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Exodus
Your Daddy
Premium Member
join:2001-11-26
Earth

1 recommendation

Exodus

Premium Member

Text RPGs - An Invitation

The Problem:

2012 was a lackluster year for games. There were several games that were captivating, but only for a short while as they lacked the replay value. The bulk of the games that we played over the last year were games from previous years (League of Legends or WoW). People are experiencing MMO burnout as each game promised to be a WoW-killer. A full year or two of MMO disappointment has led people without anything to really captivate them.

Games these days feel like they're part of a formula. You can't be adventerous. There's only enough investment in the game to drive you in a direction they want. Everything is down an exact formula and science. Replay values are now based on unlocking items or getting achievements, rather than discovery and replayability. With nothing to captivate us last year and nothing to look forward to, we can only look backwards for something that we might have missed.

An older solution:

It's difficult for me to explain how awesome a text-based RPG is. The best analogy I can give is like reading a book, how it can captivate you better than a movie can. With a MUD (Multi-User Dungeon), you can play these text-based RPGs online with friends. The problem is that since graphical RPGs took off, the playerbase had died off. Left in its wake was a massive amount of hobbyist development, which included some of the richest content you could ever play, with the kind of depth and adventure you could not experience in a graphical MMO.

Most of the MUDs have died off. Most of the playerbases have exited and there are quite a few that tried to take a leap towards merging text into the 3D and honestly, I think it's failed. They tried to cater to the feed-me-my-game players and it made what they had worse.

Storm Hunters

MUDs are a text-based RPG that uses the telnet protocol to connect. I strongly recommend that you don't actually use telnet, as it doesn't fully handle the kind of information that comes across. I recommend a client called GMUD. It is a lightweight client that has some basic automation and customization tools.

GMUD can be downloaded from:
»sourceforge.net/projects/g-mud/

Once installed, set up the host/port.

Host: sh.ackmud.net
Port: 7000

A History

Storm Hunters has been around for approximately 20 years. It has undergone significant and continuous updates since then. It has also exchanged hands several times since then. I, personally, used to run the place for about five years before I gave it up to someone else. Back then, it was called Aftershock. You can see my attachment to the name with the guilds that we set up across the various gaming platforms and the name that some people have adopted elsewhere. Since I stopped running it, other people have drastically improved the game.

The Addiction is not instantaneous, but it runs deep.

Well, it could be. There really is an entire world to explore and you'll immediately see that the "formula" isn't there. There's a completely different type of game and there are new concepts that you may not have been familiar with. There is a bit of a learning curve to start, but if you can break past the basics, within an hour or so, you're usually set.

I have a max level character there. I made it a long time ago and maxed it out and for various reasons, wasn't able to play. Since all the other games have gone stale or just about to expire, I'm seeing if I can use my advantage to draw a handful of people here. If I could get a dozen or even a half a dozen players to try this out, you would find a level of gameplay that you haven't had since you started your favorite game.

Going back the book analogy, if you're like me, books aren't all too appealing to pick up, but if you get a hold of one, you can't put it down until you're done.

More Info
There's some info on the Storm Hunters website. It has a Wiki and Forums.

»stormhunters.ackmud.net/

This is a non-profit, 100% volunteer effort. Everything that has been written has been done so by volunteers. All the hosting is paid for out of pocket by whoever runs it at the time. There's no ads, no pay-to-play, no pay-to-win, no any of that. They don't even ask for donations as the costs are usually $5-20/month and are easily paid for by an owner.

If you have questions, please let me know, but I ask that you guys all give it a fair shake. Maybe, I can present to you guys a piece of the gaming genre that you might have missed or may not have seen in a long time, something that can grab you just as well as your best game, but not built by the establishment and treats you like a player, not a formul.a

I AM
Premium Member
join:2010-04-11
Ephrata, PA

I AM

Premium Member

At first I thought you meant. Text Messages on a phone.

Jobbie
Keep It Simple
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join:2010-08-24
Mexico

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gmd3219b.zip
201,202 bytes
GMuD Client
This is a better client, the one in the OP has the source code of it, this is the executable.

TheThing
join:2012-08-10

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OK Sheldon...

"I have the best GPU ever for gaming... the human brain"

puppy
join:2010-01-28
San Diego, CA

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I spent way too much time on BatMUD back in the day...

Exodus
Your Daddy
Premium Member
join:2001-11-26
Earth

Exodus

Premium Member

Perhaps the DSLR gang can give a shot at another MUD.

Blockgorilla
Sarcasm is my native tongue
join:2010-02-11
Wichita, KS

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anything that makes this a little easier on the phone?

Exodus
Your Daddy
Premium Member
join:2001-11-26
Earth

Exodus

Premium Member

There's a phone app, but since you're typing, it's going to be painful without a decent keyboard.
Exodus

Exodus

Premium Member

»bt.happygoatstudios.com/
Mobile App
Exodus

1 edit

Exodus

Premium Member

There is a pretty decent help system in place in case you're trying to figure things out. By typing "help", you'll see "help newbie", which gives a list of categories of commands.

There is a different approach to the class system than people may be used to. Here is the output of help levels:
quote:
There are a total of 622 levels to gain over 4 tiers to master this realm.
Each class has its own specific helpfile, but this is the progression.

400 Mortal - Mage, Cleric, Thief, Warrior and Psionicist

There are 80 levels to gain in each mortal class, and all players are
able to train in each class. This level tier will provide basic utility
and allow for you to survive early combat.

160 Remort - Sorcerer, Necromancer, Assassin, Knight and Monk

There are 80 levels to gain in a remort class, and players are only able
to train in two. This level tier provides additional specialization, unlocks
passive bonuses, and grants class-specific mounts that can be summoned at will.

60 Realm Lord - Living Shadow, Blademaster, Malakim, Deity, Exorcist and Dark Templar

There are 30 levels to gain in a realm class, and players are only able to
train in two. One can only train a second realm class after becoming a Legend.
Realm classes are characterized by even further specialization, potent skills, and
excellent passive bonuses.

2 Legend - 12 total classes, see "help legend_classes" for list.

There is only a single level to gain in a legend class, and players are only
able to train in two. One can only train a second legend class after reaching
level 30 in their second realm class. Each realm class has two legend class paths,
providing a different set of specialized abilities.

Mortal -> Remort -> Realm Lord -> Legend -> 2nd Realm Lord -> 2nd Legend

See also: GAIN, EXPERIENCE, MORTAL, REMORT, REALM_LORD, LEGEND
Characters are seen as fairly powerful and diverse, but still vastly unique in their game play. There are a lot of commonalities that everyone shares in the beginning. As you progress, you to start to diversify. The growth from Mortal to Remortal to Realm Lord to Legend and then a second choice of Realm/Legend allows you to have hundreds or thousands of different combos to choose from.

There is content that allows you to explore different worlds and universes in different time eras and with different themes. Some of them are lore-ish, some of them are goofy.

The challenge kicks up and there's something for everyone to do. The nice thing is that there is enough content that if I could just find a few other players to work with, we could conquer that content.

When I maxed out (well, not maxed, but hit top level) a character there, I was waiting for others to hit max level to take on some of the challenging end-game content, but there wasn't enough.

I would love to have another 3-5 people to play this with.
Exodus

Exodus

Premium Member

And I'll add one last note because I've already whored myself out for this to try and get people to show up.

If you decide you enjoy the game, you can contribute by building areas. There is a comprehensive and easy-to-learn builder program that allows you to build your own zones, NPCs, and objects. This requires zero programming knowledge and uses zero programming. A new person can get up and running with building an area within minutes.

There is infinite game play value here.

dandelion
MVM
join:2003-04-29
Germantown, TN

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I might give it a try, thanks for the link. I would also recommend for those that like a mix.. i.e. enforced roleplay with some engine/graphic involvement to try »illarion.org/general/us_ ··· page.php

stvnbrs
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join:2009-03-17
Cary, NC

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Sounds interesting, will read thread later today.

Exodus
Your Daddy
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join:2001-11-26
Earth

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Roleplay, especially enforced, reminds me way too much of the Goldshire-WoW incidents.

I can fully appreciate people wanting a dynamic human-based story event, but I cannot immerse myself fully into something like that.

In order to immerse myself into something like that, it usually requires me to play a single-player game where I know everything is an NPC. Does mean I'm limited? Yes, but it doesn't destroy it for me.

dandelion
MVM
join:2003-04-29
Germantown, TN

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I wouldn't knock it until you try it. I have been playing the game since 2006 and still haven't lost interest.

Phantasee
join:2009-08-27
Hammond, LA

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I have this bad feeling the traditional MMO genre is dying...it feels like burning...
DMWCincy
join:2004-04-27
Fairfield, OH

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I still play a MUD called Gemstone IV. its been around since late 80s and still active today. You do pay a price but with that price is constant updates, GM ran storylines, etc. Great RP community. Not for the WoW gear and DPS players but for those that really want to RP. You can still gear up and such but expect to take months to years to cap a character.

www.play.net/gs4

Raible
join:2008-01-23
Plainfield, IN

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I can't even begin to think of how many hours I lost to MUDs back in school. Oh so many late nights and missed work assignments. Round Table was the MUD of choice.

I AM
Premium Member
join:2010-04-11
Ephrata, PA

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I keep picturing....

LOLZ. AmIritE? NewAYZ dis GoblIn was like WTF! And I Wuz likE ROLF and went CraY CraY on him!

Exodus
Your Daddy
Premium Member
join:2001-11-26
Earth

Exodus

Premium Member

I have no idea what you just said.

Blockgorilla
Sarcasm is my native tongue
join:2010-02-11
Wichita, KS

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went to the website and man is it old, having some issues getting registered.

Exodus
Your Daddy
Premium Member
join:2001-11-26
Earth

Exodus

Premium Member

You shouldn't need to register on the site at all. Everything is through a MUD client.

Jobbie
Keep It Simple
Premium Member
join:2010-08-24
Mexico

Jobbie

Premium Member

This game is awesome, I've been killing goblins and dragons for loots. It takes some time to get used to it but its totally worth it.

Blockgorilla
Sarcasm is my native tongue
join:2010-02-11
Wichita, KS

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nah, i found a client that works on my iphone and was looking at the FAQ on the website to ease into it a little bit.

Exodus
Your Daddy
Premium Member
join:2001-11-26
Earth

Exodus

Premium Member

please tell me you have a physical keyboard. I tried it once on my phone and it was very difficult to see with half of it being covered by a keyboard.

Prevailer
Freeze a poopy.
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join:2001-10-03
Your Mom

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Finally downloaded on teh old lappy

Baddiablo01
join:2012-12-27
afghanistan

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ill give this a try, it sounds fun.

Jobbie
Keep It Simple
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join:2010-08-24
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Its a lot of fun but is really easy to get lost if you are a newb like me. Want to play more.

Jobbie "Minotaur Warrior"

Prevailer
Freeze a poopy.
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join:2001-10-03
Your Mom

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Didymus is wandering around now, trying to remember how this works.
Prevailer

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Okay. Getting killed by a squirrel is hurting my morale.