Review Submitted By: Cedus
Author Status: Player and staff member
Started on The Eternal Fantasy: Couple years ago
Submission Date: Apr 20, 2006
TMC Listing: The Eternal Fantasy
The following review is the opinion of the review's author [Cedus]
and in no way represents the opinions of this website or its staff.
TEF is unique. The MudOS base it runs on allows for the builders to
craft quests, items, etc. with a level of depth that far surpasses
that possible on other bases, like Diku. This is taken advantage of.
In this MUD, one sees intricately designed quests, a lot of mobs that
respond intelligently to their environment instead of just smacking
you for differing levels of strength, and original ways to make
objects interact (the Chemist class can mix potions from a variety of
ingredients). Detail expands to things as simple as item descs - you
can examine a multitude of little things in the rooms you travel
through for more detail (as opposed to most MUDs I've played which
limit you to the long desc and a few fixtures like fountains).
The class system itself allows for a flexibility not seen in other
MUDs. TEF allows you to multiclass infinitely, letting you switch
between classes you have joined (all players start out classless, and
must track down guildhalls after creation) at set places. This freedom
allows for hours of entertainment trying out different combinations of
classes on the field. Even with the length of time the MUD has been
up, people are still finding new ways to mix classes effectively.
The geography of most MUDs is either far too restrictive or far too
open. Overworlds are either a simplistic network of straight roads
connecting the dungeons, or vast expanses of land you can get lost too
easily in. TEF hits a nice balance: Overworlds are generally limited
in size, and you can easily find the towns since they are conveniently
near the corner of overworlds, most of the time. Territory is kept
neatly seperated by the port system and the way oceans are
distributed. This makes the MUD a pleasant place to explore, since the
chances of getting irrevocably lost are minimal, yet there is enough
land to satisfy a wandering mind.
TEF is based on the Final Fantasy series of games, yet you would not
need to be familiar with them to get to know the game. A familiarity
with the games can be helpful in understanding the other players
(example, the world of Aradian is generally referred to as 'FF6',
after the game it is modelled on), but this can be picked up like any
other MUD lingo as you play. The MUD is different enough from the
games that someone who had played the games would not feature that
great an advantage over someone who hadn't.
All things considered, TEF is a recommended MUD to someone bored of
the same old cookie-cutter slash'n'burn games, bored of seeing the
same stock spellset on every MUD, bored of the traditional grinding in
which every monster is the same, and bored of shallow, poorly thought
out areas. You'll find a unique experience to be had if you stick
with it.
