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Old 07-29-2010, 09:03 AM   #1
KaVir
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Join Date: Apr 2002
Name: Richard
Home MUD: God Wars II
Posts: 2,052
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Proposal for new listing options

Top Mud Sites currently provides the following section for mud listings:

Mud Connection:
Supports ANSI Color? Yes/No
MUD supports MCCP? Yes/No
MUD supports MSP? Yes/No
Graphical/Web based MUD? Yes/No


I think it would be nice to see this section expanded. Here are some thoughts:

MUD offers a soundpack? Yes/No

I've seen a number of muds that support MSP, but don't actually have a soundpack. Putting together your own soundpack can take quite a bit of effort, so I think it would be nice to differentiate between the two. This feature could also be used to identify muds that offer sound but don't support MSP.

Optional customized client? Yes/No

I'm not sure what exactly the "Graphical/Web based MUD" represents, but I've tended to assume it was for muds that could only be played through a special graphical client (like MMORPGs) or web client (like browser games) instead of through telnet. Applying the entry to optional clients wouldn't make much sense, as there are a number of public web-based clients that can already connect to almost every mud.

However many muds offer their own custom or customised clients, while also remaining fully playable through other telnet clients. Whether these are customised MUSHclient plugins such as those used by Aardwolf or my own mud, or fully custom clients such as those used by Maiden Desmodus, Primordiax, IRE or BatMud, a customised interface tailored specifically to one mud seems to have a big impact on the way the players view that game.

Another alternative would be to simply rename the "Java/Web Client" section at the top of the listing to "Custom Client". Mud owners could then add a link to a webpage describing how to install their client/plugin/script.

Supports XTerm 256 Color? Yes/No

XTerm 256 colour codes work just like ANSI colour codes, they're just a little longer. They're supported by , and are very easy to implement within the mud, particularly if you already support ANSI colour.

MUD supports MXP? Yes/No

MXP is a markup language that offers some nice features for muds - for example, Lithmeria recently demonstrated its OLC which makes extensive use of clickable MXP links, and I've seen Slothmud do some clever things with it as well. MXP also supports 24-bit colour.

MUD supports out-of-band scripting? Yes/No

I know of various protocols for transmiting out-of-band data, including ATCP, GMCP, MSDP, ZMP, 102, 94, NEW-ENVIRON - even MXP if you're using the latest version of CMUD. The protocols vary, but they can all be used in much the same way, making it easier for players to write scripts for maps, energy bars, etc. Such scripts and plugins are becoming increasingly popular.

MUD supports MSSP? Yes/No

MSSP is a protocol primarily aimed at crawlers, allowing them to collect data from muds, which can then be used to update mud listings, generate graphs, or whatever else you fancy. MudStats already uses MSSP to generate graphs of playerbase activity, while MudBytes uses it for a search cloud. In theory, MSSP could even be used to automatically generate and update TMS listings.
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