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Loremaster · 10-20-2002, 06:25 PM

I payed $10/month to play Islands of Kesmai (not on AOL, it was through a separate server) until my mage reached a level where he was able to face down the lesser dragons on his own.

I knew there were free MUD's available, but the vast majority of the ones I tried had too many problems: rampant PK, no storyline, Hack and Slash only... endless bashing of progressively tougher creatures and having squabbling over spawning points, little to no assistance in getting established.

I left Kesmai for a couple reasons. Even though I had made a couple friends and enjoyed battling the highest level nasties with a high level character, it became boring. There were no more spells to learn, and H/S had become tiresome.

I have tried playing UO,AC, and EQ. All of them have huge numbers of players, which may sound appealing from an RP perspective, but after a couple weeks of each, finding RP-oriented players willing to interact seemed like finding a needle in a haystack. Such a large PB can make a game a hostile wasteland for new players. I have heard tales of what passes for RP in GS and DR and have no intention of paying to have those stories confirmed.

Oh! Why to play P2P, not why not!

I played Inferno. I think it is called classic now. It has all the elements of a great game. Enforced RP within guidelines of a large amount of racial descriptions, legends, histories and intricate storylines. CS was never perfect for me, but at least it was there, and had a lot of polish to it as well.

Inferno also has a lot of RP events where characters get a chance to focus on various levels of RP. From simple, yet dangerous 'rescue' missions or skirmishes, to political intrigue. It has the best options for those sick of H&S I have yet seen. Weavers who can make various materials and then use them to make an infinite variety of clothing. Weapon/Armor smiths who dont just gather some metal at a forge and type forge steel and wait a minute or so for emits to announce the successful creation of a sword, but a LONG, LABORIOUS, and yes, tedious process of heating the metal, hammering it at the proper temperature, annealing, tempering, quenching, grinding and polishing. With like what, nearly a couple hundred weapons to choose from? Many types of armor pieces instead of simply "armor"? Artisans who start off carving simple wood pieces until they are skilled enough to forge metal into jewelry pieces, and then after even more skill, carve molds to cast pieces like rings and wands? At the highest level, they are able to cut gems 25 or 30 different kinds... with 4 different cuts that must be the appropriate cut for the size and clarity of the gem. Yes.. not just many types of gems, but sizes ranging from tiny to gargantuan, and clarity ratings from raw to radiant. Leather crafting and bowyering. All these crafting skills will take you over a year IRL playing several hours a week to reach the upper skill levels?

The RICHness of the environment, the REAL RP possibilities that are both IMM and player instigated and continued? A chance to develop a truly fleshed-out character rather than a shell that is only defined by its distribution of skills?

Free MUD's are in less of a position to provide all these components. This is not to say there are no excellent MUDs who do not charge... just that for an adult who finds the plethora of H&S, PK oriented, RP'less MUDs that seem to compose the vast majority of active MUDs available to be daunting at best, I see P2P as a convenient option for those who can afford it.

To sum it up: I do not mind paying to play, as long as the game has most of the features I look for in a game. Finances at this time do not allow me to consider P2P games, and as yet, I have not found a 'free' MUD that offers the feature mix I am looking for, so I am....

"Still Looking"

10-20-2002, 06:25 PM	#9
Loremaster Member Join Date: Sep 2002 Posts: 35	I payed $10/month to play Islands of Kesmai (not on AOL, it was through a separate server) until my mage reached a level where he was able to face down the lesser dragons on his own. I knew there were free MUD's available, but the vast majority of the ones I tried had too many problems: rampant PK, no storyline, Hack and Slash only... endless bashing of progressively tougher creatures and having squabbling over spawning points, little to no assistance in getting established. I left Kesmai for a couple reasons. Even though I had made a couple friends and enjoyed battling the highest level nasties with a high level character, it became boring. There were no more spells to learn, and H/S had become tiresome. I have tried playing UO,AC, and EQ. All of them have huge numbers of players, which may sound appealing from an RP perspective, but after a couple weeks of each, finding RP-oriented players willing to interact seemed like finding a needle in a haystack. Such a large PB can make a game a hostile wasteland for new players. I have heard tales of what passes for RP in GS and DR and have no intention of paying to have those stories confirmed. Oh! Why to play P2P, not why not! I played Inferno. I think it is called classic now. It has all the elements of a great game. Enforced RP within guidelines of a large amount of racial descriptions, legends, histories and intricate storylines. CS was never perfect for me, but at least it was there, and had a lot of polish to it as well. Inferno also has a lot of RP events where characters get a chance to focus on various levels of RP. From simple, yet dangerous 'rescue' missions or skirmishes, to political intrigue. It has the best options for those sick of H&S I have yet seen. Weavers who can make various materials and then use them to make an infinite variety of clothing. Weapon/Armor smiths who dont just gather some metal at a forge and type forge steel and wait a minute or so for emits to announce the successful creation of a sword, but a LONG, LABORIOUS, and yes, tedious process of heating the metal, hammering it at the proper temperature, annealing, tempering, quenching, grinding and polishing. With like what, nearly a couple hundred weapons to choose from? Many types of armor pieces instead of simply "armor"? Artisans who start off carving simple wood pieces until they are skilled enough to forge metal into jewelry pieces, and then after even more skill, carve molds to cast pieces like rings and wands? At the highest level, they are able to cut gems 25 or 30 different kinds... with 4 different cuts that must be the appropriate cut for the size and clarity of the gem. Yes.. not just many types of gems, but sizes ranging from tiny to gargantuan, and clarity ratings from raw to radiant. Leather crafting and bowyering. All these crafting skills will take you over a year IRL playing several hours a week to reach the upper skill levels? The RICHness of the environment, the REAL RP possibilities that are both IMM and player instigated and continued? A chance to develop a truly fleshed-out character rather than a shell that is only defined by its distribution of skills? Free MUD's are in less of a position to provide all these components. This is not to say there are no excellent MUDs who do not charge... just that for an adult who finds the plethora of H&S, PK oriented, RP'less MUDs that seem to compose the vast majority of active MUDs available to be daunting at best, I see P2P as a convenient option for those who can afford it. To sum it up: I do not mind paying to play, as long as the game has most of the features I look for in a game. Finances at this time do not allow me to consider P2P games, and as yet, I have not found a 'free' MUD that offers the feature mix I am looking for, so I am.... "Still Looking"