I'd like to pick up on two key phrases: Consistency and Realistically simulated world.
To me consistency is the hallmark of quality in a Mud . It goes all the way from the general theme of the mud, through the theme and plot of each zone, down to the smallest details in the game. In 4D, having a Time Travel theme, there are 4 different worlds, each with its own theme, based on the Time Period. A newcomer in 4D, seeing an experienced player dressed in the best gear from all 4 Dimensions, may scoff at the statement that we strive for consistency. But a fact is, that you won't find anything in one Dimension that doesn't belong to that particular time period – except for the players, who go everywhere, and a few intentional anachronisms, caused by these adventurers. As a consequence, Time Travellers have become part of the local landscape, and the locals scoff at their funny equipment and strange ways, calling them Time Tourists and generally scorning them – except when they want help with something of course.
As for consistency within the zones; everything in that zone should be true to the theme, and every good zone should have a theme – and a plot. Then it's up to the Builder to see to it that the rooms, mobs, objects and scripts all work together to forward that plot. Ideally you should be able to strike up conversations with just about every mob in the zone, as long as it has any connection with the main plot. And the main plot usually leads the player into some sort of quest, easy or hard, depending on the level of the zone. I am not saying that this is the way it works in all our zones – some of the older ones are definitely not up to our current standards. But it's a goal you should always strive for.
Finally, the details: You should be able to look at everything – (something that I really hate is when you get the message 'You don't see that here'). Sometimes you should also be able to look behind, above or under objects, to find more information, usually quest related. I like it when the rooms are linked in a logical way, so that if you backstep, you get back to the room that you just left. Usually even my mazes are mappable on a grid, if you can figure out the places where the rooms are intentionally linked in circles to confuse you. And the most important rule when linking in circles is to never ever do it so that the player can see himself a few rooms away. That to me is a sign of bad building.
If a zone is built in several levels, like a castle or a tower, the different levels should corresspond – i.e. the stairs shouild be found in the same corner on each level, there should only be windows in the outer walls, and so on. And if the castle has one of those medieval toilets, which hangs out over the moat with a hole in the floor, the moat water under that oriel should be really muddy, stinking and disgusting. Consistency, even in the details.
As for Realistically simulated world, I'd like to swap that for a Playable world, which follows some set logical rules. After all, most Muds deal with magic, which is not overly realistic to modern day man, but magic has its own set of rules that should be followed. Some players dislike eating and drinking, since they see the hunger and thirst messages as just an irritating spam. I wouldn't take it quite that far, in fact I think that food and drink could be made an integrated part of the gameplay, where you get seriously weakened if you neglect it, and where the right choice of food could affect your abilities in a positive way. But I have never yet seen a mud that requires you to go to the toilet, that's where most of us world designers draw the line.
So yes, it's nice if the seasons change, and fruit and berries can only be picked in the right season. It's nice if the mobs go to work in the morning, have a drink in the pub on their way home to dinner, and go to sleep in their own bedroom. It's nice if animals mate and have younglings that eventually mature, breed and die in turn, and if there are predators to keep their numbers in check. It's nice if you can harvest the corn and bake your own bread, or cut down trees and sell the lumber. It would be nice if the Boss mob that you just killed would stay dead, and not just spring to life again next time the zone repops. It would even be nice if players could set fire to houses and forests and burn everything to a crisp.
But nice features like that must never interfere with playability. If some creatures at the top of the food chain are allowed to multiply freely, it will eventually lead to mob pile-ups that will spam you right off the screen, or in the worst case might crash the mud. And if the important mob that you just killed stays permanently dead, or if the forest or village fire leaves a permanent empty and scorched area – that to me is a total waste of Builder work and bandwidth. In general I'd say that if a feature doesn't add to the playability in some way, then it's not really worth the effort to implement it, because there are so many interesting things that you could potentially do, that you have to make priorities.
In 4D we actually have it easier than most games with the 'logical rules'. Since it's a Time Travel Mud, there is even a 'realistic' explanation to why you are resurrected when you die – you are just brought back to the time before you were killed by the Travel Agency, (for a slight fee of course). As long as you are on a quest in one of the Dimensions, the locals will remember your name and your deeds, and treat you according to your actions. But when you've finished, and later return to the place that you perhaps left in ashes and shambles, you return to a time before that happened, where the villagers haven't even heard your name yet.
Other Muds have different ways of treating similar situations. And as long as it is consistent with the logical rules of that game, I have no problem with it.
It's what makes an open-ended game playable.
Forum
; so I am interested in finding out how people approach world design on their MUD, their goals & methods for building the game world or a portion of it (as is the case with the average builder.)
