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Okay, I brace yourself not to laugh, but I've gone back to the MUD FAQ...

"Because of their size and their constant computational activities, servers can be extremely CPU-intensive and can even be crippling to any other work done on that computer. Even if they're not CPU-intensive, most MUDs can take up a fair amount of disk space - anywhere from 10 to 90 megs, which could impact the other users on the machine. Do not ever run a MUD server on a machine illicitly or without express permission from the person responsible for the machine. Many universities and companies have strict policies about that sort of behavior which you don't want to cross. "

- http://www.mudconnect.com/mudfaq/mudfaq-p2.html#q9

The point being, when MUDs were the main form of multiplayer online gaming, they were not trivial in hardware requirements.

And yes, I'm sure your mouse does have more storage than that these days...

I must have tried half the muds on this list:

http://www.mudconnect.com/zmud/mudlist.txt

And what a horrible way to find out that crappy Vista has no telnet client installed by default. :( ... might have to try and find zmud (or was it gmud?) to try and see if a couple of my old haunts are still running

A MUD (Multiple User Dimension, Multiple User Dungeon, or Multiple User Dialogue) is a computer program which users can log into and explore. Each user takes control of a computerized persona/avatar/incarnation/character. You can walk around, chat with other characters, explore dangerous monster-infested areas, solve puzzles, and even create your very own rooms, descriptions and items. You can also get lost or confused if you jump right in, so be sure to read this document before starting.

Part 1: MUDs and MUDding contains general information about muds and mudding, connecting to muds, mud etiquette, and some commonly used terms found within muds.

Part 2: MUD Clients and Servers contains general information about mud clients and mud servers and provides links and descriptions of various types of clients and servers that are available.

Part 3: RWHO and mudwho contains basic information about RWHO and mudwho, utilities for getting information about who is logged into a mud at a given time.

Part 4: Servers at a glance contains a more detailed breakdown of the various mud server types that are available. This section is limited right now but will grow with time.

As for the programming background for muds -- they come in C, C++, C#, Java, uLPC (Pike), Python, VB.NET, PHP, etc.

A MUD (Multiple User Dimension, Multiple User Dungeon, or Multiple User Dialogue) is a computer program which users can log into and explore. Each user takes control of a computerized persona/avatar/incarnation/character. You can walk around, chat with other characters, explore dangerous monster-infested areas, solve puzzles, and even create your very own rooms, descriptions and items. You can also get lost or confused if you jump right in, so be sure to read this document before starting.

Part 1: MUDs and MUDding contains general information about muds and mudding, connecting to muds, mud etiquette, and some commonly used terms found within muds.

Part 2: MUD Clients and Servers contains general information about mud clients and mud servers and provides links and descriptions of various types of clients and servers that are available.

Part 3: RWHO and mudwho contains basic information about RWHO and mudwho, utilities for getting information about who is logged into a mud at a given time.

Part 4: Servers at a glance contains a more detailed breakdown of the various mud server types that are available. This section is limited right now but will grow with time.

As for the programming background for muds -- they come in C, C++, C#, Java, uLPC (Pike), Python, VB.NET, PHP, etc.

A MUD (Multiple User Dimension, Multiple User Dungeon, or Multiple User Dialogue) is a computer program which users can log into and explore. Each user takes control of a computerized persona/avatar/incarnation/character. You can walk around, chat with other characters, explore dangerous monster-infested areas, solve puzzles, and even create your very own rooms, descriptions and items. You can also get lost or confused if you jump right in, so be sure to read this document before starting.

Part 1: MUDs and MUDding contains general information about muds and mudding, connecting to muds, mud etiquette, and some commonly used terms found within muds.

Part 2: MUD Clients and Servers contains general information about mud clients and mud servers and provides links and descriptions of various types of clients and servers that are available.

Part 3: RWHO and mudwho contains basic information about RWHO and mudwho, utilities for getting information about who is logged into a mud at a given time.

Part 4: Servers at a glance contains a more detailed breakdown of the various mud server types that are available. This section is limited right now but will grow with time.

As for the programming background for muds -- they come in C, C++, C#, Java, uLPC (Pike), Python, VB.NET, PHP, etc.

A MUD (Multiple User Dimension, Multiple User Dungeon, or Multiple User Dialogue) is a computer program which users can log into and explore. Each user takes control of a computerized persona/avatar/incarnation/character. You can walk around, chat with other characters, explore dangerous monster-infested areas, solve puzzles, and even create your very own rooms, descriptions and items. You can also get lost or confused if you jump right in, so be sure to read this document before starting.

Part 1: MUDs and MUDding contains general information about muds and mudding, connecting to muds, mud etiquette, and some commonly used terms found within muds.

Part 2: MUD Clients and Servers contains general information about mud clients and mud servers and provides links and descriptions of various types of clients and servers that are available.

Part 3: RWHO and mudwho contains basic information about RWHO and mudwho, utilities for getting information about who is logged into a mud at a given time.

Part 4: Servers at a glance contains a more detailed breakdown of the various mud server types that are available. This section is limited right now but will grow with time.

As for the programming background for muds -- they come in C, C++, C#, Java, uLPC (Pike), Python, VB.NET, PHP, etc.

It's funny but we've been battling this kind of thing in MUDs for decades. It's a similar environment and you end up having a few power-users, a few hardcore RPers, and a a lot of in-betweens that just hack'n'slash because it is fun for them.

Galaxies attempted to give the player a reason to be a average Joe with professions and a classless system. Although I didn't play it extensively I think like most players out there, if the developer give us a reason to be part of the Universe instead of being the Universe than we'll be happy to. Keeping multiple servers based on game play preference like in WoW would be useful, so long as you enforce them, which WoW doesn't do. RPers can run the story where they want, PvPers can power there way through skills and fight each other Good vs evil, and In-betweeners can play on a Wow like quest realm.

Lots of developement? You bet, but it would be finally taking the lessons from the other MMORPGs and making something good for a change.

[J]

It's true. I have yet to see /any/ environment that provides the same role play environment that classic muds have to offer.

I started mudding in the BBS days, and still actively play today. The immersion factor is surprising to many people who know roleplaying either only as a table-top thing, with a lot of Mountain Dew, or as something that involves graphics.

[shameless plug] MudConnector (http://www.mudconnect.com/top10.html) currently ranks Dark and Shattered Lands (DSL)(http://www.dsl-mud.org/ - telnet dsl-mud.org port 4000) as the number one roleplaying mud. I've played there for 8 years, and would encourage you to try it out if you're looking for a good roleplaying environment.[/shameless plug]

go to http://www.mudconnect.com/ when I get back into it I cant wait to try some DiscWorld muds *drool* I've read the whole series (well apart from the newest one which I own but havent got round to), then after starting mudding on an Anime theme mud (www.animud.net , good people there and was lots of fun, I've not been for months though) I realised that there must be a DiscWorld one. In fact, there are loads :p

Yah, enough of proving my dorky love of text based worlds.

There is no shortage of free MUDs out there, as well as extremely-well written and free games in the mature text-based interactive fiction genre.

Try downloading TADS, and taking a shot at one of the vast library of games for it. Works on just about every platform ever, and has enough hours of gameplay represented in free games to keep you entertained for the rest of your life.

I'm rather partial to Babel, if you're looking for a nice game to start with. Not the easiest game out there, but I love the mood.

Where can I find a MUD?

The good (and bad) thing about most MUDS out there is that they are all based off the same worlds and engines, so a lot of the knowledge is transferable from one MUD to the next. But the good ones go out of their way to make theirs unique.

If you want top quality, there are pay to play MUDS like Gemstone III and Dragonrealms (both by Simutronics, and no I don't work for them). I've played those since they both came out and I can honestly say it is totally worth the money and they'd get my credit card number over Sony any day of the week.

Actually, I'm surprised that no one here has suggested an open community development effort
These games exist, there's MUDs & MUSHs that are open sourced. The underlying concepts of MMOs are based on what goes on in MUDs/MUSHs.
Where things get complex is when you throw a 3D world graphics engine, artists, support staff for couple hundred thousand users, and equipment on top of everything.
The business model the companies have is to gamble and try and get a hit game. If you get one you're in the money for a good 5-6+ year run. A $15 game with 200,000 subscribers is $36 million a year, not including expansion packs, and only incurring upkeep costs.

Well if you go to Mudconnect you'll see MUDs based on anime, science fiction, pokemon, comic books or even history.

One of the best MUD (or, as some prefer, MU*) resource sites available is the Mud Connector.
Try looking in their resource section.

well, if you have been playing for a month and the game sucks, the game probably sucks as a whole.

Historically, this is where the most churn develops, after the initial rush of early adopters, during the two- to three-month "honeymoon" period after a game's launch. New players often don't read documentation or do online research on how to get the most out of a game, so when they enter the game for the first time, there is an element of confusion about how the interface works and what actions to perform to advance their character's skills, weaponry, money, and so forth.

As someone who spends more than a little time on MMORPGs myself, I've seen it: some players are thick as the proverbial brick, cannot be bothered to type RULES or NEWS, and want the system (and staff!) (and other players!! ) to serve entertainment up for them on a silver platter garnished with $50 bills. When they say "this game sucks," what they really mean is "You should tell me how to do everything" or "I can't be bothered to read the rules" or "You people aren't fun enough."

And no, I'm not exaggerating. I heard a horror story not long ago about someone taking up about 12 man-hours of staff time (on an understaffed MUSH which is still in Alpha) in character generation, and then publicly declaring that the "staff aren't helpful." And the staff there are volunteers -- it's not a pay-to-play system. If people were paying for the privilege of playing there, I think the problem would be ten or more times worse.

Depending on the system, and how well the documentation is organized, it may take a little more or less than a month to get into.

If you're really impatient, or you've seen enough and finally decide that you could do a better job yourself, you should download yourself a driver, order DOG:AIG, and try it.

And when you finally do fire up the finished project, lemme know and I'll log in there... for a month.

It's not really as bad as it might seem in the first moment when one learns that one's favourite MU* is going to shut down. There are bazillions of them out there, and though I'll grant that most aren't that great (most seem to be ego-trips of their respective creators), there is still a great deal of stuff happenin' out there in the MU* world.

The "threat problem" that MMOGs pose to the MU* community is not so bad once you realize the limits of the graphical medium: you are, in all instances I have so far tested, limited in the choice of avatars to what the design team made available to you. Also, the expression of emotions and even just facial expression themselves are limited to a couple of macros, which are the same for all people playing the game.

All these leave the bitter taste of limitations that I don't want or need on my tongue. Though "MUD" is still associated with the hack'n'slash variety -- and no mistake, a lot of them are --, there are as many out there, especially when you get into the MUSH, MUSE, and MUCK codebases, where roleplay is stressed, not "rollplay".

While the fact that these games are text-only can be seen as a disadvantage, it's to be kept in mind that so are books -- and no one has yet proclaimed the absolute end of the written word as a medium of its own. For people with a leaning towards these things, text can be an expressive medium that can rival any other -- and more than that, because of its very nature, it leaves the entire world open to your interaction and modification, without the need for a feature-laden editor or other modding tool.

It begins with the fact that your characters are at your proverbial fingertip: from their background stories to their appearance, their mannerisms and speech patterns, it's entirely up to you and your imagination. The only limits you operate under are the limits set by the MU* canon -- but even those are open to change for those who have the creative energy to put into the history, physiology, philosophy, and whatever else there is to know about any given city, nation, world or race in the game you frequent.

There are enough people who love these games, and enough to keep themalive. These people frequent The MUD Connector or Top MUD Sites, which serve as a place from which to plunge into the MU* of your choice.

Granted, it takes a while to find a place that suits your taste, your imagination or style; but the rewards can be well worth it.

I myself (not being above a shameless plug besides the two resource sites given above) am a player and staffer on the games found at JoinTheSaga.com, which include OtherSpace, an originally themed SciFi MUSH that's been going since 1998, Reach of the Empire, a Star Wars-themed game where Luke and Leia have died way before the start of the original trilogy (and where the prequels are disregarded), and Chiaroscuro, a newly opened work-in-progress centered around an original Fantasy theme. The former two are completely free to play (though donations are welcome, and merchandise is available), while the latter follows a monthly pay-to-play approach like most MMOGs do, but with a guaranteed close connection to the staff -- and also offers the option to play a lowly peasant for free (only the higher social classes require you to pay to be set up).

The games run 24/7 on reliable servers, and staff is available for your questions if you drop by as a guest and want to have a look around.

As a final note: the entrance bar for these games tends to be high (you have to submit a biography and skill list of your character for approval, which you can all set up in-game), and the expectation is that In-Character Actions have In-Character Consequences. This is to keep grievers, "theme idiots", and similar people from ruining the fun of our other players. Elitist? Yes, but for a good cause.

~Khamura

So you mean that the someone is going to invent a MUD? I can't wait!

• Price
• Text-based vs. Graphical
• The MUDers usually perfer RP to hack-and-slash (but that varies from MUD to MUD)

but I miss MUDs, LORD. Especially the old Sojourn , Duris, and Basternae MUDS. Those were the good ol' days. I know those, plus Toril, always yelled and fought, but you miss them when they're gone(or when they turn into big stinking piles of . The world I grew up in is dead.

And I'm still in my 20's. Damn computer world.

I was also addicated to muds for a very long time, because I needed them for my esteem. The pavlonian response of earning levels, beating your foe, or successfully "teaming" with other people in a clan can be quite addictive. Also that whole numbers/social status thing can do wonders for the ego.

But you brought up what I consider to be a really good point. There is a huge difference between online games and offline games. With online games you can learn to socialize with others if you are not so good at it, as well as improving your sense of self-esteem. I agree, however, that there is a danger in letting yourself get trapped such that only the MUD or MMP-RPG determines your self-value.

So while bowling does bring you in contact with others and possibly improve your dexterity or physical abilities, I still believe that MUDs and MMPRPGs can do good things for one's self-perceptions and social skills. Eventually I was "mature" enough in the online world that I could be a "better" man outside of it.

I used to be one of those annoying little toddlers that would kill-steal, raze, and generally grief others. I morphed into a person who contributed to the mud-community in quite large ammounts, had a significant number of friends, and socialized frequently. Transitioning from mud life to real life was a bit clunky, but some of the very same skills I learned without fear of repudiation in the quasi-social world of muds allowed me to be more mature in the real world and get things relatively right on the first go.

Basically I feel I can blame quite a lot of my successful real-world relationships on my having grown up in the social environments of MUDs.

N

PS: those that are still lost as to what a MUD is, go here for a quick idea. Basically everquest, daoc, etc. are startling similar to MUDs (and are considered by many to be graphical MUDs while MUDs are considered by many to be computerized versions of D&D).

I was also addicated to muds for a very long time, because I needed them for my esteem. The pavlonian response of earning levels, beating your foe, or successfully "teaming" with other people in a clan can be quite addictive. Also that whole numbers/social status thing can do wonders for the ego.

But you brought up what I consider to be a really good point. There is a huge difference between online games and offline games. With online games you can learn to socialize with others if you are not so good at it, as well as improving your sense of self-esteem. I agree, however, that there is a danger in letting yourself get trapped such that only the MUD or MMP-RPG determines your self-value.

So while bowling does bring you in contact with others and possibly improve your dexterity or physical abilities, I still believe that MUDs and MMPRPGs can do good things for one's self-perceptions and social skills. Eventually I was "mature" enough in the online world that I could be a "better" man outside of it.

I used to be one of those annoying little toddlers that would kill-steal, raze, and generally grief others. I morphed into a person who contributed to the mud-community in quite large ammounts, had a significant number of friends, and socialized frequently. Transitioning from mud life to real life was a bit clunky, but some of the very same skills I learned without fear of repudiation in the quasi-social world of muds allowed me to be more mature in the real world and get things relatively right on the first go.

Basically I feel I can blame quite a lot of my successful real-world relationships on my having grown up in the social environments of MUDs.

N

PS: those that are still lost as to what a MUD is, go here for a quick idea. Basically everquest, daoc, etc. are startling similar to MUDs (and are considered by many to be graphical MUDs while MUDs are considered by many to be computerized versions of D&D).

MUDding is still going strong. I'm a staffer on an online, text-based roleplaying game called OtherSpace and we average about 75 players on a busy evening. And we're not the only one. Visit The MudConnector and you'll find out that there are thousands of MUDS out there.

Try checking out the mud connecter and looking into some games.

Mud Connector

I've been mudding for a few years now and they can be really fun. If anyone wants
to find a good mud or try one for the first time, another great site dedicated to mud
listings and such is http://www.mudconnect.com - The Mudconnector :)
It's one of the best listings to my knowledge and it also has mudding resources and
mud reviews.

You give the impression that nethack is not under active developement, version 3.3.1 came out rather recently. It can be found at http://www.nethack.org. Other roguelikes worth mentioning are ADOM (don't worry, he's better at designing a game then a website), and Angband. There are several derivatives of Angband and Nethack, while ADOM is closed source. A good list of other roguelike games (with links) is available at http://www.skoardy.demon.co.uk/rlnews/links.html. All of the popular roguelikes and most of the rest have linux binaries, and the source code is often available too! Nethack is even released under the GPL license.

The other side of text-based gaming are text-based MUDs, a nice list of them can be found at The Mud Connector.

The article also fails to mention that there is a free version of civilization that will run on Linux and has multi-player capability. Check out www.freeciv.org for information and downloads.

Here's a link to the latest telnet bbs list:

http://www.thedirectory.org/telnet

It lists around 600 or so, and is updated every month. For muds, see

http://www.mudconnect.com/

Freenets, which do seem to be dying, are listed here:

http://www.lights.com/freenet/

What's really funny is that people are posting about BBSs and trying to keep others away from them. Hmmm...

Graham