Game Engine

connect (character name) (password)

At the initial screen, this awakens your character and begins play.

@quit

This disconnects you from the game, and causes your character to fall into a deep sleep.

news

This displays the latest news about the game and its server.

rules

Displays the numerous guidelines that are used to encouraged fair and fun interaction with others during your stay on Cybersphere.

@bug

Use this command to report problems with the game. Please err on the side of caution, and report anything that seems unusual.

@idea

Use this command to suggest ideas to the Cybersphere staff. Entire geographical regions and megacorporations have resulted from good @ideas suggested by players.

help

help here

help (object)

help (topic)

Access Cybersphere's online documentation. This may or may not be complete or accurate on the subject at hand. When any documentation in the game conflicts with what you've read on this website, you should consider this website to be the most accurate.

@who

Shows a list of staff members who are logged on and available to help you. Use help @who for details.

@page (staff member) (message)

Sends a message to one of the available staff members. Remember that staff are OOC and will help with gameplay bugs, not the gameplay itself.

Interface

@ansi on/off

Tells Cybersphere to start or stop sending your client color text. CS looks best with your default settings as black background/white text.

@brief on/off (toggle)

Sets room descriptions to brief (area name, exits, and contents only) or verbose (descriptions included).

@linelength (columns)

Sets your default linelength. For most clients, a default setting of 80 works.

@wrap on/off

Enables or disables word-wrapping for incoming text.

@pagelength (lines)

When set, will pause your screen output after of text appear. You may then type @more to see the rest of the text. Setting @pagelength 0 will give you continuous scrolling text, with no pauses.

.flush

If you have stacked multiple commands, and want to clear out what still hasn't been executed, use this command.

examine (object / here / me)

Returns a list of some (but maybe not all) of the ways in which you may interact with something in the game. For example:

Kensai Portable TRI-V (aka triv and tv)
Obvious commands:
  press (anything) on kensai
  ignore kensai
  watch kensai
  gi*ve/ha*nd/pa*ss kensai to (anything)
  wield/hold/grab/use kensai
  rem*ove/sheath*e/holster/lower/unwield/sling kensai
  catch kensai
  dodge kensai
  throw/toss/pitch kensai (anything) (anything)

Some commands, like "g*ive", may be abbreviated. "Give Kensai to Incognito" would also be understood if typed as "g Kensai to Incognito".
The examine verb also gives you a list of aliases, or shorthand names, for an object. The Kensai Portable TRI-V can also be referred to as a "triv" or a "tv".

Customizing your character

@describe me as "..."

Set your overall description. It should not include body features or clothing. Describe mannerisms, height, build, etc.

@nudity

Displays your current nudity descriptions. That is, what people will see when looking at parts of your character's body that aren't covered by clothing or armor.

@my naked (body area) is "..."

Describes one of your character's body areas.

@room_status me is "..."

This customizes what other players see when your character is in the same room. For instance, @room_status me is "smoking a cigarette." would present yourself like this to other players:

Kusanagi is smoking a cigarette.

@addalias "..." to me

Adds an alias (a shorthand way of referring to your character's name). You may only have 4 aliases, choose them well.

@rmalias "..." from me

Removes an alias from your character.

@my title is "..."

This sets your title, and allows you to customize your character's name. For instance, if your character has just been promoted to Major, @my title is "Major" would result in your name being displayed as:

Major Kusanagi is smoking a cigarette.

Your title can be as long as desired, and you can further customize it by placing your character's actual name somewhere in the text. For example, @my title is "Major Motoko Kusanagi (Section 9)" (if your character's base name is "Kusanagi") causes other players to see you as:

Major Motoko Kusanagi (Section 9) is smoking a cigarette.

@my tag is "..."

Sets the tag message that other citizens see when your are logged onto the Public Com Network (the "Comnet"). More on this later.

@my scent is "..."

This is the message other players read when they smell your character.

@my oscent is "..."

This is the message other players in the area read when someone smells your character.

@add-detail "..detail name, alias1, alias2,..." to me

Adds a descriptive detail to your character. You'll be prompted for the actual description of the detail. If your character's name is "Motoko", then others can type:

look at Motoko's (detail)

...to see the detailed text.

Customizing your gear

@rename (object) to "name","alias 1","alias 2","alias 3","..."

If allowed, renames an object and specifies its aliases (abbreviated names).

@describe (object) as "..."

Set an object's description, if allowed.

@messages (me | object)

Displays a list of customizable messages on the object requested. You may or may not be able to set these messages. In general, clothing is fully customizable, and can be renamed and reshaped at will. Custom descriptions and messages may be set for armor, but the armor's name and shape must remain fixed. Some messages on your character may be set, as well.

@coverage (clothing) is (body area1, body area2, ...)

If allowed, sets the coverage of clothing.

@opaque (clothing)

@transparent (clothing)

If allowed, sets whether or not your clothing will reveal layers or skin underneath. Useful for making glasses that show your uncovered face/head underneath, an earring, or flimsy undergarments.

@add-detail "..detail name, alias1, alias2,..." to (object)

Allows you to describe details on your gear. For instance:

@add-detail "muzzle" to pistol

Allows others to see detail text when they type:

look at pistol's muzzle

Roleplaying

@ic

Declares that you are In Character, which allows your character to affect and be affected by the environment. Your commands now reflect your character's intended actions and statements.

@ooc

Declares that you are Out of Character, which prevents your character from affecting or being affected by the environment. (Events that have already been set in motion, like bleeding, or third-degree burns from napalm, will not stop, however). Your commands now reflect your intended actions and statements.

@rpstart

Informs other players in the game that your character's immediate area is interesting and involves a fun roleplaying session. It invites others to join you.

@rpstop

Informs other players that the roleplaying session in the area has stopped.

@findrp

Lists areas in the game where other players have extended an open invitation to join and participate in roleplaying.

@trust (person)

@trust (person) to (action) me

@untrust (person)

@untrust (person) to (action) me

Places trust in a person to perform certain actions on your character. For instance, your character will not allow a stranger to provide healing, food, take objects, or strip clothing unless specifically trusted. @trust/@untrust (person) will set or remove total trust for a person. Use the @trust command by itself for details and a list of trustable actions.

@stats

Summarizes your character's vital statistics, skills, and advantages.

@sptrade

Allows you to spend earned Stat, Skill, or Advantage points to develop your character's abilities.

Acting

emote (text)

: (text)

Allows your character to emote (display) actions to other players. For instance:

emote comes drifting through the crowd in slow motion, his long face slack and pallid.
:comes drifting through the crowd in slow motion, 
his long face slack and pallid.

Would both cause other players in the area to see:

Lonny Zone comes drifting through the crowd in slow motion, 
his long face slack and pallid.

A possessive emote is useful for additional acting styles.

emote :'s eyes show very little white and less iris; 
under the drooping lids, his pupils are dialated and enormous.

Will show other players:

Lonny Zone's eyes show very little white and less iris; 
under the drooping lids, his pupils are dialated and enormous.

ttemote

This is an emote that's only visible to players seated with you around a table, bar, or other furniture.

pose (text)

.(text)

This is like an emote, but verbs are conjugated and pronouns expanded in your text to match the occupants of the room. Type your pose text in the first-person. For example:

.come drifting through the crowd towards Incognito in slow motion, 
my long face slack and pallid.

Causes you to see:

You come drifting through the crowd towards Incognito in slow motion, 
your long face slack and pallid.

Incognito (and any other people you include in the pose text) will see:

Lonny Zone comes drifting through the crowd towards you in slow motion, 
his long face slack and pallid.

All others in the room will see:

Lonny Zone comes drifting through the crowd towards Incognito in slow motion, 
his long face slack and pallid.

The pose command is a great way to create atmosphere and develop your character. Use it as often as possible.

!(text)

Creates a stand-alone event in the area that is attributed to your character. The command:

!The skitter of fleeing rats announces someone's arrival in the alley.

Causes others to see:

The skitter of fleeing rats announces someone's arrival in the alley. 
(by Lonny Zone)

Environment

i*nventory

A list of what your character is carrying.

l*ook

l*ook at (object / me / here)

l*ook at (object's) (detail)

You'll see a text description of what your character senses about his/her environment and its contents. Look is based on what your character perceives, it is only skin-deep.

inspect (object / person / me / here)

Attempts to use your character's intuition, experience and knowledge to generate more insight about the object's use, its condition, or its characteristics. Looking at a gun tells you that it's a loaded G-11 rifle. Inspecting the rifle tells a knowledgable character that it has excellent stability and accuracy, is chambered to fire 6mm clips, and is likely to jam because it's in poor condition.

sc*ore (person / object)

co*ndition (person / object)

health (person)

ht (person)

These commands give a short description of a person's health and status. If they're carrying any weapons or items openly, these will be displayed. score/condition (vehicle) gives you an indication of the vehicle's condition and any damage it's taken.

compare (first object) with (second object)

If the two objects are similar, your character will compare them based on his/her knowledge and experience. Use this to find out which ammo packs more punch, which gun has more recoil, which armor has better protection, which cyberdeck has a faster CPU.

search

Your character will attempt to spot hidden objects, people, or exits in the area.

smell (person)

In the 21st Century, people smell like the've been sleeping around, A LOT.

Communicating

say (text)

"(text)

It's best to think before doing this.

to (person or object) (text)

`(person or object) (text)

This says something to an object or player specifically.

ttsay

Your character will speak, but only be heard by players seated nearby at the same table, bar, or other furniture.

speak (language)

Changes the current language your character is speaking. Default is English.

whisper (text) to (person)

Imparts your dirty little secrets upon another character.

shout (text)

Your shouting may or may not be audible in nearby areas. This is especially effective indoors.

-o

Toggles your complant on/off.

-m (user)

Begins composing mail to another user.

-w (user)

Sends a short "instant message" to a user. Line length is limited, this is intended as a quick paging system.

who

Lists the users logged onto the comnet. Use help who for details.

Movement

n*orth / s*outh / e*ast / w*est / ...

Move in the specified direction. Exit names such as "out" can be invoked by simply typing out. Movement commands can't be stacked. If you are waiting to move, you must wait until your character walks to the new destination before typing another movement command. For multiple movement commands, use go.

go (direction1) (direction2) (direction3) ...

Your character will follow a movement path. If any of the directions are invalid, the following directions are discarded and your character stops walking.

sneak (direction)

Your character attempts to leave and enter areas without being detected.

stop walking

If your character is in the middle of a go command, this stops all movement.

guard (exit)

Your character will attempt to block others from leaving and entering the area through the specified exit/entrance. Your character's stats and the exit's size determine the difficulty of this task.

rush (exit)

This command attempts to batter past a guarded exit.

stop guarding

If an exit is currently being guarded, this command stops your character's vigil.

Combat

wield (weapon)

hold (weapon)

lower (weapon)

unwield (weapon)

Ready or lower a weapon.

@natural-weapon (weapon)

Sets the "natural-weapon", or default attack your character will use when empty-handed. Type @natural-weapon alone for a list.

mode (combat mode)

Sets your character's offensive/defensive posture for combat. Modes available are: allout, aggressive, normal, cautious, and defense.

@fatal

Toggles your character's attitude against opponents. With @fatal set to merciful, your character will attempt to knock out a target. (The target may die from bleeding or system shock, however). Fatal mode attempts to kill the opponent outright.

kill (target)

attack (target)

attack (target's) (body area)

Initiates combat with the target. Cybersphere's combat is turn-based, you don't have to type in more attack commands to continue fighting. You can attack specific body areas with commands like "attack Molly's head".

aim (gun) at (target)

If done before combat begins, this can result in greater accuracy for the opening shot.

fire (gun)

Fires your weapon at the current target (designated by aim).

hold (target)

Attempts to grapple and subdue the other person. If successful, he/she won't be able to attack and can be dragged along as you move.

resist (attacker)

If your character is being grappled, this attempts to break free of your opponent.

disarm (target)

If trained in Martial Arts, your character can attempt to kick weapons out of an opponent's hands.

stop fighting

Stops your character's attacks. Your opponents may or may not continue fighting.

flee

Your character will attempt to flee from combat in a random direction.

Cyberspace

Physical-world commands (before jacking in):

dir*ectory on (deckname)

Allows you to check the directory on your deck, without jacking into it.

insert (ramcard) into (deckname)

If you have one, this will insert the specified ramcard (computer disk) into your deck.

eject (ramcard) from (deckname)

If there is a ramcard in your deck, this will take it out of the deck, putting it in your inventory.

install (program) on (deckname)

If there happens to be a program on a ramcard in your deck, this command will move the program from the ramcard to your deck's storage area.

archive (program) on (deckname)

Will move a program from your deck's storage area to a ramcard in your deck, if you have one.

vol*ume (deckname) is (name)

Names your deck, and allows the name to be used as an alias for that deck. It's useful in that it allows you to name multiple decks of the same types (e.g. trailblazers), and move programs among them without confusion.

label (ramcard) as (name)

Allows you to label ramcards, making it easier to figure out which ramcard is which, when you have multiple ramcards. T he label can be used in place of "first ramcard" when identifying the card.

jack into (deckname)

If you have the proper hardware installed in your head and have access to an active matrix network connection, this will plunge your character's consciousness into the Net.

Virtual-world commands (after jacking in):

stats

This displays the stats on your deck and its matrix connection session.

map

This displays a map of the matrix in your vicinity.

dir*ectory

Brings up the current directory listing of your deck, showing you what programs you have.

info (program name)

If information exists about the program, this will display it. Information is usually what the program is, what it does, and the syntax to run it. Some programs lack this sort of information, though.

run (program name)

Will run any program you have, if it's stand alone. Most programs require a bit more complex run commands. Some require targets, some don't, some require specific rooms in nodes to run in, some don't...etc. It's best to refer to the info on programs in these matters, or better yet, other deckers.

enter here/(nodename)

When you type map on the matrix, and you (*) are placed beside a node (o) like this " :*o:::", you will be able to enter that node by typing enter here or enter (nodename). This will connect your icon to the login port on the node, where you will be in an environment at least partially similar to the meatside.

disc*onnect

Disconnects your icon from the node you're in, if you are in one. If you aren't in a node, and are just on the regular matrix, it does jack shit.

jack out

THIS IS VERY IMPORTANT. It's how your character wakes up from the matrix, as it were. Without it, you're pretty well stuck on the matrix. Well, there are other ways to get off...not necessarily GOOD ways...

install (program name)

Moves a program from your ramcard to your deck's storage.

archive (program name)

Moves a program from your deck's storage onto a ramcard in your deck.

download (file #)

Assuming you've managed to find a searching program, and you've made your way into a datavault in a node, and have found a list of files there by running the search program, you can retrieve files from the datavault. Remember, though, you MUST use the download number listed, NOT the name of the program. It likes the number, and the number only, for some reason.

upload (file name)

If you're in a datavault that supports uploading, this will move a program from your deck to the datavault. Not every datavault supports this.

Miscellaneous commands

pay (person) (amount)

Using your credstick (an ATM, credit card, and debit card rolled into one-- the de facto standard of currency in Cybersphere's 21st century), this command transfers money to another nearby person. You can remotely transfer credits, but you must go to a bank to process these transactions.

hide

hide (object)

Your character will attempt to blend into his/her surroundings and become a nameless face in the crowd, or a featureless shadow in the corner.
If hiding an object, your character attempts to find a clever spot to conceal it from view.

frisk (person)

Unconscious or subdued players may be frisked for their contents.

grab (object) from (person)

Attempts to force an object from a person's hands, or if the person is unsconscious/ subdued, simply takes it outright.

steal (object) from (person)

steal (container's) (object) from (person)

If successful, the victim may not know the object is missing for some time, depending on their alertness and perception.

heal (person / me)

Attempts to perform basic first aid and control bleeding.

@social

Displays a list of available "social" commands, which are pre-loaded actions/emotes that your character can express.