Newbie Help

11-14-2005, 04:56 PM

Hello

.

I have no coding experience, but I do know how to write zones and was (briefly) an RP admin at a mud that folded when the coder quit.

I feel that I know how to get a mud going, and create plenty of dynamic content, but I don't know anything about coding and I've tried it before without any luck at all. I'm serious--code hates me.

My question is: do you think anyone would play a stock code base with a 100% non-stock world? Right now I'm looking at using SMAUG, because I know how to get it started and mess around with one or two little things on it.

I have some (I feel

) really great ideas for a mud world, and my hope is that eventually I'll find a coder who would be willing to help me customize the code, but I don't see that happening any time soon since there are more muds that need coders than there are coders

.

prof1515 · 11-15-2005, 03:31 AM

You can probably find some players to play anything. The real question should be why you want to run a stock MUD instead of holding off on opening until you've made significant modifications to the world to make it unique.

11-15-2005, 03:49 AM

I think you misunderstood me

.

What I meant was that all of the zones, spells, classes, and several of the races would be custom made. Simple things like that, which don't require code knowledge.

The stock parts would be the code base itself since I don't know how to code, and coders are getting harder and harder to get.

Chayesh · 11-15-2005, 10:54 AM

I think you will find that a coder is the most essential person on staff. With a limited knowledge of code, even the most basic tasks, like rebooting the MUD when it goes down (they all do, no matter how stable), will be daunting without a coder or your own personal knowledge of how to control the shell. But there are resources out there for you, like TMS. Post in the Coders Forum and announce you need one. I think you'll find some takers.

Good luck to you!

Lanthum · 11-15-2005, 04:18 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by (Rykkan @ Nov. 14 2005,16:56)

I have no coding experience, but I do know how to write zones and was (briefly) an RP admin at a mud that folded when the coder quit.

I feel that I know how to get a mud going, and create plenty of dynamic content, but I don't know anything about coding
...

I have some (I feel

) really great ideas for a mud world, and my hope is that eventually I'll find a coder who would be willing to help me customize the code

There is so much more to making a successful mud besides making some different spells, skills, and areas. Ask the thousands of muds that have come and gone. And it really requires more than just being able to code also.

In my opinion: A few new ideas does not a mud make

It's great that you have some (you feel

) great ideas to contribute to a game ... but that doesn't necessarily mean you need to open (your own) new game. Try joining a team of people that are creating a new game. There are always people looking for good world designers.

I think you will find it much more rewarding to find a mud that you like, that's close to what you want and join that team. If the team is any good - it will welcome new ideas. And you will be able to use your talents better. And you won't have to waste your time looking for people to fill the slots you need, or see your efforts fail because you can't.

11-15-2005, 04:55 PM

Actually what I meant by a few ideas is that I have the entire world system planned out, but I'm still open to modifications during the design stage.

I'm starting to think of joining a group like you mentioned, but I'm very leery because I've worked on teams like that in the past for several muds and... Well I didn't have terribly great experiences

.

The first guy said: Okay, ya'll can do whatever you want, only run it by me first. Actually, on second thought do this. No, wait, I don't want you to do that, I'd rather you did this. No, forget that. Whatever you want is cool--but if I don't like it you're gonna have to go back and rewrite the whole zone. We need to change it now, why did you ever do that in the first place? Actually, screw all of this, I don't have time any more to watch over ya'll.

And then he destroyed the MUD after I and several other people had busted our asses to try to get it in shape for opening day. Argh.

The second mud admin was just an overall paranoid jerk. He had a command that let him see tells, emotes, says, whispers. Everything--if you said something, he heard it. God help you if you mentioned to another person on the team that you weren't entirely sure how to fit some of this guy's ideas together, but you had a few ideas: suddenly you were the visionless millstone of the project, and he'd send you rebuking tells.

The third admin was okay. He was a really great guy, but he didn't understand how to lead a team, and he wanted to use -every- idea that was thrown at him, so the mud just got too confusing and most of us ended up quitting. He also went mostly-inactive.

Being an RP IMM was really fun, and I enjoyed designing and running quests, but the head IMM lost interest and changed themes, which lost us our entire player base.

So I stopped mudding for a few months and then got back in as a player again. I mean, I wouldn't -mind- joining a design team, but all the ones I've joined before have been so crappy that I'm very hesitant.

Alexander Tau · 11-26-2005, 10:56 PM

Back in the days when I used to work on other people's games I had some of the same experiences that you have had so I know how frustrating they can be.

There is a lot of Ego involved in running a game and many people just do not handle the power well at all. About half the people I have ever met who wanted to run a Mud wanted to do so not to create a great game for their players but so that "I will be God this time!"

If you are going to look for a preexisting Team to join I suggest you do what I used to do: interview them just as heavily as they interview you. Ask them about their leadership style (if they do not have an answer that is probably trouble) and most importantly, ask to talk to at least a few of the other Staff.

Everyone will want to tell you about the great new feature that was just added, or how many players they have active, and a lot of other things that do not really matter at this stage. Ask them about communication, how well does the team work together? What you really want to know is if this is a Team at all, or just a collection of indivduals working mostly solo on a common project.

There are people out there with real leadership and people skills, but they are the minority without a doubt.

And I do have to agree with one of the previous posters, running a Mud without a talented Coder (at least) is a really, really tough road.

A.T
(-)

Crystal · 11-27-2005, 03:34 PM

If anything, start the design and building stages while waiting to see if you can recruit a coder to help out. It might be better off having something to show for it to a coder, so he/she knows it's worth their time.

Danlor · 11-27-2005, 09:03 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by (Crystal @ Nov. 27 2005,16:34)

If anything, start the design and building stages while waiting to see if you can recruit a coder to help out. It might be better off having something to show for it to a coder, so he/she knows it's worth their time.

Well, the design stage -is- done, actually, but it looks like I'm going to be joining a team now

. Someone found me, because of this thread, and he's 27... FINALLY. No more 18 year-old, "OMG I'M IN TEH COLLAGE AND NOW I AM SMARTZ. LOLOL" or 14 year-old, "OMG I'M IN HIGH SCOOL. U R MI BITCH LOLOLOLOL."

Heh.

Crystal · 11-28-2005, 08:19 AM

Quote:

Originally Posted by

FINALLY. No more 18 year-old, "OMG I'M IN TEH COLLAGE AND NOW I AM SMARTZ. LOLOL" or 14 year-old, "OMG I'M IN HIGH SCOOL. U R MI BITCH LOLOLOLOL."

I'm sensing some hostility here

Danlor · 11-28-2005, 11:26 AM

Only towards 14 and 18 year-olds

. No, I'm just kidding. I've met some very mature 14 year-olds that I wouldn't mind working with, but for the most part kids in that age range seem to be rather...hermm... well I just wont say it because it isn't nice

.

Alexander Tau · 11-30-2005, 01:04 AM

Quote:

Originally Posted by

I'm sensing some hostility here

You have significant understatement skills there Crystal.

Glad to know you found someone to work with Danlor, good luck.

A.T
(-)

Chayesh · 12-01-2005, 10:34 AM

Yes, good luck with your new coder.

SHAMELESS PLUG: At FL, we've been blessed to have some of the most brilliant coders. My fellow IMP is not only a colleague but also a friend, at least as far as internet friendships go. One of the highest quality individuals I've met. Of course, FL wouldn't be what it is without the Herculean efforts of our original "Founding Fathers" IMP staff and our visionary original coder, Virigoth.

*bows down and worships*

God bless ya, Voy, wherever you are.

[/plug]

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11-14-2005, 04:56 PM	#1
Rykkan Posts: n/a	Hello . I have no coding experience, but I do know how to write zones and was (briefly) an RP admin at a mud that folded when the coder quit. I feel that I know how to get a mud going, and create plenty of dynamic content, but I don't know anything about coding and I've tried it before without any luck at all. I'm serious--code hates me. My question is: do you think anyone would play a stock code base with a 100% non-stock world? Right now I'm looking at using SMAUG, because I know how to get it started and mess around with one or two little things on it. I have some (I feel ) really great ideas for a mud world, and my hope is that eventually I'll find a coder who would be willing to help me customize the code, but I don't see that happening any time soon since there are more muds that need coders than there are coders .

11-15-2005, 03:31 AM	#2
prof1515 Senior Member Join Date: Aug 2003 Location: Illinois Posts: 471	You can probably find some players to play anything. The real question should be why you want to run a stock MUD instead of holding off on opening until you've made significant modifications to the world to make it unique.

11-15-2005, 03:49 AM	#3
Rykkan Posts: n/a	I think you misunderstood me . What I meant was that all of the zones, spells, classes, and several of the races would be custom made. Simple things like that, which don't require code knowledge. The stock parts would be the code base itself since I don't know how to code, and coders are getting harder and harder to get.

11-15-2005, 10:54 AM	#4
Chayesh New Member Join Date: Nov 2005 Posts: 27	I think you will find that a coder is the most essential person on staff. With a limited knowledge of code, even the most basic tasks, like rebooting the MUD when it goes down (they all do, no matter how stable), will be daunting without a coder or your own personal knowledge of how to control the shell. But there are resources out there for you, like TMS. Post in the Coders Forum and announce you need one. I think you'll find some takers. Good luck to you!

11-15-2005, 04:55 PM	#6
Rykkan Posts: n/a	Actually what I meant by a few ideas is that I have the entire world system planned out, but I'm still open to modifications during the design stage. I'm starting to think of joining a group like you mentioned, but I'm very leery because I've worked on teams like that in the past for several muds and... Well I didn't have terribly great experiences . The first guy said: Okay, ya'll can do whatever you want, only run it by me first. Actually, on second thought do this. No, wait, I don't want you to do that, I'd rather you did this. No, forget that. Whatever you want is cool--but if I don't like it you're gonna have to go back and rewrite the whole zone. We need to change it now, why did you ever do that in the first place? Actually, screw all of this, I don't have time any more to watch over ya'll. And then he destroyed the MUD after I and several other people had busted our asses to try to get it in shape for opening day. Argh. The second mud admin was just an overall paranoid jerk. He had a command that let him see tells, emotes, says, whispers. Everything--if you said something, he heard it. God help you if you mentioned to another person on the team that you weren't entirely sure how to fit some of this guy's ideas together, but you had a few ideas: suddenly you were the visionless millstone of the project, and he'd send you rebuking tells. The third admin was okay. He was a really great guy, but he didn't understand how to lead a team, and he wanted to use -every- idea that was thrown at him, so the mud just got too confusing and most of us ended up quitting. He also went mostly-inactive. Being an RP IMM was really fun, and I enjoyed designing and running quests, but the head IMM lost interest and changed themes, which lost us our entire player base. So I stopped mudding for a few months and then got back in as a player again. I mean, I wouldn't -mind- joining a design team, but all the ones I've joined before have been so crappy that I'm very hesitant.

11-26-2005, 10:56 PM	#7
Alexander Tau Member Join Date: Apr 2002 Posts: 101	Back in the days when I used to work on other people's games I had some of the same experiences that you have had so I know how frustrating they can be. There is a lot of Ego involved in running a game and many people just do not handle the power well at all. About half the people I have ever met who wanted to run a Mud wanted to do so not to create a great game for their players but so that "I will be God this time!" If you are going to look for a preexisting Team to join I suggest you do what I used to do: interview them just as heavily as they interview you. Ask them about their leadership style (if they do not have an answer that is probably trouble) and most importantly, ask to talk to at least a few of the other Staff. Everyone will want to tell you about the great new feature that was just added, or how many players they have active, and a lot of other things that do not really matter at this stage. Ask them about communication, how well does the team work together? What you really want to know is if this is a Team at all, or just a collection of indivduals working mostly solo on a common project. There are people out there with real leadership and people skills, but they are the minority without a doubt. And I do have to agree with one of the previous posters, running a Mud without a talented Coder (at least) is a really, really tough road. A.T (-)

11-27-2005, 03:34 PM	#8
Crystal Member Join Date: Aug 2002 Location: Maryland Posts: 114	If anything, start the design and building stages while waiting to see if you can recruit a coder to help out. It might be better off having something to show for it to a coder, so he/she knows it's worth their time.

11-28-2005, 11:26 AM	#11
Danlor Member Join Date: Aug 2002 Posts: 41	Only towards 14 and 18 year-olds . No, I'm just kidding. I've met some very mature 14 year-olds that I wouldn't mind working with, but for the most part kids in that age range seem to be rather...hermm... well I just wont say it because it isn't nice .

12-01-2005, 10:34 AM	#13
Chayesh New Member Join Date: Nov 2005 Posts: 27	Yes, good luck with your new coder. SHAMELESS PLUG: At FL, we've been blessed to have some of the most brilliant coders. My fellow IMP is not only a colleague but also a friend, at least as far as internet friendships go. One of the highest quality individuals I've met. Of course, FL wouldn't be what it is without the Herculean efforts of our original "Founding Fathers" IMP staff and our visionary original coder, Virigoth. bows down and worships God bless ya, Voy, wherever you are. [/plug]

Newbie Help

Creating a Mud