[SnowTroll]

It's a little mind-boggling that somebody can't understand that subjective opinions might vary. I played a mud where every room had a coordinate system, and you moved around to position yourself while you fired ranged attacks, got into melee range, and fired off all kinds of specials (knockback, stun, etc.) to keep the enemy where you wanted him, while executing all kinds of special movement abilities to get where you wanted to be faster before your opponent's moves could inconvenience you. I've played countless muds where you just type "kill X" and stand there. Neither one is "better." Sure, one took longer to code and offers more options, but countless players refused to try that first mud or quit playing because they preferred a more normal-ish system.

More features and options is not necessarily better. Some people don't like and just plain don't want a mud where they have to learn all of the different combat options and strategies. Even if they don't have to use them and can play a dumbed down version, other people who take advantage of all of the mud's features will have a strong advantage over them, not just in PK, but in more efficient and effective grinding. People definitely don't want to play a mud where they'll be less effective than others.

I have yet to see a mud that requires you to manually keep track of your character's bladder and take a pee every few hours, depending on how much you drink. Some things, your character just takes care of on his own when you're not looking, and the game leaves those things to behind the scenes assumptions, and to your imagination. In a simple combat mud, it's just assumed that battling creatures jockey for position and move around a lot, but the player doesn't have to manually do all of that. The mud engine just rolls dice and handles combat, and players who don't care for an elaborate combat system are fine with that. Players who want a strategic and very detailed combat system where they can control more things and try everything hate it. More options isn't better, just different, depending on player preferences.

For example, I think it's absolutely stupid to proclaim, "There's nowhere convenient and close by for high level characters to go kill high reward mobs. They have to travel to the far reaches of the world to get those higher rewards, and that makes the game harder and less convenient! The mud administration is stupid for not moving the mobs everyone likes to kill from an established area to a close by, more convenient area so everyone can have an easy time advancing while staying in the same place." I'd strongly prefer a mud where you absolutely have to explore and go to the edges of the world to get good rewards, and where it's hard to max out your level, get piles of money, and get the best gear. It sounds stupid to me to transplant mobs randomly from place A to place B just to make grinding easier. But that's my preference, while some players prefer a mud where advancement is much more convenient. Is a huge world where you have to travel and explore to advance effectively "better" just because there are more features and things to try? Some people prefer a more simple area and advancement system.