EVOLUTION response

[claw at null.net]

On 22/03/97 at 01:27 AM, "Jon A. Lambert" <jlsysinc at ix.netcom.com>
said: >> From: claw at null.net
>> 
>> Here's the post that Jon referenced:
>> 
>Wow. You pulled that out your hat fast! 

Dejanews is fun -- especially since I remembered the thread and had
some of my old posts to it on hand to key off to find the original.

>I guess I should point out a few things that piqued my interest in
>this overly long treatise.   Most of my comments relate  to game
>style preferences rather than technical aspects. So read no further
>if you seek coding comments.

>> And so I propose a MUD where there is more than one way
>> to play the game.  Gods are gods, and have their place
>> in interacting with the mortals and creating more of
>> the world.   Merchants trade between cities and pay
>> attention to the times.  Politicians vie for rule of
>> the cities and go to war occasionally.  Adventurers
>> hunt down monsters or treasures, or occasionally other
>> players, for rewards given out by other players.
>> Seasons change, bringing new hardships, famine, and
>> reasons for people to work together.  Characters grow
>> old and die, passing skills and property on to their
>> children.

>This is exactly what I wish to achieve.  I should just paste this
>into my mud specification. ;-)

Funny.  This too is what I want, except that I don't want such a
real-world simulation.  I specifically want much of the game *not* to
be predictable on the basis of what would happen in roeal life --
while maintaining the internal logical consistancy of the game of
course...

>> 2.0        The Feel of Entering an AmalgaMUD
>> 
>> Logging in should have the atmosphere of the
>> AmalgaMUD.  As soon as the players connect to the
>> site, they should be drawn in to the world.  In mine,
>> the character begins floating in a dream like void.  A
>> god-like being approaches and asks a few questions,
>> creating the character, then sends them down to the
>> planet below, getting an overview of the world as they
>> descend.  The purpose of this is to let the player get
>> into the feel of the game right from the start  We
>> want the players to be enjoying the game as soon as
>> possible.
...
>I have seen close to the exact dream sequence described here on a
>mud.  I cannot remember which one it was.

Its been used more than once.  For a while it was real popular with
LPs.

>> 3.0        A Different Type of Deity
>> 
>> In every MUD I have visited, a Deity or god or wizard
>> was either a player who played the game so much as to
>> "earn" they name by obtaining experience points, or a
>> player who asked another Deity, god, or wizard for the
>> ability to edit the MUD.  Neither of these are, in my
>> opinion, characters that the players can have fun
>> with.  I propose a Deity as a profession.  A player
>> may start out as a Deity as soon as they begin the
>> game.

>I like the idea of the diety participating in gameplay.   However to
>allow this profession upon entry to the mud world may
>be ill-advised.  

It gets better if you allow diety as a profession, but make the powers
of a fledgeling diety miniscule, very difficult to advance, and the
minor diety himself prone to attack.  Thus the game becomes much the
same for them -- advancement for greater powers.  The difference being
of course that an advanced diety is quite a powerhouse.  

>> 
>> 9.7        Inns and Homes
>> 
>> Ah yes.  What to do with the character when the player
>> wants to rest?
>> 
>I like keeping the player in the game.  And players should be
>encouraged to find an appropriate place of safekeeping.  I don't
>particularly favor draining the occasional player dry of all there
>hard won assets.

I take a very hard line here:

  Logging out does not remove a player's characters from the game. 
The continue to be present and subject to the other players and
mobiles in the game.  Should the player's character have accumulated
equipment or other items (spells, points, mana, whatever, or even his
life) that he wishes to retain till his next login, it is up to the
player to adequately protect the character thru scripting, defenses,
castles etc to that end.  

  Logging out does not mean your character is safe any more.  It just
means that you don't see what happens to it any more.

--
J C Lawrence                               Internet: claw at null.net
----------(*)                              Internet: coder at ibm.net
...Honourary Member of Clan McFud -- Teamer's Avenging Monolith...