10 Aug, 2010, Grube wrote in the 1st comment:
Votes: 0
Ok, Star Wars: Galactic Horizon's staff decided that we're being limited by the timeframe that our MUD is set in. The Empire/New Republic thing is over done, and played out.

Besides that, our areas are HUGE, but thin. They have very little actual content.

So, to avert the current situation, we are starting with a fresh FotEFUSS code and building up! We'll take what we liked from the old code and trash what we don't!

We're looking for coders and builders who have an interest, if not a passion, for Star Wars, and good, clear knowledge of what they are doing.

We have staff who are knowledgeable in the area sof both building and coding, and are looking for more who want to add an artistic flare to the galaxy!

If you are interested in building or coding for us, please contact me at the following, or jump in game and see if you can catch an Admin on!

Email/AIM: conyers0184@gmail.com
YIM: stephengrubbs
Website: http://gh.mudhosting.net
10 Aug, 2010, Ssolvarain wrote in the 2nd comment:
Votes: 0
I think you might want to finish your code before you start building. Start building, and you'll have a lot of areas that won't have a lot of the area-related additions that follow. It's good to provide a nice, full set of tools from the start so that builders can familiarize themselves with what the mud can do, and how it can be done.
10 Aug, 2010, David Haley wrote in the 3rd comment:
Votes: 0
Yes; building first can land you in trouble because it means you must be more disciplined in revisiting areas to update with new code features. Imagine you have a bunch of areas built, and then you add lockable doors. If you don't go back to lock doors where appropriate, the MUD will feel inconsistent: later areas will have locked doors, earlier areas won't. (Locked doors are a very simple example, but hopefully the problem is clear.)

It's not an insurmountable problem; you just need to be careful.
12 Aug, 2010, Elvarlyn wrote in the 4th comment:
Votes: 0
At the same time (if you're using custom and not auto-generated descriptions), building has a tendency to lag behind everything else when developing a MUD. There's a definite advantage to creating the building tools first, setting up a rough framework and then having builders working while you code things like player skills.
12 Aug, 2010, Runter wrote in the 5th comment:
Votes: 0
I've done it both way and its definitelly better to have all the tools finished in the first place.
12 Aug, 2010, KaVir wrote in the 6th comment:
Votes: 0
Elvarlyn said:
At the same time (if you're using custom and not auto-generated descriptions), building has a tendency to lag behind everything else when developing a MUD.

Probably because it's a huge undertaking, and tends to burn people out. Very few muds have completely original well-written worlds, and those I know of have spent many years building them - and the owner is often the head builder.

If you want a big world with no stock areas, and don't have many (or even any) builders, then I would honestly suggest generating the descriptions - you can always flesh them out later on.
12 Aug, 2010, Elvarlyn wrote in the 7th comment:
Votes: 0
KaVir said:
Probably because it's a huge undertaking, and tends to burn people out. Very few muds have completely original well-written worlds, and those I know of have spent many years building them - and the owner is often the head builder.


It's a huge undertaking to be sure. Especially when you aim to release with a good number of areas. The burnout factor is massive and finding new builders is like pulling teeth from an angry frog.

KaVir said:
If you want a big world with no stock areas, and don't have many (or even any) builders, then I would honestly suggest generating the descriptions - you can always flesh them out later on.


True, especially if the MUD you are developing is more of a hobby and less of a full time job. I'm one of those people who played my original MUD for like, 4 years and only ever read a room description when someone was like, "Hey, come take a look at my house," so I sometimes shed silent tears realizing that all the work I put into crafting descriptions will go unnoticed by all but the most hardcore atmospheric player.
12 Aug, 2010, Ssolvarain wrote in the 8th comment:
Votes: 0
KaVir said:
generating the descriptions - you can always flesh them out later on.


Your generated descriptions make me sort of jealous :P Death to machina! er…

Simple ascii maps are easy to put together, too. At least then there's a visible path that leaves the opportunity of imagination.
12 Aug, 2010, Kline wrote in the 9th comment:
Votes: 0
If you're going to just generate things on the premise of them not being read, why have room descs at all? I know on "most" PVP MUDs I've played I turn them off entirely – less spam as I'm chasing/fleeing from people.
12 Aug, 2010, Ssolvarain wrote in the 10th comment:
Votes: 0
Well, I think many of us enjoy immersion. Without descriptions to add flavor and depth to a game, you might as well go on over here to get your enjoyment.

But that's just my opinion :)
12 Aug, 2010, Runter wrote in the 11th comment:
Votes: 0
I'm one of those people who may pay little attention to them while I wander but when I stop and read I like a desc to be there.
13 Aug, 2010, Kline wrote in the 12th comment:
Votes: 0
Ssolvarain said:
Well, I think many of us enjoy immersion. Without descriptions to add flavor and depth to a game, you might as well go on over here to get your enjoyment.

But that's just my opinion :)


While I won't argue against the enjoyment of immersion, it may not be the goal of all, and I believe it's still possible to enjoy a game sans immersion. WoW has user controlled immersion levels. You're free to explore, sniff the virtual flowers, and listen to the full life story of every NPC in the game if you choose to – but you don't have to. Some people do, some don't, and some fall in-between. Would you say the people who choose not to read every piece of text and visit every flower are having a less fulfilling gaming experience than those who do?

I'm not against room descs at all, and for the zones I have written for my own base I do take time to add small details to each description and make them as dynamic as possible in regards to weather and other events too, for those players who would like them; but I fully realize a majority of people may never notice. However, the type of world and game I envision is one of "RP friendly" but not "RP enforced"; so I'd like to provide those details to people. If, however, you plan to run a game where you already know most people ignore the rooms due to the game type – then why hassle in the first place? The last PVP MUD I've been slowly working on over a few months has no room descs; I know they will be ignored. Instead the world is more of a rat maze to be learned based on the titles of rooms, so I've been able to put more energy into other parts of the game than struggling to fill text that will only be ignored.
13 Aug, 2010, KaVir wrote in the 13th comment:
Votes: 0
Ssolvarain said:
Simple ascii maps are easy to put together, too. At least then there's a visible path that leaves the opportunity of imagination.

I've seen some muds do that. I'm not so struck on it myself, although I think it could work pretty well for a more Roguelike mud.

Kline said:
If you're going to just generate things on the premise of them not being read, why have room descs at all?

I think there's a psychological element to it - quite possibly due to the whole familiarity thing. A world with no (or very short) descriptions feels incomplete to me, as if it was thrown together in a hurry and never finished.

Personally I rarely read the descriptions, but I like to see a block of text when I type "look". Silly, I know, but it just gives me a negative impression if there's no description.

Besides, I actually enjoy working on generated dynamic descriptions. It's a subject I find pretty interesting, and it has a range of uses.
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