[MUD-Dev2] Text based MUD's - State of the art (if any)

[Galleus, the Sky Sovereign]

Tiago wrote:
> Hey all,
>
> I know that this question surfaces from time to time, but, what is your opinion on developing text based muds these days ? I've started one from scratch, as a hobby, and to experiment stuff like multithread programming and creature AI without the hassle of building a GUI.
>   
I was a player for a long time before volunteering on a commercial MUD, 
but I've since taken over as the lead producer and have been in the 
position for over a year now. The MUD is my major source of income, so 
it's definitely possible to make a MUD now and find a playerbase willing 
to pay if you use the right business model.

I'm hesitant to suggest doing so until you've broken out of the mold of 
traditional ROM or Circle based MUDs and started developing or using a 
proprietary engine for the task. If you want to make a MUD that's just 
for you and friends to play around with, there's certainly no need of 
that, and you can even use a traditional codebase and find a playerbase 
willing to support you. I think what allows commercial MUDs to survive, 
though, is that they provide something more unique than is generally 
found in the thousands of MUDs already up and running.


Eric Lamy