[Lanthum]

Trying to remember the phrases I used:

"i want to make" mud "help me"
"make a mud" tutorial
"i want to" mud help
"how to" "make a mud"

All of these brought up some great resources in Google.  The first one alone brought back 3,140 responses, and like I said the first 2 pages have at least 10 great sites.

Just something I have learned from my experience: when I have come here or mudconnector.com, or other places and asked a question that CAME ACROSS like help me, I don't know what to do without any extra info in it - people don't seem to be too helpful.  But when I've asked the same question like: I have a problem, this is what it is, and this is what I've done to try and fix it but it's not working - what am I doing wrong, people seem to help me more.  They know what I've already done, and know what NOT to repeat when helping me.

Hope that helps some.

[eax]

I dont even know whether to get involved in a mud seriously at this time or just play one , I have done a fair amount of coding and I know from this that muds are harder than what they may first seem. Thats seems like a good tip about getting involved as a member of staff in a mud though since one will see first hand the complexities of a succesful MUD I imagine? I am going to check out those links provided as well.

Thanks all!

[Valg]

Originally Posted by eax I dont even know whether to get involved in a mud seriously at this time or just play one , I have done a fair amount of coding and I know from this that muds are harder than what they may first seem. Thats seems like a good tip about getting involved as a member of staff in a mud though since one will see first hand the complexities of a succesful MUD I imagine? I am going to check out those links provided as well. Thanks all!

As a quick note, you're replying to a post that is four years old, so it might be worth creating a new thread on the appropriate forum to get more current resources. Some advice is timeless, but there are a number of websites that exist now that didn't exist in 2004.

[Fizban]

Originally Posted by Valg As a quick note, you're replying to a post that is four years old, so it might be worth creating a new thread on the appropriate forum to get more current resources. Some advice is timeless, but there are a number of websites that exist now that didn't exist in 2004.

There's also a number of websites that existed in 2004, but don't now...

[Newworlds]

I think the advice by Jazuela and Threshold is the best of this thread (quoted below). Follow what they say and you will not be caught by many surprises.

Here is some advice that I always tell people that are debating about playing a MUD or making a MUD: PLAY A MUD!

Having run a successful MUD for over four years now (and enjoying the headaches somewhat), if I had any tiny inkling of the difficulty in maintaining and running a MUD when I put together NW, I would have run from that project like a forest fire. It is the main reason I said above to read what Jazuela and Threshold say. This advice will go a long way.

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Originally Posted by Jazuela Square by square. If you're not willing to map out the game world, don't expect any builder or coder worth hiring to waste their time helping you out. You can use MS Excel, or any of the dozens of map-creation programs available. How can you even think to ask someone to help you build, when you can't even tell them exactly what you want to see, and where? I know as a builder if the admin said "create a zone, make it around 50 rooms, and put it northwest somewhere," I'd laugh and walk away. You couldn't even -pay- me to work with someone who doesn't care more about their own mud than I do. When it comes to owning and running a MUD, there's no such thing as "can't I JUST." Toss that word the heck out of your vocabulary, friend. If you're not willing to put in 110% effort on your own project, don't expect anyone else to either.

Originally Posted by Threshold The #1 MOST important thing to do before starting your own mud is work as a staff member on AT LEAST one other mud for at least 1 year. You will learn alot from working on another mud. You will see first hand either good or bad staff management (seeing either one is helpful). You will see how people deal with preventing (or failing to prevent) abuse either by players or by staff. You will see how people deal with game and class balance. These are invaluable lessons that cannot be well learned on your own. By watching what works and doesn't work, you will obtain a greater understanding of what you are doing. Furthermore, by being a staff member, you will have some understanding of what it is like to be in that position.

[Fizban]

I also suggest when starting a new mud up to download several different codebases, try doing similar things in all of them to find which one seems to be the best suited for what you want to do with it. I see too many people that use what their used to instead of looking into other options before they get started. I understand the concept of wanting to use what you always have, but I also know that the time it would take to learn a new system is often far less than the amount of time you can save by using said new system if it is better designed than the other system you were previously familiar with.