More fun than you can shake a robotic pack animal at.

January 8, 2010 8:32 AM

We've talked about M.U.L.E before, but playing options were limited. Not anymore. Now available for Windows, Mac and Linux, Planet M.U.L.E.

And, yes, it has that music.

posted by eriko (24 comments total)

Link: Watch the Instruction Video!

Click on Link: Instruction Video Coming Soon.

Me: FFFFFFFUUUUUUUUUU
posted by Pragmatica at 8:42 AM on January 8, 2010 [4 favorites]

BONZOID!!!!!
posted by Mister_A at 8:46 AM on January 8, 2010

I also enjoyed the empty "How to Play?" page.
posted by chunking express at 8:48 AM on January 8, 2010

Doesn't look empty to me! That's where I learned how to play. Browser troubles?
posted by grobstein at 8:51 AM on January 8, 2010

Well productivity, I don't like you and you don't like me...
posted by Mister_A at 8:53 AM on January 8, 2010

I played the day this was released a few weeks ago. Gameplay is a bit buggy, and in some critical ways - like the keyboard not responding during a turn (extremely time sensitive).

But yes, it's a true Net-based MULE, and that glorious, glorious music from my childhood is there.
posted by deadmessenger at 9:06 AM on January 8, 2010

I can finally play M.U.L.E. without having to run a C64 emulator! And play against other people! OMG! Thank you SOOOOOOO much for posting!

*book-a-CHINK-a-book-a-CHINK-a-book-a-CHINK-a-CHINK-a-CHINK-a*
posted by hippybear at 9:11 AM on January 8, 2010

And, yes, it has that music.

Awwwwww, yeah.

eriko, you're a prince.
posted by adamdschneider at 10:01 AM on January 8, 2010

I've heard so much about M.U.L.E. that I was delighted to finally get a chance to play it. I was instantly disappointed when I realized there is a brutal fall-behind* problem making it very difficult for new players to pick up. It has some fun mechanisms and is a nice blend of arcade and board game but leaves me frustrated.

*In which a player screws up early in the game and can never recover to the point of being interesting.
posted by chairface at 10:14 AM on January 8, 2010

N00b!
posted by Mister_A at 10:17 AM on January 8, 2010

Not fair, eriko. I wanted to work on writing and other projects that require attention this weekend.

Seriously, though, thanks -- my attention was made to be divided.
posted by MCMikeNamara at 10:19 AM on January 8, 2010

I have had stuff to do this weekend.

Jerk.
posted by Theta States at 10:27 AM on January 8, 2010 [1 favorite]

Ahh M.U.L.E. - where we all learned the true joys of multiplayer computer games and market manipulation.

Doe anybody make an Atari joystick to USB converter?
posted by ecurtz at 10:52 AM on January 8, 2010

Does anybody make an Atari joystick to USB converter?

but of course they do!

also, hooray for M.U.L.E.!
posted by Busithoth at 11:32 AM on January 8, 2010 [1 favorite]

I couldn't find any information on the website, but how are they getting around the fact the Electronic Arts owns M.U.L.E. and has fairly vigorously protected the IP in the past? Do they actually have the blessing of EA or is thisproject living on borrowed time?
posted by DWRoelands at 11:46 AM on January 8, 2010

EA published it, but it was developed by Dan Bunten of Ozark Softscape. The children of the original developer deliberately found someone to bring the game out on the internet.

One of the kids works for EA and the thanks page lists help from another person at EA, plus a law firm contact, so they probably have all their ducks in a row.
posted by SpookyFish at 12:27 PM on January 8, 2010

I've heard so much about M.U.L.E. that I was delighted to finally get a chance to play it. I was instantly disappointed when I realized there is a brutal fall-behind* problem making it very difficult for new players to pick up. It has some fun mechanisms and is a nice blend of arcade and board game but leaves me frustrated.

In fact, M.U.L.E. contains subtle measures to help remedy this. They are part of why its design is so well-regarded.

- When there are ties at auction, trailing players get to trade before leading ones. They get to trade everything they want in fact, so if one of them can meet all the need for food, energy or smithore, then they are the only ones selling that turn.
- During Land Grant, if two players want the same property, the game will tend to give it to the player who is further behind.
- Random events are biased in favor of the trailing players. In particular, the leader never gets good random events, and the player in last place never gets bad ones.

These things are in addition to the natural balancing that takes place in many three-or-more player games, where players who are not in the lead have an incentive to collude against players who are.
posted by JHarris at 1:12 PM on January 8, 2010

AH, this is an official release? It isn't some people just making their own knock-off, like Space H.O.R.S.E.? If I had known that I would have FPP'd this myself weeks ago....
posted by JHarris at 1:15 PM on January 8, 2010

As for the lack of an instruction video....

Some time back I wrote a fairly complete (though sometimes grammatically problematic) guide for MULE on Everything2.
posted by JHarris at 1:22 PM on January 8, 2010 [1 favorite]

I.D.G.I.

A game that requires me to read the instructions? In a post Flash Friday world, this just doesn't make any sense to me. I can barely rouse myself to slide a disc into the Wii anymore, and forget even flipping open the NDS.

Unless a game has one button, ideally the same one I use to click to it from a link, I'm probably never going to invest anything into it.

I never was much of a gamer. I didn't realize that Donkey Kong was from my generation until recently. Really? My peers played side-scrollers and DK? Who knew?

I tell you, you hit 40 and all you do is chase the kids off your lawn.
posted by clvrmnky at 1:22 PM on January 8, 2010

hey, i can't download the game to play it right now. is there somewhere I can see the game in action? youtube has failed me. I've never heard of this before, but it sounds pretty rad.
posted by shmegegge at 1:24 PM on January 8, 2010

There is no way to play multiplayer on one machine, is there? This strikes me as a great sit-around multiplayer game.
posted by grobstein at 1:30 PM on January 8, 2010

I've never heard of this before

O_O

I assure you, it is completely rad.
posted by adamdschneider at 1:47 PM on January 8, 2010

Welp, there goes my weekend ...
posted by Marisa Stole the Precious Thing at 6:03 PM on January 8, 2010