Re: Needing direction on starting a MUD
I have found that Flash/Flex(UI) + Python(Server) does a pretty good job of things. Python offers a relatively decent base for server writing and provides all the goodies a dynamic language can offer. There are also several examples out there in the wild that will help you get started in building a MUD/Game server in python. Additionally, there are two resources I would also suggest looking at: pyAMF and amFast -- two AMF (Flash's native binary protocol) parsers for python that will make data delivery to/from the client much easier.
To answer your original question (What comes first?) -- you might consider starting with a server - whether you write one from scratch or d/l something that's out there, learn the in's and out's of the beast. Then, write a simple flash client to connect to your simple server -- both supporting simple chatting. Move outward from there.
Once you have a socket server listening and a client connecting --- the world is yours.
-A/P
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