This is something I had pondered implementing a while back but never got around to, so I'm going to throw this into the ring as an idea/suggestion.
I think it would be helpful for both new and old players alike to have a graphical representation of a local map.
In the example image below (using ASCII extended characters), you can see a 3 x 3 room layout, with the player character in the center. Single vertical or horizontal lines represent closed doors. The layout represents the room the player is currently in, with exists to the north, east, south and west. West is a closed door. If the door was locked or "secret", the room would not be shown.
In my example, two of the rooms are marked with a "4" and a "2", which would indicate the number of player characters currently in those rooms.
The map is small enough to be part of the "look" screen, and obviously could be toggled on or off. Additionally, certain room blocks could be colored, or other colored sprites could be added to represent mobs, zone types, etc.
While I realize not all rooms could be represented (up, down, or rooms with strange vnum links), this would account for at least 90% of the MUD areas, which are linear.
