The bots play an important role in Myst Online - Uru Live (MOUL). They are used with almost every major event in the cavern as they can change things in an Age. For example, fireworks and lightshows would not be possible without them. Actually, most of the fun-stuff in Uru Live is made possible by the bots.
There are at least four bots that I know of: Mir-o-Bot, Magic Bot, Mimi Bot and Yodabot. As Yodabot is only used during some events to make the lightshow possible, I will not discuss Yodabot here. Bots are not real players like anyone else, they are programs that accept commands from real players.
Mir-o-Bot: 32319 Magic Bot: 27527 Mimi Bot : 71459
Bot commands are visible by everyone currently present in the Age. This means that if you create a ring of firemarbles for example, only people that are already in the Age will see them. People who link into the Age after the ring command was given will not see the firemarbles, even though everyone else can see them. (The firemarbles can still be heard though...)
Most Bot commands affect only your own avatar. However, there are a few exceptions. For example, the onlake command. This command is used in places that have no solid ground to stand on and enables you to walk where you would otherwise fall through the ground. Everyone in the Age is affected by it. This particular command also has the side effect of following you into other Ages and it can hinder your ability to reach certain places in an Age.
Some Bot commands have an effect that is shared among the players using that command. This is the case with the 'bugs' and 'ring' command. (fireflies and firemarbles) When one player has the fireflies and another player uses the 'bugs on' command as well, the fireflies will jump from the first player to the second.
During events the bots are often used to add special effects for the event. Sometimes the bot is locked to prevent other commands from interfering with these special effects while on other events the bot is free to use by anyone. Still, it is wise to consider that people may already be using the firemarbles even if you can't see them yourself (see first note).
Before you can use a bot, you must add the bot to your buddy-list or be in the same Age as the bot is in. Adding the bot to your buddy-list is more convenient as that way you can talk to the bot even when you're in another Age. For example, to add Mir-o-bot to your buddy-list, type '/addbuddy 32319' (without the single quotes). Bots can be given commands exactly the same way as when talking to another Uru-Live player. Select the bot from the player-list on the left side of the screen. Then enter the command you want to give to the bot. A useful command to start with is 'hi'. The bot will then tell you where (in which Age) it is. You can then say 'link' to the bot and you will be linked to the same Age as the bot is in. Always use private messages (messages sent directly to the bot) as everything you send to the Age-players, Buddies or Neighbors will not be heard by the bots.
Mir-o-Bot is probably the most accessible bot for most people. It has the highest uptime (hours that a bot is online) and it has a simpler set of commands than the Magic Bots. Mir-o-Bot can do most of the basic things like moving your avatar to somewhere else, making your avatar float so you can look down from a high altitude or walk through a wall. Other things it can do include changing the sky and fog. The real party can begin when you let Mir-o-Bot bring in a few soccer balls. As far as I know, Mir-o-Bot is the only bot that can create one or more rings of firemarbles around your avatar that you can take with you as long as you stay in the same Age.
The rings of firemarbles in the previous picture were created using the following commands:
ring white on 7 2 ring red on 5 3 ring yellow on 4 4 ring blue on 3 5
They were removed using the following commands:
ring white off ring red off ring yellow off ring blue off
The ring commands sometimes do not seem to respond properly. In that case use:
ring reset
Magic Bot & Mimi Bot are two bots that each accept the same commands. The only difference between the two is that one has a male avatar, the other has a female avatar. Some of their responses reflect that. (Try the 'w' command for example.) From now on, I will refer to them as the Magic Bots.
The Magic Bots can do a lot more than what can be done with Mir-o-Bot. Their list of commands is much longer. The Magic Bots have an extensive list of clothing commands that allow you to change clothes without having to go to your Relto. You can also save the clothes you are wearing and instantly put them on the next time you're in the cavern. You need to be in the same Age as the bot is in, for this to work.
I can recommend all of the animal rides the Magic Bots offer: riding the Urwin in Negilahn, riding Shroomie in Teledahn or one of the two Kamkenta's in Dereno (or Winter Teledahn). You will need to be in first person view (F1) to actually see anything though. It doesn't end there, in Magic City you can even fly with the Bahro.
You can also use the Magic Bots to bring in some company: a Bahro, Yeesha, Zandi (from the cleft) and a few others. You can make them laugh or dance, among other things. Ever seen a dancing Bahro?
The Magic Bots have a lot more to offer but for now, I'll just name a few: they can deliver messages to other players with the 'advert' command, offer Skydiver courses and many people enjoy their "Hidden Treasure" games.
Using the bots can have interesting effects on your Relto. Especially the mixology Ages can bring quite some changes to your Relto. This can affect what you see in other Ages that you visit afterward too. These changes will stay for as long as you remain logged in. Simply logging out will not undo these changes, you wil have to quit the game and start it up again. After that, everyting will be as it was before your excursion in the land of the bots.
