<!-- MHonArc v2.4.4 --> <!--X-Subject: [MUD-Dev] Re: Levels versus Skills, who uses them and when. --> <!--X-From-R13: Oqnz Ivttvaf <nqnzNnatry.pbz> --> <!--X-Date: Mon, 18 Jan 1999 13:19:58 -0800 --> <!--X-Message-Id: Pine.SGI.3.96.990118130833.5527G-100000#zazu,angel.com --> <!--X-Content-Type: text/plain --> <!--X-Reference: 199901150422.UAA40429#under,engr.sgi.com --> <!--X-Head-End--> <!DOCTYPE HTML PUBLIC "-//W3C//DTD HTML 3.2//EN"> <html> <head> <title>MUD-Dev message, [MUD-Dev] Re: Levels versus Skills, who uses them and when.</title> <!-- meta name="robots" content="noindex,nofollow" --> <link rev="made" href="mailto:adam#angel,com"> </head> <body background="/backgrounds/paperback.gif" bgcolor="#ffffff" text="#000000" link="#0000FF" alink="#FF0000" vlink="#006000"> <font size="+4" color="#804040"> <strong><em>MUD-Dev<br>mailing list archive</em></strong> </font> <br> [ <a href="../">Other Periods</a> | <a href="../../">Other mailing lists</a> | <a href="/search.php3">Search</a> ] <br clear=all><hr> <!--X-Body-Begin--> <!--X-User-Header--> <!--X-User-Header-End--> <!--X-TopPNI--> Date: [ <a href="msg00217.html">Previous</a> | <a href="msg00219.html">Next</a> ] Thread: [ <a href="msg00196.html">Previous</a> | <a href="msg00171.html">Next</a> ] Index: [ <A HREF="author.html#00218">Author</A> | <A HREF="#00218">Date</A> | <A HREF="thread.html#00218">Thread</A> ] <!--X-TopPNI-End--> <!--X-MsgBody--> <!--X-Subject-Header-Begin--> <H1>[MUD-Dev] Re: Levels versus Skills, who uses them and when.</H1> <HR> <!--X-Subject-Header-End--> <!--X-Head-of-Message--> <UL> <LI><em>To</em>: <A HREF="mailto:mud-dev#kanga,nu">mud-dev#kanga,nu</A></LI> <LI><em>Subject</em>: [MUD-Dev] Re: Levels versus Skills, who uses them and when. </LI> <LI><em>From</em>: Adam Wiggins <<A HREF="mailto:adam#angel,com">adam#angel,com</A>></LI> <LI><em>Date</em>: Mon, 18 Jan 1999 13:19:53 -0800 (PST)</LI> <LI><em>Reply-To</em>: <A HREF="mailto:mud-dev#kanga,nu">mud-dev#kanga,nu</A></LI> </UL> <!--X-Head-of-Message-End--> <!--X-Head-Body-Sep-Begin--> <HR> <!--X-Head-Body-Sep-End--> <!--X-Body-of-Message--> <PRE> On Thu, 14 Jan 1999, J C Lawrence wrote: > Adam Wiggins<adam#angel,com> wrote: > > If people were willing to invest 100 or more hours into a mule > > character like this whose usefulness is not even all that high, > > IMO, then I'd say that using the technique Mik describes above is > > probably going to be fruitless. It may *reduce* the muling > > somewhat, but not get rid of it. > > The real problem of course is that mule exploit game design > weaknesses where certain functionalities are desirable but not worth > playing with as a regular basis. Exactly. The designer was attempting to create a character type which would allow players that don't like the other, perhaps more straightforward, character types. An attempt to introduce variety and gameplay mechanics that aren't just another damage spell or another heal spell. But when it gets used as a mule, this effect is basically negated. Worst of all is that someone that *would* want to play this character type "for real" is going to quickly discover that their character is considered pretty worthless, since everyone has their mule they can get the same thing from. (Versus, say, a typical cleric, which you actually need to have along during your excursions. The alchemists on AnotherMUD never left town once they were 50th level.) > Is the existence and use of mules *really* a problem? Why? See above. It think it's less that the *existence* of mules is a problem, and more that one character type has been rendered worthless. Generally muds are lacking in character diversity, so parring down the variety even more is a Bad Thing. > Mules add complexity, interdependence, and some amount of flavour to > a game. They are also tantamount to robots (just player based > robots). While not "fun" per se, do they actually *damage* the > game, or do they really add a value in an area a game is already > lacking in? Well, AnotherMUD also was the home of Weckle. Weckle was at first a very basic mule: a 50th level cleric with tons of mana who stood in the reception and gave people a few heals. The player who played him quickly automated the procedure via tintin triggers and tells. Soon the Weckle "program" grew to be quite complex, with responses to socials, good handling of low mana, and builtin "help" files. You could even leave "messages" for other players and file "dirs" which could later be querried (tell weckle dirs to ogres, weckle tells you "w3n10n24e15n7e3n3end"). At first he set it up so that weckle would take donations, and players who used his services a lot would give him small tips. Eventually he set it up so that there was a simple lottery program: you give him some cash, and you have a chance to win all the money that he has on hand based on a random number roll. Ocasionally the pot would get pretty high if no one got lucky for a while. Shortly before Another met its demise (*sniff*), the receptions was literally clogged with matching robots of all sorts. It became a contest to see who could write the cutest reponses. Many of the robots would even interact with each other, running a constant Punch-and-Judy show there in the reception. I would definitely say that these robots added to the mud, in many ways. They were, in the purest sense of the word, mules. However, their character types were not prone to muling. No one needed clerics any less because of Weckle's presence. And the later robots that showed up were never the underrepresented classes (eg, alchemists) - in fact they were mostly normal mages and clerics. Adam W. </PRE> <!--X-Body-of-Message-End--> <!--X-MsgBody-End--> <!--X-Follow-Ups--> <HR> <!--X-Follow-Ups-End--> <!--X-References--> <UL><LI><STRONG>References</STRONG>: <UL> <LI><STRONG><A NAME="00180" HREF="msg00180.html">[MUD-Dev] Re: Levels versus Skills, who uses them and when.</A></STRONG> <UL><LI><EM>From:</EM> J C Lawrence <claw#under,engr.sgi.com></LI></UL></LI> </UL></LI></UL> <!--X-References-End--> <!--X-BotPNI--> <UL> <LI>Prev by Date: <STRONG><A HREF="msg00217.html">[MUD-Dev] Re: Levels versus Skills, who uses them and when.</A></STRONG> </LI> <LI>Next by Date: <STRONG><A HREF="msg00219.html">[MUD-Dev] Re: Levels versus Skills</A></STRONG> </LI> <LI>Prev by thread: <STRONG><A HREF="msg00196.html">[MUD-Dev] Re: Levels versus Skills, who uses them and when.</A></STRONG> </LI> <LI>Next by thread: <STRONG><A HREF="msg00171.html">[MUD-Dev] Re: Levels versus Skills, who uses them and when.</A></STRONG> </LI> <LI>Index(es): <UL> <LI><A HREF="index.html#00218"><STRONG>Date</STRONG></A></LI> <LI><A HREF="thread.html#00218"><STRONG>Thread</STRONG></A></LI> </UL> </LI> </UL> <!--X-BotPNI-End--> <!--X-User-Footer--> <!--X-User-Footer-End--> <ul><li>Thread context: <BLOCKQUOTE><UL> <LI><STRONG>[MUD-Dev] Re: Mules (was something different)</STRONG>, <EM>(continued)</EM> <ul compact> <ul compact> <ul compact> <ul compact> <ul compact> <ul compact> <ul compact> <LI><strong><A NAME="00203" HREF="msg00203.html">[MUD-Dev] Re: Mules (was something different)</A></strong>, J C Lawrence <a href="mailto:claw#under,engr.sgi.com">claw#under,engr.sgi.com</a>, Sat 16 Jan 1999, 05:14 GMT <UL> <LI><strong><A NAME="00205" HREF="msg00205.html">[MUD-Dev] Re: Mules (was something different)</A></strong>, Hans-Henrik Staerfeldt <a href="mailto:hhs#cbs,dtu.dk">hhs#cbs,dtu.dk</a>, Sat 16 Jan 1999, 11:02 GMT </LI> </UL> </LI> </ul> <LI><strong><A NAME="00195" HREF="msg00195.html">[MUD-Dev] Re: Levels versus Skills, who uses them and when.</A></strong>, Mik Clarke <a href="mailto:mikclrk#ibm,net">mikclrk#ibm,net</a>, Fri 15 Jan 1999, 23:10 GMT <UL> <LI><strong><A NAME="00196" HREF="msg00196.html">[MUD-Dev] Re: Levels versus Skills, who uses them and when.</A></strong>, Matt Wallace <a href="mailto:matt#ender,com">matt#ender,com</a>, Fri 15 Jan 1999, 23:30 GMT </LI> </UL> </LI> <LI><strong><A NAME="00218" HREF="msg00218.html">[MUD-Dev] Re: Levels versus Skills, who uses them and when.</A></strong>, Adam Wiggins <a href="mailto:adam#angel,com">adam#angel,com</a>, Mon 18 Jan 1999, 21:19 GMT </LI> </ul> </ul> </ul> <LI><strong><A NAME="00171" HREF="msg00171.html">[MUD-Dev] Re: Levels versus Skills, who uses them and when.</A></strong>, Marian Griffith <a href="mailto:gryphon#iaehv,nl">gryphon#iaehv,nl</a>, Thu 14 Jan 1999, 21:05 GMT <UL> <LI><strong><A NAME="00184" HREF="msg00184.html">[MUD-Dev] Re: Levels versus Skills, who uses them and when.</A></strong>, J C Lawrence <a href="mailto:claw#under,engr.sgi.com">claw#under,engr.sgi.com</a>, Fri 15 Jan 1999, 04:34 GMT <UL> <LI><strong><A NAME="00194" HREF="msg00194.html">[MUD-Dev] Re: Levels versus Skills, who uses them and when.</A></strong>, Marian Griffith <a href="mailto:gryphon#iaehv,nl">gryphon#iaehv,nl</a>, Fri 15 Jan 1999, 21:34 GMT <UL> <LI><strong><A NAME="00201" HREF="msg00201.html">[MUD-Dev] Re: Levels versus Skills, who uses them and when.</A></strong>, J C Lawrence <a href="mailto:claw#under,engr.sgi.com">claw#under,engr.sgi.com</a>, Sat 16 Jan 1999, 03:47 GMT </LI> </UL> </LI> </UL> </LI> </UL> </LI> </ul> </ul> </ul> </LI> </UL></BLOCKQUOTE> </ul> <hr> <center> [ <a href="../">Other Periods</a> | <a href="../../">Other mailing lists</a> | <a href="/search.php3">Search</a> ] </center> <hr> </body> </html>