[mudnutx]

It is very, very hard to find somewhere half--decent to build.

I am a good, hard-working builder. I am creative and never, never take the easy way out. But I, like other builders, am entitled to have:

- no awkward, stupid building tools that require a degree in computer science and the patience of a saint.

- respect for my creative freedom

- a mud with players in it and ones who are supportive; I have built for a mud whose players abused me for being a builder.

- composite dirs like ne since they make life much easier and I can hide hidden doors more easily.

- an imm staff who support my building and don't use political power ganes to treat me like dirt.

********

In years of building I havenever found a MUD that meets all thses absic needs. And the dilemma is that I can't be sure that the needs will be met until i've started building; a time-consuming, pot-luck approach that may see me go to the grave as a frustrated builder who has never completed a single arae.

[Davairus]

I've built about ten finished areas (six actually used, one of which is a hometown) and I started my imming career by just offering my services building at a place I like where people know me. I never felt inclined to look elsewhere to build, I was able to build as much as I want. As far as I remember, I've always had everything on that list you mentioned, but I like the place, so maybe I remember things better than they really were.

Do you have a mud you hold more dear than any other, where you spend the most time? If not, perhaps this is what you should be searching for. If so - perhaps you should be working towards building there, through whatever recruitment method they described.

[prof1515]

Personally, looking for my builders (presently have 5 not counting my 4 coders), I was looking for people I could trust more than people who were experienced (of course, they were also experienced players/admins from RPIs I've played/admin'd). Part of the process of finding builders does require that the person be talented. But it also requires that the person be trustworthy. If you hire someone as a builder, you're giving them access to the game, access which goes beyond what they should know/have in order to simply play it. There's a potential for abuse there, a potential which has to be considered before accepting anyone to such a position.

Now, as for your specific complaints....

Originally Posted by - no awkward, stupid building tools that require a degree in computer science and the patience of a saint.

Plenty of MUDs that don't have these. You've just been having bad luck, my friend.

Originally Posted by - respect for my creative freedom

This is reciprocal. Too many times, I've run across people who forget that as a builder, there are constraints on their "personal freedom" because letting builders do whatever they want wreaks havoc upon a theme (ie, you've got a medieval-themed MUD, but the builder wants to make Klingons). Game integrity is important to quality and trumps "creative freedom" if you want a MUD that doesn't look like an explosion of regurgitated garbage from multiple-MUD themes.

Originally Posted by - a mud with players in it and ones who are supportive; I have built for a mud whose players abused me for being a builder.

Too many players are whining children with massive delusions of entitlement. Harsh? Perhaps. But it also seems to be a growing and rather accurate observation, especially on free-to-play MUDs (can't begin to count how many times I heard players start complaining by saying, "I want..." or "I deserve..." rather than "I would like..." ) where you've got kids who aren't mature and haven't experienced the world enough to get beyond their present "Mommy and Daddy give me what I want and so should you" attitude. They forget that most MUDs are created at the expense, in time and money, of others who didn't do so just for one whining player who thinks that the world revolves around them.

I can't really offer you much here to avoid this. These types are everywhere, though I can suggest that you seek out games with a more mature playerbase (hard to do, especially if you're unwilling to play themes/types of MUDs that are more niche-specific, like RPIs).

Originally Posted by - composite dirs like ne since they make life much easier and I can hide hidden doors more easily.

Personally, I hate MUDs with such options, only because of the Pythagoran Distance Dilemma. There are ways around it of course, but in the end it's a pain.

Hidden doors are also best left underused. But then again, I play RPIs, not H&S. There's a difference between the two which makes "hidden" more acceptable in the latter.

Originally Posted by - an imm staff who support my building and don't use political power ganes to treat me like dirt.

OK, I'm confused by this one. What do you mean by "political power ganes"? Do you mean "gains" or "games". I must say that if you meant the former, I would have to bring into question your building skills a bit since a good builder should have the spelling skills to know that "ganes" isn't a word. If you meant, "games", I can dismiss it as a typo (we all make 'em, and a forum isn't one of those important things that require you spell-check everything) though the term "political power games" does confuse me as to your meaning.

Honestly, given the number of MUDs that spring up every year and the large portion of them that are created by incompetant-at-best people, finding a building job isn't hard if you're good. Finding a MUD that matches your skills is hard, but that's because the bar is too low. Any hack can create a MUD, and sadly, a good number of them do. Just as research is good when designing and building anything, so too is looking for a place where your abilities will not only be appreciated, but not wasted.

You can't expect to just walk in and be greeted as the savior, nor can you expect to pick a MUD out of a hat and find it your paradise. It takes some effort, time, and dedication: three skills which can serve a builder well.

Take care,

Jason

[mudnutx]

I meant power "games": I am an excellent speller but a terrible typist with 1 finger.

Perhaps I should go into more detail:

About 3 years ago I began mudding. I tried dozens of MUDs at a perfunctory level until I came to Medievia. I was blown away by their expanse and applied to be a builder there. To my surprise I was accepted. I got 95 percent of the way into building the zone until the staff started stuffing me around. I was required to use a graphical tool and was given no training in it. I am not a graphics man. I am a wordsmith. So when I stuffed the graphics up I got a vague note from a staff member saying that my zone status was changed and my work was "garish". I asked what was going on and got a rude, accusative note accusing me of deliberately quoting another god out of context. I do not deliberately quote anyone out of context. We argued about it and they fired me. Their playerbase, who had never been very happy with me being a builder, said that they were glad to see the back of me.

Then I built for a few other MUDs that didn't work out. In one the owner walked out to be with his girlfriend. In another the owner shut down the MUD for no reason. Then I built a bit for Tempus but found that the "robot factory" zone wasn't my scene.

Right now, I am building for Forsaken Dreams - a MUD that is not yet open to players. I am about 3/4 of the way through building a zone and the admins like my work. But when I finish the zone I will probably seek out another MUD; I would prefer to make a zone that players are actually going through. These days I don't play MUDs a lot. I mainly build. So it is often a problem if I am required to get to level x to become a builder.

The only MUD that I have played this year is Legends of Karinth so I might apply to build for them.

What a ride through the building caper. Three years of it and I still haven't finished any zone. And not through any lack of efforts; just these Muds that keep mucking me about.

[prof1515]

Originally Posted by (mudnutx @ Dec. 25 2005,03:02) I meant power "games": I am an excellent speller but a terrible typist with 1 finger. Perhaps I should go into more detail: About 3 years ago I began mudding. I tried dozens of MUDs at a perfunctory level until I came to Medievia. I was blown away by their expanse and applied to be a builder there. To my surprise I was accepted. I got 95 percent of the way into building the zone until the staff started stuffing me around. I was required to use a graphical tool and was given no training in it. I am not a graphics man. I am a wordsmith. So when I stuffed the graphics up I got a vague note from a staff member saying that my zone status was changed and my work was "garish". I asked what was going on and got a rude, accusative note accusing me of deliberately quoting another god out of context. I do not deliberately quote anyone out of context. We argued about it and they fired me. Their playerbase, who had never been very happy with me being a builder, said that they were glad to see the back of me. Then I built for a few other MUDs that didn't work out. In one the owner walked out to be with his girlfriend. In another the owner shut down the MUD for no reason. Then I built a bit for Tempus but found that the "robot factory" zone wasn't my scene. Right now, I am building for Forsaken Dreams - a MUD that is not yet open to players. I am about 3/4 of the way through building a zone and the admins like my work. But when I finish the zone I will probably seek out another MUD; I would prefer to make a zone that players are actually going through. These days I don't play MUDs a lot. I mainly build. So it is often a problem if I am required to get to level x to become a builder. The only MUD that I have played this year is Legends of Karinth so I might apply to build for them. What a ride through the building caper. Three years of it and I still haven't finished any zone. And not through any lack of efforts; just these Muds that keep mucking me about.

Well, your first mistake was letting anything that happened at such an "upstanding" place as Medievia allow you to measure either your abilities or the nature of MUDding in general. Comparing anything that occured at Medievia is like judging everyone based on the actions of a serial killer.

When it comes to building, my own experience is mixed. I did some work (though never got it implemented as the game shut down first) for an H&S project many years ago. Then I admin'd on an RPI, where I really got to learn how to build. Now, I'm working on my own MUD. What did I learn? That I want quality, that I want to produce quality, that I want to seek quality out, and that I want to inspire others to produce quality. I also learned that not everyone holds to those four things. That alas is part of life.

My only advice to you is to seek out quality that measures to your own standards. Until you find it, unless you decide to start it from scratch yourself, you probably won't be able to comfortably fit in anywhere because if there isn't a shared appreciation for the same level of quality, it's not easy. I realize that given the vast number of total pieces of crap out there, finding quality isn't an easy proposition. Most of what MUDs advertise if bull**** to say the least. And weeding through their bull to find the facts of their quality is annoying and frustrating. But in the end, when you do find quality you can relate to, you'll find the experience all the more fulfilling because the struggle will be worth it.

Yeah, probably nothing you didn't already know. But at least remember that some of us have have been through the same trials. Whether we eventually found our niche or decided to create it ourselves, we have been where you're at.

Take care,

Jason