[Scrymud] Change idears?

[Noah Gibbs]

  I haven't been active in Scry for awhile, but I *do*
watch the discussions.  I'm working on a different MUD
these days, though I suspect it's not politic to plug
it on the Scry mailing list :-)
  Lot of good ideas here.  I have a couple of comments
beyond the basic "this is a lot of work".

--- Edward Roper <eroper at wanfear.com> wrote:
> - In player paper+pen games simplicity is key. In a
> computer simulation it's
>   easy for the computer to calculate complex
> algorithms and track hundreds of
>   simulation variables in real-time. Therefore there
> is no reason not to take
>   advantage of this.

  One reason springs to mind, and make sure you know
what a biggie it is:  game balance.  The alternative
to getting game balance right from the outset is
nerfing, and you already know exactly how much players
like that.  The more complex your system is, the more
adjustments you'll need to make before it works right.
 Don't be fooled into thinking you can just design it
balanced -- testing is a must, and testing with a
significant number of people is also a must.  In
practice, this means deploying it half-done (a la
Ultima Online), thought about but not really tested. 
The simpler it is, the faster you get from 50% done to
90% done, which is as far as most MUDs bother taking
it.
  Scry is already nicely at the 90% mark and mostly
sees fiddling with details, not major changes.  A
major change puts you right back at 50%.  You're
talking about some very serious changes.

> - No need to "mimic" every existing mud out there in
> terms of gameplay. I'd
>   personally rather see some serious innovation and
> new approaches taken.

  Hear, hear!  But understand that they do what they
do for a reason:  they all work the same, so there's a
lot about balance that's already understood.
  Plus, of course, most of them have little
creativity, but that's something else again :-P

> - I'd like to see more dynamic objects, as Loki
> suggested somewhere -- more
>   like a MOO.

  Most Dikuesque MUDs allow these to be built only
with immort intervention.  That's 'cause if players
get to choose stuff you not only have a balance
nightmare, even if they can only choose strings you
don't want them making a dagger called "Battleaxe of
Ultimate Slaying".

> [...] seperation that currently exists isn't
> very realistic. A
> drunken bumbling idiot with a
>   fancy well-crafted trained-warriors sword
> will NOT wield the sword as
>   effectively as the trained warrior with even a
> rusty short sword in combat.

  True.  A fine sentiment.  I feel most MUDs should go
more in this direction.  Be aware that this will be
considered nerfing by any and all poorly-trained
overequipped twinks.
  I'm still in favor :-)


=====
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noah_gibbs at yahoo.com              noah_gibbs at palm.com

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