[MUD-Dev] MUD Schools

[Chris Lloyd]

> -----Original Message-----
> From: mud-dev-admin at kanga.nu [mailto:mud-dev-admin at kanga.nu]On Behalf Of
> Alex
> Sent: Tuesday, February 20, 2001 18:03
> To: mud-dev at kanga.nu
> Subject: Re: [MUD-Dev] MUD Schools
>
> On Tue, 20 Feb 2001, David Bennett wrote:
>
> > never underestimate the power of good help files.

This is very, very, very true. Achaea's help file system is very well
organised with a clear index system. We have help files for pretty
much everything in the world, but people fail to read HELP NEWBIE,
HELP COMBAT, HELP ARMOUR (or HELP ARMOR - We do have both spellings),
and then ask "What do I do now?/How do I fight?/Can I wear armour?".

The fabled Hatchet's MUD School of Diku/Merc fame was only about 20
rooms, but it explained very simply to someone who had never played a
text game before, what to do, and brought in some of the typical
problems that players might face. One example was that of
lighting. Rooms with no lighting were quite common in the game, so
newbies were shown how to buy and use a lantern. They got some basic
equipment from bashing a few mobiles and came out knowing roughly how
to get around.

This is fine for a basic game, but MUD Schools have to be updated as
the game expands. If you introduce a new class, it needs to be
included. If you introduce a new system or method for working out the
orc population, make sure its put in, otherwise one of the most common
questions your admins will get asked is "Why can't I kill all the
orcs?"

A MUD school also should be a fair representation of the game
world. Instead of dragging a player through a set of rooms, let them
navigate it themselves, so that when they finish, they aren't just
sitting there being told what to do. It should also be impossible to
die in the MUD school - I know some worlds where anyone who chose the
mage or thief-type classes would get killed in the school, because
they had very low hitpoints and not much for offensive abilities.

C.

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