[MUD-Dev] Clients

[Ling]

On Fri, 13 Feb 1998, Stephen Zepp wrote:

> I found the execution of mudding as a player using this interface to be
> much more realistic...when someone walked into the room they appeared in
> the Visible window.  When the sun went down, the room description
> updated itself.  When I left clicked on an object on the ground, by
> inventory and equipped window popped up, allowing me to manipulate items
> with point-click until I closed them.  All in all, I felt it was a much
> stronger interface then any general "one window per mud" client. 
> 
> Players hated it.  I think that out of about 20 people that saw it, one
> person actually wanted to use it continuously, and was begging to see
> the code to support it on his mud ( another ack ).  I just found that
> your generic "text mudder" is pretty set in their ways, and aren't
> interested in too much change. 

My main gripe about graphics and all things gui is the need to have a
mouse and a keyboard.  I really do hate switching from keyboard to mouse,
stick to either one interface or the other, make up your mind! :)  It's
fine for, say, something like Quake where one hand is using a mouse and
the other is operating a few keys.  Gui games requiring string inputs at
frequent intervals simply annoy me, same goes to text affairs which
require a mouse to do certain operations.  I'd rather have gui games
driven entirely by keyboard inputs.  Instead of requiring the user to
click an object, a cursor could by made to flitter from object to object
(note flitter, not moved ponderously pixel by pixel).

Muds?  Muds seem to require lengthy text input from the client (please
don't argue this point).  If there is going to be a gui, how about letting
the user work everything from the keyboard?  Besides, switching between
mouse and keys promotes RSI.  (allegedly)

  |    Ling Lo of Remora (Top Banana)
_O_O_  Elec Eng Dept, Loughborough University, UK.     kllo at iee.org