What is a MUD? #
A MUD is, simply put, a text-based online game. This was one of the first options for online gaming, during the days of dial-up networking, and far weaker computers. Obviously, with the advent of graphical MMORPGs and many other online games, they are a bit of a niche interest.
About RetroMUD #
I’m just going to put this out there up front, I’m a long time player though by no means one of the most illustrious or successful. I started out with my first character in 2005, and have been playing off and on.
RetroMUD takes place in a fairly typical sword-and-sorcery universe, with six planets. Each of these worlds has a theme, however the general feel of the game is still Medieval in nature. There are some anachronisms, but for the most part areas and equipment seems to fit that mold.
Character Creation #
Character creation is just a big part of the game, whether you’re just starting, or you have been playing for a while and want to reinc (read: reroll) your character into a new race and guild. There are plenty of fantasy races to pick from, and yes, dragons are included. There are also quite a few guilds, these are the character classes that you can take which provide skills, spells, and statistics. It’s really not possible for me to do justice to all the options that are available. However, a player has created a pretty powerful character builder.
RetroEQ Website and Character Builder
Game Changes #
There have been a number of recent and not-so-recent updates to the game. Over the years, equipment saving became far easier. Death used to be an insane setback for a casual player, with tons of experience lost. This could be a setback for weeks. Randomly generated equipment on higher level monsters means tons of equipment options, and a lot of possibilities which just weren’t there before. There’s even a rare event that unlocks exploration on a world, which bypasses locks on newbie areas and allows exploration for higher-level players. There is also advanced object targetting, letting you handle huge stacks of items with a more programmatic feel.
Things have come a long way, with many quality of life improvements, and there is still new development underway.
But Is It Any Good? #
Yes, if you like this type of game, or like interactive fiction games, I think you could have a pretty good time there. If you need cool graphics to hold your interest, no, it’s not for you. While the playerbase is a lot smaller than it was in years past, you’re bound to find someone helpful who will answer your questions.