ATS has had its up's and down's like any MUSH would, it has seen its players dwindle over the years as less people become interested in Trek based theme games while also just people not having the time to play. Awhile back, there was a stagnation amoung staff which I can't argue against but in 2015, all save for the Admin Dane were replaced with Orlene and Adriel(Me) with the addition of a new Wizard, Zenithar.

With the new team ATS was upgraded to PennMUSH version 1.8.6. The previously closed Romulan Star Empire was reopened as the New Romulan Republic and systems were upgraded and new ones implemented.

Yes, there is a lot of coded systems when it comes to Space travel, combat and even trade. ATS is the home of Aspace, the space system which is used by a lot of Trek based MUSH's BUT there are MANY How-To guides made by players on the games wiki page specifically designed to help players learn those systems.

There are new plots being developed and have been implemented since the staff shake-up and we have many more plans to bring more plots out for the playerbase.

Yes there are unique specific races/factions, as I seen in an old comment about the Unity and the Tyrixx, they have a very developed and intriguing storyline to them which was introduced years ago and are rarely ever seen. The only time players will see these races are in the event of a tinyplot and NOT, as I seen mentioned before, to take away from the players. At least not now.

The focus of the staff is to help the player base of the game, improve upon the coded systems on the game and the most important, the development of storyline/tinyplots for players to have something to bring themselves together to RP around. I cannot comment on how the administration was before 2015 but I can say that now, with the current admin team, are main concern is the roleplay of others while maintaining the integrity of the games IC history and quality.

I have played a character on TrekMUSH: Among the Stars for a significant period of time, and it is a moribund game. Its only life support is a group of players who connect out of habit and to no enjoyable purpose but socializing.

With one exception only, a friendly roleplay admin named Niner, the staff no longer cares. They are resting on 20 years' worth of dead laurels and visibly interact with the main player base only when they want to punish someone. Nerva only connects to demote Federation officers. Soggy only speaks up to threaten people or make snarky remarks. Attuare only becomes visible to permanently disconnect players from the game. The distinct impression one gets is that the admin are bored with the game but would rather see it languish or perish in its present state than allow anyone else to take over and fix it. They don't care; they're only there to remember the good old days.

As far as Star Trek, the game has traded Roddenberry's vision for a corrupt, belligerent Federation that's intent on fighting rather than exploration. Every player is given a ship, so there is almost never any crew community developed on a single vessel. One fights automated pirates or invades the Delta Quadrant to seek and attack Hirogen, Kazon, and Borg bots in between making trade runs for money—not a part of Roddenberry's Star Trek.

Concerning roleplay, some exists, but with players so spread out, it's less than I've seen on similar games. To the game's credit, there is a wide variety of canon races, but they're also mixed with overpowered and adult-oriented admin creations called the Unity (who all go about in fetish-wear and collars) and the Tyrix (who spew psychadelic light and eat Borg). These, when they show up, are certainly played by admin, and their twinkish levels of power are extremely disruptive, as any 'regular' players immediately become irrelevant to the scene.

In summary, this Star Trek roleplaying game really isn't Star Trek, and there really isn't much in the way of roleplay. With the exception of Niner, admin neither generate roleplay nor allow players to do so in any significant way. I have watched them retcon scenes of those who tried. The game's leaders have no management skills and know only how to demand obedience with threats. New players rarely find anything to keep them interested longer than a month or two before they either stop connecting or get chased off by leaders who don't have patience for them.

There may be 20 years of game history here, but that's become a liability rather than an asset. It doesn't encourage RP; it limits it. In my opinion, potential players should keep searching. This is not the Star Trek RPG you're looking for. If you decide to try the game anyway, be prepared for everything I've listed above, as well as an extreme learning curve of more than 100 potential commands and strategies needed for flying, trading, and fighting.

I joined this game in middle September of last year. Its been a great journey so far. The staff are terrific and there are always players online no matter what time of the night.

To get to the coding part of the game, I have to say its one of the easiest to use and most realistic to Star Trek that I have seen. I will be playing this until they decide to shut the game down. Even then I would donate my other computer to a full time server to keep the game running.

If you'd like to be a part of just one MUSH, this is it. The age, the size, the players, ASpace, the other subsystems, the admins... all these things add value to the place. I've been very happy with it.

ATS: Trekmush is an old mush with a rich history. I will prefix that I am biased in my review as I am staff on ATS, but if you want to confirm my review as honest then I encourage you to connect to ats and verify yourself.

Like all MUSHes ATS will only give back what you put in, if you come to ATS seeking a quick firefight or instant gratification it will not happen. To get things in ATS you must Roleplay and work with others. I have seen those who put in the time build up massive organizations and achieve what want though wasn't possible.

While the Federation is typically the newbie faction, all factions will be just as eager to help new players, although you may not get as much assistance due to fewer players online to help you. If you are having troubles, voice your issues.

I think ATS: TrekMUSH is a good mush that anyone who enjoys Star Trek can enjoy. New players are always welcome and people are always willing to help you, but keep in mind if you don't ask for help, no one will know to give it. So come be a part of our community, we are always looking for new people to roleplay with.

Background: TrekMUSH : Among The Stars AKA TrekMUSH : Advanced TinySex was definitely THE Star-Trek mush 5 years ago, until political correctness and game balance strikes the administrators, and at the same time, it is hard to put the whole blame on their shoulders, let me explain:

After a series of violent wars (which are to be expected in a fixed environment with no room for exploration and discoveries, where the only expansion an empire can do is by conquering planets and ships from another empire), the administrators got tired of all the complaining and whining and came up with a series of ideas that would keep the game more balanced and stable. First thing being a big re-specs of all space objects and profound changes in the space engines to level things a bit more. Ending up in something that removed the last area where empires differed (ship specifications). In the new system, each empire got equivalent ships based on the crew requirement of it. Except for the name and a few minor differences between ships, each empire ended up with comparable vessels.

On paper, coupled with a serious warning against any un-plotted war between empires, it was a good idea. Things would be a bit more calm and administrators more incline to work on tinyplot and stuff like that. Some worked on ideas and run good plots that overall enhanced the story line, others created new empires out of nowhere with new technology and capabilities, it seem like a good idea for a while, but one part of the game was still unbalanced, economy... Some empires where crawling in commodities and latinum, other barely managed to produce enough fuel to keep their fleet active, and since the productions of good was so important to build ships and fuel them, a player playing an active part in the economy of the game was rare, only a handful where allowed by their admins to give a hand, and their roles where mostly confined in keeping the companies and markets well stock to avoid economical crash and market panic. It didn't take long for the administrators to decide something had to be done with the economical system.

Their new plan was a complete teardown and rebuild of the economy. While their first system wasn't perfect, it had a big advantage over anything else that was tried after (I think they are at the 3rd or 4th version of it), it was finished, worked well and was complete. To build a ship, you needed money to pay the workers and commodities to build it. You had to get those commodities from factories, warehouses and market, bring them to the place of construction of the ship, pay the fees and wait till the ship was build. Now the current system doesn't even take into account the time to build a ship. You post a request to build a ship, give your local admin the money, he decide if the ship take 1 hour, 1 day, 1 week or 1 year to build, and voila... Your ship is done. And it's so easy for players to do money, the mission system is a joke, before you had to compare market, calculate taxes, fuel and expenses to trade, now you compare two market with a single command and bingo, it's easy to do half a million in a way, even a million if you're lucky, and when you compare how easy it is to make money compared to the price of a ship, One can buy a freighter easy after a week of trading. But on the other side, ship slots are not unlimited, each empire has a ratio to maintain and not everyone can have his own personal ship. Most empires don't even allow players to own a ship.

To aggravate the problem the administrators are enforcing a 'no-whining' policy where they encourage players to play the good guys because being a bad guy mean someone may end up being fired at or worst, lose a ship or planet. And they hate when players start complaining because something bad happens... Exit pirates, mercenaries and meanies, welcome carebears, (they actually have a faction that are based on carebears meeting Borg, the Ursans), BDSM (Unity, an empire run by a mistress of bondage & sexual training) and Teletubbies (Qvarne). This is where the name aTS take its full meaning. If you can't explore, you can't fight, and you can't trade, what else is there to do between TP? Idle, chat and TS...

Tinyplots: TPs are the other big problem of this MUSH, they are all the same, here's the general plot of all TP run since 2001 on ATS:

1) Admin's NPC forces attack [SHIP|BASE|PLANET] 2) Admin's NPC forces capture [SHIP|BASE|PLANET] 3) Admin's NPC repel PC forces a couple times. 4) Admin's PC call a war meeting of all factions at nearest UFP facilities 5) Admins's PC come up with a plan 6) PC agrees with said plan, not they have anything to say about it anyway. 7) Admin's PC and PC attack Admin's NPC, if Admins bored of TP, NPC lose, if not NPC win, go back to step 4. 8) Bar RP & TS at nearest UFP facilities.

Considering TPs come about every 4 month, one could argue it's all they could come up with such a short delay to create a story.

PC Factions: U.F.P.: The creme of the creme of ATS, where all the good guys should be. Well the problem is this faction should be newbie friendly and active, it isn't. The worst thing that can happen to a newbie is to be left idle locked in a room. To avoid this they pack all the newbie on a training ship and send it somewhere. Problem is most empires are hostile toward the Federation, so the newbie end up locked inside the ship, forced to idle until they return to fedspace. Depending on what your first ship assignment is, your RP mileage may vary alot. In general, the players of the UFP are friendly; the admins are discreet and will leave you alone until you take some rank up in the UFP. It is not a bad org at all, but people there generally believe the rest of the mush is there to entertain the UFP. Wizard will tell you without the UFP, there is no Star-Trek, and I always reply, without other empires, there is no UFP.

Klingons: If they where allowed to fight outside their org a little bit more, being Klingon would probably be the best thing to do in that game. The problem is it is hard to be Klingon when nobody is allowed to be at war with anyone. Since Klingons can't brawl about their battles... They brawl about how pathetic their life is... Remind me of a bunch of Goth sometimes, but there's alot of fun to have with them. Only a Klingon knows how to put life in a bar! And if it ends in general fight, even better! A great admin team too, very friendly and helpful, a good place to start if you already know the Star-Trek universe. Sorghe is your best resource in the KE for info and help.

Ferengi: Neutrality, they are neutral, what do they do? They stay neutral, not good, not bad, they are neutral. Did I say it? Ferengi are neutral. A good org for a beginner who knows nothing about Star-Trek. You can play a human and learn as you go, they are probably more newbie-friendly than the UFP, and you won't end up doing nothing locked in a ship. Another great admin team. Exchequer is always willing to help and won't mind if you page him over an over with questions and request for help.

Cardassian: Can't say much about them, they are very quiet, they have an active admin team and a few good players and seem to be involved in alot of internal RP. Maybe a good place for a 2nd char on ATS, after you tried the Ferengi since ATS does not allow more than one char.

Romulans: Another very closed empire, they are doing alot of in-org TPs, they don't mix often with outsiders but when they do, expect very good RPers.

Pryans: An ATS invention, vaguely related to the Maque of DS9. Not for beginner, they are a small org and each player is expected to take care of himself from head to toes. Don't think what the org can do for you, think what you can do for the org. Sel is the man to bug. Even if he thinks I hate him, he's a very good guy with a strong head on his shoulder and should be able to do something good with that org.

NPC Factions: Breen: An invite only faction. Twink ships and too much ego. Dominion: NPC only, only show up for TPs. Gorn: See Dominion. Unity: Admins and close admins friends only. If they show up, shut up and do what they say, they are the truth, you are nothing.

Tholian: See Breen. Tyrixx: Alot like species 8472 in Voyager. NPC and a few PC when they do TPs.

Orions: See Dominion. Qvarne: See Teletubbies. Wizards: Just don't bug them, if you need help from a Wizard go speak with Kingu, he's friendly and helpful, the kind of wizard you want on every game.

Conclusion: DON'T GET INVOLVED IN THE GAME'S POLITICS. Chose your empire well and don't expect a very active game. Yes there's always something to do, trade a bit to get enough cash to buy a few drinks in bars, chat with people, sim and learn how to fly and fight in space. One day it will be useful, as long you don't expect a game where YOU can make a difference but you are willing to follow plots lined up by others and scripted tp, ATS may be what you're looking for. Forget ATS's reputation of great space system and economy, it was true before, you can find much better elsewhere now. Maybe if you play long enough, one day you will become one of the Oldies and have a chance to shape the game to your liking... And of course, if everything, there's always someone to TS with somewhere...

I've been around ATS for quite a while now. Around five years, and I'm not sure it's going to end sometime soon. Of course, I've taken my breaks now and then, but when you only focus on the IC aspects of the game, it is quite fun to play.

I'm a player on ATS, and a former administrator, so I've seen both sides on the game. You want fun? Focus on IC, do not get involved with OOC disputes. It sounds bad, but every MU* has their OOC disputes, so that is nothing new.

At the moment I am playing in the Cardassian Union. The regulars are a fun bunch, friendly to each other and such. Unfortunately it looks like the CU is the empire with relatively the smallest (active) playerbase, and I am kind of hoping that can be rectified in the near future as the Cardassian Union is actually a fun and interesting place.

If you are a normal and typical MUSH player, there is a good chance that you'll be able to find a nice spot on ATS. Of course, knowledge of Startrek would be handy. To do some research about the empire you're going to join, and the race you're going to play, would be nice as well. If an empire does not suit you, you can always ask for a detach to your empire admin (where your character gets kicked out of the empire and nuked), and try another empire with a new character.

If you've never played a MUSH before, the people on ATS are generally willing to help you out, providing you do your research by utilizing the HELP command and such. Be sure to read room descriptions and check the help, then you'll get accepted in no-time.

Various things can be done, which greatly depends on empire. Civilians can try to pursue personal wealth or knowledge. Mostly one would be in a military of the empire of your choice, as that is the position that offers the most activity on ATS. And even in the military, you can do different things. Starfleet might be a small exception, as they have departments and such. Other empires, however, do not have the luxury of a bloated playerbase, so a military person can actually do many things at once.

Let's see...if the econ system is upgraded (it's in the middle of an upgrade), we can resume trading. We can refuel bases and outposts. We can patrol borders. We can cause trouble (make sure your superiors are agreeing with that stance!). We can do space combat. We can meet weird people. We can...Roleplay!

Keep in mind, ATS does not -exactly- offer 'personal ships', as everything is ultimately in the hands of your empire. The only thing that might be completely 'yours' might be latinum (minus the taxes). ATS is not geared to getting the most objects in your possession (Ferengi might disagree here), but is highly politically oriented. The whole empire benefits most by working together so that it stands above other empires, whether it be by war, politics, or other things.

For those experienced with MUSHes, feel free to decide on your favorite race and empire. For those still relatively new, the United Federation of Planets might be your best choice. But... if you feel you are experienced enough, do not hesitate to try another empire as that offers so much more variety. You do not know ATS fully if you only have tried the UFP.

And I hope some of you reading this will consider the Cardassian Union. :)

I've played on ATS for a few years now, and while it's had its share of ups and downs it is currently in an upswing and shows no signs of downward trends happening in the near future. The place is a great place to play and definitely worth checking out. Great RPers can be found and the space system is great and being improved all the time. Check it out for sure! :)

Well, ATS is one of the most advanced MUSHes I've been on in a while, and I've been on a few. It has an AMAZING space engine, ASpace, which allows players to pilot all of the best ships ever seen on Star Trek, it has a great Economy system, which allows players to fly their mighty Freighters around trading, and it has some of the best Roleplaying opportunities I've seen in a long time. With over 250 players, and usually at least 15 on at any one time, the opportunities are nearly endless.

With 8 major player factions, and many Non-player Character (NPC) factions, there are always wars and treaties, and always changing.

The wizarding staff and admin are great, with over 20 admin, and 4 wizzen, the game is kept running smooth with a minimum of fuss.

I urge all of you to come play ATS, because every player makes roleplay that little bit better!

I created my first character on ATS in '99, and have never quite been able to shake my addiction for the place. Between the extremely immersive environment and the great people I've met, it's something I can never get away from.

Many years of hard work and dedication have gone into making ATS THE BEST text based environment i've ever played in. The community is full of terrific RPers, the admin staff is the most down to earth(no pun intended) of any MUD, MUSH, or MOO, I've ever pointed my client to.

There aren't many downsides to ATS, once you find your place, figure out where you are most comfortable, and start developing a character the sky is the limit. And one of the big pluses in my opinion is a tremendous amount of Star Trek knowledge is not really neccesary.

We've gone from one extreme to another on ATS, wars, peace, terrorism, assasinations, love, marriage, children, parties, you name it, it happens here. If you are finding your text based gaming rather lackluster, and unsatisfying....you now know where to gain back that enjoyment.

Wow, where do I begin. Well, it all began one night when I started jonesing for some text-based fun again. I hit TMC, referred by a friend of mine, and typed in Star Trek. This one just sorta stood out. I went, I saw, I was conquered.

The level of detail that ATS uses is just phenomenal. I never thought that a text-based game could use 3D space. You get that in ATS. Like person-to-person combat? It's supported with weapons ranging from daggers to phaser rifles (maybe more!)

Most of the ships seen in the shows and films are here, and some new ones that we came up with ourselves to fit our needs. Shields, cloaking, it's all very detailed, with a great system for having multiple people run a ship efficiently.

Not a combat twink? No problem, RP is /heavily/ encouraged. The royalty are always coming up with new plots, and they try to include as many different empires as possible when they make 'em. What's an empire? Play as one of nine different organizations. Federation, Klingon, Romulan, Ferengi, and more!

ATS's beginning was set 25 years after the DS9 ep. 'Way of the Warrior', but we've come a long way since then, and have a very unique history under our belts. Some of our characters have been around since the beginning, some are just a few weeks old. All work together to make this, in my opinion, the BEST TrekMU* out there! So come on by and check it out! Worst that happens is we addict you more than Everquest(tm)!

I play in the Galactic Ferengi Alliance, so I'll write about that.

We are the leaders of the coded economy of ATS. Our ships can be spotted all over the galaxy. It's easy to make alot of money, which can be used to make more money, buy weapons, skills, etc. We have access to the biggest freigthers on the Mush.

For those who have an interest in law, this is the perfect time to join the GFA on TrekMUSH. We are developing a canon of law that will reflect the principles of the Rules of Aquisition. If you are interested in writing laws, this is a good place to test your skills.

Other orgs on the Mush concentrate on other things. We have something for just about everybody.

Where do I begin? ATS - Among the Stars has been a truly rewarding experience for me. I began my journey as a MUDer and after several years I accidentally discovered ATS and was immediately overwhelmed.

ATS incorporates so many fantastic features it almost seems too good to be true. It immediately won me over, back in 1999 and i've been playing ever since. Ocassionally I'd try out the new graphical games but I always returned to ATS.

The MUSH includes the largest playerbase you'll find on a MUSH anywhere, the average being around 50 players online, peaking up to 80.

The players are all super friendly and cooperative, and will welcome you at once into their Role Playing community, the friendships formed on ATS are unlike any i've seen on any other online game. The administration is very social and professional and will assist you in any way they can.

ATS is the home of the famous ASpace (Space) system used on many other space oriented MUSHes. However the diverse version used on ATS is updated and available only on ATS. The Space system, environment and feeling on ATS is the only one that ever got my adrenaline pumping.

We have a fully operational economy and combat system, well over 500 space objects including planets, starbases, outposts, ships. Anomalies include stargates, subspace rifts, wormholes, asteroid belts (And escape pods if needed!!!), all making the time spent travelling in space enjoyable and thrilling.

Roleplay is enforced, and space battle is very common as seen throughout our history. Whether you want to RolePlay on the bridge of a Federation cruiser with many other players, or perhaps command your own crew on a Klingon battleship into a heated warzone, fly a fighter on your own or alongside a fleet of vessels or roleplay in a fantastic mistery, or roleplay different scenes in a fully functional holodeck -We have it --*All*---!

To summarize it all up, There's no true way that my words would do justice to Star Trek - Among the Stars. You'll just have to drop in and have a look. You'll never leave, no one does!!