Top Mud Sites Forum - View Single Post - Why I Left Your MUD- A Newbie's Persepctive

Newworlds · 06-26-2010, 12:29 PM

I completely disagree. I think Sasca is just expressing some standard complaints about how Admins advertise their MUDs.

Even though NWA doesn't do any of the things listed here, I feel it important to put the poster's comments in perspective and I'll do this below.

First, it is normal for a game to morph over time and be slightly or even completely different from the original intent based on the players. This is not uncommon and many MUDs (large or small) have conformed to what the bulk of the players want. My main suggestion for looking for a home MUD is to follow this link:

Now on to the heart of the matter:

1. You advertised a Roleplay environment that was enforced, and when I logged in and started a character, I typed 'Who' and saw things like 'Rogan, the Hair-Slayer' and 'Elise-She Just Wants A Shag'. I was looking for an IC game- so I left this one.

In many MUDs a who list is completely OOC and has nothing to do with the internal game. Perhaps play for awhile before assuming this. Although, I agree, this drives me nuts too. Admin should make it clear that the who list is OOC.

2. You advertised a lot more players than you actually had- you said you had 24-50 players, I created a character and found out that there were four people logged in, two of them marked on the Who list as 'AFK'. I logged off.

This may be a slow time for the MUD or the TMS list wasn't updated in years. A sad thing but this is the case on numerous games. My take on numbers is this though: numerous players does not equate to quality in a game. In this case though, if you are looking for a lot of players, you may just have to test a bunch of MUDs in your theme and track down the one that actually has the players. This can be tough because some MUDs might have 50+ players, but as a newbie you may need to spend hours just finding them.

3. I logged in, took the time to create a character, and no-one greeted me, or told me how to ask for help. Your MUD has quite a few people on the WHO list, but I heard nothing from anyone at all. I logged off.

Many RP Enforced/Intensive Muds don't do this as they want you immersed and aren't there to hand hold. NWA does, but we have a good sized staff to help and players that like to help. Still, if looking for an fully roleplay MUD you won't always be greeted.

4. Your MUD was advertised as RP-Enforced. I created a character, and in your beginner's school/newbie school/starting arena I fought a MOB and scored a hit that left my opponent 'Wimpering like Rodney King/Crying like a bitch'. I logged off.

Look to my initial response though though this is a bit odd, some MUDs tend to have some strange things like that.

5. I started a character on your game that was RP-Enforced/RP-encouraged and got an item like 'A can of Coke' or a 'Lava lamp' or 'a piece of pizza'. Cookies I can handle but when I saw pizza and Coke I...logged off.

Unless this game was themed in modern times, I have no answer for this.

6. I logged in to your RP-encouraged game and immediately I was besieged by channel messages like 'Smirnoff Wipes the FLOOR with Aasinine' or 'BLOODLUST demands Parken's CORPSE'. I had no idea what was going on, nor how to quiet it. I logged off.

In this case, the Admin should really have such OOC channels tuned out for a new player. This seems to be obviously ooc commentary (I hope).

7. I created a character on your MUD and, through tells and public channels, came to understand that it was a relatively closed group of friends- I wasn't greeted, and the people that I met in the MUD were standoffish, or referred to 'inside jokes' that I had no understanding of. The players made no effort to welcome me, or even acknowledge my character's presence.

I find this a lot in many games as cliques. These exist even in larger games and it is up to players (not Admins) to recognize this and if you want more people in the game you play at to adhere to Sasca's complaint.

---

On all these points I will suggest that you find a MUD that has a theme and style that you seem to like and invest some time into it. It won't be long before you are guiding the MUD into a place you enjoy.

Have fun and thank you for the suggestions Sasca. I did not see them as harsh criticism in the least, but good quality comments.

06-26-2010, 12:29 PM	#3
Newworlds Legend Join Date: Aug 2007 Name: NewWorlds Home MUD: New Worlds Posts: 1,425	Re: Why I Left Your MUD- A Newbie's Persepctive I completely disagree. I think Sasca is just expressing some standard complaints about how Admins advertise their MUDs. Even though NWA doesn't do any of the things listed here, I feel it important to put the poster's comments in perspective and I'll do this below. First, it is normal for a game to morph over time and be slightly or even completely different from the original intent based on the players. This is not uncommon and many MUDs (large or small) have conformed to what the bulk of the players want. My main suggestion for looking for a home MUD is to follow this link: Now on to the heart of the matter: 1. You advertised a Roleplay environment that was enforced, and when I logged in and started a character, I typed 'Who' and saw things like 'Rogan, the Hair-Slayer' and 'Elise-She Just Wants A Shag'. I was looking for an IC game- so I left this one. In many MUDs a who list is completely OOC and has nothing to do with the internal game. Perhaps play for awhile before assuming this. Although, I agree, this drives me nuts too. Admin should make it clear that the who list is OOC. 2. You advertised a lot more players than you actually had- you said you had 24-50 players, I created a character and found out that there were four people logged in, two of them marked on the Who list as 'AFK'. I logged off. This may be a slow time for the MUD or the TMS list wasn't updated in years. A sad thing but this is the case on numerous games. My take on numbers is this though: numerous players does not equate to quality in a game. In this case though, if you are looking for a lot of players, you may just have to test a bunch of MUDs in your theme and track down the one that actually has the players. This can be tough because some MUDs might have 50+ players, but as a newbie you may need to spend hours just finding them. 3. I logged in, took the time to create a character, and no-one greeted me, or told me how to ask for help. Your MUD has quite a few people on the WHO list, but I heard nothing from anyone at all. I logged off. Many RP Enforced/Intensive Muds don't do this as they want you immersed and aren't there to hand hold. NWA does, but we have a good sized staff to help and players that like to help. Still, if looking for an fully roleplay MUD you won't always be greeted. 4. Your MUD was advertised as RP-Enforced. I created a character, and in your beginner's school/newbie school/starting arena I fought a MOB and scored a hit that left my opponent 'Wimpering like Rodney King/Crying like a bitch'. I logged off. Look to my initial response though though this is a bit odd, some MUDs tend to have some strange things like that. 5. I started a character on your game that was RP-Enforced/RP-encouraged and got an item like 'A can of Coke' or a 'Lava lamp' or 'a piece of pizza'. Cookies I can handle but when I saw pizza and Coke I...logged off. Unless this game was themed in modern times, I have no answer for this. 6. I logged in to your RP-encouraged game and immediately I was besieged by channel messages like 'Smirnoff Wipes the FLOOR with Aasinine' or 'BLOODLUST demands Parken's CORPSE'. I had no idea what was going on, nor how to quiet it. I logged off. In this case, the Admin should really have such OOC channels tuned out for a new player. This seems to be obviously ooc commentary (I hope). 7. I created a character on your MUD and, through tells and public channels, came to understand that it was a relatively closed group of friends- I wasn't greeted, and the people that I met in the MUD were standoffish, or referred to 'inside jokes' that I had no understanding of. The players made no effort to welcome me, or even acknowledge my character's presence. I find this a lot in many games as cliques. These exist even in larger games and it is up to players (not Admins) to recognize this and if you want more people in the game you play at to adhere to Sasca's complaint. --- On all these points I will suggest that you find a MUD that has a theme and style that you seem to like and invest some time into it. It won't be long before you are guiding the MUD into a place you enjoy. Have fun and thank you for the suggestions Sasca. I did not see them as harsh criticism in the least, but good quality comments.