Message System

Message System

Every action in TalesMUD produces one or more messages that are sent to specific audiences. Understanding the message system helps when writing scripts that communicate with players.

Message Types

TalesMUD defines several message types that the client interprets differently:

Type	Description
default	Standard game text — room descriptions, command output
enterRoom	Room entry — triggers minimap update and room description display
createCharacter	Character creation flow
selectCharacter	Character selection screen
ping	Keepalive ping
quest.*	Quest state updates (started, progress, completed)
system	Server announcements

Audience Types

When a game action produces output, it’s sent to one of these audiences:

Audience	Description
origin	Only the player who triggered the action
user	A specific user by user ID
room	All players currently in the same room
roomWithoutOrigin	All players in the room except the one who acted
global	All connected players
system	Server-level system messages

Sending Messages from Lua

The tales.game module provides all message sending functions:

-- To the acting character only
tales.game.msgToCharacter(characterID, "You feel a chill run down your spine.")

-- To all players in a room
tales.game.msgToRoom(roomID, "A rumbling sound echoes through the cavern.")

-- To the room except one character
tales.game.msgToRoomExcept(roomID, "The stranger eyes you with suspicion.",
                            excludeCharacterID)

-- To a specific user
tales.game.msgToUser(userID, "Quest updated!")

-- To everyone connected
tales.game.broadcast("The Goblin King has been slain!")

-- Log to server
tales.game.log("info", "Script executed successfully.")

Message Rendering

The game client renders messages as HTML in the xterm.js terminal. Messages support:

• ANSI color codes for colored text
• HTML-safe text (special characters are escaped)
• Newlines for multi-line messages

Room Text Overlays

TalesMUD supports a special “overlay” message type — translucent messages that appear briefly over the game terminal and auto-dismiss. These are used for ambient atmospheric text that shouldn’t scroll through the terminal.

Room Entry Messages

When a player enters a room, the server sends:

1. A room display message (name, description, exits, visible NPCs, visible items)
2. An enterRoom type message that triggers the minimap update
3. Any ambient overlay messages (if configured)
4. The room’s onEnterScript fires (if configured)

Quest Notifications

Quest progress updates send structured messages that the client displays in the quest log:

• quest.started — Quest accepted notification
• quest.progress — Objective progress changed
• quest.completed — All objectives done, turn-in available

Next Steps

• Lua Scripting Overview — Write scripts that send messages
• The Game Loop — How messages are processed