Do you like to play in the MUD? (Alternative Title -- Text-Only Fun for Free)
 

So anyway, I recently started MUDing again, on one of my old stomping grounds. It's an LP mud, but everything is heavily heavily heavily altered from the base code, to the point that it's pretty much unrecognizable.

This is a good thing.

Completely leveless and classless system, which allows you to be any combination of fighters, bards, priests, and mages (except that a few guilds--where you learn you skills--don't get along too well). There's no real maximum level, either. Stats go up as you raise skills or by doing quests. However, there's no ceiling on your stats or your skills. So long as you can keep training them, they'll keep going up.

There are only two mitigating factors--skill rot and death.

If you don't train a skill it will slowly begin to rot, and you'll lose levels--this is to keep someone from being the best ever at everything just 'cause they've been there longer. You'll honestly hardly ever notice this. And when you die you lose some skill levels (and you have to go retrieve your corpse, which can be difficult).

Now, thanks to this leveless system, you can be any kind of character you want--unlike most MUDs where killing is necessary to get experience. You want to be a pacifistic thief with grand thieving abilities, but who never really fights? You can do that. You wanna be a master crafstman, creating wonderous weapons and armour, but not necessarily using them? You can do that too.

Speaking of which--the crafting system is amazing. Alchemy, for instance--every herb has different effects, usually a combination of a few. A herbalist can prepare a herb, removing undesired effects while maintaining, or even strengthing, desired effects. Then an alchemist can mix those herbs with a binder into a potion. There's not just one recipe for a healing potion or a hasting potion or a flying potion or a deadly poison--there's a bunch of combinations, so long as you mix the right herbal effects together.

So why am I telling you guys all this?

Well this MUD has one problem--there aren't enough people.

So I'm pimping the MUD. Which is also free.

Mudconnector Listing for AtP
The AtP Website

What's that you say?

"I'm intrigued Krylo, but I've never played on a MUD before, what's it like, and how do I do it?"

Well I have answers for you.

A MUD, or Multi User Dungeon, is a text based online game played in real time with other people. The world is layed down with ascii art and colored text for you to explore, with a system for determining your character's abilities built in.

If you like shiney graphics, a MUD is not for you--however if you like innovative game play, administrators who listen, care, and update the code regularly, and an overall amazing experience--give it a shot.

Now, in order to do that, you'll need some tools--namely a mudclient.

The most simple of them is Telnet. Windows comes with it, and it's... spartan, but will work. You'll want to turn on local echo, however. To connect using Telnet you'll have to type "o atp.pedia.szote.u-szeged.hu 3000" which will bring you to the game. From here you can go through character creation and play for awhile.

I don't suggest telnet for more than just poking around a bit, however.

The other mud clients I suggest are:
Gmud--A simple, free, and effective program. Good for beginners, or people that don't care to learn how to set up macros, triggers, aliases, etc.

Zmud--They have both a free and paid version. The paid version is one of the most powerful and intuitive mud clients you can get (I mean, check out that auto-mapper screen shot). The free version is a step up from Gmud, but still pretty nice.

And, the last I have to suggest, Portal--Which is a ridiculously powerful mud client, which comes for free with nearly all of its functionality intact. It's a bit hard to use, but there's a definite pay off to learning it. If you're want a free one, and feel like you can handle all the commands, events, aliases, etc. this is the way to go. If you're going to pay, I'd get the latest Zmud.

Note: Portal is the one I use.

My characters are Krylo and Lucian, though you'll probably see me over the global chat as Radara or some such long before you see me in game--and names aren't immediately visible (which is good if you want to go incognito--you don't have to tell people your real name).

And I should probably mention that this MUD is a Roleplaying mud, meaning you're expected to make a character and stay in character.

Now come on and sign up, and tell your friends about it, or, if you don't have friends, tell strangers about it.

Seriously, we need more people.

Gee Krylo, this sure sounds fun and exciting, but I don't know fuck all about coding. Would it be possible for a neanderthal like me to get the hang of it in a reasonable amount of time?

Yes, and then it will eat your soul. I had to give up MUDDing for fear of not graduating high school and have steered clear of them since. I would recommend them if you think you can keep control and do not get addicted. I'm like Ethan from CAD, but instead of MMO's, which involve grinding, MUDD's do me in.

It requires absolutely zero knowledge of coding at all.

Especially for AtP where (almost) all the commands are rather progressive.

Wanna get a torch from your pack? Type 'get torch from pack'.

Wanna hold something in your hand? Type 'Hold something in right/left hand'.

Easy as that.

Now for setting up triggers and events--for portal you'll end up learning something RESEMBLING coding (but it isn't) for the more complicated ones, but none of the complicated ones are required here.

An event is simply this--text appears from your screen, and your MUD client automatically responds to it with a command that you chose earlier.

For instance--lets say you want to always have magic shield on. Now to cast magic shield, you would type "cast magic shield". When magic shield wheres off it says "You magic shield flickers out" (or something close to it).

You would copy the message from your magic shield falling out and put it into the trigger text box for your event, and then type 'cast magic shield' into the action box.

Next time your shield flickers out, your client will cast magic shield for you.

Edit: I'mma go take a shower, and then I'll be on for a few more hours. If you log in type chat <msg> to use the global out of character chat. I'll respond, if I'm still on.

Oh, and one more thing--your first character is a 'quick character' once you get to adventurer (complete three quests, real easy to do) you can create a much more detailed and personalized character, assigning your own appearance and stats.

Your first one is just to learn the game.

I can't figure out how to connect. I"ve got the GMUD program downloaded, but when I attempt to type the address into the world section, and then connect it freezes the program in an infinite loop of unconnectability.

what should I type as the world address?

ah, well I finally figured it out, now to see what this things all about!

For Gmud when you go to connect and click on the mud, you have to put in the address atp: atp.pedia.szote.u-szeged.hu in the host box and 3000 in the port box.

It will save after the first time you connect.

Edit: The first command you'll want to type in when you log in for the first time is 'setenv term ansi' followed by 'setenv termdefault ansi'


This turns on your colors.




Edit 2: Anyone else interested at all? Come on people, give me a little love.

Like I said, these are wonderful and I fully encourage anyone not me to play, as I enjoy not being homeless and unemployed.

Holy shit this is like what pissed me off the absolute most of anything that pissed me off about MUDs.

I think the other thing was never being able to figure out where I was on the map, which only reinforced the first thing!!!

EDIT: I have decided that downloading clients is for pussies and that Real Men use DOS.

I think my favorite part of the interface is how it doesn't actually display anything I type.

Is this the one where you can juggle weapons while you're fighting?

Please say yes.

It is, yes.

That is, however, kinda hard to do.

Fifth: There should be a way to turn local echo on, which will fix that. I'm not sure how though.

Also, anything that isn't telnet automatically sends a local echo back.

Edit: You type set localecho before connecting to the mud to turn that on.