(Karya the kittenish witch) waves. Miath the swordswoman smiles. Miath the swordswoman says "HELLO!". (Karya the kittenish witch) says "Long time no see". [----*]l Crypt beneath church. This ancient, and sacred, place seems to have been used to store the fabulous treasures and holy relics assembled over the centuries by monks - gifts from repentant lords and other sinners. There are crudely-hewn niches around the walls which fit in oddly with the fabulous carvings on the stonework. A set of stone steps leads directly to the ceiling, through cracks in which enough light enters for you to see. To the north is a forbidding-looking tunnel.  Miath the swordswoman is here. [----*]reset Time-stamp: 19:05:20 on 28-JAN-2003. This is reset 9346, using slot 0. An auto-reset will be initiated in approximately 72 minutes. Miath the swordswoman says "ahhh well". Miath the swordswoman says "thats my play style isn't it :)". (Karya the kittenish witch) nods. Miath the swordswoman says "play intensively, take a break, though this one wont be as long as my last". Miath the swordswoman says "you think you could see your way to making me less feminine?". (Karya the kittenish witch) laughs. Miath the swordswoman has magically become male. Miath the swordsman grins. Miath the swordsman bows. Miath checks his tackle... Miath the swordsman winks. (Karya the kittenish witch) says "I've noticed that you play VERY intensively, then disappear for ages, then back again, playing all hours, then disappear ...". (Karya the kittenish witch) asks "Why is that?". Miath looks suspicious... Miath the swordsman smiles. Miath the swordsman says "Well". Miath the swordsman says "When I play a game, irregardless of what it is I devote a lot of time to it". Miath the swordsman says "especially anything with other human interaction". Miath the swordsman says "but at the same time I have quite a low patience threshold". Miath the swordsman says "In some ways I am not cut out for Mud2 at ALL". (Karya the kittenish witch) asks "Why's that?". Miath the swordsman says "I can get very frustrated sometimes.  You may remember reading my forum post about losing my first necromancer...". (Karya the kittenish witch) nods. Miath shuffles his feet. Miath the swordsman says "I went a touch ballistic but with hindsight it wasn't that big a deal of course...". Miath adopts the verbal style of a seasoned MUD veteran... Miath the swordsman says "Ehhh sonny... u'll die more in this game than you have hot dinners". Miath the swordsman winks. =(Karya the kittenish witch) laughs. Miath the swordsman says "So now although it still irritates me to high heaven I get over it faster". Miath the swordsman says "but to answer the question, I need to distance myself from MUD after a few heavy losses". Miath the swordsman says "just to regroup... I'll always come back though.". Miath the swordsman says "I think what did it this time was losing the almost warlock". (Karya the kittenish witch) asks "what happened?". Miath the swordsman says "I played a bit after that but my heart wasnt in it". Miath the swordsman says "well I got Pk'd of course ;)". Miath the swordsman says "I'm not saying I don't ever die because of my own stupid error". Miath the swordsman says "cos I do... as does everyone". (Karya the kittenish witch) nods. Miath the swordsman says "but this time it was the obligatory... been playing all night.... not paying attention... got sloppy from lack of sleep, invisible warlock boshes you on the head and you try to flee... forget to superflee and thats that. :)". (Karya the kittenish witch) asks "You said earlier that this break won't be as long as the last one, why's that?". Miath the swordsman says "The break wont be as long this time because ...". Miath the swordsman says "a) there isn't anything else that grabs me quite as much as MUD2 does atm". Miath the swordsman says "and b) it hasn't taken me two months of seething to get over my losses :)". For your information: there are 150 mobiles still alive. (Karya the kittenish witch) smiles. Miath the swordsman says "I must be maturing as a person". Miath the swordsman gasps. Miath the swordsman ponders. Miath the swordsman says "Naaaa... scratch that". (Karya the kittenish witch) grins. Miath the swordsman says "I find it hard to get back into Mud2 but once I get back into the swing I'll be playing as normal". (Karya the kittenish witch) asks "Do you take dying to PKs harder than dying to mobiles?". Miath the swordsman says "of course :)". Miath the swordsman says "Well that is to say...". Miath the swordsman says "If you die to a mobile it's your own fault.". Miath the swordsman says "ENTIRELY". Miath the swordsman says "Whereas if you die to a PK then its still your fault but you have something to channel the anger at ;)". Miath the swordsman grins. Miath the swordsman says "No it's obviously still your fault as you didn't flee or weren't thinking straight...". Miath the swordsman says "but it's also down to the other person's skill and unpredictability. That's hard to deal with if you're used to the predictability and patterns of the mobiles". Miath the swordsman says "especially when you're as green in P2P combat as I am". (Karya the kittenish witch) nods. Miath the swordsman says "green full stop really". Miath the swordsman smiles. (Karya the kittenish witch) asks "How badly does Touchstone deaths affect you?". Miath the swordsman ponders. Miath the swordsman says "I have only ever had one I think.... well you know we've allspammed it with warriors or whatever". Miath the swordsman says "but 1 serious champion loss...". Miath the swordsman says "oh in fact there was one time". Miath the swordsman says "I was a sorcerer and used up all my magic... combination of over eager chancing and some lag". Miath the swordsman says "there's a lesson right there kids". Miath the swordsman says "NO MATTER HOW USEFUL YOU THINK CHANCE IS". Miath the swordsman says "it's no substitute for zz". Miath the swordsman winks. (Karya the kittenish witch) grins. Miath the swordsman says "anyway yeah I went back to the TS". Hovering before you is Eros, wearing a blindfold.  Eros pulls his bow and shoots Miath the swordsman! Eros gives a satisfied smile, and flies away. Miath the swordsman says "had a clover I think". Miath looks around wildly... Miath the swordsman says "Damn eros". Miath the swordsman mutters something. Miath the swordsman says "long story short I died to TS with a lucky charm". Miath the swordsman says "and it kind of bothered me but grand scale of things the TS isnt really a factor I consider too much...". Miath the swordsman says "The deaths bother me when they happen but they don't happen enough for me to want to take a hammer and chisel to the thing". (Karya the kittenish witch) nods. (Karya the kittenish witch) asks "How did you first discover MUD2?". Miath the swordsman grins. Miath the swordsman says "It's that Thwomp's fault!". Maniac the dragonfly-slaying warrior bids everyone hallo. Miath the swordsman says "I curse him for the sleeples nights!". Miath the swordsman says "Basically i know Thwomp from Dark Age of Camelot". Miath the swordsman says "one of those fangled graphical MUD's... (never catch on)". (Karya the kittenish witch) grins. Miath the swordsman says "One day we were really really bored and he said do you want to play Mud2". Miath the swordsman says "I said oh what the heck why not and BOOM! thats that". Miath the swordsman says "He has a lot to answer for that Thwomp...". (Karya the kittenish witch) asks "MUD2 must seem very different to DAOC - no graphics for starters. Did you have any reservations about playing here?". Miath the swordsman thinks. Miath the swordsman says "Reservations... no... I mean, I've never been one to place graphics above playability". Miath the swordsman says "I have a large collection of "retro" games... I'm a big big fan of Point and click adventures". Miath the swordsman says "And I played Zork and things like that". Miath the swordsman says "It wasn't quite what I expected when I came here (expected to be more like interactive fiction)". Miath the swordsman says "ie zork". Miath the swordsman says "and it was of course VERY hard to pick up for the first 30 minutes". Miath the swordsman says "everything moving so fast... going here to there and back again in no time flat attached to Thwomp with acc". Miath the swordsman says "but as with anything, you stick with it and it gets clearer and clearer". (Karya the kittenish witch) nods. (Karya the kittenish witch) asks "What struck you most about this game when you first started?". Miath the swordsman says "thats a very good question....". Miath the swordsman says "As a matter of fact nothing struck me at all...". Miath the swordsman says "it was all a sort of a mild strangling". Miath the swordsman says "let me try to explain what i mean by that...". Miath the swordsman says " ... nothing stuck out as such it seemed hard to grasp but nothing leapt out at me". Miath the swordsman says "and then gradually the sense of scale started to creep up on me". Miath the swordsman says "How large the world actually is". Miath the swordsman says "while at the same time being quite small". Miath the swordsman says "and then later as time goes on you start to notice the little things, how it's all put together". Miath the swordsman says "the little clver touches". Miath the swordsman says "and then it dawns on you that you are actually playing within a work of genius". Miath the swordsman says "Everything is connected and has clues if you know where to look.". Miath the swordsman says "to put something together like that so that everything helps you solve another thing but in a completely non linear environment is astounding". Miath the swordsman says "but enough hero worship". Miath the swordsman smiles. (Karya the kittenish witch) grins. (Karya the kittenish witch) asks "When did you first start playing?". Miath the swordsman says "ooooh I dunno I'd have to check the forum but it's something like 4, 4 and a half months ago?". Miath the swordsman says "that sounds about right". (Karya the kittenish witch) asks "How long were you on breaks during then?". Miath the swordsman smiles. Miath the swordsman says "I played for a month". Miath the swordsman says "well, 3 weeks". Miath the swordsman says "then took ... (lowers voice) 2 months off (raises voice again) and then played from mid december till about... ergh... just after new years I guess it trailed off". Miath the swordsman says "my actual play time in relation to break time is low". (Karya the kittenish witch) asks "So you've only played for a little over a month in total?". Miath the swordsman says "um... about a month and a half yes...". (Karya the kittenish witch) says "You're doing really well then considering you haven't been playing for THAT long". Miath the swordsman smiles. Miath the swordsman says "so a few people might have mentioned...". Miath the swordsman says "you have to remember that in the time I was playing I was eating and sleeping MUD". Miath the swordsman says "like... unhealthy play time". (Karya the kittenish witch) nods. Miath the swordsman says "12-14 hours sessions". Miath the swordsman says "you can get a lot of exploring done in that time... although I didn't really get anywhere solid until after my 2 month break... that's when most of my progression has occured". Miath the swordsman says "it's very easy to play all night and have your run of the sets to exlpore and learn when you work in the evenings andcan sleep most of the day ;)". (Karya the kittenish witch) asks "Why did you chose the name Miath?". Miath the swordsman says "It's my Dark age of Camelot name". Miath the swordsman says "well a shortened version thereof". Miath the swordsman says "Miathonal is the full name". Miath the swordsman says "it's an adaptation of a name of an evil mage from a series of books by Maggie Furey". Miath the swordsman says "I like to read". Miath the swordsman smiles. Miath the swordsman says "10 points to anyone that can be bothered to investigate what the original name was". Miath the swordsman giggles. (Karya the kittenish witch) asks "What do you like most about the game?". Miath the swordsman says "oooooh". Miath the swordsman says "ALL of it :)". Miath the swordsman says "despite what I might say I like the puzzles". Miath narrows his eyes.... Miath the swordsman says "except the mausoleum...". Miath the swordsman snarls. (Karya the kittenish witch) chuckles. Miath the swordsman says "What it is mainly is that I am what you call in the MMORPG world an Achiever". Miath the swordsman says "someone who wants to level up and reach their full potential". Miath the swordsman says "the idea of being a wizard with all the infinite power thereof to shape the game world is something that absolutely fascinates me". Miath the swordsman says "not to say that I dont enjoy the game, because I do of course". Miath the swordsman says "and I am not even vaguelly ready to be a wizard ;)". (Karya the kittenish witch) smiles. Miath the swordsman says "give it a year and we'll see". (Karya the kittenish witch) asks "What don't you like about the game?". Miath the swordsman says "I don't like grief". Miath the swordsman says "I don't like it in graphical mmo's". Miath the swordsman says "and I dont like it here". Miath the swordsman says "I am not against PvP... I love Pvp". Miath the swordsman says "but grief is something that isn't tolerated in other MMo's but slips by here because its definition within the game boundaries here is blurry due to the nature of the game". Miath the swordsman says "Okay a good player who has kit and is ready to go as a suprhero can technically take down a mage". Miath the swordsman says "ie same HP value". Miath the swordsman says "and you could call that an even fight but some of the people here will target people who dont REALLY know what they're doing yet or visibly have no kit to protect them". Miath the swordsman says "I did notice that the game revolves more around kit than level". Miath the swordsman says "I'm not saying that someone with no skills to defend themselves should be allowed to bumble to wizard". Miath the swordsman says "but (and I'm not talking about JUST me, although myself included) I have seen veraciously unfair PvP going on that is simply put, grief... but then it's my definition, others may not agree". Miath the swordsman says "maybe once I've become all jaded and battle hardened I'll just accept it ;)". Miath the swordsman says "as I said it's hard to define in a game like this". Miath the swordsman says "I'm done listening to myself rattle :) NEXT!". Miath the swordsman winks. (Karya the kittenish witch) grins. (Karya the kittenish witch) asks "When/if you make wiz do you have any plans, any great ideas you want to try out. Any idea what kind of wiz you would like to be?". Miath cackles. Miath the swordsman says "EVIL INCARNATE!". Miath the swordsman says "no, not at all". Miath the swordsman grins. Miath the swordsman says "I want to be a helpful and productive wizard". Miath the swordsman says "Although I have no idea how hard Muddle is going to be to write in I have a heap of great ideas for quests that move away from what traditionally is expected within Mud". Miath the swordsman says "I wanted to see if within the game mechanics I could contemporise the play style and setting a little". For your information: there are 125 mobiles still alive. Miath the swordsman says "pseudo modern settings to play quests within, I have some great ideas but we'll never know if I can realise them or not until i make wiz :)". Miath the swordsman says "I have a great quest thats already written in the style of a major game franchise". Miath the swordsman says "I say written; the plot and puzzles are written". (Karya the kittenish witch) nods. Miath the swordsman says "it's not in muddle or anything". Miath the swordsman says "But it sits unused untili can learn to play a decent set and start a wiz run". (Karya the kittenish witch) says "Coming up with the ideas and structure is half the battle". Miath the swordsman nods. Miath the swordsman says "I quite agree". Miath the swordsman says "I started to write it over my first two month break from MUD2 and finished it recently". Miath the swordsman says "I worked on it pretty steadily and that's just the ideas and vague plot and puzzles laid out". Miath the swordsman says "that's 3 months at least". (Karya the kittenish witch) exclaims "That's pretty good going!". Miath the swordsman says "hmmm but it's not the actual quest". Miath the swordsman says "I don't know if everything can be implemeneted, I don't know if I'll have to tweak". Miath the swordsman says "It's alright going for just the ideas phase but its FAR from complete". (Karya the kittenish witch) nods. Miath the swordsman says "also I'll be the kind of wiz that shakes things up a bit". Miath the swordsman says "throws in random mobiles, moves stuff around when veterans are playing". Miath the swordsman smiles. Miath the swordsman says "can't wait for that". (Karya the kittenish witch) smiles. Miath the swordsman says "And I want to help newbies (if there ever are any again ;))". (Karya the kittenish witch) asks "Who has influenced you the most in this game whether it be in a positive or negative way?". Miath the swordsman says "Turrican, Billygoat and Hawumph have all been so helpful it's shocking". Miath the swordsman says "I have the utmost respect for each of them as they have always been encouraging me and helping me a little when I hit the walls". Miath the swordsman says "I hope to be a wiz in their mould some day". Miath the swordsman says "as for negatice influences I only need to say the name Po to strike fear into the hearts of all mortals everywhere ;)". Miath the swordsman says "not exactly a negative influence but it was his alter ego that took my first MU". Miath the swordsman says "I suppose its a vendetta... one I share with a few others I suspect". Miath the swordsman smiles. Miath the swordsman says "he's very good I can respect that, but he's indiscriminate in his rampages". (Karya the kittenish witch) asks "What is your favourite area of the game?". Miath the swordsman says "heh". Miath the swordsman says "I'm tempted to say the tea room...". Miath the swordsman says "just because it's SAFE". Miath the swordsman smiles. Miath the swordsman says "but I won't". Miath the swordsman says "um...". Miath the swordsman says "I like the Galleon". Miath the swordsman says "If you asked me why I don't think I could tell you exactly". Miath the swordsman says "I spend a lot of time there waiting for weather to change for Island access". Miath the swordsman says "It has lots of fun bits and pieces and I feel sort of at ease there". Miath the swordsman says "I like coconuts too so maybe thats it :)". [----*]qw (Karya the kittenish witch) Ug the hero Traxdata the sorceress Miath the swordsman Nemesis the superhero Maniac the swordsman (Karya the kittenish witch) asks "Why did you chose to be interviewed here?". [----*]l Crypt beneath church. This ancient, and sacred, place seems to have been used to store the fabulous treasures and holy relics assembled over the centuries by monks - gifts from repentant lords and other sinners. There are crudely-hewn niches around the walls which fit in oddly with the fabulous carvings on the stonework. A set of stone steps leads directly to the ceiling, through cracks in which enough light enters for you to see. To the north is a forbidding-looking tunnel.  Miath the swordsman is here. Miath the swordsman says "ahhhh". Miath the swordsman says "well". Miath the swordsman says "not giving anything away but the area ABOVE us is a mjor conquest for me". Miath the swordsman says "after coming back from my first break I realised that I didn't really know anything". Miath the swordsman says "and thought about all the puzzles that had always eluded me". Miath the swordsman says "and (the area above) always popped into my head.". Miath the swordsman says "so I set myself a whole night to figure it out and I got to a point and after a little hint from a friendly player that perhaps I should look for an English-Latin dictionary after some interesting time spent looking at a painting I finally worked it". (Karya the kittenish witch) smiles. Miath the swordsman says "and I even realised about the mattress". Miath the swordsman smiles. Miath the swordsman says "So I consider this place to be a turning point in my play.". Miath the swordsman says "after this is went on to do the druids and other major things". (Karya the kittenish witch) asks "If you could change anything about the game what would it be?". Miath the swordsman says "wow I have no idea now that it's actually asked of me". Miath the swordsman says "I don't know if I would actually". Miath the swordsman says "I supppose it would be nice if it was easier to map". Miath the swordsman says "but...". Miath the swordsman says "then it would lose something". Miath the swordsman smiles. Miath the swordsman says "I think it's ideal actually as it is.". Miath the swordsman says "what might be fun is if someone made a client with some little basic graphics". Miath the swordsman says "as an afterthought though". (Karya the kittenish witch) nods. Miath the swordsman says "I use clio and it has sound effects which are very cool :)". Miath the swordsman says "I'd draw little pics of every room if somone integrated them into a client :)". Miath the swordsman says "but the game itself... nope wouldn't change a thing". (Karya the kittenish witch) asks "Is there anything that you would like to say that I haven't asked?". Miath the swordsman says "ummmm.". Miath the swordsman says "Big thanks to Thwomp". Miath the swordsman says "for help etc...". Miath the swordsman says "I'd like to see more new blood in the game". Miath the swordsman says "i know a few people have joined since me". (Karya the kittenish witch) nods. Miath the swordsman says "I dunno if they're still around". Miath the swordsman says "but people seem to filter in un-noticed". Miath the swordsman says "We underestimate the sneakyness..... ;)". (Karya the kittenish witch) grins. Miath the swordsman says "that's about it I reckon". (Karya the kittenish witch) says "well, thanks for letting me interview you". Miath the swordsman says "I consider it an honour and a privelige.". (Karya the kittenish witch) smiles. Miath the swordsman bows.