Best Linux Client & iPad question

Garuksi

Hey guys, I'm a brand new user! I'm a long-time player of graphical MMOs, but I recently bought a Raspberry Pi (if you haven't heard, it's a $35 Linux computer-on-a-chip) and thought it would be cool to try out a MUD. Initially I tried out the WoT MUD since I'm a big Robert Jordan fan, but it's a bit hard to get into for beginners. I happened to come across Achaea while searching for an HTML5 client to use with my iPad. I love the fact that Achaea has a built-in "map" command, and the newbie tutorial was very helpful for someone new to MUDs.

Anyway! Here are my questions:

1) When I was trying out WoTmud, I used TinTin++ on my Raspberry Pi, since it had an automapper and the concensus seemed to be that it was the best Linux client. On the forums here, I haven't really seen much mention of TinTin++ or Wintin. What do Linux users use to play Achaea?

2) I've done a very small amount of reading on scripts, triggers, etc. For a newbie, are there any scripts/triggers that you would consider "must-have" or something that you think would have been handy back when you were a new player?

3) What do you guys prefer to use for playing on the iPad? I've tried a few different things - I've used VNC to log into my Raspberry Pi and played from that, I've used the HTML5 client in Safari, and I've used a dedicated iPad MUD app (I forget the name of it now and don't have it with me). Just wanted to ask experienced players what they use to play on their iPad - what provides the best experience overall? Btw, I was surprised to see another thread talking about how the iPad wasn't a viable option for MUDs because it's too hard to type on the keyboard. That may be true for some people, but I've gotten very good at typing on the virtual keyboard. I love laying in bed and playing a MUD on the tablet's screen! Very cozy.

Thanks in advance!

Aoklin

Greetings, good to see you found Achaea and very interesting on your device choice!  Let me see if I can be helpful:

1) I use Mudlet and I believe Mudlet is okay to use on linux also.  Here is the link: http://www.mudlet.org/download/

-Mudlet has alot of things already done, including some free basic systems

2) In the beginning it isn't too critical and your House will help you learn the combat basics.  However, Omnipave free edition (for Mudlet) is very nice and provides some good basic functionality.  However, at minimum some type of sipper and a tabbed chat interface is very good to have.

3) I don't have an iPad so I can't be too helpful here, but I would imagine the HTML5 client would be a viable option.  Unfortunately it is still new and very little has been done in the way of free triggers/aliases, etc.

- On a side note, for typing, why not just use an external keyboard if it is a problem... I too like the idea of MUDding on a tablet and hope to try it out on a Nexus in the next month or so using the HTML5 client.

Eld

1) The most popular client for Achaea currently, for Linux or anything else, is probably Mudlet. Others that seem to be reasonably widely used are MUSHclient, CMUD, and zMUD, but I think those are all windows only (though probably could be run through Wine). I don't really know anything about TinTin++, so I can't speak to how good it would be. When I first started out on Achaea I was using TinyFugue, and quickly found that it's alias/trigger/script capacity was not up to what I felt I needed.

2) Scripts/triggers/etc do play a pretty huge role in Achaea currently, basically because the fast pace of combat leads people to automate most of their defense and curing so they can focus actively on offense. For a newbie, though, probably the most useful things would be an autosipper (to automatically sip health/mana when low), and a few aliases for setting targets and easily executing your hunting attack. Both of those are relatively simple things to create, so learning how to put them together yourself can be a nice easy introduction to scripting in your chosen client.

There's an IRE-specific mapping script available for Mudlet that includes, among other things, the capability to autowalk from place to place. It's very useful and there are probably people who really can't get around without it, but it's no substitute for walking around on your own and learning the geography for a while. Once you've got a basic handle on things, though, it's great for convenience.

Looking ahead a bit to non-newbie territory, as I alluded to above, it's common (read: ubiquitous) to have a curing "system", that handles most curing stuff for you. There are a couple widely available systems available for mudlet (one free, one not), which is part of why it's such a popular client these days. That said, it's definitely possible to make your own, and pretty much anyone who has done so will probably tell you it can very rewarding. Early in your text-life you probably won't be involved in any pvp, nor will you be up against especially formidable denizen opponents, so I'd definitely recommend not taking the time to learn at least the basics of curing manually, and decide later on whether you need to get someone's prefab system, make your own, or what. There are plenty of other threads debating the virtues of curing systems in Achaea, so here's sincerely hoping that I didn't just turn this into another one.

3) No idea on the iPad, sorry.

This ended up a bit rambly, but I hope there's something useful in there

ETA: Completely forgot about the HTML5 client on the website. I haven't played around with it much, personally, but they've been putting a lot of work into it lately, and it seems to have reasonable trigger/alias/scripting facilities.

Nizaris

I'm a Linux user, and I use Mudlet.

I have looked at iPad clients in the past, but have never found anything that fit all of the typical needs: powerful scripting, macros, mapping, etc. Everything has always been a single output window, and a place to type text. It would be fine for socializing and chatting, but anything more than that (hunting, don't even think about combat) is going to be too much.

This may have changed in recent months; I haven't really used my iPad in about six months.