[KaVir]

This thread is split from , in response to a couple of comments about developing a mud from scratch.

Put simply, creating a mud from scratch requires more time, effort and skill than creating a mud based on an existing codebase.

Of course that doesn't mean that someone has less skill (or has invested less time) just because they started out with an existing codebase. What it means is that, from an entry barrier perspective, it is quicker and easier to get a game up and running if a big chunk of the design and development work is already done for you. And even in the long-term, starting out with an existing codebase can give you a big headstart, as long as you pick one that meshes fairly well with your design.

While it's true that modern computers have far more RAM and CPU power available today than they did in the 90s, that doesn't help you much if you're using a mud hosting service that charges based on RAM and CPU usage. And even if RAM and CPU aren't an issue, a creative mud developer should have no trouble coming up with interesting features to take advantage of the available resources - there's no excuse for squandering them on sloppy development.

Your choice of language is likely to be influenced by a number of factors, with each language having its pros and cons. There's no "need" to use C (or indeed any specific language) but that doesn't automatically make it a bad choice - perhaps you have own reasons for favouring it. Indeed, there's no reason why you even need to limit yourself to just one language at all, maybe you'd rather use a combination of two or three languages for different levels of development.

Finally, telnet itself is just a network protocol, it doesn't define or limit what you can or cannot do. There is nothing stopping you from using it for a fully graphical mud if you wish.