[MUD-Dev] Re: Ugh, IS Diablo a mud?

[##Make Nylander]

[Original message sent by Koster, Raph]
| > From: Andy Cink [mailto:ranthor at earthlink.net]
| > 
| > In my mind, there is one thing that would make something like
| > a diku a mud, whereas a game like Diablo is not (in my mind,
| > anyways) a mud. And that is permanency. I don't mean permanent
| > towns, or permanent characters, but a permanent location that
| > persists even when nobody is present.
| > 
| > Entering a game of diablo is like entering a holodeck
| > ala Star Trek. When you enter, it makes an environment
| > for you. When you leave, it disappears. When you log
| > off a mud, it does not disappear, but awaits your
| > return. Things may change while you're gone, other
| 
| Ah, indeed a difference from Diablo. This is also grounds to consider
| Quake, Warcraft et al not muds either.

	A DikuMUD environment is not persistent, either. When you
	restart the server, all objects, NPCs and exits between
	rooms in the world get reset to their pre-defined defaults.
	The same happens in Diablo, the world is persistent while
	the "server" (i.e. the game) is running, but when the
	"server" is restarted, the game resets to its pre-defined
	defaults (in Diablo's case, according to world-generation
	rules/algorithms). Diablo, however, is not a real server
	application at all like "real" MUDs are, it doesn't run
	on its own separate from its user interface. I think 
	an application's ability to function as a server 
	(independently from users/clients) is a more describing
	criteria for a MUD than world persistence.

| 
| > Because a game of Diablo is only temporary, when you try
| > to enter, it may not be there. You can't just telnet in
| > and check things out. Each time the world is different,
| > and may or may not be there when you get back.
| 
| Lots of social muds have very small worlds... can size really be a
| criterion?

	In my opinion, what is a MUD is defined by the technique
	and purpose of implementation, not by attributes of the running
	environment (e.g. the size of object database).

		newt 

--
I never regret my failures, but I regret every missed opportunity.