Wheel of Time
No download fee, no monthly fee, no expansion pack fee, no fee for better equipment no annoying ads. Just free

The wheel of time mud
Wheel of Time MUD > Why play a MUD?

WHY PLAY A MUD?

A MUD (Multi User Dungeon) is a community-created multi-user fantasy world written in text, the precursor and idea source for many of today's MMORPGs. Users can engage in a wide variety of gaming experiences, but because of their close community - typically all players know each other - MUDs also allow people to be part of a large web-focused social community. Muds cater for a wide variety of playstyles, the progressive 'levelling' aspect of which makes the gameplay become ever more satisfying as levels are gained. MUDs are divided into rooms and zones which create the illusion of a large physical plane; this provides the canvas for adventures: solving the puzzles and slaying the monsters gains players equipment, coin or levels. MUDs enjoy many unique advantages over larger MMO games, not the least of which is the fact that some are completely free to play, such as ours.

Why is text good?

Robert Jordan's novels are incredibly imaginative and creative works of fantasy. Our text-based game works like a novel which never ends; for the avid book readers, with text being the medium of their choice, this makes it an ideal medium to game in. It allows the player the opportunity to be part of the Wheel of Time which never ends. Technically, for the purist gamer, there are also large advantages: text-based games don't require large downloads and don't lag like the graphical games do. Contrary to what you might expect, this makes for a better gaming experience - just see the reviews of the game.

What do people do in MUDs?

In MUDS, players create a character such as a warrior or a magic user and explore and conquer monster-infested areas individually or with friends. Players can solve puzzles, take part in quests, join clans and lots of other fun activities. As your character becomes more experienced and stronger, you can explore tougher areas, solve harder puzzles, acquire more powerful items, and gain powerful magical abilities. And if you’re up to it, engage in the racewar and save the world from darkness or send it spiraling into chaos.

Many people are surprised at how incredibly passionate they can get about a game that is entirely text based. The short answer to why muds are popular is that they combine the best aspects of two things that everybody loves to do: communicate with others and play. In fact, our mud is a vibrant, tight knit community - many people on the Wheel of Time MUD have made real-life friendships lasting well past their involvement in the game and for a few of the romantics, there have also been marriages between people that met while adventuring in our world.

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Play the game how you want to

It's not just a cliche - there's no set formula for playing the game. It's up to you. You can compete against others, you can create teams or clans, or join up with others to explore areas just too dangerous for one person to take alone, or just spend some time chatting with friends or makng new ones. You can sightsee distant lands, take boat trips to even more distant lands, or just hang out and sup ale at the local tavern. You can talk to and meet all the other players on your side on the open chat channels, roleplay over the narrate channel, or have private 1-on-1 conversations. Or participate in the Wheel of Time forums in a variety of topics ranging from last weekend's football game to which sword is the best to use against the Mine Overlord. One FAQ on muds refers to them as "an extension of real life with gamelike qualities" and suggests that if you see it is just a game, you are probably not playing it right or enjoying it as much as you could. We would tend to agree.

...a nearly infinite number of things that you can do

Mud gameplay keeps you entertained because you always rise through the game and see constant progress in your character. Gaining levels, learning new skills and weaves, solving a quest in an area for the first time, acquiring the hot new piece of armor, or a the elite sword all make you more powerful. Levels and in-game rankings in clans or in PK allow you to gain prestige (or infamy), and climbing those rankings opens up endless new opportunities. And, whilst climbing those rankings, there is a nearly infinite number of things that you can do.

The Wheel of Time MUD has over 40000 rooms to explore covering every part of the Robert Jordan world. Quests run constantly and the Staff is always working on new small quests or global quests that can change the fate of the world.. Over 50 clans currently exist with unique roleplay, equipment, and bonuses and more are on the way. The opportunity to test your strength against dozens of other players in the racewar, scores of trades to pursue or guilds to join, gambling, auctions, puzzles, hundreds of shops, and thousands of other in-game actions. Combine these with an average of over 100 people online on any given evening and the game is never quite the same every time you play it.

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Advantages of MUDs Vs MMOs

MUDs are much more open to change than large MMOs. While a commercial game you pick up in the store may get an update every 6 months, a well maintained MUD adds new features constantly. MUDs are labours of love. The Wheel of Time MUD is worked on by coders, scripters and area writers and we never consider the game 'done' or 'finished'. The Wheel of Time MUD has, in fact, been around since 1993 and continues to evolve based on the desires of the staff and your feedback.

Every week there's something new - be it a new quest, a new area to explore, new monsters to conquer, sneakier or more cunning monsters, new swords or cloaks... it never stops. Because we aren’t World of Warcraft, your voice won’t be lost amongst the millions of people clamoring for attention. You can and will have dialogue directly with the coders and staff. And your ideas will have a real chance of of not just being heard but also acted upon, rather than being one of tens of thousands of lost voices in a large MMO. Zones have been restructured based on player feedback for to be more interesting for Roleplay or Playerkilling. Several player run clans such as Bandar Eban and the Legion have been implemented and running for years because players created them entirely on their own.

What you won't come across whilst connecting to a MUD is such things as closed servers or limited shards. Because MUDs are text based the data flow between the player and the game is much less than that for graphical games. So the game is as realtime as it gets. People get killed at WoTMUD in the time that it takes a graphical game to fully render a sword! As a consequence, PVP on the Wheel of Time MUD is far quicker than on MMOs, and the adrenaline levels are far, far higher.

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Money can't buy advantages

Last but not least, the MUD is completely free to play, and so there is just no way that one player can buy him or herself advantages over another player. We have no trial period, there's nothing to sign up for, and no personal information is requested when you create a character. The Wheel of Time MUD is financed by donations from players of the game, by the game administrators and by the owner. The only money you’ll have to worry about is the fortunes you’ll make in-game.

Nass, 2007

 

PLEASE HELP THE MUD!

Vote WOT on TopMudSites
Vote WOT on MudConnector

WHAT THE CRITICS SAY

The Wheel of Time MUD is, in the words of the online reviews: "A very polished product" (MUD connector), "A Must See" (Wheel of Time.org), "The Internet at its Best" (free launch.com).

SUPPORT YOUR MUD

Please visit the wotmud store!

All profit made from this store, which sells wotmud t-shirts etc, goes to support the server, paying for bandwidth and using a better machine to host the MUD.



Page last updated: April 06 2008.