This document details in step-by-step instructions the installation process for the Nightmare V Object Library. In addition to the information provided here and in other Nightmare documentation, please also look to the MudOS Home Page for compiling information on UNIX installs.

Download the Source

MudOS runs on most UNIX platforms and the Windows NT/95 environments. Your first task is to download the proper Nightmare release for your platform:

UNIX
The current UNIX package contains Nightmare IVr3 with MudOS v22b13. Follow the UNIX install instructions.
Windows NT/Windows 95
The current Windows package contains Nightmare IVr2.5 with MudOS v22b13. Follow the Windows install instructions.

Nightmare is not available separately from the driver.

UNIX Installation

 The UNIX installation process consists of the following steps:
  1. Check Out the Contents
  2. Running Configure
  3. Running the mud
  4. Logging in for the first time

Step 1: Check Out the Contents

Agreement.Nightmare
The Nightmare Object Library is not public domain software. George Reese holds a copyright on it. Most software vendors require you to pay a fee in order for you to be able to use their software (no vendors ever allow you to buy their software). In order to use Nightmare, however, you must use it in accordance with this user agreement. You may choose to agree to its terms and use Nightmare. Or you may decide that you cannot agree to the terms, in which case you cannot use Nightmare.
Copyright.MudOS
Just as Nightmare is not public domain, neither is MudOS. You must agree to the terms of the MudOS license if you intend to use it.
Configure
This is a Perl 5 script that compiles your MudOS driver and installs your mudlib.
Install.txt
For those so stubborn that they did not take the hint from README.txt and instead try installing the mudlib directly. It also contains specific information relating to the release of Nightmare you downloaded.
README.txt
This file should basically point you here. Read it before you do anything else. It will contain the latest information on your new Nightmare package.
lib.tar
Do not touch this file until after you have installed your Nightmare mudlib. At that point, you can delete it. It contains the mudlib and it is used by the Configure script.
server/
Do not touch this directory until after you have installed your Nightmare mudlib. At that point, you may delete the directory. This directory contains the source code to MudOS and it is used by the Configure script to create a driver executable for your flavour of UNIX.
src/
Special files you will need if you ever choose at a later date to upgrade your driver. None of them are really important except for local_options. The local_options file is extremely important. You should keep a copy safe somewhere. One day you will want to upgrade to a newer version of MudOS and the MudOS upgrade requires this file. See the upgrade document for details on how to perform an upgrade.
tools/
This directory contains little "extras" which are not relevant to actually running a Nightmare mud. Read the documentation inside this directory for more information on its contents.

Step 2: Running Configure

Before you run Configure, you need to know which version is installed on your machine. Do this by issuing the command 

perl -v
If your perl version is less than 5, then you need to upgrade it to perl 5. You can obtain the perl 5 source from ftp://prep.ai.mit.edu/pub/gnu.

Once you know you have perl 5, you need to check to see that Configure is pointing to its location. In the package you received, line 1 of Configure looks like: 

#!/usr/local/bin/perl
You should type: 
whereis perl
to see where perl is actually located on your system (note that "where" also shows you where the perl man pages are). If it is not in "/usr/local/bin", edit Configure so that line 1 points to the location of perl on your system. If you fail to do this, you will see the error message: 
Command not found.
or some variation thereof when you run Configure.

You now need to find out whether your system uses GNU make or regular UNIX make. GNU make on most systems will be called "gmake". Type: 

gmake -v
to see if you have GNU make. If you get an error saying the command was not found, try: 
make -v
If you have a "gmake" command, then you are all set. If you have no "gmake" command, then you need to make one more edit to the Configure script. Find the line that says: 
$MAKE="gmake";
and change it to read: 
$MAKE="make";

Finally, when you run Configure, it will ask you a few questions. You should know the answers to these questions ahead of time:

What is the name of your MUD?
This should have proper capitalization, spacing, and punctuation. In other words, enter your MUD's name as you want it to appear to the rest of the world.
In which directory should your LPC library be placed?
Give the name of some directory on your machine. Configure will unarchive the Nightmare V Object Library in that directory. Configure will try to create this directory if it does not exist. Do not use the archive directory as the install directory. The Configure script attempts to copy lib.tar to your install directory. If the install directory is the directory in which Configure is found, Configure will fail since you cannot copy a file over itself.
In which directory should the MudOS executables be placed?
Once done with compiling the driver, Configure has to stick the driver somewhere. What you answer to this question is where it sticks them. Configure will create this directory if it does not exist.

Now, issue the command "./Configure".

The Configure script will first ask you if you want to look at the licensing agreements for MudOS and Nightmare. After that, it will ask you the questions given above. Once you have answered those questions, Configure will go off and compile MudOS. This will take a very, very long time. There may be times when it appears to be frozen (like, while compiling interpret.c). It is not frozen. Just let it be.

If, for some reason the driver fails to compile, mail mudos-bugs@imaginary.com the full text of your compile. Also, state what operating system you are using. Please do not mail me. Compile problems have nothing to do with the Nightmare Object Library but are instead compatibility issues between MudOS and your flavour of UNIX.

After the driver is compiled, Configure installs your library and exits. Its final message tells you how to start the driver and login.

Step 3: Running the mud

To run the mud, cd to the directory in which you told Configure to place the MudOS binaries. To run the driver, issue the command 

./startmudos &

You may end up seeing some stuff that may strike you as bad, but ignore it. All that matters is that after a moment or two you see text saying the driver is now accepting connections at port 4000.

Step 4: Loging in for the first time

The first person to login to your mud is automatically its admin. It is therefore in your best interest to login right away. Telnet to port 4000 of your machine and create a character. After creating the character, you will be disconnected. You then login again, this time seeing the normal login process. Your mud is installed! All systems are running and your mud is connected to the Intermud 3 network.

Windows Installation

 The Windows installation process consists of the following steps:
  1. Unzip the package
  2. Click the setup icon
  3. Answer the questions
  4. Run Nightmare for MudOS
  5. Login for the first time

Step 1: Unzip the package

You need a 32-bit unzip package that uses the PKZIP file format. The most popular program is WinZip. Check out Windows95.com if you do not have this utility. You will find it vry useful beyond installing Nightmare. Once you do this, use WinZip to unzip Nightmare into a temporary directory.

Step 2: Click the setup icon

Click on the setup icon located in the directory into which you unzipped the Nightmare package.

Step 3: Answer the questions

The Nightmare installation process will ask you the following questions:

What is the name of your MUD?
This should have proper capitalization, spacing, and punctuation. In other words, enter your MUD's name as you want it to appear to the rest of the world.
In which directory should the package be placed?
Give the name of some directory on your machine. It defaults to "C:\Program Files\MudOS".
What should the telnet port be?
This is the port to which players telnet in order to access the mud. This number is traditionally between 2000 and 9999, though it can go as high as 64000 and change. You can change this later using the MudOS configuration wizard that is part of the Win32 release.

Step 4: Run Nightmare for MudOS

From the Start menu, you will find the Nightmare for MudOS icon on the Programs menu. Click it to start MudOS.

Special note to user of Windows NT 3.51 and earlier: The Nightmare for MudOS icon appears inside a Nightmare for MudOS program group.

Step 5: Login for the first time

The first person to login to your mud is automatically its admin. It is therefore in your best interest to login right away. Telnet to port 4000 of your machine and create a character. After creating the character, you will be disconnected. You then login again, this time seeing the normal login process. Your mud is installed! All systems are running and your mud is connected to the Intermud 3 network.