What is DolphinMUD?

DolphinMUD is a Multi-User Dimension; a shared world made of text which is collaboratively written by its players.

When you load up DolphinMUD, the game presents you with a description of your surroundings. You control your in-game character using simplified English commands, such as "north", "get lamp", "examine tree". The game will then report to you the results of your action: "A genie comes out of the lamp!" — et cetera.

If you type, "'hello", then every player in the same room with you will see, "So-and-so: hello", and they in turn can reply. DolphinMUD is also a freebuilding server; anyone can create their own rooms, areas of the world, and even alternate dimensions, and fill them with descriptive prose and interesting objects.

How can I join?

Like most MUDs, DolphinMUD uses the Telnet protocol. Any client which speaks Telnet can be used to connect. Linux users should be able to get started immediately by typing "telnet dolphinmud.net 5999"; Windows users will need to configure Telnet to use local line editing before they connect.

Telnet over SSL is also available on port 6900.

If you've never heard of Telnet before and are feeling concerned, fear not. We have also made a user-friendly client called PicoClient which you can download here. PicoClient is specifically designed to interoperate with DolphinMUD and shouldn't require any fiddling to get it working.

Before entering the MUD, please take a moment and look over the rules.

When you first join, you should enter the world as a guest character by typing @guest. Guests are able to walk around the world, teleport, and chat with the residents, but they cannot create their own items or rooms, and they cannot change their names or descriptions. To gain all these abilities, you'll need to acquire an account.

How do I get an account?

Fill out this form. Upon completion, a wizard will review your application and decide whether or not to grant you an account. Assuming your application is approved, an email will be sent to you with the login credentials for your new character.

Help! The server isn't working!

There is a brief period of scheduled downtime once each day. During this time, world backups are made (in case of catastrophic failure), and any required updates are applied. The process generally shouldn't take more than a few minutes, after which you will again be able to log on as normal. If you are logged into the server when the downtime begins, you will be kicked; this is not because you have misbehaved, but simply because it's time for server maintenance.

If you find the server not working at any other time, this is a serious problem and ought to be reported to Nua immediately. You can reach him by email at archwizard.dolphinmud@gmail.com.

How do I make a room/make an item/set something's description/rename myself/anything else?

Read the manual. And then, if you don't understand the manual, ask one of the residents to give you a hand.

What programming language/tech stack is DolphinMUD written in?

DolphinMUD is written mostly in Wren, with a little help from a C backend. Wren is a small, object-oriented language with dynamic typing, created by Bob Nystrom. You can find it on Github here.