Top Mud Sites Forum Return to TopMudSites.com
Go Back   Top Mud Sites Forum > MUD Players and General Discussion > Newbie Help
Click here to Register

Reply
 
Thread Tools
Old 03-16-2009, 05:41 PM   #1
Grim Stiehl
New Member
 
Join Date: Mar 2009
Posts: 2
Grim Stiehl is on a distinguished road
411?

would anyone mind explaining what exactly a MUD is to a new member?

i stumbled onto this site by searching for d&d character sheets. ive played pencil & paper RPG's since I was kid and this looks equally as interesting.

any info and/or help is appreciated
Grim Stiehl is offline   Reply With Quote
Old 03-16-2009, 06:23 PM   #2
Parnassus
New Member
 
Join Date: Apr 2002
Posts: 23
Parnassus is on a distinguished road
Re: 411?

In my opinion, a MUD is a game using the computer for dice and the screen for the paper and pencil. Builders and coders are various DMs. There's a bit less flexibility, due to everything being rewritten, but that's offset by having the game keep track for you. As you move around the world, you'll have encounters with creatures. Some are random and some are expected. You can decide to fight or ignore. If the creature decides that it wants to eat you anyway, you can decide to fight or flee. Whenever you might expect to roll the dice, the computer does it for you. The programming is full of parts like: flee? your roll is higher than his dex (or however it works) so you flee. If your roll is lower, he gets to take another bite.

I've always found it interesting how the game can work out strength, dexterity, luck, random chance and so on in the time it takes us to watch the screen show hits, misses and kills.

My advice is to try a few different games of a few different types to see what appeals to you. And then, if you really like it, move up to DM-type status by writing an area yourself. Then you get to choose the terrain, atmosphere, monsters and so.

The way I've always explained muds to non-mudders is this: think of a which-way sort of book. You're standing at a crossroads. To the east is a path through a forest. To the north is a gate into a town. To the south is a trail through the foothills, leading towards the mountains. Which way do you go?

If you've ever read the books with have numbers on the pages to replicate the dice, that's even closer. I hope this is the sort of info you were looking for.
Parnassus is offline   Reply With Quote
Old 03-16-2009, 06:30 PM   #3
Grim Stiehl
New Member
 
Join Date: Mar 2009
Posts: 2
Grim Stiehl is on a distinguished road
Re: 411?

thats exactly the kind of info i was looking for; much appreciated. it does, however; lead to other questions...and yes; ive read choose your own adventure books

how and/or where do i get started? on this forum?

will i need any sort of software?
Grim Stiehl is offline   Reply With Quote
Old 03-16-2009, 06:36 PM   #4
Orrin
Member
 
Join Date: Jul 2008
Name: Matt
Posts: 141
Orrin is on a distinguished road
Re: 411?

The best way to find out about MUDs is to play them

The main page of this site is a ranking list of games as voted for by their players. These 'top' MUDs are not necessarily the best, but they are popular enough to have the most votes so they are generally worth taking a look at. You should be able to click through to each game's website where they have more information on how to play. Most people use a dedicated client program to play their favourite MUDs such as MUSHclient or ZMud.

Alternatively you could visit where there is a list of games you can play from your browser without using a separate program. By clicking on a few of the games there it should give you an idea of what MUDs are all about.
Orrin is offline   Reply With Quote
Old 03-16-2009, 06:38 PM   #5
KaVir
Legend
 
KaVir's Avatar
 
Join Date: Apr 2002
Name: Richard
Home MUD: God Wars II
Posts: 2,052
KaVir will become famous soon enoughKaVir will become famous soon enough
Re: 411?

MUD stands for "Multi-User Dungeon", because the original MUD was designed to be a Multi-User game in the same style as "Dungeon" (one of the first interactive fiction computer games, more commonly known today as "Zork").

I assume you're familiar with MMORPGs such as EverQuest, World of Warcraft, etc? Well, those are graphical MUDs. Most of games discussed here are text-based, however, much like the original Dungeon game from which they got their name.

There is a huge amount of variety among the different MUDs though. Some focus on roleplaying, others are geared towards competitive player-vs-player activites, others encourage puzzle solving, and so on and so forth. Some MUDs are commercial, others are run as a hobby. Some have classes and levels, others don't. Some follow standard game mechanics such as D&D or White Wolf, others have their own systems. Some have hundreds of players online at all times, others are lucky to have even a handful of players during their peak hours.

Although there are clients you can download to improve your experience, most of the MUDs listed on this site should be accessable through telnet.
KaVir is offline   Reply With Quote
Old 03-16-2009, 07:00 PM   #6
Mabus
Member
 
Join Date: Jan 2006
Posts: 213
Mabus is on a distinguished road
Re: 411?

First, a wiki definition of MUDs you could read .

Most MUDs' use a client to send and receive the information. Many of these are free. It would depend on your computer's operating system on which clients were available to you.

For a free Windows client I would recommend .

For a free Linux-based client I would recommend .

Others may have other/better suggestions.

Alternately, some games are listed at , which has a built in Flash client. Not all games are available through that website, but a good place to try the games that are without having to download a client.

I am also sure that many at this website (Top MUD Sites) will be more then happy to answer any further questions. For a fuller understanding on MUDs there is that may answer more of your questions.

As a first-time text-based game player I would advise picking a genre, finding games that fit that genre and viewing their websites. They will have the address and port (the connection information), and possibly features and help files, listed on their pages. These games come in several "flavors" as well, ranging from purely player versus player combat to games that are heavily role-play oriented (and all combinations imaginable). Asking on forums with a specific list of features you want is another good method of finding a game that may fit your entertainment style.

Welcome to the world of literate gaming. I hope you enjoy yourself.
Mabus is offline   Reply With Quote
Old 03-16-2009, 08:01 PM   #7
Parnassus
New Member
 
Join Date: Apr 2002
Posts: 23
Parnassus is on a distinguished road
Re: 411?

Unfortunately, there's no really good answer on how to start or, put another way, way too many answers.

One way to start is to find a really big game with lots of people on at all times so that when you ask a question, you can get an answer. Another way is to find a fairly small game with nice people where one might offer to mentor you. If anybody makes fun of you or argues with you on a small mud, my suggestion is to chat thank you, very politely, log off and try a different mud.

Decide if you like the sort of game where you pretend to become whatever your character is or if you prefer a looser style where you are still yourself, sitting at a keyboard. This will tell you rp (role playing) or no rp or somewhere in between.

Would you prefer fighting against a computer brain or a person brain? That will tell you pk (player kill) or no or restricted pk.

Are you interested in the past or the future? Possibly a theme such as Wheel of Time or Dragonball? You'll probably find that most muds have a bit of a mix though.

Go to the mud search section, put in your choices and take your pick. Here are a few pages to get you started though. For a large mud, you might want to try something like Aardwolf () or Realms of Despair () although this is one of those things very few people can agree on. Most of us have our personal favourites.

One interesting thing about Aardwolf, however, is that they suggest using Mushclient (mentioned by Mabus above) along with a set of plugins designed especially to make Aardwolf more newbie friendly. ()

If you prefer a different time period, a really nice one with a lot of quests is 4D (). Unfortunately, they had a recent loss of players, at no fault of their own, and I think I've heard that its fairly quiet there. I could be wrong though. And if you're looking for a good time period, they have four different periods and the areas there are amazing!

As to software, yes, get software. It's possible to mud through telnet, but I think it's one of the main reasons why people stop mudding without getting very far. Again, there will be a lot of disagreement as to which client is the best but, in my opinion, it doesn't really matter since you'll get used to it and probably not want to change. Its much easier to change muds than clients!

For some information about clients, check:

For more info on searching for muds, check:
Parnassus is offline   Reply With Quote
Old 03-17-2009, 09:14 AM   #8
Jazuela
Senior Member
 
Join Date: Apr 2002
Location: New England
Posts: 849
Jazuela will become famous soon enoughJazuela will become famous soon enough
Re: 411?

Also, bear in mind that *most* MUDs are free. Many MUDs that charge, are less than clear about that.

In summary, ALL things, from the moment of login, to the moment of logout, INCLUDING login and logout themselves, are free of charge, with no option or requirement to pay for any of it.

If you find a game that says "100% free to play" keep that in mind, it might be someone playing the semantics game. Because, free to play - doesn't mean free to wear 10x ithloss armor. It might be free to play but if you want that 10x ithloss armor you have to send a paypal for $20. Or it might be free for the first 3 months, and if you want to keep the character, you have to start paying. Or it might be free, but people who pay get credits toward things that people who don't pay, either can't get, or can only get from people who have those credits.

To reiterate: Most MUDs are FREE. Completely, utterly, not merely optional, 100% inclusive, payment NOT optional, free.
Jazuela is offline   Reply With Quote
Old 03-17-2009, 10:22 AM   #9
Mabus
Member
 
Join Date: Jan 2006
Posts: 213
Mabus is on a distinguished road
Re: 411?

Now all they need is a discussion of the DIKU license and the true meaning of RPI...

Kidding!

Some pay-2-play and pay-4-perks MUDs are fun. I loved playing for several years, for instance.

But it is true that the mass majority of MUDs can be played for free.
Mabus is offline   Reply With Quote
Reply


Thread Tools


Posting Rules
You may not post new threads
You may not post replies
You may not post attachments
You may not edit your posts

vB code is On
Smilies are On
[IMG] code is On
HTML code is Off

All times are GMT -4. The time now is 03:44 PM.


Powered by vBulletin® Version 3.6.7
Copyright ©2000 - 2024, Jelsoft Enterprises Ltd.
Style based on a design by Essilor
Copyright Top Mud Sites.com 2022