The Equalizer BBS/equalizer-bbs-collection_2004.zip/equalizer-bbs-collection/DEMOSCENE-STUFF/MUDINFO.ZIP/GENERAL.MUD

Text File | 1994-07-30 | 9KB | 144 lines

            An introduction on MUDs
                        -----------------------

This text is meant as an introduction on MUDs for people who are not familiar
with the meaning and the contents of this particular style of games. It is
meant purely for future and novice players and will not provide any technical
details or background. There are several text available which are far more
thorough and detailed. If you, as a reader, want to find out more on this
matter after having read the following lines, you can send a request to the
people responsible for the mud on this BBS.

1. What is a MUD ?
------------------

Unless you are familiar with internet and have had the occasion of working
with the interactive access on internet, you probably never heard of a MUD
before. Therefore, a quick introduction for those of you who belong to this
group. MUD stands for Multi User Dungeon, and is a specific type of multi
user games. In other words : a mud is a type of game which can be played by
several people at the same time. Nowadays, several types of multi user games
are commonly known to computer users. Still, MUDs differ in many ways from
those games, for several reasons.
The first and most important difference between MUDs and most other multi
user games is the level of interaction. In most multi user games there's a
very reduced set of possible actions; you can fight aginst each-other (e.g.
in Street Fighter), you can compete against each-other (e.g. in 2-player
Tetris) and sometimes you can help or talk to each-other (e.g. Doom). In
a MUD, you can do all of this and even more.
A second major difference is the maximum number of players. Most multi-user
games only allow 2 or 4 players to play at the same time, even on a network.
In a MUD this number can be up to 100 players ! (Yes, no kidding, I've played
on MUDs with an average of 50 players connected simultanously)
Now on to the last point - and this one may come as a surprise - most MUDs are
text-based. No fancy graphics, no superb soundtracks or animations, just simple
text characters. Now, don't quit reading or erase this file just because of
this last line; although they're text-based, MUDs have a lot to offer, much
more than most games who do have fancy graphics and sound. Know that there are
hundreds of MUDs all over the world with thousands of people playing on them
for several hours every day !
Ok, now you know what the definition of a MUD is, but you still have no idea
how they are played or what the contents are. This is what I'll talk about
in the next paragraph.

2. MUDs - how are they played ?
-------------------------------

I have been playing muds for quite some time now, and still I'm not 100 %
sure how to answer this question. The reason for this is that the concept
of a MUD can differ a lot. I've played on MUDs with a Star Wars concept,
others with a Battletech-like concept, others with a more strategy-oriented
concept, etc.... Yet, most MUDs (about 75-85%, I guess) are Dungeons & Dragons
style role playing games (this is where the Dungeon in Multi User Dungeon comes
from) and so is the MUD on this BBS, so I'll stick to those. I suppose not
everyone knows what a role playing game is about, so I'll explain that a bit
first.
A role playing game is a game in which you incarnate a character, and have to
fight your way through hords of monsters and solve numerous puzzles in order
to grow stronger and wealthier. This is also what most MUDs are about, with
one major difference, though : in RPGs (this is a shorthand for Role Playing
Games, which I will use from now on) there's always a specefic goal, something
like : 'rescue a princess from the hands of an evil dragon' or 'find a
special weapon in a haunted castle'. In a MUD, there's no real goal, or rather,
the goal is the same as in real life : to become more powerful.
There are several ways to achieve this goal. First, you can kill monsters,
which will be rewarded with so-called experience points. If you have enough
experience points, your character will become stronger, more intelligent, etc.
A second way is to gather money or items (like weapons or armour), which will
help you fight better. There are other ways, but that's for me to know and you
to find out ;-)
By now, you should have a rather good idea what muds are about, but still
there's MUCH more to it, too much to explain here. The only real way to
find out what it's really like is to try it ! Therefore, I'll move on to the
next section in which you'll learn how to play the MUD on this BBS.

3. How to play the MUD on The Site BBS
--------------------------------------

OK, I'll go trough this one step by step, to make sure everyone can understand
this.
1 - You'll need to connect to the mud from the BBS. You can do so by selecting
    the appropriate option from the BBS menu. If you don't know how to do this
    just ask the sysop or post a message to him, he'll help you out.
2 - Some text will appear on the screen and you'll be prompted for a name. This
    is NOT your real name, just some imaginary name for your CHARACTER ! Choose
    one you like, but don't make it too rediculous, please. After you entered
    the name you should be asked for confirmation. If not, you will be prompted
    for a password. This means that a character with that name already exists.
    In that case just type <ENTER> and log on again (with a DIFFERENT name).
    If are prompted for confirmation, just type 'Y' + <ENTER>.
3 - Now you will be asked for a password for your character. This is to ensure
    no one else will be able to use your character. Try not to choose a simple
    or obvious password. You will be asked for confirmation; simply enter the
    password again. (Note : the password is CASE SENSITIVE, so make sure the
    two passwords are EXACTLY the same).
4 - You will be asked for your sex. Just type M or F and then enter. This
    doesn't really matter and will NOT affect your character in any way.
5 - Next, you will be prompted for a class. Your classs is rather important,
    since it will affect your character severely. Right now, just choose
    anything. If you would like to choose another class later in the game,
    delete the current character and log in again. You will be able to learn
    more about the classes within the mud.
6 - Some more text will appear (not very important at this moment); just type
    <ENTER>.
7 - A menu will appear next. Most options are not important at this time, just
    type '1' + <ENTER> to enter the game itself.

This login procedure may seem quite long, but don't worry, you normally only
have to go through this ONCE. Next time you log on, you only need to enter
your character's name and password.

Ok, now you're inside the mud itself. The best thing to do right now is to
read the helpfiles inside the mud, they will provide you with all information
necessary. To access the help files, just type 'HELP' + <ENTER>. A list of
available commands and topics will appear. To learn more about a specific
topic, just type 'HELP <TOPIC>' + <ENTER>. Read the help files CAREFULLY and
remember their contents at all times ! Without it, you probably won't survive
your first encounter with a monster.

4 - Some more hints on the mud
------------------------------

First, a list of commands that may reveal helpful at all times :
- HELP : see above.
- WHO : shows a list of the people currently playing in the mud.
- TELL <name> <text> : tell <text> to the player <name>. You can do this
  from anywhere in the mud, as long as the other player is connected.
- SAY <text> : say something. Everyone in the same room will hear you.

If, after having read the helpfiles, you still have some question(s), you'd
best ask another player on the mud. You can do so with the TELL command (see
above).
There also are special players on the mud, called WIZARDS or GODS. They are
different from the other players in that way that they're not really playing,
but maintaining the mud, making sure everything goes right, etc. (therefore,
they are somtimes called administrators). You can recognize a wizard by
his/her level (that's the number you see just next to the player's name when
you type WHO). If this number is higher or equal to 31, the player is a wizard.
Wizards are the right people to ask questions to, whatever your problem is
(well, as long as it concerns the mud, that is).

That's about all I can learn you about the mud for now; like I already said
before, the best way to find out more is to try it. If you have problems, you
can also contact the sysop of the BBS, he will surely be able to help you out.
Enjoy !!!