Yoda's MUD 101
 

 WHAT IS A MUD

        MUD’s have been described as text-based virtual reality. Essentially, a MUD is a text setting (like a description from a novel) which allows users to interact both with their environment and with other users. Structurally, MUD’s are made up primarily of descriptions of real and imagined areas such as endor forests, Imperial Garrisons, offices, Newbie schools, cities, rooms, or any other spatially oriented environment. Users can navigate through and examine these settings, and can communicate with other users within the context and confines of the particular setting of the MUD. Socially, then, MUD’s provide users with a grounded situation in which to interact with others at near real time speed. Communication commands are modeled on real life, with “say,” “tell,” “whisper,” and “shout,” "gos" "congrats"among the most common commands. Non-verbal communication is also incorporated into the virtual world. A user can, for instance, shake hands with, or smile at, another user. Like the description says, MUD’s are text-based virtual reality. Something to note, however: obviously, the authors and programmers of MUD’s are rarely famous authors. In fact, very few MUD’s exist as commercial entities. For the most part, their creators and administrators work entirely on a volunteer basis. The quality of the virtual experience depends in many ways on the imagination and thoroughness of each individual MUD’s creators; the difference in quality has as many variations as there are MUD’s.
 

 THE HISTORY OF MUD’S

New users of MUD’s often encounter a great deal of confusion simply because of the imprecision of the name and its acronym, and because of the sheer number of MUD spin-offs. In general, you should know that all MUD’s, no matter what their name, have the same foundational premises: on all of them you can walk around a virtual world, and on all of them you can interact with other users. You are safe to call them all MUD’s, though some will complain about your lack of accuracy. The confusion over the name stems from the origin of MUD’s.

Between 1979 and 1980, Roy Trubshaw and Richard Bartle developed a program called Multi-User Dungeon at Essex University in England. They called it MUD1. Originally, the project was a commercial venture, but students became involved in both playing and programming the game. Some of these students actually created their own versions of MUD1. The first was called AberMUD (programmed at Aberstwyth), and was distributed over JANet (Joint Academic Network) and the Internet. Both MUD1 and AberMUD were entirely game oriented. Remember, the 1980’s was the zenith of interest in TSR’s Dungeons and Dragons. As in D & D, players of MUD1 were there to explore dungeons, fight monsters, buy swords, and become powerful wizards. However, once MUD1 entered a br oader academic forum via AberMUD, it grew once again. From AberMUD came TinyMUD and LPMUD. This growth marks a crucial change in the world of MUD’s: LPMUD continued the gaming tradition of its predecessors, but TinyMUD was developed as more of a social environment than a game. No dragons here, just a place to interact and create interesting things. Hence, a confusing renaming took place. The “D” in TinyMUD came to mean “Dimension,” or “Domain,” or “Dialogue,” or anything that didn’t sound like a game . The “D” in LPMUD continued to mean “Dungeon,” but eventually also meant “Dimension” when different LPMUD’s started to provide gaming settings not based on dungeons and medieval scenarios. To this day, the distinction, and the ensuing confusion, still exists, and there’s no sign of things getting any better: one descendent of TinyMUD now bears the name “MUSH” for “Multiple User Shared Hallucination”.

TIP: As a general rule, MUD’s are divided into two categories: 1) games, and 2) purely social environments. Both LPMUD and MUD nearly always refer to a game with some form of combat, while TinyMUD and its descendants, TinyMU CK, TinyMUSH, and TinyMOO, all refer to more socially oriented MUD’s.

MUCK, MUSH, and MOO are all variations of TinyMUD. Each is a step away from the game atmosphere towards MOO, which is the main type of non-game-oriented MUD. If you want to know the whole fifteen year saga, check outLauren Burka’s WWW site at “http://www.ccs.neu.edu/home/lpb/muddex.html”.

Playing MUDS

Though the beginning of this chapter stresses the people behind the computers in the world of MUD’s, many users of MUD’s wish to submerge the reality both of the computer and of the real people working the computers in order to achieve a virtual reality experience. The original creator of MUD1, Dr. Richard Bartle, wrote that:

MUA’s [Multiple User Adventures (MUD’s)] can exert an influence over a large number of...players all out of proportion to that of either a chatline or a game alone. MUA’s have an emotional hold over their players which stems from the players’ ability to project themselves onto their game persona, feeling as if the things which happen to the game personae are happening directly to the players themselves....The really exceptional thing about interactive, multi-user computer games of the MUA variety is n ot that you’re chatting to someone miles away (although that can be fun), and it’s not that you’re competing against a real human instead of a machine (although that can also be fun); it’s that you’re existing in another world. That’s the root of their a ppeal.

His observation certainly holds true in the world of games. Though games are not the specific focus of this chapter, you will be able to use all the skills you learn in the next sections within a game context. Remember, all MUD’s (Tiny and LP) work on the same principles. Once you learn one, you’ll be able to use them all at the basic level.

In most MUD games you have one central goal: kill things. By killing things, you gain points, and by gaining points you go up levels. Once you have made it through all the levels you become a wizard. As a wizard, you gain the power to actually crea te your own area, that is, if you’re zealous enough to learn to program. Typically, don’t expect to become a wizard in less than a year if you’re only going to play for an hour a day. The combat system is designed to be extremely slow in order to prohib it players from shooting up the ranks too quickly, and, hence, from not knowing what to do once they become wizards.

That gives you a skeletal structure. The interesting part is finding out what each individual MUD does to enhance that structure. MUD games can get incredibly elaborate. If you get hurt in a fight, what do you do? Drink alcohol to heal, or cast a healing spell, or drink a potion. If you’re drunk from healing, you can’t fight, so how do you get sober? Drink some coffee, or sleep it off. Sound familiar? Most MUD games go much further. Choose your race, learn new languages and speak them only to others who know your tongue. Join players’ guilds and gain special powers (telepathy, spells, skill enhancement) from devotion, deeds, and donations. Engage in one on one combat with another user, or in full scale multi-user battles. Go on a quest to increase your level. Buy a dog or a hawk from a pet store that follows you around and fights with you. Decide which weapon and armour suits your class: monks can’t use weapons because they need their hands free for martial arts. Truly, some MUD games g o into seemingly endless detail.

The fun for most users is discovering those details. Therefore, your best bet for getting involved in MUD games is either to jump right in and figure it out as you go, or to follow through the next section learn some MUD basics: communicating and mov ing. You can then learn each individual MUD game’s style of combat when you get there. Follow the instructions below on connecting to MUD’s, but you won’t have to type “connect guest”. Just wait for the game to prompt you for information. Section 1.8 of this kit lists a few games for you to try, and gives you information on how to find out about the hundreds more.

  CONNECTING TO MUD’S

The simplest and most common way to connect to a MUD is to use TELNET. Since TELNET is a generic Internet tool, however, it can provide only basic screen formatting and text editing. There are connection tools called “clients” (described later ) that provide much neater interfaces to MUD’s, but TELNET provides usable access that’s easy to learn. Many MUD’s try to take into account the fact that the majority of their users only have TELNET. Those MUD’s design special features to make up for what can occasionally be a fairly jumbled and ugly screen display.

TASK 1: CONNECT TO A MUD

You will be connecting to a MUD of the DIKU circle type  called Star Wars Universe. Star Wars Universe is the largest of all Star wars MUDS, in fact, it was rated as one of the top four muds on the internet by Web Magizine. Dec. 1997 .  This MUD has grown faster player wise then building so luckily, this means there will be lots of users waiting to assist you.  The amount of time that elapses between you typing a command and the MUD responding to it is called “lag”. Understand not all LAG is the muds fault.

1) Click on your telent application (In win95 you have a built in one.)

2) (Win95)  Click on the Connect file then click on remote system.You should get a box , in the first slot type in (Linux.Hartford.Edu )  Please understand you do not include the ( ) symbols they are only there to show you what you should type. In the second slot, type in 4000 , make sure you delete the world telent. Then just click the button connect. All MUD addresses will have either four or five components: a series of either three or four words separated by periods, and a four digit “port number,” in this case “4000”. Sometimes your computer won’t be able to convert the words to numbers. If your TELNET can’t locate the host, you can try giving it the actual numeric address. Most MUD lists provide both.

Once you complete Step 2, your should get the following on your screen:

Do you support the ANSI color standard (Yn)?

You need to type Y for yes or N for no ...If you have a modern computer go ahead and type Y...Color is worth it...

Now you should get ...
 

Star Wars Universe

               Based on CircleMud 3.0 created by Jeremy Elson
                          Modified  Design By
                            Dwayne Cadogan
-----------------------------------------------------------------
             Emperors                    |        Grand Moffs
                                         |
 Colossus, Kuran, Mikestorm & Quema      |  Ackbar, Lynn, & Cuda
-----------------------------------------------------------------
Type 'thanks' when you enter to see who we are greatful to
 

Your player name?

 
 

Here you need to set up your character...
type in your Character name then follow the questions asked.

You will be asked for your password ...Please make this secret as possible.

Then for your SEX

Finally Your Race:  I have included them here for you.
HUMAN

A human is the only race that can attain the status of the Emperor's
Hand (Magic User). There are no modifications to attributes.
  POSSIBLE CLASSES: ALL

WOOKIEE

Wookiees come from the planet Kashyyyk, known for their life debts and
deep respect for honor. They are muscular, two-meter tall creatures covered
with fur and bearing a mouthful of sharp teeth. These bipedal creatures are
intelligent and friendly, and remain firmly committed to honor. Therefore
they can only be in an honorable class.
 POSSIBLE CLASSES: WARRIOR, BOUNTY HUNTER, JEDI
 ATTRIBUTES: DEX -1 CON +1 STR +2

RODIAN

Rodians hail from the planet Rodia, in the Tyrius star system. Rodians
are a bipedal people, with multifaceted eyes, tapir-like snouts, and greenns. Due to the fact that all rodians are obsessed by violence and
death, they are excellent bounty hunters and warriors.
 POSSIBLE CLASSES: WARRIOR, BOUNTY HUNTER, JEDI
 ATTRIBUTES: INT -1 STR +1 CON +1 DEX +2

ITHORIAN

Ithorians are sometimes called 'Hammerheads.' Their heads are shaped
like an 'S' with long, curved necks topped by a T-shaped cranium. Ithorians
have mouths on both sides of their curved necks, giving them an odd stereo
sound when they speak. Since they are traditionally non-violent creatures
they prefer the more peaceful classes.
 POSSIBLE CLASSES: HEALERS, JEDI
 ATTRIBUTES: DEX +1 CON -1 INT +1 WIS +2

TWI'LEK

The Twi'lek live on the hard twilight world of Ryloth, where one side of
the planet was always hot, arid dry, while the other side was cool. They
have twin tentacular appendages coming from the back of their pointed skulls"
And red eyes that can see in the dark. The race is known for their ability
to adapt, as well as their extreme cunning and lack of conscience. For  they enjoy the more shadier classes
 POSSIBLE CLASSES: THIEVES, BOUNTY HUNTER, JEDI
 ATTRIBUTES: STR +1 DEX +1 CHA -1 INTEL +1

DEVARONIAN
The Devaronians are mamallian bipeds. The males of the species have
completely hairless, red-tinted skin, with a pair of dark horns growing
their heads, while the females are covered with a mat of thick fur ranging
in color from white to brown, and are hornless. Devaronians enjoy travelling
and their classes relate to their 'devilish' appearance.
 POSSIBLE CLASSES: THIEVES, BOUNTY HUNTERS, WARRIOR, JEDI
 ATTRIBUTES: INT +1 WIS +1 CON -1 DEX -1

GOTAL

Gotal are large bipeds with two cone-shaped protuberances on the tops
of their heads. They have gray-brown, coarse-skinned faces with knobby
brows set over red-tinted eyes, flat noses that protrude only a centimeter
or so from their facial plane, and mouths filled with sharp incisors.
Shaggy gray fur covers the rest of their bodies. Gotals use their cones
for sensory perception and can see in the dark.
 POSSIBLE CLASSES: HEALERS, WARRIORS, JEDI, THIEVES, BOUNTY HUNTERS ES: STR +1 DEX +1 WIS -1 CON +1 CHA -2

Chose your race:

   [H]uman   [W]ookiee    [R]lodian [I]thorian
   [T]wi'lek [D]evaronian [G]otal

At this time You will need to choose one of them by typing in the first letter.

Next you should get something like this...
Str: 18/0  Dex: 15  Con: 18  Int: 18  Wis: 11  Cha: 10  Ave: 15

Your Attributes are:
Do you want to keep these stats?

 
All you need to do is type yes or no .

You will then be asked for your email address. We do not share this with anyone, but you must have a valid addy in order to play here.

The next step is usually your hardest to do....Picking your class

Select a class:
  [B]ounty Hunter
  [S]muggler
  [W]arrior
  [J]edi

The best advice would be pick which job you would most likely roleplay...

When you come to this screen....
*** PRESS RETURN:
Welcome to SWU!
0) Exit from SWU.
1) Enter the game.
2) Enter description.
3) Read about SWU.
4) Change password.
5) Delete this character.
6) Reincarnate your character.

   Make your choice:

Type in the Number (1)

CONGRATULATIONS YOU ARE NOW LOGGED ON!
 
 

 PERFORMING SOME BASIC MUD ACTIVITIES

TASK 2: COMMUNICATING AND MOVING AROUND

 Immediately after you connect, you should see "

 JediMUD: Set your prompt (type 'display')>

Type (Display 3)

And you should be in this room :
 

 Dowager Queen Wreckage
   You are standing inside the main entrance of a rather small, wrecked
ship. From the looks of it, it has been here for centuries. There is very
little left of the ship, but its hull, which itself is torn and useless.
A large sign has been mounted here, with the same text written in a
variety of different languages. Because of the angle of the crash, there
have been some stairs built to climb up to the front cockpit of the ship.
The exit from the ship is to the south, out into Mos Eisley.
Obvious exits:
  north - The Emperial Request Room
  east  - Donation Room
  south - Southern Section of Market Square
  west  - Reading Room
  up    - Dowager Queen's Cockpit
A large note has been tacked on the wall here.

It is a good idea to read all descriptions when exploring a new mud ..as it will give you clues and warnings.

To move around -- you only need to type (west) (north) (east) (south) (up) (down)
Hint: Type (autoexit) it will show you what exits are available to you.

We here at Star Wars Universe have spent hours working on help files ....to access them, all you need to do is type help and the word you need help with  ex. ( Help gossip)  Most MUDs have help files and if they don't something is seriously wrong.

The only thing else you need to do is go 2 south , and one east ,here is a newbie area designed to help players learn how to play...
 

 If you  want to get in on some of this communication. To say something to others in the same Room, type “say” then leave a space, then type your message. Your message will be sent to everyone in the room. For instance you might type : say Hi, I’ve never used a MUD before. And everyone else in the room would see: (your name)  says, “Hi, I’ve never used a MUD before.” The “say” command is your main communication device. Note that only those in the same Room will hear you. If you go to another room, only those in that room will hear you.

TIP: Now that you’ve learned how to talk to other users in a MUD, you should know the most useful command you’ll ever learn: say I’m new...could someone please help me learn to use a MUD? People on MUD’s are nearly always helpful and will spend their time answering your questions and teaching you the ropes. If you have a specific question, just say it, and watch carefully for the reply.  There is a special command called newbie which will allow you to ask questions over the entire mud. All you have to do is type (newbie) instead of (say). Understand all questions should be sent over newbie or say no other channels.

One of the confusing aspects of the TELNET interface is that everything you type gets mixed in with everything else. You will have to get used to this. Don’t worry if your typing is dispersed through messages that are coming up on your screen. Your command will still work when you press ENTER.

 Eventually you might want to talk to a user that is in a different room than you are, and say won’t work, and you don’t want to go all the way to that user’s location. To send a private message to one individual in the room, type “tell” followed by the user’s name, followed by your message. For instance, you might type: (tell Bill Nice to see you again!) Bill, and Bill only, would see that message. He tells, “Nice to see you again!” Note: There is a short cut when somone tells you ...Type (reply hello bill) and only the guy who just "tell" you will hear it.

Another way to talk to another person who is not in the room is a gossip channel.. You can probably guess what that is for.  Again do not ask questions over the gossip channel that is what newbie was designed for..

 Most MUD’s have built-in actions. They are easy to use and enhance the experience greatly. Try typing the following, one at a time: “smile” “bow” “wave” “laugh”. Others will see the action you do in text. Some MUD’s have hundreds of actio ns for you to use. SWU has quite a few just type social to get a list available to you.

If you want more help check out the tips page here.

Good Luck.....  And may the force be with you! 1