I have been playing on Core for 5 years now and I still have a lot of fun. First, this is a science-fiction MUD - the players are miners hired by The Company to work on an asteroid orbiting in the middle of nowhere. So, mining is a way for players to make money, but they can also get a job in one of the 15 player-owned shops. Right, all facets of the economy can be modified by the players. The ore mined is used to forge weapons, which are used to kill various NPCs. Then their bodies can be 'processed' in a clinic and the blood will be used by players to regenerate Hit Points or by the pubs to grow yeast for making alcohol (yuk). If you like a realistic world where credits don't fall from the sky, this place is for you.

The world itself is huge. The main City Dome has thousands of different rooms and there are many domes located on the asteroid surface (but don't forget to bring an environment suit if you go outside!) Example areas are: A casino, park, PK arena, three shopping districts, stock trading offices, a prison, gym, radio KORE, restaurants and a library.

If you like questing, there are different quests you must finish in order to get to the next level. Many mini-quests can be found everywhere.

The playerbase is smaller now that what it was a few years ago, mainly due to the fact that a new version of the MUD was supposed to come out but never did. But the team of coders is still working, always listening to the player requests and improving/adding new areas.

So if you are looking for a good, mature and realistic science-fiction MUD, Core is for you. The admins are friendly, the help documentation is complete and well-written. Core also supports Portal, with sounds and images.