The Anvil

Introduction

The CMud Settings Editor

As mentioned in my previous article, player-written curing systems play a large role in combat in many of the games from Iron Realms Entertainment. These systems help automate curing and by doing so give a better chance of survival to characters engaged in combat. To answer this need, not only do we provide our own Java-based Nexus and Flash-based FMud to allow players to write scripts. In addition, third parties have created sophisticated MUD clients which allow players to further capitalize on these scripts. Continue reading

Iron Realms Entertainment is considering making some substantial enhancements to the Nexus and Flash clients over the next few months. I am looking for a little feedback on an idea we are currently batting around.

As stated in previous posts, our game interface has remained relatively unchanged for years. With the exception of powerful clients that allow users to create triggers, aliases, and other settings, it can almost be argued our games have not seen any major interface innovation in over 10 years. The game can only be viewed and played as scrolling text. Continue reading

Introduction

As you play any of the many games from Iron Realms Entertainment, you may notice that our in-game combat is incredibly complex and in-depth, featuring numerous afflictions that must be cured. Lusternia alone features over two hundred separate afflictions! Naturally when Achaea, the first Iron Realms game, came into existance, the number of afflictions was much lower and it was more than possible to “manual” – curing reliably without the aid of an external, automated system. I’m going to illustrate how curing systems used by players today act to automatically handle afflictions, curing them without any real-time input from the player needed. Continue reading

I was recently able to catch Mike Potter (Zugg) of Zuggsoft Software, the creator of zMUD and CMUD and tie him down long enough to answer a few questions for our players about his history with MUDs, his MUD clients, and his future plans for his products.

So without further ado!

Me: Would you relate your first experience or introduction to MUDs?

Mike: In the summer of 1995 I was depressed from the divorce from my first wife.  I discovered MUDs to escape from the “real world” and was hooked!  I didn’t like any of the PC MUD clients available at that time, so I started writing my own.  My clan-mates on Dark Castle started using it and told me that I should make it Shareware and sell it to other MUD players.  A year later I formed Zugg Software and started selling zMUD .  Zugg was my old pen/paper D&D character name, and the name I was using on the Dark Castle MUD.  I no longer play any MUD using the name of “Zugg”, so if you see somebody using that name, they are an imposter.  In 1997, the income from zMUD was enough that I was able to quit my day job and work on zMUD fulltime.  Today, almost 15 years later, Zugg Software is the last remaining full-time business selling and supporting MUD client software. Continue reading

I recently had a chance to ask the lead developers of Mudlet, Heiko Kohen and Vadim Peretokin, a few questions about their product and future plans.

The supplied some great insights into what we can expect, and if you are an avid player of any IRE game, I am sure you will find the interview very enlightening.

Read on!

Continue reading

The MUD experience does not start when a player creates a character. It does not start when they complete the introductory tour, and especially not when they kill their first monster.

The experience begins the instant the website appears on the screen.

In that moment a new user decides if they are wasting their time. Continue reading