> For atleast 7+ years, people have been saying how outdated the old text
> mud is, and that it will become extinct soon. Well, here it is the year
> 2000, and CF still has a fairly strong player base. Many new people are
> attracted to it each day, and many old players who don't play regularly
> will still check in from time to time just to see what's new. While there
> may not be as many new startup muds springing up each week as there once
> were, it is obvious that the muds which have endured this long will be
> sticking around for awhile.

> The people who play CF are a diverse crowd, pretty much any social class
> and nationality is represented, and there's a wide variety of expectations
> each player has for each character. Somehow, even after the initial coolness
> factor wears off, people still stick with it.

> What I would like to know is….
>
>
>
>
>
> 1) Approximately how many hours have you put into CF total, with
> all your characters? Is there any other form of entertainment that has
> taken near the number of hours as CF?
don't know actually been playing for like 2 and a half year (though i wasn't that "hooked" on it from the beggining).

>
> 2) Have you ever tried any of the graphical pay muds that are out
> there? Ultima Online, Asheron's Call, Everquest, etc? Do you think any
> of them could ever replace what CF means to you?
Hardware isn't the problem. I choose cf cause it's the best mud i've ever tried and choose muds is in general cause it gives you so much more freedom than any other game.

>
> 3) Do you think text-based muds will be able to continue to compete
> in the coming years? Will they evolve enough to continue attracting new
> players?
The problem is as Treboei said that it's so hard to learn the game. I rember my self running around for like half an hour in galadon just to find the market square my first night. But my friends told me it was worth it so i continued playing and got stuck here.

>
> 4) When you think of your life 5 years from now, do you imagine
> yourself still playing mud-type games?
I don't know what i'm doing five years, but i will probably play some cf.

>
> 5) If you had the time, and money/hardware was not a factor, would
> you spend 8 hours a day playing CF in its current form? Would you
> play one of the graphical Pay-muds? Or would you divide your time between
> them, depending on your mood?
i would play cf.

>
> 6) Have you ever forced yourself to quit mudding, only to lose
> control of yourself at some point and find yourself back? Do you or others
> ever look at CF as an addiction or Illness? Have you ever lost a close
> relationship/job/class because you could not pull yourself away from the
> game?
I never yet ruined a relationship over cf, though my grades would have been much better without cf. because my quite short time (2½ years short?) of being a cfer i have never taken any breaks, but I'm about to because i am moving abroad to work for some time and aren't sure if i can continue playing during that time, i will come back though.

>
> 7) Have you ever seriously considered ways to make mudding a paying
> career or job? Have you ever mudded while working, even though it might
> get you in trouble?
not really

>  

> I am writing a research report on the future of mud-type games, so am
> interested in any opinions people might have on these topics. Feel free
> to make any other comments or insight on these topics, just keep in mind
> that no matter how pathetic you might think of yourself for putting a
> ton of hours into this game may be, there's always somebody who has played
> more.