Page modified from the Connections web
site, with the permssion of Tari Fanderclai: any mistakes are our
own,
and not Tari's!
Fanderclai, Tari. "Mud Client Help."
Connections website.
1994-2001.
http://www.nwe.ufl.edu/~tari/connections/client-info.html (April 8,
2002)
A MUD client is a program written especially for connecting to MUDs (Acadiana is a MOO; a MOO is a kind of MUD).
You can download some MUD clients that are freeware, and some that are shareware. You can choose very simple MUD clients if you just want to be able to connect to Acadiana and communicate with others; you can also find MUD clients that have lots of fancy features such as macros and local editing (so that if you're trying to write a note or program a verb, for example, instead of going to the in-MOO note editor or verb editor, both of which are very clumsy, you can open a window in your client, write your note or code there, and upload it to the MOO).
When readying a class to use Acadiana, distribute
MUD client information. If the class meets in a computer lab, talk to
the lab's support people about installing a MUD client for your class.
(Sometimes teachers put MUD clients on 20 or 30 machines, only to find
that the lab maintainers clean them right off again! It's a common lab
maintainance practice to go around every few days with a program that
simply restores each machine to its original, standard state, so
coordinate with your support people
and get the MUD client you need into the standard set of tools!)
Our personal client recommendation for Acadiana users is JaMOOka,
programmed by Kevin Moberly. A Java based client that supports local
editing, JaMOOka is open-source freeware with pop-up
windows requiring
Java Runtime 2.0; we also support Alex Stewart's 1997 Cup-O Mud, for those with older computers
that can only run Java Runtime 1.0. For more information on these, see
our java client page.
tkMOO-light is
written and maintained by Andrew Wilson. It's
freeware. tkMOO-light is available for Windows, Mac, and
Unix platforms. That makes it especially useful for classes, since no
matter what platform a class member uses, s/he will see the same
interface,
making it easy for the teacher to give instructions for using the
client.
tkMOO-light offers local editing, logging, and many user-configurable
options. Here's some help with installing tkMOO-light:
Unix/Linux users will find documentation on the tkMOO-light home page
SimpleMu : Easy to install and very nicely done. It's shareware, but it isn't expensive and it has an unlimited evaluation period. You will need to configure it.
Pueblo: A long-time favorite of many MOOers. Freeware. Pueblo
is no longer supported and there is no official distribution site, but
there are several places where people have kept it online. Here
is one:
MUDDweller : One of the most commonly-used Mac clients. Freeware. No longer under development; see configuration for settings.
Savitar : This is really nice, and its page offers tons of documentation. Inexpensive shareware.
TinyFugue :
An old standby for Unix users; works on Linux. If you need a
Unix client for a class, see if your site admin will install this on
the
system rather than having each individual install a copy in his/her
home
directory. Not only will you have more hair left; your site admin will
like you better. Freeware. mud.el and some variants: If you want to mud
from inside Emacs, try mud.el or one of its variants. Warning: these
are
mostly not well-documented. Freeware.
In each case you will have to do your own configuration.
If you want to check out lots of MUD clients to see what you like best, I suggest you use a web search engine.
Search for MUD clients with Google .
Search for MUD clients with Altavista .
You'll turn up many MUD users' pages listing lots and lots of MUD
clients with information about features, system requirements, and
download sites. Note when the lists you find were last updated--many
people put up lists of MUD clients, but few keep them up to date; a
list that hasn't been updated in a year or so is likely to have a lot
of broken links and outdated information.
If you're using a client other than tkMOO (after
following our configuration instructions above) or one of the two
Java
clients, you'll have to use the documentation to determine how to enter
the information about Acadiana
that clients commonly ask you to enter:
Some MUD clients also give you the option to enter your character name and password, so that when you select the MOO by name, you will automatically be logged in as soon as you connect. Do not enter that information on any machine that is not under your exclusive control. If you do, you have effectively shared your password. Anyone who sits down at your computer can start your MUD client, select the name of a MUD, and log in as you, with access to your belongings and privileges (and the ability to make enemies of your friends). Since on any MUD you use, including Acadiana, you're responsible for everything your character does, that person could easily get you kicked off the MUD. Let the client make the connection to the MOO, and then enter your name and password yourself.
If you wish a character you should first login as a guest. Later you may contact Dr. Keith Dorwick (kdorwick@louisiana.edu ) and request a character.
Last Modified: January 2, 2006
Contact: kdorwick@louisiana.edu