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Old 03-11-2008, 02:23 AM   #61
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Re: Things that make you NOT play a MUD

LOL. Now that was a good title for one of your peeves.
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Old 03-11-2008, 04:50 AM   #62
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Re: Things that make you NOT play a MUD

This is easily one of the best threads I have read on topmudsites, great idea. A gold mine of information for new admin on what not to do.

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Old 03-11-2008, 10:24 AM   #63
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Re: Things that make you NOT play a MUD

I woudn't play a mud that advertised itself as one thing, according to its own administrator's definition of that thing was, if the administrator didn't bother to check to make sure that the industry didn't already have an accepted "customary" definition of that thing.
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Old 03-11-2008, 12:00 PM   #64
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Re: Things that make you NOT play a MUD

I'm pretty easygoing for the most part and will try nearly any game regardless of a few pet peeves, since no game is perfect. I think the only times I've left very quickly without giving the game further testing is with poor staff interactions. Here's a few examples:

One game had a long newbie intro that I finally got through, only to be told that my character's name was out of genre by an invisi-staff (this was a fantasy game, the name was Crysiant, which is an ancient welsh name. Can't see the conflict.) I looked in the game policy to find out how to question the procedure, and was confronted with the policy of "You can't ever ask staff about anything, ever, there is no system or place or method by which you can even ask them about bugs." Can you say arbitrary and unchecked power? Byeeeee.

Another game looked very promising until I logged in for the first time. A character started whispering obscene things to me, and I responded with "Why are you doing this?" (having no idea how to use the communication alternatives yet), and the staff member present told me I was disruptive and banned me even though I explained that the person was harrassing me and I couldn't respond to them. I've never even TRIED to go back there.

In another game I sat in the newbie area (which was encouraged, to get used to things before the food and drink needs kicked in) and listened to a lot of OOC folks chatting. A staff member of the game sat there and TOLD me all the problems of the game. Now I understand that people can get bitter, staff and players, and that everyone has peeves about their game, but to sit there and tell newbies this in a casual fashion is just wild. Turned me right off.

When I look back at all the games I've tried, these are the only kinds of things that have made me leave immediately, though I have to admit I do not even try games that say they don't at least heavily encourage roleplay so I count those out.
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Old 03-11-2008, 01:31 PM   #65
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Re: Things that make you NOT play a MUD

The one thing that will make me flee a mud is the colour.

If upon logging in you are assaulted with colour (or even during character creation) and there is no obvious way (help colour, or similar) to tone it down I just leave.

If players can use arbitrary colours in public channels, SPECIALLY if they have the blinking colour code option, I leave.

I player titles can be customized to have blinking colours, I leave.

If anything blinks I leave.

Most anything else will have me sit for at least the introductory part of game-play, exploring the main town or equivalent and wandering around. I tend to play for several hours at a time, and being able to control the impact on my retine is of outmost importance to me :P
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Old 03-11-2008, 02:16 PM   #66
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Re: Things that make you NOT play a MUD

I don't remember where I first heard it, but it came hand-in-hand with a Midwestern cliche:
"So tight-a**ed they could eat coal, and crap diamonds."

But, to keep it on topic:

7. Banquet-Length Plots/Quests with Salad Substance.
"Epic" means more than "long". I'll admit, I've been spoiled in the past with plots that are not utterly linear, immutable or so simplistic 'go here, insert special item, say magic phrase' will solve them. Far and away over most 'official' plots, I've found that player-driven stories are more interesting, more consistent, and less likely to turn on a whim. I've steered clear at times of official quests, simply because of number 8.

8. Plot-hounding/hoarding
No one can stop a player from thinking "Oooo! Yellow text character (Or character not on the who list)!" and dropping all pretense to make sure the latest NPC notices how groooovy their RP is, and while there are remedies to players/characters who don't try to involve others (MY PLOT! STAND BACK!), I prefer to see this borderline ooc behavior curtailed, or better still, penalized. It doesn't take very long at all for a playerbase to lose interest in quests/plots if the same plotbullies crowd the scene.

9. Sensible Races
I suppose I'd be okay with upright housepets in people-duds, if the lore really makes a compelling case for it. I'm not opposed to lifting that disbelief burden, so long as I'm not daily faced with humans, essentially, with tails and fur. In my opinion, such evolutionary developments need to make complete sense within the parameters of the lore and history.

10. Transparent Mechanics
I don't really mind if they're complicated by syntax, so long as that syntax is intuitive. Room-to-room movement should be fluid, combat should be smooth and interactive, and in a nutshell, I shouldn't be playing a guessing game on how to pick up THAT item, where THIS injury came from, or how did three type-aheads corrupt my character file? (That last is a coding weakness, admittedly, but I've had it happen. open pouch, put coins in my pouch, close pouch) should not cause catastrophic issues.


That's my top ten. I'm only really peavish when something sends my cred-o-meter square into the red zone.
Thank you to the replies I've received already, and thanks in advance for more suggestions on a good game.
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Old 03-12-2008, 01:23 PM   #67
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Re: Things that make you NOT play a MUD

This is horrid of me, but I absolutely won't play a mud with hobbits involved.

I did play LoTRO, though, and ultimately quit because I couldn't burn down Hobbit town.
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Old 03-12-2008, 02:29 PM   #68
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Re: Things that make you NOT play a MUD

Agh! Mina brings me to point ELEVEN, in what is sure to be my never-ending tirade of Things (see topic).
David Letterman, eat your heart out, for not thinking outside the Top Ten box:

11. Transparent Denials That Your Game Is Derivative
IF you decide to include Elves, Dwarves, Hobbits/Halflings, Humans Of Dunadain Life Expectancies, Drow (dark elves), Dryder (half-spider/half-drow), or your Druid spell list titles read like a Xerox of the AD&D Player's Handbook, at the very least, acknowledge that your inspiration, 'homage', or shameless plagiarism is Tolkienesque or Gygaxian. I don't think anyone will fault you for wanting to introduce your take on these giants, and an entire genre/industry has grown up around essentially wanting to provide people with a caption of Middle Earth or Greyhawk (or some other beloved literature), with twists. But with the lates J.R.R. and E.G.G., at least nod your head when it's pointed out that changing the racename of a tart-eating, rolypoly, three-foot human with furry hard-soled feet does not de-hobbitify it. I promise, I won't go running to the Tolkien estate, and you'll have my respect for honesty.

And Mina, I played a game wherein if you didn't get the syntax just so for entering a hobbit domicile, you got a head injury. Try enough times wrongly, and it killed you from head crits. (and this was in the -shops-, and quite comically, just outside the healer's door...talk about job security for the raisers...)
So, while I don't mind playing a hobbit on occasion, in this case, you'd have to burn first, figure out syntax later. Meanwhile, my widdle hobbit would be just inside, -refusing- to munch a tart no matter how many flavors they came in, waving a headbandage you can't reach.

Having said that, I won't refuse a game just because it has <absolutelynothobbitsbecausewedon'tdeadlift> in it, but they had better taste just as good as Elves, the other white meat.
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Old 03-12-2008, 02:50 PM   #69
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Re: Things that make you NOT play a MUD

Hobbits stole my lunch money. Ankle-biting bastards!
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Old 03-12-2008, 03:09 PM   #70
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Re: Things that make you NOT play a MUD

I don't know if it's fair of me to say I will not play a MUD because of the existance or lack of any feature. I certainly will try any MUD. Whether or not I would wish to continue playing for any length of time is another story.

However, I do tend toward RPIs for long-term, in-depth commitment. That said, I suppose the things that turn me off from a MUD would be dependant upon what type of MUD it is. A difficult-to-use combat system in a H&S is far more likely to be grevious to my feelings regarding the MUD than it would be in a role-play MUD. Likewise, a poor emote system would be far more detrimental to my enjoyment of a role-play MUD than it would be on a H&S.

The thing I find myself longing for more than anything though is a well-designed world and a staff willing to admit when they've made mistakes.

A well-designed world is a long, complicated thing to produce and far too many MUDs aren't willing to invest that sort of time and effort into their world. Making it worse, some don't have the knowledge from which to create a well-designed world. Multiple problems arise when they have only a flimsy knowledge of aspects they incorporate into their game and little or no idea how those elements would interact with other elements of the world in a manner consistent with the other elements. Making things worse, when such errors creep into world design, far too many MUDs are unwilling to acknowledge this or at best, attempt to make excuses.

Responsible MUD staff goes beyond simple enforcement of policies to include being knowledgeable, reasonable, and mature. I don't expect anyone to be perfect, but denying one's errors never endear me to a person or game. That's part of the reason I presently don't play any game and last year quit a game I'd been playing non-stop for nearly eight years. The staff had compromised their own setting and policies in the hope of attracting a larger playerbase, content that they might lose some quality players who'd been around for years in exchange for a greater number of players whose dedication and abilities were unknown. Some of the changes they made to achieve a larger playerbase resulted in behavior and abuse they hadn't intended but which they had been warned might occur. However, rather than acknowledge their mistake, they denied it and continued forward, alienating dedicated, veteran players. To me, that is unacceptable behavior from an administrator. Leadership isn't merely accepting the accolades when you do things right, it's also about accepting responsibility when you do things wrong and making every effort to fix the problem. That's a characteristic that I find lacking in the staff of many a MUD and something which instantly turns my interest away when not present.

Take care,

Jason
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Old 03-12-2008, 07:25 PM   #71
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Re: Things that make you NOT play a MUD

It's also a well-established fact that Hobbits are one of the leading causes of global warming.
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Old 03-12-2008, 08:44 PM   #72
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Old 03-12-2008, 09:01 PM   #73
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Re: Things that make you NOT play a MUD

I would totally play a mud with flying spaghetti monsters!
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Old 03-12-2008, 10:51 PM   #74
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Re: Things that make you NOT play a MUD


Word.

It bore posting again.
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Old 03-13-2008, 03:28 AM   #75
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Re: Things that make you NOT play a MUD

The one thing that makes me not play a MUD is inactivity. (Bear in mind I only try out roleplay MUDs.)

If I log into a MUD in the evening my time, which is usually off-peak hours, and the who list has only a couple of people or I wander about and find one or two people at the most, then I log out again.

Roleplaying with myself just does not do anything for me.

Like the rest of you, I find a lot of things extremely annoying, but to be honest, if I found a MUD that was active and had a decent amount of quality roleplay during the unpopular hours I get to play, then I would put up with a lot. Even hideous blinking colours. Maybe.
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Old 03-13-2008, 03:47 AM   #76
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Re: Things that make you NOT play a MUD

The Catch-22 of MUDs.

If the game-play and/or content, or anything other then role-play, is decent enough not to immediately drive you as a player off then perhaps give the game a couple days. Invite others you know to try it with you. Pick a time to meet on the game. Post on the forums asking when others are around.

I have seen plenty of really good games that lacked only players. Sad, no?

But to stay on topic...
I will not play a MUD that forces me to train exactly like everyone else. I have tried MUDs where I was told (by a required PC member of a guild) "Train 2 of this, 3 of that and this."

I also do not like to be forced into some (supposedly) player-ran guild, made to read reams of information by the guild masters and have it called role-play. Esepcially when it is the only way to gain skills.

There!
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Old 03-13-2008, 11:34 AM   #77
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Re: Things that make you NOT play a MUD

I usually do not play RPI or RP muds for that matter, unless it involves dinosaurs, where are you, "Age of Reptiles"?
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Old 03-14-2008, 01:46 AM   #78
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Re: Things that make you NOT play a MUD

You can find dinosaurs and unique dinosaur'like creatures on NW though I doubt you will want to.
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Old 03-14-2008, 07:43 PM   #79
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Re: Things that make you NOT play a MUD

Huge peeve:

Dinosaurs being in any game I decide to play unless it's Jurassic Park Online or maybe Turok Online. I wouldn't chose to play Jurassic Park, though.

I ranted through every dinosaur (raptors, no less) area in WoW.

NW, delete my NW character, please!
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Old 03-15-2008, 01:41 AM   #80
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Re: Things that make you NOT play a MUD

Did and done. Our staff found that you were borging in a dinosaur area that your character couldn't have possibly roleplayed into so we had to delete you or be in fear of losing our RPI status.
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