<!-- MHonArc v2.4.4 --> <!--X-Subject: Re: [MUD-Dev] Containing automation? --> <!--X-From-R13: Rna Dbbg <qneNgurxrrc.bet> --> <!--X-Date: Thu, 22 Jul 1999 18:02:44 -0700 --> <!--X-Message-Id: 19990722223216.78026.qmail#phantasm,thekeep.org --> <!--X-Content-Type: text/plain --> <!--X-Reference: 37978179.A4D0601E@classic-games.com --> <!--X-Head-End--> <!DOCTYPE HTML PUBLIC "-//W3C//DTD HTML 3.2//EN"> <html> <head> <title>MUD-Dev message, Re: [MUD-Dev] Containing automation?</title> <!-- meta name="robots" content="noindex,nofollow" --> <link rev="made" href="mailto:dar#thekeep,org"> </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="msg00035.html">Previous</a> | <a href="msg00037.html">Next</a> ] Thread: [ <a href="msg00030.html">Previous</a> | <a href="msg00045.html">Next</a> ] Index: [ <A HREF="author.html#00036">Author</A> | <A HREF="#00036">Date</A> | <A HREF="thread.html#00036">Thread</A> ] <!--X-TopPNI-End--> <!--X-MsgBody--> <!--X-Subject-Header-Begin--> <H1>Re: [MUD-Dev] Containing automation?</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>: Re: [MUD-Dev] Containing automation? </LI> <LI><em>From</em>: Dan Root <<A HREF="mailto:dar#thekeep,org">dar#thekeep,org</A>></LI> <LI><em>Date</em>: Thu, 22 Jul 1999 18:32:16 -0400</LI> <LI><em>Reply-To</em>: <A HREF="mailto:mud-dev#kanga,nu">mud-dev#kanga,nu</A></LI> <LI><em>Sender</em>: <A HREF="mailto:mud-dev-admin#kanga,nu">mud-dev-admin#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> In message <<A HREF="msg00030.html">37978179.A4D0601E#classic-games,com</A>>, Greg Miller writes: >Marian Griffith wrote: >> I am tempted to say that, if you ignore UO (which is a class of its >> own anyway) the number of Mush/Mux/Moo players vastly outnumbers the >> number of Mud players. Even if it is not vastly, it most assuredly >> is not a small subset. > >I was always under the impression that mush/mux/moo players were >something like 5%-10% of the players, at best. I'd be very surprised if it was that low. Many of the larger MUSH/MUCKs (AnimeMUCK, FurryMUCK, AnimeMUSH, etc) host on the order of 50 to 100 players at a time, similar numbers to many mid-to-large Diku-derivative and LP servers. LambdaMOO regularly has 100 or more players on time, and at one time was advancing the fact they had 1000 or more "active" players (people who regularly logged in once a week or more). And there are probably a similar number of MUCK/MUSH/MOOs that are used by 10 to 20 players as there are MUDs, though they tend to be far less advertised. Many are primarily closed social environments, often a group of friends who just want something a little more flexible than IRC. I've been a part of at least three "private" MUCKs, and ran a Mux for similar reasons as well. I also suspect there's a lot less turnover in the MUCK/MUSH/MOO world than elsewhere. A lot of new players to a mud, especially the more stock varieties, last on the order of a month, after which they get bored and either find a new mud, or stop playing all together. I've been through that cycle myself. Log in, poke around, get my character up high enough that the game starts to get ridiculously hard, or ridiculously easy (depending on the mud), and then never log in again. At the same time, I've got characters on MUCKs that are four years old now, and I still use daily. As I write this message, on that MUCK, well over 3/4 of current players have been active for at least two years. I can't say authoritatively, but my experience has been that sort of regularity is rare in the Mud world, outside of the admins and imps themselves. Another big difference is that the MUCK/MUSH/MOO crowd tends to expand solely by word of mouth, rather than the aggressive sort of newsgroup and inter-mud advertising that MUDs occasionally indulge in. If you watch places like rec.games.mud.announce, you occasionally see an ad for a new MUCK or MUSH that's just starting and needs feature players. But once those sorts of servers are stable, they tend to recruit admins and builders from within, drawing new players from "friends of friends". Some Muds, on the other hand, will continue to advertise on a monthly or even weekly basis, trying to draw in fresh players. As a very rough guesstimate, since no one has anything resembling real usage stats, I'd put that number at somewhere between 40% and 60%. -DaR -- /* Dan Root - XTEA cipher */ static unsigned D=0x9E3779B9,l=0xC6EF3720,s; /* t=64bit text, k=128bit key */ #define m(x,y) ((x<<4^x>>5)+(x^s)+k[s>>y&3]) void enc(int*t,int*k){for(s=0;s!=+l;){t[0]+=m(t[1],0);s+=D;t[1]+=m(t[0],11);}} void dec(int*t,int*k){for(s=-l;s!=0;){t[1]-=m(t[0],11);s-=D;t[0]-=m(t[1],0);}} _______________________________________________ MUD-Dev maillist - MUD-Dev#kanga,nu <A HREF="http://www.kanga.nu/lists/listinfo/mud-dev">http://www.kanga.nu/lists/listinfo/mud-dev</A> </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="00030" HREF="msg00030.html">Re: [MUD-Dev] Containing automation?</A></STRONG> <UL><LI><EM>From:</EM> Greg Miller <gmiller#classic-games,com></LI></UL></LI> </UL></LI></UL> <!--X-References-End--> <!--X-BotPNI--> <UL> <LI>Prev by Date: <STRONG><A HREF="msg00035.html">Re: [MUD-Dev] Containing automation?</A></STRONG> </LI> <LI>Next by Date: <STRONG><A HREF="msg00037.html">Re: [MUD-Dev] Containing automation?</A></STRONG> </LI> <LI>Prev by thread: <STRONG><A HREF="msg00030.html">Re: [MUD-Dev] Containing automation?</A></STRONG> </LI> <LI>Next by thread: <STRONG><A HREF="msg00045.html">Re: [MUD-Dev] Containing automation?</A></STRONG> </LI> <LI>Index(es): <UL> <LI><A HREF="index.html#00036"><STRONG>Date</STRONG></A></LI> <LI><A HREF="thread.html#00036"><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>Re: [MUD-Dev] Containing automation?</STRONG>, <EM>(continued)</EM> <ul compact> <ul compact> <ul compact> <LI><strong><A NAME="00017" HREF="msg00017.html">Re: [MUD-Dev] Containing automation?</A></strong>, Matthew Mihaly <a href="mailto:diablo#best,com">diablo#best,com</a>, Thu 22 Jul 1999, 17:12 GMT <UL> <LI><strong><A NAME="00033" HREF="msg00033.html">Re: [MUD-Dev] Containing automation?</A></strong>, Marc Hernandez <a href="mailto:marc#ias,jb.com">marc#ias,jb.com</a>, Fri 23 Jul 1999, 01:02 GMT </LI> </UL> </LI> <LI><strong><A NAME="00020" HREF="msg00020.html">Re: [MUD-Dev] Containing automation?</A></strong>, Marian Griffith <a href="mailto:gryphon#iaehv,nl">gryphon#iaehv,nl</a>, Thu 22 Jul 1999, 17:34 GMT <UL> <LI><strong><A NAME="00030" HREF="msg00030.html">Re: [MUD-Dev] Containing automation?</A></strong>, Greg Miller <a href="mailto:gmiller#classic-games,com">gmiller#classic-games,com</a>, Thu 22 Jul 1999, 21:38 GMT <UL> <LI><strong><A NAME="00036" HREF="msg00036.html">Re: [MUD-Dev] Containing automation?</A></strong>, Dan Root <a href="mailto:dar#thekeep,org">dar#thekeep,org</a>, Fri 23 Jul 1999, 01:02 GMT </LI> <LI><strong><A NAME="00045" HREF="msg00045.html">Re: [MUD-Dev] Containing automation?</A></strong>, Caliban Tiresias Darklock <a href="mailto:caliban#darklock,com">caliban#darklock,com</a>, Sun 25 Jul 1999, 00:21 GMT </LI> </UL> </LI> </UL> </LI> <LI><strong><A NAME="00023" HREF="msg00023.html">Re: [MUD-Dev] Containing automation?</A></strong>, Timothy O'Neill Dang <a href="mailto:timothy#nmia,com">timothy#nmia,com</a>, Thu 22 Jul 1999, 21:01 GMT <UL> <LI><strong><A NAME="00034" HREF="msg00034.html">Re: [MUD-Dev] Containing automation?</A></strong>, Marc Hernandez <a href="mailto:marc#ias,jb.com">marc#ias,jb.com</a>, Fri 23 Jul 1999, 01:02 GMT </LI> <LI><strong><A NAME="00037" HREF="msg00037.html">Re: [MUD-Dev] Containing automation?</A></strong>, Matthew Mihaly <a href="mailto:diablo#best,com">diablo#best,com</a>, Fri 23 Jul 1999, 01:02 GMT </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>