So in response to this thread, I've started my very own MU* engine/MUD based off the back of the mudpi project! It uses pure python, plus YAML for human readable storage of objects/rooms.
I know there are tons around already, but I was searching for a really simple python MUD barebones and kinda came up short. Many had their own quirks or specific ways of doing things built in (like Tales) and the others were just outdated or complicated. They all also seemed to be slightly too far along development and had fixed in a lot of stuff that I'd like to have had more flexibility in. There's a comparison of them all here (
http://posted-stuff.blogspot.co.uk/2010/08/quick-survey-of-python-mud-codebases.html)
It's admittedly mainly just a project for me to mess around with and develop my client/server coding, but I've also tried to build something that's really simple for people to get into/build upon. Some of the coding is slightly verbose/clunky, but I'm hoping that it helps explain things better to new coders rather than hiding everything away in super efficient queries - every action has it's own function, and all entities are simple dictionaries.
As the base MUD for this, I've decided to create a sort of Revelation Space style MUD - you're trapped on a massive spaceship, with corruption seeing in everywhere - this has various effects and you need to work together to sort it out. It'll be more a co-op text RPG than a full on MUD, but I'm hoping to add enough atmosphere that people will want to hang around. If it goes well, I can imagine some interesting PvP stuff going on. I'm designing it specifically with a low player base in mind, as I believe a lot of MUDs overshoot on this - they expect a world populated with 100s, which feels bare with only 20 or so.
If anyone would be interested in helping out as a builder or coder on this and help develop the MUD/mudbase with me I'd love to hear from you.
In-game:
YAML (look how easy it is to write!!):