cool!

Yes, my bad, I looked at the room list wrong for Hogwarts. A little over 200 rooms then.

That looks awesome Artemis. This is going to be a great MUD.

Looks great, but I've got a question, will ther come a Mac version of the game? That would have been great!

Let's see, what's the best way to explain it.

You use a client to connect to the MUD which is hosted on a server. There are lots of different clients you can use (and some of them can be used on a Mac), just like there are lots of different browsers to view this web site.

The image above is of a client connected to the MUD. The MUD is the text inside the area with the black background. Everything else you see in the image is the client. If I took a screen shot like Artemis did, it would look a lot different because I use a different client to connect to the MUD.

Hopefully that helped to answer your question. There will only be one "version" of the game (though the game is always being updated and added to), however there are many different clients that you can use to connect to the game. Try doing a search on google or something for MUD clients.

Okay, Aniline, are you one of the developers, or is this an educated guess? If you're a developer, does that mean that you are using certain "standard MUD protocol" (perhaps known as "plain text" ), and externally written MUD clients (for example good old telnet if it's plain text?) that can speak that protocol? Or do you have several internally developed clients some of which can be run on a Mac? In that case, are you making one for Linux as well?

What are the little symbol thingys? The stars and the C and I 's?

For MUDs in general, the standard protocol is straight text over TCP/IP on a different port than telnet (23). You can still telnet to the MUD on the port it's running on. The client that Artemis is using is called SimpleMU which provides features over using POT (plain old telnet) like line wrapping, line history, pagination, macros, etc. There are clients (not just SimpleMU) available for Mac, UNIX and Windows so I suspect that you will be able to play no matter your OS.

Now THAT is a low blow.

Waddiwassi! *undesireable posts fly out of comments board and up Peevesy's nose*

By the way, when I search for "MUD client" in Google as Aniline suggested, the very first page that pops up has been known for a long time to be one of the best resources for MUD clients.

Sof J, that's the map. ^_^

Oz - You mean zuggsoft?

Just for general notes... Aniline is one of the developing staff. Highly knowledgeable about the game itself. Yes, the C's -'s and * is the Map. the * represents your position, the C's and I's are the type of terrain. Indoors and City appropriately :) And lets see, about clients... There are several very good MAC clients, Linux has its own built in systems, and PC has plenty :). Yes, the format is simple, if you're a programming wiz, you can write your own client even.

Thanks for the screen shot it looks really good.

(Presses Ctrl-Alt-Del, Selects falme_eater.exe, clicks End Now)

Well that was a desirable display above lol Anyway, will Legilimensia be easy to use? It reminds me of a script/bot for msn *cough* not like I used one.. Heh, just wondering.

This looks good

*eats the flame*

Like most MUDs, this one will be easy to use once you get used to it. It takes time. I remember when I first started playing MUDs. I had a horrible time remembering commands (still do once in a while) and my character kept dying. (My first death was walking though a portal door another player had made and ended up in a tavern for trolls and got auto-attacked. Died instanty.) MUDs are very addicting though once you learn how to play. And there is always new stuff to learn.

A MUD is sorta like a bot in a chat room, in that you can type certain commands to make the bot do something. Except instead of the bot doing stuff, the MUD is sorta from the perspective of the bot, which is your character, and you move them around though a text environment.

Biblio, Whoops! My apologies, that should be "MUD clients" - the site is the TMC Resource Center.

As for MUD clients, two of the most popular are zMUD and gMUD. There are a lot of other clients out there. Some are free, others you have to pay for. They offer lots of different features that you just can't get on telnet. But you can still use telent as your MUDing client. It all depends on what you are looking for in a client. I use zMUD, just because it was the first one I tried and I've gotten used to it over the years.

If you have never played a MUD before and want some experience before this one is released, I recommend getting a client and trying out the other any of the millions of MUDs out there. Some clients (probably most) come with an available list of MUD addresses for you to connect to. Create a character on one and play around a bit. Learn your client and how a MUD works. And have fun.

Aniline, that's why "help" is there. :)

The description we used to use is now somewhat dated, I think. We used to use "Think Zork but online with many other people playing at the same time" but I don't know if a younger crowd will know the reference.

Heh, I'm not part of the younger crowd and I've never even heard that saying.

That reminds me... the help files on this MUD need to be a lot more helpful. *pokes whoever's job it is to work on the help files*

I dont see the screen shot, all i see is writing and coding..... is that what its suppose to be?

The screen shot is the image of a program window at the top of the comments page.

That's what a MUD is, it's all that white and coloured text on a black screen. A MUD is text. The only images you might see is a one made with text characters.

this will be such a cool MUD!!! I can't wait to play!!

SO, i dont get how ur supppose to play..... how do u not get lost, i guess i dont really understand how this game works

You memorize where everything is :P

Clement, it's easy to get lost if you don't keep track of where you're at.

I'm going to use the screenshot above to break down some of the concepts:

The very first line you see contains an action after Artemis has moved through the castle (You walk through the archway).

The next thing you see is the name of the current ROOM he's in and the DESCRIPTION of that room. Following that is a line that shows the exits (northwest, southwest, etc) and then the CONTENTS of his current room.

A ROOM is simply that, a room in the MUD. The MUD is composed of many rooms.

The DESCRIPTION tells you what your current room looks like and, yes, it's all text. You read the description and use your imagination to immerse yourself in the game.

From here, Artemis can move in various directions. When he chooses one, he goes to the next room with it's own description, exits, contents, etc.

How do you keep from getting lost? First, the diagram of lines and "C" and "I" characters below the room description is a map of your immediate location. Hopefully it helps a little but ultimately, you'll either have to remember where the rooms are (From the hallway, I go north, north, west, northwest, west, south to reach the common room) or you'll have to draw your own map as you discover the castle.

If you've never seen a MUD, I'm sure it can be a little confusing but you'll pick it up quickly.

Yes, you can get very lost in a MUD. I have many, many times. What's nice about this MUD is the little map of the immediate area your character is in. Others MUDs don't have that. Generally with all MUDs you get someone that will draw out the map(s), make an image of them and post them on a website for everyone to use.

what is MUD? what does it stand for?

Multi-User Dungeon/Dimension

Check out the FAQ and Game Info links at the top of any page to find out what a MUD is.

I have just two words for y'all: release date! As in, when the heck am I gonna get to play this freakin' awesome MUD?!?! When I first found out about MUDs, I always wondered why no one made an HP one. Hurrah for MuggleNet! (Even though I like TLC's news better. )

We are working as fast as we can. Be patient. I last heard about 6 months until release, but don't hold your breath.

I'm going to have to second Rowen's sentiment - I'm really exited about the MUD and really look forward to getting to play. Are you guys including other languages, like.. oh, say, parseltounge so that someone could .... oh, I don't know, go see the Chamber of Secrets?

Good idea. Parseltounge. Someone may already have plans for it, I'm not sure, but I'll be sure to bring it up with Artemis. (We need an ideas board or something...)

Parseltounge would be awesome.

It may end up being set up like werewolves and animagi where once you get to level 91 you have the option of starting over as one of these.

That'd be good. I'd probably chose werewolf over parseltongue...

so the text is the MUD? it's not like; a video game graphic wise I'm lost please help!

Agh, I can't wait for this to be out! It sounds GREAT!

Stepshep, yes, MUD is all text - there is no graphics (well, technically, there have been MUDs before that had graphics but it's more the exception than the rule). See Aniline's previous update - Aniline is walking through a series of rooms and even opens a door to enter the kitchen.

Looking forward to seeing this when it's released...I'm 32 and can remember playing Zork w/ my boyfriend when I was 15...this is an exciting concept!!

Aargh, this looks like it will take some time getting used to but all in all it looks good, can't wait till release date!

Hi this looks pretty awesome! Do you have to be a member of Mugglenet or something to play it? Just thought I'd ask.. lol

I don't think Mugglenet has "membership", unless you count MNI or the forums...

There is a hogwarts MUD out there.. if you want to practice up on MUD if you have never played it at all use a client and connect to hogwartsmoo.net 7500 .... hogwartsmoo is the website. hope this helps

Anyone will be allowed to play. When you create your character on the MUD, you choose the name, password, gender, etc. for your character. Every time you log into the MUD you have to put in your character's name and password. So it will be kinda like the forums where you have to create your account/character. And you can have as many characters as you want.