If you use mushz for alter in particular, just use the output
window after you slaughter the mob, and only bother to read the
consider text, if you even need to. If you happen to have the
mushz download for alter, the output window can also work with
other muds, but you will have to turn on the plugin. With the
output on, all you really need to do is type l <three letters of
mob name> and then you can deal with it. If, however, your
exploring an agressive area (thinking of chaos here) it's much
easier to bring a group with you that knows your exploring,
particularly if one of them knows the area and can tell you what
to be aware of. I personally brought a necro and a mage with me,
and had plenty of time to read as many descriptions as I wanted,
because the other two would deal with the mob while I
read/examined things.
----- Original Message -----
From: "dark" <[email protected]
To: <[email protected]
Date sent: Fri, 1 Jun 2012 02:06:18 +0100
Subject: [Audyssey] My issue with muds, discuss
Recently, I was trying the game projectbob, sinse someone on
audiogames.net recommended it as needing a db entry.
it has lots of great systems or mechanics, but I realized i was
having distinct and real trouble getting into the game.
I found myself asking why, why I'd not really taken the
opportunity sinse vipmud was released to go and play many muds,
when there are so many good games available, why indeed I've put
down alteraeon slightly recently and don't find myself picking it
up, even though I'm such a huge fan of textual rpgs, avidly wait
for new updates of eamon deluxe, love games like kerkerkruip and
treasure of a slavers kingdom, not to mention gamebooks and other
brouser games, and get extremely excited and involved with the
descriptions, the writing and the atmosphere of where I'm
exploring.
?
Then it hit me.
the problem is time!
?
in a turn based game there is plenty of time to read each
description. This doesn't just go for rooms and areas, but for
monsters and attacks as well. In every mud I've played however,
you just don't get time! to fully ead and appreciate text, and in
fact usually have to skip past descriptions of enemies or their
lairs.
?
to explain, where as in a text game, if I fought my way to the
top of the tower of some evil wizard, opened the final door, I'd
slowly read the description of the evil wizard and his room to
myself, and be thinking "oh hell! what's he going to do now"
?
In a mud however, once I open the door, I don't get time! to read
the description, sinse I'll quickly be typing attack, despell
magic, and needing to skip most of the text at super speed.
?
If on the wizard's turn I read "the wizard raises one hand
towards you, and a bolt of absolutely black lightning streams
out, filling the room with a cent of burning, wrotten flehsh"
?
whatever it is going to do to my character, even if in fact my
character is amazingly hard and it does little, i'll still think
"oh no, what's this going to do, this is bad!" be invested in the
story.
?
In a mud however, I need sapi set really fast, and usually the
most I can read is "the wizard casts lightning" before I'm having
to start typing like a demon to counter, dodge, bash or whatever.
?
It rather reminds me of a wonderful moment in my weekly mutants
and masterminds game that we had recently, when we were fighting
an evil sorceress under the waters of a lake. our gm took great
pleasure in saying "you see her raising her hands, and see her
lips moving as though she's casting a spell. For some time,
nothing seems to happen, then suddenly you hear thunder above you
and a bolt of lightning strikes the lake!"
?
there was this lovely chorus of "oh hell!" which our gm very much
seemed to enjoy, as we all put two and two, or in this case water
and lightning, together, and our gm left us contemplating for a
couple of seconds before asking us to roll our toughness against
the damage of the attack.
?
Of course, this isn't to say the real time fights in mud games
aren't good fun. it is rather satisfying sometimes to think on my
feet, to realize my targit has a weapon and I can use disarm, or
cast feeble mind at a targit who's using magic.
?
The lack of ability to quickly read atmospheric text however in
muds does seem at least for me a rather major drawback,
especially when it comes to really huge encounters with bosses,
or with unusual types of monsters.
?
I know with Dentin we've discussed a preview corpse command, so
that you can get the living description of an enemy from their
dead corpse after you have slane them, which would partly at
least compensate for the problem, but I am now wondering if a
more general solution could be planned.
?
Is there a way to pause the output from a mud? ie, stop all
timers so that you just have time to read the dam text and can
have a couple of seconds contemplation before a hectic fight? if
so, this would be a great thing to have in vipmud.
?
Am I perhaps missing something here that everyone else does to
read atmospheric text in games?
?
Any thoughts?
?
I'd especially appreciate input from Dentin, and anyone else who
has written a mud on this issue, as well as experienced mud
players, sinse I do realize this is what is slightly spoiling
muds for me, despite how much i really enjoy textual rpg games.
?
All the best,
?
Dark.
---
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