MUD

To tell you the truth, I am already a MUD player in the new sense that MUDs have evolved into the forms of MMORPGs. I am an avid player of the MMOG RuneScape and also play a little teeny bit of World of Warcraft. I have played Kingdom of Loathing and was a distinguished player in it. Now I am looking beyond playing these games and more into making a MUD. I have read a lot of your stuff and have SMAUG and all that and can follow the tutorials you give, but I have a few questions. I know you should play MUDs to get a feel you like and all that. Are there any good MUDs you suggest? Hopefully it will help me get started on my project. I have the Summer to waste and need something to do. I am able to work hard on it and can understand what I am doing if I am given time. Any tips for me? Please respond here or email me if needed. One more question? Is it possible to in a MUD, change it to a slightly more graphical format (even if the graphics aren't top notch) and play using a in-game GUI? This includes a graphical log-in, instead of the input commands to create or load the character. If you have any information I might need, do not hesitate to answer. It will be very much appreciated. And sorry I am wasting so much of the screen you are reading at the moment. :P


Tyvm,
Falzoabob - Joe Burk

Let me give a little more info about the kind of MUD I want to make. A lot of MUDs are based more on their single-player mode with player to player interaction every one in a while. I prefer games where players depend on other players quite a bit, like RuneScape. Now do you have an advice?

I'm not sure I understand what you mean. If you're asking if a MUD can be converted to a graphical format, then yes, it can -- in fact, Everquest is basically a modified MUD with graphics on top. (It so resembles a MUD that they got into legal trouble from a codebase that thought they stole their code to modify into Everquest.)

Of course, you're opening up a big can of worms, because now you have to implement whatever client-side code you need, instead of relying on existing clients like MUSHclient. If you put in custom, graphical enhancements then MUSHclient or any other standard client won't be able to handle it.

If your graphics are purely text-based, then sure, you can do that, but that also has a number of issues, mainly regarding the feasibility of displaying pictures in a textual format that's understandable, meaningful and allowing players to do something with it to answer back.

There are a number of threads on this forum about the complications of introducing graphics and coordinates into a MUD; the threads are a bit lengthy but should be an interesting read.

Generally MUDs are like this because they don't have enough players to force players to depend on each other. If you can't get anything done without other people, but there aren't enough people around to group with you ("free electrons", in a sense) then you're basically stuck.

I disagree that player interaction is as rare as you say it is, because every MUD I've seen has been fairly social. Of course it's not like MMORPGs where you need to group to get things done, but still, it's not as if MUDs are single player games, either.

Anyhow, this is an interesting design question; basically if you want to force people to group together, you have to ensure that they only get rewarded for killing things or doing quests "above their level", which would require them to band together and get strength from numbers.

Ksilyan is right in many respects. A graphical MUD is a large can of worms. I made a lengthy post about design issues:

http://www.gammon.com.au/forum/bbshowpost.php?bbsubject_id=5959

I don't totally agree that MMORPGs always *need* interaction. In World Of Warcraft, for example, it is possible to reach maximum level by soloing (that is, not grouping), although it is generally easier if you do.

Probably there would be many MUDs where some quests can be soloed and others need groups, that is probably quest or mob design. You can basically design mobs so that it is impossible for a single player to kill them, thus forcing grouping.

However as some players may be on at 3 am when everyone else is asleep (maybe) then it is only fair to give them something to do solo as well.

As for the graphics, the Dawn of Time codebase had a fairly simple text-based map that appeared on each turn (if you wanted) that showed your relationship to nearby rooms.

My advice is, if you have a few months to play with, rather than a few years, take an existing codebase, like Smaug or DoT, and modify that. Designing one from scratch, even with rudimentary graphics, will take a long time.

Okay. Thanks for all the feedback. I know what you're saying about the interaction. I know it is not basically 1p, but it is kind of like Warcraft where you choose how you play. And I'm not saying that MUDs are signle player, but I prefer games where other players help and hurt (Trades and Pking). PvP is definitely going to be a strong element in my MUD. I might end up making a very unique game. Cheer me on.