Top Mud Sites Forum - View Single Post - The Catch-22 of New MUDs

Rathik · 12-24-2005, 06:17 PM

I thought I'd reply to this since I'm one of the players who often create and delete just to see the mud. There are several things that cause me to delete:

1) If I can't figure out how to use the help system, or if the help system doesn't work as it is explained, then delete. I also have a personal preference of having all help available in the mud, not in some forum or website that I have to sign up for.

2) If I encounter more than a couple typos or poorly written information when I'm creating, that's a delete. This is the first part of the mud that any new player sees: if it looks like sh*t, there's a good chance that the rest of mud is the same. I know some admins will say, "Oh, you can report typos and bugs you see by using (special command)!" I don't try your mud to fix your typos!

3) If your website lists the last mud addition as "March 2004," I won't even try connecting. Mud updates and changes keep it alive and the players interested. And if your web links don't work, same thing. A quality mud will take the time to make a quality site.

4) If I have to wait for my name to be "approved," I leave right then. Otherwise I end up waiting around 10 minutes, and chances are, it's not going to be worth it.

5) If I get PKed within minutes of joining, delete. I don't care if it's a PK mud and I have "to learn the hard way," I still don't have a clue what I have to do in a new mud.

6) If I find out that I have to spend real cash to get beyond a certain point, delete.

7) I don't connect to muds which are heavily rumored to have stolen code (personal preference).

8) If your mud claims to have been running for "6 years" and I log in and it only has 2 or 3 players, I delete. If you've only managed to get 3 players online at a time in 6 years, there is obviously something wrong with it (see #1 - 4). This is really the only time that player base matters for me.

Now this is just the creation process and the first 30 minutes of the game. You can have the most awesome best super excellent features and stories and areas, or the worst, but I will never find out because you already lost me. There could be another whole list for things that make me leave beyond 30 minutes. I try a lot of muds, and I'd say over 90% simply suck. Look carefully at the successful muds, and you'll find that it's not money that makes them good, but quality (but I suppose having a paid staff helps increase that quality though).

Ironically, for some reason, I have saved the connection info to The ReckoningMUD from late August. Which is odd, because I never do that, so I must have been slightly impressed.

12-24-2005, 06:17 PM	#15
Rathik Member Join Date: Aug 2004 Location: Arizona Posts: 35	I thought I'd reply to this since I'm one of the players who often create and delete just to see the mud. There are several things that cause me to delete: 1) If I can't figure out how to use the help system, or if the help system doesn't work as it is explained, then delete. I also have a personal preference of having all help available in the mud, not in some forum or website that I have to sign up for. 2) If I encounter more than a couple typos or poorly written information when I'm creating, that's a delete. This is the first part of the mud that any new player sees: if it looks like sht, there's a good chance that the rest of mud is the same. I know some admins will say, "Oh, you can report typos and bugs you see by using (special command)!" I don't try your mud to fix your typos!* 3) If your website lists the last mud addition as "March 2004," I won't even try connecting. Mud updates and changes keep it alive and the players interested. And if your web links don't work, same thing. A quality mud will take the time to make a quality site. 4) If I have to wait for my name to be "approved," I leave right then. Otherwise I end up waiting around 10 minutes, and chances are, it's not going to be worth it. 5) If I get PKed within minutes of joining, delete. I don't care if it's a PK mud and I have "to learn the hard way," I still don't have a clue what I have to do in a new mud. 6) If I find out that I have to spend real cash to get beyond a certain point, delete. 7) I don't connect to muds which are heavily rumored to have stolen code (personal preference). 8) If your mud claims to have been running for "6 years" and I log in and it only has 2 or 3 players, I delete. If you've only managed to get 3 players online at a time in 6 years, there is obviously something wrong with it (see #1 - 4). This is really the only time that player base matters for me. Now this is just the creation process and the first 30 minutes of the game. You can have the most awesome best super excellent features and stories and areas, or the worst, but I will never find out because you already lost me. There could be another whole list for things that make me leave beyond 30 minutes. I try a lot of muds, and I'd say over 90% simply suck. Look carefully at the successful muds, and you'll find that it's not money that makes them good, but quality (but I suppose having a paid staff helps increase that quality though). Ironically, for some reason, I have saved the connection info to The ReckoningMUD from late August. Which is odd, because I never do that, so I must have been slightly impressed.