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Disillusionist · 03-11-2008, 02:16 PM

I don't remember where I first heard it, but it came hand-in-hand with a Midwestern cliche:
"So tight-a**ed they could eat coal, and crap diamonds."

But, to keep it on topic:

7. Banquet-Length Plots/Quests with Salad Substance.
"Epic" means more than "long". I'll admit, I've been spoiled in the past with plots that are not utterly linear, immutable or so simplistic 'go here, insert special item, say magic phrase' will solve them. Far and away over most 'official' plots, I've found that player-driven stories are more interesting, more consistent, and less likely to turn on a whim. I've steered clear at times of official quests, simply because of number 8.

8. Plot-hounding/hoarding
No one can stop a player from thinking "Oooo! Yellow text character (Or character not on the who list)!" and dropping all pretense to make sure the latest NPC notices how groooovy their RP is, and while there are remedies to players/characters who don't try to involve others (MY PLOT! STAND BACK!), I prefer to see this borderline ooc behavior curtailed, or better still, penalized. It doesn't take very long at all for a playerbase to lose interest in quests/plots if the same plotbullies crowd the scene.

9. Sensible Races
I suppose I'd be okay with upright housepets in people-duds, if the lore really makes a compelling case for it. I'm not opposed to lifting that disbelief burden, so long as I'm not daily faced with humans, essentially, with tails and fur. In my opinion, such evolutionary developments need to make complete sense within the parameters of the lore and history.

10. Transparent Mechanics
I don't really mind if they're complicated by syntax, so long as that syntax is intuitive. Room-to-room movement should be fluid, combat should be smooth and interactive, and in a nutshell, I shouldn't be playing a guessing game on how to pick up THAT item, where THIS injury came from, or how did three type-aheads corrupt my character file? (That last is a coding weakness, admittedly, but I've had it happen. open pouch, put coins in my pouch, close pouch) should not cause catastrophic issues.

That's my top ten. I'm only really peavish when something sends my cred-o-meter square into the red zone.
Thank you to the replies I've received already, and thanks in advance for more suggestions on a good game.

03-11-2008, 02:16 PM	#66
Disillusionist Member Join Date: Dec 2007 Posts: 83	Re: Things that make you NOT play a MUD I don't remember where I first heard it, but it came hand-in-hand with a Midwestern cliche: "So tight-aed they could eat coal, and crap diamonds." But, to keep it on topic: 7. Banquet-Length Plots/Quests with Salad Substance. "Epic" means more than "long". I'll admit, I've been spoiled in the past with plots that are not utterly linear, immutable or so simplistic 'go here, insert special item, say magic phrase' will solve them. Far and away over most 'official' plots, I've found that player-driven stories are more interesting, more consistent, and less likely to turn on a whim. I've steered clear at times of official quests, simply because of number 8. 8. Plot-hounding/hoarding No one can stop a player from thinking "Oooo! Yellow text character (Or character not on the who list)!" and dropping all pretense to make sure the latest NPC notices how groooovy their RP is, and while there are remedies to players/characters who don't try to involve others (MY PLOT! STAND BACK!), I prefer to see this borderline ooc behavior curtailed, or better still, penalized. It doesn't take very long at all for a playerbase to lose interest in quests/plots if the same plotbullies crowd the scene. 9. Sensible Races I suppose** I'd be okay with upright housepets in people-duds, if the lore really makes a compelling case for it. I'm not opposed to lifting that disbelief burden, so long as I'm not daily faced with humans, essentially, with tails and fur. In my opinion, such evolutionary developments need to make complete sense within the parameters of the lore and history. 10. Transparent Mechanics I don't really mind if they're complicated by syntax, so long as that syntax is intuitive. Room-to-room movement should be fluid, combat should be smooth and interactive, and in a nutshell, I shouldn't be playing a guessing game on how to pick up THAT item, where THIS injury came from, or how did three type-aheads corrupt my character file? (That last is a coding weakness, admittedly, but I've had it happen. open pouch, put coins in my pouch, close pouch) should not cause catastrophic issues. That's my top ten. I'm only really peavish when something sends my cred-o-meter square into the red zone. Thank you to the replies I've received already, and thanks in advance for more suggestions on a good game.