the Defuse Utility provides the ''DISARM'' command:
+<code>
+alias defuse disarm $*
+</code>
+If you're used to the standard spelling of analyse, an alias like this can perform the exotic regional dialect localisation for you:
+<code>
+alias tally analyze security
+</code>
+===== Masking =====
+During a PRun, you may find you accidentally keep typing ''OOC'' by force of habit when you mean to type ''OSAY'' which is unfamiliar.
+<code>
+alias ooc osay $*
+</code>
+temporarily masks typing ''ooc'' to cause the same effect as if you'd typed ''osay''.
+You might be used to other environments using ''/me reads the newspaper'' -type syntax to emote.
+<code>
+alias me em $*
+</code>
+You may find that you keep on losing your Cyberdeck Utilities and then spot them drifting loose through Matrix hosts unexpectedly. This is because ''LOAD'' "uploads" a utility to your //Icon// but ''__UP__LOAD'' "uploads" a file to your //Host//. So if you naïvely ''UPLOAD ATTACK'' to re-arm yourself when a tarpit has crashed your Matrix weapon, what you're inadvertently doing is throwing it away into cyberspace.
+<code>
+alias uploadfile upload $*
+alias upload load $*
+</code>
+With these aliases in place:
+  * you can use either "load" or "upload" to send content to your Icon;
+  * if you //do// need to intentionally //upload// a file to the host, you can use ''uploadfile'';
+  * you can restore access to normal ''upload'' after deleting the alias with ''ALIAS UPLOAD''

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