Johnny_Velocity

I'm sorry you feel the need to call me a liar. I would hope that you would refrain from that in the future.

However, what you describe has nothing to do with unique naming. What you describe is common to both games. Unless drastic changes have been made to CO since the end of closed beta, it would be impossible for people to have those names you describe - Cryptic's name filter would have prevented it, and it was quite draconian in its application.

No doubt people were duplicating the appearance of those characters, but that has nothing to do with the unique naming issue, and exists in CoX. Both games rightfully encourage petitions to report such behavior.

I stand by my statement: I do not see people complaining about the unique naming system on the CO boards. There was a lively debate in both the open and beta forums prior to launch, but now that it is a fait accompli, I do not see people complaining about the system on a daily basis or about problems arising from the system.

If you want to insist on calling me a liar, feel free to PM me some links to specific threads (I doubt we are encouraged to post them on the boards, otherwise I would support my position with links.)

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Well, since it appears we all have stated our positions and stated them well, I say my farewell to this thread. I'm sure there will be another one in a week or two. I'm likely to chime in again to register my opinion, but hopefully we can avoid getting personal with the name-calling next time. Thank you Forum Cartel for keeping the thread active and drawing attention to it through debate. It isn't my thread, but it is an important subject to me.

I'm also thankful to Paragon Studios for having a Suggestion & Ideas sub-forum in the first place. While I am subject to the limits of the existing code, it is gratifying to know that the developers are open to ideas for improvement and change.

The way I understand CO's current system, to use an example we all seem passably familiar with, the @DaveNSmith can be hidden, so you are only seeing hero names. There is also an autocomplete feature that remembers who you've talked to in the past so you don't have to type all that out.

I only played through the end of CO beta, but I thought the form they had it in right before launch worked beautifully.

I'm sure that if Paragon Studios implemented something similar, they would make the UI just as nice and polished as the rest of the game. They excel in that regard, so that just isn't a worry for me.

First of all, you can't speak for "most of the rest of us in this game." And you know you can't. That's silly.

I have a different opinion, and I'm merely expressing it. You do realize that that is actually encouraged here, right? Especially in this sub-forum?

And how in the world would it impact you if this were to be implemented? Why are you so dead set against it, aside from your Quixotic quest to make the world more creative like you?

That's because you aren't being creative enough. Be more creative.

Of course. Thus, the effort to get the rules changed. And that impacts you how?

And my name is Johnny Velocity. If you respect unique names so much, try using mine.

I love this quote being next to your standard-issue crab-pack and Arachnos helmet.

No thanks. I do not have to conform to your way of thinking. I do not want to be special. I want one particular non-copywrited name. No other name will fit my concept. What's so hard to understand about that? What's so bad about a narrow box, or simply being particular? Maybe a wide box just isn't for me.

Being forced to settle is NOT a good thing. And guess what? We're five years into this game. At this point, all potential new players are late to the party. Yet we want new players, don't we? Let's offer something to them besides a thesaurus and a "good luck."

I'd say "be uniquer" is a fallacy because it is simply something not everyone is capable of. If your task is to compose music, how useful or valid is the advice to "compose better" or "be more creative?" If you aren't wired that way, it is pointless advice. It's like telling a color blind person to pay more attention to the colors.

And no, such a person is unlikely to "want your help," which is a common response in threads on this topic.

More importantly, naming is a matter of preference. "Be uniquer" is just another way of saying "settle for something else" or simply "want something else." More often, on this topic, people are simply saying "be more like me." Truly ironic, when the topic is uniqueness.

While "being more unique" is a type of solution to this problem, it is not the solution for everyone. Changing the system is an equally valid one and a potentially profitable one. And more often than not, people who are so vehemently against changing the system cannot articulate why it would be bad or why they are so vehement.

The evidence in the CO forums appears to squelch the possibility that the system would somehow be mis-used. It appears, in my view, to be purely an aesthetic preference. If that is the case, I propose that what I name my character is more important to me than the names you have to look at on other people's characters is to you.

This, basically. I play 10 hours per week or less. A bit of that is at the market game-within-a-game, which allows me to do a lot more than the SO's listed in your proposal.

I don't think it's possible to correlate time in game with material possessions in-game. However, being a casual player impacts you in other ways that can be measured: TF's are harder to fit in, badges take longer to get if they require grinding, fewer alts, etc. Plus there are intangibles - if you work daytime hours, there are certain opportunity costs - events on Test and the like.

But I do think hours per week is the proper measuring stick for casual vs. non-casual.

I'm cool with that. Just give me the ability to have that name.

I think another fundamental difference of the people on the opposite sides of the non-unique naming issue is the value we place on being unique. For you, not being unique in avatar and name was a total failure. It would not affect me the same way.

I was wondering why a few days ago and I realized: my real life name is John. My name is as far from being unique as it can possible be in the English-speaking world. My uniqueness comes from within, and it has always had to.

I don't want to cross the line and tell you "how to feel," but you may want to reconsider how much to value uniqueness of appearance or name. Doesn't your real value come from other sources - resourcefulness in battle, personal relationships you have forged, knowledge of the game, etc.?

(By the way, there was one game show with a uniquely different "failure sound" - The Gong Show.)

You are describing a problem that (1) is a problem that exists under the current naming system, and (2) is a product of your bias, not of the naming system. How is this a "point about non-unique names?"

Huh? Who said anything about taking names away? I'm not sure what that means.

Regarding CO, yes it does have such a feature. However, one feature does not a great game make. Given time to mature and add content and get everything balanced, CO could be really good. But I've become convinced that the first year of any new MMO is skippable.

I think you miss my point. I'm advocating that this one feature - a really good one - be considered for this game. Much like power customization - you know, that really popular feature that got added right when CO was going live.

Such an addition would support the mini-business model that has been helping this game stay healthy for the past year or more: low-resource additions that promote optional RMT transactions, in this case, rename tokens. Not much different than costume packs.

This is the perfect example of how people just see this problem differently. You see the naming examples above as the solution, and a good one. I see it as a symptom of the problem.

I really, really dislike deliberate misspellings, numbers substituting for letters, etc., and consider those names immersion-breaking.

Meanwhile, other people would have a big problem with non-unique naming in that seeing a second Crimson Angel down the block would grate on their nerves. However, I think its a bit of a fallacy to think you would see the latter happen often - I can't recall the last time I saw two similarly-named characters on the same day.

All I can say is that a feature like non-unique naming would be a draw to me, and I suspect others. Except in extreme cases, I can't see it driving people away, even if they don't see the need for it. I hope the developers consider it as a future feature.

Well, he's still level 1 and I have no idea when I'll get to him - I have 3 new scrappers "ahead" of him at the moment. Unless you've settled on something else, I don't mind giving the name up to a good home.

I'll buzz you the next time I see Soul Sister at Went's and see if you want to do the delete-and-grab. (I actually starred you this morning because I like Soul Sister so much and I wanted to notice any other characters you have.)

*Gives Catwhoorg a warm beer, a meat pie, and points him towards Defiant.*

Code gnome plan:

Step 1: Cause drop rates to fall.
Step 2: ______________?
Step 3: Profit!

Ebil code gnomes!

This is great news to wake up to. Thanks for staying on top of this!

And thanks to all the data contributors!

Well, this would account for the fact that AE ticket drop rates do not seem to be affected.

If Synapse accessed the Abyss maps via Oro, that would also put him in TF mode, which would account for why he couldn't reproduce the problem...


Edit: Well, maybe not based on the report right above.