From: behrends@dfki.uni-kl.de (Karl Reimer Behrends)
Subject: Re: THE BEST MUD FORMAT
Organization: DFKI Kaiserslautern
Date: Fri, 22 Jan 1993 18:17:09 GMT

In article <1993Jan19.225424.18303@athena.mit.edu>, cyu@athena.mit.edu (Erorppn Xrzavgm) writes:
|> Sometimes, what makes a mud fun isn't what it's rules are, but the features
|> the rules are built around.
|> 
|> So far, the best I have found is fenris.dhalden.no 2001, which includes all of
|> the following except #4 (although #8 doesn't work perfectly).
|> 
|> Here's some stuff, other than the actual game, that I've found which makes a 
|> mud really fun to play:
|> 
|> 1) Keeping your equipment when you log out.
|> 2) News bulletin boards that memorize the messages each character has read.
|> 3) A repeat/pattern matcher that repeats the last command you did that matches
|> 	a certain pattern (kind of like the ! UNIX command)
|> 4) Being able to set an alias that does a series of commands, which is good for
|> 	doing stuff like going to your guild from a local dungeon/area.
|> 5) Following other PCs.
|> 6) A parser that recogizes plural nouns, so you can do stuff like "get swords
|>    from corpses" instead of "get sword 3 from corpse 2"
|> 7) Being able to tell if you stand a chance against a given monster before you
|> 	attack it.
|> 8) Being able to tell whether one weapon/armour is better than another.
|> 
|> Can anybody tell me where I can find any other mud that has most or all of 
|> these things or has other great features?

Actually, I tend to disagree a lot. A mud that needs feature 4) a lot has
probably been badly designed. You shouldn't spend half your mudlife running
around between the pub and the monster you're busy killing. But then, I've
never been a fan of the hack'n slay approach.

I am not a fan of feature 5), either. Grumble. You usually derive your fun
from exploring new areas on your own. An area that you get dragged through
by other players can't be exactly exciting. And I never liked "guided tours"
through quests.

I'm not too happy with feature 1), either. It tends to give you a lot of
problems with the amount of money in the game. I'm speaking from experience.
This may not be so much of a problem, if your mud crashes a lot or is taken
down at regular intervals intentionally.

On the other hand, the problem you address in 6) is more than justified. In
my opinion the entire add_action() stuff needs being scrapped and turned into
a decent parser. Mind you, it has even problems with typing in uppercase.
Where parsing is concerned, LPmud hasn't even approached the level of moderately
sophisticated textadventures. And don't try to tell me that parse_command() is
going to improve the situation. It is helpless the moment you type something
like: Dragon, give me the diamond. And parsing languages of a more complicated
nature than plain english is simply horrible.

However, your intention behind this change seems to be the same as behind 4)
and 5): being able to automatize stuff that is repetitive, is needed a lot, but
should actually be not necessary. The moment you use your fingers considerably
more often than your brain you should start making heavy use of the 'idea'
command (or whatever it's called on your favourite mud).

While now 7) & 8) are entirely justified in my opinion, the above discussion
again shows (IMHO) that a mud where they are considered a condition sine
qua non, again lacks more entertaining ways to spend your mudlife - like good
quests or exploring interesting areas.

No disagreement about 2) & 3), however. But what mud hasn't got the history
that is the subject of item 3)? And 2) too easily deteriorates into a full-
fledged news system. That may be nice for the user but although tends to
destroy a mud's atmosphere (is the D in MUD for D&D or Discussion, Debate?)

				Reimer Behrends