Removed the conf/ modules, putting them into conf/examples instead, in line with other API changes. The gamesrc/ folder is now completely empty and all new modules have to be added explicitly.

game/gamesrc/conf/examples/at_initial_setup.py

@@ -1,4 +1,12 @@
 """
+At_initial_setup module template
+
+Copy this module up one level to /gamesrc/conf, name it what you like
+and then use it as a template to modify. 
+
+Then edit settings.AT_INITIAL_SETUP_HOOK_MODULE to point to your new
+module.
+
 Custom at_initial_setup method. This allows you to hook special
 modifications to the initial server startup process. Note that this
 will only be run once - when the server starts up for the very first
@@ -10,7 +18,6 @@ will be called without arguments. Note that tracebacks in this module
 will be QUIETLY ignored, so make sure to check it well to make sure it
 does what you expect it to.
 
-This module is selected by settings.AT_INITIAL_SETUP_HOOK_MODULE.
 """
 
 def at_initial_setup():

game/gamesrc/conf/examples/at_server_startstop.py

@@ -1,4 +1,13 @@
 """
+
+At_server_startstop module template
+
+Copy this module one level up, to gamesrc/conf/, name it what you
+will and use it as a template for your modifications. 
+
+Then edit settings.AT_SERVER_STARTSTOP_MODULE to point to your new
+module.
+
 This module contains functions that are imported and called by the
 server whenever it changes its running status. At the point these
 functions are run, all applicable hooks on individual objects have
@@ -11,8 +20,6 @@ The module should define at least these global functions:
 at_server_start() 
 at_server_stop() 
 
-The module used is defined by settings.AT_SERVER_STARTSTOP_MODULE.
-
 """
 
 def at_server_start():

game/gamesrc/conf/examples/connection_screens.py

@@ -1,4 +1,13 @@
 """
+Connect screen module template 
+
+Copy this module one level up, to gamesrc/conf/, name it what
+you want and modify it to your liking. 
+
+Then you set settings.CONNECTION_SCREEN_MODULE to point to your
+new module.
+
+
  This module holds textual connection screen definitions.  All global
  string variables (only) in this module are read by Evennia and
  assumed to define a Connection screen.  
@@ -14,9 +23,6 @@
  After adding new connection screens to this module you must either
  reboot or reload the server to make them available.
 
-You can change which module is used with
-settings.CONNECTION_SCREEN_MODULE.
-
 """
 
 from src.utils import utils 

game/gamesrc/conf/examples/lockfuncs.py

@@ -1,8 +1,12 @@
 """
 
-This is an example module for holding custom lock funcs, used in
-in-game locks.  The modules available to use as lockfuncs are defined
-in the tuple settings.LOCK_FUNC_MODULES.
+Lockfuncs module template
+
+Copy this module one level up, to gamesrc/conf/, name it what
+you will and edit it to your liking. 
+
+Then add the new module's path to the end of the tuple 
+defined in settings.LOCK_FUNC_MODULES.
 
 All functions defined globally in this module are assumed to be
 available for use in lockstrings to determine access. See

game/gamesrc/conf/examples/mssp.py

@@ -1,15 +1,23 @@
-#
-# MSSP (Mud Server Status Protocol) meta information 
-#
-# MUD website listings (that you have registered with) can use this
-# information to keep up-to-date with your game stats as you change
-# them. Also number of currently active players and uptime will
-# automatically be reported. You don't have to fill in everything
-# (and most are not used by all crawlers); leave the default
-# if so needed. You need to @reload the game before updated 
-# information is made available to crawlers (reloading does not 
-# affect uptime). 
-#
+"""
+
+MSSP module template 
+
+Copy this module one level up, to gamesrc/conf/, name it
+what you want and edit it to your satisfaction. 
+
+Then change settings.MSSP_META_MODULE to point to your new module.
+
+ MSSP (Mud Server Status Protocol) meta information 
+
+ MUD website listings (that you have registered with) can use this
+ information to keep up-to-date with your game stats as you change
+ them. Also number of currently active players and uptime will
+ automatically be reported. You don't have to fill in everything
+ (and most are not used by all crawlers); leave the default
+ if so needed. You need to @reload the game before updated 
+ information is made available to crawlers (reloading does not 
+ affect uptime). 
+"""
 
 MSSPTable =  {
 

game/gamesrc/conf/examples/oobfuncs.py

@@ -1,4 +1,7 @@
 """
+
+** OBS This module is not yet used by Evennia **
+
  Example module holding functions for out-of-band protocols to
  import and map to given commands from the client. This module 
  is selected by settings.OOB_FUNC_MODULE. 

src/server/mssp.py

@@ -20,7 +20,7 @@ MSSP_VAL = chr(2)
 
 
 # try to get the customized mssp info, if it exists. 
-MSSPTable_CUSTOM = utils.variable_from_module("game.gamesrc.conf.mssp", "MSSPTable", default={}) 
+MSSPTable_CUSTOM = utils.variable_from_module(settings.MSSP_META_MODULE, "MSSPTable", default={}) 
 
 class Mssp(object):
     """
@@ -167,7 +167,8 @@ class Mssp(object):
         "XTERM 256 COLORS":   "0"}
 
         # update the static table with the custom one
-        self.mssp_table.update(MSSPTable_CUSTOM)
+        if MSSPTable_CUSTOM:
+            self.mssp_table.update(MSSPTable_CUSTOM)
 
         varlist = ''
         for variable, value in self.mssp_table.items():

src/server/server.py

@@ -163,7 +163,8 @@ class Evennia(object):
         [(p.typeclass, p.at_init()) for p in PlayerDB.get_all_cached_instances()]
 
         # call server hook.
-        SERVER_HOOK_MODULE.at_server_start()         
+        if SERVER_HOOK_MODULE:
+            SERVER_HOOK_MODULE.at_server_start()         
 
     def terminal_output(self):
         """

src/settings_default.py

@@ -157,19 +157,20 @@ SEARCH_AT_MULTIMATCH_INPUT = "src.commands.cmdparser.at_multimatch_input"
 # The module holding text strings for the connection screen. 
 # This module should contain one or more variables 
 # with strings defining the look of the screen.
-CONNECTION_SCREEN_MODULE = "game.gamesrc.conf.connection_screens"
+CONNECTION_SCREEN_MODULE = "src.commands.connection_screen"
 # An option al module that, if existing, must hold a function
 # named at_initial_setup(). This hook method can be used to customize
 # the server's initial setup sequence (the very first startup of the system).
 # The check will fail quietly if module doesn't exist or fails to load. 
-AT_INITIAL_SETUP_HOOK_MODULE = "game.gamesrc.conf.at_initial_setup"
+AT_INITIAL_SETUP_HOOK_MODULE = ""
 # Module holding at_server_start(), at_server_reload() and
 # at_server_stop() methods. These methods will be called every time
 # the server starts, reloads and  resets/stops.
-AT_SERVER_STARTSTOP_MODULE = "game.gamesrc.conf.at_server_startstop"
+AT_SERVER_STARTSTOP_MODULE = ""
 # Module holding server-side functions for out-of-band protocols to call.
-OOB_FUNC_MODULE = "game.gamesrc.conf.oobfuncs"
-
+OOB_FUNC_MODULE = ""
+# Module holding MSSP meta data 
+MSSP_META_MODULE = ""
 
 ###################################################
 # Default command sets 
@@ -258,7 +259,7 @@ PERMISSION_HIERARCHY = ("Players","PlayerHelpers","Builders", "Wizards", "Immort
 PERMISSION_PLAYER_DEFAULT = "Players"
 # Tuple of modules implementing lock functions. All callable functions
 # inside these modules will be available as lock functions.
-LOCK_FUNC_MODULES = ("src.locks.lockfuncs","game.gamesrc.conf.lockfuncs")
+LOCK_FUNC_MODULES = ("src.locks.lockfuncs",)
 
 
 ###################################################

src/utils/utils.py

@@ -566,6 +566,8 @@ def mod_import(mod_path, propname=None):
             for line in errmsg.splitlines():
                 log.msg('[EE] %s' % line)
 
+    if not mod_path:
+        return None
     # first try to import as a python path
     try:        
         mod = __import__(mod_path, fromlist=["None"])
@@ -610,6 +612,8 @@ def variable_from_module(modpath, variable, default=None):
     If module cannot be imported or variable not found, default
     is returned.
     """
+    if not modpath:
+        return None
     try:
         mod = __import__(modpath, fromlist=["None"])
         return mod.__dict__.get(variable, default)