I really like the idea of choosing your race and class a bit later, since it offers good opportunites for RP.
But my newbie somehow managed to finish the tutorial without choosing a race. I can't remember if I was asked to do so and it happened because I also chose my guild after the tutorial, or if it simply didn't come up. It's alright for me but a true newbie might be confused by this. Maybe it'd help to make a hint for newbies who haven't chosen a race yet that reminds and tells them the syntax. Though I have no idea how to exclude those who want to stay human from this.
You can actually choose your race earlier than they prompt you to. I think during Lachesis, at least.
Everiine said: The reason population is low isn't because there are too many orgs. It's because so many facets of the game are outright broken and protected by those who benefit from it being that way. An overabundance of gimmicks (including game-breaking ones), artifacts that destroy any concept of balance, blatant pay-to-win features, and an obsession with convenience that makes few things actually worthwhile all contribute to the game's sad decline.
Hello. My name is Shane, and while not totally new to MUDs, having even tried Lusternia in the past (never getting past 50 though and still noobish on the majority of the game), I have enough knowledge to make afew unbiased comments/suggestions about the game to help us truly newer players. By the way, I'm giving the game a shot again because of the current/upcoming changes, as well as liking the ideas, races, and skills this game has to offer.
I brought five new players with me to this game in the past, and we all came to pretty much the same conclusion (real life age group from 19-47 at the time). We are all sticklers for research: reading help files, forums, wikis, et cetera before trying most games. So if I'm slow to reply or completely miss your tell (will get a separate chat window soon) I'm not trying to ignore you or be unsocial, I'm more than likely still looking up or researching something about this game. We are all fans of sci-fi, fantasy, et cetera and us older ones grew up playing DnD. One is a computer programmer with over 20 years of experience, another is a computer engineer with around the same years of experience, and one of the younger ones is in college for art and literature, so they had stuff (skills) to offer to the game community. They left due to afew of these issues. Afew fixes might bring them and others back.
1. Race selection: Lusternia has some of the best races when drawing people to the game, but... most of those races are considered not optimal (even have major disadvantages) at endgame, which is what people work toward/invest their time into this game for. While it is understandable that some races don't/shouldn't fit certain classes, some standouts certainly fall short... example tae'dae. Tae'dae no doubt look like and should be an outstanding warrior choice for a majority of the warrior guilds and even the monk guilds for Celest and Serenwilde (obviously not a great choice for stealth). Other races we noticed (as well as others upon these forums have pointed out) are: Taurian, Mugwump, Igasho... probably more. Not everyone wants to be a Aslaran or Loboshigaru. It would also be nice to see maybe tae'dae, taurian, and loboshigaru shamans. It doesn't seem too unlogical or farfetched, as well as fixing it to where they'd be on par with other races suited for said skill set. Racial diverity and an even playing field for those races (granted, if truly suited for certain roles) isn't much to ask for. Why have them if only a mere few are really optimal or suggested by an organization (not including org races).
2. Lack of people around to help with quest/answer questions: This is a problem due to many factors: low player base, afew of those players being from different time zones, and generally not having the time to help a new player due to trying to accomplish something in game (we are all guilty of it, be it this game or another). A player may only be on for a limited time and wanted to accomplish something during said time. Helping a new player at times take away from that accomplishment. This game is about interaction with others and new players should understand this before playing a MUD, MUSH, et cetera... but it would hurt if noone was available to automate someone to help with quest hints and so-on. Let me state though, the majority of players here are friendly and helpful when available.
3. Collegium quest: The time reduction thing for each one completed is ridiculous. This is one of the quest lines that shouldn't have a time reduction but maybe a level cap for graduation if not 100% completed. Some of this also refers to #2 (lack of people around at certain times). The planes and how power works are very important to your life in Lusternia. It isn't something that should be rushed. One of the few important quest where almost everyone should have the honours line.
4. Business sense: Credits are over inflated (cost too much). Many people wouldn't mind opening the wallets or purses if the prices were lowered just alittle, maybe start at 35 cents a credit and lower prices accordingly to number of credits per package. And not to take away from the players/programmers that provide their own systems (their loyalty to making the game better for all shouldn't go unnoticed or be punished), IRE should make a full blown curing/attacking system for all of there games. I see there is work for one in this game (which is great), but that should be used as a helper to push people toward learning how to cure themselves and improving on it themselves (with help or documentation) on improving it. It keeps the free to play game free and gives everyone a chance to compete/improve. For the people who don't want to spend their time coding/improving it, make a full blown version for a cost, say around 18-25 bucks (around 50-75 credits if using my prices above), maybe also including it in the elite package and removing afew of the credits awarded. This give players options, either stick with your loyal client through a player/programmer, or use the game/business offered client. Some players would rather pay the business side due to many reasons (mostly due to wanting to keep the game going and updating as the abilities, et cetera change). Seen too many players/programmers clients eventually go dormant and lack updates due to their real life event changes, lose interest in the game, or just move on to a new game. I'd like both options available to use, a business side client incase my favorite client does happen to go dormant.
True MUD/MUSH players aren't looking for the super easy/being hand fed. The game is basically a story you can live and alter as you go. The new players that are asking to dumb it down completely are usually the players that won't stick around. That is why there are playstations, xboxes, and pc games that give them what they need. This is a niche game and there still a decent market/player base for this kind of gaming. Afew minor improvements and open minds will help this game flourish.
I'm sure there are a lot more ideas/issues that aren't just give me some free shiny, new ability, super easymode, et cetera that can be brought up.
PS: Sorry for typos and massive text wall!
15
EveriineWise Old Swordsbird / BrontaurIndianapolis, IN, USA
edited December 2013
"True MUD/MUSH players aren't looking for the super easy/being hand fed.
The game is basically a story you can live and alter as you go. The new
players that are asking to dumb it down completely are usually the
players that won't stick around. That is why there are playstations,
xboxes, and pc games that give them what they need. This is a niche game
and there still a decent market/player base for this kind of gaming.
Afew minor improvements and open minds will help this game flourish."
There are not enough ways to click AGREE.
Everiine is a man, and is very manly. This MAN before you is so manly you might as well just gender bend right now, cause he's the manliest man that you ever did see. His manly shape has spurned many women and girlyer men to boughs of fainting. He stands before you in a manly manerific typical man-like outfit which is covered in his manly motto: "I am a man!"
Daraius said: You gotta risk it for the biscuit.
Pony power all the way, yo. The more Brontaurs the better.
So it came up twice in a short period of time I was logged in... The whole not being able to quickly choose a race really threw the novices off. In most MUDs I have played, they pick a race almost immediately... Is there anyway to *hint* to them they can pick a race later? I ran through the intro, and I didn't really see anything like "Don't worry about race, that's later." kind of thing. I totally understand the importance of talking with them why they can't be an Illithoid or Viscanti in Celest or vice versa.... But they are panicking that they don't get to pick races. Heh.
"True MUD/MUSH players aren't looking for the super easy/being hand fed.
The game is basically a story you can live and alter as you go. The new
players that are asking to dumb it down completely are usually the
players that won't stick around. That is why there are playstations,
xboxes, and pc games that give them what they need. This is a niche game
and there still a decent market/player base for this kind of gaming.
Afew minor improvements and open minds will help this game flourish."
There are not enough ways to click AGREE.
This is why the combat overhaul scares me. I'm gathering that there will be fewer afflictions, and things will be simplified. Some of us like complication. Not that it isn't needed, and it's in many, very capable hands.
About not being able to choose a race during creation? Complete fail. It would have been better to simply choose a faction and then get an error message if a disallowed race was chosen.
About not being able to choose a race during creation? Complete fail. It would have been better to simply choose a faction and then get an error message if a disallowed race was chosen.
I feel like there's confusion over why the change to character creation was made. It didn't happen because players were choosing poor races; rather, the impetus behind it was that, quite simply, actual new players were in large numbers being scared off by the massive lists of guilds and races presented before they even get a chance to play the game. Further, because they don't get to play the game, there's no context as to what any of the information hiding in those lists [i]means[/i]. It's a lot easier to get new players into the game if they actually get to the point of, well, being players playing the game. The guild/race choices are deferred both so people get the opportunity to play the game some before making the choices, and are also ordered so that the previous choices make the following choices less arduous by paring down the number of options (or, in the case of races, highlighting a smaller list of recommended options). These effects both help avoid scaring off people who are on the fence, thus leading to more newbies, and thus more players, and thus a more fun, interesting, and dynamic social/roleplaying/combat/whatever-else-people-do-in-Lusternia game.
And because I can already hear someone saying it, I do not feel that "they should have read the website" or similar is an appropriate response, for two reasons:
A) Someone new to MUDs is not going to have any context for what a lot of the information means - sure, they can be expected to grok the story concept of the game, but that's about it. Mechanics need to be experienced to make sense of them, for a lot of people.
10) People new to a game generally want to [i]play[/i] a game, not read about playing a game. Yes, a MUD is text, and is thus a lot of reading, but it's not the reading that we have to worry about here, because no matter how character creation works, someone who doesn't want to play a text game isn't going to play no matter how it's set up. Rather, there is a significant difference between reading a static page on a website, and actually getting in the game and making decisions and interacting with the world. The latter is much more fun, which is why in a world filled with books, MUDs even exist at all.
Yes, these don't apply in the same way to people who are experienced with MUDs. But there are way, way, way more people who've never played a MUD than those who regularly do so. Ergo, it makes sense to get people from the latter category into the former. The aim of simplifying things for newbies isn't to get rid of game complexity, but instead to abstract it away from the part where they're getting their feet wet and learning how the game works.
"True MUD/MUSH players aren't looking for the super easy/being hand fed.
The game is basically a story you can live and alter as you go. The new
players that are asking to dumb it down completely are usually the
players that won't stick around. That is why there are playstations,
xboxes, and pc games that give them what they need. This is a niche game
and there still a decent market/player base for this kind of gaming.
Afew minor improvements and open minds will help this game flourish."
There are not enough ways to click AGREE.
The "we're dumbing down the game for the xbox crowd, cater to the
hardcore MUD fans instead" sentiment annoys me, because the implications
(variously, non-exhaustively, and depending on context: that
"mainstream" gamers can't enjoy MUDs; that "mainstream" gamers aren't
good/mature/smart/etc enough to play MUDs; that there is a limitless
supply of MUD players to tap and we don't need new players) are
demonstrably false. Sure, there are some people who are going to realize
the game is a text game and be all, "lol, reading is for nerds, I'm
gonna go teabag some noob in halo because I am macho toughguy and in two
years I might even hit puberty", who aren't going to come around
regardless of what we do. But there are also going to be plenty of
people who are going to say, "Oh, hey, this looks interesting and
different, I have no idea what it is but I'll give it a try anyway". That group
is important. In fact, that group is arguably the single most important
group of people for the health and longevity of the game. Making it
easier for that group to get into the game is only and ever a good
thing, because this is how we get these "true MUD/MUSH players".
(Note: this is not permission to derail the thread. If people want to discuss this, feel free to make a new thread, and I'll move the relevant posts over to it.)
But there are also going to be plenty of
people who are going to say, "Oh, hey, this looks interesting and
different, I have no idea what it is but I'll give it a try anyway".
That was me! I clicked a random add on facebook I think it was one day, and it lead me right into the game. No trawling through the website or even discovering the storyline, never played a MUD before....and I was hooked. 4 years later, I'm still around. If we only cater to the people that have played MUDs forever, we'll never expand our playerbase.
I have yet to make an alt with the new change to race selection, but I really like the thinking behind it. I think the idea someone mentioned of having a hint show up that they will get to select race soon during the intro is a good one to soothe any worries people have in starting.
I think the idea someone mentioned of having a hint show up that they will get to select race soon during the intro is a good one to soothe any worries people have in starting.
I thought I had posted about this earlier, but apparently I imagine things. Either way, I'll be adding something to this effect over the weekend.
Hello. I am a complete newbie to MUDs even though I was fairly active in the BBS scene decades ago. I wanted to try something different and found myself here. I have played for about three hours and have gone back and forth through the golden portal several times and am now stuck; I have absolutely no idea what I am supposed to be doing now. I am getting really tired of killing dirty finks. The last thing I did was put a black stone in a lava pool in Stone Mountain where it turned into a crystal ball that I can't seem to do anything with.
I have chatted with a few people in CGT but have only shared space with two people who were both 3000%-4000% mightier than I. One glared at me. This game feels lonely compared to my more recent experiences in Guild Wars and Dungeons & Dragons Online.
Think I will go track down that site that had a sh*t-ton of .z5 games and play in Frotz for awhile.
Regards, Lost in Lusternia
P.S. I was really into the game for the first two hours or so.
Hello. I am a complete newbie to MUDs even though I was fairly active in the BBS scene decades ago. I wanted to try something different and found myself here. I have played for about three hours and have gone back and forth through the golden portal several times and am now stuck; I have absolutely no idea what I am supposed to be doing now. I am getting really tired of killing dirty finks. The last thing I did was put a black stone in a lava pool in Stone Mountain where it turned into a crystal ball that I can't seem to do anything with.
I have chatted with a few people in CGT but have only shared space with two people who were both 3000%-4000% mightier than I. One glared at me. This game feels lonely compared to my more recent experiences in Guild Wars and Dungeons & Dragons Online.
Think I will go track down that site that had a sh*t-ton of .z5 games and play in Frotz for awhile.
Regards, Lost in Lusternia
P.S. I was really into the game for the first two hours or so.
did it tell you to take the crystal and then take it to the ant queen? also, NEWBIE channel is there to help you when you get stuck like that.
The soft, hollow voice of Nocht, the Silent resounds within your mind as His words echo through the aether, "Congratulations, Arimisia. Your mastery of vermin cannot be disputed."
Welcome to Lusternia and the Sentinels. I play your guildmaster, Entrias, and I'm likely the most Awesome helpful person in your guild that is active. If you happen to stick around, feel free to prod me a bit and I'll help you out. There's little more in Lusternia that I enjoy more than helping new people find a reason to stick around.
Everiine said: The reason population is low isn't because there are too many orgs. It's because so many facets of the game are outright broken and protected by those who benefit from it being that way. An overabundance of gimmicks (including game-breaking ones), artifacts that destroy any concept of balance, blatant pay-to-win features, and an obsession with convenience that makes few things actually worthwhile all contribute to the game's sad decline.
did it tell you to take the crystal and then take it to the ant queen? also, NEWBIE channel is there to help you when you get stuck like that.
it would not let me take ball, ball341, crystal, or crystal ball. it says, "I see no crystal to take"
EDIT: (University): Kiradawea says, "In that case, you should be able to GET BALL FROM POOL." Yep, played all those text adventures in the past, and I never realized to try adding 'FROM POOL.' Shame on me.
Lusternia does take some getting used to, and perhaps at times, it is hard for some of us to remember that we were newbies once, too. I'd say try and stick it out... see if you can complete the tour (if you haven't already), and then ask around the city, see what you can focus on doing past newbiehood and then decide, because the newbie tour in and of itself isn't all that great of an experience in regards to everything that you can do in Lusternia.
Forgiveness is the fragrance that the violet sheds on the heel that has crushed it.
Yeah. Text-based adventures do take some getting used to, and Lusternia is really difficult as far as text-based games go. But there's just. so. much. in this game. The amount of things you can do is just incredible.
did it tell you to take the crystal and then take it to the ant queen? also, NEWBIE channel is there to help you when you get stuck like that.
it would not let me take ball, ball341, crystal, or crystal ball. it says, "I see no crystal to take"
EDIT: (University): Kiradawea says, "In that case, you should be able to GET BALL FROM POOL." Yep, played all those text adventures in the past, and I never realized to try adding 'FROM POOL.' Shame on me.
I am glad you finally got it figured out rule of thumb, any time you have to probe another item for the item you are looking for (like this case the pool, or maybe your backpack or anything else!) it will be take <item> from <whatever it is you had to probe>
The soft, hollow voice of Nocht, the Silent resounds within your mind as His words echo through the aether, "Congratulations, Arimisia. Your mastery of vermin cannot be disputed."
Mn, some thoughts on this. I recently brought a friend into the game, brand new to MUDs etc. He was really really super duper excited about the races. But then when we were in the shiny new Newton everything about the the quests and the Fates just seemed to bug out and he rerolled at least three-four times over the course of 3 rl days just to see if it would do any better. There was a point where he got super frustrated because he was stuck in Newton, but he couldn't do anything to get the race he had been so excited about, and almost gave the game up for lost (as in it seems nice but nah I won't be coming back). Fortunately I remembered the speedup command and that finally pushed him through to the shadow. I understand the need to make the intro more transparent, but I'd still vote for allowing Races to be chosen off the bat. Also, I might be alone on this but I kind of miss the *clickity clack* and the tapestry of life part of the intro. It seemed more immersive, and my selling point to my friend was the game being immersive. I'm a little on the fence about the pick 1 pick 2 quest dialogue, if written well, it will be awesome, in comparison to Imperian which I hopped on recently to compare it's lightyears better for sure.
An idea for Race selection: perhaps something like a mirror or a gallery of mirrors/living tapestries you look into with a reflection/pattern that speaks... or something like this, taken shamelessly from the intriguing but unfortunately p2p Dragon Realms mu* lore site.
The Dwarf figurine speaks: "From the bones of the earth did the gods
form us, the Dwarves, children of the mountains and the hardiest of all
the sentient creations. What we lack in agility and height we make up
for in strength and stamina. We are steadfast, enduring, and fatigue
rarely troubles us. The earth cradles us; it is where we prefer to make
our homes. When we set ourselves on a path none can sway us -- other
than ourselves."
You regard the form of the Dwarf figurine. Short and wide, a long beard
descends from its face in many curls and braids. The eyes regard you
unflinchingly, without fear or regret. Strength and power reside in this
form.
A deep, growling voice emits from the figure: "Rakash I am, the hunter
who is happiest when she is with her pack. We live for the family, fight
for the family, die for the family. No king can break us up, no god can
destroy us. In ones and twos we may sometimes travel, but our happiness
is complete when we are. The other races try to understand us, but
cannot, for in their minds they are examining us in the singular. We
discovered the truth long ago when we learned that we are strongest when
united. Strength have I, and endurance, and speed. Whether I hunt with
steel or with spell, all that matters is that I do what I do for the
pack!"
The Rakash is of moderate height and seems to shift between a humanoid
with a furry coat and a short snout and a Human with deep, soulful eyes.
Both forms gaze at you with a combination of strength and loyalty, and
there is a down-to-earth sensibility about this race present in only a
few of the others. In its half-Human
form, a short tail sweeps down behind the Rakash, stopping just short
of the ground it stands on, and its ears are tall and curved, constantly
twitching at the smallest sounds.
The Halfling figurine speaks, a bubbly, high-toned voice that is overrun
with jovial humor. "Clever Halfling am I! Strength I have not, and
height I have not, and really, I'm not all that skilled in magic -- but
clever, clever, clever is this one! We are the curious, the ingenious,
the solver of riddles! Always have we an eye on the humor in things, for
life is too short to be spent on brooding! Lanival
gave all the lands to us, so all places are ours. Our curiosity
untangles the knots that bind and finds that which is not yet lost. What
we lack in power and height we make up with skill and accuracy and
dexterity."
Though short -- half the size of the Human and smaller than the Dwarves
-- the Halfling radiates a confidence, merriment, and awareness of the
world that makes up for size. Bright eyes twinkle with suppressed
laughter.
I'm a consent-based roleplayer! Kindly ask first, and I will return the favour. Open to developing tinyplots. Atlantis is my client of choice! (Guide)
Would definitely love to see a bit more definition to the races of Lusternia (both in terms of exterior look and mindset)... and yes, that Dragon Realms thing does seem quite interesting with short excerpts spoken by a representative of each race, and they could even be famous historical figures that will give new players a bit of information regarding the lore of the game as well.
Forgiveness is the fragrance that the violet sheds on the heel that has crushed it.
I am having some trouble with the HTML 5 client. I am an aslaran in The Institute of Hallifax. I completed my collegium tasks half way through the healing task, it came up with a message stating that I had completed my collegium. I now dont have access to the COLLEGE functions. But the HTML 5 client is still tracking the Healing quest that I was part way through. I cant work out how to clear this. I know that I can use QUEST UNTRACK (quest name) to untrack any of the quests in newton etc, but I cant work out how to stop tracking this quest.
I know that I could go back and try and complete it, but since I have finished my collegium, I am not sure if this will work either.
I am not asking for help with the actual quest - if I have to complete it, then I will work that out on my own, but all I want to do is remove it from the quests box on the right of my HTML5 client.
You should be able to use GUILD in place of COLLEGE, at least in the instance of GUILD STATUS to list your tasks. As for the client quest box, I unfortunately have no idea how to go about fixing that...when I'm forced to use it, I'm constantly tracking a village quest that I had already completed, but never received credit for due to a bug. Finishing the quest may get rid of it.
Sorry!
Crumkane, Lord of Epicurean Delights says, "WAS IT INDEED ON FIRE, ERITHEYL."
-
With a deep reverb, Contemptible Sutekh says, "CEASE YOUR INFERNAL ENERGY, ERITHEYL."
Comments
But my newbie somehow managed to finish the tutorial without choosing a race. I can't remember if I was asked to do so and it happened because I also chose my guild after the tutorial, or if it simply didn't come up. It's alright for me but a true newbie might be confused by this. Maybe it'd help to make a hint for newbies who haven't chosen a race yet that reminds and tells them the syntax. Though I have no idea how to exclude those who want to stay human from this.
Simple enough, prompt them to explicitly select human.
Estarra the Eternal says, "Give Shevat the floor please."
I brought five new players with me to this game in the past, and we all came to pretty much the same conclusion (real life age group from 19-47 at the time). We are all sticklers for research: reading help files, forums, wikis, et cetera before trying most games. So if I'm slow to reply or completely miss your tell (will get a separate chat window soon) I'm not trying to ignore you or be unsocial, I'm more than likely still looking up or researching something about this game. We are all fans of sci-fi, fantasy, et cetera and us older ones grew up playing DnD. One is a computer programmer with over 20 years of experience, another is a computer engineer with around the same years of experience, and one of the younger ones is in college for art and literature, so they had stuff (skills) to offer to the game community. They left due to afew of these issues. Afew fixes might bring them and others back.
1. Race selection: Lusternia has some of the best races when drawing people to the game, but... most of those races are considered not optimal (even have major disadvantages) at endgame, which is what people work toward/invest their time into this game for. While it is understandable that some races don't/shouldn't fit certain classes, some standouts certainly fall short... example tae'dae. Tae'dae no doubt look like and should be an outstanding warrior choice for a majority of the warrior guilds and even the monk guilds for Celest and Serenwilde (obviously not a great choice for stealth). Other races we noticed (as well as others upon these forums have pointed out) are: Taurian, Mugwump, Igasho... probably more. Not everyone wants to be a Aslaran or Loboshigaru. It would also be nice to see maybe tae'dae, taurian, and loboshigaru shamans. It doesn't seem too unlogical or farfetched, as well as fixing it to where they'd be on par with other races suited for said skill set. Racial diverity and an even playing field for those races (granted, if truly suited for certain roles) isn't much to ask for. Why have them if only a mere few are really optimal or suggested by an organization (not including org races).
2. Lack of people around to help with quest/answer questions: This is a problem due to many factors: low player base, afew of those players being from different time zones, and generally not having the time to help a new player due to trying to accomplish something in game (we are all guilty of it, be it this game or another). A player may only be on for a limited time and wanted to accomplish something during said time. Helping a new player at times take away from that accomplishment. This game is about interaction with others and new players should understand this before playing a MUD, MUSH, et cetera... but it would hurt if noone was available to automate someone to help with quest hints and so-on. Let me state though, the majority of players here are friendly and helpful when available.
3. Collegium quest: The time reduction thing for each one completed is ridiculous. This is one of the quest lines that shouldn't have a time reduction but maybe a level cap for graduation if not 100% completed. Some of this also refers to #2 (lack of people around at certain times). The planes and how power works are very important to your life in Lusternia. It isn't something that should be rushed. One of the few important quest where almost everyone should have the honours line.
4. Business sense: Credits are over inflated (cost too much). Many people wouldn't mind opening the wallets or purses if the prices were lowered just alittle, maybe start at 35 cents a credit and lower prices accordingly to number of credits per package. And not to take away from the players/programmers that provide their own systems (their loyalty to making the game better for all shouldn't go unnoticed or be punished), IRE should make a full blown curing/attacking system for all of there games. I see there is work for one in this game (which is great), but that should be used as a helper to push people toward learning how to cure themselves and improving on it themselves (with help or documentation) on improving it. It keeps the free to play game free and gives everyone a chance to compete/improve. For the people who don't want to spend their time coding/improving it, make a full blown version for a cost, say around 18-25 bucks (around 50-75 credits if using my prices above), maybe also including it in the elite package and removing afew of the credits awarded. This give players options, either stick with your loyal client through a player/programmer, or use the game/business offered client. Some players would rather pay the business side due to many reasons (mostly due to wanting to keep the game going and updating as the abilities, et cetera change). Seen too many players/programmers clients eventually go dormant and lack updates due to their real life event changes, lose interest in the game, or just move on to a new game. I'd like both options available to use, a business side client incase my favorite client does happen to go dormant.
True MUD/MUSH players aren't looking for the super easy/being hand fed. The game is basically a story you can live and alter as you go. The new players that are asking to dumb it down completely are usually the players that won't stick around. That is why there are playstations, xboxes, and pc games that give them what they need. This is a niche game and there still a decent market/player base for this kind of gaming. Afew minor improvements and open minds will help this game flourish.
I'm sure there are a lot more ideas/issues that aren't just give me some free shiny, new ability, super easymode, et cetera that can be brought up.
PS: Sorry for typos and massive text wall!
There are not enough ways to click AGREE.
This is why the combat overhaul scares me. I'm gathering that there will be fewer afflictions, and things will be simplified. Some of us like complication. Not that it isn't needed, and it's in many, very capable hands.
I feel like there's confusion over why the change to character creation was made. It didn't happen because players were choosing poor races; rather, the impetus behind it was that, quite simply, actual new players were in large numbers being scared off by the massive lists of guilds and races presented before they even get a chance to play the game. Further, because they don't get to play the game, there's no context as to what any of the information hiding in those lists [i]means[/i]. It's a lot easier to get new players into the game if they actually get to the point of, well, being players playing the game. The guild/race choices are deferred both so people get the opportunity to play the game some before making the choices, and are also ordered so that the previous choices make the following choices less arduous by paring down the number of options (or, in the case of races, highlighting a smaller list of recommended options). These effects both help avoid scaring off people who are on the fence, thus leading to more newbies, and thus more players, and thus a more fun, interesting, and dynamic social/roleplaying/combat/whatever-else-people-do-in-Lusternia game.
And because I can already hear someone saying it, I do not feel that "they should have read the website" or similar is an appropriate response, for two reasons:
A) Someone new to MUDs is not going to have any context for what a lot of the information means - sure, they can be expected to grok the story concept of the game, but that's about it. Mechanics need to be experienced to make sense of them, for a lot of people.
10) People new to a game generally want to [i]play[/i] a game, not read about playing a game. Yes, a MUD is text, and is thus a lot of reading, but it's not the reading that we have to worry about here, because no matter how character creation works, someone who doesn't want to play a text game isn't going to play no matter how it's set up. Rather, there is a significant difference between reading a static page on a website, and actually getting in the game and making decisions and interacting with the world. The latter is much more fun, which is why in a world filled with books, MUDs even exist at all.
Yes, these don't apply in the same way to people who are experienced with MUDs. But there are way, way, way more people who've never played a MUD than those who regularly do so. Ergo, it makes sense to get people from the latter category into the former. The aim of simplifying things for newbies isn't to get rid of game complexity, but instead to abstract it away from the part where they're getting their feet wet and learning how the game works.
The "we're dumbing down the game for the xbox crowd, cater to the hardcore MUD fans instead" sentiment annoys me, because the implications (variously, non-exhaustively, and depending on context: that "mainstream" gamers can't enjoy MUDs; that "mainstream" gamers aren't good/mature/smart/etc enough to play MUDs; that there is a limitless supply of MUD players to tap and we don't need new players) are demonstrably false. Sure, there are some people who are going to realize the game is a text game and be all, "lol, reading is for nerds, I'm gonna go teabag some noob in halo because I am macho toughguy and in two years I might even hit puberty", who aren't going to come around regardless of what we do. But there are also going to be plenty of people who are going to say, "Oh, hey, this looks interesting and different, I have no idea what it is but I'll give it a try anyway". That group is important. In fact, that group is arguably the single most important group of people for the health and longevity of the game. Making it easier for that group to get into the game is only and ever a good thing, because this is how we get these "true MUD/MUSH players".
/essay
That was me! I clicked a random add on facebook I think it was one day, and it lead me right into the game. No trawling through the website or even discovering the storyline, never played a MUD before....and I was hooked. 4 years later, I'm still around. If we only cater to the people that have played MUDs forever, we'll never expand our playerbase.
I have yet to make an alt with the new change to race selection, but I really like the thinking behind it. I think the idea someone mentioned of having a hint show up that they will get to select race soon during the intro is a good one to soothe any worries people have in starting.
Hello. I am a complete newbie to MUDs even though I was fairly active in the BBS scene decades ago. I wanted to try something different and found myself here. I have played for about three hours and have gone back and forth through the golden portal several times and am now stuck; I have absolutely no idea what I am supposed to be doing now. I am getting really tired of killing dirty finks. The last thing I did was put a black stone in a lava pool in Stone Mountain where it turned into a crystal ball that I can't seem to do anything with.
I have chatted with a few people in CGT but have only shared space with two people who were both 3000%-4000% mightier than I. One glared at me. This game feels lonely compared to my more recent experiences in Guild Wars and Dungeons & Dragons Online.
Think I will go track down that site that had a sh*t-ton of .z5 games and play in Frotz for awhile.
Regards,
Lost in Lusternia
P.S. I was really into the game for the first two hours or so.
Hi!
Welcome to Lusternia and the Sentinels. I play your guildmaster, Entrias, and I'm likely the most
Awesomehelpful person in your guild that is active. If you happen to stick around, feel free to prod me a bit and I'll help you out. There's little more in Lusternia that I enjoy more than helping new people find a reason to stick around.EDIT: (University): Kiradawea says, "In that case, you should be able to GET BALL FROM POOL."
Yep, played all those text adventures in the past, and I never realized to try adding 'FROM POOL.' Shame on me.
Forgiveness is the fragrance that the violet sheds on the heel that has crushed it.
Estarra the Eternal says, "Give Shevat the floor please."
An idea for Race selection: perhaps something like a mirror or a gallery of mirrors/living tapestries you look into with a reflection/pattern that speaks... or something like this, taken shamelessly from the intriguing but unfortunately p2p Dragon Realms mu* lore site.
The Dwarf figurine speaks: "From the bones of the earth did the gods form us, the Dwarves, children of the mountains and the hardiest of all the sentient creations. What we lack in agility and height we make up for in strength and stamina. We are steadfast, enduring, and fatigue rarely troubles us. The earth cradles us; it is where we prefer to make our homes. When we set ourselves on a path none can sway us -- other than ourselves."
You regard the form of the Dwarf figurine. Short and wide, a long beard descends from its face in many curls and braids. The eyes regard you unflinchingly, without fear or regret. Strength and power reside in this form.
A deep, growling voice emits from the figure: "Rakash I am, the hunter who is happiest when she is with her pack. We live for the family, fight for the family, die for the family. No king can break us up, no god can destroy us. In ones and twos we may sometimes travel, but our happiness is complete when we are. The other races try to understand us, but cannot, for in their minds they are examining us in the singular. We discovered the truth long ago when we learned that we are strongest when united. Strength have I, and endurance, and speed. Whether I hunt with steel or with spell, all that matters is that I do what I do for the pack!"
The Rakash is of moderate height and seems to shift between a humanoid with a furry coat and a short snout and a Human with deep, soulful eyes. Both forms gaze at you with a combination of strength and loyalty, and there is a down-to-earth sensibility about this race present in only a few of the others. In its half-Human form, a short tail sweeps down behind the Rakash, stopping just short of the ground it stands on, and its ears are tall and curved, constantly twitching at the smallest sounds.
The Halfling figurine speaks, a bubbly, high-toned voice that is overrun with jovial humor. "Clever Halfling am I! Strength I have not, and height I have not, and really, I'm not all that skilled in magic -- but clever, clever, clever is this one! We are the curious, the ingenious, the solver of riddles! Always have we an eye on the humor in things, for life is too short to be spent on brooding! Lanival gave all the lands to us, so all places are ours. Our curiosity untangles the knots that bind and finds that which is not yet lost. What we lack in power and height we make up with skill and accuracy and dexterity."
Though short -- half the size of the Human and smaller than the Dwarves -- the Halfling radiates a confidence, merriment, and awareness of the world that makes up for size. Bright eyes twinkle with suppressed laughter.
I'm a consent-based roleplayer! Kindly ask first, and I will return the favour. Open to developing tinyplots.
Atlantis is my client of choice! (Guide)
Forgiveness is the fragrance that the violet sheds on the heel that has crushed it.
Estarra the Eternal says, "Give Shevat the floor please."
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