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

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