Complete newbie here, still learning how everything works. In regards to combat, I've got a paladin who I've, so far, trained up to Adept in it. But I'm still trying to figure out how the combat stances, different attack types, etc. work.

This is my first MUD, so I'm totally lost in regards to how to macro/alias/etc. Just wanting someone to point me in the direction of where to go to figure these things out. At the moment, using the Java-based client from the website.

Thank you for your time.

Ideally you want to stop using the Java-based client from the website. MUSHClient and zMUD are both a lot better, although if you play from work or something that might not be an option.

If you'd rather not, though, you'll notice two white-on-purple tabs below the compass in the upper left corner of the client. Clicking on the lower one of these will bring you to a pretty self-explanatory page with all the stuff you need on it. (The create reflex thing is the one you want for aliases.) The "get Nexus help" function doesn't actually work, so here's the link to it.

Note that you can also make in-game aliases, which is what I used for ages because it's easier to target with them. For example,

setalias k kick &t
st t rat
k

will make an alias "k" that kicks target t, sets target t to "rat", and then...kicks it. Easy.

Alright, so between zMUD, and MUSHclient, which is the better to use for someone who is....
a) completely new to MUDs, MUD clients, etc.
2) enjoys melee/hack'n'slash over spellcasting
iii) has forgotten most of what he learned about programming due to alcohol consumption.

Thank you again for your time.

zMUD. Except...zMUD isn't free, and there's no free systems for it if you'd rather bypass that. If you want to code yourself, zMUD is easier than other clients like MUSHClient, and Nexus is really easy to learn but laggy, buggy and with very few capabilities. Whether you like warrior combat or other types makes really no difference, the clients don't matter for that sort of thing at all.

Less interested in coding myself, as I'd rather rely on people who have done previous coding and know more about it than I do. I do like the mapping on zMUD, though. I imagine I'd have to do some digging around on the boards, though, to find what people have for zMUD, in regards to how to do the aliases/trigger events, or whatever they're called.

You should take a look at this, then.

You'll have to figure out how to use aliases yourself, but this will at least take care of your defence (mostly.)

There are combat scripts you can purchase for zMUD, ranging from about 30 credits to 900 credits. I sell scripts for zMUD, including automapper configuration and speedwalking.

MUSHclient has more of a steep learning curve and doesn't have the GUI components built in, but it generally executes faster than zMUD.

And Ethelon offers a completely free system for MUSHclient. I've heard it's not the best, but is still pretty good and will cover most of your basic healing needs.

In general, you would be better off getting Zmud and making your own system from scratch as per Thorgal's guide to doing so.

So basically, you either get a client which is free and faster, or one which costs money, is far easier to code with and has (IMO) far more functionality. If you're new to MUDs, I'd recommend just getting MUSHclient and Ethelon's system, but download the trial version of zMUD and try a bit of basic coding in it. It really is easy to get the hang of. Even I managed to create a system. Screwed up in about eight seconds, but before that... worked beautifully.

Mush is faster, free, with free basic system from Ethelon but its harder to learn.

zMUD is slower and its only free for 30 days but is much easier, have a mapper, can have nice GUI and a lot more people use it so you can get help easier.

And i have free zMUD i just need reinstal windows once per month, heh.

Contact me in game if you need any help with zMUD or even Java client.

Java client is good place to start, have basic aliases/macroses/ triggers and variables.

What is GUI.

Graphical User Interface - pretty pictures!

Check here to see what you can do with zMUD.
http://lusternia.ire-community.com/index.php?showtopic=2023

Going to download zMUD, give it a shot, as soon as I find some time tonight. Then get to reading their help files, hehe, to learn how to work everything.

With that said, can anyone point me in the direction of various useful stuff on the boards in relation to zMUD?

Check Mechanic section.
I will try to find some usefull links now.

http://lusternia.ire-community.com/index.php?showtopic=3945
http://lusternia.ire-community.com/index.php?showtopic=1959
http://lusternia.ire-community.com/index.php?showtopic=146
http://lusternia.ire-community.com/index.php?showtopic=1445

I took a stab at making a scripting tutorial for zMUD once. It's not complete (and probably never will be), but it might help get you started and give a few pointers. Also, it was written to be somewhat general, but you'll probably see a few references to Achaea in it.

zMUD Scripting

Alright, thanks for all the assistance. Time to go brush up on understanding coding, and figure out what everything is. Check zMUD's forums, etc. Thanks again.