Re: [Players] What we Want

From: Angus Mezick (amezick@edgil.com)
Date: 12/19/00


Brian Hartvigsen wrote:
>
> 1) I don't want to see a stock MUD
>         The most boring thing there is (to me anyway) is when I log into a
> MUD
> and the first place I see is Midgaard.  It's the same place no matter what
> MUD it is..  Sometimes all it is is a name change, but the layout,
> descriptions, and NPCs are the same old thing.  Very few MUDs take the
> time to develope a world anew.  They figure that if the MUD lasts they'll
> add onto it with new areas for their players to 'discover' and new NPCs
> for the players to kill.  Give me a break!  Why not give it to them
> upfront?  I would much rather be thrown into a world that I had no idea
> where the Silver Dragon was or if there was even a Silver Dragon then have
> to face another moment in Midgaard.  I'm not saying drop them into the
> world with no idea of what's going on but that goes into #2.

****
I kinda of agree, but there is a certain comfort to knowing your way around
as a newbie.  At least you know where to find food when you are starving.


>
> 2) MUD Schools (Newbie Schools)
>         Where have they gone?  More and more MUDs seem to expect their
> players to
> know exactly what to do as soon as they log on.  This isn't fair to any
> player whether experianced or not, and it's not fair to the people on the
> MUD who have to answer the same questions every 10 minutes cause Grand
> Admiral Newbie wizzed through a stock Newbie School and still doesn't know
> what he's doing.  We need to learn to make or Newbie Schools more
> interesting and intensive.  How would you like it if you relized that
> without the diploma the teacher gave you the executioner won't let you
> leave the temple?  Wouldn't you like to know what sets the MUD your on
> apart from the rest?  Tell them in the Newbie School.  Give them a history
> lesson, a language lesson, maybe even a 'fencing' lesson (you know that
> little +10% to short swords).  Instead of a bunch of room descriptions
> telling the players everything get them involved!

****
Newbie Schools are good, if you are the only newbie in it.  Get 5-10
newbies running around at once and they are pure hell.  Then again, I could
just be remembering crappy newbie schools.


> 4) Mobs & Hack -n- Slash
>         Have you ever wondered what you players would do if they relized
> that
> fido wasn't coming back after they killed him?  Wouldn't it just suck for
> them if they actually had to go out and find new NPCs to hunt?

****
We added a feature that gives you less exp each time you kill a mob on
phoenixmud.  Everytime you kill the mob, the exp is reduced by 1%.  The mud
remembers the last 128 mobs you have killed and if you kill something it is
bumped to the top of the list.  It works really well at breaking people out
of their pattern.


One of my biggest gripes is people knowing what the best eq on the mud is
and know all the stats by heart.  I have choosen to remove as many numbers
as I can from the game and give them armor class like wordings.  Are you
Fugly or Handsome?  Each word represents a range of potential scores.  For
items I am thinking of adding in the item stat tweaking that was discussed
on this list some time ago.  On load, each item would have a chance to be
better or worse than its base stats.  It is really fun to watch the
auctions for such items.
--Angus

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