Build 1.25
CoffeeMud 1.25 (or CoffeeMud 2.5) if you prefer, completed the expansion of the CoffeeMud system into something worthy of her Diku/Merc-based peers that had begun with CoffeeMud 2.0. Not only was she content-ready, but dozens of new Behaviors, Properties, Skills, and Spells had accompanied the creation of the IMPORT command.
The number of commands had almost doubled:
! AFFECT ANSI ARCHELP ARCTOPICS AREAS AUTOASSIST AUTOEXITS AUTOGOLD AUTOLOOT BACKSTAB BASH BERZERK BREAK BRIBE BUG BUY CAST CHANNELS CHECK CLIMB CLOSE COMMANDS COMPARE CONSIDER COPY CREATE CREDITS DESCRIPTION DESTROY DETRAP DIRT DISARM DOWN DRAIN DRINK DROP DUMPFILE EAST EAT EMOTE EQUIPMENT EXAMINE EXITS FILL FLEE FOLLOW GET GIVE GO GROUP GTELL HANDS HELP HIDE HOLD IMPORT INVENTORY KICK KILL LINK LIST LISTEN LOCK LOOK MODIFY NOANSI NOFOLLOW NORTH OBSERVE OPEN ORDER OUTFIT PASSWORD PEEK PICK POISON PRACTICE PRAY PRAYERS PULL PUSH PUT QUALIFY QUIET QUIT READ RECALL REMOVE REPLY REPORT RESCUE RESET REST REVOKE SAVE SAY SCORE SCROLLCOPY SEARCH SELL SING SKILLS SLEEP SNEAK SOCIALS SONGS SOUTH SPELLS SPLIT STAND STEAL SWIM SWIPE SYSMSGS TAKE TEACH TELL TOPICS TRACK TRAIN TRAP TRIP TURN UNLINK UNLOADHELP UNLOCK UP VALUE WAKE WEAR WEST WHO WHOIS WHOMP WIELD WIMPY WRITE XML YELL
CoffeeMud had also gained a new mechanism for creating content beyond the command line: the MUDGrinder. This original MUDGrinder was a Java AWT/Swing Application which connected to the engine and communicated with it directly to develop game content. It was a lovely, though short-lived extension that was replaced by the Web-based system when that became available in 3.0.
CoffeeMud also began to be noticed enough to go through a donation period, where generous programmers began to come out of the woodwork and offer new capabilities to CoffeeMud. The first of these additions was "fakedb", a database solution that proved invaluable because it allowed people to download and run the codebase without the serious configuration head-aches associated with a more "real" database.
The most important new addition around this time, however, was Tim Kassebaum. I had known Tim for awhile through our gaming group. However, it was in this period that Tim took an interest in my little game and began to offer suggestions. But not just suggestions -- CREATIVE suggestions of a type I hadn't fathomed previously. And not only that, they were often very well thought out and expressed. Because we got along very well, understood each other in conversation, and especially because Tim developed such an affection for this little game, I soon found I had something more valuable than a hundred lightbulb moments -- a Designer! I suddenly had someone on my side whos mind could soar above the game and see the possibilities, and then communicate those possibilities in a concrete and sensible way. As CoffeeMud 3.0 began development with the full support and aid of Tim, I knew something special was forthcoming. I knew that CoffeeMud would no longer be the equal of its peers, but would soon pass them all by.
