Empty

Empty
ZZT-OOP name	empty
Internal ID	0 (00h)
Character	#char 0 (0x00)
Default color	black on light gray (0x70)
Stats?	no
Other traits
Effect on movement	floor
Uses ZZT-OOP color names?	no

An empty behaves like empty space. Empties are the default material for floors in ZZT, and alongside fakes, are the only two elements that permit free movement of all creatures.

Because they are the default floor material, empties are often produced by behavior within ZZT. For example, the #die command turns the current object into an empty, and many stat-less elements (such as keys and doors) are replaced with empties when they disappear from the board.

Empties always appear blank on screen and do not show their color. This makes it possible to conceal non-STK colors: e.g., a game might simulate dark red blood by #putting a fake over a dark red empty.

Black holes

A black hole is an empty that has been artificially given a stat.

Black holes affect player movement by giving the player an extra move when stepped on. A player stepping onto a black hole will cause the black hole's stat to behave like a player stat, usually resulting in the user's movement command being executed again in the same cycle. The effect is that the player seems to "jump over" the black hole tile.