The Void

Some of you are already aware that we were experiencing an issue with player file corruption. This seemed to be related to how the MUD handles idle player characters.

Originally MERC based MUDs would send idle players to the Void if they were idle for more than a few minutes. If you returned to play within a certain period of time, you would return from the Void and reenter the game in the room from which you had vanished. This was a good safety mechanism particularly if you were in an area filled with aggressive monsters.

If you did not return to play after a certain amount of time the game would force you to quit. The issue with this is that (presumably) a small bit of code left over from the days of needing to "Rent" at a Inn to prevent loss of your equipment would result in your player character losing their equipment in the Void. After the MUD rebooted, the equipment would be lost permanently.

Now, to prevent your pfile from being corrupted should you become disconnected while the game assumed you were idle, you will go into the Void once more. However, you will no longer be forced to quit once there.

To avoid the Void, you may use a MUD client with action response support, such as tintin++ or Wintin.NET, which will respond to in-game timed mechanics and allow you to avoid entering the Void as a result - or you could also set up a response in the event that you end up in the Void to bring you back out immediately. I believe this will also help prevent potential player file corruption issues.

If you notice that the MUD crashes or freezes when you try to sign in with your character, your player file may have been corrupted. Contact Yaddoshi by e-mail at your earliest convenience to have your player file restored. Typically a full restore is possible because your playerfile is usually still readable.