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jackal59mo2 · 01-31-2012, 10:26 PM

I'm actually going through CG right now, and here are a few things I see:

1) There's not enough useful help. For example, I'm told if I need help choosing a class that one of the options is to type ETLS. I do that and get:

Buh. Maybe 1 in 100 players would be helped by that completely unexplained table, but I'm not one of them. Yes, there is another file explaining what this one is, but you don't find that out until after you've scrolled your screen with this.

2) Some of the text is fine, but some is pretty badly written. Different hands (and levels of skill) show throughout chargen.

3) There's a bad problem with the assignment of aliases. When presented with the alignment choice, I typed "help alignment" and got a message back that I had just chosen the Holy alignment. No, that's not correct; I was simply trying to make sense of the confused string of adjectives that was being presented as the continuum of alignment.

4) Whoa, what's this I'm reading about PK after I finish CG? I don't particularly like PK MUDs, and nothing before this said this was one. Or does Aarchon just have some limited PK? I don't know, and there's no file listed for me to read and find out. For that matter, if you say that it is inexcusable to not know the rules, then how about giving links to the ones you want people to read right away? Most places follow up such statements by saying "Type 'help rules,' 'help rules2,' 'help keepitinyourpants'" and so on. I expect to read rules as part of chargen; you appear to want me to but rely on me to find them on my own, something I'm not that confident about given my experience with the help system so far.

That got me out of CG. I don't think I'm going any farther because everything so far looks pretty stock and I don't really like stock ROM MUDs. Really, though, if you do have a unique world and features that will engage new players, you might consider trying to sell those things up-front or during the chargen process. You also should make sure that appropriate contextual help is readily accessible during chargen (and that other commands aren't aliased so that "help whatever" invokes those commands instead!).

01-31-2012, 10:26 PM	#3
jackal59mo2 Member Join Date: Oct 2008 Posts: 45	Re: Aarchon MUD - Looking for a review/critique I'm actually going through CG right now, and here are a few things I see: 1) There's not enough useful help. For example, I'm told if I need help choosing a class that one of the options is to type ETLS. I do that and get: Buh. Maybe 1 in 100 players would be helped by that completely unexplained table, but I'm not one of them. Yes, there is another file explaining what this one is, but you don't find that out until after you've scrolled your screen with this. 2) Some of the text is fine, but some is pretty badly written. Different hands (and levels of skill) show throughout chargen. 3) There's a bad problem with the assignment of aliases. When presented with the alignment choice, I typed "help alignment" and got a message back that I had just chosen the Holy alignment. No, that's not correct; I was simply trying to make sense of the confused string of adjectives that was being presented as the continuum of alignment. 4) Whoa, what's this I'm reading about PK after I finish CG? I don't particularly like PK MUDs, and nothing before this said this was one. Or does Aarchon just have some limited PK? I don't know, and there's no file listed for me to read and find out. For that matter, if you say that it is inexcusable to not know the rules, then how about giving links to the ones you want people to read right away? Most places follow up such statements by saying "Type 'help rules,' 'help rules2,' 'help keepitinyourpants'" and so on. I expect to read rules as part of chargen; you appear to want me to but rely on me to find them on my own, something I'm not that confident about given my experience with the help system so far. That got me out of CG. I don't think I'm going any farther because everything so far looks pretty stock and I don't really like stock ROM MUDs. Really, though, if you do have a unique world and features that will engage new players, you might consider trying to sell those things up-front or during the chargen process. You also should make sure that appropriate contextual help is readily accessible during chargen (and that other commands aren't aliased so that "help whatever" invokes those commands instead!).