[MUD-Dev] Re: non combat muds (was: Administrative notes)

[Marian Griffith]

On Mon 12 May, Miroslav Silovic wrote:
> > On Fri 09 May, Miroslav Silovic wrote:

> > The simple way to get rid of combat twinks is to have a real (gamewise)
> > cost attached to it. Make armour and weaponry expensive to get and
> > maintain. Don't give it away for free with each corpse, but make players
> > purchase it with a armourer and weaponssmith. Make money hard to get at,
> > and make not having it a hazardous lifestyle (e.g. characters can really
> > starve to death if they don't eat enough, or the right things). Don't
> > reincarnate characters when they get killed but make that dependent on
> > the actions of other players. If you don't have friends then your characters
> > won't last long. That should make players who are looking to fight think
> > twice and give players who don't want to other things to do.

> Now while this addresses the problem of making people *not* fight, it doesn't
> give them other things to do. Another problem you didn't mention is that on
> many MUDs, the fastest way to get experience (and rise in power) is by killing
> mobs.

Don't give experience for killing anything. Don't give experience at all.
That way there's no reason to favour fighting over other activities.
And there will still be need for that armourer, smith and farmer or
the players will simply sit and wait. And if you keep the marketplaces
well away from the places things are produces then you open up your
game to real professions. If you're going to attract players with a
game that makes you find a job is another problem altogether. <gr>
 
marian
--
Yes - at last - You. I Choose you. Out of all the world,
out of all the seeking, I have found you, young sister of
my heart! You are mine and I am yours - and never again
will there be loneliness ...

Rolan Choosing Talia,
Arrows of the Queen, by Mercedes Lackey