Other Text-Based Games [Archive] - The Gemstone IV Players' Corner

Seran

11-13-2006, 12:28 AM

I play a hateful little PvP oriented game known as ArcticMUD.

It's Dragonlance based with some great PvE, nice spells systems, really thought out classes. All of it torn apart by the fact that it's -now- small playerbase is nothing by hardcore random pkillers. You die, you lose experience and all your equipment. Not for the faint of heart.

The Ponzzz

11-13-2006, 12:34 AM

That sounds like the case in all the free games...

Sean of the Thread

11-13-2006, 12:45 AM

No you don't....do you?

If you do, I win all arguments in the future.

"Yeah, well you fucking LARP twice a week, douche bag."

-TheE-

Yes it's an awesome Star Trek larp and I'm a Klingon. We have cardboard Bird of Preys and when we turn the flashlight on it means we're cloaked.

Tyrael

11-13-2006, 01:00 AM

I've been looking at the upcoming game by Realtime Studios ( Elfdust ) which seems to have some solid promise. Hard to tell with the lack of development where they actually stand.

I feel that GS has been out for so long, the game just is lackluster these days. It's all been said and done in Elanthia for some time now.

Programmed my own engine as well if anyone has any interest in a game project.

Artha

11-13-2006, 01:08 AM

Text games as a genre are old and dieing. MMORPGs are the new hotness, until something bigger and better comes along.

Tyrael

11-13-2006, 02:03 AM

It would definitely seem that way. It sorrows me to see such games as Everquest and World of Warcraft find such favorable followings with such shallow gameplay models.

Tisket

11-13-2006, 02:46 AM

Am I the only one that thinks GS would find a resurgence of interest if they would lower their prices? They offer a good product but damn...Premium and Platinum prices must keep a lot of potential players away. I don't think it can all be blamed on lack of graphics.

Xaerve

11-13-2006, 02:50 AM

They need to expand the game and incorporate a PvP element, if they really wanted to expand their customer base. That being said, they'd lose some of their current customers if this happened.

StrayRogue

11-13-2006, 02:53 AM

PvP is utterly pointless in GS. And it will remain so until the entire mechanical engine is changed to a system whereby it isn't "who goes first, wins".

Jazuela

11-13-2006, 08:57 AM

Text games are not dying at all, in fact there are more now than ever before. Most of them are crap, many are in continual "beta" testing, but they're still popular enough to attract more people to come up with new ones almost every single day. There are literally thousands of MUDs out there, and weeding through the trife to find the gold isn't easy if you don't know what you're looking for. But if you do know what you're looking for, and know the "catch phrases" for a proper search, you'll find at least a few decent games in almost every possible theme/genre you can imagine.

Stanley Burrell

11-13-2006, 01:07 PM

I the use graphical interface for NetHack so I definitely balance out my non-pictureyness whilst 'Stoning it up.

And it is painfully obvious the truth of how people who play GemStone have greater imaginations, bank accounts and e-peens than them WoW'ers. Rargh :devil:

Artha

11-13-2006, 01:18 PM

Text games are not dying at all

O RLY?

I think if you took every person who plays a text game and counted them, that population would be less than the population of one or two high pop WoW servers. Text games'll be around for a long time because the overhead's so low, but to say it's a thriving industry is ludicrous at best.

Tyrael

11-13-2006, 01:25 PM

What do you think is the most you would be willing to pay for a text-base game? Given it is not going to be as complex and feature rich as GS is right now ( hey, they have a pretty good head start )? I have several friends that would love to play GS but aren't willing to drop the premium $$ to get into the game.

The Ponzzz

11-13-2006, 01:33 PM

If a game is fun, I'll play. The problem is, any other text based has to compare to GS to me. If I don't like something because how I'm so used to GS, then I won't pay to play.

The problem is, most of us have been playing since we were teenagers. Our views of what makes a good MUD great are based on the good points of GS(or DR).

While when I was younger, the monthly charges for GS seemed stupid as fuck, as a young adult, I don't think $14.95 is any price to really have to think about. And As long as I have something to keep my entertainment, I don't mind forking over my cash.

Most people that are semi-new to the text based world of MMOs are generally late bloomers in the chat-game worlds or online D&D. I've played a few other text based games while on a break from GS and I have yet to find one that keeps my attention or I'm not thinking, "If this thing was like a little more like GS I would like it."

Anyways, that's my thoughts.

CrystalTears

11-13-2006, 01:59 PM

Sean of the Thread

11-13-2006, 02:07 PM

CrystalTears

11-13-2006, 02:10 PM

I agree it's way overpriced. I'd only be willing to pay for GS for a reasonable fee for what everyone is able to access, because it's familiar to me and I can restore my existing characters. If I had to start over, I'd just play the free ones. I don't believe anyone I used to game with is playing GS anymore, for the most part.

Miss X

11-13-2006, 02:30 PM

Im happy paying for my GS premium subscription and my WoW subscription, game wise. I can afford it and it's worth paying for since I enjoy playing both. I wouldn't try any non Simu text based games really, for two reasons.

Firstly, I've invested time in my main character, who's kind of well known in some circles and cool to play. Secondly, I don't really trust other games, content wise. Nothing I've tried has matched up to GS. I can't see me giving up GS for any other text based game in the foreseeable future.

Latrinsorm

11-13-2006, 02:32 PM

I think if you took every person who plays a text game and counted them, that population would be less than the population of one or two high pop WoW servers. Text games'll be around for a long time because the overhead's so low, but to say it's a thriving industry is ludicrous at best.What's the point of that comparison? Text games can thrive while not challenging a graphical MMORPG's population the same way MLS can thrive without challenging MLB's ticket population.

Latrinsorm

11-13-2006, 02:33 PM

Firstly, I've invested time in my main character, who's kind of well known in some circles and cool to play.Yeah, everyone knows Jenovadeath. :)

CrystalTears

11-13-2006, 02:33 PM

I'm curious about a couple of things:

1) What do you guys refer to when you say "content wise"?

2) How long did you play, and/or, what's the highest level your character was before you quit the alternate game?

Tyrael

11-13-2006, 02:45 PM

What gets me the most about the 'other' games out there is the lack of a front-end like stormfront or even the wizard. When I have to telnet to a game or use some crappy java client it really kills me. I am paying say $9.95 a month for a game and I have to use my own client? Yeah, no thanks.

Miss X

11-13-2006, 02:56 PM

Content wise I mean... GS has the type of content I enjoy, it's fleshed out, the systems are good, the customer service/GM interaction (in my opinion) is good.

The level thing... Pretty low level, I got bored of the games and hated the front ends. I loved GS as soon as I started playing it. Each to their own though! :)

TheEschaton

11-13-2006, 03:35 PM

zMUD ftmfw.

It's a much better front end than Wizard, or SF, has more support than Lich or whatever'll ever have....telnet? I mean, what planet do you live on?

-TheE-

Tyrael

11-13-2006, 03:40 PM

Telnet, GMud, Pueblo, MushClient... They are all the same to me. If I have to go buy or download some third party software to play a game that I am paying for, that is just ridiculous.

Looking at the Elfdust client ( although it is kinda strange feeling right now ) it makes me feel like I am going to get my monies worth when I play the game.

zhelas

11-13-2006, 04:01 PM

I wish someone would light a fire under Heros Journey. I am kinda of excited about it. But it has been delayed for so long.

zhelas

11-13-2006, 04:06 PM

I tried one of the Iron Realm games, and it made me wonder why I spent over $20 a month for Gemstone.

I'd return to Gemstone if it were like $10-15 a month, and I don't mean with it being divided like it is now. One fee for all.

I tried Iron Realm games and you can play it for free. My problem with the game is the fact you can use Real Life money to make your character uber powerful. I heard folks complain that a high level character was crushed by someone of much lower level since they spend tons of money.

Came back to Gemstone. The game felt like a comfortable pair of old sneakers.

Bring on Hero's Journey!

CrystalTears

11-13-2006, 04:21 PM

My problem with the game is the fact you can use Real Life money to make your character uber powerful. And... GS doesn't do that? Or do you mean stats and skills aside from gear?

zhelas

11-13-2006, 04:33 PM

And... GS doesn't do that? Or do you mean stats and skills aside from gear?

The stats and skills. If I remember you can buy tokens or something like that. Which will allow you to push your stats and skills.

Artha

11-13-2006, 04:34 PM

HJ's just been delayed so much (recently) because they're building and marketing the engine. Hopefully once that's complete, they'll get the rest of the game up in short order.

Sean of the Thread

11-13-2006, 04:37 PM

I heard it was because the Pentium III is on back order for the server.

Tyrael

11-13-2006, 05:30 PM

From my previous involvement with the Heroes Journey project I think current Gemstone players will be disappointed.

Artha

11-13-2006, 05:37 PM

I don't think their target audience is really going to be GS players, but rather people who want more of the RPG in their MMORPGs.

Jazuela

11-13-2006, 05:58 PM

You don't have to pay anything for a quality roleplaying game. Most MUDs on the internet are free. Only a very - VERY few games cost anything at all, and even most of those are pay for perks, or pay requested but not required to advance in the game. IRE's model is like that. You can play free forever, never pay a cent, and still get plenty of enjoyment and in fact the exact same things that people who pay get. The only thing people who pay get, that free players don't get, is the stuff - quicker. Good for people who don't play often but want to keep up with friends who play more often. But unneccessary to enjoy the game.

Simutronics has a massive (comparatively) player population in part because they allow multi-accounting. So while sure, there might be 500 characters logged in, it's very possible that 300 of them are being played by the same players as the other 200 players. So really there are only 200 individual players playing (for example, I don't know the actual numbers). 200 individual players isn't really much different from games that don't allow multi-playing, and in fact is a lot less than some of the more popular ones.

Text gaming has been around since the days of bulletin boards, long before the advent of the public internet and the web. Every 6 months or so there's a huge debate on the various forums about text games dying. And every time someone starts the debate, everyone else just chuckles politely because they know it's just some guy who has absolutely no clue. And in the meantime, text games continue to do just fine, attracting a variety of types of players from all over the world, who start at various ages (though most often younger rather than older).

MUDs are dying to MMOs just as much as television is dying to DVDs. Which means - it isn't.

Artha

11-13-2006, 06:14 PM

Totally invalid comparison.

MUDs are dying to MMOs just like cassettes died to CDs or VHSes died to DVDs.

TheEschaton

11-13-2006, 06:41 PM

I paid $20 for zMUD 9 years ago. Seems to have been a pretty decent investment.

-TheE-

Latrinsorm

11-13-2006, 07:15 PM

Totally invalid comparison.

MUDs are dying to MMOs just like cassettes died to CDs or VHSes died to DVDs.Or..

MUDs are dying to MMOs just like books died to those new-fangled "talkie" pictures.

Oh wait!!!

Daniel

11-13-2006, 07:21 PM

Don't look so surprised. You all knew it was coming.

Tisket

11-13-2006, 07:35 PM

MUDs are dying to MMOs just like books died to those new-fangled "talkie" pictures.

Oh wait!!!

Soon:

http://www.nea.gov/news/news04/ReadingAtRisk.html

Artha

11-13-2006, 08:01 PM

Hey, Latrin...2/3 (or 3/4 or something amazing like that) of 4th graders aren't reading at grade level. A slow death, but a sure one none-the-less.

Latrinsorm

11-13-2006, 08:26 PM

Soon:Ok, so Simu can start getting worried in 60 years. That's fair.
Hey, Latrin...2/3 (or 3/4 or something amazing like that) of 4th graders aren't reading at grade level. A slow death, but a sure one none-the-less.We have female students and female teachers. It's a miracle we're even at 2/3, come on.

RichardCranium

11-13-2006, 08:34 PM

We have female students and female teachers. It's a miracle we're even at 2/3, come on.

But boy can my wife iron my shirts or make grilled cheese sammiches.

Artha

11-13-2006, 10:03 PM

I like the new direction this is taking.

Liberi Fatali

11-14-2006, 12:44 PM

Yeah, everyone knows Jenovadeath. :)

Miss X plays Jenovadeath?! Wowie kazowie, I've always wondered who was the brilliant player behind that character. I never imagined it to be a girl, though!

CrystalTears

11-14-2006, 01:15 PM

Yeah we always knew Jenovadeath was a sissy girl. Not Miss X, but still a sissy girl.

Miss X

11-14-2006, 01:44 PM

I pay poor kids 4p a day to play all my characters, including JD. Duh.

Mabus

11-15-2006, 01:15 PM

Ever since Richard Bartle developed the first "true" MUD in 1978 they have continued. There are a lot of variations, and the latest is the graphical MMORPG (which is really a MUD with a coordinate-based world structure and a graphical engine).

It would be near impossible to accurately say whether text-based is dying to graphical-based, as most text-based do not keep and share accurate player count data.

There are thousands of text-based MUDs out there, and most of them are stock versions of the same source codes. The chance of finding a decent MUD diminishes every time someone just drops unmodified downloaded code into a shell and calls it a game.

There are innovative MUDs out there. Good coders with writers and building staff that strive to make a decent game for players. The majority of MUDs are free to play, and are run as a labor of love and as a hobby by their staff.

MUDs have many basic types. There are the pure-PK, hack and slash, role-play intensive (RPI) to name a few, and variations that contain elements of each.

There will always be people that prefer text to graphics just as there will always be those that prefer graphics to text. Those that seek depth and have imagination seem more likely to choose text. Text also offers opportunities many people do not think about, for example many blind people play text-based MUDs.

As a long time player of GS, of free MUDs and of MMORPGs I believe that there is room for all of them in the gaming world. I am glad to have more choices, rather then fewer.

Celephais

11-15-2006, 03:40 PM

Get ye flask

Merzbow

11-28-2006, 01:19 AM

What's Achaea like anyway? How's player population compare to GS?

StrayRogue

11-28-2006, 02:44 AM

It sucks, has as much RP as WoW, and as much OOC as WoW.

CrystalTears

11-28-2006, 09:23 AM

I disagree. The quest to get through the first five levels was fun, the people were very helpful from then on out and were in character more times than not. Sure there were people OOC but that happens in every game. There was definitely roleplaying when I played it. The times I've played there's been about... 50 people? Maybe a little less.

Jazuela

11-28-2006, 09:45 AM

I just created a character, and as of 8:30 am, EST, there were 97 people logged in. Not bad for early morning, if you like a healthy high population of players. Achaea is free to play, though there is an option to buy "credits" that you can use to trade for stuff. You can get credits without paying for them too but it just takes longer, so if you have the cash to spend and want whatever it is those credits trade for, it's an option.

Apathy

11-28-2006, 09:47 AM

for example many blind people play text-based MUDs.

Their computer screen displays brail?

Jazuela

11-28-2006, 09:54 AM

There are computer interpreters for the blind that translate text to voice, and voice to text. Also some people who are legally blind, can still see but have limits. There are programs that can help out with that as well, but they don't work very well with graphics.

Stanley Burrell

11-28-2006, 10:14 AM

I liked Achaea aside from its being way too mechanically pumped with complete and utter disregard for any fashion of QC'ing said mechanical pumping.

Achaea does have an extremely effective player kill (PvP) policy intact. My Dwarf, Luukos, was truly seraphic and mastered AB tarot.

Was because of stingy purging :-\

Stanley Burrell

11-28-2006, 10:25 AM

It sucks, has as much RP as WoW, and as much OOC as WoW.

If you join a guild and have some GemStone acquired roleplaying intuition, you can get past a lot of that bullshit and into some really deep RP'ing, the likes of which I have never even seen in GS (detailed passcodes into more than just one secret society, a plethora of skills with a fuckin' assload of Boolean variables exponential to mechanical offensive vs. defensive GS mechanics.)

Obviously titles and certain channels and 90% of folks' warcries are heinously OOC, but that also attracts a lot more people to play for free, which disuades me from playing, albeit marginally.

By the way, the drinking/drug laws from town to town and how they varied and were perceived always seemed to be a well enforced RP tool used even by the n00bz0rz.

VoxDulcis

12-16-2006, 11:25 PM

If you are interested in broadening your MUD experience, you might try out Necromium. Like Arctic (MUD I used to play, as well) and a great many MUDs these days, our once flourishing player base has dwindled significantly, but the game is decent.

It's free, first of all, and our most seductive feature, I feel, is the overhead ASCII map :) So, we're a graphical MUD!

I split my time now between running Necromium (helping run) and playing gs4, which I just rejoined after quitting a couple years ago during gs3.

Like I said, our playerbase has dwindled, the times being what they are, but our game isn't so bad, and with a small influx of new people it would gain a lot of new life (and let me as an admin have a lot more fun ;)). So, if you're bored and want to see our amazing ASCII map code, come check us out :)

necromium.com
port 4000

And if you don't, you could at least say hi in GS4 to Ginko the bard :) I'm new and clueless, so take advantage of me as desired.

Celephais

12-16-2006, 11:51 PM

If you are interested in broadening your MUD experience, you might try out Necromium.

I played Necromium for a good while, I liked it a lot. Although I'm not sure how it'll chime here... almost zero RP, but a lot of fun, the multi-classing part is very cool.

I stopped playing for a short while, and then you guys did some sorta upgrade (required me to re-train and some other changes) and due to all the changes I just said screw it.

Anyway, I played Necromium if I knew you... had a plethora of other characters thanks to sharing w/ a whole bunch of my friends.

VoxDulcis

12-17-2006, 12:01 AM

Haha, yes, I remember you.

AcerJ/Vox :) But AcerJ is long gone.

It's about the same now, lots of half-changes... Flood and I are trying to generate a little interest and make some alterations where we can. Come check us out again.

And yes, not a lot of RP, unfortunately, but the eq-zones are getting better and better ;) Just need some more people.