Alter Aeon FAQ (Frequently Asked Questions)

FAQ Section 2 - Donations and services

Question  2.1  - Master Price List and Index

Prices are listed in US dollars and in-game credits.  Note that you
may be able to trade for credits in game instead of sending in cash.

Faq 2.6 - Clans
Clan dues                - $ 0.10 (  10 credits) and up
Additional clan rooms    - $25.00 (2500 credits)
Create clan trader       - $10.00 (1000 credits)
Create clan mob          - $10.00 (1000 credits)
Clan equipment restrings - $10.00 (1000 credits)
Clan bank flag           - $10.00 (1000 credits)
Clan eq storage          - $10.00 (1000 credits) to enable
Clan recall strings      - $10.00 (1000 credits)
Extra bulletin boards    - $10.00 (1000 credits) each
Start a clan war         -  $0.50 (  50 credits)

Faq 2.7 - Object Restrings
Object/Item restrings    - $10.00 (1000 credits)

Faq 2.8 - Custom Player Strings
Ground/sleep/rest string - $10.00 (1000 credits)
Recall strings           - $20.00 (2000 credits)
Fire spell colors        - $10.00 (1000 credits)
Crystal spell colors     - $10.00 (1000 credits)
Lightning spell colors   - $10.00 (1000 credits)

Faq 2.10 - Weightless Containers
Weightless containers    - $25.00 (2500 credits)
Weightless merging       - $10.00 (1000 credits)
Weightless expansions    - $ 5.00 ( 500 credits) each

Faq 2.11 - Practices
Buy one practice         - $ 2.50 (250 credits)

Faq 2.12 - Storage Lockers
Storage locker rental    - $ 1.00 ( 100 credits) for two weeks
Clan storage locker      - $10.00 (1000 credits) to enable

Faq 2.13 - Miscellaneous
Extra eqset slots        - $ 4.00 ( 400 credits) each
Extra aliases            - $ 0.50 (  50 credits) for 10 aliases
Channel notimeout        - $ 1.00 ( 100 credits) per month
Map expansions           - $10.00 (1000 credits) per year
Player shop rent         - $10.00 (1000 credits) per million gold of rent

Faq 2.14 - Credit Prices
  1,000 In-game credits  - $  10.00
  2,500 In-game credits  - $  25.00
  5,000 In-game credits  - $  50.00
 10,500 In-game credits  - $ 100.00 (5% discount)
 21,250 In-game credits  - $ 200.00 (6% discount)
 55,000 In-game credits  - $ 500.00 (10% discount)
112,500 In-game credits  - $1000.00 (12% discount)
230,000 In-game credits  - $2000.00 (15% discount)

Faq 2.15 - Special Packages
Level 1 character, max stats - $2000.00

Question  2.2  - Why donate to the game?

Alter Aeon is a custom developed mud, and we accept donations to help
keep us on the net and open to all players.  Without your support, we
probably wouldn't be here.

Naturally, we don't expect you to go unrewarded for your donation.  A
number of different things can be had for your donation.  See the other
FAQ pages for lists of available options.

Question  2.3  - How can I send a donation?

Please send donations to:

Dentinmud Internet Services
1554 NE 66th Ave Apt 229
Portland, OR, 97213.  USA

Personal check or PayPal (www.paypal.com) are preferred methods of payment
at this time.  For paypal, send to 'soda@xirr.com'.

For PayPal, please allow a few days for processing.  If it is an e-check,
we prefer that the check clear first.

For credit cards, please see: http://www.alteraeon.com/credits.html

With your money, please let us know which character you are, and what you
would like to buy.

Question  2.4  - So what can I get for my donation?

The general rule of thumb is that we won't give out anything that gives
you an edge in the game over other players, but that's subject to
interpretation.  For example, you can't buy hitpoints, eq, or exp -
but you can buy practices, weightless containers, and storage lockers.

Some of the things we do offer:

Clan dues, rooms, and decorations  - $ 10.00 and up
Item and player string changes     - $ 10.00 and up
Practices                          - $  2.50 
Storage lockers                    - $  1.00 and up
Weightless containers              - $ 25.00, expansions are extra

All values are in US dollars.  If we have to do currency conversion, please
add a reasonable amount to cover conversion fees and processing.  Any
residual will be credited to future purchases if necessary.

Before you send any money, make sure you read the FAQ pages on donations!
The FAQ can be accessed in-game with the 'faq' command, or on the web at

http://alteraeon.com:8080/faq

Question  2.5  - What can't I buy?

You can't buy things that will directly advance your character, for
example hitpoints, mana, powerful equipment, or experience.

In short, you can't buy things that would give you a large unfair
advantage over other players.

Question  2.6  - Clan related donations

Clan elders can buy several different things for their clan:

Clan gold (dues only)    - 1000 credits per 1 million gold
Clan bank flag           - 1000 credits
Clan eq storage          - 1000 credits
Extra bulletin boards    - 1000 credits each
Additional clan rooms    -  100 credits per room
Add decorative clan mob  - 1000 credits
Setup/rename clan trader - 1000 credits one-time setup fee
Clan equipment restrings - 1000 credits per item, up to eight total
                           (eq restrings require a trader)
Clan recall strings      - 1000 credits or $10.00 US
Start a clan war         -   50 credits

Clan equipment renames existing objects only, with one specific object
type and wear location.  Your clan may only have 8 of these objects,
with up to 8 different wear locations.  Clan equipment strings are
subject to admin approval, since they are seen by everyone.

See the 'credit buy' command for details on how to buy clan things.

Other things to keep in mind:

- Clans can only have 50 million gold in dues.

- You can't buy gold for the clan account, only dues.

- You can use a donation to create a clan instead of coming up with the
  default 250000 gold startup fee.  Talk to Dentin to do this.

- The clan room fee is a setup fee to allow your clan to create the
  extra room.  Clan dues do not increase until you actually create the
  room using the 'set room create' command.

See 'help clan area' and 'help credit buy' for more information.

Question  2.7  - Custom Object Strings

Changing the strings on an item changes the following four strings:

Name:       'sword sub-issue sub'
Inventory:  'a sub-issue sword'
Ground:     'A sub-issue sword lies on the ground here.'
Long desc:  (this is what you see when you look at the item)

Restringing a single item costs $10.00 US, and only includes those four
strings. Wear, wield, and other strings can not be set on a per-item basis.

Restrictions on strings:
All strings have to be somewhat in theme with the mud, or not so obviously
out of place that they are annoying.  As an example, "Jerk's fifty page
porno mag" would be an unacceptable weapon name.

In general, inventory strings can NOT include color tags.  If you think
you have an exception, do the following:

1) Make sure you only have ONE color change.  'a flaming green longsword'
   MIGHT be acceptable. 'a flaming green and blue longsword' is
   totally unacceptable.

2) Make sure your item has a damned good reason for being colored.  Just
   saying 'but its a green ring with a red gem in it' isn't sufficient.
   A longsword dripping bright green flames when drawn might be ok.

3) Convince Dentin that your item has a good reason to be colored.  In
   general, assume Dentin will disagree with you and deny your request.

Remember, we're trying to keep with the theme of the game, so don't ask
for obviously stupid restrings!

Question  2.8  - Custom Player Strings

There are five types of strings that are settable on players:

Ground string          - $ 10.00 US
Sleep string           - $ 10.00 US
Rest string            - $ 10.00 US
Recall strings         - $ 20.00 US
Fire spell colors      - $ 10.00 US
Crystal spell colors   - $ 10.00 US
Lightning spell colors - $ 10.00 US

Restrictions on strings:
All strings have to be somewhat in theme with the mud, or not so obviously
out of place that they are annoying.  Character strings should also have
your characters' name in them.  Specifically, something like:

Duke Nukem stands before you with his rocket launcher in hand.

would be totally unacceptable for a player named 'jed'.  It would also be
unacceptable for players 'duke' and 'nukem' as well due to context.

All strings MUST contain the full, proper, and capitalized name of the
player.  Other players must be able to identify a player from the ground
string.  You cannot select a ground string that looks like a common object,
for example corpses.

Ground, rest, sleep, and recall strings may be a different color than the
default.  They may not contain color changes inside the string.

Spell colors are a special customization for various mage spells.  You can
pick one of several colors for these spells when they are cast.  See for
example 'credit buy firecolor' for details and cost.

Note that fight strings are no longer available for purchase.  They caused
too many issues with quests and game mechanics, even for the few that were
requested.

Question  2.9  - Player renames and name swapping

It is no longer possible to rename or swap character names.

Choose your player name wisely!

Question  2.10 - Weightless containers

For donations of $25.00 US, you can purchase a 'weightless' container.
There are several different available names for weightlesses, and you can
pick from the available strings when you make your purchase.

All of these containers have zero weight regardless of what you put in them!
They start off holding 500 pounds, and can be expanded later using credits.

To buy a weightless:
$ 25.00 -  500 pound capacity

Expansions are:
$  5.00 -  100 pound expansion

Renames are:
$ 10.00 - restring a weightless container (keyword changes are free)

Container merging:
$ 10.00 - merge two weightlesses into one

All containers are size 50 and should hold nearly any sized thing, so
long as the weight capacity is not exceeded.

Note also that we can't guarantee the existance of any restrung objects
if you don't take care of them.  Weightless containers can usually be
restored from backup if something truly terrible occurs, but don't risk
it by leaving your container on the ground!

Question  2.11 - Practices

You can buy practices for your character at a rate of 250 credits each.

Generally, you get more than enough practices from leveling or buying
them with experience, but occasionally it can be convenient to spend
leftover credits to buy a new spell or skill.

Only ltype 2 players can use this, and you must be at least level 1
(to ensure that your character can save) before you can buy practices.

Question  2.12 - Storage lockers

For $20 per year ($1 for 18 days), you can purchase a storage locker.
This locker is usable from your recall, and provides convenient sorted
lists, get and put commands, as well as the ability to enter the locker
and sort your equipment on the ground without the fear of losing items.

You can only purchase locker space up to a maximum of ten years worth
of time.  Note that if you put more than 1000 items in your locker, the
rental price goes up.

You can test drive the storage system for a month using the
'storage activate' command.  This will give you a one month trial period
in which you can use your locker.  When the trial period runs out, you
will still be able to retrieve your equipment from the locker, but you
won't be able to add anything new.  (We wouldn't want you to lose your
equipment!)

Clan elders can also enable a clan storage locker using the
'credit buy clanstorage' command.  Once the locker is enabled, it
is paid for out of standard clan dues (there is no charge if your clan
locker is empty.)

Question  2.13 - Miscellaneous items

There are several miscellaneous items available:

- eqsets, used to change and manage equipment
- aliases, used to reduce typing and do things quickly
- channel notimeout, used to prevent channels from being deleted
- map expansions, for larger dclient maps

Eqsets are a powerful and quick way of changing equipment in the game.
By default, you are given four eqsets, which should be sufficient for
most players.  Additional eqsets may be purchased for 400 credits each.
To buy extra eqsets, use the 'credit buy eqset' command.

Aliases can be used to macro complex actions or reduce the amount of
typing required.  Players are given a huge number of aliases by default,
but in the unusual event that you run out, you can buy a few more with
the 'credit buy aliases' command.

Private player channels are subject to deletion if they aren't used
frequently enough.  You can buy a notimeout flag to prevent them from
being destroyed even if you don't use them.  You can buy channel time
using the 'credit buy channel' command.

For players using the dclient or the built-in map commands, you can buy
map upgrades that make your map history bigger.  As you explore new
areas, your character gradually forgets areas that you explored a long
time ago.  These upgrades increase number of areas and rooms your
character can remember. You can buy map upgrades using the
'credit buy map' command.

For players with a player-run shop, you can pay your shop rent using
credits instead of gold.  See 'credit buy shoprent' for details.

Question  2.14 - In-game Credits

In-game credits can be purchased that you can trade with other players
or use to buy any of the other things listed in the 'donations' faq.

The conversion rate is 100 Credits per Dollar for small transactions.
If you buy in bulk, you can get a bit more:

  1,000 In-game credits  - $  10.00
  2,500 In-game credits  - $  25.00
  5,000 In-game credits  - $  50.00
 10,500 In-game credits  - $ 100.00 (5% discount)
 21,250 In-game credits  - $ 200.00 (6% discount)
 55,000 In-game credits  - $ 500.00 (10% discount)
112,500 In-game credits  - $1000.00 (12% discount)
230,000 In-game credits  - $2000.00 (15% discount)

Once you have credits, you can use them to buy anything on the donation
lists.  For example, you could use 1000 credits to buy a ground string,
or you could trade 1000 credits to another player, which the other
player could use to buy a ground string.

While credits can be used to buy anything on the donation list, they
cannot be converted back into dollars.  They must either be spent in
game or traded to other players.

Question  2.15 - Special Package - The Super Newbie

Currently, the only special package is a bulk discount to set the
stats of a newbie character to 25 across the board.  This is all
six stats, str/int/wis/dex/con/chr, set to 25 at level 1.

Level 1 character, max stats - $2000.00

It takes more than 920 practices to train all stats to 25 naturally,
so at $2.50 per practice this is a discount of over $300.

NOTE - THIS OPTION IS NOT AVAILABLE FOR LTYPE 0/1 CHARACTERS.

Question  2.16 - Refund policy

The official refund policy is 'no refunds after exchange has occurred'.
You may cancel at any time prior to the actual service being performed.

Clan dues are a partial exception to this, in that clan dues paid in one
clan may sometimes be moved to another clan.  Clan dues will be pro-rated
at 1 million gold per month, limited by the dues remaining in the clan.
A minimum value of 1 million gold will remain in clan dues in all
cases.

Please be sure before you buy - it saves everyone hassle.