When I first started the gathering, I wanted a place that I could just relax and have fun and meet people. I didn't know anyone from the mud, I didn't know the staff. I'm always apprehensive from staying on muds that are new and I don't know.
The first thing that gripped my attention when I started the gathering was the people. They greeted me, welcomed me, and there were several people playing. There is never anything so depressing as started a new mud and there is no one around. I might stay a few minutes but usually I get bored and leave.
The next thing that grabbed my attention was that TG is different. I hadn't ever really played a DoT mud so having to have a short description instead of seeing a players name was very odd and different. So, the codebase immediately grabbed my attention also. Also the fact that I had to be 'in character' all the time was also new. I came from a mud that you could rp if you wanted but most people didn't.
What does this say about TG? They have a playerbase that is active and cares about getting and keeping new players. They have a staff dedicated to gripping the attention of people and keeping them interested.
The staff are dedicated and are constantly coming up with ways to better the mud and create storylines to keep player interest and enhance the mud. New zones are being created and the use of mudprogs to enhance areas is being used more often to give a more in depth feel.
Are there problems with TG, of course, but the staff's ability to stay united and work around and with problems instead of ignoring or adding to them is phenomenal. They stick together and never bash each other. Even if one makes a mistake, they never bash or belittle the other.
I've been on so many muds that have a divided front and it's stressful to the players. I was even immortal on a mud that clearly had favoritism, and as an imm they told me to shut up if I tried to be fair and treat everyone with respect and honesty. The gathering is very awesome at not showing favoritism.
There is SRP on the gathering, but instead of looking at the gathering as an SRP mud, I see it as a mud that tolerates SRP. If that is your thing you aren't going to be punished or banned for it. If you don't like SRP there are still rp options available to you and the use of Profile Sheets aids greatly in finding players that have the same roleplay tastes as you.
I also like the fact that tg tries to be as realistic as possible. I recently became staff and one of the first things I was asked to do was go through every area and make sure the place it was connected made sense. If I saw an area connected to a swamp, did the city reflect that and I would note what areas I thought needed to be changed.
The gathering is all about change and adding and enhancing to the mud to create a better roleplaying experience. The staff is dedicated, the mud base is awesome though mostly it is because they have a head coder that is truly amazing. You want something to happen, you can ask Trellan and he will make it happen.
I strongly encourage any to at least give the gathering a shot because it has an immortal staff and playerbase that is just amazing.
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