[Threshold]

The #1 MOST important thing to do before starting your own mud is work as a staff member on AT LEAST one other mud for at least 1 year.

You will learn alot from working on another mud. You will see first hand either good or bad staff management (seeing either one is helpful). You will see how people deal with preventing (or failing to prevent) abuse either by players or by staff. You will see how people deal with game and class balance. These are invaluable lessons that cannot be well learned on your own.

By watching what works and doesn't work, you will obtain a greater understanding of what you are doing.

Furthermore, by being a staff member, you will have some understanding of what it is like to be in that position.

[Jazuela]

Square by square. If you're not willing to map out the game world, don't expect any builder or coder worth hiring to waste their time helping you out.

You can use MS Excel, or any of the dozens of map-creation programs available.

How can you even think to ask someone to help you build, when you can't even tell them exactly what you want to see, and where? I know as a builder if the admin said "create a zone, make it around 50 rooms, and put it northwest somewhere," I'd laugh and walk away. You couldn't even -pay- me to work with someone who doesn't care more about their own mud than I do.

When it comes to owning and running a MUD, there's no such thing as "can't I JUST." Toss that word the heck out of your vocabulary, friend. If you're not willing to put in 110% effort on your own project, don't expect anyone else to either.

[Jaewyn]

Tjnet88,

It might sound like people are trying to discourage you from making your own MUD. If fact, these are highly respected people in the MUD community with a huge amount of experience, (I don't include myself in that) trying to make you understand the magnitude of the project you want to undertake. They would like nothing better than to see you succeed, but they are trying to help you avoid the common mistakes people make when starting a MUD. In short, plan well, heed the advice of those that have gone before you, be prepared to put in the work by doing research yourself and become passionate about your project, if you're not passionate, nobody else will be either. Something like what you describe takes time to develop and grow, so be patient.

I have been working on a MUD that has been in development for well over a year and it's still a fair way from opening to players.

Good luck.

[Tjnet88]

Originally Posted by (Jaewyn @ Feb. 01 2004,18:03) Tjnet88, It might sound like people are trying to discourage you from making your own MUD.  If fact, these are highly respected people in the MUD community with a huge amount of experience, (I don't include myself in that) trying to make you understand the magnitude of the project you want to undertake.  They would like nothing better than to see you succeed, but they are trying to help you avoid the common mistakes people make when starting a MUD.  In short, plan well, heed the advice of those that have gone before you, be prepared to put in the work by doing research yourself and become passionate about your project, if you're not passionate, nobody else will be either.  Something like what you describe takes time to develop and grow, so be patient. I have been working on a MUD that has been in development for well over a year and it's still a fair way from opening to players. Good luck.

Yes i know, and i get the idea, Put in 110% get back 110%, Makes sense

[Hephos]

Actually I'd say it is more like put in 110% get back 0.1% (In the sense, how much you spend on the game, and what you get back from it, not including commercial games).

[Lanthum]

Originally Posted by (Tjnet88 @ Jan. 31 2004,10:58) I'm young, Most of my life is on the computer and in TV lol

Preface:  This is not meant to be rude, but a gentle suggestion.


If most of your life is spent on the computer, then you should be very familiar with search engines like Google, Yahoo, etc.  I went to Google and typed in your question (or something similar) and found no less than 10 great sites with TONS of info listed on the first 2 pages alone.

Did I read through some useless stuff, absolutely.  Did I come across some other useful stuff (for a beginner) that pertained to starting a mud - yes!  Did I find what I "was looking for" - you bet!

Believe all these other people - there have been MANY people out there to ask the same question before.  And they got great advice.  No need to reinvent the wheel just to drive a car - no need to answer the same question when it's been asnwered many, many times before.  Now I understand if you DID use a search engine and didn't find anything because you didn't know what to search for.  I've done that myself!  But, at least try.

What all of these gracious people are telling you - is do some work yourself!  People help those that help themselves!  Plus - it will make you smarter in the end!  If you have any specific questions about sites or things you read there - I'll (and probably others) will be happy to help you!  

[Tjnet88]

Originally Posted by (Lanthum @ Feb. 02 2004,12:58) Originally Posted by (Tjnet88 @ Jan. 31 2004,10:58) I'm young, Most of my life is on the computer and in TV lol Preface:  This is not meant to be rude, but a gentle suggestion. If most of your life is spent on the computer, then you should be very familiar with search engines like Google, Yahoo, etc.  I went to Google and typed in your question (or something similar) and found no less than 10 great sites with TONS of info listed on the first 2 pages alone. Did I read through some useless stuff, absolutely.  Did I come across some other useful stuff (for a beginner) that pertained to starting a mud - yes!  Did I find what I "was looking for" - you bet! Believe all these other people - there have been MANY people out there to ask the same question before.  And they got great advice.  No need to reinvent the wheel just to drive a car - no need to answer the same question when it's been asnwered many, many times before.  Now I understand if you DID use a search engine and didn't find anything because you didn't know what to search for.  I've done that myself!  But, at least try. What all of these gracious people are telling you - is do some work yourself!  People help those that help themselves!  Plus - it will make you smarter in the end!  If you have any specific questions about sites or things you read there - I'll (and probably others) will be happy to help you!

I spent three days searching 4 differant search engines (Yahoo All the web Google somethign named website finder or something) and probly 50 key words in the searches so thats why i signed up for this forum waited another three days trying a few more searches still finding nothing and started this thread okay? and i'm not making everyone work for me i'm asking for help in something i know veary little of but now know a heck of alot more thanks to these nice people

[Jaewyn]

I went to Yahoo and typed this question... "how do i start a mud" and the first result page showed 3 or 4 great resources. What search term did you use in Yahoo?

[Tjnet88]

I didnt ask a question i did stuff like
Mud creater
Mud maker
Make a mud
Mud
Muding
Create a mud
stuff like that

[Jazuela]

Originally Posted by (Tjnet88 @ Feb. 02 2004,18:08) I didnt ask a question i did stuff like Mud creater Mud maker Make a mud Mud Muding Create a mud stuff like that

It's creator, not creater.
It's MUD, not mud or Mud. It is case sensitive, because "mud" is just dirt mixed with water. MUD is an acronym that stands for Multi-User Dungeon.
It's MUDding, with 2 "d"s.
Creating a mud involves mixing water with dirt, as above.

In most cases, I don't bother trying to correct someone's spelling because it is rude to do so. But in your case - dood - if you don't even know how to spell what you're looking for, you probably shouldn't be trying to utilize the results.

If you had tried any of the following you'd have found tons of stuff, as I did:

MUD
MUD creation
coding MUDs
MUD codes
text games creation
text games codes

and made it case sensitive in the search options. I'm not a coder, nor do I own a MUD, nor have I ever had any interest in either. I'm also fairly new to the MUD world, having been secluded in a pay-to-play for 6 years before venturing out and learning that other types of text games existed. And yet, I had no trouble at all figuring this stuff out.

Now you know for next time though, but honestly for someone who claims to spend most of their life in front of the TV or on computers, your computer skills seem lacking. I would bone up on basic understanding of search engines before even thinking about creating a mud.

[Lanthum]

Trying to remember the phrases I used:

"i want to make" mud "help me"
"make a mud" tutorial
"i want to" mud help
"how to" "make a mud"

All of these brought up some great resources in Google.  The first one alone brought back 3,140 responses, and like I said the first 2 pages have at least 10 great sites.

Just something I have learned from my experience: when I have come here or mudconnector.com, or other places and asked a question that CAME ACROSS like help me, I don't know what to do without any extra info in it - people don't seem to be too helpful.  But when I've asked the same question like: I have a problem, this is what it is, and this is what I've done to try and fix it but it's not working - what am I doing wrong, people seem to help me more.  They know what I've already done, and know what NOT to repeat when helping me.

Hope that helps some.

[eax]

I dont even know whether to get involved in a mud seriously at this time or just play one , I have done a fair amount of coding and I know from this that muds are harder than what they may first seem. Thats seems like a good tip about getting involved as a member of staff in a mud though since one will see first hand the complexities of a succesful MUD I imagine? I am going to check out those links provided as well.

Thanks all!

[Valg]

Originally Posted by eax I dont even know whether to get involved in a mud seriously at this time or just play one , I have done a fair amount of coding and I know from this that muds are harder than what they may first seem. Thats seems like a good tip about getting involved as a member of staff in a mud though since one will see first hand the complexities of a succesful MUD I imagine? I am going to check out those links provided as well. Thanks all!

As a quick note, you're replying to a post that is four years old, so it might be worth creating a new thread on the appropriate forum to get more current resources. Some advice is timeless, but there are a number of websites that exist now that didn't exist in 2004.

[Fizban]

Originally Posted by Valg As a quick note, you're replying to a post that is four years old, so it might be worth creating a new thread on the appropriate forum to get more current resources. Some advice is timeless, but there are a number of websites that exist now that didn't exist in 2004.

There's also a number of websites that existed in 2004, but don't now...

[Newworlds]

I think the advice by Jazuela and Threshold is the best of this thread (quoted below). Follow what they say and you will not be caught by many surprises.

Here is some advice that I always tell people that are debating about playing a MUD or making a MUD: PLAY A MUD!

Having run a successful MUD for over four years now (and enjoying the headaches somewhat), if I had any tiny inkling of the difficulty in maintaining and running a MUD when I put together NW, I would have run from that project like a forest fire. It is the main reason I said above to read what Jazuela and Threshold say. This advice will go a long way.

------------------------------------

Originally Posted by Jazuela Square by square. If you're not willing to map out the game world, don't expect any builder or coder worth hiring to waste their time helping you out. You can use MS Excel, or any of the dozens of map-creation programs available. How can you even think to ask someone to help you build, when you can't even tell them exactly what you want to see, and where? I know as a builder if the admin said "create a zone, make it around 50 rooms, and put it northwest somewhere," I'd laugh and walk away. You couldn't even -pay- me to work with someone who doesn't care more about their own mud than I do. When it comes to owning and running a MUD, there's no such thing as "can't I JUST." Toss that word the heck out of your vocabulary, friend. If you're not willing to put in 110% effort on your own project, don't expect anyone else to either.

Originally Posted by Threshold The #1 MOST important thing to do before starting your own mud is work as a staff member on AT LEAST one other mud for at least 1 year. You will learn alot from working on another mud. You will see first hand either good or bad staff management (seeing either one is helpful). You will see how people deal with preventing (or failing to prevent) abuse either by players or by staff. You will see how people deal with game and class balance. These are invaluable lessons that cannot be well learned on your own. By watching what works and doesn't work, you will obtain a greater understanding of what you are doing. Furthermore, by being a staff member, you will have some understanding of what it is like to be in that position.

[Fizban]

I also suggest when starting a new mud up to download several different codebases, try doing similar things in all of them to find which one seems to be the best suited for what you want to do with it. I see too many people that use what their used to instead of looking into other options before they get started. I understand the concept of wanting to use what you always have, but I also know that the time it would take to learn a new system is often far less than the amount of time you can save by using said new system if it is better designed than the other system you were previously familiar with.