I'm thinking of making a mud where even I don't really know what happened in the past.
stuff about exploringThe rest would basically be a sandbox mud with players building whatever they want if they can get the resources and defeat other players/the aggro NPCS.
the most important thing when approaching any project where code is involvd is to as: what is the end-user going to do with this thing? And how will I have to administrate it?
Since this is a game, you have to ask yourself "how people are going to keep themslves interested in it? And what will i need to be able to do easily while running it to make this happen?" And that has the most influence over what codebase you pick up. Or write. Whle theme and conflict are important considerations, nothng trumps
"How do i expect my players to interact with my world?" because code limits everythng you will ever implemnt. If you just throw a code base out there, dump in content, and hope people will find somethng to do with it youre pinnng all your effort on luck. And even if you succeed? You can wind up with a codebase that is like walking uphill across hot coals to update in a direction it was never designd around supporting.
so this comes back to what you proposed. An exploration game. And also some sandbox building thrown in. it's a good start from brainstorming but i can see some serious problms with it moving forward. You want rnadom landmarks that will be part of procedurally generatd room descs. i actually had a similar idea planned but for a horror setting. i can tell you this will not be difficult to code; that's not the problem. In your game -
where exploration is at the forefront - it sets up a scenario where people are roaming the countryside looking for whatever random thing has popped up to explore. And if they dont find it they're just wandering around outside. And it has a pretty heavy amount of ooc motivaton which isnt inherently wrong but does lend itself to breakng immersion when the charactr doesnt find something.
And if someone does find something to explore. What are they doing? Are they walking around reading stuff? thats what they did to get there in the first place. So their reward is gettng more stuff to read. Are they solving puzzles? Could be fun, but who says theyre the only one who found the ruin? They could be stumbling over other players tryng to do the same puzzle at the same time. Are they spending more time arguing with the 12 othr people who all also found the same ruins about who gets to do what than actually solving puzzles? Popularity can actually become a problem for your mud.
what it comes down to is you need to make exploration a step towards a goal for groups of people. Something where youd have clans scouting for a ruin or cavern or whatever. And then they build a fortification around it to keep othr people out. And while they do that, their best explorers start gettng a look at what theyll be facing. Meanwhile the clan is gatherng resourcs for the dive and encampment. And chasing off anyone else who shows up. in other words: make exploration similar to mining for a scarce and critical resource.
But why would they care? That's the question to answer with your worldbuilding. Could a clan wind up runng the town they are from if they become powerful enough? Or if they are the only source for some lifesaving whatnot? Or if they gather enough religious artifacts, indicatng they are favored by the gods? Because i don't know of any game that lets a clan become the leaders of a coded civilization without staff intervention. And beyond that novelty theres an ingame, tangible accomplishment you dont have to keep telling players they should be feeling virtually.
That also sets up people who dislike the clan in charge to start exploring in order to unseat them. Or for people who want to join the clan without going through the shitranks first to take dumb risks to impress them (via exploration loot).
it gives meaning to having a buildng sandbox in a post-apocalyptic world. The building isnt tacked on as something for people who won't be satisfied with exploring anymore. Building becomes something important that supports explorng by making exploration vital rahter than entertainment.
We can spitball great ideas all day, otherwise.
But as long as we're spitballing, my contribution would be that games built around a 'mystery', are more suitable for tabletop games. What you want to really spend time on, in a game like a MUD, is to create a sustainable, player-centered dynamic, where the players can do as much as possible to react, cooperate and antagonize each other with as little need for staff support as possible.
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What's hard is coming up with a coded system of territory and resource acquisition that actually works and encourages people to get involved in protecting or going after it, or benefit from it on the side.
i obviously agree with this. I quoted it to springboard into somethng Ive ranted about in the past. but that is still an important consideration.
A mud is not a tabletop game. Most RPI permadeath MUDs are set up where you join the game alone. Youre expected to play each character without OOC coordination (HAHAHAHAHA) with other players to team up wth them. And this is a huge consideration. Because when youre playing a tabletop game youre sitting in-person with people whose characters will absolutely be on a team with yours. And when you die, youll most likely make a new character at a similar level to the dead one who will also join these people's charactrs.
you also have a GM who will be responsible for making sure everyone has something to do. And the game doesnt exist for anyone without the GM "making it" so to say. Which i don't think i need to compare in detail to a MUd because everyone here played Arm. it's enough to say muds don't require anyone there to actively create the world for players.
The point? When you (
nyrsucks) approach making a mud, you're going to have to ask yourself: Am i going to encourage teams of players (like a tabletop game) or discourage it (like most muds)? And if you pick the latter (which i'd be surprised if anyone here didnt) youll need to avoid following the same flawed approach most MUDs take. By which i mean you can't make a mud with the tabletop mentality that your playrs will:
- Find people to team up with who will:
- Supplement skills theyre missing
- need skills they have
- all be online at the same time, for the same amount of time, every time something needs to be accomplished as a team
- Easily replace the people they depend upon when they have to make a new character (without ooc coordination)
- Start at the same level as people theyll need to team up with
Am i encouraging OOC coordination? No; i'm not taking a stance on it at all. Am I encouragng level boosts or people always playing with the same people? No; i'm not taking a stance on them at all. i am trying to drive home the point that however you set up your game, you need to make sure your ooc rules, game world, social settings, and chargen arent working in conflict with each other. Or the gameplay experience isnt going to be what you'd hope people would have. And it may well drive people away for weeks every time they die.
Now, what do you think would happen if a merchant or noble in Armageddon wanted to claim one of the very few oasis outside the city, to either support an outpost or help leverage a new trade route?
You'd get a gigantic FUCK YOU. It wouldn't even be remotely possible without an elaborate, choreagraphed NPC circle-jerk stage-managed by staff, and shaking the very pillars of the world. Like the stupid Copper War. Skirmishing over mines and water should be an everyday set of affairs, not END OF TEH WORLD OMGZ THIS IS SO DRAMATIC. You need approval from the senior templar second only to Tektolnes himself for permission to go fucking off after a few Tuluki irregulars!
and your character would most likely be killed/punished/de-clanned/publicly shamed. To facilitate "giving you a world response." And this would also happen if you were a mid-level noble. So youll be reminded people less cunning than you on the staff still control VNPCs virtually more cunning than you in virtual ways that will not be explaind.