About MUSHes
From Elan Vital Wiki
Welcome to Elan Vital. If you are looking at this page right now, chances are you're new to MUSHing--and perhaps MU*'ing altogether. Which is exactly what this page is for. Read on.
A MUSH, or Multi-User Shared Hallucination (promise that has nothing to do with drugs), is a subspecies of a broader category of MU*s which includes MUXes, MUCKs, MOOs, MUDs, MUSEs, and Talkers, though that latter one is arguably not an MU* at all. About the only thing consistent between the lot of them is that they each serve as a text-based codebase for games or chats, and all run off of telnet. If you're looking for pixels and visual cinematics, then you're in the wrong place. You're looking for the MMORPG just up the internet from here. On the other hand, if you're looking for developed plotlines, complex characters, and a rich, engrossing environment... nice to have you, and welcome aboard.
Debatably, MUSHes are the most roleplay-oriented of the varieties of MU*s. This is a good rule of thumb, but it isn't always true. Some MUDs (sometimes considered the most combat-oriented) are extremely roleplayer-friendly, while some MUSHes are loaded down with coded combat and other such things. Elan Vital, however, is of the roleplay-oriented variety.
When considering an MU*, think of a chatroom-type layout, with that sort of live-action feel to it and speed, but with a higher quality of gameplay and extra perks, such as colors, effects, and a wide variety of commands, to aid. Most varieties of MUSH, for instance, come with both hardcode, which is coded into the system when it's installed on the server, and softcode, which staffers and coders add later for their convenience and that of the players. Most softcode commands begin with a + (for example, +sinfo is a softcode command), while hardcode often starts with @ (such as @lock). Either may forgo any symbol at the beginning ('who' is a softcode command, while WHO is hardcode).
For a basic list of these commands, both hardcode and softcode, click here.
Return to The Walkthrough
Continue to Step Three: Connecting and Getting Information
