Restart Genesis with more or less open source code

[Kvator]

lol as I've mentioned at its peak Arkadia got like 250 players online (+50 in queue), so I think it is quite a big downfall, and personally I dont like most of the changes there

[Zar]

Well.

I can bring experience from ThreeKingdom mud (Or 3k) - About 30-60 players online

There are some differences with Genesis:
- A Lot of numbers visible.
- Restricted PvP
- You can buy some perks for wizards as gift of appreciation
- chatlines

Some changes that were done to contain playerbase:
- making quests optional (except one guild where guild level is limited by quest exp)
- extending LD to 2 days while saving equipment
- increasing reboot longevity to 4-7 days

One more thing they do on constant basis (Approximately once/twice per year) is MudWish:
- Period that players send wishes to Arch
- Voting for wishes
- Implementation
Some ideas implemented this way: dog pets, professions for minor bonuses, crafting guilds etc.

But from my chats with others the main boost from 20-30 players to 60-90 was making quests optional

I was never wizard in 3K so I am not aware of how it is done up there but still it seems to work

[OgreToyBoy]

These muds with a positive trend in playerbase, do they have a cap in either levels or stats?

[Zar]

These muds with a positive trend in playerbase, do they have a cap in either levels or stats?

Not in case of 3k.

But curve is VERY VERY hard after certain level.
Lets say first players got to level 130 3-4 years ago and they are barely 132 now.

As I said everything is numbers there

[Zhar]

The common denominator for MUDs increasing their playerbase seems to be making quests optional...

[Kas]

I'll buy 'quests optional' for a dollar.

Like, freeze brute to somewhere between extr.pac and extr.violent, regardless of questxp? I don't know about you, but I would _definitely_ play alot more. In addition, even if players would grow faster (this is a _good_ thing) towards the higher content, I would think of a more asymptotic approach on sizecap when reaching myth, or diminishing return without ever touching the factor brute, Or, let the brute first kick in at mythsize.

Growing to myth by grinding would be realtive "quicker", but growing beyond would be harder and harder.

Let's have some 'questmeats' on the meny, boys!

[Zhar]

And how about quests giving you regular xp and you could lower your brute (to the level of current max qexp) by doing non-combat stuff like herbing, stealing etc.?

[OgreToyBoy]

Why I always wished for a much steeper curve to gain stats once they got reasonable high.
Can just face it, the soft cap is not that much of a cap at all.

[Kvator]

actually removing qexp in arkadia (the only mud i can speak of) didnt do any good in terms of improving number of players

just make quest solutions public!

[petros]

Well.

I can bring experience from ThreeKingdom mud (Or 3k) - About 30-60 players online

There are some differences with Genesis:
- A Lot of numbers visible.
- Restricted PvP
- You can buy some perks for wizards as gift of appreciation
- chatlines

Some changes that were done to contain playerbase:
- making quests optional (except one guild where guild level is limited by quest exp)
- extending LD to 2 days while saving equipment
- increasing reboot longevity to 4-7 days

One more thing they do on constant basis (Approximately once/twice per year) is MudWish:
- Period that players send wishes to Arch
- Voting for wishes
- Implementation
Some ideas implemented this way: dog pets, professions for minor bonuses, crafting guilds etc.

But from my chats with others the main boost from 20-30 players to 60-90 was making quests optional

I was never wizard in 3K so I am not aware of how it is done up there but still it seems to work

I actually have extensive playing experience in 3K. I love their many guild options and of course, their LDMud is based on LPMud so gameplay is fairly familiar. They've seen a very steady decline in player base over the last 5-6 years. Back around 2007, they had around 100-200 players online almost anytime you went on. Now it's closer to 20-30. Part of the decline happened after they split their game into two locations.

The MUD is also run as a business. Players can "donate" real money for special perks and those funds essentially work like votes to implement features. See http://www.3k.org/vafs.php for more information about their VAF system.

It's been a while since I've played it, but I do believe quests were originally required to advance in levels. You couldn't get past, say level 15, without completing a certain point value in quests. They removed that restriction a while back to allow unlimited growth in levels.

For a while, I did believe that the 3K model was the way to go given their strong player numbers. However, given their very rapid decline - I'm not sure that is the right model.