tutorial versus actual gameplay

Okay, so I’m not going to post any code, because I’m pretty sure there’s a better way to do it than the way I have it currently.

At any rate, in my game I have a tutorial room and then another room in which the actual game takes place. This works fine when the player first starts out and plays the tutorial first, but I also have it written so that the player can return to the tutorial at any point in time. My issue is that if the player returns to the tutorial in mid-game, the main game continues to take place (i.e. the number of turns continues, the player is still carrying all the inventory from the main game, a running commentary that’s been started from the main game continues, etc). Is there a way to code it so that when the player returns to the tutorial, it sort of “pauses” everything in the main game and then “unpauses” when they leave the tutorial?

At the moment, the code just transports them from one room to the other, using the commands “tut” and “end tut”, if that helps any – sort of like an XYZZY.

To preserve inventory, you can make two characters, and say ‘Now the player is Tutorial Sue’ then ‘Now the player is Real Marge’

Stopping time is harder. Look at example 407, Timeless, to get some ideas on how to stop time.

An easy way to stop time is to turn ‘every turn’ rules into ‘every turn when the player is Real Marge’; then the timers stop when you are someone else (such as the tutorial character).

Or make a new rulebook called “Every Real Turn”, then make a single rule “Every turn when the location is not the Tutorial: follow the Every Real Turn rules.”

Isn’t this easier still?

The advance time rule does nothing when the location is the Tutorial.
Every turn when the location is the Tutorial: rule succeeds.

(The second rule should prevent subsequent Every Turn rules from running.)

Oh, indeed it is! Clever!