Can't say I've ever really had this issue, if I want to read atmosphere
text, I just read it no matter what else is going on, I'm good enough at
mudding that my characters can survive long enough for me to look around,
look at the monster, etc. I've even seen the descriptions on a lot of the
stronger mobs on alter. It's all just a matter of what you're willing to do
to see the atmospheric text, how fast your speech reads, and how good of a
player you are. Basically all I'm saying here is if I want to see something,
I see it, weather it's turn based, realtime, or graphical with someone
sighted describing it to me, and I've never had this problem even with
mudding.
My problem with muds is that pretty much all of them feel the same after a
while, even semi-unique ones like alter, miriani, unofficial squaresoft mud
and new moon. Quests are great, but once they're done, they're done, and
I've never seen a mud able to keep up a constant stream of quests for you to
do. And once you're done with all those quests, it comes down to a simple
matter of hack and slash, and maybe exploration, but most muds don't reward
you for exploration, alter only just started doing this about a year ago, so
I've never seen any point, it's not like there's ever any history in areas
to be filled out or storyline to experience most of the time. There's a
couple areas on alter where you can see a little history, but not many. My
favorite area is still the greenhole, simply for it's amazing level of
interactivity, and it's unfinished and will probably remain so.
I think what it boils down to is you either have no problems with muds at
all and play them, or there's just one little flaw that you can find in
every mud that eventually breaks the whole game for you. At least that's
what I'm finding. Your flaw, dark, is time, and mine is lack of things to do
and in a lot of cases, lack of interactivity with the world. Oh, and guess
the syntax. Guess the syntax is terrible.
--------------------------------------------------
From: "dark" <d...@xgam.org>
Sent: Thursday, May 31, 2012 07:06 PM
To: <Gamers@audyssey.org>
Subject: [Audyssey] My issue with muds, discuss
Recently, I was trying the game projectbob, sinse someone on
audiogames.net recommended it as needing a db entry.
it has lots of great systems or mechanics, but I realized i was having
distinct and real trouble getting into the game.
I found myself asking why, why I'd not really taken the opportunity sinse
vipmud was released to go and play many muds, when there are so many good
games available, why indeed I've put down alteraeon slightly recently and
don't find myself picking it up, even though I'm such a huge fan of
textual rpgs, avidly wait for new updates of eamon deluxe, love games like
kerkerkruip and treasure of a slavers kingdom, not to mention gamebooks
and other brouser games, and get extremely excited and involved with the
descriptions, the writing and the atmosphere of where I'm exploring.
?
Then it hit me.
the problem is time!
?
in a turn based game there is plenty of time to read each description.
This doesn't just go for rooms and areas, but for monsters and attacks as
well. In every mud I've played however, you just don't get time! to fully
ead and appreciate text, and in fact usually have to skip past
descriptions of enemies or their lairs.
?
to explain, where as in a text game, if I fought my way to the top of the
tower of some evil wizard, opened the final door, I'd slowly read the
description of the evil wizard and his room to myself, and be thinking "oh
hell! what's he going to do now"
?
In a mud however, once I open the door, I don't get time! to read the
description, sinse I'll quickly be typing attack, despell magic, and
needing to skip most of the text at super speed.
?
If on the wizard's turn I read "the wizard raises one hand towards you,
and a bolt of absolutely black lightning streams out, filling the room
with a cent of burning, wrotten flehsh"
?
whatever it is going to do to my character, even if in fact my character
is amazingly hard and it does little, i'll still think "oh no, what's this
going to do, this is bad!" be invested in the story.
?
In a mud however, I need sapi set really fast, and usually the most I can
read is "the wizard casts lightning" before I'm having to start typing
like a demon to counter, dodge, bash or whatever.
?
It rather reminds me of a wonderful moment in my weekly mutants and
masterminds game that we had recently, when we were fighting an evil
sorceress under the waters of a lake. our gm took great pleasure in saying
"you see her raising her hands, and see her lips moving as though she's
casting a spell. For some time, nothing seems to happen, then suddenly you
hear thunder above you and a bolt of lightning strikes the lake!"
?
there was this lovely chorus of "oh hell!" which our gm very much seemed
to enjoy, as we all put two and two, or in this case water and lightning,
together, and our gm left us contemplating for a couple of seconds before
asking us to roll our toughness against the damage of the attack.
?
Of course, this isn't to say the real time fights in mud games aren't good
fun. it is rather satisfying sometimes to think on my feet, to realize my
targit has a weapon and I can use disarm, or cast feeble mind at a targit
who's using magic.
?
The lack of ability to quickly read atmospheric text however in muds does
seem at least for me a rather major drawback, especially when it comes to
really huge encounters with bosses, or with unusual types of monsters.
?
I know with Dentin we've discussed a preview corpse command, so that you
can get the living description of an enemy from their dead corpse after
you have slane them, which would partly at least compensate for the
problem, but I am now wondering if a more general solution could be
planned.
?
Is there a way to pause the output from a mud? ie, stop all timers so that
you just have time to read the dam text and can have a couple of seconds
contemplation before a hectic fight? if so, this would be a great thing to
have in vipmud.
?
Am I perhaps missing something here that everyone else does to read
atmospheric text in games?
?
Any thoughts?
?
I'd especially appreciate input from Dentin, and anyone else who has
written a mud on this issue, as well as experienced mud players, sinse I
do realize this is what is slightly spoiling muds for me, despite how much
i really enjoy textual rpg games.
?
All the best,
?
Dark.
---
Gamers mailing list __ Gamers@audyssey.org
If you want to leave the list, send E-mail to
gamers-unsubscr...@audyssey.org.
You can make changes or update your subscription via the web, at
http://mail.audyssey.org/mailman/listinfo/gamers_audyssey.org.
All messages are archived and can be searched and read at
http://www.mail-archive.com/gamers@audyssey.org.
If you have any questions or concerns regarding the management of the
list,
please send E-mail to gamers-ow...@audyssey.org.
---
Gamers mailing list __ Gamers@audyssey.org
If you want to leave the list, send E-mail to gamers-unsubscr...@audyssey.org.
You can make changes or update your subscription via the web, at
http://mail.audyssey.org/mailman/listinfo/gamers_audyssey.org.
All messages are archived and can be searched and read at
http://www.mail-archive.com/gamers@audyssey.org.
If you have any questions or concerns regarding the management of the list,
please send E-mail to gamers-ow...@audyssey.org.
