Help Stuck - era accurate?

[Sepulchrave]

I tried a search to see if this has been brought up before. Is the help-stuck option to teleport to a town accurate? I am thinking it isn't.

[Oderus Urungus]

Yup always used it when I died in deciet
Only thing different that I think is it was random city?
Not sure on that part cant remember if you got to pick a city or not
But since the day I started playing it was always there

[archaicsubrosa77]

research the past 100 threads on this topic...

[Hemperor]

I don't think it was added in until UO:R and it was initially put in here because staff wasn't always around in the unlikely situation that someone actually got stuck. IMO remove in the same patch party and guild chat is removed

[Sepulchrave]

Like I said, I tried a basic search looking for the answer to this and couldn't come up with anything. If you can give me a link to an old thread I'd appreciate it. I played UO since the beta in '97 and I know the help-stuck option wasn't ALWAYS there. It was added because the craftier players were stranding others at stuck locations, resulting in a large volume of GM-pages (and was one more step on the way to trammel). I'll try to comb through the patch notes.

[Sepulchrave]

Here's when it was added:

http://www.uoherald.com/news/news.php?newsid=615

[archaicsubrosa77]

With a full functioning staff, and countless players online spread all over the globe exploring every nook and cranny the stuck option would not have been needed. If you couldnt find a player to help, a GM was on call no matter.

Yes its an easy convenient mode of transportation, especially when you wandered through a gate someone said was to "X", to find it was actually to two tile isle in which a thief dispelled the gate from the other side and now you found yourself stranded there with not much to your name to speak of.

There were exploits house thiefs have used in the past that have been fixed. Overall though it does not change the mechanics of gameplay.

Era accuracy would have entailed a system or group of people who would have done what this automated service does now...that is all.

[Sepulchrave]

How cryptic! I read what you said five times, and after the fifth time, I think I see what you're saying - that in T2A days if you got stranded by this tactic, there were enough staff to help you out (or that the many players online would somehow enable you to be rescued more easily?). I'd be interested in seeing how many people agree/disagree with me when I say that this was not the case, and if stranded you could be waiting for hours unless you had friends come and get you. That helpless feeling, the one you would get if stranded without the help-stuck menu, is era accurate in my opinion. Are there other reasons that the menu should stay as it is?

[Hemperor]

How cryptic! I read what you said five times, and after the fifth time, I think I see what you're saying - that in T2A days if you got stranded by this tactic, there were enough staff to help you out (or that the many players online would somehow enable you to be rescued more easily?). I'd be interested in seeing how many people agree/disagree with me when I say that this was not the case, and if stranded you could be waiting for hours unless you had friends come and get you. That helpless feeling, the one you would get if stranded without the help-stuck menu, is era accurate in my opinion. Are there other reasons that the menu should stay as it is?

I actually read a few newsgroup postings talking about just this within the era... Some guy said it took him an hour just to get a hold of a counselor and then another 3 hours to get the GM.

[Sepulchrave]

I apologize for posting this thread in general discussion and not in suggestions/era accuracy, and request that it be moved there if appropriate.

[calista]

I have to say I agree, I remember sitting for hours being stuck, it was very frustrating and sometimes would ruin a whole days play. Not that I want the stuck button gone because I really dont want to be stuck somewhere for an hour or more.

[Sepulchrave]

Well the converse argument is that along with the convenience of the stuck button comes some abusability - for instance you can load yourself down with money in a dungeon and then hide and use help-stuck to teleport to town, which is not something that was possible back during this time period. In my opinion it's an inconvenience on the same level as not having the town-selector gump at moongates.

[archaicsubrosa77]

Even if it were hours, you still had the option to call for help. It isn't fair or convenient to page Derrick or staff to aide everyone who gets stuck all the time. Of course you can go on IRC and there is almost always someone to lend a hand there and oftentimes more then not more conveniently then the help option which is limited in its scope of travel.

Removing it would only hurt newer players who do not participate in irc chat.

[Sepulchrave]

I guess we summarized the pros and cons right there - if Derrick and crew want to leave it as it is, I'm fine with that. It's just something I noticed as inaccurate (and potentially fun, to be fully honest).

[Hemperor]

Only compromise I can think of is that stuck menu would bring you to either the last town or shrine you have been to