Imaginary Realities 2001 April Edition

Summary of April 2001 issue of Imaginary Realities. Imaginary Realities was an ezine dedicated to MUDs.

Summary of "An Introduction to MUSHes" by Ervin Hearn III

Ervin Hearn III was in charge of theme and code for KorongilMUSH.

"MUSH stands for Multi-User Shared Hallucination, and is derived from the mud family of online games. They are text based programs which allow multiple people to simultaneously interact within an artificial environment."

MUSHes often recreate worlds from movies, books, and other sources for a background. Others, are creative creations of the wizards (admins) in charge of the MUSH.

MUSHes often have 20-100 people roleplaying at the same time. Players roleplay by acting just like the character they are playing would act. Out Of Character (OOC) information is kept out of the behavior of the character. Usually, there are special chats or channels for OOC communication. Everything in the main MUSH should be In Character (IC). Players and characters should be kept separate.

When describing what your character is doing, include lots of detail, like you'd find in a novel. However, "Never pose the actions of another character. Do not include a character's reaction to the actions your character performs. Doing so will lead to arguments and on most role play oriented MUSHes disciplinary action."

After roleplaying and poses, building is the next most important skill in MUSHes. Some MUSHes allow all players to build rooms, exits, and objects, while others limit building powers to certain roles such as Building Powers.

Some players may be given access to MUSHcode, which is similar in power to the C/C++ code the MUSH is written in. "Normal players may also take advantage of MUSHcode and create personal commands that make various tasks on the MUSH easier for them. Those interested in learning more about MUSHcode may read Amberyl's MUSH Manual which is available on Internet."

MUSHes combine literary skills and creativity with roleplaying. Building and coding also get thrown into the MUSH mix. All of this combines to make an enjoyable experience for those that get into MUSHes.

Summary of "Applying for Wizardhood" by Selina Kelley

Selina Kelley worked on ProphecyMUD and Imaginary Realities.

When filling out an application to be an admin (Immortal or Wizard) on a MUD, keep the following in mind.

• Don't misrepresent who you are or your skills.
• Make your answers specific to the MUD you're applying to. Don't use generic answers that could apply to any MUD.
• Tell you're goals related to adding to that specific MUD. Tell what areas you want to make that fit the MUD's theme.
• Proofread your application, getting your grammar and spelling correct.
• Make sure your answers wrap to 75 characters.
• Play the MUD, and get to know the people in charge. Be someone they want to promote, and be around.

Summary of "Cartoon - The Mud Slinger" by Rebecca Handcock

Unfortunately, these cartoons seem to have completely vanished from the web.

Summary of "Explorers have more fun." by Lord Ashon

Lord Ashon wrote zMud scripts and designed for WheelMUD.

"Let me tell you a little about my hobbies. First and foremost I generally live on my computer, I can make it do things that most would only dream of. Secondly, I play muds. I have for years, and probably will for many more. The last hobby that I have got that really matters to you is that I program. I can write code as well or better than your coder. So, are you scared yet?"

Zmud allows for scripting, and hence writing bots, and as a Computer Science major as a university, he has more time on his hands than you or your entire staff combined. His purpose is not to play your game or roleplay. His purpose is to defeat your game.

I may be annoying and a problem to you, but I love your system, and want it to challenge me. I explore your system.

Summary of "On the Treatment of Coders" by Sanvean

Sanvean was an Overlord for Armageddon MUD.

"Coders are the unicorns of the mudding world, rarely glimpsed and ardently pursued."

Follow these steps to keep your coders happy.

1. Keep communication clear and detailed, especially about desired features. Be clear about syntax and usage of desired features. For bugs, give detailed descriptions of how the feature should work and how it is working, now. Include as many details as possible in bug reports, including detailed steps on reproducing the bug. For bugs, include error messages if possible. Also, make sure coders let each other know what they are working on, or have changed. Generally, only one coder should work on any specific task at a time.
2. Only work on tasks that players want and will use. Bug reports and requests from players shown to the coders will go a long way toward convincing them that the features will be used. There should be an overall goal (design plan) that new features fit into. Make this weeks changes aren't only there to undo last week's mistakes.
3. "Share the work: Do as much of the grunt work as you can for the coders, including helping thoroughly test, providing help files and documentation, and fleshing things out."
4. Praise the coders' good work. Post the praise in your mailing lists, and in your MUD world news. make sure the coders are getting plenty of credit and acclaim for their hard work. Pass back positive feedback from the players to the coders.

Summary of "Playing vs Coding" by Arjen Reudink

Arjen Reudink worked on Nameless MUD and United Dreams III MUD.

Many MUDs have a final quest, that when completed, allow you to chose to become an immortal builder of the MUD, or stay as a regular player. Many players think it would be fun to be an immortal for a short time, then go back to player. However, most admins feel that would give the player too much of an unfair advantage.

The author ran into a situation that he wanted a specific player who was skilled at MUD code to become a wizard, but the player didn't want to stop playing. Becoming a wizard would ban them from play forever.

The approach the author came up with is that all players can apply to become wizards. If they pass a player's quiz to make sure they are familiar with the MUD and its theme, they can become a wizard. After they produce and have their first area accepted, they get one player account that is attached to their wizard account. They can continue playing, and be a wizard, but can't have both the wizard and player avatars active at the same time.

Summary of "Starting a Clan" by Shade of Nessalin

Shade of Nessalin was an overlord on Armageddon MUD.

Clans are a group of players with a common purpose. Clans provide a sense of community and purpose to members.

Conflict provides a source of quests for clans. The conflicts can be violent, or economic, resource scarcity driven, trade related, weather, disease, or some other challenge.

Relations to others, including other clans, should be well defined to prevent confusion.

Define as many NPCs and characters that are roleplayed for the clan as possible. Doing so in some documents only clan members have, even it they are outside the MUD itself will give the members a stronger sense of community and a feeling of inclusion, because they have knowledge only clan members have.

Have short term and long term clan goals that all clan member adhere to. It is okay for the goals to be unachievable. They still make for good related quests.

Summary of "The Only Two Guilds on Your Mud" by Caris

Caris worked on Scialla MUD.

Guilds developed in the Middle Ages in Europe to control prices, treatment of members, and quality of products. They acted a lot like modern day unions.

Career criminals didn't exist in the Middle Age villages, because once caught too many times, locals or noblemen had them killed. In the cities, fines and imprisonment kept criminals under control.

Career assassins didn't exist, at all. Though, some soldiers were used as assassins occasionally. Murder was punished by a quick death, and attempted murder with life in prison. That kept assassins at bay.

If a Thieves' Guild did exist, then here are some of the features it would need.

• It would need a meeting place that changed frequently, because people were nosy in medieval times, and would quickly figure out where the bad guys were hanging out.
• The government would need to be corrupt. "Most monarchs would have reacted badly to the idea of thieves operating with knowledge of the police. Bribes were accepted and even tolerated for spying, smuggling letters, and other minor infractions, but serious crimes wouldn't have been tolerated for long."
• There would need to be some way to keep the local populace quiet.

Thieves guilds couldn't really have existed in the Middle Ages, which is when most MUDs are set, historically. They could and do exist in modern times, though.

It looks like Assassins guild have never existed in all of history. That might be out of fear of others knowing who they are, or not having any actual common goals. "I'm not against thieves and assassins. I just want them to make a little sense."