Hi everyone, I'm Astrum from Asteria. I'm just a player like you guys, not a member of the staff, but I wanted to say thank you to everyone for checking out our MUD.
We've had a lot of new players join the game today, and I'd love it if you all decided to stick around. Asteria is a pretty special place once you get the hang of it. In my opinion, it's one of the best MUDs on the internet.
I wrote a detailed review of the game on Reddit four months ago, and I'm pleased to report that my opinions haven't changed. If anything, I feel even more strongly about the game and the people that make it possible.
Having said that, it's still a relatively young game. Asteria has been open to the public for less than one year. Fortunately, the two guys who run the game (Greg and Arcades) are wonderful people. They're always open to player feedback, and many of the things in the game today are the result of player suggestions.
I know many of you use screen readers to enjoy games like Asteria, and so I wanted to let you know that your feedback is important. The staff have made a real effort to make the game as screen-reader-friendly as possible, but I'm sure there are plenty of ways to improve too. If you're playing the game and you have a suggestion to make things better, I encourage you to use the "IDEA" command to submit your thoughts.
I'll try and respond to some of the comments you guys have made in this thread:
JasonBlaze wrote:wait, is this iron relm mud?
No, but I think Asteria is the perfect place for anyone who wants an IRE-like experience without any of the drawbacks that come with their games (real money transactions, cliquish behavior, etc.)
firefly82 wrote:Some words about crafting please!:-)
Crafting is in the game. I think it's accurate to say that we have a "light" crafting system at the moment, but from what I understand, new additions are in the works. Right now, you can do things like create potions, scribe enchanted magical scrolls that contain spells, and collect pigments to perform ritual tattooing that can give your character a variety of benefits.
Dark wrote:Okay I've given the game a try.
The system is really nice, though you have to be irritatingly exact with item names. Also, whilst the skills system is very flexible, the game is also hard to get into, particularly because quests your given in the early location require you to go to tougher areas.
Right now I just don't know where to go skills wise with my character so have logged off for a bit, since I keep getting killed due to not having any real skills, which is mildly frustrating when I'm just trying to wander around and do quests and the areas required to go and get skills are elsewhere.
The inventory system is complex, you need to actually physically hold stuff to use it and use weapons and armour, and the combat system looks really unique with you needing to physically advance on targets to engage and fight them.
I'll do my best to respond to each of your initial impressions -
1.) In most cases, item names can be shortened. For example, if you want to pick up a "Bronze Longsword" from the ground, you could also type "g bro". What may have given you this impression was that for certain quests you need to turn in an item, and in those cases you may have to type out the full name of the item.
2.) There are over 1,000 quests in the game, all hand-crafted by our writer and builder Arcades. Sometimes you won't be able to complete all of the quests in a certain area until you come back later after having leveled up a bit.
3.) Skills can be acquired from trainers which are located around the world, but they're all pretty easy to find once you get the hang of things. In the game, you can type HELP TRAINER DIRECTIONS to learn how to find all of them. With an open skill system like Asteria (which has been compared to the Elder Scrolls games), you have total freedom over what your character learns -- and it can be a little overwhelming at first. If you're not sure what to learn, you can read the help file HELP WHAT TO LEARN FIRST, or ask other players for advice. We're a pretty welcoming crowd and I'm sure everyone would be happy to share their knowledge with you.
4.) The inventory system does offer a bit more realism than many other MUDS. For example, if you want to wear a cloak, you first have to unpack it from your backpack and hold it. Then you can wear it. It's an extra step but many of us feel that this system adds to the flavor. Plus, you don't have to "equip" weapons -- simply hold a sword in your hand, and there you go. Finally, yes, Asteria has a balance-based combat system, where you'll be doing more than simply typing "KILL MONSTER" when you're in battle. You'll be advancing and retreating, bashing goblins with your shield, and shooting fireballs out of your fingertips.
I hope this helps and I look forward to seeing you in the game again!
Dark wrote:Okay, one thing I'll advise people is look up starting skills, since you can spend skill points on skills and not get anything, which is frustrating, also there is a serious problem with taking damage since there's basically no way of avoiding it, though the retreat command is often your friend especially when using magic.
As I mentioned above, a great way to learn more about skills and which ones you should start out with is by reading HELP WHAT TO LEARN FIRST and by asking other players for advice.
And fortunately, there are many great ways to prevent taking damage! I'm guessing that you're still wearing the gear you start the game with and perhaps wandered too far away from the starting village and encountered some bandits. Some new gear from the city of Rhojidan or Kalmyr will make you a whole lot tougher. The next time you log in, ask someone for help and I'm sure they'll be happy to show you how to get there.
Anyway, thanks so much to the community here for checking out Asteria. We'd love to see you all in the game!