On-line text RPGs

[cyberfluxor]

These have been around for quite a long while and used in both chatrooms and scripted on websites. I was curious as to how many people actually play these games and how often they do.

[Mianrtcv]

I have always intended to give it a shot, but never have found the time to do it.

I played some old text adventures on the older home computers (apple II, commodore type stuff).

[Berserker]

I'm not sure what the chatrooms and "scripted on websites" thing is about, but what you describe fits the bill of a type of game called a MUD(Multi User Dungeon), which is played via telnet, and there are literally thousands of them.

No one in their right mind uses say, the stock windows telnet client to connect to these things though. There are special clients called, fittingly enough, MUD Clients, that are specially designed with these kinds of games in mind.

One I recommend checking out if it's you're first time with these kinds of games is called zMUD (http://www.zuggsoft.com/). Now, the bad news is that it costs money to get the full version, but it gives you a 30-day trial, which allows you to at least check it out. It comes with a builtin list of many many MUDs, which is mainly why I recommend it for first-timers. After you get settled in to how things work, and find a MUD that you like, you could probably hunt around for a viable free client, which I've heard are out there if you look for them. Me, I just shelled out the 20 or so bucks to register it years ago, and have just stuck with that.

Now, the good news: almost all of them are absolutely free to play. There are a scarce few, namely games like Dragonrealms and Gemstone IV that you've got to pay a subscription for, but the great great majority of them are absolutely free. If you can't figure out which one to try first, I'd suggest Aardwolf.

Anyways, hope this helps.

[Sosage]

Aliens vs. Predator (http://www.avpmud.com/) and Fallout were fun (can't find it anywhere). Keep in mind I am not a MUD expert.

In relation. A more browser based "MUD-like" experience that is cool is <a href=http://www.urbandead.com>Urban Dead</a>. I've been playing it for 2 weeks now. Very entertaining if you play with a regular group of people. A bit unbalanced for some classes (Fireman you'll level up in a day or two with the most powerful melee weapon in the game...Consumer you'll level up in a week to a week and a half with a skill that is only helpful late in the game and you have the most useless item in the game...namely the cell phone), but what class based game doesn't have this sort of design problem?

[Amy Rose]

When I was 14 or so, I was advised to play one of these with an alias such as "cutegirl"...

I'm sure you can guess what happened. :P

[Raedon]

I used to play MUDs all the time when I first got the internet. Zork with real people. That was back before HTML though.

[XianXi]

not really an RPG but a text based GTA.

If you haven't played it.

www.midnitechallenge.com

[Daria]

When I was 14 or so, I was advised to play one of these with an alias such as "cutegirl"...

I'm sure you can guess what happened. :P

You had random guys offering to help you level up and give you free equipment?

At least that's what happens to me in every online game I've ever played.

[cyberfluxor]

XianXi has more of the idea of what I'm getting at. I recently registered to Dark Throne (http://www.darkthrone.com) and have enjoyed it quite a bit. I tend to leave the window opened and minimized until I gain another 2 turns... But anyways, yes! These websites that have players create something and face off against others to gain more points and experience than the rest to be #1. There are a few MUD things I tried too, but I'm just not into the look around and imagine where you're at with a texted description. And about the chat rooms, usually on IRC or in private chat windows through AIM/MSN/Yahoo/ICQ they would have a list of moves for your character and have a random damage generator to take down hp. There would be a regulator to confirm attacks and victories, followed by copying the event onto a forum or some output file and applying stats to that character. They would level up like any other RPG and create teams. Some of the biggest ones I can recall consisted of Dragonball Z and Gundam Wing characters.

[dan2357]

I used to use zmud back in the day. I think I stopped when I updated the version and my crack stopped working and I had to pay for it.
I think I used to play one my the name of Wheel of time or something liek that.
Anyone know what im talking about with regards to that game?

[Berserker]

Anyone know what im talking about with regards to that game?

A few seconds of googling turned up this:

http://www.wotmud.org/

Is this the game you played? Basically the biggest problem I've have with MUDs is that there are only a few that have a regular cache of players. That's one of the reasons why I stick to Aardwolf, when I do occasionally play anymore. They've got a peak playerbase of about 500 players, with usually something more like 3 or 400 on at any given time.

Aardwolf is more in the vein of Everquest and modern MMORPG's in that it's mostly a character building game, where you spend most of your time fighting, questing, and participating in clanwars, as opposed to something more "immersive" and "realistic" like Dragonrealms, which basically translates to you sitting around braiding grass into rope all day(I am NOT kidding) to enhance some inane skill so that you can train things that you actually want. Don't get me wrong though, those games can be fun too, but I just don't have the patience for it, especially if I'm going to be paying for it.


cyberfluxor, the site you posted seems to be down at the moment, but I think I know what you're getting at. Basically, MUDs but with some graphical iconery, and less text. You might want to check out a game called Illusia (http://www.illusia.com/), as this is very much in the same vein. It's basically a MUD, but with avatars, pictures, builtin map, a visual battle system, and other various doodads. It's in alpha, but it's been in alpha since the late 1990's, so I don't think it's going anywhere. You have to sign up for it, but it's more or less instant access. I played this game years ago, having had a friend that was way into it, but I've haven't really been in there lately. There were about 50 people on last time I was there. Still, might be worth checking out if that's your kind of thing.

[cyberfluxor]

cyberfluxor, the site you posted seems to be down at the moment, but I think I know what you're getting at. Basically, MUDs but with some graphical iconery, and less text. You might want to check out a game called Illusia (http://www.illusia.com/), as this is very much in the same vein. It's basically a MUD, but with avatars, pictures, builtin map, a visual battle system, and other various doodads. It's in alpha, but it's been in alpha since the late 1990's, so I don't think it's going anywhere. You have to sign up for it, but it's more or less instant access. I played this game years ago, having had a friend that was way into it, but I've haven't really been in there lately. There were about 50 people on last time I was there. Still, might be worth checking out if that's your kind of thing.

I checked out that site and it looked really promissing but like you said, there's be little progress in the past few years. That's a major turn off because it makes it look like an abandoned project. :\

[Sniderman]

Online text adventures? How about all of the Infocom text adventure games written to run in an online applet? (http://www.xs4all.nl/~pot/infocom/)

Yeah, good to play The Lurking Horror again. For free. Without any downloads. :D

[kainemaxwell]

I used to play Gemstone 3 on MSN game zone for awhile and loved it. Anyone play The Hermit for the C=64?

[nass]

Nice thread guys =)

I'm the webmaster at http://wotmud.org and saw a referral into here and decided to check it out. If you have any questions about the above, pm me?

Fwiw, the last year/2 years has been hell on MUDs. So many good MMORPGs have been created that many are losing players, which is really quite sad. Hence I religiously check referrals, to see if I can drive a bit more traffic towards the site.

Regards,

Nass

[dan2357]

Anyone know what im talking about with regards to that game?

A few seconds of googling turned up this:

http://www.wotmud.org/

Is this the game you played? Basically the biggest problem I've have with MUDs is that there are only a few that have a regular cache of players. That's one of the reasons why I stick to Aardwolf, when I do occasionally play anymore. They've got a peak playerbase of about 500 players, with usually something more like 3 or 400 on at any given time.

Aardwolf is more in the vein of Everquest and modern MMORPG's in that it's mostly a character building game, where you spend most of your time fighting, questing, and participating in clanwars, as opposed to something more "immersive" and "realistic" like Dragonrealms, which basically translates to you sitting around braiding grass into rope all day(I am NOT kidding) to enhance some inane skill so that you can train things that you actually want. Don't get me wrong though, those games can be fun too, but I just don't have the patience for it, especially if I'm going to be paying for it.


cyberfluxor, the site you posted seems to be down at the moment, but I think I know what you're getting at. Basically, MUDs but with some graphical iconery, and less text. You might want to check out a game called Illusia (http://www.illusia.com/), as this is very much in the same vein. It's basically a MUD, but with avatars, pictures, builtin map, a visual battle system, and other various doodads. It's in alpha, but it's been in alpha since the late 1990's, so I don't think it's going anywhere. You have to sign up for it, but it's more or less instant access. I played this game years ago, having had a friend that was way into it, but I've haven't really been in there lately. There were about 50 people on last time I was there. Still, might be worth checking out if that's your kind of thing.

Damm you google, yep that was it. I wonder if my chacter is still in there?


well after following the link and trying nope its gone. I guess they don't keep records for 10 years.

[nass]

err, who was your character?

[Jibbajaba]

Online text adventures? How about all of the Infocom text adventure games written to run in an online applet? (http://www.xs4all.nl/~pot/infocom/)

Yeah, good to play The Lurking Horror again. For free. Without any downloads. :D

http://www.virtualapple.com/

Play any Apple II or IIgs game through your browser.

Chris

[Mattiekrome]

My buddy in college used to play one of those all the time. The name escapes me at the moment, but he talked me into trying it. Maybe I was too impatient, but man I do remember it sucking horribly

[dan2357]

err, who was your character?

My name was Sagira, back in I think 1997. I went on today, and it let me ceate a new chacter with that name.
One of my buddies I used to work with got me into it, he would go on and on about the hours he spent on it, quest they were making, meetings he was going to and it got me curious. Damm I wish I could remember his chacters name, although I think he moved or went to school and someone else took his chacter over. (was a main chacter in the books)

I tryed playing today but I need to read the site info a little more, couldn't figure out how to hold a shield, light a torch, or some other things.

[kainemaxwell]

Anyone here played Gemstone 3 ever or lately?

[Berserker]

Anyone here played Gemstone 3 ever or lately?

Well, lately it goes by the name Gemstone IV, and you can find it here:

http://www.play.net/gs4/

I can't say that I ever played it, but I have played Dragonrealms, which is made by the same people. It was the first MUD I ever played, around 1996. Though the braiding grass thing still stings my memory, I actually thought it was a pretty immersive and interesting game. Of course, when I found out you could play all kinds of these type of games for free, I bailed.

Gemstone IV, Dragonrealms, and probably every other Simutronics game costs a minimum of $15 bucks a month to play... yeah, I'm probably not going to sign up either. There's a free 30-day trial though, which should be enough for a short nostalgia trip for anyone who's played those games in the past.

Also, welcome to the boards nass! Around how many people play your MUD regularly? I don't really need hundreds of people playing to enjoy myself, but a few regulars would be nice. I'll probably give it a whirl tomorrow when I've got some free time.

[Avatard]

I used to play Darkness Falls. It was kinda interesting. I dunno if its still around. Maybe I'll check.

[nass]

err, who was your character?

My name was Sagira, back in I think 1997. I went on today, and it let me ceate a new chacter with that name.
One of my buddies I used to work with got me into it, he would go on and on about the hours he spent on it, quest they were making, meetings he was going to and it got me curious. Damm I wish I could remember his chacters name, although I think he moved or went to school and someone else took his chacter over. (was a main chacter in the books)

I tryed playing today but I need to read the site info a little more, couldn't figure out how to hold a shield, light a torch, or some other things.

Long time ago then, just as we were starting out =) I've been there more or less from the beginning, I used to be known as Nassau but I'm just Nass now. Maybe that rings a bell? Unfortunately I can't remember that name, sagira, at all =(. We have playerfiles dating back a few years and I can't find anything like it =(

Your best bet if you're stuck on something is just post here: http://wotmud.org/forums/viewforum.php?type=0&forum=9&5888

This is the section of our forums specifically designed for people to post questions



Anyone here played Gemstone 3 ever or lately?Also, welcome to the boards nass! Around how many people play your MUD regularly? I don't really need hundreds of people playing to enjoy myself, but a few regulars would be nice. I'll probably give it a whirl tomorrow when I've got some free time.

Thanks Berserker =). We get between 30 and 150 or so people playing at the same time, it's in the 30s when the US is asleep and rises at US pm time. It's one of the busier ones, but obviously not as busy as some :)

Anyway, I hope y'all try it out, MUDs are definitely retro, and great fun too :)

Regards,

Nass

[kainemaxwell]

Anyone here played Gemstone 3 ever or lately?

Well, lately it goes by the name Gemstone IV, and you can find it here:

http://www.play.net/gs4/

I can't say that I ever played it, but I have played Dragonrealms, which is made by the same people. It was the first MUD I ever played, around 1996. Though the braiding grass thing still stings my memory, I actually thought it was a pretty immersive and interesting game. Of course, when I found out you could play all kinds of these type of games for free, I bailed.

Gemstone IV, Dragonrealms, and probably every other Simutronics game costs a minimum of $15 bucks a month to play... yeah, I'm probably not going to sign up either. There's a free 30-day trial though, which should be enough for a short nostalgia trip for anyone who's played those games in the past.

Also, welcome to the boards nass! Around how many people play your MUD regularly? I don't really need hundreds of people playing to enjoy myself, but a few regulars would be nice. I'll probably give it a whirl tomorrow when I've got some free time.

Ah. I was becoming a pretty kickass Rogue over in Icemule when my 30-day free trial ran out too.

[googlefest1]

some years ago i gae it a wack - it was fun then but i dont think i could get into it now

[calthaer]

I just started Urban Dead today, too. A few of my co-workers play it.

Pretty decent text / java-based adventure, with organized groups, plans, strategy...etc. I started out in the far NE corner of the game, in Dulston. Fairly slow going, as your action points are limited each day, but pretty fun overall.

[filmbucket]

I used to play Terris all the time on aol...that was actually one of my favorite Role Playing experiences