Nightmare LPMud
Encyclopedia
Nightmare LPMud, founded in 1992, was one of the oldest continually running LPMud
s still played until its closure on September 12, 2005. Its roots go back to the original LPMud, Genesis LPMud
, when Forlock of Genesis along with some students at Bates College
in Lewiston, Maine
founded Orlith in 1991. This MUD lasted only a year before forking
into two rival MUDs, Nightmare and Phoenix. The final incarnation of Nightmare (meaning support for full player continuity) opened October 31, 1992, run by George "Descartes" Reese
. It was hosted at
There was one major revision in 1996 that required a conversion of players into Nightmare Mudlib
's Nightmare IV format. Nightmare never charged players to play.
The Nightmare world included multiple player administered city-states. The core city-state, Praxis, was destroyed in a recent clash among deities worshipped by various Nightmare religions. Each city-state was the home of one or more player races such as elves, humans, apskara, halfling
s, gnome
s, ogre
s, artrell, fairies, and so on. In some cities, the races got along well; in others there was continuous strife. Player-killing was allowed, but with certain restrictions. Players on Nightmare elected to learn a specific profession that dictated the way they play the game. Professions like fighters were the traditional "hack-n-slash" while professions like fishers were not intended for combat. The base classes available were: fighter, rogue, cleric, mage, kataan, monk, bard, and fisher. Each class had a set of primary skills, which were used to increase the player's level, and secondary skills, which were not required but could still be beneficial to the player as they progressed. Additional character customization was available through joining a "guild"; available guilds included philosophers, witches, and druids, with secret guilds rumored to exist.
When players attained higher levels, they could "double-class" and combine the skills and attributes of two classes.
The MUD had an innovative biography feature that tracked the milestones of a character's life, providing each player with an individualized personal history.
. From about 1992 until 1996, the Nightmare Mudlib was the most common base used in LPMud development. As a result of this influence, a number of later muds reflect elements of the Nightmare play style. Features and innovations included:
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 still played until its closure on September 12, 2005. Its roots go back to the original LPMud, Genesis LPMud
Genesis LPMud
Genesis LPMud, a multi-player computer game, is the original LPMud founded in April 1989 by Lars Pensjö, now running on CD gamedriver and mudlib, and previously hosted by Chalmers Computer Society, though hosting has since been moved to a dedicated, private server. Medieval fantasy is the general...
, when Forlock of Genesis along with some students at Bates College
Bates College
Bates College is a highly selective, private liberal arts college located in Lewiston, Maine, in the United States. and was most recently ranked 21st in the nation in the 2011 US News Best Liberal Arts Colleges rankings. The college was founded in 1855 by abolitionists...
in Lewiston, Maine
Lewiston, Maine
Lewiston is a city in Androscoggin County in Maine, and the second-largest city in the state. The population was 41,592 at the 2010 census. It is one of two principal cities of and included within the Lewiston-Auburn, Maine metropolitan New England city and town area and the Lewiston-Auburn, Maine...
founded Orlith in 1991. This MUD lasted only a year before forking
Fork (software development)
In software engineering, a project fork happens when developers take a legal copy of source code from one software package and start independent development on it, creating a distinct piece of software...
into two rival MUDs, Nightmare and Phoenix. The final incarnation of Nightmare (meaning support for full player continuity) opened October 31, 1992, run by George "Descartes" Reese
George Reese (computer programmer)
George Reese is an author and developer of several Open Source frameworks. George was born in Houston, Texas and attended Bates College where he majored in Philosophy. While in college he was program director of the local radio station, WRBC. He is currently CTO of enStratus and founder of Valtira...
. It was hosted at
nightmare.imaginary.com.There was one major revision in 1996 that required a conversion of players into Nightmare Mudlib
Nightmare Mudlib
The Nightmare Mudlib is a set of LPC programming language frameworks created by George Reese for building multi-user role playing games using the MudOS LPMud driver...
's Nightmare IV format. Nightmare never charged players to play.
The Nightmare world included multiple player administered city-states. The core city-state, Praxis, was destroyed in a recent clash among deities worshipped by various Nightmare religions. Each city-state was the home of one or more player races such as elves, humans, apskara, halfling
Halfling
Halfling is another name for J. R. R. Tolkien's Hobbit which can be a fictional race sometimes found in fantasy novels and games. In many settings, they are similar to humans except about half the size. Dungeons & Dragons began using the name halfling as an alternative to hobbit for legal reasons...
s, gnome
Gnome
A gnome is a diminutive spirit in Renaissance magic and alchemy, first introduced by Paracelsus and later adopted by more recent authors including those of modern fantasy literature...
s, ogre
Ogre
An ogre is a large, cruel, monstrous, and hideous humanoid monster, featured in mythology, folklore, and fiction. Ogres are often depicted in fairy tales and folklore as feeding on human beings, and have appeared in many classic works of literature...
s, artrell, fairies, and so on. In some cities, the races got along well; in others there was continuous strife. Player-killing was allowed, but with certain restrictions. Players on Nightmare elected to learn a specific profession that dictated the way they play the game. Professions like fighters were the traditional "hack-n-slash" while professions like fishers were not intended for combat. The base classes available were: fighter, rogue, cleric, mage, kataan, monk, bard, and fisher. Each class had a set of primary skills, which were used to increase the player's level, and secondary skills, which were not required but could still be beneficial to the player as they progressed. Additional character customization was available through joining a "guild"; available guilds included philosophers, witches, and druids, with secret guilds rumored to exist.
When players attained higher levels, they could "double-class" and combine the skills and attributes of two classes.
The MUD had an innovative biography feature that tracked the milestones of a character's life, providing each player with an individualized personal history.
Influence on MUD development
Nightmare LPMud was the development mud for the initial releases of the Nightmare MudlibNightmare Mudlib
The Nightmare Mudlib is a set of LPC programming language frameworks created by George Reese for building multi-user role playing games using the MudOS LPMud driver...
. From about 1992 until 1996, the Nightmare Mudlib was the most common base used in LPMud development. As a result of this influence, a number of later muds reflect elements of the Nightmare play style. Features and innovations included:
- Limb-based combat (as opposed to pure hit-point based health)
- Object permanence (when you logged out, you would return to the game in exactly the same state you left it)
- In-game calendaring system
- City-states