Note: this is a reproduction of an article that originally appeared on the Infomatique BBS in the 1980s.

It is reproduced with the permission of its author, Eddy Carroll.

Richard

General Information about AMP

AMP stands for Adventure for Multiple Players. It was written by Mike Blandford, on his home-built MC68000-based EMAIL system, and it's open outside business hours during the week, and 24 hours at the weekend. It can support up to eight players at once, four on direct-dial and four on PSS. However, the direct-dial number is a closely guarded secret, and is really only used for maintenance by Mike, or close friends. As a result, you rarely see more than four players playing at any one time.

AMP is set on an island in the middle of an ocean. The whole island is self-contained, and is described in about 400 locations. You can explore both the surface and the caves of the island, but if you are exploring the caves, remember to bring a lamp with you. Unlike other MUD's, fighting in AMP is not continuous - to keep attacking a computer monster or another player, you have to keep typing in the KILL command.

To play AMP, call EIRPAC NUA 023422020010700. More often than not, you will get a message saying "Call cleared - remote directive". This means that there are already four people playing - try again later.

If you are successful, you will get a screenful of text welcoming you to the game. When you are asked for your ID, enter ET2147. Then select option one from the menu, to enter the game. Enter a character name and a password, and you will find yourself at the end of a path, or on a beach. Then type HELP and COMMANDS for more information. One piece of information not mentioned is that you score points by dropping treasure in the Chapel, which is not too far away from the beach.

Unlike most MUD's, AMP has four levels of wizard - Arch-Wizard, Senior Wizard, Wizard and Junior Wizard. Most wizards are of the junior variety, with a few at Wizard level. Only one or two are Senior Wizards. Arch-Wizards are created by Mike, and can control EVERYTHING in the game. They can also appear invisible to even wizards, and usually use the dial-up lines, so be careful!

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Richard A. Bartle (richard@mud.co.uk)
19^th October, 2003.