Star Wars MUSH

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Star Wars MUSH (often referred to as SW1) is a MUSH running on PennMUSH, running version 1.7.7 patchlevel 38 as of February 5, 2005. As the first Star Wars-based MUSH, Star Wars MUSH offered its players the opportunity to pick up where George Lucas left off and, through roleplay, continue the Star Wars saga after the events of Return of the Jedi. The game's scenario management system is based on West End Games' Star Wars d6 Roleplaying Game, a discontinued tabletop role-playing game. (note: Star Wars d6 should not be confused with Star Wars d20 by Wizards of the Coast.) One of the most successful MUSHes on the Net, Star Wars MUSH has been active for fifteen years and, in its timeline, is now fifteen years after the Battle of Yavin.

To connect to the MUSH, a MUSH or Telnet client is required. The host address is www.starwarsmush.com, port 4402.

1 Game History
2 In-Game History
3 Historical Significance
4 External links

[edit] Game History

Star Wars MUSH opened in May 1991. On April 15, 1994, the game's database was accidentally destroyed, resulting in the split, where Star Wars MUSH was divided into three games; SW1 remained as it was, and two other games formed: A New Threat (later known as From the Ashes) and Minos Cluster (later known as Unsung Heroes). The latter are commonly referred to as SW2 (A New Threat) and SW3 (Minos Cluster). Of the three, only SW1 remains -- although a later spin-off, Star Wars: Brak Sector, opened in 1996 and remains open today.

Star Wars MUSH was re-opened to the public on May 21, 1994. On August 21, 1996, the players voted to a new server with a clean database, effectively starting over.

[edit] In-Game History

Taking place shortly after the Battle of Endor, the Galactic Empire was fragmented into various, warring factions led by would-be warlords each vying for control over the Empire Palpatine left behind. The newly-born New Republic continued to rise in power and influence, and only months after the Imperial defeat at Endor, had Coruscant under its control.

What was left of the legitimate Empire came under the control of the Interim Ruling Council, formed from the Imperial Ruling Council and consisting of other high ranking individuals who remained loyal to the New Order. For approximately four years, the New Republic struggled to earn its place in the galaxy, while the Empire continued to rebuild and reorganize under new leadership.

Bacharan Valak took over the Ruling Council in 6 ABY (years after Yavin), and from there introduced massive reforms to the Imperial Remnant, and brought many of the warring warlords under his control. Construction of a new, advanced Death Star took place, and small but gradual advances were made in the ongoing Galactic Civil War and Imperial Civil War.

Finally, in 8 ABY, the Empire was reorganized, Valak was coronated Emperor, and the third, advanced Death Star was unleashed upon an unsuspecting galaxy. Sluis Van and Gastus IV were the first to be destroyed by the Death Star, followed soon by the destruction of the Mon Calamari shipyards and the capture of the vital New Republic member world.

Finally, in 9 ABY, at the end of the Empire's massive counter-offensive, Coruscant was reclaimed, and the New Republic Senate was destroyed - its senators captured, the President killed. For two years the Death Star spelled a shadow over the galaxy, and the New Republic was once again back on the run, reduced to Rebellion-style tactics. However, in 11 ABY, with assistance from the fledging Griffons Alliance, a daring attack was launched upon the Death Star. In the Third Battle of Sluis Van, the Death Star was destroyed - but not without heavy cost. The majority of the New Republic and Griffon starfleets were wiped out, but the a huge blow had been made against the reorganized Empire.

The Empire came crashing down on dissent, and strengthened its stronghold on its occupied territory; the destruction of the Death Star did not seem enough to bring the revitalized Empire down, with Valak still retaining control over the Empire. However, in mid 11 ABY, the Second Imperial Civil War erupted - from Imperial Mon Calamari, a man claiming to be noneother than Palpatine himself emerged. He drew a large amount of support, enough to once again splinter the Empire into two. After a long and arduous campaign, the Empire emerged victorious - with the so-called Palpatine revealed to be nothing other than an imposter. However, the damage had been done. The New Republic was able to take advantage of the situation, reclaiming Mon Calamari and numerous other territories lost under Valak's campaign.

Valak himself disappeared sometime after, and before long the Third Imperial Civil War broke out, further ravaging the Empire and allowing the New Republic to reclaim Coruscant and reduce the Empire to several dozen sectors. In 13 ABY, the Empire was brought under new leadership, and by 14 ABY launched what became known as the Imperial Blitzkrieg. Striking quickly, the Empire took Chandrila, Corellia, Sullust, Bespin and dozens of more sectors. Ultimately, Coruscant was cut off from the rest of the Republic, surrounded by Imperial territory. More than 70% of the galaxy was brought back under Imperial control, and by 15 ABY all hope seemed lost for the fledging Republic.

[edit] Historical Significance

SW1 created or popularized several major concepts within the MU* community. Not the least of these was the MUSH's Judge system, a board of players trained and authorized to respond on-call to roleplay disputes. Another good example is DarrienSpace, possibly the first functional starship and space system for MU*s that didn't require any use of the C programming language to install or maintain. DarrienSpace lent traits to several later engines.

Several of SW1's other coded systems and certain features of its appearance have also become standards within the global MU* community. An unusual example of this is an elevator designed for the game -- the extremely short snippet of code has been adapted for several purposes across MU*space, from trains to conveyer belts.