Copyright is such a tricky thing, even most copyright attorneys would be hesitant to advise you on this.

The short story here is IF you created a successful port, EA would eventually notice & most likely step in, shut you down, & market their own update.  How that all exactly would go down would depend on a lot of variables; PROBABLY you'd get a cease & desist letter; probably your attorney would advise you to abide by it; probably anything you'd made up to that point would be free & clear, but you never know.

That's the whole trick with abandonware - it's only abandoned because it seems like the prudent business decision - the moment there's observable profit, the abandonment is OVER.

The big guaranteed out for you is to make something based on what you've learned from MULE, but so completely different that no one could reasonably make the argument that it's a valid copyright violation.  If you choose to go that route, that means different elements, a different playfield, etc., but effectively the same style of game.  Same way there umpteen million first person shooters based on WWII; you just keep the basics different enough that there's no question that it's your own take.

Also be aware that using trademarked characters or terms is a completely separate issue from copyright, & one that's much easier albeit more expensive to enforce.  So stay away from that altogether unless you can strike a deal on paper beforehand.

Programming AI is difficult & it's a great testament to Dani & the crew what they were able to do given the hardware parameters of machines of their era.

Recently joined & have been enjoying this version of MULE, but I have a recurring problem where my ping goes from ~80 to ~600 during rounds 5-7.  The game slows down & becomes almost unplayable, especially moving in & out of the store.

The worst part is the other players tend to be extremely unpatient.  I understand the irritation, but it's not as if I were doing something intentionally or like I could wave my hand to make it better.

I have a new windows 7 rig with minimal processes running.  Doesn't matter if I have apps open or not, but just in case I've been closing everything down with no improvement.

Any ideas?