What
ARE you on about!?
What
is a mud?
According to the MUD
Faq a mud is
"a computer program which users can log into and explore.
Each user takes
control of a computerized persona/avatar/incarnation/character.
You can walk around, chat with other characters, explore dangerous
monster-infested areas, solve puzzles, and even create your
very own rooms, descriptions and items. "
MUDs are based on ye olde worlde
text adventurers, long lost in the distant past when Bill Gates
said 'nobody will ever need more than 640k'! MUDs went one step
further by allowing multiple people to play at the same time.
Over the years this has been developed and today MUDs are incredibly
involved and intricate places to be.
Free!
Elephant MUD is totally free: there are no charges for playing
the game and no expensive software is required either!
You play Elephant MUD on your
computer by connecting to our game-server on the Internet, using
a programme called a telnet client. A basic one comes with most
operating systems, including Microsoft Windows, MacOS, and UNIX.
More advanced telnet clients, and clients specifically written
for playing MUDs, may be found on the Internet, some free, and
others for a small cost, but essentially all you need to play
is a computer and an Internet connexion. In all other respects
the game is completely free!
No pictures!?
It has been argued that multi-player Quake could be classed
as a MUD by the above definition, but generally MUDs are text
based. So, no fancy graphics, but MUDs believe that pretty graphics
detract from the art of game play and the depth of your own
imagination.
One of the best ways to describe
a MUD is like a book, where you, and others, write the stories
that occur. Or a textual stage with props where you and your
friends are actors in a play of your making.
What about Elephant
Mud?
There are masses of MUDs out there covering all sorts of genres
and game styles. Elephant Mud is one of the oldest based in
the UK having been around since April 1993. The full story of
inception to modern day can be read in our history
section. Suffice to say, we've had a lot of time to perfect
the world and the game and are constantly striving to improve
and develop it.
How do I interact
with this world?
Well you type! To move northwards you would type 'north', or
upward, 'up'.
You can 'look' at your surroundings and you will be presented
by something
that looks like this:
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Looking around, you find
yourself in a large, well decorated chamber. Tapestries
hang from the walls, depicting a wide range of scenes,
all of which revolve around Drakenwood, the large bustling
town to which you have travelled in search of adventure.
Resting against the east wall, there is a tall table,
upon which rests an old, leather bound book. Directly
above it, a wooden sign has been affixed. Many ensconced
torches bathe the room in light, flickering from time
to time as the occasional zephyr of air plays with their
dancing flames.
The
only obvious exit is west.
Loman Kell
Leather
Bound Book
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On Elemud these are known as
'rooms'. Even though they might not always be a room in the
real world sense, they might be a cavern, or a lake or an open
expanse...
You can interact with the items
and people in any room be they fellow adventurers or NPCS (non-player
characters).
Loman Kell is in this room. Loman
is an NPC and he exists to help new players you can often 'talk
to' NPCs and they will talk back to you using a menu system.
Generally they have lots of information to tell you.
Some items may be physically
present in the room, for example the Leather
Bound Book can be clearly seen here. You can interact with the
book by
looking at it or examining it. There may be other things you
can do, and this information will be present in the books description.
You can also look in more detail
at many aspects of the room mentioned in the main room description.
For example you could examine the tapestries or look at the
table. You can also search specific items or the room in general
and you may find secrets.
Underneath the main room description
you are also told what directions you can take to leave the
room. So you can continue to explore!
So what's the
aim of the Game?
Well, that's a question! As we've already said, the beauty of
Elemud is that
you write your own story so the aim of the game is yours to
choose as well. On a very basic level the idea is to advance
through the ranks from a level 1 'Newbie' to a level 29 'Hero'.
You advance by increasing your 'experience', gained in a variety
of ways. The primary way to get experience is through combat.
Using your arsenal of skills, spells, miracles, tricks or feats
or just plain whacking with something big and heavy or stabbing
with something sharp and pointy, you hack your way through the
various creatures that inhabit the realms.
But you don't have to spend all
your time fighting. You can also gain
experience points by doing good deeds or completing quests.
Good deeds are all over the place and you might stumble across
something that just isn't quite right. Maybe some hapless adventurer
has gotten themselves imprisoned and needs help getting free.
Or a creature needs healing? Let your conscience guide you!
Quests are a little more involved
than Deeds. Quests usually involve problem solving and require
you to take careful note of your surroundings and talk to people
to work out what is going on and what you need to do. You need
a certain amount of Quest Points to advance through the levels.
But there's more to Elephant
Mud than that...
You can find your parents and your long lost children and form
families. You
can band together with other families to form Houses and stand
together for support and strength and work with, or maybe against,
other Houses.
Maybe you want to try your hand
at politics and become a member of Council and decide on the
rules by which your fellow adventurers must live? Or perhaps
you would like to Lead your guild to glory? Maybe you prefer
to write for the in-game newspaper? Or take part in the many
events laid on for you.
There are all sorts of ways to
spend your time...
Make Friends
and influencing people
The key word in all this is Multiplayer. Although Elephant Mud
is a UK based game it's played by people from all over the world.
All sorts of people of all ages and from all walks of life.
EleMud is very social. You can team up with fellow adventurers
to take on the stronger creatures, or choose to be a sneaky
Rogue preying on passers-by. You might just enjoy chatting to
others and making new friends. The possibilities are, as we've
already said, endless.
There are many real-time ways
to communicate with other users in the game, whether you wish
to talk to everyone in the same room as you, specific individuals,
people in your guild or maybe everyone in the game.
If you keep missing your friends
or fellow adventurers there are other ways to communicate. We
have an in-game mail system that allows you to send messages
direct to a fellow user that they can pick up when they next
log in (a bit like Email). We also have public message boards
where you can post your thoughts and ideas to be discussed by
any who read that board. So there's no reason not to stay in
touch!
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That's just a brief overview
of what Elephant Mud is all about. Why not log
in and find out where your story will take you?
It's not just black and white...
Connecting
Character
Creation
FAQ
Newbie Guide
Back to Play
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