Originally posted by Trasiva
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As for Jimmac's post about having to use a third party program to be worthwhile in PVP, that's entirely false. IRE currently offers two web based clients, Nexus (Java), and a Flash client. Both allow a lot of the same functions as any third party client. Most of the advanced users utilize the third party programs simply because they wish for more features. Many of IRE's players still use Nexus and Flash to play.

Yeah I probably should have been a bit more clear. I have not experienced any of this myself. My understanding is just based on posts I've read on this site by other players. To explain a bit further though, by "having to use a third party program," I didn't mean that a third party program was required to just log in and play the game. What I meant was that those who do use a third party program in order to use a bunch of macro's and scripts in PVP and so forth have a big advantage over players who don't. On top of that, there is the cash shop which is a far bigger concern to me as it has been described as being pay to win to some degree. If neither of these is true then that is my mistake for implying or stating otherwise.

I've also been a Gemstone player for many years, on and off.  I haven't actually spent a lot of time playing any other game besides GS4, to be honest.  I toyed with some other MUDs briefly, and played the obligatory few months of WoW, but I was always drawn back to GS because of the community of players.  I think the small community is a boon rather than a burden; you're more likely to be interacting with someone who is really part of the world now than before.

Originally posted by penelopae

I love MUDs much more than the eye-candy of WoW or EQ. My current addiction is Achaea, a game from Iron Realms Entertainment. Their "elves" are called Tsol'aa. What I love most is how intricate the realm is, and how everything fits together. Your character can literally be anything he - or she! - wants, as long as it suits the overall fanstasy environment of the game. It's totally free to play, with a pay-for-perks system. The thing is, I know people who've achieved dragon-status (lvl 99+) and who own tons of artefacts (item perks) without having spent any real currency. With patience you can get the same perks just by playing the game, or you can even win them with certain monthly promotions. If you haven't ever played a MUD, or are looking for one where you can play your own real characters that make lasting impressions on the game, try it out! If Achaea isn't for you, Iron Realms has several other MUDs too!

i got a trip coming up so ill be away from my gaming computer so might give Achaea a try on the trip:)

double post

I have to jump on this band wagon!  I totally love my text-based game, Achaea. In fact, all the Iron Realms games are pretty cool and in a similar vein to the one that I primarily play.  I came to Achaea long after the graphic revolution for gaming, a short 3 and a half years ago.

What I find is the beauty of imagination. There's combat with complicated skills to master, exploration and questing to solve riddles, pu zzles while trying to make a mini 'event' take place, player run orgs in the game (with all the heart ache, joy and politics of real life), the ability to design things like clothing and jewellery - there really is an entire functioning economy within the game - buying property, earning a living, having some sort of profession. The options are pretty much limitless. 

I admit, when I first played it, I was overwhelmed. Lines of coloured text streaming by on the screen - but soon enough, you don't see the text any more, you see the world, you hear the voices. I was entirely new to role-play, a true noob, I had no idea role-play games actually existed. Such was my surprise! 

I recommend to anyone to give the text-based games a chance, let your imagination take you to a place that you could only go in child hood while battling bad guys in your back yard.  It certainly has become one of my favorite ways to spend my free time - I've created a whole person there who has  his own desires, motivations, fears and celebrations.  The best part? It is completely FREE to play. 

http://www.achaea.com/

http://www.ironrealms.com/

I'm young enough to remember MUDs ^_~  30 years old last January.

And I can tell you that your screenshots are modernish.  Back in my days, we only use *drum roll please* the basic telnet client!  Plain black-and-white.  Literally drawing a map if you're that desperate.

Then SimpluMU and zMUD came out.  But still, no auto-mapping features then.  It was only in latter releases that those were added (if I remember correctly).

I hail from AnsalonMUD (the original) and Dark & Shatterred Lands (aka DSL).  I was a GM/DM/IMM and Builder too.  I helped in other new MU*s but did not stay much longer, college days got in the way, then later work.  (I can't even remember the names of those that hired me 'voluntarily'.)

I also remember playing in 2 MUDs that features permadeath.  I can't recall their names but it was great, full pledged RPG.  1 only allows you 1 ressurrection.  The other allows you up to 3.

Originally posted by SalvarAch

I have to jump on this band wagon!  I totally love my text-based game, Achaea. In fact, all the Iron Realms games are pretty cool and in a similar vein to the one that I primarily play.  I came to Achaea long after the graphic revolution for gaming, a short 3 and a half years ago.

What I find is the beauty of imagination. There's combat with complicated skills to master, exploration and questing to solve riddles, pu zzles while trying to make a mini 'event' take place, player run orgs in the game (with all the heart ache, joy and politics of real life), the ability to design things like clothing and jewellery - there really is an entire functioning economy within the game - buying property, earning a living, having some sort of profession. The options are pretty much limitless. 

I admit, when I first played it, I was overwhelmed. Lines of coloured text streaming by on the screen - but soon enough, you don't see the text any more, you see the world, you hear the voices. I was entirely new to role-play, a true noob, I had no idea role-play games actually existed. Such was my surprise! 

I recommend to anyone to give the text-based games a chance, let your imagination take you to a place that you could only go in child hood while battling bad guys in your back yard.  It certainly has become one of my favorite ways to spend my free time - I've created a whole person there who has  his own desires, motivations, fears and celebrations.  The best part? It is completely FREE to play. 

http://www.achaea.com/

http://www.ironrealms.com/

nice write-up and further convinced me to give this one a try this weekend

Originally posted by Aluvius

Oh and for those that moan about paying $15 a month for gaming .. back in the stone age many of us Gemstone players regularly had $100-300 monthly bills from GENie.

You don't know how good you have it these days.  :)

  HAH HAH!  Cheapo :D!  I remember (I think it was) Fxg complaining about a $1200 bill one month (Or maybe it was Sindar - yes, I've been around that long :P).  Even though at one time I had a Genie comp account (courtesy of my father) because I lived in Canada - the connection fees were outrageous.

  I still have an active account (well, actually it's my ex's account that I took over in '99) - actually just reactivated in August to see what's happening (fun to see some of the old regulars still around like Kerl/Arwen Ardwen etc.

  ...and yes, I know of Welan !

IRE spammin' up the thread.  Well, I guess I can't fault them for it.  This article is their time to shine (and create one post wonder accounts).

Combat systems are exactly the problem with IRE games.  The mere fact that IRE allows players to have scripts do most of the work for them should be bannable from the start.  In our modern MMOs, we call that botting.  Since you need scripts (not just 'reflexes' - what players call a common mechanic with MUD clients called 'triggers') to be competitive in PVP, you have a market for people to sell their combat systems for $20 and up (per class) so they can slowly pay for their artifacts.

Artifacts aren't super overpowered but they do make you better and it's through real money.  I'll admit that it's only when you put artifacts on good PVPers (IE: the player with the most efficient combat system) that they become really great and start to take on four people at once.  If you put it on a bad PVPer (triggers only) they just become okay and they can still be killed when a guy running, say, SVO system, comes along.

But on the topic at hand:  MUDs are still around for sure and there are a lot of options to choose from.  IRE can get pretty lulzy with their claims but they are decent MUDs if you can get past the fact that you need to fork cash for scripts and artis (unless you play Achaea monk I guess).  There's a bunch of MUDs out there, some for roleplayers and socializers, some for hackers and slashers, and some for all.

Get searching.  TopMudSites, The Mud Connector are two good places.

AVOID THESE GAMES:

NEW WORLDS

THRESHOLD

IRE GAMES if you did not like what I described above

and you should be golden.  Gl!

edit:  Words of warning when deciding to play a MUD:

1) MUDs have cliques.  Lots of them.  More often in roleplaying MUDs, but they can be anywhere.  Maybe they're all about worshipping a girl in real life.  Maybe it's because the clique is formed around a staff member that gives players extra benefits if they support them.  There's lots of reasons.  Sometimes they are exaggerated but because MUDs are small communities and the game typically revolves around the playerbase rather than a developer's perspective, cliques have a whole lot of influence and they will ruin your day if you don't either join the club or learn not to mess with them.

2) You know how the Internet has 'white knights' who will spring into action in defense of a girl?  Add staff members to their agenda (in hopes of currying their favor) and suddenly, you have a majority of mudders classified.  If you ever speak down towards a staff member or a girl, be ready to feel the wrath of a thousand (well, more like 30 in most MUDs) angry foreveralones in both OOC and IC means.  You might not be allowed to cross OOC and IC, but they sure can bro!

MORE EDITS:  Wow, I see two Achaea one-post wonders.  One right in front of me, one behind me somewhere.

Over the years I've played WoW, Aion, Warhammer Online, Tera (the beta), Wakfu, SW:TOR, and a ton of other random MMOs, but the one that keeps drawing me back is the least sophisticated of them all. Achaea.

Whether it's the great community to play with, to the extremely in-depth combat system for a text-based game, Achaea is always entertaining somehow.

I started playing Achaea in 2003, and it's always drawn me back every time I've stopped playing. No other game I've played has been able to do that for me.

I will unashamedly identify myself as a volunteer admin on Achaea so there's no accusations of it otherwise. 

Khaeros has written that combat systems are required and should be bannable, two wide-sweeping accusations.

I have been playing Achaea for nearly 10 years now, working my way from a complete newbie to MUDs to a guild leader, city leader, and eventually a god/Admin. In that entire time, I have never had any kind of combat system, and never felt that it was required. There are also plenty of people who will help you create your own for free if you feel you need one because you want to be involved in combat. Yes, paying for a system will get you ahead faster, but then isn't that true for just about any game out there?

In some games, no automation of any kind is allowed. In IRE games, there is. It's simply a matter of preference, and I don't fault anyone for feeling they'd like to play in a game that allows or doesn't allow triggers. 

I've put in well over 300 days of non-afk play time in Achaea since 2002, and I don't regret any of it. I've never paid a cent for it, neither to the players for a system, nor to IRE for credits. 

Achaea is a game where if you wish to have fun by roleplaying, you can do so. Not every other player is going to facilitate it necessarily, but this is true of any game. You will find a group of people who want to roleplay and/or socialize with you, and with them I can almost guarantee that you will have fun. 

As some others have written, I have played lots and lots of games in the last decade, and I've tried other MUDs and graphical MMORPGs, and none of them ever holds my attention for long like Achaea does. I'm sure other IRE players have had similar experiences with Lusternia, Imperian, Aetolia, and Midkemia; I haven't played them much because I know that I don't have enough hours in the day!

Edit: TL:DR: a lot of people claim that you need to spend money to have fun in an IRE game. I have a decade of play in an IRE game that says otherwise. 

Achaea, is by far, the best game i've ever played. I have tried other MUDs but Achaea was my first. Heck, i wouldn't even classify myself as a 'gamer' or anything. I honestly play Achaea, and I play Madden seasonally... other than that, I started playing Achaea... 6 years ago now I think. And what a journey it has been! There's so many things to do and the healing and affliction system in the game, as well as the abilities there are, there's so many to choose from it would be hard to not find something new. I love the challenge of combat in Achaea, a challenge that is never ending in my opinion. 

Anyways, I would take Achaea over any other video game simply because what you do as a city or individual or another organization can impact the history of the game, and there is plenty history in Achaea! There's no "I won, now what." Because there's no end-game result. There's politics, houses (guilds) good, evil, nature, chaos, merchants, peaceful people, MANY different options, and I must say they do a heck of a job keeping things new.... GO ACHAEA!

Achaea has pretty cool combat, in theory.  I like how there's all sorts of affects that you can have and combat is based around application and removal of these effects - it adds a nice layer that isn't just 'Type kill and hope for the best'.

But when you start letting scripts do it for you, what fun is the combat, really?

Uh oh, the guy removed my insomnia def.  Now I'm vulnerable to sleep effects.  What do I do? Oh, well I have a script that will automatically outr the root and eat, or just apply survival insomnia.  Welp, don't have to do anything at all!

It's a cool idea that becomes needless with the implementation of scripts.  All it does is separates people who have good scripts from people who don't.  Might as well go to smaug style pvp.

Like I said, the artifacts aren't that bad.  The problem is the automation (and how artis make great PvPers nigh immortal - they work fine on lesser-skilled players). 

Roleplay on Achaea isn't anything to write home about, either.  I always found the RP just a tool that people use to get excuses to PK people.  It's better than New Worlds (that place is terrible) but that really isn't saying much.  Player-run organizations are the best thing the game has going for it, and I admit that this is probably the best part of the game structure - and a very good one, too.

edit:  That said, most MUDs have player-run clans anyway, and because of the close relationship between staff and player, the player's actions usually cause the staff to make changes in the world to reflect it.  Achaea gives some more power to players, but the imms are still actively involved on their god characters..

I wouldn't suggest the game to any of my friends.  There's just many other MUDs out there that have more interesting roleplay and pvp.

edit: bad grammar

Some people enjoy the challenge of writing systems that will work under any circumstance. I certainly will agree that there comes a time where it's less intensely trying to fight and more letting your scripts work, though a lot of people get a thrill when things don't work just as planned and they need to do some quick thinking on their own. It's a dynamic that has evolved over a long time, and as I said before it's up to an individual person if it's the type of game they'd like to be in. 

It's also not required that you take part in combat at all, though it's very likely that you're going to encounter it and probably ought to be at least semi-competent in it. 

As far as the roleplay, it depends on who you associate yourself with. We do not enforce roleplay to an extreme, though people can't simply sit around and speak ooc. They have to do it either on an OOC clan or else privately in a place other players can't get such as a player-owned house. 

Player-run orgs, as you mentioned, open things up to really incredible political roleplay.

Some people decide that they don't like IRE games, and that's fine. Everyone has their own tastes and unless you like Superman64 or the Atari ET, your choices are your own and respectable as an individual. I just wanted to throw out some counterarguments to your points. 

Having played games of all sorts over the last few years, I've always found myself coming back to one game - Achaea. I greatly enjoy the wide range of activities the game offers, be it through PVP, questing, hunting, or any of numerous professions. You have the ability to create a whole new person, with his own emotions, and desires, allowing you to become involved in an amazing role laying atmosphere.



As many others have said, at first, the streaming text lines may be a bit overwhelming but with time and the extremely helpful Administration and player base, soon enough you will become immersed in a world of adventure.



Give Achaea (Or any of the Iron Realms games) a chance, and you definitely won't be disappointed. It has become one of my favourite ways to spend some free time, and has not cost me a cent.

Originally posted by Eliandal

Originally posted by Aluvius

Oh and for those that moan about paying $15 a month for gaming .. back in the stone age many of us Gemstone players regularly had $100-300 monthly bills from GENie.

You don't know how good you have it these days.  :)

 

 

  HAH HAH!  Cheapo :D!  I remember (I think it was) Fxg complaining about a $1200 bill one month (Or maybe it was Sindar - yes, I've been around that long :P).  Even though at one time I had a Genie comp account (courtesy of my father) because I lived in Canada - the connection fees were outrageous.

 

  I still have an active account (well, actually it's my ex's account that I took over in '99) - actually just reactivated in August to see what's happening (fun to see some of the old regulars still around like Kerl/Arwen Ardwen etc.

 

  ...and yes, I know of Welan !

LOL, well I was in college when I started in 91/92 so I was playing with a credit card from my parents.  The first time I got a $450 bill from GEnie my mother freaked out.  So I did my best to keep it lower after that.  Once it hit the web I sort of wasted several years of my life on unlimited play time ... damn, what a crazy time that was :)

The funny thing is that I only got Aluvius to level 42 in 8-9 years hehe.

I remember playing Moongate (Later renamed to Materia Magica).



For me it's most memorable feature is something that the MMO space could use. It had 3 different types of PvP areas.

Lawful (LPK) was like dueling.

Neutral  (NPK) you died and turned into a ghost for a bit.

Chaotic (CPK) you could be pick pocketed and could drop items or equipment when you died.

Some of the best resources in the game were in a CPK area that had multiple underground areas. Some tense moments stealthing around down there on my own.



http://www.materiamagica.com/guide/combat (Click the PK tab)

I am an elder on DragonMUD and was a common contributor on MOO-cows, an email list of academics who were working on what would, today, be called the "serious games" applications of objection oriented M** environments.

I like to think one of my favorite contributions was the illusion garden on DragonMUD (as Rhadamant), which was both a puzzle and ornamental area which violated spatial physics in some delightful ways, but to no real end except to be a bit psychedelic and playful.  There was no special point except that it was beautiful and whimsical and fun interactive fiction with a few puzzle bits built in.

And, the dance studio was simply a lovely piece of what would probably now be termed steampunk (as Dhardan) -- nostalgic Victoriana, with a little magic thrown in, which served absolutely no purpose at all but to be a social hub where people could come, have social triggers available (chair, tea, hang coat,...) and socialize in a very civilized but bohemian atmosphere.

When I read Koster's A Theory of Fun (Which, if you are interested in game design -- you should, you have haven't you?  Go read it.  Now.) I felt it just filled in the edges of what we were exploring then, and Ultima and SWG expanded with so much more resources.

Now, game designers spend more time on retention, budgets, optimization for localization systems, and so on -- than fun, beauty, touching depth in the observer.  It's more about the addiction end of obsession than the collaboration and community end, which is where the old sandboxes (which is what MUDs were) lived.

Even Eve is more worried about population and monocles.

Eventually the industry will turn around, as large productions become obsoleted and toolkits and mods become commodities.  Then curated environments, I hope, will become part of the game, and storytelling, events, augmentation, concierge services, and other personalizations will become part of the industry...a grrl can dream, can't she? :)

I am an elder on DragonMUD and was a common contributor on MOO-cows, an email list of academics who were working on what would, today, be called the "serious games" applications of objection oriented M** environments.

I like to think one of my favorite contributions was the illusion garden on DragonMUD (as Rhadamant), which was both a puzzle and ornamental area which violated spatial physics in some delightful ways, but to no real end except to be a bit psychedelic and playful.  There was no special point except that it was beautiful and whimsical and fun interactive fiction with a few puzzle bits built in.

And, the dance studio was simply a lovely piece of what would probably now be termed steampunk (as Dhardan) -- nostalgic Victoriana, with a little magic thrown in, which served absolutely no purpose at all but to be a social hub where people could come, have social triggers available (chair, tea, hang coat,...) and socialize in a very civilized but bohemian atmosphere.

When I read Koster's A Theory of Fun (Which, if you are interested in game design -- you should, you have haven't you?  Go read it.  Now.) I felt it just filled in the edges of what we were exploring then, and Ultima and SWG expanded with so much more resources.

Now, game designers spend more time on retention, budgets, optimization for localization systems, and so on -- than fun, beauty, touching depth in the observer.  It's more about the addiction end of obsession than the collaboration and community end, which is where the old sandboxes (which is what MUDs were) lived.

Even Eve is more worried about population and monocles.

Eventually the industry will turn around, as large productions become obsoleted and toolkits and mods become commodities.  Then curated environments, I hope, will become part of the game, and storytelling, events, augmentation, concierge services, and other personalizations will become part of the industry...a grrl can dream, can't she? :)