[MUD-Dev] Supporting RP+PG

[Matt Chatterley]

On Sun, 22 Jun 1997, Huibai wrote:

> Thanks Caliban and Jeff for your comments.
> Here are my plans already:

I glanced down this list, and some of these targets meet things I plan on,
or have already implemented (or which someone has implemented) into my
game, so I figured I'd pass on my opinions (publicly).
 
> - hiding all statistics. (HP,skills,levels,etc.)
>   health is a graphic % bar.  they've got no idea
>   what their absolute points are, only how hurt
>   out of the whole.

Hmm, I've seen games using such displays - it's a good compromise between
the purely statistical, and purely theoretical (ie: HP:50/100 or "Your
whole body aches terribly"). Depending on your end aim, it might be
worthwhile considering using the latter.

> - therefore no players should notice advancement,
>   which is incredibly minor anyway (2-3 hp).  with
>   stats less on their mind, hopefully they turn their
>   play attention to:

Certainly desirable. There might be a gulf in power between A and B (B
being four times as experienced), but A would not notice as he grew more
powerful towards B's standard, unless he tested himself against B.. yuk
I'm yakking incoherently.

> - political system (nobles/leaders have power to
>   influence the builders of their areas to make
>   at least cosmetic changes.

What else do you plan on doing with politics, and are you going to work in
religions? (Pet topic).

> - games within the mud.  there is a computer-
>   controlled hexapawn player, plus a chessboard
>   for player games, plus a couple other intellect
>   games (ACRO-nym) for groups.

Very cute. :)

> - quests are not required for anything, but they
>   will add to player abilities (improve language
>   skills, increase popularity with NPcharacters).

Quests for me are sometimes required (for instance, to gain the support
of an NPC, they may request you perform a task first), and generally
optional, with some benefit at the end, or during.

> - since all-out RPers can hop into bodies, i'll
>   encourage them to deal with 'assholes' in-theme

You hope. Dealing with 'assholes' is so difficult, I advocate simply
ignoring them, and relegating their treatment to admin.
 
> :>In bars and taverns, however, all race languages are 100% 
> 
> perhaps I'll limit this only to the game rooms, then, leaving
> bars and taverns for casual conversation with normal langs.

This would be good, thematic but not frustrating, hopefully.
 
> ambitious, yes - I want to see it work.  if it doesn't, it 
> doesn't, but I've got to try again...
> -john
> 


Regards,
	-Matt Chatterley
	http://user.itl.net/~neddy/index.html
"He can't stop us, we're on a mission from Glod!" - Soul Music (Pratchett)