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Old 02-15-2016, 12:06 PM   #2
Ide
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Join Date: Feb 2006
Location: Seattle
Posts: 361
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Re: Looking for advice Coding/MUDing

There are many muds available at . Unfortunately that site is going through a redesign so it's harder to search for the files you want atm. However what you can do is find the codebase type of a mud you currently enjoy playing and look up that tag (if you like a Circle mud, narrow down the list to Circle tagged files). Mudconnector and/or Mudstats will tell you the type or you can ask on your mud of course. If you need help on which specific server to download, or how to set it up once you download it, you can ask here.

If I were you I would choose the mud first and then the language. It's more likely that you'll go through a lot of codebases looking for one you like and to see how things are done, so focusing on a language will be unnecessarily limiting IMO, if your goal is to tinker with muds. If your goal is to learn a language well of course that's a different story.

If you don't currently have a home mud, it may be quixotic to find a 'home mud' to work on. People recommend that advice a lot but I don't think it applies as much if you don't currently have a home mud you spend a lot of time on anyway, one where you've built up relationships and know the terrain.

Muds can be complex not just because they are games with many interconnecting parts. People write code over many years, often with ad hoc design and homespun solutions when a well maintained library of code would have been a better choice, and add incidental complexity that has nothing to do with the game design itself. However IMO that's part of the fun of working on a mud. Besides the games themselves the code has a charm and appeal that doing coding tutorials does not.

Sure you'll have to supplement your learning with tutorials (and a beginner's tutorial would be a good start in whatever language you pick first), but if you want to work on muds my advice is to do exactly that. Good luck!
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