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MUDs in 2012? Are there any good ones left?

Stabwound

Arcane
Joined
Dec 17, 2008
Messages
3,240
I never got heavily into playing MUDs, but I messed around with them off and on. For some reason I have a weird urge to get into one again, but it's kind of hard going finding one that still has players and doesn't suck.

Games like Aardwolf still have hundreds of players online, but from what I remember of that game it was a complete derp fest. I'm not exactly sure why it has retained such (relative) popularity compared to other games which are actually good. There are a couple other MUDs that are pretty popular and probably good, like Achaea, but they are the original micro transaction games and are almost impossible to advance in unless you give them your hard-earned doolars.

The last few MUD threads here that I found through Google are old and didn't get many replies, so this probably won't either. I'm just wondering if anyone knows of any good MUDs that still exist and are worth playing. There probably aren't any, but the last time I was into MUDs was 5-6 years ago so maybe a good one has popped up since then.
 

circ

Arcane
Joined
Jun 4, 2009
Messages
11,470
Location
Great Pacific Garbage Patch
I used to play a PK mud about 10 years back. I got tired of retarded imms.

Good ones I still play are:

Star Wars: Revenge of the Jedi @ jedi.betterbox.net:9400
and
DuneMUD @ dune.servint.com:6789

EDIT: oh a little more info. ROTJ is circle or derivative. Well if you've played DIKU you'll know the system.
Dune is LP. ROTJ has been around since 96-97 or so and players at peak is about 25-30. Not huge like some p2p MUDs.
DuneMUD has been around since 95 I think. I started way back in 96-97 on that one. Peak is about the same as ROTJ.
 

Nope

Liturgist
Joined
Feb 22, 2011
Messages
108
The only one that managed to keep my interest was Discworld MUD, so i'd recommend that one.
The three commands that are good to check out right away is Alias for automating some annoyances, journey/travelling (not sure if it's named this) for quick travelling through several rooms and the automap.
This should help a bit as well: http://daftjunk.com/dw/
 

Flacracker

Educated
Joined
Nov 6, 2011
Messages
77
Can someone answer a question for me about muds? I never played one and about a year ago I thought I would try Aardwolf. I got on it and roamed around. But am I able to see anybody? I was only able to interact with people in the chat. Can I see them running around? And is there combat and how does it work?
 

Gregz

Arcane
Joined
Jul 31, 2011
Messages
8,511
Location
The Desert Wasteland
Can someone answer a question for me about muds? I never played one and about a year ago I thought I would try Aardwolf. I got on it and roamed around. But am I able to see anybody? I was only able to interact with people in the chat. Can I see them running around? And is there combat and how does it work?

Traditionally similar to Angband/Nethack. ASCII art representing the map, MOBs, etc. with text descriptions.

ascii_map_echo.png


/subbing this thread because I remember enjoying MUDs back in the day and am due to revisit them.
 

Stabwound

Arcane
Joined
Dec 17, 2008
Messages
3,240
I've still been looking for a fun mud to play. It's pretty intimidating getting into any of the popular ones, because most of the players have been playing forever and some of them are super complex. I have a Batmud account from 2006, I logged in and it's forcing me to reincarnate. There's about a 1000 options for creating a character and my eyes just glaze over with no idea what to even choose. Fun shit.
 

Multi-headed Cow

Guest
I played the absolute shit out of Discworld MUD for quite a few years. That's still chugging along and always has a good 80-100 people on, fairly sure. My newest character (Made in 2000) is still floating around on there. Loved being an asshole to the people who roleplayed romantic vampires and shit. When player housing was still relatively new I was able to bust into houses (I played a thief) and would steal all the g-strings and dildos and shit and leave reproachful notes behind in their place. The MUD was only loosely based on Discworld, but I did enjoy the combat and quest design, and it was always well populated, and had a great game world.

Changed so much since I played that it's basically a whole new game now though. And my character is a bit fucked since they redid how stats and skills are handled a few times in the 12 years since he was made, and having maximum DEX isn't that good for 'em. Still, I'd recommend playing it. If you do I'd recommend not playing an assassin, wizard, witch, and possibly priest though. Assassin is mandatory PVP enabled once you graduate which is an extra pile of complexity you probably wouldn't want. Wizard, witch, and priest are fiddly and would be hard to level without any previous knowledge. Then again for all I know they've changed all that.
 

Hoaxmetal

Arcane
Joined
Jul 19, 2009
Messages
9,157
I tried aardwolf some time ago and it was interesting experience but it didn't stick, will try discworld today.
 

Muty

Prophet
Patron
Joined
Apr 8, 2009
Messages
1,462
Wasteland 2 BattleTech
I think that my old character got deleted, I'll make a new one and hop in.
 

ArcturusXIV

Cipher
Joined
Mar 13, 2003
Messages
1,894
Location
Innsmouth
Avendar. Two people on these forums play, the game is non-standard fantasy, excellent (and well-balanced) class system, roleplaying required, and lots of focus on PK and Guilds. About 10-20 people active at once. Avendar dot com.

I recommend Void Scholar, if you're interested in a powerful, but deep, class to play.
 

Ippotis

Barely Literate
Joined
Apr 16, 2013
Messages
1
Check out Arrant Destiny.

admud.com | Port: 1999

Arrant Destiny is a mud based on the RPG from TSR. We have tried to weave the broad game into Arrant Destiny. If you are a player of Greyhawk then some of the areas will be familiar to you. For those that are not familiar, you will have an exciting time learning about the World of Greyhawk. When you play in Arrant Destiny, you join in the weaving of a tapestry of which you are a vital part. Role-playing is an important part of playing Arrant Destiny, it involves you playing your part to bring the story alive. It will be bigger than you are but you can become one of its great Heroes. That will be the essence of Arrant Destiny's Greyhawk's Mud history. It enfolds, informs and connects every part of the mud setting and all who play here of any length of time.
 

aleam iacis

Liturgist
Joined
Nov 4, 2012
Messages
115
Codex USB, 2014 BattleTech
I thought Lost Souls, was pretty awesome. I think it's still up, I don't remember the info but the regular site is lostsouls.org and I know there is a wiki somewhere. I haven't played it in 2 years, but I think people still play. I thought it was wonderfully deep and complex with great world building, plus they ripped off most if not all fantasy races and classes you might be interested in, ringwraiths, servant of the patryns, weird werewolves, shapeshifters, beholders, skaven, fire mages, evil witches, sword saints, rangers, space rangers, discordians, soul sucking demons ...

The learning curve was kind of steep(considering I never understood MUDs before), but the other players were nice enough to explain a bit. Also you almost can't cripple your characters permanently!
 

Blaine

Cis-Het Oppressor
Patron
Joined
Oct 6, 2012
Messages
1,874,662
Location
Roanoke, VA
Grab the Codex by the pussy
Threshold is an excellent old-school MUD. Roleplaying is enforced, people stay in character at all times, and there's not nearly as much of that "my purple-eyed elf with flowing hair and tattoos" Mary Sue cheesy wish-fulfillment bullshit that's found in most RP-enforced MUDs and MUSHes. Even better, automated combat systems aren't allowed and combat is structured in a certain way, so you won't have to pay some nerd $50 for his "combat system" that automates the overly-complex unfollowable combat mechanics in Iron Realms MUDs (Achaea and so on).

http://www.thresholdrpg.com/

Personally, MUDs and MUSHes are the only electronic games I've ever played in which I feel that roleplaying (LARPing, if you will) works and can actually be believable and enjoyable. Being able to type out a completely customized description of your character, their clothing and gear (depending on the game), and so on creates an experience that can't be replicated in any other format. Roleplaying-enforced MUDs and MUSHes are also the only way I like my MUDs and MUSHes. I don't like the "lol leetspeek" ones with no RP enforcement, such as Tardwolf, as you mentioned.

This is a decent site to "browse" MUDs:

http://mudstats.com/Browse

And finally, there's this MUD I played many years ago, which is extremely old-school and difficult to map/play, but with an interesting and dedicated player base. I'm not sure how it's faring now, though.

http://www.avalon-rpg.com/
 

stony3k

Augur
Patron
Joined
May 8, 2007
Messages
470
Strap Yourselves In
I used to play 3 kingdoms a lot years ago. It was a little wacky but fun
 

Blaine

Cis-Het Oppressor
Patron
Joined
Oct 6, 2012
Messages
1,874,662
Location
Roanoke, VA
Grab the Codex by the pussy
Was thinking of writing a MUD until I realized human life is finite

The problem with getting into/making MUDs at this juncture is that it's like boarding a cruise ship to go on an exciting vacation whilst the ship is in the process of sinking to the bottom of the ocean.

MUDs have got to be the most obscure, rarefied, and endangered genre of gaming outside of text adventure games... which are a related genre.
 

Gozma

Arcane
Joined
Aug 1, 2012
Messages
2,951
I just want to note in the heyday of MUDs there was a lot more shit than just playacting going on. There were (for example) incredibly hardcore faction vs. faction PVP muds where anyone would have considered you a clown if you made the slightest nod to RP. I don't want anyone to think that anything a MMORPG has ever done wasn't done on dialup by the early '90s on a MUD.
 

winterraptor

Cipher
Joined
Dec 13, 2008
Messages
408
Divinity: Original Sin Torment: Tides of Numenera
The problem with getting into/making MUDs at this juncture is that it's like boarding a cruise ship to go on an exciting vacation whilst the ship is in the process of sinking to the bottom of the ocean.

MUDs have got to be the most obscure, rarefied, and endangered genre of gaming outside of text adventure games... which are a related genre.

Yeah much of whatever greater fanbase the MUDs might've had at one time, the graphical MMOs have stolen away more or less. The sad thing is these RPer MMO crowds mostly flow where the biggest population games are (in a continuous death-life cycle...besides I guess WOW) except for gradually dwindling old-timers holding down the fort, as it were. Everyone is spread around. I guess this suits most people anyway, starting new games, new characters all the time, chasing that impulse as apposed to those who stick with 1 or 2 characters for years or even decades. Although some do tend to import their concepts over in new iterations.

At least with MUDs you have a higher % chance of quality RPers as apposed to chugging through the chafe in MMO-land sifting for diamonds in the rough. Personally I've only dabbled my toes here and there, found it to be a waste of energy mostly, but I didn't fail to notice the pattern.
 

Blaine

Cis-Het Oppressor
Patron
Joined
Oct 6, 2012
Messages
1,874,662
Location
Roanoke, VA
Grab the Codex by the pussy
I just want to note in the heyday of MUDs there was a lot more shit than just playacting going on. There were (for example) incredibly hardcore faction vs. faction PVP muds where anyone would have considered you a clown if you made the slightest nod to RP. I don't want anyone to think that anything a MMORPG has ever done wasn't done on dialup by the early '90s on a MUD.

There still are... to the extent that low populations can support, anyway. It's hard to say, because you can't really tell much about a given MUD without playing it for a while.

Also note that there are "playacting" MUDs that are also incredibly hardcore. The two aren't mutually exclusive. I'm not sure why so many people who populate RPG Codex are self-loathing (or insecure) enough that they feel the need to ridicule roleplaying. There's a lot of cheesy/wish fulfillment roleplaying out there, certainly, and it's painful to read/witness, but that's true of any endeavor in life.

In the MUDs I've played, roleplaying isn't usually a matter of standing around texting emotes for three hours, either. Creating an interesting and well-written character description, playing in a certain way, and speaking to other players in-character while performing game mechanic-related activities goes a very long way towards helping to maintain an illusion of a "real" world away from home.
 

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