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The WEATHER section of your area allows you to override the default weather and weather effects. If your area has some special weather features or you just want to add doom and gloom to the area via horrid weather, this is the section for you! It is entirely optional and if you don't include a weather section, the mud will supply the default one.
The format of the area is as follows:
#WEATHER <default_weather_state> <weather string for bad weather>~ <weather string for mostly bad weather>~ <weather string for mostly nice weather>~ <weather string for nice weather>~ { <weather_state for low pressure> <weather_state for medium low pressure> <weather_state for medium high pressure> <weather_state for high pressure> <string for change from high to medium high pressure> ~ <string for change from medium high to medium low pressure> ~ <string for change from medium low to low pressure> ~ <string for change from low pressure to medium low pressure> ~ <string for change from medium low to medium high pressure> ~ <string for change from medium high to high pressure> ~ <string for forecast of pressure going higher>~ <string for forecast of pressure going lower>~ } $The <default_weather_state> is the initial state of the weather for your area. You have 4 states of weather:
0 = Bad (raining, lightning, hail)
1 = Mostly bad (raining and drizzle)
2 = Fairly nice (partly cloudy)
3 = Picnic weather! (clear skies)
The following 4 strings are the strings to match these states of weather. For example, the default weather patterns (which is what your area will have if it doesn't have a WEATHER section) are:
lit by flashes of lightning~
rainy~
partly cloudy~
cloudless, clear~
These strings are shown when a player types 'weather' to see what the weather is like. The string is preceded by 'The sky is' in the weather report.
If you decide that you only want 1 weather state for your area
at all times and it should never change, that is all that you need. For
example, a stormy sea area might have a weather section as follows:
#WEATHER 0 roiled by storm clouds and the winds whip the waves high~ $Note, you don't need a period after your phrase.
If however, you want the weather to change, you must fill in the optional section.
The weather on Mirkwood, like in the real world, is governed by high and low pressure zones. High pressure zones mean clear skys while lower pressure zones mean stormy weather. We have simplified things so that there are basically 4 types of pressure:
0 = Low
1 = Medium-low
2 = Medium-high
3 = High
The mud will randomly raise or lower the pressure of the weather pattern. The states of weather should match the pressure (controlled by millimeters of mercury). Thus, you should in general have bad weather in lower pressures and better weather in higher pressures. But it doesn't have to! If you want to create an area that has awful weather most of the time.. you might have 3/4 pressure states be set to be 0 or 1, and the 'high' pressure be fairly nice, but not perfect. A 2 perhaps. It could get worse! A horrible place might have
0
0
1
1
for its possible weather states.
It should be noted that 'call lightning' depends on having bad weather.. (0 or 1).. and control weather raises or lowers the pressure. Thus, for example, you shouldn't reverse the weather patterns.
The section thus continues as follows:
4 numbers indicating the weather state to match the pressure state.
You then fill in the 6 strings that describe the change in weather between the various pressure states... if they're all stormy states, the changes can be interesting strings. If the pressure states correspond to various weather states, then they should match.
For example, the default weather has the following 4 weather states
and 6 strings to match the changes:
0 1 2 3 The sky is getting cloudy. It starts to drizzle and rain. Lightning flashes in the sky and thunder rolls toward you. The lightning stops and the thunder grows distant. The rain stops and the clouds start to break up. The clouds roll away leaving a gorgeous sky.Finally, the weather() command online can give a hint as to whether the weather is getting better or worse. This corresponds to whether the pressure is going up or down, respectively.
The default weather pattern uses the following:
a warm southerly breeze blows~
a cold northern gust blows~
---- EXAMPLES -----
The default might look like this:
#WEATHER 0 lit by flashes of lightning~ rainy~ partly cloudy~ cloudless, clear~ 0 1 2 3 The sky is getting cloudy. It starts to drizzle and rain. Lightning flashes in the sky and thunder rolls toward you. The lightning stops and the thunder grows distant. The rain stops and the clouds start to break up. The clouds roll away leaving a gorgeous sky. a warm southerly breeze blows~ a cold northern gust blows~ $A place with bad weather might still have several strings:
#WEATHER 0 lit by flashes of lightning~ thundery and stormy~ is pouring out hail~ is turbulent but not raining~ 0 0 0 1 The thunder rips through the sky and the rain pours down again! The great sheets of rain drench you and make you miserable. The rain is horrible, the hail is worse! Buckets of rain pour down. The wind whips the rain till it soaks you to the skin. The rain lets up to a drizzle.. but for how long? the winds lessen just a bit~ thunder claps edge closer and closer~ $And of course, an area where the weather doesn't change:
#WEATHER 0 roiled by storm clouds and the winds whip the waves high~ $