Core Concepts

Variable Types

• Characters: Passed as userdata, test with actor ~= nil
• Objects: Passed as userdata, test with obj ~= nil
• Numbers: Standard Lua integers
• Strings: Standard Lua strings
• Booleans: true/false

Context Variables

Every Lua mobprog execution has access to these context variables:

• actor - The character who triggered the mobprog ($n equivalent)
• mob - The mob executing the program ($i equivalent)
• obj - Object involved in the trigger ($o equivalent)
• victim - Target character ($t equivalent)
• random - Random player in room ($r equivalent)

Error Handling

Lua mobprogs are fully crash-protected:

• Syntax errors are caught at compile time
• Runtime errors disable the mob temporarily
• Infinite loops are prevented with instruction limits
• Memory usage is capped

Wait and Timing Functions

wait(seconds)

Wait for a specified number of seconds. This is the key function that makes Lua mobprogs superior!

Arguments:

• seconds (number): Number of seconds to wait (can be 0)

Returns: Nothing (yields execution)

Example:

say("I need to think about this...")
wait(3)
say("Ah yes, I remember now!")
 
-- Works inside control structures!
for i = 1, 3 do
    say("Counting: " .. i)
    wait(1)
end

wait_minutes(minutes)

Wait for a specified number of minutes.

Arguments:

• minutes (number): Number of minutes to wait

Returns: Nothing (yields execution)

Example:

say("I'll be back in a few minutes.")
wait_minutes(5)
say("I'm back!")

wait_ticks(ticks)

Wait for a specified number of game ticks.

Arguments:

• ticks (number): Number of game ticks to wait

Returns: Nothing (yields execution)

Example:

say("Just a moment...")
wait_ticks(10)
say("Ready!")

Context Variable Functions

These functions provide access to the traditional mobprog variables ($n, $i, $o, $t, $r).

get_actor()

Get the character who triggered the mobprog ($n equivalent).

Arguments: None

Returns:

• character: The triggering character, or nil if none

Example:

local actor = get_actor()
if actor then
    say("Hello, " .. get_name(actor) .. "!")
end

get_mob_context()

Get the mob executing the program ($i equivalent).

Arguments: None

Returns:

• character: The executing mob, or nil if error

Example:

local mob = get_mob_context()
if mob then
    local room = get_room(mob)
    log_message("Mob in room " .. room .. " executed script")
end

get_object()

Get the object from the trigger context ($o equivalent).

Arguments: None

Returns:

• object: The object involved in the trigger, or nil if none

Example:

local obj = get_object()
if obj then
    local vnum = get_obj_vnum(obj)
    say("Ah, you have object " .. vnum .. "!")
end

get_victim()

Get the victim/target from the trigger context ($t equivalent).

Arguments: None

Returns:

• character: The victim/target character, or nil if none

Example:

local victim = get_victim()
if victim then
    say("So you want to attack " .. get_name(victim) .. "?")
end

get_random()

Get a random player character from the room ($r equivalent).

Arguments: None

Returns:

• character: A random player in the room, or nil if none

Example:

local random_player = get_random()
if random_player then
    tell(random_player, "You've been chosen at random!")
end