IDIOT'S GUIDE TO FED2
OBJECTS AND MOBILES
FINDING AND USING OBJECTS
Scattered around Federation DataSpace are various objects. These show up at the end of the description when you walk into a room, or type 'LOOK' or 'GLANCE'.
Crossroads
The city's main crossroads has become a gathering place for the locals. From here streets go out to the four points of the compass, but everyone stops on their way, to pass the time of day with each other. To that end, benches have been placed on all four corners.
You can see a tree.
The tree in the last line is an object. You can look closely at it with 'EXAMINE objectname'. This will give you the object's description. For example, examining the tree tells you:
It was brought from Earth as a tiny sapling, along with the first colonists. It is now a tall and spindly specimen, due to the low gravity on the planet. To the locals, it is a symbol of the colony's success on an alien world.
There are two types of object: objects you can pick up and carry around with you in your inventory, and objects that are fixed in place - such as the tree in the above example, signposts, posters, and so on.
Objects that you can pick up may not be simply lying on the ground - they may appear when you do something else. Usually there will be an inexhaustible supply of them, so just because one player has one, it doesn't mean other players cannot also have one too. Dork cannot corner the market in a particular valuable item in order to stop Newbod from using it! This means that you may end up with more than one object with the same name in your inventory, or more than one in the same location. When you try to do anything with an object - examine it, drop it and so on - the game will look for things in your inventory first, and then things on the ground, and it will stop with the first one it finds.
If an object is just lying around, then to pick it up use 'GET objectname'. This places it in your inventory, which you can look at with 'I'. You can get rid of the object again with 'DROP objectname'. However, this may not just leave the item on the ground; dropping it might have some unforeseen effect. Many objects vanish if dropped, which is just as well since the Galactic Administration takes a dim view of littering.
You can give objects to another player with 'GIVE playername objectname', for example 'give newbod top hat'.
Most objects will remain in your inventory - even if you leave the game. Come back to Fed and the object will still be there, even if the game resets. There are a few exceptions to this; some objects (such as perishable items of food) can be marked as non-persistent which means they will be deleted at reset. Objects dumped on the ground and left lying around as litter will be tidied up at the reset.
There is no limit to the number of objects you can tote around with you; however, the weight of the objects will put a limit on what you can pick up. Your strength determines your carrying capacity. You can carry one third of your strength, so if your strength is 35, you can carry objects weighing 11 units. Objects all weigh at least 1, but may weigh more depending on what they are - obviously you will be able to carry fewer elephants than you can feathers!
Ship's Lockers
If you own more clutter than you can carry, you can dump the things you want to keep for a rainy day in your ship. Spaceships come equipped with a storage locker which will hold up to 75 items, regardless of weight. 'STASH objectname' puts something into your locker, and 'RETRIEVE objectname' gets it back out, provided you can carry it - if it will put you over your weight limit, it stays in the locker. You can look at what's in the locker with 'DISPLAY LOCKER'. You have to be in your ship to do all of these things. Persistent objects will stay in your locker forever; non-persistent objects will vanish at reset. If you sell your ship, the locker and its contents get transferred to the new ship.
Uses for Objects
What else can you do with objects? Well obviously, you cannot pick up a fixed object, although something odd might happen if you try. But you may be able to do something else with it. For example, if you see a lever, you may be able to pull it. Buttons are made to be pressed. You can open an umbrella or a box; use a hanky, ride a bicycle, read a book... just try what seems natural. The object's description may give you a clue as to what you can do with it. When in doubt, try 'USE objectname' - even if that doesn't actually do anything useful, it may give a hint about how the object can be used.
You can also show off the objects you have found, bought or been given by using the 'WEAR objectname' and 'CARRY objectname' commands, so that they show up when players examine you. You can wear and carry as many things as you like. Stop wearing something with 'DOFF objectname' and stop carrying it with 'POCKET objectname'. Note that carrying an object makes no changes to what you can do with it.
You can also clip one object at a time to your keyring, if you have one, with 'CLIP objectname'. 'UNCLIP' removes it.
Display Cabinets
One other place you can find objects is in a display cabinet. All star systems have one of these which can be viewed from the landing pad of any planet in the system, thanks to the magic of quantum entanglement. You will see the cabinet as part of the LPs description. If you 'EXAMINE CABINET' you'll be shown a list of the goodies inside the cabinet. You can then look at the individual items with 'EXAMINE objectname'. As always, 'EXAMINE' can be shortened to 'EX'. You can't take an object out of the cabinet unless you are the owner.
If you are the owner of the star system then you can put objects into the cabinet with 'STASH objectname' and take them out again with 'RETRIEVE objectname' - the same commands used with your ship's locker. Objects put into your cabinet will stay there safely across resets.
You can only conceal objects in your cabinet, so they are kept safely but won't show up for other players, using 'HIDE objectname'. You'll see the objects when you examine the cabinet, and you retrieve them as normal.
The basic display cabinet holds 57 items. An object only takes up one display slot, no matter how heavy it is - you could store 57 nano-crystals or 57 kalindras and the cabinet will reconfigure itself to accommodate them.
f 57 slots isn't enough to hold all of your precious things, then you can make the cabinet bigger - for a price. One slithy tove gets you an extra 13 slots, with 'EXTEND CABINET'. You can keep on adding new shelves as long as you have a slithy to pay the carpenter; there is no limit on the total size of a cabinet.
