Axmud - A modern Multi-User Dungeon (MUD) client

Axmud screenshot

1 Introduction

Axmud is a modern Multi-User Dungeon (MUD) client written in Perl 5 / Gtk3. Its features include:

Axmud is known to work on MS Windows, Linux and *BSD. It might be possible to install it on other systems such as MacOS, but the authors have not been able to confirm this yet.

Axmud does not yet have a comprehensive manual, but there is lots of information to read:

2 Downloads

Latest version: v2.0.0 (21 Jan 2024) (see recent changes)

Official packages (also available from the Github release page):

Source code:

3 Running Axmud

There are several ways to install Axmud (see below). Most of them will add an Axmud icon to your desktop, and an entry in your Start Menu.

There are actually two versions of Axmud: a 'normal' version, and a version with optimised settings for visually-impaired users.

The optimised version will start talking at you, as soon as you start it. (If you don't hear anything, then perhaps there are no text-to-speech engines installed on your system.)

If you're running Axmud from the command line, visually-impaired users can run this script:

baxmud.pl

Other users can run this script:

axmud.pl

Using either script, you can specify a world to which Axmud connects immediately:

axmud.pl empiremud.net 4000

If you omit the port number, Axmud connects using the generic port 23:

axmud.pl elephant.org

If a world profile already exists, you can specify its name instead:

axmud.pl cryosphere

You can force Axmud to use a particular text-to-speech engine by adding the engine's name to the end of those commands. This overrides (almost) all other text-to-speech settings.

Acceptable engine names are 'espeak', 'esng' (for espeak-ng), 'flite' (for Festival Lite), 'festival', 'swift' and 'none' (for the dummy engine, which produces no sound). For example:

baxmud.pl empiremud.net 4000 esng axmud.pl cryosphere festival

Note that on MS Windows, Flite is not supported, and other speech engines are assumed to be installed in their default locations.

4 Installation on MS Windows

The easiest way to use Axmud on Windows is to download and run the Windows installer.

The installer contains everything you need to run Axmud, including all the required modules and libraries, and a copy of several text-to-speech engines.

Note that, as of 2020, the sisyphusion repository no longer exists, so there is no longer any known method for running Axmud with ActivePerl or with Strawberry Perl. If installing Axmud manually, you must use MSYS2. The method is described in the installation script.

Note also that, as of 2024, MSYS2 does not support versions of Windows earlier than 8.1, and does not support 32-bit Windows at all. Therefore, the latest version of Axmud will not run on those systems. (Earlier versions of Axmud, for example v1.3.029, should still work; you can download the installers from Sourceforge.)

5 Installation on Linux

There are three methods of installation on Linux - install using the .deb package, install using the .rpm package or install manually using the source code.

5.1 Installation on Linux using the .DEB package

.deb packages are typically supported on Debian-based systems (such as Ubuntu and Linux Mint).

Installation may be as simple as downloading the .deb package and double-clicking on it. If not, you can install the package from the command line.

Open a terminal and navigate to the directory where the downloaded file is, for example:

cd Downloads

Then install the package:

sudo dpkg -i libgames-axmud-perl_X.Y.ZZZ.deb

You must replace the X.Y.ZZZ with the actual version number you've downloaded, for example:

sudo dpkg -i libgames-axmud-perl_1.2.345.deb

When installation is complete, start Axmud by typing:

axmud.pl

5.2 Installation on Linux using the .RPM package

.rpm packages are typically supported on Fedora-based systems (such as Red Hat Enterprise Linux and CentOS).

The package can be installed from the command line.

Open a terminal and navigate to the directory where the downloaded file is, for example:

** cd Downloads**

Then install the package:

sudo yum localinstall perl-Games-Axmud-X.Y.ZZZ.noarch.rpm

You must replace the X.Y.ZZZ with the actual version number you've downloaded, for example:

sudo yum localinstall perl-Games-Axmud-1.2.345.noarch.rpm

When installation is complete, start Axmud by typing:

axmud.pl

5.3 Installation on Linux from source

Manual installation is quite simple on most modern Linux systems.

This document contains complete instruction for some of the most popular distros:

  • Arch-based systems (such as Arch Linux)

  • Debian-based systems (such as Debian, Ubuntu and Linux Mint)

  • Fedora

  • Manjaro

  • openSUSE (see below)

  • Red Hat Enterprise Linux and CentOS

Axmud v1.2.0 (and later versions) cannot easily be easily installed on openSUSE, as the required graphics library (Gtk3) is not yet available through openSUSE's software repositories. We suggest that you continue using Axmud v1.1.405 for the time being.

5.3.1 Installation on Arch-based systems

(These instructions have been tested on Arch Linux. For Manjaro, see the section below.)

First, download the source code from the Axmud website (the most recent file ending .tar.gz).

Open a terminal window and navigate to the directory containing the downloaded file, for example:

cd Downloads

Decompress the .tar.gz file:

tar -pzxvf Games-Axmud-X.Y.ZZZ.tar.gz cd Games-Axmud-X.Y.ZZZ

You must replace the X.Y.ZZZ with the actual version number you've downloaded, for example:

tar -pzxvf Games-Axmud-1.2.345.tar.gz cd Games-Axmud-1.2.345

Make sure you have the right dependencies:

sudo pacman -S gtk3 perl-gtk3 goocanvas wmctrl sudo pacman -S perl-cpanplus-dist-arch setupdistarch sudo cpanp i Archive::Zip File::Copy::Recursive File::HomeDir File::ShareDir File::ShareDir::Install Glib Gtk3 GooCanvas2 IO::Socket::INET6 IPC::Run JSON Math::Round Net::OpenSSH Path::Tiny Regexp::IPv6

At the time of writing, there are some issues with installing certain libraries on Arch. If you know that those issues have been fixed, you can type this command to allow Axmud to use SSL connections:

sudo cpanp i IO::Socket::SSL

If you want to use sound effects and/or text-to-speech, you should also type:

sudo pacman -S sox timidity++ espeak-ng

Then install Axmud itself:

perl Makefile.PL make sudo make install

When installation is complete, start Axmud by typing:

axmud.pl

Axmud's default text-to-speech engine is eSpeak but, at the time of writing, there are some issues with its installation on Arch systems. Assuming that an alternative speech engine has been installed using the instructions just above, visually-impaired users should start Axmud by typing this, the first time:

baxmud.pl esng

Once Axmud has started, type the following commands, which replace Axmud's default speech engine with espeak-ng:

;config all engine esng ;save

Thereafter, visually-impaired users can start Axmud by typing:

baxmud.pl

5.3.2 Installation on Debian-based systems

(These instructions have been tested on Debian, Ubuntu and Linux Mint.)

First, download the source code from the Axmud website (the most recent file ending .tar.gz).

Open a terminal window and navigate to the directory containing the downloaded file, for example:

cd Downloads

Decompress the .tar.gz file:

tar -pzxvf Games-Axmud*.tar.gz

cd Games-Axmud*

Make sure you have the right dependencies:

sudo apt-get update sudo apt-get install build-essential libgtk3-perl libgoocanvas-2.0-dev wmctrl sudo cpan install Archive::Extract File::HomeDir File::ShareDir File::ShareDir::Install GooCanvas2 JSON Math::Round Net::OpenSSH Path::Tiny Regexp::IPv6

If you want to use sound effects and/or text-to-speech, you should also type:

sudo apt-get install libsox-fmt-all timidity

Then install Axmud itself:

perl Makefile.PL make sudo make install

When installation is complete, start Axmud by typing:

axmud.pl

5.3.3 Installation on Fedora

First, download the source code from the Axmud website (the most recent file ending .tar.gz).

Open a terminal window and navigate to the directory containing the downloaded file, for example:

cd Downloads

Decompress the .tar.gz file:

tar -pzxvf Games-Axmud-X.Y.ZZZ.tar.gz cd Games-Axmud-X.Y.ZZZ

You must replace the X.Y.ZZZ with the actual version number you've downloaded, for example:

tar -pzxvf Games-Axmud-1.2.345.tar.gz cd Games-Axmud-1.2.345

Make sure you have the right dependencies:

sudo rpm --import http://li.nux.ro/download/nux/RPM-GPG-KEY-nux.ro sudo rpm -Uvh http://li.nux.ro/download/nux/dextop/el7/x86_64/nux-dextop-release-0-1.el7.nux.noarch.rpm sudo dnf install cpan sudo dnf install 'perl(Archive::Extract)' 'perl(File::Copy::Recursive)' 'perl(File::Fetch)' 'perl(File::HomeDir)' 'perl(File::ShareDir)' 'perl(File::ShareDir::Install)' 'perl(Glib)' 'perl(Gtk3)' 'perl(GooCanvas2)' 'perl(IO::Socket::INET6)' 'perl(IPC::Run)' 'perl(JSON)' 'perl(Math::Round)' 'perl(Net::OpenSSH)' 'perl(Path::Tiny)' 'perl(Regexp::IPv6)' 'perl(Time::Piece)'

If you want to use sound effects and/or text-to-speech, you should also type:

sudo dnf install sox timidity++

Then install Axmud itself:

perl Makefile.PL make sudo make install

When installation is complete, start Axmud by typing:

axmud.pl

5.3.4 Installation on Manjaro

Manjaro's rolling release version is affected by a recurring issue (Perl modules are not updated when the Perl itself is updated, meaning that any Perl applications will immediately stop working). If you're using the rolling release version, consider installing via Perl homebrew instead.

These instructions work on both the stable and rolling releases of Manjaro.

First, download the source code from the Axmud website (the most recent file ending .tar.gz).

Open a terminal window and navigate to the directory containing the downloaded file, for example:

cd Downloads

Decompress the .tar.gz file:

tar -pzxvf Games-Axmud-X.Y.ZZZ.tar.gz cd Games-Axmud-X.Y.ZZZ

You must replace the X.Y.ZZZ with the actual version number you've downloaded, for example:

tar -pzxvf Games-Axmud-1.2.345.tar.gz cd Games-Axmud-1.2.345

Make sure you have the right dependencies:

sudo pacman -S base-devel gtk3 goocanvas perl-gtk3 perl-goocanvas2 wmctrl cpanminus sudo cpanm Archive::Extract File::Copy::Recursive File::HomeDir File::ShareDir File::ShareDir::Install Glib IO::Socket::INET6 IO::Socket::SSL IPC::Run JSON Math::Round Net::OpenSSH Path::Tiny Regexp::IPv6 sudo cpanm Archive::Zip --force

If you want to use sound effects and/or text-to-speech, you should also type:

sudo pacman -S sox timidity++

Then install Axmud itself:

perl Makefile.PL make sudo make install

When installation is complete, start Axmud by typing:

axmud.pl

5.3.5 Installation on openSUSE

Axmud v1.2.0 (and later versions) cannot easily be easily installed on openSUSE, as the required graphics library (Gtk3) is not yet available through openSUSE's software repositories. We suggest that you continue using Axmud v1.1.405 for the time being.

5.3.6 Installation on Red Hat Enterprise Linux / CentOS

First, download the source code from the Axmud website (the most recent file ending .tar.gz).

Open a terminal window and navigate to the directory containing the downloaded file, for example:

cd Downloads

Decompress the .tar.gz file:

tar -pzxvf Games-Axmud-X.Y.ZZZ.tar.gz cd Games-Axmud-X.Y.ZZZ

You must replace the X.Y.ZZZ with the actual version number you've downloaded, for example:

tar -pzxvf Games-Axmud-1.2.345.tar.gz cd Games-Axmud-1.2.345

Now we need to add an extra repository. First get the key:

sudo rpm --import http://li.nux.ro/download/nux/RPM-GPG-KEY-nux.ro

Then add the repository. On CentOS/RHEL 6, do this:

sudo rpm -Uvh http://li.nux.ro/download/nux/dextop/el6/x86_64/nux-dextop-release-0-2.el6.nux.noarch.rpm

On CentOS/RHEL 7, do this:

sudo rpm -Uvh http://li.nux.ro/download/nux/dextop/el7/x86_64/nux-dextop-release-0-1.el7.nux.noarch.rpm

Now make sure you have the right dependencies:

sudo yum groupinstall 'Development Tools' sudo yum install epel-release cpan goocanvas2 wmctrl sudo yum install 'perl(Archive::Extract)' 'perl(Archive::Tar)' 'perl(Archive::Zip)' 'perl(File::Copy::Recursive)' 'perl(File::Fetch)' 'perl(File::HomeDir)' 'perl(File::ShareDir)' 'perl(File::ShareDir::Install)' 'perl(Glib)' 'perl(Gtk3)' 'perl(IO::Socket::INET6)' 'perl(IPC::Run)' 'perl(JSON)' 'perl(Math::Round)' 'perl(Net::OpenSSH)' 'perl(Path::Tiny)' 'perl(Regexp::IPv6)' 'perl(Time::Piece)' sudo cpan install GooCanvas2

If you want to use sound effects and/or text-to-speech, you should also type:

sudo yum install sox libtimidity

Then install Axmud itself:

perl Makefile.PL make sudo make install

When installation is complete, start Axmud by typing:

axmud.pl

6 Installation ON BSD

Manual installation using the source code is quite simple on BSD. (At the time of writing, no installer is available).

6.1 Installation on GhostBSD

(These instructions have been tested on GhostBSD, which is based on FreeBSD. It's likely that installation instructions are the same or very similar on all distros based on FreeBSD, OpenBSD or NetBSD.)

Open a terminal window and navigate to the directory containing the downloaded file, for example:

cd Downloads

Decompress the .tar.gz file:

tar -pzxvf Games-Axmud-X.Y.ZZZ.tar.gz cd Games-Axmud-X.Y.ZZZ

You must replace the X.Y.ZZZ with the actual version number you've downloaded, for example:

tar -pzxvf Games-Axmud-1.2.345.tar.gz cd Games-Axmud-1.2.345

Make sure you have the right dependencies:

sudo pkg install goocanvas2 wmctrl sudo cpan install Archive::Extract Archive::Zip File::Copy::Recursive File::HomeDir File::ShareDir File::ShareDir::Install Glib Gtk3 GooCanvas2 IO::Socket::INET6 IO::Socket::SSL IPC::Run JSON Math::Round Net::OpenSSH Path::Tiny Regexp::IPv6

If you want to use sound effects and/or text-to-speech, you should also type:

sudo pkg install sox timidity++

Then install Axmud itself:

perl Makefile.PL make sudo make install

When installation is complete, start Axmud by typing:

axmud.pl

7 List of pre-configured worlds

Axmud can be used with any world that supports telnet, SSH or SSL connections. The following pre-configured worlds have already been set up to use the automapper, handle connections and so on.

8 Contributing

9 Authors

See the AUTHORS file.

10 License

Axmud is licensed under the GNU General Public License v3.0.

✨🍰✨