This is based on MUDpi, a simple MUD engine for small scale multiplayer games.
You will need to install Python (2.7+ or 3.3+) where you wish to run the server. Installers for Windows and Mac can be found at http://www.python.org/download/. There are also tarballs for Linux, although the best way to install on Linux would be via the package manager.
To allow players to connect remotely, the server will also need to be connected to the internet.
To connect to the server you will need a telnet client. On Mac, Linux, and versions of Windows prior to Windows Vista, the telnet client is usually installed by default. For Windows Vista, 7, or 8, you may need to follow this guide to install it.
Double click on simplemud.py - the file will be opened with the Python
interpreter. To stop the server, simply close the terminal window.
From the terminal, change to the directory containing the script and run
sudo python simplemud.py
The script must be run as root in order to have permission to listen on port 23.
Note, if you are connected to the machine via SSH, you will find that the
script stops running when you quit the SSH session. A simple way to leave the
script running is to use a tool called screen. Connect via SSH as usual then
run screen. You will enter what looks like a normal shell prompt, but now you
can start the python script running and hit ctl+a followed by d to leave
screen running in the background. The next time you connect, you can
re-attach to your screen session using screen -r. Alternatively you could
create a daemon script
to run the script in the background every time the server starts.
If the server is running behind a NAT such as a home router, you will need to set up port 23 to be forwarded to the machine running the server. See your router's instructions for how to set this up. There are a large number of setup guides for different models of router here: http://portforward.com/english/routers/port_forwarding/
You will need to know the external IP address of the machine running the server. This can be discovered by visiting http://www.whatsmyip.org from that machine.
To connect to the server, open your operating system's terminal or command prompt and start the telnet client by running:
telnet <ip address>
where <ip address> is the external IP address of the server, as described
above.
If you are using Windows Vista, 7, or 8 and get the message:
'telnet' is not recognized as an internal or external command, operable
program or batch file.
then follow this guide to install the Windows telnet client.
If all goes well, you should be presented with the message
What is your name?
To quit the telnet client, press ctl + ] to go to the prompt, and then
type quit.
MUD Pi was written by Mark Frimston