Hello, I'm a very, very junior MUD developer working on my first game. It actually started as a dare from a friend to learn Python (he pointed me toward Evennia).
This game is actually currently live, if in a very raw alpha stage, so I have SOME experience with mechanics and coding and the pitfalls of the trade. But the one thing I keep circling back to without resolution is how to really attract people. There are LOT of MUDs out there, and most of them offer many of the same things - the same story in new words. I want to find a way to really set mine apart.
I'm relatively new to MU* anything in general, I've played various ones for the last five years or so. So this idea I've been toying with could be entirely old, already tried, and proved a horrible failure. That's why I'm here looking for input on the idea itself.
In simple terms, I'm toying with the idea of something like...crown of conquest meets dwarf fortress, in a MUD. The premise of the game would be a world overrun by a malevolent force and hordes upon hordes of Really Bad Stuff. Then mankind establishes a tiny foothold on the surface.
This game would include all the elements of a more traditional MUD - you make a character, gain skills, battle monsters, explore the world, learn more skills, complete quests, gather resources, craft and customize items, etc etc. But instead of a traditional map, there would be ONE area, and then a 'wilderness' map that generates itself as players walk through it. So every trip would discover something new.
But the real draw would be in an additional dimension to the game. Players would be able to establish 'factions' that other players could join - these factions would be very vaguely defined, mechanically, allowing players to customize them to be anything at all, from a cult of fanatics to an order of holy templars to a bandit brigade to a crafter's union - anything. Once established, faction members would be able to gain 'fame' by completing tasks in game such as killing monsters or bosses, completing quests, and so on, and stockpile 'supplies' by creating special items like lumber, bricks, rations, etc. Once a faction built up enough supplies, they would be able to found a settlement on an empty wilderness tile, as long as it was outside the influence of the Dragon Keep or any other faction's holdings.
Establishing a settlement would create a new room off the wilderness at that location, which the faction leader would be able to expand and develop, running roads, fencing fields, and raising buildings, all with the use of supplies and resources. These settlements would have nebulous 'statistics' like security, prosperity, and so on, which in conjunction with the development of facilities would cause NPCs to migrate to the settlement, offering various services. For example, if you built an inn and the settlement was prosperous enough, an innkeeper would move in and start renting out rooms.
These settlements could be upgraded and developed to offer different facilities and services, to produce resources, and to include defenses such as walls, gates, or hired NPC guards - all for an upkeep cost, of course. And other player factions would be able to 'assault' these settlements. In addition, wild animals or hordes of Bad Guys could also attack settlements, damaging or destroying the defenses and potentially razing sections of it. If the defenses were not replaced, the settlement would eventually be overrun, its citizenry disbanded and the tile reduced to ruins.
I have a lot of other provisions and ideas in mind, obviously such a system would be quite complex at the end of the day. But I was hoping to hear from you all some general feedback on the concept itself. Does this sound like something that would be popular? Has it been done before? If so, was it successful? What sorts of hurdles would such a system face? What dangers would need to be provisioned for?
Thanks in advance to all of you!