TRaM Stuff

The Other Side of Morphing <G>

Okay, I already explained what TRaMing is all (?) about, so here are some details. This page used to have a list of stationary TRaM devices found on FurryMUCK for those interested in experimenting, but there has been some trouble with the programs there, and even though they recently became available again it is not known for sure how many TRaM devices are actually left, or which ones. To get an idea about how they work, or used to work, you can check out Aragh's wishing well. Just type in the following:

t cdc s wish

And say hi to the wuff if he's there and awake.

Now some tricks. A typical TRAM device will transform you for a limited time [The default time is half an hour, most prefer to set a shorter time], but if you don't want to wait until the timer runs out (or want to keep the morph longer) you can override it.
First, to find out how long a morph will last, type @ps. You should see something like this:

     PID Next  Run KInst %CPU Prog#   Player
 1459869   6m   0s     0   -- #73333  Yip              ""
11 events.

This is a list of "background processes" you (to some extent) control. To start from the right, Player is who the program was initiated by (I think) - in this case Yip volunteered as a test subject. Prog# is the number the program is stored under in the database (This was on Furry, the number is probably different elsewhere. It should still be the same program though.) The other items are more or less technical but Next is the important one here - it shows the time left before the program activates and, in this case, changes you back and terminates.
Okay, let's say you want to remain whatever you turned into for longer than six minutes. All you have to do is stop the countdown. I said you have limited control over it; actually the only thing you can do is to stop it. This is done with the @kill command, and the simplest way to do that when you only have one controlled event coming up, is @kill me. This won't kill you, honest! <g> - all it does is stop the countdown!

Okay, you have finally got tired of being whatever it was that gadget turned you into - now how do you turn back??? AFAIK only two of the devices originally listed had a &qquot;manual" unTRaM command (one of them is the well). On the other paw those commands work no matter which device you were transformed by in the first place! Still, if you want to experiment a lot with a device that doesn't have the command built in, it gets a bit tiring to run back and forth. Not to mention that any people in the rooms you pass through may get a bit irritated...
A better solution is to make your own portable restore command! It's simple really - look at that "printout" again. the number under Prog# is actually the number of the program that changes you back! All you have to do is create an action attached to yourself (or an object if you want others to use it) and link it to that program. Then just type the name of the action to unTRaM. Example:


@act back=me
@link back=#73333

Note: When using this method you should still @kill the countdown to avoid funny error messages when it runs out!

What? You want to make a TRaM form even more permanent, maybe even modify it? Nothing simpler - just use the morph program to store it, then wait for the timer to run out (or @kill it and retransform manually), and Bob's your uncle. Use morph #list to verify that you have a new morph that can be used and edited just like any other.
One word of caution, though: Someone else, usually (but not always) the owner of the TRaM device, wrote that cool description and may not be too happy about it being used for other purposes than the one it was meant for. So ask the owner, or make sure you modify the morph so much they won't have a leg to stand on legally. <G>
(Seriously though, someone told me some of the morphs in the Wishing Well were "posed for" buy other characters, so if you discover a cool look there's a small chance that there may be someone out there looking just like that!)

You probably wonder how these things are made now, don't you? Well, so did I! I tried asking around but nobody seemed to know any more. For some time it seemed that the TRaM device had gone the way of the nightingale floor...;P Then I got some hints and figured it out.

If you feel really experimental, try a trip to Altered Realities, a muck that's FULL of TRaM devices. (That link goes to their web site, if you're really impatient just go straight there.)