VIP Cosmic Rage Experience - Installation Guide

Introduction

Thank you for taking the time to download the VIP Cosmic Rage Experience! This document provides instructions for installing and running the soundpack, as well as references to useful commands built into the pack. It is highly recommended you read the other files in this folder as well to answer any questions you have.

System Requirements

A computer capable of running the latest version of VIPMud 2.0 is a requirement. In addition, the soundpack requires at least 1 GB of RAM and a bit of extra processing power to accommodate the playing of wave files. You should also have a sound card capable of playing multiple simultaneous audio streams. In this day and age, it's highly unlikely anyone would have issues, but best to be certain.

Included in the main soundpack directory is a file called sounds.ini. This file has been optimized to allow VIPmud to play up to 100 sound files at a time. Just copy sounds.ini into your main documents VIP directory and answer yes to the replace file prompt if you would like to take advantage of this feature.

Installation

1. To install this soundpack, first go and obtain it. Several methods have been implemented for downloading the soundpack as well as all future updates.

2. 1.1.1 There is the standard .zip file. The link to obtain this is, Dropbox Link

3. 1.1.2 A shared Dropbox folder has been created as well. If you'd like to be invited to the folder, just let a soundpack developer know in game, and you will be invited as soon as possible.
4. 1.1.3 There is an unofficial Google Drive folder available for downloading the soundpack. The availability is not guaranteed by the main developers of the soundpack. The link is Google Drive Link

Note, the developers of this pack advise the usage of the Nathan Tech VIP Mud Soundpack Installer. It lets you set up and update your soundpacks without dealing with the character dialog. Download it from Nathan Tech

Manual Install

You will need to go and make sure all the information is correct in the connection setup wizard within VIPMud. Several questions have been asked about this, so answers will be provided.

A. Under the Connect menu within VIPMud's menu structure, find the Character Setup/Connect option. Hit enter on that and you'll be dropped into the connection wizard. A few edit boxes and options will present themselves. The NVDA screen reader does not read these edit boxes, so the window text has been captured and is shown below. Fields that are required are marked with asterisks.

• 1. Character Name: This is normally the name you give your character within the MUD. Not filling this out will cause the pack to throw errors. Note: This cannot be "Unnamed" and cannot contain spaces.
• 2. Character Reference: A unique name that VIPMud uses to identify your character. It is usually the same as your character name, or if you use this character in other MUDs, a name closely related. Not filling this out will cause the pack to throw errors. Note: This cannot be "Unnamed" and cannot contain spaces.
• 3. MUD List: This list is compiled from other characters you have created. If you have already entered a character for a MUD, the MUD name will appear here. Select the MUD and press Enter. The MUD related information will automatically be filled in. If there is no reference to the MUD, Tab past this list and enter the MUD information in the following three edit boxes.
• 4. MUD Name: The name the MUD calls itself. For the pack to work correctly, the MUD name must be "Cosmic Rage" and be sure to include the space between Cosmic and Rage or else the pack cannot load correctly.
• 5. Host Name: The address to the MUD. The available addresses to connect to Cosmic Rage are: cosmicrage.earth, cosmicrage.nathantech.net, or an IP address such as 87.106.252.196.
• 6. Port Number: The port number is usually in the form of two to four digits and is usually supplied with the host name. The port for Cosmic Rage is 7777.
• 7. Notes and Descriptions: A text box that is used to enter any information you need to remember regarding your character.
• 8. Password: The password of the character. This information is securely encrypted in VIPMud and cannot be retrieved. If enabled, this information is used to automatically log your character into the MUD.
• 9. Auto Login Checkbox: Check this if you would like your character logged in automatically. It uses the alias "login" from within start.set to perform this function. If this alias doesn't work for a specific MUD, you can make the appropriate changes.
• 10. Keep Variable Values checkbox: When checked, VIPMud will save your original and current variables files when you exit the character. They are automatically loaded the next time you load the character.
• 11. Simple Script Control checkbox: When checked, VIPMud will use the simple scripting file control method. See the "Using Script Files" section of the VIPMud manual for more details on this function.

After you have obtained the soundpack and completed the necessary steps from within VIPMud, select all from within the downloaded folder, then locate your VIPMud directory. Assuming you haven't moved the directory, it will be in your documents directory. The directory name should look something like this: C:\users\insertUsername\Documents\VIPMud. Paste the downloaded folder's content, then either restart VIPMud, or use the #reload command from within the game.

First Run

Upon first run of the pack, you must complete the following steps:

• Copy settings.set that is located in the root directory of the soundpack, then paste this file in Cosmic Rage/misc. Failing to copy this file will load the pack with very odd settings values, including audio volume being all the way at 100 percent.
• Launch VIPMud. You will then need to set up your settings like buffers, volumes, toggles, etc.
• Create a blank text file and name it CosmicRageBufferlist.txt. Not having this bufferlist file in the VIPMud root directory will cause the soundpack to throw errors at you.
• Save your pack's settings with Control-S. Failing to do this will throw endless errors if you try to load the pack once more.

Updating Your Soundpack

To update the soundpack using the Dropbox shared folder, please do the following:

• Hit Alt-V or type SpVersion, the pack will notify you of the last change of the pack and how many changes you're behind.
• Copy any files listed in the changelog, or you can just do a full copy of the folder. Please make sure to back up your character's .set file if you don't want to lose any added alias's or triggers.

Adding Custom Music for Ship Combat

• Find some music.
• Go to the sounds/music/combat folder.
• Rename the files like in the folder to: theme1.wav, theme2.wav, ... theme132.wav
• Enter VIPMud, note the pack should be loaded for this to work properly.
• Type themechange and a number; this will be the max number that the music will end. Like if you have 100 music files in the combat folder, you should type themechange 100.

Note: If you don't want the pack to break, just type numbers here.

Customising Private Networks

If you're connected to more than one private network at a time, the channels may confuse you. Therefore, we have a system that lets you specify the networks you're in and play different sounds.

1. Go to the VIPMUD character manager, and click the Cosmic Rage character (e.g., John Cosmic Rage).
2. Find and click Edit.
3. Check the Save the variables upon logging off checkbox.
4. Click OK.
5. Login to the game.
6. Type pn1 followed by the channel name, like:
7. pn1 animal kingdom - The name should be exact within the game.
8. pn4 ghostbusters

Hope that helps!

Additional Commands

Here are some useful commands built into the pack:

• #play - Plays the specified sound file.
• #pause - Pauses the currently playing sound.
• #stop - Stops all sounds.
• #setvol - Adjusts the volume of the currently playing sound.

Miscellaneous Notes

In some cases, ambience fails to work for some players. This is due to the fact that they have brief mode enabled. To fix this, type brief, then disable hiding of descriptions.

To access the configuration manager, please hit "F-2."

If by chance you find that a sound has gotten stuck, or is not acting as expected, you may use the alias StopSound, or the key Control-F11 to stop all currently playing sounds.

If you hear that gagging is in effect, please hit Control-Slash. This will force VIP to ungag your speech.

To view any of the help files related to this soundpack, you may either use the alias SpHelp, or use the key Alt-Shift-H.

To see the last change that was posted, without opening the changelog, you can either type SpVersion, or use the key Alt-V.

If you have a suggestion you'd like to see added to the pack, this can be done by using the alias SpSuggest. A note about suggestions: If one of the soundpack administrators asks for text from you to make a trigger work, whether it be for gagging the text, adding a sound, etc., and no text has been given to create the suggested trigger after a month's time, the suggestion will be removed as it will be assumed it is no longer desired.

If you have a bug that you need to report, this can be done by using the alias SpBug. Please be as detailed as possible in your bug report. Try to include the error, the command you sent that gave you the error, and any other miscellaneous information. Bugs that contain just an error, or two words, are likely to be deleted as the soundpack administrators need more details to implement a solution.

Error Notice

If you're seeing errors and you have not updated your pack prior to October 10, 2018, you must totally replace the entire Cosmic Rage directory, get rid of Cosmic Rage/misc/settings.set, then resave. This is due to how options are now configured. Failing to do this causes the pack to try to read settings entries that are not in use any longer.

If you have updated and are not seeing errors when toggling options or changing volumes, you've nothing to worry about. This issue only seems to affect a small number of users.

If you have any questions or concerns, please first take a look at the Help Files directory. More than likely your question will be answered in one of those documents. If not, feel free to get ahold of one of the soundpack administrators via an OTR link or over the soundpacks channel in the game. To enable the soundpacks channel, please type spon from within the MUD. To disable the channel, use the command spoff. To establish an OTR link, please type friends send then hit enter. You will then be presented with an edit field. Just type the name of one of the soundpack administrators and hit enter. One of the administrators will accept your link request as soon as possible. If more help is needed with OTR links, please read the help file "Communicating out of character" in Cosmic Rage's help system.

If a soundpack administrator is not around to answer your questions, likely someone is on the soundpacks channel who can. If not, you are more than welcome to send one of them mail on the MUD and that person will get back with you as soon as possible.

Compatibility

This soundpack supports the Nathan Tech VIPMud soundpack installer. Download from: Nathan Tech Software

Legal Stuff and Things

The soundpack administrators are not lawyers, don't know any lawyers, and are entirely unwilling to pay for the services of any legal advice regarding this project. That being said, you should note that the soundpack administrators do not guarantee any level of functionality of this soundpack with your particular situation. The soundpack administrators may not necessarily always be available to answer questions, help you install it, etc. If your computer suddenly decides that it can't handle it, catches fire, melts down, or produces extreme amounts of smoke or radiation that result in your untimely demise, we had nothing to do with it. This soundpack has been tested under Windows 7 and 10, as well as released for private beta use amongst friends. We would not be releasing it as such if we believed that it would not be functional to a level of acceptability. But do keep in mind that the pack is constantly being developed, so check back frequently for updates! In smart and legal terms, we or any other developer of this pack cannot be held liable for any damages caused by using this pack or anything relating to this pack.

A Note from Nate, the Head Admin of Cosmic Rage

Hello!

While it is not said often, please take a moment to think about this soundpack. Over 500, nearly 600 changes at the time of writing this file, stemming back over a year of soundpack development. The road is long, and definitely not smooth. Snapp working his way through like this though has been absolutely astounding. There may be things you dislike about the pack. There may be things you love about the pack. But when you use it, make sure and tip your hat to Snapp in a "thank you," because he's worked dang hard for it. Thanks.

Nate.

Conclusion

Thank you for using the VIP Cosmic Rage Experience! We hope it enhances your game experience. Should you encounter any issues or need further assistance, please reach out to the developers via the provided contact methods.