[Jonathan]

[JilesDM]

I would suggest , as it meets all of your requirements, except that it has no global channels--and make no mistake about it, it is one of the most challenging MUDs (both to learn and to play) out there.

Other than that, I would say that, in my opinion, and , in that order, are the next best free MUDs with respect to the requirements you list as being most important (though Arm has no global channels either).

[Jazuela]

Re: Armageddon - correct, it has no "global channel" but the post starter said something about global channels - or - good help files. And I gotta say our help files are amazing. We have both in-game helpfiles and website files, most of them duplicates of the other just so you have a choice of which one you'd rather deal with.

But the website has gobs and gobs of -other- official documentation and player-submitted guides to help you get started and even to help after you've been playing for a long time and just need assistance with one or another aspect of the game.

As for what to do when your character reaches max level - how about a game that doesn't have levels at all? You don't have to try and justify your character hunting non-stop just to advance.. because you will never see any dice roll or number telling you how good you are in the first place.

You know you're getting better, because umm.. you are getting better. Kinda like in real life. I know I'm getting better at playing darts because I'm not missing the dartboard anymore when I throw. I know I'm really GOOD at darts because I'm hitting the bulls-eye more often than I hit anything else. And I know I'm a master at it because I can hit the bulls-eye every single time, even in a strong wind, with some schmuck tickling my rib to distract me.

That's sorta how all the coded skills work in Armageddon, so you never have to worry about what you're gonna do once you "max out" because you will never max out in a game that doesn't have levels in the first place.

[Molly]

You might like to try 4 Dimensions, since we fill most things on your list and a bit more.
1. We have hundreds of Quests, some of them so hard that over the years only a couple of players have done them. We've got over 16500 rooms to explore, and all our zones are 100% unique. We also have several hazard games that you could play.
Not that it is all that easy to max your char, of course...
2. As of now you can fish, farm, garden, mine, lumberjack and several crafting skills, like forging, tailoring, cooking, woodworking are under development.
3. Not sure what you mean by random equipment, but when you fish in our Mud, you occasionally fish up some debris from the bottom - and if you are lucky it might turn out to be one of the better pieces of equipment in the game. Not that the percentage chance for that is very big... but you can always sell the fish you get.
4. Well, you CAN build your own house, but that would be extremely expensive...
5. We have a totally custom Mud School, a 'Library' for new players, and a 'Travel Agency' for more versed players. Also a number of players have volunteered as 'HELPERS', meaning they spend much of their time answering questions, helping and guiding new players. That's apart from the usual Help system, which is pretty well developed.
6. We have 8 races and 8 classes - never really saw the need for more. You can multiclass too, when you remort, giving you the skills/spells of up to 4 Classes at the same time.
7. Our playerbase is pretty small, but stable, since we've never been catering for the masses. We rarely peak over 25 players at the same time, but on the other hand there are usually some on line around the clock. And our players tend to be very loyal, some of them have stayed with us since we opened 6 years ago.

One last thing: We are on the verge of introducing a major Code update. This will hopefully vastly enhance the game, and among other things add a lot of new and unique spells, skills and subskills, including some crafting skills. But it will also mean a pretty big upheaval of the present game engine, especially when it comes to combat style, and in particular for the spell-casting classes. So perhaps it would after all be a better idea to leave the testing until the new code is in, whuch shouldn't be more than a week or two from now.

[John]

[The Vorpal Tribble]