MUD on Urbit
Research library and design documents for building a decentralized Multi-User Dungeon on Urbit. Every ship is a world.
21
Research Docs
17
Design Docs
1
Backlog Items
Design Documents
Distributed World Architecture
Every ship is a world. Portals, character portability, business model, phase plan.
Web Client
SolidJS + Canvas 2D. Component tree, Eyre wrapper, map renderer, accessibility, project structure.
Gall Agent
%mud-world agent spec. Types, state, pokes, subscriptions, scry, game tick, combat, skills, XP, death, chat, cross-world protocol.
Content Format & Level Design
JSON area files, NPC system, quest lines, spawn types, AI content pipeline.
Call Flow Diagrams
Network flows for all player cases: own host, remote host, guest, upgrade. Login, gameplay, death, reconnect.
Scripted Room Hooks
Trigger/condition/action system for rooms. On-enter, on-look, on-kill. Flags, rewards, traps, spawns.
Social Systems
Friends list, block list, player reports, mail. Moderation tools for admins.
PvP System
PvP zones and duels. Kill counter, 60s immunity, empty corpses. No loot rewards.
Instanced Areas
Solo generated dungeons. Branching topology, difficulty tiers, boss rooms, 5-min idle cleanup.
Pets
Companion creatures from pet-shops. Auto-attack in combat, % of player damage. No feeding or leveling.
Weather & Day/Night
2-hour cycle, 4 phases. Night is dangerous. 7 weather types with combat modifiers.
Achievements & Titles
Player milestones tracked via flags. 23 achievements, displayable titles. No type changes needed.
Clan System
Admin-approved creation, clan halls with room gating, ranks, clan chat. Per-world.
Remort / Prestige
Reset to level 1 with +1 all stats per tier. 5 tier cap, 10% XP scaling. Keep soulbound items.
Cross-World Bans
Federated ban advisories between ships. Source verification, admin review, import/dismiss workflow.
Factions & Reputation
NPC faction standing system. Kill penalties, opposing faction gains, vendor pricing tiers, faction-hostile mob aggro.
Item Rarity
Six-tier rarity system: common, uncommon, rare, epic, legendary, unique. Color-coded names, stat scaling.
Research Library
01 MUD History & Fundamentals
Origins, timeline, types (Diku/LP/MOO/MUSH), architecture, Bartle's player types, key figures
02 MUD Codebases & Engines
DikuMUD family tree, LPMud driver/mudlib, MOO, TinyMUD family, Evennia, Ranvier, ROM area file format
03 MUD Protocols & Networking
Telnet, GMCP (with full Aardwolf module spec), MSDP, MSSP, MXP, MCCP, ANSI colors, WebSockets, clients
04 Aardwolf Deep Dive
18 races, 7 classes + subclasses, remort/tier system, quests/campaigns/goals, economy, clans, Lua scripting, GMCP, world structure
05 MUD Game Design
Character systems, combat, world design, quest patterns, economy, social systems, retention, Bartle's design philosophy
06 Urbit MUD Considerations
Architecture mapping, Gall agent structure, Hoon data types, performance, frontend options, MVP phasing
07 Notable MUDs — Case Studies
Discworld, Sindome, Alter Aeon, GemStone IV, Avalon, survival patterns
08 MUD Accessibility
Blind player community, screen readers, accessible design, Alter Aeon/Cosmic Rage, ARIA/GMCP
09 Iron Realms Entertainment
Achaea combat, IRE credits/microtransactions, 21 classes, city-states, ATCP to GMCP, Nexus client
10 Modern MUD Innovations
New engines, AI/LLM NPCs, WebSocket-native, blockchain MUDs, Discord, MUD renaissance
11 NPC AI & World Simulation
Mob AI, mobprogs/Lua/LPC, state machines, boss mechanics, resets, weather, procedural quests, factions
12 MUD Text UI Design
Prompts, score displays, room formatting, ASCII maps, channel formatting, modern UI patterns, ANSI art
13 Mapping & Navigation
Room-based vs coordinate, automappers, ASCII maps, speedwalking, spatial design, pathfinding
14 Urbit Development Reference
Gall 10-arm deep dive, Ames, Eyre HTTP/SSE/channels, frontend integration, Behn timers, performance
15 Combat & Skill Systems
ROM auto-attack formulas, Achaea PvP, Discworld taskmaster, group combat, PvP models, balance
16 Economy, Trading & Security
Faucet/sink, multi-currency, gold sinks, IRE credits, auctions, item power, anti-cheat, moderation
17 MUD Writing Craft
Room descriptions, NPC writing, item text, area building, environmental storytelling, style guides
18 IRE Business Model & Lessons
Microtransaction invention, dual currency, Starmourn failure, consolidation, operating costs
19 World Creation & Content Pipelines
Area lifecycle, quality gates, builder recruitment, external tools, version control
20 Admin Commands & Tools
Admin command reference across codebases, trust levels, permission systems, Django admin
21 MUD Moderation & Governance
Case studies, ban/appeals, admin burnout, automated moderation, player rights, Urbit considerations
Backlog
Design Gaps — TODO
Prioritized list of undesigned systems. Phase 1 blockers, Phase 2, Phase 3+.