Q: What is MUSHPark?
Q: What is that self–titled MUSHPark game all about?
Q: Then why is it laid out like an IC game, with mansions and roads and the like?
Q: Who/What is behind MUSHPark?
Q: Alright then, what are the specs and price of the standard MUSHPark account?
Q: WTF? I can go to cheap.hosting and get lots more disk/blah/blargh for HALF this price!?
Q: What are my payment options? Can I pay per month?
Q: Can I host more than one game with you?
Q: Will you host custom DNS addresses? If so, for how much extra?
Q: Okay. What should I do to get an account with MUSHPark?
Q: What kind of help can I expect from MUSHPark administration?
Q: So, if I have problems finding a good coder, you would do some stuff for me?
Q: What about other matters such as various and sundry modifications to my account?
Q: Will you ever require a staff bit or administrative say in the running of my game?
Q: How stable an uptime can I expect?
Q: Are shell logins handled by ssh or telnet?
Q: Would I be able to get one of the default ports?
Q: How come the MUSHPark webpage is so bare–bones?
What is MUSHPark?
We are a hosting service for the MU* (MUX/MUSH/MOO/etc) community. We've been hosting games and their websites since early 2002.
What is that self–titled MUSHPark game all about?
The site is basically a hub for the little community of hosted games, an informal gathering place for just about anyone who's interested in talking MU*, talking MU* tech, or just talking in general.
Then why is it laid out like an IC game, with mansions and roads and the like?
The Neighborhood is merely a unifying theme for MUSHPark's functional grid. There is no obligation to take any notice of the stylized backdrop, or to behave in a formal manner because of it.
Who/What is behind MUSHPark?
Started by nails around 2002, things are now held jointly by nails and Oleo. They are always nails and Oleo wherever they go in the MU* world. Between them, they posesses more than three decades of experience with running these games.
Alright then, what are the specs and price of the standard MUSHPark account?
Please see our pricing page for details.
WTF? I can go to cheap.hosting and get lots more disk/blah/blargh for HALF this price!?
Yes. Yes you can. If price is your only criteria, by all means, go to whatever other company you have seen.
Are you going to come even close to using the (for example) 2GB of storage? For a game? Not likely. One of our games regularly runs between 400 and 600 — sometimes as high as 900+ — active users. They have over 44k objects in their db. More than 7k are players. This game's database currently sits around 400MB. That, boys and girls, is a HUGE game, and they don't come near the 2GB of disk in the example. We start at 50MB because VERY FEW games exceed that. Even very active ones.
Keep in mind, as well, that absolutely NONE of the “MUD/MUSH Hosting Solutions” we have seen have any kind of support. They are literally giving you a shell, some disk space, and then turning you loose. If you send an email with a problem with the game? Getting the game running? Coding? Whatever? There will likely be no useful response, from what we have seen. A lot of these places seem to have the MUD/MUSH offerings as a “Hey! We have all this capacity, how else can we make money?” type of thing.
We have been doing this for more than 20 YEARS. We KNOW what is required, and we share our expertise by providing support that the other sites do not seem to offer in even the most basic forms.
Coding question? No problem. Game not running right? No problem. Need xyz standard feature enabled? No problem. Building issues? No problem. General “Hey can I pick your brain” questions? No problem. Weird problem with your shell account? Not a problem. Esoteric, freakazoid bug you ran into with an extreme corner case? We will get with the developers and it will soon not be a problem. We have breadth and depth of experience in doing this stuff. Seriously. Oleo stood up his first game in 1993, has reported bugs and submitted patches to developers, has been head code wiz on more than half a dozen games (long before games came with globals already installed on them)… nails has similar experience. Oleo and nails both work professionally as *NIX engineers.
It sounds like we're bragging (and maybe we are, a small bit), but we seriously know what is what with this stuff. That is the purpose of MUSHPark. The MUD/MUSH part isn't just some “Hey me too!” thing. That is what we do at MUSHPark. That is all we do.
As we said before... If price is your only criteria, then please, feel free to go and sign up with one of those cheaper “services.” We can't stop you. But, if you want a service that actually is of some sevice, that actually has support, that is run by people that know what they're doing and have lots of experience doing it… At least send us an email. Discuss it.
Maybe we aren't what you're looking for. Maybe the price is too steep. Maybe we're wrong about the level of support at whatever other site is out there. Who knows? Maybe you get what you pay for.
We feel that what we have to offer puts us at the top of the list of places to go… Even if the price is somewhat higher.
What are my payment options? Can I pay per month?
The preferred payment method is an account transfer through PayPal.
The direct PayPal transfer incurs no fees, but requires you to have a PayPal account. Paypal accounts are free, and extremely useful in more ways than just paying us without extra fees.
Monthly payment is an option, but not necessarily preferred, either for you or us. There are discounts available for paying quarterly, semi-annually, or annually.
We offer a 2.5% discount for quarterly payment, a 5% discount for semi-annual payment, and a 10% discount for annual payment. So, obviously, annual payment is your best value. We understand that coming up with that kind of money all at once sometimes might not be an option.
All payments must be made in US Dollars
If, for some bizarre reason, PayPal is simply not an option, please contact us. We will try to accomodate other methods, but PayPal is pretty much the best option for everyone involved.
Can I host more than one game with you?
Absolutely! We offer a 40% discount for multiple games. So, basic service would be $6.00/month, insetad of $10.
Will you host custom DNS addresses? If so, for how much extra?
That service is provided through MUSHDNS Hosting. The service is $10/year. See their site for more information.
Okay. What should I do to get an account with MUSHPark?
Please email sales@mushpark.com to get the process started. We'll get back to you and we can talk about what you want and what you need.
IMPORTANT NOTE FOR NEW GAME CREATORS: It is in one's best interest (and our own) that one is far enough into concept development, or has at least a solid idea of what they want, before applying for an account. Changing one's mind frequently at the expense of our time and effort is not at all peachy.
What kind of help can I expect from MUSHPark administration?
We will always try to help as much as we can. Keep in mind that MUSHPark is not our “day job.” We may not be available immediately, but we will help as soon as we can.
So, if I have problems finding a good coder, would you do some stuff for me?
We will not be your code monkey wizard. Sorry. Been there. Done that. Will we help out with things? Absolutely! You can also connect to MPUG and ask there. All sorts of over–skilled, under–socialized people hang out there. Not just nails and Oleo
What about other matters such as various and sundry modifications to my account?
We will oblige server-related requests for alteration within reason, as time and workload permit.
Will you ever require a staff bit or administrative say in the running of my game?
We will always have at least one character on your game with wizard-level privs. This is needed to help us help you.
We will never have any administrative say in your game. Those decisions are yours. If you would like to ask our opinion, or what we might consider “best practice” or things like that, we will be happy to provide that input. We will not force an administrative issue on you. The ONLY exception to that would be if one of your decisions would cause a significant impact to the underlying server. This is highly unlikely.
How stable an uptime can I expect?
Very stable. We only reboot for patches to the server OS. That is generally a quarterly occurance. It is very unlikely that we would lose power. An OS crash is always a risk, and can never be predicted. FreeBSD® is tremendously stable. That's why we use it.
Yes, if you go look at our Terms of Service, you will see that we offer no real guarantees. And, sadly, we can't offer any hard and fast guarantee. We do out best, and we very rarely go down, either scheduled or otherwise.
We recommend that you log in to other games hosted with MUSHPark and ask the staff and players what their experiences have been like.
Are shell logins handled by ssh or telnet?
ssh only. No telnet. Telnet is not even enabled on the server.
Would I be able to get one of the default ports?
No, those are reserved, including — but not limited to — 2860, 4201, and 6250.
How come the MUSHPark webpage is so bare–bones?
We're trying to fix that. The fact is, it's not a terrifically high priority for us. We are making improvements as we see that they are needed. Also, web design is not our forte. We do the best we can.