MajorMUD recollections. Re: [MUD-Dev] Online Worlds Timeline Update

[Patrick Mahle]

"Koster, Raph" wrote:

> Still looking for info on these items:

>  ???? - MajorMUD "... a mud that originated on BBSs (MajorBBS?)
> ...this one seems important though I've never played it. I just
>  _know_ someone on this list has." - Jon Lambert

Well, yup, someone on this list has indeed played MajorMUD. So
here's more info than you could ever want:

Let's see.. I got addicted to it on a local BBS, running MajorBBS
software. Main advantage of the MajorBBS software was that it was
designed solely for running a site for profit. The time allotted you
depended entirely on how much you paid, and MajorBBS had many many
options for payment. The BBS, Games Only GOBBS, in Sacramento, CA,
was originally started for Doom/Doom2 multiplayer, using the SirIPX
IPX over dialup emulators and some futzing to get the program to
work. For places without large LANs, this was the best way to
participate in the glorious carnage of _FOUR_ player Doom. Shortly
after I started my subscription to said BBS (For the now standard
$10 a month, unlimited), they introduced something completely new to
me: MajorMUD. As I had never heard of or seen, much less played, any
MUDs but had a keen interest in Dungeons and Dragons, I gave it a
try. It had a huge help base already built. I believe this was
around 1994 or so. At this time MajorMUD was on it's second release,
which had added the help system. MajorMUD was entirely a commercial
MUD, and no changes to the code or addition of areas, items, rooms,
etc. were allowed or possible.

After playing the MUD for a while, I noticed that the BBS changed
from First Person Shooter centric to entirely based around the MUD.
BBS posts and files changed from map files and talk about maps and
kill ratings to area maps, hints and tips, and item buying and
selling. Everyone, it seemed, stayed logged in solely for the MUD,
and for much much longer amounts of time than I'd ever realized
people would.

The MUD was less based around socializing and much more about
achieving. Exploration was useless, as you would be met with instant
death if you set foot outside the area appropriate to your
level. Death met you with a loss of a favor from the gods, typically
starting at 7 and never increasing. All favors lost and your
character was wiped. Death was fairly easy to come by, but not quite
so easy once you learned the routes to patrol and what mobs to watch
for. I do not recall food or water existing when I played, but there
was Rent. However, you were allowed to Rent anywhere in the entire
city, rather than just the inn. It was rather pricey to log off, so
players tried to avoid it.

Items in MajorMUD came in two flavors. One was the normal, drops
every time off the correct brand of monster. The second dropped only
once, ever, off of special mobs. The special mobs continued to exist
after their loot was taken, but no matter what they would not ever
drop it again. Naturally, this caused some problems, being that the
first to get to point A got treasure, usually very valuable and
extremely powerful equipment, which was then off limits to every
single other player. This equipment edge usually meant that whoever
got the first piece of special equip got all the rest.

Death was handled in that your "spirit" returned to the only healer
in the game, in the main city, and was resurrected, while all of
your belongings and coins stayed on your corpse. Corpse decay was
rather brutal, deleting all items on the corpse instead of the
"exploding" corpse or lootable by others after decay. Corpse decay
time was relatively short, perhaps 15-30 minutes.

MajorMUD had one major, major problem that cropped up early on:
Scripting. Due to the almost completely static nature of the mobs,
and their well known paths (if they moved at all), it was fully
possible to create scripts that ran for as long as you liked,
killing automatically, looting, healing, and repeating in a loop
forever, with no user input required. It quickly created a way for
anyone to get to the top levels with only a time sink, and an
unattended one at that. The BBS admins of my local MajorBBS, at
least, had no problems with it as some players still paid per hour.

Shortly before I left MajorMUD once and for all, prompted by the
flagrant scripting (which I felt wasn't the right way to play, since
it wasn't PLAYING) and the one-time drop items, the company in
charge of developing MajorMUD began releasing additional areas, the
first quests, and equipment in bundles called "Modules". Each Module
cost $150-200 or so, and this prompted the sysops to question
whether the already expensive MajorMUD was worth upgrading. The
module program appears to have been a success for MajorMUD, though,
as they have gone on to Module 9 now.

As BBSs began to be made obsolete by the Internet, the company that
had made MajorBBS created a TCP/IP based BBS software called
WorldGroup. MajorMUD was made compatible shortly, and people could,
using WorldGroup's proprietary client, connect to a BBS and play
(paying to play, of course) any of the selection of MajorBBS games.

Apparently, MajorMUD dedicated servers are available for those who
wish to play over the Internet. As I lost interest in the happenings
of the mud (and, oddly enough, also UO, which I dismissed
immediately as another MajorMUD due _SOLELY_ to the monthly
fee... Oops.) I don't have any more up to date information, or exact
dates. The MajorMUD home page may turn up more precise information,
and/or more relevant information.

Forgive me for going on about it in probably uninteresting ways, but
information on MajorMUD was asked for, so despite my blurry memory,
here you go.



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