reposting of stupidly deleted article
unknown
'post news to thousands of machines throughout the entirre
civilized world, my message will cost the net hundreds if not
thousands of dollars to send everywhere'
S, ter that is over, I have a few ings to say:
The release of Merc 2.1 (a dikumud) was very improved release,
making the look and feel of the gaming environ better in most
respects, allowing it to be a fully versatile MUD. Having FTP'd
this version from grind.isca.uiowa.edu (/unix/mud/dikumud I believe)
I promptly began to write in my own little additions, to incorperate
in a game based on the HP Lovecraft Cthulhu Mythos. Being a great
fan of Lovecraft, my additions are wholly intriging, but I can't
take the full credit myself. Were it not for the countless
additions by my friends and cohorts, the project would never be
complete.
** Application of Rituals, a new type of spell require agoup
** New command 'talk to <npc> about <subject>' to add puzzles etc
** New and more interesting spells than the usual Hack n Slash
** Revised and more intelligent command set
** READ command is totally rewritten
** Addition of MUTTER and WHISPE commands
** Revamping of Vehicle to become more realistic and more versatile
** COMPLETE REWRITING OF AREAS! NO MORE MIDGAARD!
** A second look at the Diku combat system, is it working?
** Weather being re-organized
** Small visual changes
** ANSI and VT100 optional support for users
[[Cthulhu? Kuh-tool-hoo]]
SO here we are, the little kiddies back in school, the colleges
already filling up with eager young students. What has the summer
yielded for me? A new horizen in MU* fantasy gaming. I went from
Merc Diku mud to MUSH in a week, and still have a wonderous liking for
both, but you are all probably asking why? Why am I saying this?
Welp, all I can say is that I happened to bring my Diku/Merc MUD
interest to a higher level. I started modifying source code.
I suspect that when I am completely satisfied, I could perhaps call my
version a unique one, but I will never forget the Merc's and Diku's I
have played. I played NamelessMUD, Hidden Worlds, and, yes, one
other. That is the TOTAL listing of all the muds I have *EVER*
played.
Mind you I'm no newbie, I simply haven't bothered to seek out this
weeks new idea, or last months new arrival to the MUD kingdom. No,
this summer something else happened, a slightly interesting and unique
occurance that has started me on the road to a new product, a new
experience.
I've started to modify MERC 2.1 code.
Yes, thats nothing new. Almost ALL MUDs have some line or another
modified, but I tell you mine is different. For one I'm starting off
with a completely new map. NO MORE MIDGAARD. Kinda scary if you
think real hard. I can see the newbies scatter when they see that the
temple has been replaced with something so different that you may
cough up a lung.
The police station replaced the temple.]
Police station? What? How could this be, a police station? Well,
the scene for THIS merc is a bit different, as it entails the era
known only to us as the 1920s and 30s, an era of jazz clubs and blues
singers. Swingers and the rounded automobiles that were called
'motors' affectionately.
Its abig step, I'll admit, getting rid of the old areas, but there
is more, much more to be found in CthulhuMUD, the name it has been
given. I have so many plans, mostly plans that may not actually be
completed, but I'm adding new features every day, new twists on the
old Diku/Merc hybrids.
Having seen the interesting things that MUSHs and TinyPlots have to
offer, I want to encorperate MUCH more into the puzzle aspect of the
MErc source. I'm not the first, I remember how strangely familiar the
puzzle of finding the birth control pills for the queen was, and how
thre are even greater puzzles deep in the depths of the sewers (an
area where no one goes.. strangly..)
So what am I doing? What could I be adding that will help shape a
new game? I'm adding INTERACTION. Frightening, isn't it.
I plan to add an item type called button, and buttons can be pressed,
opening exits that normally can not, forcing mobs to come scrambling
out of hidden rooms and traps to appear from the walls.
I'm seriously thinking about looking at LPmud, to find out there LPC
and whats going on there..
I've added a new spell type, rituals, which suck more mana than the
best players could have..
I'm working on adding an interactive (sorta..) talking command so you
can talk to mobs!
A special room flag to make PKilling L E G A L. Strange isn't it?
There are more subtle and visual changes. A nice ANSI and VT100
system (something that the MUSE/MUCKS are mulling over in another
newsgroup) but the point is that I'm inspired to complete CthulhuMUD,
and to make it the best it can be.
MORE SPECIAL MOBS! MORE INTERACTION WITH THE MUD UNIVERSE! PLAYERS
CAN RESTRING THEIR ITEMS! WHY NOT, THERE THIERS RIGHT? MORE SPELLS,
MORE PUZZLES, MORE ONLINE CREATING FREEDOM TO ALLOW SPECIAL PLAYERS
TO _MAKE THIER OWN ROOMS_ why not? mush's do it! THE SKYS THE
LIMIT AS FAR AS I CAN GO.
Sorry, a but of caps there, but the point being is that I'd like some
feedback, so Admins who currently run MUDs, give 'er a whirl, send
some Email, reply here, whatever... players, send away, let me talk to
you, I've been there...
Lo...@telerama.pgh.pa.us
--
-LOcke-