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Molly · 08-05-2002, 04:06 AM

I look for something that could best be called 'Fun Potential'.
That's why most of us play, right? - for the fun.

I know the expreession is a bit vague, but there are usually some things that become detrimental to fun, sooner or later. Like imms that are control freaks or just tyrannical or abusive, tons of silly and unnecessary rules, cheating imms, nasty players, a high amount of Twink players, sloppy building, unstable code that makes the mud crash all the time...

So if I see any signs of these I leave very quickly. The log-in screen is sometimes a good indicator. If there is a list of tons of help-files on it that you are supposed to read before playing, and if the main part of these are rules... Yuk! Most of all I hate control freaks, which is why I generally avoid rigidly enforced roleplay Muds. No offence meant, but the only way to really enforce RP is to snoop or log the players on a regular basis, and I kind of value my privacy, even in a mud.

It's a bit harder to define what really makes a mud fun. Basically it's the atmosphere, and that is mostly created by the interaction between imms and players. It doesn't really matter if the mud is totally stock or highly developed. But generally a mud that is constantly developing and changing, offers the highest fun potential. If new code and new zones are being regularly added, if there is a friendly dialogue between the imms and players, if the imms on line are active, run Quests or take part in the roleplay, the mud is usually fun to play.

You usually find that type of atmosphere in two stages of a mud's development, during beta testing, or in an old mud that is advanced and heavily modified, but still being worked on. Which type you prefer is a matter of taste. The old mud is usually stable, with well balanced races, classes, skills/spells, mobs and equipment, with few bugs, an established player base and most likely some nice 'features'. Some muds grow stale in time and stop developing, but as long as the staff is active, that's a place where you can really have some serious fun.

In beta testing you can expect frequent crashes, buggy code, a limited number of zones that are not totally stock and probably even pwipes. While all this can be very frustrating, there is still often a 'pioneer spirit' in a new mud on the make, where the imms and the morts work together towards a goal. And even the bugs become part of the entertainment. The most fun I ever had on a mud was in a mostly stock Diku, that had more bugs than a street mongrel. Us players had a ball exploiting all the bugs and the imms used to slap our wrists in a rather benevolent manner for doing it - in the few cases when they caught us. Eventually the same mud developed into RP enforced D&D, and all the fun went down the drain, together with the players - and eventually the mud itself.

08-05-2002, 04:06 AM	#9
Molly Senior Member Join Date: Apr 2002 Location: Sweden Home MUD: 4 Dimensions Posts: 574	I look for something that could best be called 'Fun Potential'. That's why most of us play, right? - for the fun. I know the expreession is a bit vague, but there are usually some things that become detrimental to fun, sooner or later. Like imms that are control freaks or just tyrannical or abusive, tons of silly and unnecessary rules, cheating imms, nasty players, a high amount of Twink players, sloppy building, unstable code that makes the mud crash all the time... So if I see any signs of these I leave very quickly. The log-in screen is sometimes a good indicator. If there is a list of tons of help-files on it that you are supposed to read before playing, and if the main part of these are rules... Yuk! Most of all I hate control freaks, which is why I generally avoid rigidly enforced roleplay Muds. No offence meant, but the only way to really enforce RP is to snoop or log the players on a regular basis, and I kind of value my privacy, even in a mud. It's a bit harder to define what really makes a mud fun. Basically it's the atmosphere, and that is mostly created by the interaction between imms and players. It doesn't really matter if the mud is totally stock or highly developed. But generally a mud that is constantly developing and changing, offers the highest fun potential. If new code and new zones are being regularly added, if there is a friendly dialogue between the imms and players, if the imms on line are active, run Quests or take part in the roleplay, the mud is usually fun to play. You usually find that type of atmosphere in two stages of a mud's development, during beta testing, or in an old mud that is advanced and heavily modified, but still being worked on. Which type you prefer is a matter of taste. The old mud is usually stable, with well balanced races, classes, skills/spells, mobs and equipment, with few bugs, an established player base and most likely some nice 'features'. Some muds grow stale in time and stop developing, but as long as the staff is active, that's a place where you can really have some serious fun. In beta testing you can expect frequent crashes, buggy code, a limited number of zones that are not totally stock and probably even pwipes. While all this can be very frustrating, there is still often a 'pioneer spirit' in a new mud on the make, where the imms and the morts work together towards a goal. And even the bugs become part of the entertainment. The most fun I ever had on a mud was in a mostly stock Diku, that had more bugs than a street mongrel. Us players had a ball exploiting all the bugs and the imms used to slap our wrists in a rather benevolent manner for doing it - in the few cases when they caught us. Eventually the same mud developed into RP enforced D&D, and all the fun went down the drain, together with the players - and eventually the mud itself.