- Requirements
- AI
Give Your AI Assistant a ServUO Brain ️
If you've ever tried to get ChatGPT or Claude to write you a ServUO script, you've probably hit the same wall: it sounds right, but it forgets the two-constructor pattern, botches serialization versioning, or confidently invents an ItemID that doesn't exist. It's not stupid — it just doesn't actually know ServUO's conventions, it's guessing from vibes.
So I put together a Skill for it: a packaged set of instructions that teaches an AI assistant how ServUO actually works before it writes a single line of your script.
What's a "Skill," exactly?
Think of it like handing a new hire a proper onboarding doc instead of just pointing them at the codebase and hoping. It's a bundle of markdown files the AI reads before it starts helping you, covering the patterns that show up in basically everything you'll ever write for a shard:
- The Item/Mobile constructor pattern (yes, the two constructors, every time)
- Serialize/Deserialize versioning — done properly, so you don't nuke your player saves the first time you add a field
- Gumps, commands, context menus, targets & prompts
- Regions, spells, skills, and combat
- Network/packet-level stuff, for when you actually need to go that deep
- Building, running, configuring, and debugging the server itself
Instead of the AI half-remembering RunUO tutorials from 2009, it's working off patterns pulled straight from the current Server/ and Scripts/ source and real, working community scripts.
The best part: no more hallucinated ItemIDs
If you've also got Ultima MCP hooked up (the local client-data bridge — if you haven't seen it, go check that out too), this skill knows to use it. Instead of guessing a hex value for an ItemID or hue and hoping it looks right, it'll actually query your client files for the real answer. Skill + MCP together means your AI is writing against your actual data, not folklore.
Ultima MCP
What it actually helps with
- "Add a new weapon type with a special ability"
- "Why does my server not load anymore after I added a field to this item"
- "Build me a gump for X"
- "I need a custom region that disables recall"
- "Walk me through setting up the server for the first time"
Basically: the stuff you'd normally dig through old forum threads or the source itself to figure out.
Why bother sharing this
Honestly — every one of us has had an AI assistant confidently write us a script that looked perfect and then corrupted a save file, or invented a WeaponAbility that doesn't exist. This isn't magic, it won't write your whole shard for you, and it's not a replacement for actually knowing what you're doing. But it should mean a lot fewer "wait, that's not how ServUO works" moments, and a lot less time spent re-explaining the basics every new chat.
Feedback welcome — if you use it and find gaps (a pattern it gets wrong, an area it doesn't cover well), let me know and I'll fold it back in.
Happy scripting. ⚔️
