Merc (MUD)
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Merc is a multi-user domain (MUD) engine derived from earlier software such as DikuMUD and Copper MUD. Created in the early 1990s, it served as the basis for many later MUDs.
Merc was created by Michael Chastain ("Furey"), Michael Quan ("Kahn"), and Mitchell Tse ("Hatchet") at the University of California, Berkeley and first released on December 18, 1992. Within months other mudders picked up the codebase and began to modify it for their own MUDs. Later in 1993, the Merc authors, going by the name MERC Industries, released version 2 and minor releases. MERC Industries dissolved on October 13, 1993 and the final Merc release was version 2.2 on November 24, 1993.
The "stock" Merc 2.2 release contains 47 areas (with the city of Midgaard serving as the starting location), four classes (cleric, mage, thief, and warrior), and 35 mortal player levels.
Merc-derived MUDs now form the largest branch in the Diku family. Several other highly influential MUDs are directly derived from Merc 2, including:
Merc MUDs must abide by the Merc license in addition to the Diku license since it is a derived work. Medievia, a Merc1-derived MUD[citation needed], has been the source of much controversy for allegedly not conforming to the Diku license since it does not attribute the Diku authors in its title screen and it accepts donations.
