What makes a good MUSH (been editted)
I have dreams of one day opening my own MUSH. When Jess's new job gets into full swing, money will be a little less tight... if I can get her to quit nickel and diming us to death. Anytime she goes to the local 'big' city, she goes and buys 'a few things we needed'. Mostly clothes. Hey, maybe you should do laundry a little more often. Its hard for me to walk 3 blocks with a shitload of laundry, especially in the cold.
ANYWAYS... if this job pans out and I can find another one that's fulltime, I should be able to afford server space at Mushland.com. So, I've decided to start looking into what makes a good successful MUSH, long term. So, I've looked at the two MUSHs that I've been on that have been long term successes, looked at the ones that I've been on and don't consider successes and then put together a list of what I think a MUSH needs.
1) Solid, interesting theme
This is the one thing that an admin can control that will attract players. The other being having good players that roleplay at the MUSH. Everyone goes to a MUSH because they are interested in the theme or in the good RP to be had there. So, as the creator of a MUSH, you can control this one aspect completely.
Part of this is keeping your the way it was. When people log onto a Transformers site, they were attracted by the characters from the series. That means that people like Galvatron, Megatron, Optimus Prime, Rodimus Prime, etc should not be ran over by overpowered OCs. Because that's NOT the theme. I do however agree that highend OCs should have a chance against the big boys of the block. And I think the ratio should be 3 out of 10. In 10 fights, a highend OC should win about 3 of those. Why this number? Because it gives the OCs the feel they really matter and can effect big events. And it also maintains the theme.
2) Strict, almost asshole level charstaff
This is where I see most MUSHs fail. In an attempt to get players, they let characters through who break theme to just get a playerbase, which then destroys theme. Its no longer about the key players from the theme... its about some player's mega-character.
Also, I know some places have problems filling FCs. Why do they have a problem filling FCs? Why should I app for an FC when I can have the same power in an OC with a personality of my choice? And generally the personality of choice is someone who is far more aggressive and more likely to fight.
Strict, asshole, but FAIR charstaff is the key to the success of a MUSH. Letting unbalancing characters onto the IC grid just to get players might lead to a short term success, but it won't led to long term success. You want proof? Megaman MUSH is known for having one of the toughest appstaffs around, and its been going for how long? 2k5 has a rep for having complete assholes for admin, yet its one of the longest standing, most active TF MUSHs out there. I can't say the same for some of the other TF sites I've been on.
3) Honest fair admin in general
I've been on sites where the admin were not honest and even lied about their alts. As in one person was 2 or 3 admin characters. Once this was revealed to me, I felt it was time for me to leave. Why? Because if an admin feels he needs three admin positions, he obviously knows that some people don't trust at least one of his characters OOCly. Not a good start, especially if he's the director.
Also, admin have a lot of power over the players and that makes some people uncomfortable. It makes us even more uncomfortable when we feel we can't trust the admin due to their actions. Yes, I'm one of those. An honest and fair admin is the best thing to aleve this fear.
4) THERE IS NO TS
Okay, I'll admit it. TS sites get a lot of players. They log on and get their nasty on and if that trips their trigger FINE. But on your general roleplaying MUSH, places that allow TS generally turn into TS cesspools where everything revolves around sex; not the kind of roleplay I want to do or want on my MUSH. Not always, but generally. If your concept is an adult MUSH, then TS is fine. But for most MUSH, TS is not going to help the MUSH... because it will attract the cybersexors and leave your house with a bad wrap.
5) Active admin
Nothing turns me off more as a guest than never seeing an admin on a MUSH. And I'm not talking daytime hours; I'm talking about evening hours when MUSHs are at their height of activity. An unactive admin means the place is more or less dead or doomed to die.
And the only thing worse than admin who don't log on, its the ones who log on and sit idle without being hidden or DARK. Why? Because it just looks BAD to me. You log on to show someone is there, but if I ask you a question I get no answer. This does NOT inspire me to want to app at the place.
6)Have a plan for the first year
Great theme, good characters, and no where to go. This will kill a MUSH. On opening day, I think a MUSH's overall direction should be planned out for at least one full year in advance. Maybe more. As the MUSH continues to grow and you get a feel for your MUSH you can begin to turn the direction towards something along the lines of what your players want.
But the key is to have a direction to go in the first place. Nothing like a high powered engine, gas in the tank, and no road map to show you were to go... Have a direction, then open.
These are the things that I think will lead to a successful long term MUSH. These are the things I plan on doing. Now I just need to afford the server space, learn more coding, and actually get off my ass and make my MUSH.
ANYWAYS... if this job pans out and I can find another one that's fulltime, I should be able to afford server space at Mushland.com. So, I've decided to start looking into what makes a good successful MUSH, long term. So, I've looked at the two MUSHs that I've been on that have been long term successes, looked at the ones that I've been on and don't consider successes and then put together a list of what I think a MUSH needs.
1) Solid, interesting theme
This is the one thing that an admin can control that will attract players. The other being having good players that roleplay at the MUSH. Everyone goes to a MUSH because they are interested in the theme or in the good RP to be had there. So, as the creator of a MUSH, you can control this one aspect completely.
Part of this is keeping your the way it was. When people log onto a Transformers site, they were attracted by the characters from the series. That means that people like Galvatron, Megatron, Optimus Prime, Rodimus Prime, etc should not be ran over by overpowered OCs. Because that's NOT the theme. I do however agree that highend OCs should have a chance against the big boys of the block. And I think the ratio should be 3 out of 10. In 10 fights, a highend OC should win about 3 of those. Why this number? Because it gives the OCs the feel they really matter and can effect big events. And it also maintains the theme.
2) Strict, almost asshole level charstaff
This is where I see most MUSHs fail. In an attempt to get players, they let characters through who break theme to just get a playerbase, which then destroys theme. Its no longer about the key players from the theme... its about some player's mega-character.
Also, I know some places have problems filling FCs. Why do they have a problem filling FCs? Why should I app for an FC when I can have the same power in an OC with a personality of my choice? And generally the personality of choice is someone who is far more aggressive and more likely to fight.
Strict, asshole, but FAIR charstaff is the key to the success of a MUSH. Letting unbalancing characters onto the IC grid just to get players might lead to a short term success, but it won't led to long term success. You want proof? Megaman MUSH is known for having one of the toughest appstaffs around, and its been going for how long? 2k5 has a rep for having complete assholes for admin, yet its one of the longest standing, most active TF MUSHs out there. I can't say the same for some of the other TF sites I've been on.
3) Honest fair admin in general
I've been on sites where the admin were not honest and even lied about their alts. As in one person was 2 or 3 admin characters. Once this was revealed to me, I felt it was time for me to leave. Why? Because if an admin feels he needs three admin positions, he obviously knows that some people don't trust at least one of his characters OOCly. Not a good start, especially if he's the director.
Also, admin have a lot of power over the players and that makes some people uncomfortable. It makes us even more uncomfortable when we feel we can't trust the admin due to their actions. Yes, I'm one of those. An honest and fair admin is the best thing to aleve this fear.
4) THERE IS NO TS
Okay, I'll admit it. TS sites get a lot of players. They log on and get their nasty on and if that trips their trigger FINE. But on your general roleplaying MUSH, places that allow TS generally turn into TS cesspools where everything revolves around sex; not the kind of roleplay I want to do or want on my MUSH. Not always, but generally. If your concept is an adult MUSH, then TS is fine. But for most MUSH, TS is not going to help the MUSH... because it will attract the cybersexors and leave your house with a bad wrap.
5) Active admin
Nothing turns me off more as a guest than never seeing an admin on a MUSH. And I'm not talking daytime hours; I'm talking about evening hours when MUSHs are at their height of activity. An unactive admin means the place is more or less dead or doomed to die.
And the only thing worse than admin who don't log on, its the ones who log on and sit idle without being hidden or DARK. Why? Because it just looks BAD to me. You log on to show someone is there, but if I ask you a question I get no answer. This does NOT inspire me to want to app at the place.
6)Have a plan for the first year
Great theme, good characters, and no where to go. This will kill a MUSH. On opening day, I think a MUSH's overall direction should be planned out for at least one full year in advance. Maybe more. As the MUSH continues to grow and you get a feel for your MUSH you can begin to turn the direction towards something along the lines of what your players want.
But the key is to have a direction to go in the first place. Nothing like a high powered engine, gas in the tank, and no road map to show you were to go... Have a direction, then open.
These are the things that I think will lead to a successful long term MUSH. These are the things I plan on doing. Now I just need to afford the server space, learn more coding, and actually get off my ass and make my MUSH.