There are a hundreds of MUDs and online text based games. Sometimes the process to finding a good game can be overwhelming at times. Having tried more than my share of new games, I know that can be it can be overwhelming at times. But every game has an ideal type of player it is suited for. There is a perfect (or near perfect) game out there for you!
The first key to finding a new game is to determine what is the most important things you look for in a game and what are your "deal breakers". (This may change in time as you try out new games.) Both Top Mud Sites and The Mud Connector have advanced search options that allow you to eliminate the games that don't fit your criteria. Some of the main catagories on both sites are world size, average online players, RP environment, if player killing is allowed, how a character "levels" on the game, and whether it is a free or subscription game.
Please keep in mind that the game owners and admins chose what areas that they game fits into. You won't truly know if the game fits the bill until you try it. I personally keep the search criteria fairly broad and add more until I get a manageable list.
After get a manageable list begin to read the player reviews. Personally, I believe the best place to read reviews at this time is The Mud Connector (TMC) though you can read older reviews at Top Mud Sites (TMS). You will get a much better idea of games from what players say about them. I tend to take the overly glowing or overly critical reviews with a grain of salt, but you can gain some valuable information from player reviews.
If an active playerbase and/or game administration is important to you then a way to confirm this is to see what the ranking of the MUD is on both TMS and TMC. If the game administration is active and wants to see their game promoted they will regularly encourage their players to vote for their game. If the playerbase is active and passionate about the game they play then they will vote for it.
Using this information will give you a good idea of what games might be a good fit for you. But like a lot of things, you don't really know until you try!
Happy Hunting!
Sunday, September 20, 2009
Saturday, September 19, 2009
Top 5 Mud Clients
Your personal needs and system requirements will determine what MUD client is best for you. Though there are a lot of great MUD clients, below are the some of the best clients out there. The good news is that all the clients below are free or offer at least a free trial!
Best Free Client
MUSHClient
MUSHclient is one of the best free clients out there. It is full of a lot of special features such as client side aliases, timers, and triggers. It has an amazingly long searchable buffer which helps you keep track of past gaming. MUSHclient is also extremely customizable. MUSHclient works on operating systems from Windows 95 to Windows Vista.
Best Pay Windows Client
CMUD
If you plan to do a lot of scripting, CMUD is the client for you. CMUD is designed for fast and easy scripting with the functionality to share them with others as well. It has one of the best automatic mapping systems of any MUD client. The full version of CMUD presently costs $29.95 with a free thirty day trial. If you don't need or use many special MUD client features then I would recommend trying a free client, but if you want to compete on a MUD that allows scripting CMUD is likely the choice for you. CMUD works on Windows XP and Windows Vista. (For a good scripting client for older systems check out ZMUD from the same company.)
Best Mac OS Client
Atlantis and Savitar
I couldn't help but give a tie in this catagory. There are much older Mac OS clients out there, but unfortunately they are either not very user friendly or out of development. I've read a lot of good things on these clients from Mac Users. Both are worth a try!
Best Linux Client
KMuddy
KMuddy is reccommended by many Linux users as the best MUD client on these machines. This client is relatively new but is growing in popularity. It has many regular MUD client features such as timers, triggers, speedwalking, and client side aliases. Many of the clients in this catagory can be difficult to use, but KMuddy is touted as being much easier to use than most.
Best Client for Blind Gamers
Vip Mud
Vip Mud has a lot of the features of other clients including vibrant scripting capability, but aslo a lot of special features for the blind gamer. It is designed to work with most screen reading software right out of the box. There are also voice features such as silmultaneous voices and the ability to program different voices or even screen readers for output. Vip Mud has the functionality to gag both spam and ASCII art. Vip Mud is $30 and has a 30 day free trial.
Best Free Client
MUSHClient
MUSHclient is one of the best free clients out there. It is full of a lot of special features such as client side aliases, timers, and triggers. It has an amazingly long searchable buffer which helps you keep track of past gaming. MUSHclient is also extremely customizable. MUSHclient works on operating systems from Windows 95 to Windows Vista.
Best Pay Windows Client
CMUD
If you plan to do a lot of scripting, CMUD is the client for you. CMUD is designed for fast and easy scripting with the functionality to share them with others as well. It has one of the best automatic mapping systems of any MUD client. The full version of CMUD presently costs $29.95 with a free thirty day trial. If you don't need or use many special MUD client features then I would recommend trying a free client, but if you want to compete on a MUD that allows scripting CMUD is likely the choice for you. CMUD works on Windows XP and Windows Vista. (For a good scripting client for older systems check out ZMUD from the same company.)
Best Mac OS Client
Atlantis and Savitar
I couldn't help but give a tie in this catagory. There are much older Mac OS clients out there, but unfortunately they are either not very user friendly or out of development. I've read a lot of good things on these clients from Mac Users. Both are worth a try!
Best Linux Client
KMuddy
KMuddy is reccommended by many Linux users as the best MUD client on these machines. This client is relatively new but is growing in popularity. It has many regular MUD client features such as timers, triggers, speedwalking, and client side aliases. Many of the clients in this catagory can be difficult to use, but KMuddy is touted as being much easier to use than most.
Best Client for Blind Gamers
Vip Mud
Vip Mud has a lot of the features of other clients including vibrant scripting capability, but aslo a lot of special features for the blind gamer. It is designed to work with most screen reading software right out of the box. There are also voice features such as silmultaneous voices and the ability to program different voices or even screen readers for output. Vip Mud has the functionality to gag both spam and ASCII art. Vip Mud is $30 and has a 30 day free trial.
Tuesday, September 8, 2009
Top MUD Sites
Traditionally one of the best MUD resources out there in the world wide web has been Top MUD Sites (TMS). Hundreds of MUDs have registered with Top Mud Sites and a potential player can search Top Mud Sites database and control the results through advanced searching. There is an active community on the TMS forums. Many of the members are MUD administrators, staff, or veteran players. This is a good place to ask for general help or to search more specifically for a game you like. There is a MUD article database with topics on roleplaying, storytelling, and building MUDs.
One of the most useful tools I have used when trying to select a new MUD to play is TMS's top MUD list which is located on their home page. Honestly, this is not an indication of the best built MUDs on the web or the best environments. It is more of an indication of how active and passionate both the administrators and players for a MUD are. From my experience, a MUD will not even get listed on the front page for the top 20 MUDs without having an active and larger player base. There are still many MUDs out there that have few players at all. If a MUD is not within the top 40 on TMS it is a good indication that the MUD has a very small player base, likely too small for robust interactive play.
Unfortunately, what I deemed one of the most useful features of Top MUD Sites has gone inactive. TMS has not been accepting new MUD reviews from players since September of 2006. While the old reviews are still there, I had found it historically useful to read what players liked or hated about a game. It is true that some disillusioned players could write scathing or untrue reviews or admins could write over glowing reviews for their game, but the discerning reader can weed through both extremes to find some semblance of the truth about a game. I hope that this is a feature that they reinstate soon, though with the amount of time it has been down I'm not holding my breath.
Even with this inactive feature, Top MUD Sites is still one of the best MUD resources out there today. I've enjoyed many years of researching, writing, and reading on the site.
Hats off to you, TMS!
One of the most useful tools I have used when trying to select a new MUD to play is TMS's top MUD list which is located on their home page. Honestly, this is not an indication of the best built MUDs on the web or the best environments. It is more of an indication of how active and passionate both the administrators and players for a MUD are. From my experience, a MUD will not even get listed on the front page for the top 20 MUDs without having an active and larger player base. There are still many MUDs out there that have few players at all. If a MUD is not within the top 40 on TMS it is a good indication that the MUD has a very small player base, likely too small for robust interactive play.
Unfortunately, what I deemed one of the most useful features of Top MUD Sites has gone inactive. TMS has not been accepting new MUD reviews from players since September of 2006. While the old reviews are still there, I had found it historically useful to read what players liked or hated about a game. It is true that some disillusioned players could write scathing or untrue reviews or admins could write over glowing reviews for their game, but the discerning reader can weed through both extremes to find some semblance of the truth about a game. I hope that this is a feature that they reinstate soon, though with the amount of time it has been down I'm not holding my breath.
Even with this inactive feature, Top MUD Sites is still one of the best MUD resources out there today. I've enjoyed many years of researching, writing, and reading on the site.
Hats off to you, TMS!
Monday, September 7, 2009
Roll play vs. Role play
I’m borrowing a bit from old table top gaming terminology to make a point. What I will be addressing in this post is the long time dispute between gamers who like adopting a role and fleshing out a character and those who like to bash down doors and hack other characters into bits. Are you the type of gamer that likes adopting a role or do you prefer the roll of the die?
I’ve played in many gaming groups and on many games in my time and had plenty of experience seeing players on all ends of the spectrum. On one end of the extreme enters the hack and slash gamer. It is all about the game mechanics for him. The kill. The win. He wants to spend his time fighting monsters, solving quests, and gathering phat loot and gear. He wants that next level, that next shiny new object.
Charge!
On the other end of the spectrum enters the roleplayer. His main focus is on developing his character. He will spend a lot of time on character histories, descriptions, and mannerisms. He prefers spending his time interacting with other characters or the game master (as the case maybe). He may even roleplay when no one is around. (I’ve really known people like this!) He is the master thespian.
Scene!
Deities help you if you have both extremes in the same gaming group. Ultimately no one will be happy!
Most players are a combination for these two extremes, though sometimes it feels like roleplayers are a dying breed. Maybe they have just given up when they haven’t found others of their ilk. If you are among this endangered species I encourage you to try out “roleplay enforced” MUDs. There are still some roleplayers alive and kicking out there. Flee from “roleplay encouraged” games true RP is not to be found in these dens of RP mediocrity. Not all “RP Enforced” or “RP Mandatory” games live up to their name I fear, but they are out there!
There is an environment for everyone out there. Are you a “roll player” or a “role player” or a happy combination of the two? I’m personally a happy hybrid myself and won’t settle for a game that doesn’t have a combination of both strategy and roleplaying. There is a game out there for us all. It is just a matter of finding it.
Happy Hunting!
I’ve played in many gaming groups and on many games in my time and had plenty of experience seeing players on all ends of the spectrum. On one end of the extreme enters the hack and slash gamer. It is all about the game mechanics for him. The kill. The win. He wants to spend his time fighting monsters, solving quests, and gathering phat loot and gear. He wants that next level, that next shiny new object.
Charge!
On the other end of the spectrum enters the roleplayer. His main focus is on developing his character. He will spend a lot of time on character histories, descriptions, and mannerisms. He prefers spending his time interacting with other characters or the game master (as the case maybe). He may even roleplay when no one is around. (I’ve really known people like this!) He is the master thespian.
Scene!
Deities help you if you have both extremes in the same gaming group. Ultimately no one will be happy!
Most players are a combination for these two extremes, though sometimes it feels like roleplayers are a dying breed. Maybe they have just given up when they haven’t found others of their ilk. If you are among this endangered species I encourage you to try out “roleplay enforced” MUDs. There are still some roleplayers alive and kicking out there. Flee from “roleplay encouraged” games true RP is not to be found in these dens of RP mediocrity. Not all “RP Enforced” or “RP Mandatory” games live up to their name I fear, but they are out there!
There is an environment for everyone out there. Are you a “roll player” or a “role player” or a happy combination of the two? I’m personally a happy hybrid myself and won’t settle for a game that doesn’t have a combination of both strategy and roleplaying. There is a game out there for us all. It is just a matter of finding it.
Happy Hunting!
Sunday, September 6, 2009
Why text based games?
With there being so many graphical online games out there why would someone still play a MUD or other text based game? In the world of gaming MUDs seem rather archaic. Why are MUDs still thriving? Why are new games being built every day? Why are new players finding these games?
From where I'm sitting as a MUD veteran, I can see several really good reasons why MUDs are still popular.
The first thing that comes to mind is that MUDs are very portable gaming. Mudding is for serious gamers that want access to their game nearly anywhere. Anywhere you can access the internet, you can access a MUD. Some games have java or flash clients on their websites that you can access. For the hardcore mudder, any number of MUD clients (which in my experience don't take up much space) can be saved and run from a flash drive. Since MUDs are text based it is far less obvious that all that scrolling text is actually a game. Phones with net access, netbooks, laptops, and public computers will all run MUDs successfully.
MUDs don't require a lot of system resources to run. MUDs have been running on computers for years. Even older computers will successfully run MUDs and any special software that may be required or used to enchance text gaming does not take up much memory on a computer at all. Those with older computers or slower internet connections from around the world enjoy online text gaming as sometimes their only multi-player internet option. MUD updates happen on the game server and no update downloads are needed by players.
Most MUDs are free. There are MUDs out there that charge monthly fees or have pay for perks systems but the vast majority of the games are free. I'm not talking about cheap gaming but absolutely free gaming. Let's face it, it can be really expensive keeping up with most console and computer gaming. We aren't even talking about the software or the monthly fees, but also upgrading to a new console or computer system to run the latest games.
MUDs are very accessible. Blind, sight impaired players, and deaf players can easily play MUDs and get nearly the same gaming experience as everyone else. With no sound or graphics, MUDs level the playing ground.
Finally, the reason I am playing MUDs after all these years is for the better social gaming environments they provide. I have never seen a larger graphical game successfully create a roleplay enforced environment. Most staff on online graphical games chose not to police their players and the game environment greatly suffers for it. Players are MUDs are generally kinder and better behaved than those on the graphical games and MUD administrators are more apt to remove disruptive players. Social interaction is a large part of online gaming and that interaction is only worthwhile if it is positive.
The bottom line is that MUDs are still around and thriving. For these reasons above and more they've kept me captivated and entertained for years.
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From where I'm sitting as a MUD veteran, I can see several really good reasons why MUDs are still popular.
The first thing that comes to mind is that MUDs are very portable gaming. Mudding is for serious gamers that want access to their game nearly anywhere. Anywhere you can access the internet, you can access a MUD. Some games have java or flash clients on their websites that you can access. For the hardcore mudder, any number of MUD clients (which in my experience don't take up much space) can be saved and run from a flash drive. Since MUDs are text based it is far less obvious that all that scrolling text is actually a game. Phones with net access, netbooks, laptops, and public computers will all run MUDs successfully.
MUDs don't require a lot of system resources to run. MUDs have been running on computers for years. Even older computers will successfully run MUDs and any special software that may be required or used to enchance text gaming does not take up much memory on a computer at all. Those with older computers or slower internet connections from around the world enjoy online text gaming as sometimes their only multi-player internet option. MUD updates happen on the game server and no update downloads are needed by players.
Most MUDs are free. There are MUDs out there that charge monthly fees or have pay for perks systems but the vast majority of the games are free. I'm not talking about cheap gaming but absolutely free gaming. Let's face it, it can be really expensive keeping up with most console and computer gaming. We aren't even talking about the software or the monthly fees, but also upgrading to a new console or computer system to run the latest games.
MUDs are very accessible. Blind, sight impaired players, and deaf players can easily play MUDs and get nearly the same gaming experience as everyone else. With no sound or graphics, MUDs level the playing ground.
Finally, the reason I am playing MUDs after all these years is for the better social gaming environments they provide. I have never seen a larger graphical game successfully create a roleplay enforced environment. Most staff on online graphical games chose not to police their players and the game environment greatly suffers for it. Players are MUDs are generally kinder and better behaved than those on the graphical games and MUD administrators are more apt to remove disruptive players. Social interaction is a large part of online gaming and that interaction is only worthwhile if it is positive.
The bottom line is that MUDs are still around and thriving. For these reasons above and more they've kept me captivated and entertained for years.
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