Blueprints

Tired of living in crowded apartment buildings? Need a place for your new corp to hang out, but don't want to get a Jack Schitt place? Have a really cool idea for an area that could be added to the game? If you answered yes to any of those questions, you might want to check out blueprint construction.

Blueprints are a way for players to construct custom buildings and areas which can be put into the game world by a wizard, for a (usually pretty hefty) fee.

Getting Started

In order to get started with blueprints you will need the following:

An Alkatek DNI implant installed

You can buy DNIs at Enhancement Clinic in Corpclave, and have them installed at Injection Junction in Freedom City.

A Cyberdeck

Cyberdecks can be purchased at Circuit Shiti, in Freedom City. Any will do.

An internet connection

You can use one of the several public access points found in Freedom City or Slagtown, or buy your own access station and install it in your apartment. Note that only apartments in the greater Freedom City area can have internet connections. If you live in Lurleen, Necropolis, or Vault 4, you will have to find somewhere else. Be careful using public access points - jacking in to the internet causes you to pass out.

Once you are on the internet, follow the links to the architect node of the FC construction area. This is where you will find the basic blueprints that you can edit. If you are reading this, you probably want to use an FC Construction Blueprint, so go ahead and type 'new FC', then 'recall FC' to create your new bueprint. Once that's done, type 'edit blueprint' to jump in.

A brand new blueprint will have one unnamed outdoor room and nothing else. You'll have to build your area from the ground up. Keep in mind that the room you start in will be the room you walk into when you first enter the area after it has been constructed, so make sure to leave at least one cardinal direction unconnected from there. Building your area is deceptively simple, and at the same time amazingly flexible. Below is a list of commands used in blueprints and their functions.

Costs

There's one other very big factor to keep in mind when building blueprints - price. Depending on how large you go with your blueprint, and how many advanced features you need, the cost can add up very quickly. Currently the costs are not known.

Type	Cost	Note
Base blueprint	?
Basic room	?
Nanotube door	?	This is per-side, so if you want nanotube on both sides of a door, it will be double the cost.
Clone tank	?	You'll also need to dig a room below the room you want the clone tank in, for an additional $5,000
Power generator	?	This allows you to plug things in.

You can also have other special things done with your area, most of these will cost extra money as well. If you have an idea of what you want, but can't do it in the blueprint, contact an admin to negotiate a price.

Size

Your area cannot be limitless in size, even if you are willing to invest a great deal of money. It is only allowed to be a certain number of rooms in size. Contact an admin to get an idea of how big your place is allowed to be.

Blueprint Commands

There are a range of commands that can be used to create your blueprint, see the below list.

Command	Arguments	Function
commit		This will save your changes and exit the blueprint.
addnote	(name)	Probably the first thing you will want to do is change the name of your blueprint. The name you choose will also be the area name.
bpdesc	(description)	Sets a description for your blueprint. This describes only the 'item' within the matrix, and has no bearing on the completed area.
areaicon		Sets the background ascii of the blueprint. More info on this and 'mapicon' can be found below.
mapicon		Sets the ascii icon to be displayed on the map for the current room. More info on this and 'areaicon' can be found below.
reset		Compiles the area. Doing this will allow you to see changes made to the map.
rooms		Lists all existing rooms and their room numbers.
dig	(direction) to (room name/existing room#)	Digs a new room in the direction you specify. You can dig in any compass direction. You can also dig to an existing room number (ie, dig north to 10) to connect one room to another. Note that two rooms can exist in the same location if you don't dig to an existing room number, which can cause massive confusion when attempting to navigate the area.
bury	(direction)	Deletes the room and exit in the direction you specified.
bury exit	(direction)	deletes the exit but not the room in the direction you specified. You can use this to fix any infinite loops you create by linking a room to itself, or worse, the first room to itself.
focus	(here/exit)	Focuses on the room or on one of the exits to the room.
rename	(new alias)	Sets the alias(es) for the room or exit you are focused on. Note that this behaves differently for rooms and exits. A single alias should be set for a room, while an exit will require a list of aliases, separated with commas. The first alias will be the name of the exit, the second should be the compass direction the room is connected to, then any other aliases you want to be able to use for the exit (for example, shortened directions such as 'n', 'e', etc, or 'in' and 'out'). As an example, if you have a bedroom connected north from the room you are in, and you want the exit to be listed as 'bedroom', you would 'focus north', then 'rename bedroom,north,n'.
type		Lists the possible room types or exit types for the room or exit you are focused on, and displays which type is currently set.
type	(#)	Sets the room type or exit type of the room or exit you are focused on. Room types effect several factors, including the preset messages, preset mapicons, whether the room is indoor or outdoor, and additional functions for some rooms (showers, freezers, water, etc). Exit types determine what kind of door, if any, will be set in the exit. Note that you will have to set a door type on both sides of the exit.
otype		Lists the types for the other side of the exit you are focusing on.
otype	(#)	Set the type of the other side of the exit you are focusing on.
describe	(description)	Describes whatever you're focused on. If you are focused on the current room, this will set the description that shows when you are standing in the room. If you are focused on an exit, it will set the description that shows when you 'look' at the exit.
messages		Lists the current messages for the room or exit you are focused on.
messages	(message name) (message text)	Sets one of the messages for the room or exit you are focused on. When writing custom messages, remember to use the correct pronoun codes. Type 'help pronouns' in-game for a list of these codes.
warp	(room #)	warps you to the room number specified, i.e. 'warp 1' will warp you to the room you enter the blueprint in.
rooms		Lists all of the rooms in the blueprint and their numbers for use with the 'warp' or 'dig' commands

Creating Your Map

When constructing your area, you will probably want your map to be readable, interesting to look at, and in fitting with the rest of the game world. To achieve this, you can use the 'areaicon' and 'mapicon' commands. These changes will not be immediately visible. You can use the 'map' command to see them right away, or the 'reset' command to compile your blueprint and make the changes visible on the minimap display. Mapicon is the icon for that square in the map, areaicon is the icon to be repeated in the background of your area. Icons must be two characters long, and some characters cannot be used. When setting icons, a number of special settings can be added to further customize your icon by adding colors and effects to it. Below is a list of these settings.

Argument	Function
[bold_on] [bold_off]	Bolds a color, making it brighter. Some colors otherwise unavailable can be used by bolding other colors (for example, bold black is grey, bold purple is pink)
[underline_on] [underline_off]	Underlines the characters
[strikethrough_on] [strikethrough_off]	Puts a strike through the characters
[color]	Changes the color of the characters following the tag. Valid colors are: black, white, red, blue, yellow, green, purple, cyan. Replace the word "color" with the name of the color.
[bg_color]	Changes the background color of the icon. Replace the word "color" with the name of the color.

For quick in-game access to a list of these settings, type "mapicon help"

An example of the command is "mapicon [black][bg_cyan]OD"

Having a Friend Help

Maybe you are constructing a gigantic area, or maybe you just want guidance from a pal, or want to show your work off to a buddy. If you want to allow someone else into your blueprint, you'll need to authorize them.

Do this by using the authorize command ('authorize name'). Be careful who you let in - anyone with access to your blueprint can edit anything about it. Letting in everyone and their mother to see could lead to some vandalized rooms. If you're having someone help you build, make sure you both know what you are making and keep in communication by chatting on the internet (inter text). If someone is causing trouble in your blueprint, or if you just want to remove them from the access list to be sure, you can use the deauthorize command.

Additionally, authorize everyone will allow anyone in the game to edit your blueprint, and deauthorize everyone will disable this.

Tips

Remember when constructing your area that you only get one chance at it. Once it's built, you might be able to convince a wizard to change some minor details for you, and you can set your own room descriptions again later, but everything else you're pretty much stuck with once you submit your blueprint. If you want your area to shine, you'll need to spend a good amount of time on it. Think about how you want it set up, what rooms you need, what rooms you can install later via room kit, etc. It's probably a good idea to map out the area on paper before starting. Going in blindly will lead to poor quality. And don't forget to set custom messages, partially to avoid nonsensical messages (such as 'Kennon heads freezer', or 'You head inside' when diving underwater), and partially to make sure that your new area is uniquely yours.

Summary:

• Blueprints allow regular players to create their own unique areas.
• You need an internet connection to build blueprints.
• Pay careful attention and spend a lot of time crafting and honing your area.
• Be ready to pay the price of what you built.
• Make sure not to build an area that is bigger than allowed.