MUDs in 2012? Are there any good ones left?

[Levenmouth]

There's nowhere close to enough new blood coming in to replace people who finally drift away/die/whose wives force them to quit/get a real job/become homeless purchasing $1,000 artifacts/etc.

That is not too bad. I knew someone who had spent $15,000 on a certain IRE game. Amusingly enough, if your post did not say that you were writing about the Avalon thing, I would think you were referring to IRE games. A truly unapologetic tossing money down the bridge contest.

 

[Blaine]

That is not too bad. I knew someone who had spent $15,000 on a certain IRE game. Amusingly enough, if your post did not say that you were writing about the Avalon thing, I would think you were referring to IRE games. A truly unapologetic tossing money down the bridge contest.

I actually am referring to the IRE and Simutronics games. I played some of those, too, and I also knew people who'd sunk tens of thousands into them. I don't think Avalon was hugely pay-to-win, but it's been a good long while since I played.

Threshold was probably the most reasonable of all the pay-for-benefits MUDs I tried. It was also pretty quality and RP-mandatory. I don't think anyone would want to put more than $1,000 into it at the very most. There are rewards at various levels, with your own persistent home somewhere around the $500-700 level.

 

[NatureDruid]

Are there any MUDs like Aardwolf (with a similar interface with various stats displayed) but where roleplaying is encouraged?

 

[Blaine]

Are there any MUDs like Aardwolf (with a similar interface with various stats displayed) but where roleplaying is encouraged?

Not really. MUDs like Aardwolf and BATMUD with default, user-friendly, elaborate UIs, status meters, pictographs, built-in functional maps, et cetera are pretty much uniformly non-RP.

Plenty of MUDs have rudimentary ASCII mapping systems of their own called up via a command, and many MUD clients can be programmed for auto-mapping, to display vary stats and meters in customized panes, to customize the color and font of text you see, set up aliases and triggers, and so on, but doing this usually takes anywhere from a little bit to a lot of know-how and work on the user's part, unless someone's already done that work and shared it with others (which is sometimes the case).

The IRE MUDs are RP-mandatory and have mediocre official UIs that no one uses.

Also, unless a MUD is marked "RP required" or "RP mandatory," chances are most people won't bother to stay in character. There's really no in-between. "RP encouraged" just means the wizards/admins will frown on anyone mocking roleplayers for doing so.

 

[NatureDruid]

Are there any MUDs like Aardwolf (with a similar interface with various stats displayed) but where roleplaying is encouraged?

Not really. MUDs like Aardwolf and BATMUD with default, user-friendly, elaborate UIs, status meters, pictographs, built-in functional maps, et cetera are pretty much uniformly non-RP.

Plenty of MUDs have rudimentary ASCII mapping systems of their own called up via a command, and many MUD clients can be programmed for auto-mapping, to display vary stats and meters in customized panes, to customize the color and font of text you see, set up aliases and triggers, and so on, but doing this usually takes anywhere from a little bit to a lot of know-how and work on the user's part, unless someone's already done that work and shared it with others (which is sometimes the case).

The IRE MUDs are RP-mandatory and have mediocre official UIs that no one uses.

Also, unless a MUD is marked "RP required" or "RP mandatory," chances are most people won't bother to stay in character. There's really no in-between. "RP encouraged" just means the wizards/admins will frown on anyone mocking roleplayers for doing so.

How is the presence of a UI a deterrent to RP? It is simply there to be able to access pertinent character information at a glance. There are still text descriptions and text commands, so it is still a MUD.

 

[Blaine]

It's not really a matter of a UI being a deterrent to RP. Someone has to do all the work and coding to create a UI and other user-friendly features, and from what I can tell, this isn't a priority for any community other than those surrounding gameplay-centric MUDs in which leveling up, stats, grinding, equipment, and so on are a central part of the experience.

 

[Levenmouth]

Most MUDs display your stats, just not at all times. Even RP-heavy games like Armageddon give you a list of skills and attribute levels. The idea is generally that the more RP you the less you should tinker with stats, thus both Armageddon and RPI MUDs display stats in a fairly vague manner, e.g. "Archery: Beginner" as opposed to "Archery 1.53; 5 rats to next level". This is more so the case in Arm than in RPIs, with the former not even displaying recipes for items you can craft.

You thus usually have a choice between two MUDs: gameplay-centric, as Blaine describes them, and wait-centric. The latter have very heavy-RP, but a lot of the time you would spend either alt-tabbing or not doing anything particularly interesting. The former are basically MMOs. There is of course some middle ground, but I personally do not know any worth recommending. I would really stay away from IRE MUDs like Achaea; they are neither worth your time nor money. There is, of course, also Hell, but I am quite honestly not sure about the legality of that game under a good number of jurisdictions.

 

[DawnrazorDCLXVI]

Avendar.

 

[DawnrazorDCLXVI]

Avendar.

 

[Levenmouth]

How is that working out for you? They seem to have a fairly solid concept there, but the population is a little small.

 

[DawnrazorDCLXVI]

Ignore.

 

[belowmecoldhands]

Ever play that time travel one - I forget its name but it was very popular for a while. You could start in one of 7 times /places, from Arabian nights, medieval, Victorian, through to modern day. Abilities and classes were designed on the basis of the folklore for that period being real - so a wizard might start in ancient Persia or medieval, a gun-using fighter in the modern day or Victorian times, a thief with pickpocket speciality in ancient Persia or Victorian era etc. There were wide ranges of starting areas for each class, but because you needed skill trainers some eras would suit some builds better than others (eg a fighter will find rifle trainers only in the modern and Victorian eras, but could learn swords instead in the earlier ones).
(....)

I did actually try that. I tried it because I was looking for a western gunfight sort of game.

I stopped playing. Don't know why.

Are there any old west MMORPGs? I would think by now there would be one. Frontier 1859 died.

Found the link to the MUD:
https://www.legendmud.org/

Note: I did not know Raph Koster was instrumental in its creation. He went on to be a part of Ultima Online and Star Wars Galaxies. I liked UO, but didn't try SWG. He's now part of the team wroking on Crowfall.

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Raph_Koster

 

[belowmecoldhands]

Found one I tried and liked severla years ago but couldn't remember the name:
http://www.medievia.com/whatismed.html

It's an old mud first made in the 90's. It was a ripoff of some open source code so there were legal issues early on. But it survived and it's still going. Number of players logged in is something like 50-100. I think most of the muds I've visited are in that vicinity population-wise. Only thing I don't like aobut it's everybody ends up having all the same classes eventually. I'd like a more limited multi-class system. And since it's old it's got some bloat. That's good and bad. I still am attracted to it.

From the link above:

• Endless player-created zones to explore for the first time.
• Ships you can take out to sea. You can go crabbing, kill monsters, attack other ships, explore new islands, etc.
• Dragons that hunt you, good dragons that fly you places, dragon lairs you can defeat, etc.
• Trading for gold where you take goods via covered wagon/mules across the wilderness through adventure after adventure from trade post to trade post. Now you can even go right under the ocean to undersea trading posts.
• Player vs Player action in zones, ships, wilderness, herobattles, arenas, CPK, NPK, LPK, etc.
• Joining a clan, the clan can join a town, or go ahead and make their own town in the wilderness.
• Giving birth and creating your own bloodline. If your bloodline gets big enough you can build homes and castles.
• A game that has the intuition to track your happiness, pride, sadness, and fear while changing itself to fit your needs!
• Weather, storms, wind, fire, floods, disease, even asteroids. This may be text but it is the most dynamic game ever attempted. The wind affects the ships, where fire spreads, and even how some critters smell you if you are upwind from them.
  

 

[belowmecoldhands]

Most MUDs display your stats, just not at all times. Even RP-heavy games like Armageddon give you a list of skills and attribute levels. The idea is generally that the more RP you the less you should tinker with stats, thus both Armageddon and RPI MUDs display stats in a fairly vague manner, e.g. "Archery: Beginner" as opposed to "Archery 1.53; 5 rats to next level". This is more so the case in Arm than in RPIs, with the former not even displaying recipes for items you can craft.

You thus usually have a choice between two MUDs: gameplay-centric, as Blaine describes them, and wait-centric. The latter have very heavy-RP, but a lot of the time you would spend either alt-tabbing or not doing anything particularly interesting. The former are basically MMOs. There is of course some middle ground, but I personally do not know any worth recommending. I would really stay away from IRE MUDs like Achaea; they are neither worth your time nor money. There is, of course, also Hell, but I am quite honestly not sure about the legality of that game under a good number of jurisdictions.

Interesting topic to me. I've always had bad reaction to RP-servers. I tried one and all of the rules were just overbearing. It felt so arbitrary and unfriendly. I'd rather just have gameplay, even it means killing 5 more rats. Just give me interesting things. Why can't more people see it's not killing rats which is the problem it's when it becomes too repetitive. Repetitiveness is easy to spot. 1,1,1,1,1 = repetitive. 6,5,4,3,2,1 = less repetitive. 1,6,5,8,2,0,3 = much less repetitive. Combine that with creative designers and it gets interesting. Generally the best MMORPG's I've played reward lots of differnet activities. They have deep systems. You can explore, craft, kill, socialize, quest, trade, build and so on. It's not relying on any single thing too much which necessarily ruins it, it's when it becomes too repetitive or you don't enjoy it. Sometimes people just don't enjoy certain things, even if those things are perfectly fine for some people. For example, I don't like football. Never did. But it's a legitimate sport.

EDIT: Sorry I'm not saying RP-servers are illegitimate.

 

[Norfleet]

RPers in general tend to have a bad reaction to me, my drive towards EFFICIENCY and ORDER naturally positions me to be an Evil Overlord. This pleases them briefly until they realize I am actually an Evil Overlord, not a cardboard cutout pretending to be an evil overlord, and that I am actually doing evil things in addition to twirling my mustache, not merely engaging in mustache twirling for their benefit. When I play a role, I ACTUALLY PLAY THE ROLE, and this bothers them.

 

[belowmecoldhands]

RPers in general tend to have a bad reaction to me, my drive towards EFFICIENCY and ORDER naturally positions me to be an Evil Overlord. This pleases them briefly until they realize I am actually an Evil Overlord, not a cardboard cutout pretending to be an evil overlord, and that I am actually doing evil things in addition to twirling my mustache, not merely engaging in mustache twirling for their benefit. When I play a role, I ACTUALLY PLAY THE ROLE, and this bothers them.

Do you by chance have any ties to government:


But I know what you mean anyway. That's what bothers me about RP too. With me it must be a psychological traffic jam somewhere because instead of being an evil overlord like yourself I'm like a retired cop. I'm a good guy but I don't go out into the world actively fighting crime. I stick to myself. I also am partially psychotic because I neeed people like yourself to exist in the game world. I can't lie, I need an enemy or something to fear or rally against, so despite being "retired" I still want to care.

(I'm not a retired cop IRL. Although I'd consider it something to be proud of if I wasn't a corrupt cop.)

I am now guilty of derailing this thread somewhat, but damn it's like the apple on the tree of knowledge. I can't resist a big wholesome bite. I've played so many PvP servers, I just have to spill the beans and tell someone.

I will now proceed and pray to God for my soul. I am unclean. I hold no illusions about it.

 

[Azrael the cat]

RPers in general tend to have a bad reaction to me, my drive towards EFFICIENCY and ORDER naturally positions me to be an Evil Overlord. This pleases them briefly until they realize I am actually an Evil Overlord, not a cardboard cutout pretending to be an evil overlord, and that I am actually doing evil things in addition to twirling my mustache, not merely engaging in mustache twirling for their benefit. When I play a role, I ACTUALLY PLAY THE ROLE, and this bothers them.

In fairness, every PvP-enabled MUD in existence has had, at some stage, a plague of people 'roleplaying' mentally challenged psychopaths. It makes them very wary of anyone new coming in and saying that they're playing an 'evil overlord'.

Actually playing an Evil Overlord - i.e. rewarding clan-members with loyalty and prosperity such that they're actually going to support your rise to power, and giving people some reason not to stab you in the face the moment you declare yourself as being in charge - is good. Sadly, most 'evil overlords' translate into 'low-level lunatic randomly attacking passers-by in the street for no real gain, until he's put down for being a nuisance'.

 

[Elzair]

So what MUDs are good right now?

Also, for developers, what codebases are good for developing MUDs?

 

[DawnrazorDCLXVI]

Diku.

 

[Norfleet]

Actually playing[/I] an Evil Overlord - i.e. rewarding clan-members with loyalty and prosperity such that they're actually going to support your rise to power, and giving people some reason not to stab you in the face the moment you declare yourself as being in charge - is good. Sadly, most 'evil overlords' translate into 'low-level lunatic randomly attacking passers-by in the street for no real gain, until he's put down for being a nuisance'.

Yeah, there's those. But those are, as you put them, nuisances. They aren't a serious problem and nobody supports them in any way.

The more common mode of interaction failure I encountered a LOT was the "I'm the hero" syndrome. These are these players, they're convinced THEY are the heroes, THEY should never have to cope with the evil in their lives or otherwise have to compromise with Evil. This is despite the fact that they have done nothing to earn this: They're not the hero. They're not tough. They cannot actually fight the forces of Evil. They get VERY BUTTHURT when their perception of how they are fundamentally fails to match how they ACTUALLY are and they wind up being the guy who gets impaled on a stake to serve as a warning to others.

 

[giantawesomemeep]

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.

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

Where is this from I played it once then lost the link a few years ago and I've been searching for it since.

 

[Hoaxmetal]

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.

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

Where is this from I played it once then lost the link a few years ago and I've been searching for it since.

Aardwolf MUD?

 

[Blaine]

Yeah, that howling wolf watermark is a dead giveaway.

 

[Blaine]

Oh shit, I stumbled across this ancient Google doc from 2009.

This is a play (or most of its component parts, I think some are missing) that I wrote to be performed in a series of "stage" rooms within a MUD using various commands and code tailored specifically for that purpose. Other players would come to watch the play, senior bards (players) would take note of your handiwork, etc.

Yeah, I role-played a bard and wrote a high school Lit class-tier play, fuck you. I'm certainly not posting it to make myself look cool, but mainly because it's a decent example of how MUDs actually allowed you to be creative and interactive, and to participate in emergent scenarios, rather than merely grind, queue up, listen to raid leader on Ventrilo, and pres butan.

Also, it's a Grimm-style tale with a horrible ending, as all proper bedtime stories should be.

BS EFFECT PERFORM A1
Effect (room_title): It is a warm summer's night. Within a cozy cottage bedroom, a little girl is absentmindedly fidgeting with her toes. Her face is softly illuminated by the glow of an oil lamp on a nearby nightstand.

BS EFFECT PERFORM A2
Effect (yell): A woman's voice calls out, “Ursula, it's time you went to sleep. Put out the light, dear.”

URSULA: BS YELL Yes, mother!

URSULA: BS EM extinguishes the lamp and snuggles down into her blankets, yawning.

URSULA: BS EM listens drowsily to the songs of crickets and observes a few fireflies blinking through the gloom outside her open bedroom window.

BS EFFECT PERFORM A3
Effect (desc): The little girl's eyes begin to shut of their own accord, and she drifts into slumber.

BS EFFECT PERFORM A4
Effect (desc): Some time later, a faint breeze stirs the dozing girl's hair, and a small, winged figure flutters stealthily in through the open window.

BS EFFECT PERFORM A5
Effect (emote): The winged figure flits and capers about, tittering quietly to itself.

BS EFFECT PERFORM A6
Effect (emote): The winged figure presently alights on the nightstand, its arms raised high as though accepting accolades from some unseen audience.

BS EFFECT PERFORM A7
Effect (emote): The winged figure murmurs a strange incantation and twirls a finger through the air, grinning.

BS EFFECT PERFORM A8
Effect (desc): The singing of crickets and small noises from elsewhere in the cottage fall silent.

BS EFFECT PERFORM A9
Effect (emote): The winged figure leans over, places one hand gently on Ursula's temple, and puts its lips to the little girl's ear.

BS EFFECT PERFORM A10
Effect (say): The winged figure says, “Wake up, Ursula... wake up, my dear.”

URSULA: BS SAY (sitting up and blinking groggily) Who are you?

PRIETA: BS SAY (bowing extravagantly) I am called Prieta. Tell me, do you know of Queen Maeve?

URSULA: BS SAY (brightening) Oh yes, I've heard many tales of Queen Maeve and the fae in Faethorn. Those are my favorite stories.

PRIETA: BS SAY Lovely! I come bearing wonderful news: Queen Maeve would very much like to meet you, Ursula. She sent me here as her messenger.

URSULA: BS SAY (doubtfully) Really? You mean... right now? Tonight?

PRIETA: BS SAY (grinning broadly) Yes, now, this very night! Come along, dear. We mustn't keep the Queen waiting.

URSULA: BS SAY But why does she want to see me?

PRIETA: BS SAY (with a wink) Because you're a very special little girl. Hurry now, Ursula. Time is of the essence.

PRIETA: BS EM quickly takes flight, flits out through the open bedroom window, and vanishes into the night.

BS EFFECT PERFORM A11
Effect (desc): The sound of singing crickets and other soft noises can once again be heard.

URSULA: BS EM hesitates for a moment, then crawls out of bed and clambers through the open window, dropping daintily to the soft grass below the sill.

--SCENE CHANGE--

URSULA: BS EM gazes upward at the clear nighttime sky.

BS EFFECT PERFORM A12
Effect (desc): Stars shine vividly upon the sky's velvet black canvas. A sliver of waning moon peeks over the treeline.

URSULA: BS EM notices Prieta waiting at the nearby road which skirts the cottage, and hurries to join her.

URSULA: BS SAY (frowning uncertainly) You look bigger than before, Prieta. You're almost as big as I am now.

PRIETA: BS SAY Never mind that, child! 'Twas a bit of magic to help me through your window, that's all.

URSULA: BS SAY (timidly) Where are we going, exactly?

PRIETA: BS EM smiles and extends her hand for Ursula to hold.

URSULA: BS EM takes Prieta's offered hand.

PRIETA: BS SAY We're going to a magical forest. Within this forest lives a very special tree, and that wonderful tree will take us to the Faethorn to see Queen Maeve.

URSULA: BS SAY All right....

BS EFFECT PERFORM A13
Effect (desc): Hand in hand, Prieta and Ursula set off down the road.

URSULA: BS EM listens nervously to the sounds of nocturnal creatures snuffling and rustling through the undergrowth of the surrounding woods.

PRIETA: BS EM hums quietly to herself. It is a strange and melancholy tune.

BS EFFECT PERFORM A13
Effect (room_title): As they walk, an uneventful hour passes. Eventually, the nearby woods begin to give way to true forest. The trees are taller and more densely packed, yet also twisted and somehow darker than even the surrounding night.

URSULA: BS EM nervously clears her throat.

PRIETA: BS SAY Worry not, dear. We've nearly reached the Glomdoring.

PRIETA: BS EM realizes her mistake, and curses foully under her breath.

URSULA: BS SAY (eyes widening) The Glomdoring? Mother told me never to go near that place! Let me go! Let me go, you!

URSULA: BS EM struggles furiously to free herself from Prieta's iron grip.

PRIETA: BS SAY (snarling) Be still, you foolish whelp! Rowena means to have you, and I intend to deliver!

BS EFFECT PERFORM A14
Effect (desc): Upon uttering these words, the glamour surrounding Prieta melts away, revealing a much more sinister creature. Her beautiful wings turn black and twisted, bruised sockets appear 'round her eyes, and her lovely skin tales on on a pallid, unhealthy look.

URSULA: BS EM screams in terror and, with a terrific effort, tears free of Prieta's grip.

URSULA: BS EM scampers away, sobbing, snatching backward glances as she runs.

PRIETA: BS EM curses, makes a series of hand gestures, and mutters a few obscene incantations. A gibbering mass of creatures emerges from the shadows, seemingly out of nowhere.

BS EFFECT PERFORM A15
Effect (desc): The mass of caterwauling creatures descends upon Ursula's fleeing form. She wails in horror as they subdue her and bear her gleefully back to their waiting mistress.

PRIETA: BS SAY (grinning wickedly) I'm afraid there's no running away for you now, human girl-child. Bring her along, my lovelies! Rowena awaits.

URSULA: BS EM whimpers miserably, her bright, tearful eyes staring hatefully at her captor.

--SCENE CHANGE--

BS EFFECT PERFORM A16
Effect (room_title):

BE EFFECT PERFORM A17
Rowena Nightshade says, “Yes, that's the one. Well done, Prieta! Bring her to me, fae folk.”

BS EFFECT PERFORM A18
Effect (desc): The gibbering horde complies, conveying Ursula over to Rowena and dumping the girl unceremoniously at her feet. That done, the creatures fade back into the shadows from whence they came.

BS EFFECT PERFORM A19
Effect (emote): Rowena Nightshade bends over, pinches the girl's cheek roughly, opens her mouth, examines her teeth, pokes and prods her a few times, and finally stands, nodding.

BS EFFECT PERFORM A20
Rowena Nightshade says, “She'll do. She has the qualities I seek.”

PRIETA: BS SAY TO URSULA (sardonically) Worry not, Ursula. You'll get your chance to see Queen Maeve and the Faethorn soon enough.

URSULA: BS EM covers her face and bursts into tears.

BACKSTAGE SCENE CREATE CozyBedroom
This cozy cottage bedroom is pleasantly furnished. The walls are constructed of clean-peeled logs sealed with tar, while the oaken floorboards are marred and careworn from years of use. A faded, maroon-and-cream rug covers most of the floor. A few simple paintings adorn the walls, depicting animals and magical creatures at play or getting up to mischief. Several charming, handcrafted dolls have been carefully arranged in one corner. There is a simple window to the north, and a sturdy-looking door to the south.

BACKSTAGE PROP CREATE Nightstand CozyBedroom
This sturdy pine nightstand is simple in design, little more than four legs supporting a thick plank at the top with a single drawer for storage underneath it. The wood has been stained and burnished to a golden lustre, however, and the overall effect is rather pleasing to the eye.

BACKSTAGE PROP CREATE Lamp CozyBedroom
This plain, squat little oil lamp is made of bronze, rather tarnished and in need of polishing. A few scrolled designs adorn its top and base, and the handle has been fashioned to look like a length of rope. A faint coating of soot has accumulated around the wick leading into the oil reservoir.

BACKSTAGE PROP CREATE Bed CozyBedroom
This child-sized wooden bed is supported by four posts, decorated along their lengths with circular designs. Carved depictions of climbing ivy, flowers, and various gourds adorn the headboard and footboard. The mattress looks soft and comfortable. Brown woolen blankets and a lumpy goosedown pillow complete the ensemble.

BACKSTAGE COSTUME CREATE Ursula Ursula
She is a human child of small stature, approximately three-and-a-half feet tall. Wispy, straw-blonde hair hangs nearly to her waist. Her wide eyes are cornflower blue in colour. Her young face is round and earnest, framing a button nose, thin lips, and narrow chin. Her skin is fair and flawless. She is wearing a simple, cream-coloured cotton nightgown embroidered with honeysuckle blossoms.

BACKSTAGE COSTUME CREATE Prieta Prieta

 

[Aildrik]

http://aber.ludd.ltu.se/northern_lights.html

This is an AberMUD and has been up for quite a while! I earned Wizard there back in '92.
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/AberMUD

Aber was more adventure driven rather than focused on fighting or grinding for XP like CircleMUD, etc.

I still log in from time to time but sadly the place is a bit of a ghost town anymore