[quant]

Hello.

i am looking for a mud that has the following features:

1. Balance/Affliction Based Combat - the only 2 muds i have stuck to in the past were Lusternia/Achaea, and automated combat just seems so boring to me. i like having abilities/spells that i can cast without initiating combat

2. Huge Range of Abilities - i love variety. who doesn't? (: (interested in smoke, sleep/dreams, chaos, dimensionalism, illusions)

3. Exploration - i love exploring. i would like a huge world with many different environments and descriptive landscapes (maybe even some ruins to explore and find forbidden tomes of magic hidden or something )


with that said, i am mainly looking for #1. if i could get a list of muds that do not have automated combat, i would be happy enough to experiment with them on my own.

thanks in advance!


edit: +illusions

[Mabus]

We have been working on a timed non-auto combat for a while now. Time is affected by weapon type, attributes of the PC, training, number of hands used, encumbrance and other factors (down to the millisecond). Welcome to stop by and try it out. Appreciate any comments on it on our forums.

Still in "perpetual alpha" with a low player-base, but very stable. Close to 4,000 original rooms now, and growing. Free to play.

Throes of Creation (website).

Address: throes.slayn.net
Port: 1200

[aeonian]

Conquest meets all of your requirements. On top of that, it has a compositional crafting system, house-building, and some pretty engaging quests and puzzles. If you are looking for a place to call 'home', Conquest might not be for you. it's still in early development and does not have enough content or players to support a prolonged stay. However, it will offer about 20-40 hours of solo play. If you are interested in non-automated combat, interesting game mechanics, and exploration, it is definitely worth a peek right now, and well worth keeping an eye on of over the next year or so.

connect here or download the in-progress custom client.

[Big Grig]

Hello quant,

You might like the Mage class on Medieval Times MUD. You can concoct potions and use them later to help you or other players in battle. They also have some of the skills you listed, including sleep and smoke (wall of fog). However, you can log two characters at the same time to create a perfect combo!

If you were to log two players at the same time, I would suggest a Mindflayer and a Mage combination.
That combo would really cover the skills you are looking as far as skills that you can cast out of battle that enhance your over all battle experience.

The world is huge and there is a new player quest system on the hometown Lantol that will give you a great jumpstart on a new character.

Maybe this is what you are looking for, or maybe not. Good luck, where ever you go!

-G

[Newworlds]

I'm not familiar with any good MUDs that don't have some kind of "auto" combat. It is the best way to actually keep things active in an online game. Turn style combat tends to become so drawn out (someone leaves to lunch during their turn, times out, etc) it bogs down interaction.

However if you are looking for games that have different types (more interactive types) of combat, I know there are two or three that get into enhanced combat with shield positioning, distancing, position placement, etc, that can make combat much more interactive. The game that comes to mind first is Dragon Realms. God Wars is also this way, I believe, but it is a player vs. player style game.

For huge worlds and lots of quests, albeit, hard to find people because the world is so big, you might try Materia Magica.

I'm sure there are more. Good Luck!

[KaVir]

Originally Posted by Newworlds The game that comes to mind first is Dragon Realms.

Their other game is Gemstone IV, and both use the same type of combat system - I think their combat uses balance, but I'm not sure about afflictions.

I believe the first of the balance/affliction muds was Avalon. I'm not sure how well it's doing these days, but it might be worth checking out.

Originally Posted by Newworlds God Wars is also this way, I believe, but it is a player vs. player style game.

The original God Wars was based on Diku/Merc, with automated combat, and that's been inherited by its derivatives. I'm assuming that's not what you meant, but best to make it clear in case he decides to look for one at random

God Wars II has a complex non-automated combat system, but it's nothing like a balance/affliction system, so I'm not sure if the OP would like it - the thread title requests a balance/affliction system, but the post itself requests non-automated combat, and the former is really just a subset of the latter. I've seen several other types of non-automated combat system over the years, but I'm not sure which of them are still around.

[Newworlds]

Sorry about that. I was referring to God Wars II.

[Rylan]

Well this MUD has balance, not sure about afflictions or anything like that. I've never gotten far enough into it to find out. Its probably a wonderful MUD, I am just way too picky. As far as I know it has RP, too. I think it is not a really big world... and.. don't know about variety. You could give a shot though

elysium-rpg.com

Port: 7777

[Baram]

Originally Posted by Newworlds I'm not familiar with any good MUDs that don't have some kind of "auto" combat. It is the best way to actually keep things active in an online game. Turn style combat tends to become so drawn out (someone leaves to lunch during their turn, times out, etc) it bogs down interaction.

I think you might be confused as to what the OP is looking for in the combat system. IRE games (Lusternia/Achaea being such) use the same balance/affliction system that Avalon did/does, and I believe the Simutronics ones use as well. Each action (well most, and all aggressive ones) takes an amount of "balance" (or equilibrium for mental tasks) and you cannot do another action that takes balance until it is regained (many actions require both balance and equilibrium). The time for actions are different, and skills/stats/etc can also slightly adjust the balance times for actions. Definitely not a turn based system, if we're fighting and you leave for lunch you're dead.

To the OP, IRE has two new games coming out soon that might be of interest to you. Midkemia Online is using a new combat/skill system, and Tears of Polaris is using a modified version of the combat system you're used to with a new skill system.

[Mabus]

Originally Posted by Baram and I believe the Simutronics ones use as well.

Simutronics uses timed actions, separated into what is termed "hard time" and "soft time".

"Hard time" happens when in melee combat, climbing surfaces requiring skill, wearing/unwearing armor, and performing various physical actions. No other physical actions (other then emotes, talking and informational commands) can be taken until the seconds are over.

"Soft time" is time accrued through casting spells, and allows you to change your melee stance (which cannot be done while waiting in hard time, and affects your defense/offense, sometimes leaving you rather vulnerable), as well as all the other actions available during "hard time".

While I can see both styles ("balance" and "timed" combat) having the nifty name "balance" there are differences that I have noted when playing each. For one the "balance" games tend to message when you are able to commit another action (e.g. "You regain your balance."), where as the "timed" games usually tell you directly after the action how much time before you can do another action (e.g. "Wait: 5 seconds") and then leave it to the player to time their next action.

I personally prefer either to auto-combat, though I understand the reasons behind such systems.

[quant]

Thanks to everyone for their posts!

the only mud so far that i found to be in my liking is God Wars II (sorry to disappoint the rest)
i really enjoy how you can do separate things with your arms, feet and head.
the balance is there, but it's kind of backwards. time has to pass in order to execute a move, rather than it taking up balance after you've moved.
the roomless world is also very interesting and realistic, it's gonna take some time to get used to though

i've also found the communication system in Conquest very interesting
how you can select what you want to say to the mob
in the muds i've played the only way to talk to the mobs was to greet them to death

Baram described exactly the kind of system i was looking for
i've explored the forums of those two new upcoming games, and Tears of Polaris sounds very interesting
me being into more futuristic settings rather than medieval ones, and also the new skill system i like very much
it's what i've always wished for while learning tons of skills useless to me just to get to the one i really wanted

seems that i have countless ideas, and not enough knowledge to make them on my own
if there was only a job called idea-man or something i bet i could pull ideas out of a bottomless well

once again, thank you to everyone for their posts
i hope to see more (:

[Baram]

@Mabus Ah, thanks for explaining that, it sounds like it is the same concept as balance vs equilibrium that IRE uses with a different implmentation.

@Quant Good luck with whatever game you pick. I'd like to hear more about your impressions of the communication system in Conquest, as I understand what you mean by greeting them to death. In ToP we have used ask/say (and in some cases tell) to start quests more than just using greet, greet is just the "easy" way out.

As for ideas... I'll take them all :P If you find ToP interesting be sure to sign up on the forums and post any ideas/questions/comments you have, I'm more than happy to hear what players and looking for and find ways to incorporate those ideas (if they fit) into the game. I also tend to randomly grab the more active forum and/or IRC members to test out aspects of the game (still a bit more before a true testing phase) for a couple hours.

[quant]

greet guildmaster You greet the guildmaster. the guildmaster acknowledges you and responds: Welcome to Moonhaven, Xream. I am the Master of the Duelist's Guild. If you have any questions about living in Moonhaven, or how to progress on your adventuring career, ask me anything you think might help you. Responses: 1) How can I gain levels? 2) How can I interact with other citizens? 3) How do I fight? 4) How do I gain skills and stats? 5) Something doesn't seem to be working. I found a bug! 6) What if I get lost? 7) Where can I get equipment? 8) Why can't I just KILL SOMETHING?! 9) Goodbye Enter a choice, or Q to say goodbye:

above is from Conquest. it's the first time i've stumbled upon something like that, and i think it's really neat.

as for the ideas, i'll just hold on to them and maybe make something of my own one day
if i keep giving things away i'll never make a living as an artist <:

[Ide]

If you're keeping an eye on games-to-be like ToP, I would recommend Maiden Desmodus as well. From what I've read it'll use an affliction system and some elements of a balance system too.

[quant]

Originally Posted by Ide If you're keeping an eye on games-to-be like ToP, I would recommend Maiden Desmodus as well. From what I've read it'll use an affliction system and some elements of a balance system too.

aye, i spent 10 minutes setting up a character to find out they're not at open beta yet q:

[Baram]

Originally Posted by quant above is from Conquest. it's the first time i've stumbled upon something like that, and i think it's really neat. as for the ideas, i'll just hold on to them and maybe make something of my own one day if i keep giving things away i'll never make a living as an artist <:

Ah, we have something like that for some of our other commands. We just call it sticky commands, for those things that just look too ugly as one long string of input (though you could do it that way too if you preferred).

As for quests, here's how we do it:

-quests hrtg_tutelage ~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~[ HRTG Tutelage (hrtg_tutelage) ]~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~ As a new arrival on Aldena, you will need to learn how to survive the dangers of the planet. QUESTS will show you all tasks assigned to you. There are four subquests provided by the local denizens. They are the Stock Supervisor at the southeastern corner of the landing pad, the Foreman northwest of the camp centre, the Cook in the kitchen just south and east of the camp centre, and the Chief Engineer due west of the camp centre. GREET each one in turn to acquire his quest, and then use QUEST <quest name> for more detailed information on how to complete the quest. Personal Completions: 0 Total Completions: 3 Level: 1 Subquests: An undiscovered quest An undiscovered quest An undiscovered quest An undiscovered quest ~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~ ~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~ -quests pest_control ~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~[ The Obligatory Pest Control (pest_control) ]~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~ Kipling the Mess Cook needs you to hunt the rats that have been messing with the sand miners. Destroying nests also counts. PUT RAT corpses or body parts IN the PROCESSOR next to him. Alternatively, you can GIVE baby RATs TO KIPLING for a small reward. The quest will be completed after you deliver a total of 50 rats, rat parts, or baby rats. Personal Completions: 0 Total Completions: 17 Level: 1 Parent Quest: HRTG Tutelage (hrtg_tutelage) ~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~ ~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~ quests hrtg_approval ~~~~~~~~~~~~~[ Seeking the Approval of the Sand (hrtg_approval) ]~~~~~~~~~~~~~ Now that you have a handle on basic survival, explore the roads north of the intersection and GREET the Jrec Clerk, the Ekat Military Policeman, and the Leat Receptionist to become approved to work for their respective factions. After doing their quests, you will be able to take on quests from other members of their factions. Personal Completions: 0 Total Completions: 0 Level: 10 Subquests: *Welcome to the Jrec (jrec_welcome) An undiscovered quest An undiscovered quest ~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~ ~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

Obviously looks much nicer in the MUD with colors and properly formatted text.

[Elvarlyn]

If you're looking at games that aren't quite ready to be released yet, I believe Lithmeria might meet your requirements perfectly.

1. Balance/Affliction Based Combat - the only 2 muds i have stuck to in the past were Lusternia/Achaea, and automated combat just seems so boring to me. i like having abilities/spells that i can cast without initiating combat

Not only are we a balance/affliction MUD but our mobs are fully afflictable and fight back with skills similar to the ones players use. Best way to demonstrate the former would be this log. While this is a very early log of the afflictable mobs concept. It's actually far more advanced right now, but I don't have a really good log handy to demonstrate (if anyone is interested, I'll try to make one).

2. Huge Range of Abilities - i love variety. who doesn't? (: (interested in smoke, sleep/dreams, chaos, dimensionalism, illusions)

In addition to the generalist skillsets, each class in Lithmeria will have a T1 skill (10 abilities), a T2 class-general skill (10 abilities) a choice of 2 out of 3 T2 class skills (10 abilities in each), a T3 class-general skill (10 abilities) and a T3 class skill.



So for example you might have Incantations, Runes, Channeling, Mentalism, Spellweaving and Incanter. So that's 60 skills, without spending a single lesson in generalist skills.

3. Exploration - i love exploring. i would like a huge world with many different environments and descriptive landscapes (maybe even some ruins to explore and find forbidden tomes of magic hidden or something )

Lithmeria is fortunate to have an incredibly flexible and easy to use building system, so there's a lot of incredibly cool areas already built to explore, with many more planned before release. One example might be the subterranean crusade caverns, a cave complex where a never-ending battle rages constantly between the Order obcessed Scions and the anarchist Travelers. The entire zone is constructed a little like a game of 'Defense of the Ancients' or World of Warcraft's Alterac Valley with players of opposite factions slaying for their allies and doing quests in order to strengthen their own troops to make the final push into the area base.

As for quests, this is what the quest log looked at a few months ago:

Quest Name                     Quest Description
--------------------------------------------------------------------------------
Kyalesi Hunting                 Kill feral beasts in Kyalesi Forest                 
Bringing down the Miners    Uncover the Miners' dark secret                     


Kyalesi Hunting                                             Area: Kyalesi Forest
--------------------------------------------------------------------------------
The feral beasts of Kyalesi Forest are attacking the lumberjacks and hindering their ability to gather the wood of Nature's Bounty. Foreman Dehnson has requested that you go out and slay the dangerous animals of the forest to make their work safer. Return to him for payment after completing the task, the more you slay the greater payment will be.
Progress: 3 feral beasts slain

If this sounds interesting, check us out at our forums!