Getting Started

Robots in Disguise is set in the IDW continuity (mostly) in the early days of the Decepticon uprising.  Take a look at our various [[::Category:News Files|News Files]] to see our game policy and theme.

## Getting Information

On the game, check out +news for on-game theme-files, +lexicon for various articles on game canon, and +help for code help.

### Channels

Channels are where most of the game conversation happens. To see a list of channels you can turn on, type **@chan/list**. You can turn on channels individually by typing **@chan/on <channel>** or turn all of them on at once with **@chan/all**.

To talk on a channel, use + and a letter or two of the channel name, a la **+p Hi!** to say hello on Public. You only need enough letters to make it unique.

Some important channels to keep in mind for newcomers:

* **Public**: the basic, general chatter channel. Say hi!
* **RP-Scenes**: want to hop in and start playing? Ask here if anyone's interested in a scene!
* **Help**: a channel dedicated to questions and answers. **+h** or +**he** will allow you to talk here.
* **E-CharDev**: if you'd like to talk about apping a character or character development, use this channel.
* **MUSH-Meeting**: sometimes we might invite everyone to sit down and chat about the game, which will use this channel.
* **O-Autobot**, **O-Decepticon**, and **O-Neutral**: these are the faction-specific channels. Any questions or discussions about faction events can go here.

For a full list of channel commands, type **@chan/help,** or click here for a more comprehensive list of channels.

### Bulletin Boards

The **+bboards** are also a very important source of information for ongoing game events, both IC and OOC.  **+bbnew** will scroll through the various unread postings. To see a list of all the bboards you're subscribed to by default, type **+bbread**. To see all the posts on a specific board, type **+bbread <number>**, where **<number>** is the number of the board listed on the very left of the bboard list. To read a specific post, type **+bbread <board number>/<post number>**.

For a full list of bboard commands, type **+bbhelp**.

### Mail

To acclimate yourself with all the different mail commands, take a look at the on-game helpfiles starting with **help mail**. Here are some basics:

To check your mail, just type **mail**. To read the next unread message in your inbox, type **mail new**. To read a specific message, type **mail <#>** where **<#>** is the number of the message in your inbox. See **help mail read** for more information about reading mail.

For a quick, simple way to send a mail, use **mail <user list>=<subject>//<body>**. **<User list>** is the list of players you're sending your message to. These can be separated with spaces, or, if any of the names have a space in them with commas. **<Subject>** is the subject of your message, and **<body>** is the message proper. See **help mail send** for more ways to send mail.

## Flags and Settings

Most players will want to set a keepalive to keep their connection from idling out. Type **@toggle me-keepalive** to set this.

Love color?  Be sure to **@set me=ansi**, **@set me=ansicolor**, **@set me=xtermcolor**, and **@toggle me=extansi** to take advantage of all of the different color options.  If you'd like your character's name to be colorful, an easy way to to do that is to use the global gradient tool. The syntax is as follows:

```
+gradientname <color1>/<color2>
```

Where the <color1> and <color2> are two hexadecimal web-style color codes, like the ones you can calculate on Colorpicker -- it'll set your name with a gradient of those two colors.

However, if you're using SimpleMU, you won't be able to see the full 256 color spectrum on the game, and the gradient tool will not work for you.

## Movement

### Standard

To move around the grid from one room to another adjacent one, simply enter the name or alias of the exit you wish to go through. If you are inside an object, you may also type 'leave' to exit it. To move to the OOC rooms from the IC grid, type "ooc", and to move back to the OOC rooms from the IC grid, type "ic". In both cases, you will be returned to your last location in the IC/OOC area. For example, if you are IC, and you were in the OOC lounge when you last left the OOC area, you will be returned to the lounge upon entering the OOC command.

### Bridge

To teleport to a designated location on the grid, type +bridge to enter the IC nexus. +bridge/list will return a list of available destinations. Not sure how to get to your destination? +help map will show you a map of the IC grid.

### Meet/Join Code

To request to summon another character to your location, type +meet <player name>. To request to join another character at their location, type +join <player name>, and follow the on-screen instructions.

### Home

You can set your home location by typing +home in one of the designated rooms around the grid, such as the Decagon's Troop Quarters or the Skyline Tower. Once this has been set, you may teleport there at any time by typing "home".

## Wiki

Once character staff has approved your character, you may want to create a character page on the wiki. Creating a page is easy, just click the "Add New Character" button on the homepage, and fill out the template with your +finger and background information. If you'd like an image to appear in the infobox, simply upload a picture of the appropriate file type and make sure it has the same name as your character's page. For example, Blurr's picture is named Blurr.jpg.

You may add any content you wish to your own character pages; however, anything deemed inappropriate by staff will be removed. Please do not edit others' pages without their express permission. Repeated abuse of this site may result in temporary or permanent loss of wiki privileges.

Need helping figuring out how to name your character? Check out the Character Name Suggestions page!

### Getting Help

For newcomers to the game, there are a couple different outlets for getting help and asking questions. As mentioned before, the **Help** channel is an open space for questions that anyone on the game can be on. If you'd like to speak privately with a staff member, use **+staff** to see who's online and what responsibilities they have. Please make sure that the staffer is marked **ON-DUTY** before paging.

It's a good idea to check in with your character's fachead if you have any questions about getting involved in things or just to say hi and introduce yourself. Facheads will post regular updates about things happening in the faction and will ask players to send in plot threads their characters are involved with; make sure to mail in any items when asked so that it gets included in the round-ups!