[MUD-Dev] Self-Sufficient Worlds

[F. Randall Farmer]

At 11:22 AM 4/26/00 +0100, Chris Lloyd wrote:

>In a perfect MUD, the entire world is run by the PCs. Cities, guilds, clans
>and so on are all determined by the players.

Is this really achievable or desirable? Mr. Lloyd seems to think that
this is obviously so, but I don't see it at all.

I'm not even sure what it means. If you look at the universe of
MUDs, in one sense this is already true: People who like MUDs (PCs)
may fire up a server, and create their own "pocket" of the greater
MUD universe. They "run" all the things listed above.

In another sense, (the one I _think_ Chris meant: A self-sustaining
/self-perpetuating MUD, with no admin staff.]) this is probably
impossible. There are two many dimensions that can get screwed up.

Just look at the failed self-sufficient in-world
economies in virtual worlds everywhere. Even with very few
economic variables (like in the Habitats) it is damn hard
to keep the economy from flaking out. Then there's UO. :-)

Heck, the REAL WORLD has serious economic, scaling, ecological,
and social problems, and it's run by "PCs." It's far from
just about everyone's sense of "ideal."

Randy

F. Randall Farmer                "Home pages are passe', everybody's
Communities.com                  building a palace" - Time Magazine
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