How to host our own MUD?
May 13, 2021 5:37 PM Subscribe
I'd like to host a private MUD with a few friends and build out an area with them for fun. What's the easiest way to do this? I don't mind spending a little money, but I don't want to learn how to deploy a UNIX server or something.
Ideally I'd like to run an instance of DikuMUD (possibly a later version like Mythran) with the most common areas added to it over the years so we can explore it at our leisure while we chat. (This is the general type I played back in the day, and asked about back in 2007... not sure whether to laugh or cry.)
I know, I know, there are lots online already. But I'd also like to build a new area with my friends on our own themes and ideas, just for fun. Remake our neighborhood the way we remember or something. I don't plan on adding anything major, just a few dozen rooms, monsters, and items.
I don't know whether it's more practical to try to deploy my own, or use a service like Vineyard to host it. I don't mind spending a few bucks.
Simply put I don't know where to start! Hopefully there's still a way to do this that doesn't involve running a Windows 98SE VM and patching a codebase written in the early '90s.
Ideally I'd like to run an instance of DikuMUD (possibly a later version like Mythran) with the most common areas added to it over the years so we can explore it at our leisure while we chat. (This is the general type I played back in the day, and asked about back in 2007... not sure whether to laugh or cry.)
I know, I know, there are lots online already. But I'd also like to build a new area with my friends on our own themes and ideas, just for fun. Remake our neighborhood the way we remember or something. I don't plan on adding anything major, just a few dozen rooms, monsters, and items.
I don't know whether it's more practical to try to deploy my own, or use a service like Vineyard to host it. I don't mind spending a few bucks.
Simply put I don't know where to start! Hopefully there's still a way to do this that doesn't involve running a Windows 98SE VM and patching a codebase written in the early '90s.
Personally, I'd use something like Vineyard, Digital Ocean, or Third Ocean. I've owned/operated a few MUDs them on my own hardware in the past with mixed results; I did not enjoy being a network admin nearly as much as I enjoyed the coding and building portions of ownership, so I eventually went to a hosted solution. For what it's worth, I ran ubuntu server running a ROM build and it was fairly straightfoward to setup - my biggest issues were with ensuring outside access to the game via my domain, proper port forwarding and firewalling, and other assorted network problems. Setting up the server and codebase wasn't the issue as much as keeping the network happy - it eventually became more than I wanted to deal with.
Kudos on keeping the art form alive - MUDs were the formative online gaming experience of my teens and I some of my fondest gaming memories.
posted by _DB_ at 6:45 PM on May 13, 2021
Kudos on keeping the art form alive - MUDs were the formative online gaming experience of my teens and I some of my fondest gaming memories.
posted by _DB_ at 6:45 PM on May 13, 2021
I host a chat MUSH via GenesisMuds, and have been for, um. Six years now? It's been the easiest tech stuff I do for ages. (I think we've had one weird outage blip in that time, they communicated well about it.)
posted by jenettsilver at 7:07 PM on May 14, 2021
posted by jenettsilver at 7:07 PM on May 14, 2021
Response by poster: Thanks for the info. I'll check out GenesisMuds and Vineyard.
I'm still pretty at sea when it comes to where to get the necessary installation files, areas, and other stuff. So many of the sites I've checked have gone offline, point to inactive FTP servers etc. I can't imagine a fully loaded Mythran install is more than a hundred megabytes but there's a dearth of information on what exactly I need to get it going, and what's included in such and such install.
posted by BlackLeotardFront at 10:28 AM on May 15, 2021
I'm still pretty at sea when it comes to where to get the necessary installation files, areas, and other stuff. So many of the sites I've checked have gone offline, point to inactive FTP servers etc. I can't imagine a fully loaded Mythran install is more than a hundred megabytes but there's a dearth of information on what exactly I need to get it going, and what's included in such and such install.
posted by BlackLeotardFront at 10:28 AM on May 15, 2021
This thread is closed to new comments.
posted by warriorqueen at 6:20 PM on May 13, 2021 [2 favorites]