My brother introduced me to this mud, since he seems to play it often. I would like to point out, despite the reviews of the past, what this mud is now:

First, newbie friendliness has much improved from what it seemed like before(based on reviews). Granted you are definitely not supposed to learn everything in a week, but there's so much to grasp, any amount of help will still require time to figure out. A lot of newbie friendly people who mention through the newbie chat have been quite helpful, although the help is not always clear cut. I've been left confused by some people's answers, and others I've had enough clue to figure it out, although in most cases it's still not a straight answer. Exploring is quite annoying, as with any mud, people just want to know where they are going. Having known a few places outside of the main town, it made it a little easier.

This mud also is very straightforward with its rules. They enforce it without you knowing sometimes. I do read the rules of every mud I go to, and sometimes I test them to see how well they are enforced. It is a way for me in part to determine how good a mud is. And boy, they do a good job of enforcing the rules. One night, my brother had found some equipment from a character and decided to save it for this one, by putting it on an unlikely NPC(I kept complaining about crappy equipment). Between characters there is a 10 minute log time period to wait before you can sign on again, unless it's the same character you just logged off. About 20 minutes have passed, and I had logged on this character to retrieve the things. With all the time that has passed you could assume that you're not being watched, but no. As soon as I picked up, I was immediately transferred to the 'You're in big trouble' room, and had to go through the step process of the rules. It was very clever to have, and at the end it gives you the choice of pleading or not caring. I went the former. The imm made sure I knew which rule I broke and promised not to do it again, and if I get caught I'll have to delete, which is fair. Anyway, fairness if anything is well enforced in the game, with people having the same opportunity to anything.

One thing I am a little disappointed about is the playerbase. The TMC reviews, although I would assume years old, claims 50-100 in peak hours, but I barely see up to 30-35 on peak. I really wonder why this is. Anyway, I'll hope to bring the playerbase up, by inviting other people, since I do like this mud. Good job AR.