Need a mud to play
 

I and about 5 friends are looking for a new mud. Here's a list of what we are looking for:

Non RP-enforced (rp encouraged is okay, but we're not roleplayers)
Full PvP
Exits can be put on the prompt in NESWUD fashion if desired
No diagonal exits
Not too old
ANSI, but not unicorn diarrhea

We're looking for a mud that still has plenty to explore and new secrets to uncover, plenty of pvp craziness, and a nice clean interface. Also, some of us can build if we like the mud enough to try and become part of the team, or we're happy just playing. Please post here or email me if you know of any that fit the bill. Thanks!

deathbykungfu AT gmail DOT com

Re: Need a mud to play
 

Well don't come to GateWay. It does not fill your bill! It is not a RP mud but PK is limited to only between registered players, prompt can not have exits, there are exits in all crazy directions including invisible ones that you must infer from the room description or just plain guess, it is VERY old but does have restrained ANSI colour (customizable to what you want).

Seriously, you'd hate it. Don't even try it. Please.

Re: Need a mud to play
 

I won't. What a stupid way to advertise your mud. Thanks for being useless. Anybody actually have any ideas for me?

Re: Need a mud to play
 

Perhaps GodWars II, Shadowlands, Materia Magica, or one of the IRE games. You might try Hellmoo, but its adult only (even though you make a kid character "cyberpunk" which I find odd that you have to be an adult to play a teenager :p).

Re: Need a mud to play
 

The ones that you mentioned, except for Hellmoo, are all kind of old. Like, 15 years or more. My problem with that is that there will be very little new knowledge to gain, and I'll be competing against people who've been playing it for a decade. I don't want to come in and spend a year or more just to become competitive. Also, a couple of them are restricted pvp.

I'll have to look into Hellmoo, but it was kind of spammy when I first tried it, and I'm not sure that it's not being more 'adult' than it needs to be. If the word ejaculate appears in the very first room, it really looks like it was written by/for 15 year olds, no matter what the rules say.

So I appreciate it. I'll have to keep looking, though, although i'll give Hellmoo another try. Anything under, say, 5 years old?

Re: Need a mud to play
 

HellMOO is 6-7 years old (depending on whether you go by their TMC or TMS listing).

God Wars II, while it's been in development for 8.5 years, only opened for public beta testing just under 5 years ago - and the most recent class to be added (Titan) was added just under a year ago.

However the reason I didn't suggest it was the "no diagonal exits" thing. I have diagonal movement, but more importantly my whole movement system is coordinate-based (i.e., roomless), and players with a strong preference for standard movement invariably hate it.

It's difficult to come up with suggestions though, because you're looking for a mud with "new secrets to uncover" that's also relatively new. Content takes time to add, so generally the older the mud, the more "secrets" it'll have to uncover. Perhaps you might be able to find a mud that's recently had a pfile wipe, but there would still be older players with knowledgeof the game. A really new mud wouldn't avoid the issue either, as they'd be mostly stock, and therefore many players would have experience from similar muds.

Re: Need a mud to play
 

You make a good point. Basically, the mud that I'm thinking of leaving indefinitely is 15 years old and currently has around 20 players on. There is talk of a major revamp, but the people who play now know effectively everything there is to know about the game, and that and other dynamics have made it not fun. That's what I'm trying to avoid - something stagnant, boring, or too hard on newbs. I'll check out your mud, though. Coordinates instead of rooms sounds interesting.

Re: Need a mud to play
 

Your welcome! (Whoosh right over his head eh... <grin>)

Re: Need a mud to play
 

Over my head? Go away. You are wasting the internet. Still looking, btw, for anyone who stumbles across this.

I'd even be willing to help build on a brand new mud if anyone wants to create one that sounds cool to me.

Re: Need a mud to play
 

I would strongly suggest God Wars II then. Bring those friends of yours and you will be adding yourself to a relatively different, yet, advanced PvP style game. Remember to take your time learning this system as it has a lot of options in terms of combat and such.

Good Luck!

Re: Need a mud to play
 

Well, pvp isn't exactly the main focal point; we just want it to be available and serious. Even restricted might be okay as long as the pk is still big boy version and not too limited or silly, as in, not based on WoW arenas or something. I tried godwars and it was... pretty complicated. I intend to give it another try, but I'm still looking.

Basically, the idea is mostly exploration and stuff, but able to kill people with the crap we find, or to randomly kill people who annoy us, or are killing our mobs, or have cool gear. :)

Re: Need a mud to play
 

You could perhaps try 4 Dimensions. It doesn't fill your requirements totally, but then again, I doubt if you'd find any mud that does. Like someone already said, if you are looking for exploration and secrets, you'll not find that in a relatively new game, since it takes a long time to develop the world of a Mud.

What you WILL find in 4D is a big, challenging and complex world, where you will never run out of exploring, quests and other things to and do, some competitive Clans, and a somewhat restricted PK, where you'll only be able to attack and kill other registered pkillers, but otherwis free-for-all. We also have a feature named the Gladiators, which you might enjoy. Basically it's the access to a number of high-level, full-skilled players, which any player can use inside a restricted area. (The idea behind them is to test the balance between the classes, and also to determine who has the best pkill skills, regardless of what level and equipment they have managed to acquire in the real game, since the Gladiators all have equal strength and equipment).

Normally I wouldn't advertise 4D at this time, since we are planning a big revamp of the fighting code and skills/spells system in the near future, which will make a pwipe necessary. But since you are specifically asking for a Mud where there wouldn't be any long-time players with an unsurpassable advantage in levels and equipment, it might fit your bill, because the pwipe and equipwipe will put everyone on an equal footing. Also we could do with some new players, since the pending pwipe has put a damper on our normal playerbase, and many of our oldtimers just log on to ask how far ahead the code change and playtesting is.

Not trying to whitewash things, just telling it as it is.

Re: Need a mud to play
 

Good call Molly. I forgot about 4D and how completely incredible the questing and secrets and unique this game is. Give 4D a shot for some outstanding quests and brain twisters and enjoyable game.

TL;DR
 

Boy am I happy to be able to post! I've been lurking on these forums for like 2 weeks (having attempted to register the first day) and just today got granted access. I apologize for the rantishness of this post, as well as the length, but I've had this brewing for a while!

I'm one of the players looking for a new mud alongside greuvy, and have a few more questions/notes.

I've seen in various other locations on this board, that RPI/Roleplay enforced muds are 'Rare', yet any MUD I've been interested in lately has been strictly RP enforced. Are they now the norm and not the exception? Is this due in part by MMO's taking over the "hack and slash" gameplay? Because in MMO's now, the Roleplay servers are the rarity, and not the norm.

I don't roleplay myself personally, but I would love to play on and explore some of these worlds. I respect roleplayers, and I strive my best to not interrupt their world. I'm just admittedly not very gifted or talented when it comes down to that type of play. The thing is, a lot of these places have extremely well done zones and lore. I may not have the ability to 'be' my character, but I would love to see that world through his eyes, even if I have no idea exactly how he'd 'act or behave' in those situations.

I even play on "Roleplay" servers in most MMO's that I've ever tried, because frankly those servers generally have a higher maturity level overall. We roll/play there knowing that others are there to enjoy the game and not just make asses of themselves.

So when looking for a new MUD this last time around, I've been really intimidated by all of the "Role play enforced", "stay in character or suffer consequences" type statements or rules. I'd love to explore your world with my friends, or even on my own, and if we keep to ourselves and attempt not to disrupt the "roleplay" atmosphere, is that really a big problem?

I know that I may not be able to participate in PvP due to it 'requiring a roleplay reason', but there's even some that boast extremely active PvP that are labeled as "Roleplaying Required" (, for example).

All I'm trying to get at is, there's still some of us out there who are interested in MUDs, but may not be roleplayers at heart. We can still be respectful and we're still interested in your History, Lore, and the worlds you've created. The few muds that seem to be left these days just don't seem to cater to us.

I don't want to be forced to play a Commercial mud where I have to invest in my character with Real money to feel adequate. I just want to login, play with some friends (or even meet some in game, crazy idea, that) and enjoy the game, even if I'm not a hardcore roleplayer. Are there any MUDS out there that fit this bill anymore? Think early RPG games for the PC, like Eye of the Beholder and other type games, Morrowind, or any "RPG" created in the last 10 years. I assume the role of that character and just want to see the story and world unfold before me.

Am I just looking into it too deeply? Are some of these muds that claim they're Roleplay enforced not as strict as they appear? I'd really like them to clarify that, but maybe that's just asking too much.

Whew, that said, here are some other questions for 'MUDS' lately.

What the heck is with the bajillion levels to "progress" through? Aardwolf has hundreds, there's a recent ad that boasts 500 levels to level through! Am I the only one that is immediately put off by such absurdly high numbers? Where is the draw for that? Am I just missing something?

Sure I respect the fact that you expect us to work for our character and attempt to progress in some way, and even grind things here and there... but 500 levels? That's 470 more than the mud I call home (ArcticMUD), and 420 more than one of the most popular online multiplayer RPGs to date (WoW, for lack of a better all encompassing example).

I recognize the fact that these are just numbers, but honestly, couldn't you make it 10 times harder to level and simply have 50 max? Shouldn't those levels feel like they mean something each time I ding? "Dinging" used to be important to me, reaching level 25 in arctic meant I could acquire a title. That felt important. Level 25 in a 500 level mud would just feel like I killed a rabbit for the first time, or something.

Colors, what is with the absurd amount of colors in some muds? More colors does not always mean more awesome. I really don't have much more to say about that, other than if your wholist looks like greuvy described, I'm probably not going to stick around long.

I'm sure I'm missing some other key ideas I'd like to hit, but I better end the rant there and save those for later.

Re: Need a mud to play
 

Hi there Stealth Stalker. First, welcome to the forums, glad to have you here.

I'll try to answer some of your questions the best I can. I do understand some of your concerns and comments as I talk to many of the players that come by NWA and so does my staff and we get a good feel idea of where your comments come from. No need to apologize either, many posts on here are from frustration and/or aggravation.

No, they just seem to be popular. Most of the games in the top 40 are not RPE.

I've yet to see, play, or experience a graphic MMO that has true roleplay enforcement. Yes, there are "roleplay" servers, but please, let's not call these hacks roleplay.

On NWA yes. We require you to stay in character. However, we do not expect you to win an oscar with your acting abilities. All we require is that you are mature and you stay in the genre and in character. There are places to break character and channels for questions on our game and guides and staff to assist you. Nothing to be intimidated about we just don't enjoy people running around talking about levels/powers/tv shows, etc while in the game.

I think maybe you are really a roleplayer at heart. There are numerous games that are not roleplay required. I can name you several good ones if you want, but I'm not sure that is what you are asking.

This comment confuses me. You don't want to play a commercial game but you play WoW on Roleplay Servers? In nearly all circumstances you get what you pay for.

Usually they are, but you can find out by logging on and asking. All MUDs are actually roleplaying because you are taking on another character and not playing your own name or self, however, enforced roleplaying means keeping things not in the genre (talking about dinner, your job, tv, etc) out of the game.

I find this similar to pinball machines that originally started with 5,000 points for a free game and now the new ones you need billions to win a free game. Game makers have found that players like high numbers and games tend to progress that way. Get beyond that and look for style and genre and not such minute things because all games use some type of measurement even if they are leveless.

NWA's level system is what you are asking for, but again we do enforce roleplay.

This is mostly a matter of taste, but color became a wild new fangled thing when MUDs could use ansi colors back in the early 90's. I agree with you though, I also dislike the plethora of colors on most MUDs.

I hope this helps a little. I'm sure I'm off base on some of your comments.

Re: Need a mud to play
 

Hello and thanks for the warm welcome.

Fair enough, but the point remains that they're generally a more mature and respectful community.

Roleplay itself isn't enforced dramatically, but naming violations and griefing/harrassment definitely are.

Speaking of NWA, I tried registering on your forums a bit ago to take a look around, and actually recently made a character but haven't gotten through character generation yet due to being a little worried by the required description and stuff.

I know you require admin confirmation over there, as well... was just wanting to take a look around and see what type of atmosphere was on the fourms y'know? And see more about how this roleplay takes place, with logs and such. Your log section on the new website didn't have any examples posted yet! :(

A few more questions about your MUD, how is the "PVP" there, out of curiosity? I see you require a roleplay reason for such things, but what exactly does that entail? I don't want to just go around slaughtering innocents for no reason, but what about thieving and general mischief for your southern lands? How prevalent is pvp in your world?

What if one was curious about a certain land or location, could they intimidate someone with threats of violence if they didn't fork over the information? Could they carry out those threats if said person didn't believe them to be true to their word?

Conflict has to exist somewhere! Not everyone is running around Gahlen in peace and harmony are they? :)

Some good roleplaying servers, or just good worlds to explore? I'm all ears.

The major issue with the commercial games lately is the micro-transaction system. Where you have to continuously fork over small amounts of cash that end up huge amounts if you want the best.

Pay to play monthly fees aren't so bad, because everyone is paying the same monthly fee, and have access to the same content at the same rate.

As stated previously I'm an avid MMO'er, but anytime a micro-transaction system comes into play and it affects your character in ways that are unfair to those who may not do the same (Gear/Stat/ETC wise) I'll no longer play the game. Cosmetics, and novelty items? Those are fine... super awesome sword of awesome, or +10 super awesome stats? Not so much for me..

Also for the record, I did previously play WoW, but that was many years ago. At release it was a fun game (World pvp was awesome!) bg's and arenas ruined that unfortunately. I've latley been playing LOTRO/WAR and dabbled in some of the others.

That's my issue, I kinda like talking about those things while I'm playing a game, because I know it's just a game and I'm just enjoying myself in this world while keeping tabs on the real world. At the same time being mature and respectful, especially in regards to the world itself. I don't want to make it acceptable for XxXKiller21XxX to enter the world, nor do I want to see elitist jerkoffs spawn camping the newbie who has no idea how to play while spewing forth profanity and insults.

I guess I just like a more mature gaming experience, which I liken to most roleplay type games, without the need to fully immerse myself. That said, I can respect and recognize those who do not play or experience said games like I do... unless they're said jerkoffs, elitists, or XxXKillers, those guys don't get any respect. ;)

I just wish it were possible to co-exist in some of these worlds. What about a non-rp tag for those who don't roleplay on RPE servers?

I mean, some RP-encouraged servers have rp tags for the minority that decide to do it, what about the flipside for RP-enforced servers? After a while, perhaps some of those not very good or familiar with the RP could get in on it if they witness enough around them. You could still carry a severe punishment if these people find ways to grief or harass the other players.

For instance if I were flagged non-rp on your MUD, if in a room with those who are RP'ing... my text could be invisible to them, and only visible to those who are also not flagged for RP. Heck, I could just be invisible entirely and not able to interact with them unless I manually turn my flag off so that I can barter or trade.

I realize this brings many, many issues. Primarily one being the influx of people who don't roleplay and the risk of turning your mud from Roleplay-Enforced, to Roleplay Encouraged, accepted, and finally non-existent. I can see that fear, and totally understand such a predicament.

Another issue being just mechanics of play with those flags and such, so really, I'm just spitballing some ideas here to try and better convey where I'm coming from. Don't take any of these is as ideas I'm trying to push around, I really just kind of winged it there. I'm not trying to turn all roleplay intensive worlds into accepting of non-rp'ers, I just wish there were more out there who were a little more accepting.

Again, all of that said... some worlds just wouldn't work as such. Atonement for example, appears to be heavily Roleplay intensive, and probably doesn't have a very non-rp friendly framework to explore. Correct me if I'm wrong, as I hate to talk about a subject having not played it exclusively, this is just based on what I've learned reading the site a bit.

So the games I'm trying to address here would be ones that are a little more adjustable to just going out and playing. There's a few out there, I'm sure!


Makes some sense, I guess I'm just one who doesn't 'get it'. I can see huge scores on things like pinball or arcade games, but when it comes to these games[RPGs] I still just don't see it. Leveling up, as I said, always meant something early on.

Your experience was just that experience, you grew. It wasn't an arbitrary number. It literally meant you've had this much experience in your character's explorations and adventures and as such you've become quite proficient or strong in your abilities.

I guess I'll try to overlook it in some cases, but 500 and 250+ may just be a little too much for me to really overcome, levelwise. It's kind of hardcoded to immediately say "That's just silly!". Usually with these muds and extremely high "Levels" comes the aforementioned color and elitist/immature wholists and atmosphere though.

I guess that's the main issue, in retrospect. I link the high 'levels' to the immature, short-attention span, and need for constant gratification that a lot of the young gamers these days feel the need to have. Sorry kids, not everyone is a winner every day, or get cool points for just beating the game on Hard (achievement unlocked!).

I'm slowly trying to work my way in, honest! I think my main problem is my perfectionism, I want everything to be perfect. So even though I created my Character (Aeleth) on your MUD a few days ago, I still haven't gotten very far in character creation. Just one of my admitted flaws, really..

I realize that not being perfect is the point of roleplaying (some say flaws make characters more genuine!), but it isn't being perfect in that sense. It's being perfect with the words and descriptions so that my character is described perfectly, not perfect himself.

If I can finally just let myself go and have some fun with it, as you said, perhaps I am a roleplayer at heart! ;)

Thanks very much for the response, in fact I was looking forward to yours specifically seeing as you're quite vocal here. You were dead on with a lot, and I'm open to any suggestions and further discourse!

Re: Need a mud to play
 

Hello again SS. Wow, big response. I'll try and make my reply somewhat brief answering most of your questions if I can.

Firstly though, just about NWA in general. The forums are locked until you have made it out of what we call "immigrancy". This is our roleplay time for a person to learn about the game, areas, guilds, religions and political structure. There are many help files that you can go through in creation and a question channel for asking guides, staff, and players about aspects of the game.

Creation is setup for both the new player to the game and the new player to MUDs entirely. You can't really make mistakes there, I would say forget about perfect, create a character, take a tour (read help tour), use the question channel and like most brand new players restart if you find you want to modify your character slightly.

PVP and PK (player vs player and player killing). PVP is very broad in the game and PK happens and revolves around roleplay. A brand new player probably won't get involved in this until you are in a guild because of the politics and laws of the areas they are in (this assumes you don't start in the southland which is very harsh and you could be killed for looking at someone the wrong way. Not recommended for new players). Because of the size of the game social status is almost more important than your level or powers. All this is learned after you spend some decent time playing and are in a guild. It is why so many are "hooked" on NWA. Conflict seems to be a constant.

You asked about breaking character. On some games this is not allowed at all and you have to go to IM or an IRC with your buddies or their forums to break character. I find this silly since what is the difference between talking on IM while you play in one window and talking on an OOC channel in one window while you play in the other? So there you have it, NWA has 3 channels for OOC conversation plus private and public areas to go to do so as well called "customs". Most notably you would use the CHAT channel to talk while playing the game. Many hard core roleplayers tune these channels out as well as any IM/IRC's so they can immerse into the game. It's really up to you though. I think you will find the game incredible if you choose to plus you can keep CHAT untuned and talk all you want without bothering those that want to block that out, this makes your rp tag unneeded and if you want to talk to your buddies only, just take them to the chat lounge in customs, have a coke and talk smack all you want.

Again, you really don't have to be an expert roleplayer to play on NWA. You just need to stay in character and in genre. After playing awhile you will learn why this is important and why it is so amazing. No one will fault you for not being a perfect roleplayer.

You asked about mature experience. NWA requires you to be over 18 to play and to play maturely. A key ingredient to the quality of roleplay and another reason many like it: No kiddies!
You ask about other "non RPE" games that are fun. Here are two to try though it is a shot in the dark as game enjoyment is subjective:

4 Dimensions (very fun quests and brain twisters) and Materia Magica (robust world with ascii style mapping). There are others, but many have the things you don't like.

Wow that was way longer than I thought it would be. I didn't answer all of your questions here or go into the detail I'd like, but hopefully this is some more information for you.

If you do come back to NWA I'll try to look for you and any of the staff, guides, or even some players would be happy to talk to you in customs for as long as you like and answer all the questions you have. Make it through creation and take a tour friend, you likely will not be disappointed.

Good Luck!:)

Re: Need a mud to play
 

I'm going to give NWA a fair shot, or try to at least! I hope some of my friends get around to it as well. No guarantees there, but you've been fairly convincing to me so far. :)

Still open for more ideas and suggestions. Even if your mud or the mud you have in mind doesn't meet every criteria, it doesn't mean we (or I, at least) won't take a look around!

Re: Need a mud to play
 

Come on over to The Isles

Re: Need a mud to play
 

I'm one of the RPE haters myself (I prefer the game be developed enough to produce roleplaying naturally without internet nerds moderating me) - I can suggest aardwolf, discworld, hellmoo, and the brand new conQUEST: