[Darren Brimhall]

Hello Ter.

Let me see what I can come up with on this

- A party system that will allow players to move in unison with the group leader, or to break off from the leader to split up a bit.

This would be the @Follow <XXX> command, which you'll find in Skotos.net games (where my experience lies). To move away from a person, or split off, just type @Stop Following or @Elude <XXX>. After that, the character moves on their own.

- Combat engine that implements ranged combat and mounted combat using a system of arbitrary coordinates that will permit some semblance of charging, disengaging, flanking, and other forms of combat mobility.

Most Combat is Turn-Based with Consent. While Sir Soandso wnats to charge up upon you on his Horse, you have to consent to it. This also causes problem as you may not want Sir Soandso charging at you on his Horse, for some stupid reason or another, but this can be gotten around with Auto-Consent applied to an area. So, Sir Soandso charges up on his Horse, dismounts (or not) and starts attacking you because you're within that area of consent. Sir Soandso's actions (charge, dismounting, attak) can be done with Macros that are keyed to whatever keyboard code the player uses.

- A branching class system, allowing players to specialize or diversify their skills, and customize their character type to their liking without the choices being too wildly diverse

In Eternea, a game which I'm helping to build, we'll hopeing for the same thing. Medicen will require an understanding of Science and Chemestry (I've forgotten what the Mideval term was). Stonemasiontry will requite an understamding of Engineering. In Ironclaw, you'll find that when you start learning one skill you have now aquired two or three more skills (Example; learning Merchant, will also give you Apprase and Haggle skills that you can develope seperately). You'll need to decide which skills can form the foundation of other skills, or can be associalted with them. I have several Table-Top Gaming books that helps me with this, some are very good at breaking down skills in this manner.


- Experience system based on skill usage, rather than completely based on killing mobs.

This should be too hard to do, just arrange your system to work on skills than killing.

- Reputations and factions, allowing players to work alongside NPC factions, and progress story arcs developed by the administrators.
- Dynamic quests, allowing for administrative design and randomly generated quests, as well as player-oriented quests/missions.

These two questions have the same answer in my opinion; establish a writer's adventure format for both staff and players indicating what you want to see occuring in any adventure. Its always best to try to include as many people as possible in any adventure, for you will link your player community together while making all your players feel that they are contributing to the overall health (and exsistance) of your Game.

- Player-centric economy with NPC interaction into the trade and value of goods.


In Marrach, everything was basicly free but what you could get depended upon your 'Link' on the Great Chain (if it was high you got the nicer things). In Ironclaw, you have money that you can earn as a House Stripen or through manufacturing goods--even catching fish. Eternea will use a Barter system for goods and services, which is being worked on right now.

- Minimal simulation, utilizing probability clouds to give the players the feeling of simulation.

I don't understand what this is. You'll need to explaine it better.

- Phasing content alongside global content, allowing players to unlock single-player zones, and letting zones change over time, both for the singular player, and for the entire world.

This I believe already occurs in may MUD games. And its very easy to work, just use a timed program to cause the change to occur--which works especially well with Seasonal Change.


- Semi-roomless design. Rooms will be given coordinates along three axes of a plane, and linked to nodes and hubs. using arbitrary links in a descriptive manner. Towns will be linked by roads and pavilions, and physical structures consisting of rooms liked by corridors and portals (doors). Areas outside of town will utilize roads for easy travel, and leaving the road will place the player in the wilderness. Wilderness will be navigated by area-based nodes, and terrain will weigh into travel time, or even be physical obstacles. Outdoors areas will be very unlike indoor areas.

This is used in a good number of MUD's already. What matters is the amount of Harddrive space your game's going to be on, and from this it sounds like a lot of HD space.


- Non-combat professions and missions. Players should be able to interact with in-game industries. Won't say much on this.
- One-time and repeatable versions of dungeons.

These are cool.
In closeing, do understand (which you do) that not eveybody wants to be the sword wielding hero--unlike Marrach where your going to be one weiter you like it or not--especially if your character is male. Just make sure the players, as Players and as Characters, do understand this to avoid arguements. Players should play for their own enjoyment, not for the deliberate enjoyment of others--you don't need any ego trippers trying to pull the strings of the other players in the effort to make them better people.

But most importantly of all: keep your players happy, allow no drama, and hope you're able to build an impartical staff


And good luck.


Darren Brimhall