Rom based muds have no soul
 

Though some of them have quite a number of players, I can't immerse myself into the world that uses this codebase despite all the efforts.. Whenever you find yourself powerlevel mindlessly, killing mobs and a few other things you are playing a Rom-based mud. Does anyone feel the same?

Re: Rom based muds have no soul
 

I'm under the impression that you're talking about Rom-based MUDs because you don't realize that all Diku derivatives are like that. And who knows, maybe even that codebase isn't the root of all evil.

Re: Rom based muds have no soul
 

Armageddon mud uses modified Dikumud, if I am not wrong.. see the magnificence of that mud.

Re: Rom based muds have no soul
 

Most mudders have a very specific favourite style of mud, usually the same as the first mud they played seriously. The more a particular mud differs from that style, the more difficult the player finds it to get into.

Armageddon is very different to a typical ROM, so it's understandable that someone who plays one probably wouldn't feel comfortable with the other. Try playing an LPmud or TinyMUD, or one of the Avalon-style muds, and you'll probably find it even more difficult to immerse yourself.

Re: Rom based muds have no soul
 

A mud gets soul from the people (admins AND players) that inhabit it. It doesn't matter if the mud is PK or cooperative, OOC or IC. If your attention is all on the game mechanics and content as opposed to the other people playing, you might as well be playing single player.

Re: Rom based muds have no soul
 

Arcane Nites was my first mud. Mindless Power-leveling, equipment chosen based on stats rather than appearance, almost everything with a 'you see nothing special' long.

I'm now at home playing UL, an incredibly immersive rpi with long descriptions, clothing that is statless. Still a bunch of mindless killing, but at least you don't just hit 'kill ____ ' and wait, occasionally using a special move.
Of course, once you're done with the killing you still absorb exp for hours, so you can do other things without feeling like you're falling behind.

Again, I still enjoy the ROM/Dikus and all that too.

So the 'first mud codebase' rule doesn't always apply.

Re: Rom based muds have no soul
 

If you're looking for 'soul' in a codebase, you may be in for perpetual disappointment, as some have already suggested wisely. Further, I suspect that inability to get into games from one codebase vs. another has a lot more to do with specifics such as commands and mechanics you're used to (or prefer) than with ethereal four-letter words.