MUD client
Encyclopedia
A MUD client is a computer application used to connect to a MUD
, a type of multiplayer online game
. Generally, a MUD client is a very basic telnet
client that lacks VT100
terminal emulation and the capability to perform telnet negotiations. On the other hand, MUD clients are enhanced with various features designed to enhance the gameplay
of MUDs.
Standard features seen in most MUD clients include ANSI
color support, aliases, trigger
s and scripting
. The client can often be extended almost indefinitely with its built-in scripting language. Most MUDs restrict the usage of scripts because they give an unfair advantage, as well as the fear that the game will end up being played by fully automated clients instead of human beings.
systems. In May 1990 TinyWar 1.1.4 was released by Leo Plotkin which was based on TinyTalk 1.0 and added support for event-driven programming
. In September 1990 TinyFugue
which was based on TinyWar 1.2.3 and TT 1.1 was released by Greg Hudson and featured more advanced trigger support. Development of TinyFugue was taken over by Ken Keys in 1991. TinyFugue has continued to evolve and remains a popular client today for Unix-like
systems.
Another early client was TINTIN by Peter Unold in April 1992. In October 1992 Peter Unold made his final release, TINTIN III, which was a much more mature and feature rich program. Development of TINTIN was continued by Bill Reiss who announced the release of TinTin++
1.0 in July 1993. The client gained popularity quickly because of its easy to use scripting language and the popularity of DikuMUD
for which it was designed. Being open source with originally no license restrictions, many current clients like GGMud, MudMaster, and Pueblo are based on TinTin++.
Following on from Tintin's success, Mike Potter was keen to produce a Windows port of the client resulting in the release of zMUD
1.0 in December 1995. zMUD was initially licensed as freeware, but Mike Potter realized that he could make a living from sales of the client and started selling zMUD 4.0 as shareware
in September 1996.
A widespread feature is MCCP
, which specifies a method for compress
ing the data stream
s. A proxy
can be used for any client which does not support MCCP
directly. Another, less used, extension is MXP
, first developed by the Pueblo client but was then taken and extended by zMUD. Several of the more advanced clients are capable of handling MXP, which adds an HTML
-like structure to a server's output, providing additional formatting capabilities among other things. Some other occasionally used protocols are MSP (MUD Sound Protocol), a means of playing sounds in MUDs, and MCP (MUD Client Protocol), a framework for new client-server
protocols.
MUD
A MUD , pronounced , is a multiplayer real-time virtual world, with the term usually referring to text-based instances of these. MUDs combine elements of role-playing games, hack and slash, player versus player, interactive fiction, and online chat...
, a type of multiplayer online game
Multiplayer online game
A Multiplayer Online Game is a multiplayer video game which can be played via a game server over the internet, with other players around the world...
. Generally, a MUD client is a very basic telnet
TELNET
Telnet is a network protocol used on the Internet or local area networks to provide a bidirectional interactive text-oriented communications facility using a virtual terminal connection...
client that lacks VT100
VT100
The VT100 is a video terminal that was made by Digital Equipment Corporation . Its detailed attributes became the de facto standard for terminal emulators.-History:...
terminal emulation and the capability to perform telnet negotiations. On the other hand, MUD clients are enhanced with various features designed to enhance the gameplay
Gameplay
Gameplay is the specific way in which players interact with a game, and in particular with video games. Gameplay is the pattern defined through the game rules, connection between player and the game, challenges and overcoming them, plot and player's connection with it...
of MUDs.
Standard features seen in most MUD clients include ANSI
Ansi
Ansi is a village in Kaarma Parish, Saare County, on the island of Saaremaa, Estonia....
color support, aliases, trigger
Event-driven programming
In computer programming, event-driven programming or event-based programming is a programming paradigm in which the flow of the program is determined by events—i.e., sensor outputs or user actions or messages from other programs or threads.Event-driven programming can also be defined as an...
s and scripting
Scripting language
A scripting language, script language, or extension language is a programming language that allows control of one or more applications. "Scripts" are distinct from the core code of the application, as they are usually written in a different language and are often created or at least modified by the...
. The client can often be extended almost indefinitely with its built-in scripting language. Most MUDs restrict the usage of scripts because they give an unfair advantage, as well as the fear that the game will end up being played by fully automated clients instead of human beings.
History
The first MUD client with a notable amount of features was Tinytalk by Anton Rang in January 1990, for Unix-likeUnix-like
A Unix-like operating system is one that behaves in a manner similar to a Unix system, while not necessarily conforming to or being certified to any version of the Single UNIX Specification....
systems. In May 1990 TinyWar 1.1.4 was released by Leo Plotkin which was based on TinyTalk 1.0 and added support for event-driven programming
Event-driven programming
In computer programming, event-driven programming or event-based programming is a programming paradigm in which the flow of the program is determined by events—i.e., sensor outputs or user actions or messages from other programs or threads.Event-driven programming can also be defined as an...
. In September 1990 TinyFugue
TinyFugue
TinyFugue, or tf, is a MUD client, primarily written for Unix-like operating systems. It is one of the earliest MUD clients in existence. It is a successor to the earliest MUD client, TinyTalk, through a never-officially-released improved version called TinyWar. It has been maintained by Ken Keys...
which was based on TinyWar 1.2.3 and TT 1.1 was released by Greg Hudson and featured more advanced trigger support. Development of TinyFugue was taken over by Ken Keys in 1991. TinyFugue has continued to evolve and remains a popular client today for Unix-like
Unix-like
A Unix-like operating system is one that behaves in a manner similar to a Unix system, while not necessarily conforming to or being certified to any version of the Single UNIX Specification....
systems.
Another early client was TINTIN by Peter Unold in April 1992. In October 1992 Peter Unold made his final release, TINTIN III, which was a much more mature and feature rich program. Development of TINTIN was continued by Bill Reiss who announced the release of TinTin++
TinTin++
TinTin++ is a MUD client primarily written for Unix-like systems. It is one of the oldest MUD clients in existence and a successor of the TINTIN client...
1.0 in July 1993. The client gained popularity quickly because of its easy to use scripting language and the popularity of DikuMUD
DikuMUD
DikuMUD is a multiplayer text-based role-playing game, which is a type of MUD. It was written in 1990 and 1991 by Sebastian Hammer, Tom Madsen, Katja Nyboe, Michael Seifert, and Hans Henrik Staerfeldt at DIKU —the department of computer science at the University of Copenhagen in Copenhagen,...
for which it was designed. Being open source with originally no license restrictions, many current clients like GGMud, MudMaster, and Pueblo are based on TinTin++.
Following on from Tintin's success, Mike Potter was keen to produce a Windows port of the client resulting in the release of zMUD
ZMUD
Zugg's MUD Client is a MUD client developed by Zuggsoft. It was first developed in 1995, and was made into shareware in 1996. It supports several enhancements to standard telnet such as the MUD eXtension Protocol , the MUD Client Compression Protocol , MUD Sound Protocol and features advanced...
1.0 in December 1995. zMUD was initially licensed as freeware, but Mike Potter realized that he could make a living from sales of the client and started selling zMUD 4.0 as shareware
Shareware
The term shareware is a proprietary software that is provided to users without payment on a trial basis and is often limited by any combination of functionality, availability, or convenience. Shareware is often offered as a download from an Internet website or as a compact disc included with a...
in September 1996.
Telnet extensions
Some MUD clients and servers have augmented basic TELNET / VT100 with a variety of new higher-level protocols and features.A widespread feature is MCCP
MCCP
In computing, MCCP is a network protocol that is used in text MUDs for data compression.Specifically, MCCP is used to compress the output text stream sent by a MUD to a MUD client using zlib, in order to reduce bandwidth usage, resulting in a faster connection...
, which specifies a method for compress
Compress
Compress is a UNIX compression program based on the LZC compression method, which is an LZW implementation using variable size pointers as in LZ78.- Description of program :Files compressed by compress are typically given the extension .Z...
ing the data stream
Data stream
In telecommunications and computing, a data stream is a sequence of digitally encoded coherent signals used to transmit or receive information that is in the process of being transmitted....
s. A proxy
Proxy server
In computer networks, a proxy server is a server that acts as an intermediary for requests from clients seeking resources from other servers. A client connects to the proxy server, requesting some service, such as a file, connection, web page, or other resource available from a different server...
can be used for any client which does not support MCCP
MCCP
In computing, MCCP is a network protocol that is used in text MUDs for data compression.Specifically, MCCP is used to compress the output text stream sent by a MUD to a MUD client using zlib, in order to reduce bandwidth usage, resulting in a faster connection...
directly. Another, less used, extension is MXP
MXP (computing)
In computing, MXP stands for MUD eXtension Protocol. It is used in MUDs to enhance the normal text output with a markup language loosely based on HTML and XML. In order for MXP to be used it must be implemented on the server as well as on the client, and negotiated during the connection using the...
, first developed by the Pueblo client but was then taken and extended by zMUD. Several of the more advanced clients are capable of handling MXP, which adds an HTML
HTML
HyperText Markup Language is the predominant markup language for web pages. HTML elements are the basic building-blocks of webpages....
-like structure to a server's output, providing additional formatting capabilities among other things. Some other occasionally used protocols are MSP (MUD Sound Protocol), a means of playing sounds in MUDs, and MCP (MUD Client Protocol), a framework for new client-server
Client-server
The client–server model of computing is a distributed application that partitions tasks or workloads between the providers of a resource or service, called servers, and service requesters, called clients. Often clients and servers communicate over a computer network on separate hardware, but both...
protocols.