Nanvaent
Encyclopedia
Nanvaent, or NANVAENT, is a MUD
based in the UK. Stylistically it is Medieval or Tolkienesque. It is one of the longest-running LPMud
s.
, Not VaxMUD, And Especially Not TinyMUD
.
Originally set up as an LPMud, the first administrators were Roger "Anjou" Dubar, "Aragorn" and "Edacom". A union was formed between Nanvaent and VaxMUD, a MUD played by the Nanvaent administrators and run by another MUDder called "Bill". Realising the potential of LPMud, code and players were converted to the LPMud codebase, sometimes with the help of Lars Pensjö
, the eponymous creator of LPMud. Nanvaent, therefore, is able to trace its roots into the age of the white-coat operators. In keeping with this background, during some of its earlier years, logins to Nanvaent were restricted to between 5 PM and 9 AM GMT.
By 1995, Nanvaent had ported to the MudOS
game driver.
on which Nanvaent resides has moved several times. Initially, it was located at the University of Strathclyde
in Glasgow
, since all Gods
of Nanvaent graduated from this university. Later, it was moved to run on a SPARC
10 at the University of Glasgow
when one of the Gods was employed there. In 1998, a server dedicated to Nanvaent was purchased with the help of donations from players, and the machine was moved yet again to be located at the premises of an ISP in London where an administrator of the game was employed.
structure, Lords are usually assigned an area of the game to oversee and may form teams of creators to work on development projects.
running on the FluffOS game driver and its own derivative of the Discworld mudlib
.
driver.
In 1995, Nanvaent was discussed in The Independent.
MUD
A MUD , pronounced , is a multiplayer real-time virtual world, with the term usually referring to text-based instances of these. MUDs combine elements of role-playing games, hack and slash, player versus player, interactive fiction, and online chat...
based in the UK. Stylistically it is Medieval or Tolkienesque. It is one of the longest-running LPMud
LPMud
LPMud, abbreviated LP, is a family of MUD server software. Its first instance, the original LPMud game driver, was developed in 1989 by Lars Pensjö...
s.
Overview
Nanvaents combat system is similar to that seen in many role-playing games, both on- and off-line. The game requires the player to collect experience points (known as 'xp') through either combat or completion of quests. This allows the player to advance their character's skills. Nanvaent probably contains hundreds of thousands of game locations (known as 'rooms'), although it is impossible to achieve a definitive count. Nanvaent also offers interaction between multiple players, creating a sociable society and the ability to fight as a team as well as independently.History
Nanvaent was created in LPMud-form in February 1991 but has its origins in VaxMUD. Its name is an acronym that stands for 'Not AberMUDAberMUD
AberMUD, pronounced , was the first popular open source MUD, named after the town in which it was written, Aberystwyth. The first version was written in B by Alan Cox, Richard Acott, Jim Finnis, and Leon Thrane based at University of Wales, Aberystwyth for an old Honeywell mainframe and opened in...
, Not VaxMUD, And Especially Not TinyMUD
TinyMUD
TinyMUD is the name of a MUD server codebase, and the first MUD running that codebase. The MUD itself has subsequently come to be known as "TinyMUD Classic" or simply "Classic", or occasionally "DaisyMUD"...
.
Originally set up as an LPMud, the first administrators were Roger "Anjou" Dubar, "Aragorn" and "Edacom". A union was formed between Nanvaent and VaxMUD, a MUD played by the Nanvaent administrators and run by another MUDder called "Bill". Realising the potential of LPMud, code and players were converted to the LPMud codebase, sometimes with the help of Lars Pensjö
Lars Pensjö
Lars Pensjö of Sweden is the original author of the LPMud MUD engine and the LPC programming language, and is one of the founders of Genesis LPMud, notable for their part in the history of MMORPGs as well as the Pike programming language. He attended Chalmers University of Technology in...
, the eponymous creator of LPMud. Nanvaent, therefore, is able to trace its roots into the age of the white-coat operators. In keeping with this background, during some of its earlier years, logins to Nanvaent were restricted to between 5 PM and 9 AM GMT.
By 1995, Nanvaent had ported to the MudOS
MudOS
MudOS is a major family of LPMud server software, implementing its own variant of the LPC programming language. It first came into being on February 18, 1992. It pioneered important technical innovations in MUDs, including the network socket support that made InterMUD communications possible and...
game driver.
Physical location
The serverServer (computing)
In the context of client-server architecture, a server is a computer program running to serve the requests of other programs, the "clients". Thus, the "server" performs some computational task on behalf of "clients"...
on which Nanvaent resides has moved several times. Initially, it was located at the University of Strathclyde
University of Strathclyde
The University of Strathclyde , Glasgow, Scotland, is Glasgow's second university by age, founded in 1796, and receiving its Royal Charter in 1964 as the UK's first technological university...
in Glasgow
Glasgow
Glasgow is the largest city in Scotland and third most populous in the United Kingdom. The city is situated on the River Clyde in the country's west central lowlands...
, since all Gods
God (MUD)
God or Goddess, in MUDs, often refers to an administrator of a MUD server, most typically the owner. Sometimes multiple individuals with the title of God are present, or the term may even be applied to all administrative and development staff, but it is usual for the term to refer to the most...
of Nanvaent graduated from this university. Later, it was moved to run on a SPARC
SPARC
SPARC is a RISC instruction set architecture developed by Sun Microsystems and introduced in mid-1987....
10 at the University of Glasgow
University of Glasgow
The University of Glasgow is the fourth-oldest university in the English-speaking world and one of Scotland's four ancient universities. Located in Glasgow, the university was founded in 1451 and is presently one of seventeen British higher education institutions ranked amongst the top 100 of the...
when one of the Gods was employed there. In 1998, a server dedicated to Nanvaent was purchased with the help of donations from players, and the machine was moved yet again to be located at the premises of an ISP in London where an administrator of the game was employed.
Hierarchy
As with many MUDs, Nanvaents players can enjoy increasing rank within the game. As a player, individuals have the ability to move around the in-game space and talk to one another privately and on public channels. Often, a long-standing player will be promoted up the hierarchy, allowing them to add and modify game code and contribute to the development of the game. The various tiers of power are: Creator, Lord, High-lord and finally God. These levels correspond to increasingly sweeping permissions on the game server, as well as signifying greater degrees of trust and ability in the individual. As in project managementProject management
Project management is the discipline of planning, organizing, securing, and managing resources to achieve specific goals. A project is a temporary endeavor with a defined beginning and end , undertaken to meet unique goals and objectives, typically to bring about beneficial change or added value...
structure, Lords are usually assigned an area of the game to oversee and may form teams of creators to work on development projects.
Domains
Nanvaent is split into several, usually geographical, domains, mainly to allow a lord to oversee a fixed physical area. These are known as North, Valley, West, Mountain, Coast and Mhaolain. In addition, several administrative domains exist to allow continuity of development in these areas. These domains are Guilds, Mythos and Quests.Guilds
These are affiliation groups which the players of Nanvaent are able to join, and which will affect their skill development, collaboration and other choices throughout the game. Examples include Fighter, Wolf, Thief and Barbarian. In some cases, membership of a guild is only accessible by fulfilling certain criteria, such as rising to a particular level in another guild.Quests
While the game can be played simply as a combat-type environment, puzzles also exist within the game. Frequently, a player will encounter a non-player character ('NPC') or feature which gives pointers to a particular puzzle. The player must then solve the quest to receive experience points or sometimes special items.Technical infrastructure
Nanvaent is an LPMudLPMud
LPMud, abbreviated LP, is a family of MUD server software. Its first instance, the original LPMud game driver, was developed in 1989 by Lars Pensjö...
running on the FluffOS game driver and its own derivative of the Discworld mudlib
Discworld mudlib
The Discworld mudlib is an LPC framework, or mudlib, originally written for the Discworld MUD.It has been regarded as one of the more advanced mudlibs around: according to , the Discworld mudlib was only the second widely available mudlib. At the time of its release it had the most advanced...
.
Public contributions
In 2000, Nanvaent participated in an academic study of social psychology in MUDs, and Nanvaent developers contributed to the development of the MudOSMudOS
MudOS is a major family of LPMud server software, implementing its own variant of the LPC programming language. It first came into being on February 18, 1992. It pioneered important technical innovations in MUDs, including the network socket support that made InterMUD communications possible and...
driver.
Reception
Audyssey: Games Accessible to the Blind gave Nanvaent a five out of five rating.In 1995, Nanvaent was discussed in The Independent.