Buy an Addict-o-meter as soon as you can, because you will need it.

Discworld MUD is THE most addictive MUD I've ever played, and is one of the most addictive MMOGs I've ever played. It is so addictive, that the sympathetic creators cooked up a command called Lockout, which will lock you and your alts out for the amount of hours, days, or weeks that you specify... and it cannot be undone, for your own good!

Discworld is a MUD of high quality, with unique & original content and countless ways to occupy your Disc time.

Pros: I'm fascinated by the structure of Admin leadership here. There are Trustees, Directors, Liaisons, Creators, Newbiehelpers, Playertesters, and player builders called Architects. Everything they all do is held up to the highest of standards. The managing people behind each domain take their roles seriously, are professional, and are obviously in managing roles out there in Roundworld, too. A big chunk of why this MUD has been so successful, I believe, is because it fell into the right hands from the very beginning. Almost hard to believe that this MUD is free. (And by the way, players are encouraged to apply to become Creators and need not even know how to code, though there are strict entry requirements.)

Discworld is brimming with life, options, community and activity. Imagine all the ways a developer might get its player populace as addicted as possible to the game, and Disc has probably got them all. I think they are too numerous to list, but my favorite ones are custom clothes, player housing, a wonderful newspaper to write for, pets, all the shops and all the crafts, bulletin boards, mail system, playwrighting and staging feature, the Ankh-Morpork Lottery, and the Sights to See event. I would have to say that currently, my top three favorite things are: boardgames, presents, and Pishe priesthood. Disc has about a dozen purchasable boardgames that players can play: off the top of my head, there is Monopoly, Boggle dice, Scrabble, Hearts, Mastermind, Mancala, Backgammon, Chess, Connect four, Reversi, Battleslugs, Mensa regis, Klondike, Passways, Quick categories, Liars dice, Lost cities cards, Six nimmt cards, and Solitaire peg. Not to mention Poker, Blackjack, Billiards, and anything else I'm forgetting. To me, it's an ingenious feature and I enjoy being able to grow some synapses within a game about all sorts of silly things. There is even a club devoted to nothing but getting together and playing boardgames. As far as presents, anything can become a present if you buy a gift box (several available), put something inside, wrap it with wrapping paper and mail it so someone or anyone. I enjoy surprising people this way, and receiving snail mail (letter inside of an envelope) or a gift from someone is a wonderful experience. As far as Pishe priests - they are the only ones who can Ressurect players and bring them back to life from death. I like the feeling of knowing a specialization is in demand and is appreciated.

These are the guilds within Discworld, from easiest to play to most complex: Adventurers, Warriors, Assassins, Thieves, Priests, Wizards, and Witches. Wizards are most plentiful. All of it gets to be complex, which is why no one can really go by without the Discworld wiki. There are many things to remember, particularly for Wizards and Witches, and many things to juggle at the same time, which is why aliases are lifesavers.

Cons: Though there are commands which make immersive RP possible on Disc, I haven't seen much RP at all. It saddens me, but the Roleplaying List command exists to help one find others that are open to RP. It's being used a little. (The Events List is another feature that is not being utilized much.)

My character is not into combat much, or into exploring (since it would lead to imminent death), and as a result, doesn't experience many surprises on the Disc. She's fallen into a routine of 'getting Idle XP, raising a skill, offering Taxi service, putting money in a bank, and repeating'. I do wish there were more events, or impromptu and unexpected RP encounters, but I have the bias of not having been on Disc long enough to see and experience everything. I haven't really delved into Questing, for instance.

I'm positive that I missed countless things and features to review, but this is what I had the time and passion for.

I think that at this moment, Discworld would benefit from players who like putting on events, roleplaying, or just... Creating. Something new, something different, and something snazzy.

I began mudding by accident, when I was searching for anything Discworld after having read the books. I found something called 'The Discworld MUD' and thought to myself, 'A Discworld game, sounds fun', and clicked the link. I found myself in a strange new world with wombles and witches, trolls and thieves... The Disc is HUGE. And it is filled with all sorts of things to do, experience and explore. I am surprised by the mud every time I play it, which I've done off and on (hey, sometimes the round world interferes) ever since I clicked that fateful link. All of the guilds (including Adventurer's) have something to offer, and if you need a little extra excitement, you can always apply to be a playerkiller. Trust me, I have dabbled in other MUDs and none of them stand up to the Disc's attention to detail and fantastic community of players.

What makes Discworld so great really, is the attention to detail and the reasonable effort put into making the game more immersive. Unlike most muds, it's actually possible to look at the world around you, and, to boot, see things worth looking at.

Also worthy of note is the avoidance of color spam, the lack of a level cap, and many other things you wish your mud didn't have (like starving to death, which can't happen on the disc).

I started in 1999 with a thief but never got into it very deep and stopped soon afterward. In 2008 my gf and I got bored playing our game against each other and we looked for an alternative. As we both love and adore PTerrys work I suddenly remembered the disc. And it still was there.

Improved, enhanced with quite some regulars. We both created chars, played and stayed. I can't compare the disc to other muds, because I don't play any others. I play it because I love the PTerry environment. And I prefer the text environment to shiny 3D with no gameplay behind it. A must for all PTerry fans and definitely worth a visit for other mudders and for all who are new to mudding: simply try and visit for something completely different.

Discworld is one of the most fun, kindest, happiest MUDs you could have. The layout is brilliant. People are nice and helpful and making friends is great!!! I love Discworld, and if I had it my way, all MUDs would be similar!

I've played several very different roleplaying games over the years: Guild Wars, Dungeon Runners, RuneScape, Mount and Blade, Siege of Avalon, Aardwolf, Achaea and many others I can't remember at the moment. The Discworld MUD is the only one that keeps me coming back.

DWMUD stands out from other MMORPG's for several reasons, but the biggest ones are tight-knit player community and the game's pervasive, lighthearted atmosphere. This is a game in which everyone- even and especially the coders- are having a great time interacting with each other and the game world.

Speaking of the game world... it's HUGE. Really, really HUGE- we've got a million plus rooms, fleshed-out cities, continents, oceans (with sharks in), you name it. The sense of scale is amazing, and the whole world is well put together. I've played other games that feel like a bunch of small farmable zones connected by speedwalks or portals; Disc, on the other hand, feels like a whole world...

...filled with AWESOME STUFF. Many games have only a limited number of items available to players- a token selection of clothes; a couple dozen weapons; a few suits of armour and magic items that all, really, feel the same. The Disc is the complete opposite; there's great heaping PILES of different clothes, hundreds of mix-and-match armour pieces, an easy-to-use custom item system... instead of the typical disappointing selection of basic items, the Disc has so many different items that great sweeping player databases can't keep up with them all. Trust me- it's a Good Thing.

The player community, as I mentioned before, is tight-knit and helpful. The Disc is really great for making new players feel welcome- there's ready access to general and Guild-specific chat channels, and even a dedicated volunteer team of Newbie Helpers who happily take time out of their gameplay to actively (you guessed it) help newbies. And that's just help with information. Certain players and player clubs just as actively help set newbies up with a basic kit, or point them toward easy ways to make money or gain equipment.

In addition to all that, there's a huge and established quest system; a brand-new, oft-hilarious achievement system; and an intricate craft system that is rapidly being developed. Player-created items such as jewellery, quilts, and pottery are already in game; players can decorate an item with engravings, paint or dye; and rumor has it that player-created clothes are in the works.

The admins are selected for their ability as coders and team players, not for their characters' strength- the result is a fun, helpful, and most importantly, accessible admin team that many games lack. You can send a Trustee a tell and if you're nice, he'll probably answer you.

Egad, this post has gotten long-winded. But that's really another piece of evidence: I'm not an admin, or a creator, or even an important player, but I took the time to write a nearly 500-word review gushing about how fantastic this game is. So, if you've got a couple hours to spare, log in, create a character, and come play with us on the Discworld MUD- one of the best role-playing games on the Net. :-)

I have played Discworld for over eight years, at first I used to play very steady, nowadays I can't make the time, but the enjoyment will never fade. Many changes have been implemented since I first started playing, and although I am unhappy with most of them, I realize that this is what keeps the game exciting and interesting due to the ever changing realities. Also that of course, many of these changes were meant to make the game more balanced and realistic, and the great sense of humour involved spices everything up.

Overall this MUD is A++, between the large selection of weapons, commands, spells, skill and the like, ability to roleplay, and many craft skills, this is a game where you are constantly learning new things and adapting to survive.

-xJan

Discworld from a players point of view.

Players ususally come in three variations; Number-chasers, Roleplayers and a mix of both. Discworld does a good job of providing for all types... I should know, I'm all types :P

In the 8 years of playing Discworld I have never lost the desire advance my character in one of the many different aspects that the place offers... skills available... quests to find... places to visit... secrets to uncover... items... clothes... brews.. animals.. social intrigue.. politics. The place can be as complex as you like it to be. And the sociology has been nothing short of remarkable, until recently.

Discworld had in the past been very successful at balancing the sense of 'unlimited character development' with 'providing a constant challenge' to the player. Over the past couple of years this balance has slowly been tipping.

These days the balance is in a shambles as the developers seem to have gone overboard with their development. (Who could have believed such a thing was possible). There seem to be so many features available now to everyone, that Guild identities have been all but erased.

A character of any profession may cast almost any magic spell, go anywhere at a whim. Almost anyone can perform any Godly ritual and multi-playing rules have been all but lifted, creating an environment where anyone can be a self-sufficient demi-god and as is the case in such situations. More and more people are becoming self-sufficient demi-gods which in turn has a negative affect on the social aspects of the game.

There are no challanges anymore because there aren't enough restrictions. There are no Geographical restrictions. There are very few skill restrictions. Even multi-playing restrictions have now been removed. There isn't really any need to create new characters anymore, one character can do it all.

On the other hand, the Disc is a lot bigger now spanning over 10 million rooms and filled with thousands of unique npc's. It's just unfortunate that it's so hard to play the different aspects of the game, and socialize at the same time. These days you have to go out of your way to do so...it didn't used to be like that.

I've tried Discworld on again and off again for years, but only very recently really gotten into it. What can I say, Discworld is a game so varied and vast that its longevity isn't really surprising. It easily has one of the largest worlds I've ever seen in a Mud, and Ankh-Morpork alone one could spend over a month exploring and still find something new every day.

Each guild in the game that players will eventually join (Warrior, Thief, Assassin, Priest, Wizard, Witch) has a different game play dynamic to it...each guild is like playing a whole new game almost, there are such vast differences.

What makes the Disc different from a large portion of Muds out there is the fact that Discworld is 100% skill-based. How good your skills are determine how good of a fighter/priest/wizard you are. And it works. The taskmaster system for skills, I love.

Sadly, all this is hurt badly by the one thing most apparent to most people who even play the game for 5 minutes. And that is Discworld suffers from being quite possibly the laggiest Mud I've ever played. And it's not just location, from people I've polled on the subject. Everyone seems to suffer from it, at times it feels like playing a mud in perpetual slow-motion. And Discworld also suffers from very frequent crashes, several a day usually (it just went down as I started writing this, as a matter of fact). Which is sad. A little more stability and a faster connection, and I could easily see Discworld being the #1 mud around.

Don't get me wrong, I'm still hooked (3 different characters for whatever mood I'm in). However, I only feel it fair to point out the downsides as well as the upsides to people considering giving Great A'tuin's burden a shot.

Its hard to review a game like Discworld. Over the last 10 years, it's grown, but it hasn't really developed. That aside, it is still the only mud I can get into. It's obvious the creators take a great deal of time and care when developing new areas, ideas and commands to incorporate into the game.

Sadly, as often as I've tried, i can't leave Discworld. It's terribly addictive. The players, for the most part, are a great lot, and quite friendly, something I've noticed doesn't happen often in the 'top 3' muds.

It's non corporate, free, and as such, retains a great feeling that will probably be around until the day they switch Atuin off.

I have been mudding steadily on Discworld for several years now and have to admit it has largely usurped my life. Full of the rich humour of Terry Pratchett's books and with a hefty portion of original humour from the hundred's of creators; exploring can vary from dull to interesting to uproarious laughter.

I have tried several other MUDs and by and large don't find them worth the time of day. Discworld is about far more than kill, kill, kill and it is incredibly user easy. While most muds have barely written commands and huge complicated help files; Discworld has obvious commands, the syntax command option and if all else fails: useful help files. The parser system also enables the easy separation of multiple items of similar or the same type.

One of the things I like most about discworld is the detail. The descriptions are always complex, relavent and interesting. Room descriptions can go on for several lines and you can look at a table, the legs of a table, the glint of light and the play of shadow. Some descriptions could even be a key to one of the quests that are hidden all over the place. Quests that grant items are few, but they can be very rewarding to solve even of themselves.

Almost all items have both a short description which you see in a casual look at the area which contains it and a more detailed description which is revealed on closer analysis. You can even check the dimensions and weight of an item. Spell and command descriptions are also invested with great detail and humour.

The choice of how your character develops is wonderfuly vast. You can become a great musician, a clothing maniac or an author. You could be a wizard who does nothing but conjure food and turn people into frogs or an old hag who makes peoples noses drop off.

There are thieves, four different assassins guilds, 9 warriors guilds, 6 priest guilds, the witches and the many orders of wizardry from elemental to seer to playerkilling hedge. There are newspapers to write for, shops and houses to own, hundreds of pieces of furniture and thousands of clothes. You can design your own weapons, clothing and armour or chose from the hundreds of options available.

The numerous skill trees and teaching options enable the advancing of skills that have nothing to do with your chosen profession as well as the easy advancement of your primary skills within your guild.

The Mud itself is huge, far too large for the playerbase really, but through the 'talker' and various clubs you are always connected to the other couple of hundred online members who are great sources of humour, friendship, useful advice and blatant unhelpfulness (though for every joke answer you get you will get several real pieces of advice). There are dozens of villages, huge cities that are much larger than the total area of some other muds and the endless, endless terrain. NPC's, players and talking trees can be found in the most unlikely places and there is never a shortage of things to kill if your tastes run that way.

There is exploration experience, command experience and idle experience for those who prefer a more sedate life, as well as the large experience rewards killing can give.

Playerkilling is allowed to those who apply to it, and is compulsory beyond a certain level for assassins and the Last Order of Wizardry. It is not forced upon those who prefer the life of an NPK.

Roleplaying is welcomed and for the truly dedicated there are features in game such as 'Roleplaying mode' which mean you are not distracted by out of character conversations. For those less interested in roleplay the mud offers an abundance of chat channels, killing methods and group options.

The Admin is also always on the look for new creators and playtesters. So if you are tired of the poorly written little muds out there, or just want to try something a little different. Be sure to give discworld a try, I promise it is worth the effort.

__ Scholarly Elanor the Wise of the Ancient and Truly Original Sages of the Unbroken Circle, the Fifth Level Wizard.

I first started playing Discworld years ago, back when I thought MUDs cost money and I got to it by searching Yahoo for 'free MUDs' and got 'Discworld MUD - Where wombles roam free' as the first result. I suppose people have a bit of a bias towards their first MUDs, but I can honestly say I've never seen anything that comes close to Discworld.

Generally if there's less than a hundred people logged on, it's either right after a reboot (or crash), or something is wrong. Years ago, there was a player cap at 120 or so and people would literally queue up to get in. Most of the players are friendly, and there's always the ignore command for those extremely rare annoying ones. There is a MUD-wide channel available to newbies to help them with their questions, and every new player gets a voucher for a free talker that allows them to ask more specific questions on more specific channels.

If you're tired of playing the same old Fighter with a Sword on all the other MUDs, you'll be happy to know that not only does Discworld offer a wide range of guilds and guild specialties, you can also custom-order swords, armour, scabbards, and just about any item of clothing you can imagine from a wide array of NPCs and specialty shops. You can get your hair spiked at a hair salon, wear an eyepatch and a peg leg and walk around thumping and clicking and going 'Arrr!' like a pirate, learn how to play a musical instrument, go questing, set off fireworks to the annoyment of everyone, start a club, start a family, venture off on one of the wide array of quests, or have any number of other fabulous adventures without ever having to fight anything. Using commands you learn gives you experience points, and just standing around gives you a little bit of idle xp.

Of course, the fighting system is great as well, with a ton of great NPCs to hack to bits, a wonderful skills system, detailed (sometimes too detailed) combat messages, lots and lots and lots of combat commands, spells, rituals, and whatnots, and a ton of strategy combinations.

It's hard to imagine it's been seven years since I first logged on. Through the years, I've seen a continuous series of improvements, from a sophisticated club system, to the rise of player-run guilds, player-run cities, player housing, player shops, nationalities, and an enormous world that spans from one city gate and over a literal ocean to another. There's really no way to list all the features Discworld has to offer, and there's always a new improvement waiting just around the corner.

Over the years, I've tried to kick the habit countless times, but I always seem to get dragged back into it like it's a bad drug addiction. Except that Discworld doesn't cost as much as drugs. In fact, Discworld is free! So if you've never connected to the Disc before, you're in for a treat. If you've browsed it before and it just didn't stick, you might want to give it another look. And if you find yourself lost in strange lands, there's always the 'godmother' command to get you back to a familiar spot.

I loved Terry Pratchett's books and had tried to play discworld a few years ago, but at that time I was intimidated by the complexity of the world. But (obviously) I tried again some time last year, and I just love it! Even if you haven't read the books, the world is full of quests and challenges that you wouldn't find on most muds. They are all original, and the room descriptions actually change according to the time of the year! (You have to pay close attention to room descriptions, because sometimes they contain clues to quests)

The mud has several different channels, and in general, the crowd tends to be semi-decently educated. (By that I mean that swearing is not tolerated, and the playerbase tries to act intellectual ;) [O.k. I'm kidding. Anyway, I mean swearing is not allowed on public channels and there can be some fun pseudo-intellectual conversations occasionally].

Pk is optional, and since one gets exp for existing on the mud, you can choose how you wish to play. You can either go off on mad killing sprees, sit idle and chat, or work on spells, potions or quests. In other words, something for everyone! :)

One of the things about the Discworld MUD that I truly love is the splendid camaraderie amongst players. Sadly the Creators are some of the most rude and impolite I have encountered on a MUD. One time as a newbie (young player) I lost all my newfound gear due to the game freezing and having needed to be rebooted. Ok, I understand that this can happen from time to time.

So I log back on, find my gear missing and contacted a Creator. This Creator passed me onto a Liaison. This liaison said to me that there was nothing he could do and he told me to enjoy finding it all again. When I mentioned that some of the items were Quest Related, he said he'd ask someone, and logged off! I waited one hour, meekly approached the same Creator again, who rudely told me to stop 'bugging him.' Thankfully some seasoned players helped me out with funds.

Saying that, I am a huge MUD fan and have been involved within these for over ten years now. I honestly feel that is one of the reasons why the players get on so well! Saying that though, the Disc is wonderfully recreated and immense. Those boorish folk sure know how to programme. Shame about the arrogant natures.

I must add that these are my own opinions and in no way am I speaking for all my colleagues and friend on the Discworld MUD.

My first impression of Discworld MUD was: WOW! It's incredible. It really is, but you have to enjoy the books to really involve yourself. Even if you have never even heard of Terry Prattchet or the Discworld before, you will find a rich and well developed world, with fun, adventure, and new happenings every day.

Join one of six totally player run guilds: Assassins! Warriors! Wizards! Witches! Priests! Thieves!

Arm yourself with a myriad of different weapons! Visit many cities, hundreds of towns, thousands of villages!

Own a house! Run a shop! Write for the newspaper! Live like a real person!

The game is good, though hard to get into. The amount of detail the creators put into the game is impressive, even though some think the creators are mean and evil there. I used to think that, but after some thought they are not, they only make changes for the good of the game, not the other way around.

The people on the disc come in different shapes, sizes, and personalities. Most are kind and are willing to help, but others are grumpy and don't like people having fun, so it seems anyway. I found it very good, but I've become bored. If you're a number chaser (which I tried to be) it was repetitive, doing the same thing over and over again. Even though they tried to make it different for you by changing the spawn times and the xp rates. It didn't help, it just annoyed me. I tried to be a roleplayer, but found that boring as I'm not very good at it and didn't find much ropeplaying to do, but I didn't look very hard tbh.

But it's a good game and I recommend it to everyone out there. Give it a try and if it's not to your liking, it didn't hurt did it?

That's my rubbish review done, have fun! :)

A world that’s so unrealistic you’d almost swear it was based on real life.

A place where you can be just about anything you’re little heart desires. -A wily cut throat Thief and have the privilege of being able to relieve other players of their possessions at their inconvenience. -A member of one of the 4 guilds that carry out assassinations on other players by use of lethal poisons, sharp pointy objects, and of course, awesome ninja skills. -A Priest of one of the 7 different deities that bless their followers with the ability to wield a veritable arsenal of unearthly rituals. -A Wizard, where you will be able to use spells so deadly you’ll probably kill yourself before anything else. -A Witch, should you get the urge to fly around on your very own broomstick, gather firewood, and offer girls, who blind people may claim are prettier than you, a poison apple.

And if all else fails, you can always become one of the many different types of Warriors; and simply journey to interesting places, meet interesting people, and give them a sound thrashing.

Quite simply the most brilliant and charming MUD I have ever played. Everytime I play, I am amazed at the depth and detail the creators have put into the vast gameworld. There is always a fairly wide playerbase on, most of whom are very friendly, easy going types ready to lend a hand. In fact, this MUD is also the most intuitive I've ever played. It's a snap to learn the basics and get right in the game, even if you've never even heard of a MUD.

The gameworld itself, which as I mentioned, is huge, provides some of the greatest variety of any game out there. Many different terrains, plenty of cities with hundreds of rooms, and of course, a variety of guilds, most of which with different specializations within.

The MUD also captures the feel of Terry Pratchett's books perfectly, a wild mix of fantasy and humor. Absolutely a must play!

In late 1996 a video game was published for the Sony Playstation named 'Discworld'. It may have had some other subtitle to it, but that's unimmportant. A friend and I were playing through the game and got horribly stuck at some point. All we heard was Rincewind, the main character, saying, 'That doesn't work.' over and over. Those who have played that game probably know where I'm coming from there. My friend and I decided to look up an FAQ site for the game and found the 'Discworld MUD' website. From there I began playing on the MUD. Ever since, I've been completely hooked.

I enjoy the lighthearted banter among a playerbase which spans the entire globe on a daily basis. Over the years I've seen the game evolve into something more along the lines of a culture than a game. In fact, I don't know where I'd be without 'DW' as I call it. Well, maybe I'd be outside slowly giving myself skin cancer from the harmful rays of the sun. That doesn't sound like much fun though, does it?

I started playing on Discworld 6 years ago. At first I felt pretty overwhelmed - there was so much information that seemed to be coming from everywhere all at once. After taking a break, I came back again and figured out how to earmuff some things and turn off my communication channel, and was able to get a better feeling for my surroundings.

Even back then, it was the most developed MUD I'd ever been on: some guilds were completely player run, clubs and families that anyone could start and would last as long as the dues were paid, vaults to store extra goodies. The levels of realism and playability went far beyond anything I had ever experienced before.

And it's only gotten better since then! Player owned houses, player run newspapers, player owned shops, player run councils, even more player run guilds. The areas slowly evolve and are even completely changed as problems or inaccuracies with the old ones are spotted and fixed. Guilds have developed more specializations that give players different primaries, different themes, and often different abilities as well. There are 7 priest, 5 thief, 22+ wizard, and 9 warrior specialisations currently, in addition to the Witches' and Assassins' Guilds. As someone that enjoys playing lots of different characters with different abilities (I have over a dozen alts currently) the variety on Discworld is nothing short of divine in my opinion :-)

As a creator, it's a great place to learn how to do everything since almost everything is thoroughly documented, and with a lot of experienced coders hanging around, it's usually a simple matter to get answers to coding questions. There are also a number of useful online editors to choose from in addition to the default, which seems to make things easier for a lot of creators. In addition, there's an online basic coding tutorial that many a newbie creator has found to be helpful.

To sum up, Discworld is a constantly evolving, constantly improving MUD, even when it's difficult to imagine how it could be any better. Folks are pretty friendly and helpful to newbies that aren't offensive, and even the playerkillers seem to maintain some standards of decency. All in all, a great place to play (or idle) whichever way suits you.

Discworld is a dyanmic and interesting game, we have been open and running for over 10 years and have produced a detailed and intesting game. We have very high standards for room descriptions and detail levels in the rooms.

The system is designed to be relatively easy to start in and to get more complicated and allow you more control over all the options in the game as time progresses. So you do not need to know everything about how the game works or all the possible options to succeed and play the game. We have put a lot of effort into making sure that the game is consistent and fits into the Discworld theme.

Enjoy the game, Pinkfish.