[MUD-Dev] Re: Self-Sufficient Worlds

[lapsos]

[Chris Lloyd <crl199 at soton.ac.uk>]:

> This is something a friend and I are considering as we draw out the
> guidelines for a future MUD...
>
> In a perfect MUD, the entire world is run by the PCs. Cities, guilds,
> clans and so on are all determined by the players. Every MUD has quests
> to do and monsters to bash, but what about the rest of the game
> mechanics?

  Generally this would be a question of what you felt a MUD was.  In this
sense the MUD you described here is more of a sim-mud.  In my 'perfect
MUD' it would be a combination of both.  Not all players are going to want
to spend their time doing tedious labor/work and would prefer to just bash
the brains of some green goblins.  For this reason you need NPCs to
pick up some slack.  One possible way of setting this up would be:

  Create a position within a city for merchant handling.
  Set an NPC to this position 'initially'.
  Allow PC's to work for this position so the NPC can be replaced.
  Have the position delegate shop space, and shop owners.  In this way if

    you need a certain type of shop in the town but no PC currently wants
    the position, put an NPC in it until you get some PC blood to do the
    work.  Since ultimately you you will want a PC in this position so you
    have an immortal do the work until a PC takes the position.  This
    allows you to avoid writing code that will one day be worthless, the
    sooner the better based on your desires.

  While not impossible to have a fully PC based world you will be limited
in world size to the amount of willing players you have.  Unless you have
a nice group of willing players to begin you will have a tiny world, which
is not a great thing for a newbie to find out who expects your world to be
expansive and engaging which can lead to your world staying small if you
are not careful.

>
> For example:
>
> Let us assume we have a simple way of making a little money - Bashing
> goblins and looting their corpses.

  I agree in an earlier post about this being a problem.  In a purly PC
run world, or even a PC dominate world, cash is a very mighty sword to
handle.  For this reason you want to put some limitations on it.  While
many options are available to this, one being listed in the other post,
here is another.

  Decide an income system that defines and controls the total amount of
  cash that can exist in the world.  You need to compensate for 'loss',
  such as coins being lost or destoryed, and for cash creation.  You then
  parse this cash out among the world to put a manipulative cap on the
  problem.  When the cash flow gets too high simply lower the natural cash
  creation amount and increase the loss amount.  If not thought out this
  can lead to a crushed economy but if you monitor everything and don't
  let it get out of hand it can be an easy way to deal with problems
  either way.

>
> How many worlds can be run without NPC help? Do they need to run without
> NPS help?

  Depends on your player base, player willingness and the difficulty of
the jobs.  If you have a really willing player and the jobs are not too
serious then multiple jobs can be handled by them at any given time.  On
the other hand if the job is highly time consuming and tedious then you
will have to account for that with more willing players.  Unfortunatly you
must usually find a way to entice players to do it for a reason above and
beyond the basic stuff.  Simply saying 'become a shop owner to make money'
doesn't really swing will with most mortals, since they can usually make
it in a variety of easier methods.  On the other hand if they are to do it
to 'get some really cool equipment' that leads to another problem.  What
do they do when they got the really cool equipment?  Their purpose for
running the shop is now dead, they move onto something else.

> A magic-user might be able to mix up a healing potion, but where does he
> get the bottle to put it in? Can he get a peddler-class PC to make it
> for him, or does he have to buy it from an NPC shop in the high-street?
> This follow for everything else: weapons, armour, clothes, and whatever
> else a player needs. Is the only way to get food to buy it from a shop
> or complete a quest, or can you hunt down a deer and cook it? There are
> always lots of other little items that an given character class needs:
> The ingredients for a spell or potion, pipes to smoke herbs in, metal to
> make armour.

  Generally if you have the manpower it's not always a bad idea to explore
many different options.  A player, with the right tools, Should be able to
build a sword.  At the same time they should be able to earn it without
the building stuff.  Components should be findable and makeable/growable.
Generally finding a balance between useful skill variations and plain old
skill floods is the end goal.  Include into this the ability to get what
you want from an NPC, for a much larger cost, and the system is usable by
most.

> Thoughts?
>
> C.
>
> --Chris Lloyd
> --Mailto:crl199 at soton.ac.uk

  In the end It is a question of the general player population.  On one
hand you have those bent on the RP factor and would Love to run their own
shops, grow their own food and do a number of other misc tasks.  But on
the other you have those who are out for nothing but blood.  Among this
you have those who shift from one to the other, and like to have the
option of doing either at any given time.  Also, regardless of how
powerful/weak AI logic is right now, NPCs are a given under most
circumstances.  You must always be able to pick up the slack for when you
do not have enough active/willing players to do work and it's usually a
good idea to be able to cater to those who simply want to kill and collect
that EQ that will be sold at those PC run shops.

	-William




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