Guide for New Players Part 1

Because the majority of today's computer users are used to point-and-click to get things to work, I thought it would be a good idea for me to try to simplify things as much as possible, and make it easier for those of you who need a bit of help to sign in and play.

This is why we now have the FMud client embedded on the front page of the Meat MUD Classic website, to make it possible to instantly jump into the game. If you do not see the Meat MUD welcome screen with a "State thy name:" prompt, simply click on the Connect button.

Once you see this prompt, click on the text entry box below the black game window, and type all your entries there.

If the text looks odd, and you do not see an ASCII image in this window, you may not have a proper font enabled for this client. You can install the preferred font by downloading the file from the "Bitstream Vera Sans Mono" link beneath the FMud client window.

If you would rather have your MUD connection running in a separate window, you can also click the "Java MUD Client" link below the FMud window, which will launch the JamochaMUD Client. This client will also automatically connect to Meat MUD when you run it.

Quick HOWTO (if you are using the FMud client or the JamochaMUD client from this website you can skip to step 3):

1) Run a terminal client or get a MUD telnet client
2) Open a connection to address meatmud.servegame.com, port 4000 (for example, with a terminal client at the blinking prompt type: telnet meatmud.servegame.com 4000)
3) Create a character name (be creative but not offensive)
4) Choose a character race (human, elf, half-elf, drow, dwarf, halfdwarf, hobbit, gnome, halfkobold)
5) Choose your character's sex (don't pick "yes", male, female or neutral)
6) Choose a character class / job (mage, warrior, thief, cleric, psionicist, ranger or jester)
7) Choose to remain a single class character, or a multi-class character and pick a 2nd class
8) Choose your character's alignment (good, neutral or evil)
9) Read the "Message of the Day" and press [Enter] to enter the game.

Detailed HOWTO:

For those of you wish to know the definition of any of the terminology that follows (for example, What is a MUD?), click on the link for each term to be brought to a wiki for it. Please let me know if I missed adding links to any of the terminology in this HOWTO below.

To start off with a little background information, MUD is short for "multi-user dungeon", otherwise known as a Dungeons & Dragons inspired game designed for multiple players to access by use of the internet. Because most MUDs (including Meat MUD Classic) were designed for computer systems in use over ten years ago, they needed to be very small in size. To be more specific, MUDs hosted on servers in the seventies, eighties and even early nineties needed to use very little hard drive space, as little memory as possible, and as little network or internet bandwidth as possible. To accomplish this goal, MUDs during this time frame were created without graphics, much like many early computer games from the seventies. Paragraphs of information called up on the screen pull the player into the game with his or her imagination, in much the same way as a good book captures the reader's imagination and draws him or her into the story.

The easiest way to access a text MUD is with TELNET. The beauty of telnet is that any computer with internet access can connect to a MUD, regardless of whether it is a Windows computer, a MacIntosh computer or a LINUX/UNIX machine.

Telnet operates with a host (usually on a server, and in our case Meat MUD Classic is the host), and a client (which is typically a telnet program of some kind on the user's computer). For the client to connect to the host, the person operating the client must know the host's address, and possibly port number.

By default, telnet's port number is 23, but due to security issues (ie: hackers), most MUD servers today do not allow access to that port. It is typical for MUDs to use a different port number in a range not used by other network services. The most common port number used by MUDs is 4000, though the number could potentially be anything the MUD administrator wants, so long as it does not conflict with another service on the machine or on the network.

Now that we have pretty much covered the basics of what a MUD is and what you need to connect to one, let's get more specific.

To be able to connect to Meat MUD Classic (or any other MUD), you need to have a telnet client or telnet-based MUD client. We have made things very simple for you by providing you with the embedded FMud client and the JamochaMUD Java client that will automatically connect to the MUD for you right here on this website (both can be accessed from the home page of this website). If you do not plan to use a telnet client or your own MUD client, you can skip to the next step.

Also: typical computer systems come with a built-in telnet client that can be accessed from programs known as a Terminal Emulator, a Terminal Application, or a Pseudo Terminal Application.

To connect to Meat MUD Classic with Windows telnet, click Start, choose Run and in the box next to Open type in: telnet meatmud.servegame.com 4000 and press Enter. (Note: I do not recommend using Windows telnet to play any MUD due to format and gameplay related issues - also Vista and Windows 7 users will need to install telnet in Add & Remove Programs, as it is not part of the default Vista system)

On a Mac, activate the Terminal Application by navigating to /Applications/Utilities in the Finder and double-clicking the Terminal.app icon. At the prompt (where the cursor blinks) type: telnet meatmud.servegame.com 4000 and press Enter.

LINUX systems with X Windows have various terminal emulators including aterm, dtterm, Eterm, Gnome Terminal, Konsole and more. Open the pseudo terminal application for your system (if you are using LINUX I assume you are savvy enough to open your terminal application without instructions, but correct me if I am wrong). At the prompt type: telnet meatmud.servegame.com 4000 and press Enter.

Some of you may wish to try an alternative client to the one included with your system, especially if you are using Windows. One free alternative supported by multiple computer systems, and which supports many different protocols in addition to telnet is PuTTY. PuTTY does not need to be installed the same way typical Windows applications are installed - simply download the program and double-click on it to start it. In the box under Host Name (or IP Address) enter meatmud.servegame.com and under Connection Type move the dot from SSH to Telnet. In the box under Port change the number 23 to 4000. In the box under Saved Sessions create a name for your connection (ie: Meat MUD Classic), and then click the Save button (this will help you avoid going through all of these steps every time you run PuTTY). To connect to the MUD click the Open button at the bottom. The next time you run PuTTY click on the name you created (ie: Meat MUD Classic), then click the Load button, then the Open button to connect.

If PuTTY does not satisfy you, or you have become comfortable with Meat MUD Classic, yet you wish for macro and auto-response support, you may wish to try a MUD client. There are also a number of MUD clients available via the site http://www.mudconnector.com under the Resource section, and a number of them are available for free.

Once you have connected to Meat MUD Classic, you will see the welcome screen (ie: the picture at the top of this post) where you can create a new character or sign into an existing one. To create a new character simply type in the name of your choice. If you see the message "Did I get that right, (your character's name)?" the name is available. If you see "Illegal name, try another." or "Password:" you will need to pick a different name for your character.

Once you have chosen your name you must choose a password. I recommend picking a password that you do not use for anything else, especially your e-mail, bank accounts, etc. Don't give your password to anyone else, regardless of whether they are a friend, family member, or a member of the MUD's staff.

After you confirm your password you must choose your character's race - either the standard "human" or one of several mythical creatures from the lore of J.R.R. Tolkien and various other novels under the fantasy category. If you are not sure about your race you can choose it, read the description, and then type no to pick another. If you are sure about your race choose yes, and then pick your character's sex (male, female, or neutral).

At this point you are at the class selection screen. You can think of your character's class as his or her job or role as an adventurer. Just like the race selection, each class will give you a short description after you choose it, and you can type no to select a different class, or yes to confirm. You will also have the option of picking two different classes (called multi-class), which will give you the benefit of additional skills or spells, but will cost you extra experience each time you gain a level.

You will then be asked to pick an alignment. You may choose G (Good), N (Neutral), or E (Evil). Bear in mind your alignment will affect how monsters in the game react to you. Some will attack you on sight, others will be more friendly depending on the alignment you choose. Your alignment is not fixed, however, and the way you behave in the game may cause it to change.

Once you choose yes, you will be shown the MOTD (Message of the Day), and upon pressing Enter you will enter the world of Meat MUD Classic, starting in the best place to learn how to play the game - MUD School.

One last thing - to save your character you must play the game long enough for your character to reach level 2, or else you will need to create your character again. Read all the signs in each room (type: read sign) for details on how to play. Good luck!

If you have any questions or suggestions for the above HOWTO, please leave a detailed comment below.