====== Creation Law — Zones ======
 You know classic Diku ''zedit'' / zone files. Neo has **no** ''zedit''. Zones are workspace prototypes edited with ''@zone …'', saved with ''@save zone'', then exercised live with the immortal ''zone reset'' / ''zone clear'' commands.

Hub: [[immortal:creationlaw|Creation Law]]. Rooms/mobs/items you place must already exist ([[immortal:creationlaw:rooms|Rooms]], [[immortal:creationlaw:mobiles|Mobiles]], [[immortal:creationlaw:objects|Objects]]). Zones have **no** SpecProc table of their own — see [[immortal:scriptlaw:zones|Script Law — Zones]].

===== What a zone owns =====
 From server docs (''ZONES.md'') and the workspace editor: a zone owns **lifespan** (seconds between automatic resets), a **reset command list** (Diku-style loads: mobiles, items, doors, equip, …), weather affiliation, and related flags/attrs. Setting lifespan schedules a repeating ''ZoneCmdEvent''; when it fires, ''zone.reset()'' runs the command list (unless global/zone noreset debug flags are on).

Why you care as a new creator: building rooms and mobiles is not enough — **without zone reset lines (and a reset), the world stays empty.**

===== Step-by-step: first zone =====
**1. Open a zone draft** (VID is the zone top you are allowed to use in-range):

<code mud>
> @new zone 1299
Okay.
>
</code>

If a zone draft is already open, ''@examine zone'' then ''@save'' or ''@clear''.

**2. Name and text** (writers — why: immortals and indexes need a human label):

<code mud>
> @zone name
The Quiet Alcove
> @zone author
> @zone description
>
</code>

**3. Lifespan** (why: how often the area repops). Value is seconds; the event period is that many milliseconds under the hood.

<code mud>
> @zone lifespan 900
Okay.
>
</code>

**4. Optional attrs/flags:**

<code mud>
> @zone attrs zonetype …
> @zone flags zoneflags …
>
</code>

**5. Reset lines — place content** (rooms 1200 and mobile/item prototypes must already be saved):

<code mud>
> @zone npc 1210 1200
Okay.
> @zone item 3100 1200
Okay.
> @zone list
> @examine zone
> @save zone
Okay.
>
</code>

**6. Make it live:**

<code mud>
> zone reset
Okay.
>
</code>

Omit the VID to reset the zone of your **current room**, or pass a top: ''zone reset 1299''. **''@save zone'' alone does not repop the rooms** — you must ''zone reset'' (or wait for lifespan) to see mobiles/items appear. That is the #1 zone gotcha.

===== ''@zone'' subcommands =====
 Include: ''attrs'', ''author'', ''clear'', ''description'', ''delete'', ''door'', ''equip'', ''flags'', ''follow'', ''give'', ''item'', ''levels'', ''list'', ''lifespan'', ''map'', ''max'', ''name'', ''npc'', ''place'', ''put'', ''rndmob'', ''rndobj'', ''ride''.

Teaching notes on the ones you will use first:

  * ''npc <mob-vid> <room-vid>'' — load mobile into room on reset
  * ''item <item-vid> <room-vid>'' — load item into room
  * ''equip <item-vid> <wear-loc>'' — equip onto the mobile most recently implied by reset order (place ''npc'' before ''equip'')
  * ''give <item-vid>'' — give into inventory of that mobile context
  * ''put …'' / ''follow'' / ''ride'' / ''door'' — container, pet, mount, door-state resets
  * ''list'' — show the command list while editing
  * ''delete'' / ''clear'' — remove list entries or clear editor state (workspace ''clear'' vs immortal ''zone clear'' are different — see below)

===== Equip / give ordering walkthrough =====
<code mud>
> @load zone 4599
Okay.
> @zone npc 4503 4500
Okay.
> @zone equip 4502 wield
Okay.
> @zone give 3101
Okay.
> @zone list
> @examine zone
> @save zone
Okay.
> zone reset
Okay.
>
</code>

If the mob loads without the weapon: check list order, confirm item 4502 exists and is wieldable ([[immortal:creationlaw:items|Items]]), then reset again.

===== Live zone control (not the workspace editor) =====
<code mud>
> zone reset
Okay.
> zone clear 1299
Okay.
>
</code>

''zone [clear|reset] (<zone-top>)'' — immortal utilities. ''reset'' runs the stored command list; ''clear'' clears the live zone contents (per immortal handler). Do not confuse ''zone clear'' with ''@zone clear'' inside the workspace draft.

===== ''@rezone'' and ''approve'' =====
''@rezone <old-top> <new-top>'' remaps a zone top within your range (implementor/creator tooling) when you need to slide an area to a new top VID.

''approve zone <vid>'' prompts an immortal confirmation to mark a zone approved — use when your build is ready for wider play.

<code mud>
> approve zone 1299
>
</code>

===== Persistence reminder =====
 Zone definitions and reset lists live in the **world** H2 database. Workspace drafts are memory-only until ''@save zone''. Automatic world saves run on a long real-time cadence (''SaveEvent''); shutdown also saves. There is no classic "asave" — ''@save zone'' is the commit.

===== Zones and scripting =====
 A zone does **not** carry a SpecProc name. Scripted behavior lives on the rooms, items, and mobiles the zone places. Create those procs, attach them on the prototypes, then let zone resets load the prototypes — [[immortal:scriptlaw:zones|Script zones]], [[immortal:scriptlaw:rooms|Script rooms]], [[immortal:scriptlaw:mobiles|Script mobiles]], [[immortal:scriptlaw:objects|Script objects]].

===== Common mistakes =====
  * Editing resets but never ''zone reset''
  * ''@zone npc'' / ''item'' pointing at VIDs you have not ''@save''d yet
  * ''equip'' before ''npc'' in the list
  * Confusing ''@clear'' / ''@zone clear'' (workspace) with ''zone clear'' (live)
  * Expecting a zone-level script attachment (does not exist)

===== Related =====
  * [[immortal:creationlaw:rooms|Rooms]] / [[immortal:creationlaw:mobiles|Mobiles]] / [[immortal:creationlaw:objects|Objects]] — build before you place
  * [[immortal:scriptlaw:zones|Script Law — Zones]] — why scripts are not on zones
  * [[immortal:creationlaw|Creation Law]] — hub