Announcing Character Transfer and Rename Testing
By
Lighthouse_NA,
Posted on: 2007-07-17 10:06 in Announcements
Q: Can I transfer a character from one account to another? I had this old account I'm about to get rid off, but Id like one of the characters from it.
A: Character moves from account to account are not part of the features described, sorry.
Q: These features would make great Veteran Rewards! Is that possible?
A: We've talked about this, but the tech to do it wasn't a simple thing. We'd rather get the basic functionality out there for everyone and then go from there.
Q: Given the interest in names and name changes, is there any chance for another inactive name purge when this goes live?
A: We understand the concern and interest and will consider it. However, we have no plans to announce to the public at this time.
Please note that if NCsoft does decide to make a change to the Character Name policy in the future, we will advise all our players (past and present) 30 days in advance as previously stated last year.
previous announcement.
Q: Any number of questions regarding a server-less game configuration and possible speculation about how that will work.
A: We don't have anything to add about a "server-less" system, other than to reiterate what was stated in the original announcement. To quote:
[ QUOTE ]
One example of such a change would be a server-less game configuration where all players can group with anyone, without the restriction of which server they play on. We are not committing to this server-less configuration, and in fact there are no plans to implement a server-less environment this calendar year...
[/ QUOTE ]
Q: With Character Transfers, when someone does use it, do they receive a warning that their name is already taken prior to the move?
A: No, the system that is currently in testing does not include a pre-move name check. The system processes the name collision after the move and will award you a free rename if there is a conflict.
Q: Is there any other means to pay for a Character Transfer or Character Rename besides a credit card on file?
A: The systems we are currently testing does not include the option to use a game time card or any other payment option for these services.
Q: Can I move my characters to a Europe server or characters from a European server to North American Servers?
A: The Character Transfer Service does not allow for moves between the EU servers and the US servers or vice versa.
Q: Do all your possessions move with you when you do a character transfer?
A: Yes, including your auctions on the Consignment Market. Here is a list of things that do not move
- [*] Your Friends list of players will no longer be valid
[*] You will be removed from any Supergroup that character was in, and will lose access to any SG storage.
[*] Taskforces or Strikeforces that may be in progress will be abandonded.
[*] Kiosk stats will be preserved, but rating positions will likely chage.
[*] We cannot guarantee that your characters name will be available on the destination server you move too. Should there be a name conflict, your character will be issued a free character rename to change the name.[/list]
Q: Will the Character Transfer Service allow me to make a copy of my character?
A: No, sorry. No copies, just transfers.
Q: Is there a badge associated with making a Character Transfer? In the past, there was the Passport badge that was given out.
A: There is no badge received from moving in the current system that is being tested. The Passport badge was intended as a one time offering for US to EU moves, since the European (EU) service started after the North American game was launched.
Q: Is there a swap feature to Character Transfer, so in one move I could switch 2 characters?
A: there is no "swap" feature in what we are currently testing for Character Transfer. As it currently stands, servers that are full and have no available character slots are not allowable destinations.
Q: Will the Character Rename Service allow us to change our global chat handle as well?
A: The Character Rename System currently in testing only deals with the actual character name and is not associated with the chat server or your global chat handle.
Q: If someone moves their character OFF of one Server and transfers to another Server, does that character-name suddenly become freed-up for another player to immediately use on the first server?
A: Yes
Q: I am about to move my character from his old server to a new server. His name was so super-awesome that I created a placeholder character with the same name on the new server, to keep others from taking my super-awesome name. I want to delete my placeholder (and free up that super-awesome name) just before I move my main character to that server. My timing needs to be perfect! Heres my question: When I delete my placeholder, how long do I have to wait before my super-awesome name is freed-up?
A: We cannot specify a time duration, but in practice the name becomes free pretty quickly. Please keep in mind that we never guarantee any names will be available.
Q: If I have items for sale/buy on the Consignment Market and my character moves to a new server, will the sale/buy still work?
A: Yes. When a character transfers servers, anything they are buying/selling on the auction house is tied to the players account, not the character, so the buy/sell transactions will go with them.
The same goes for rename; buy/sell transactions or pending transactions will not be affected by the name change.
Q: When you change your character's name, does it change on everyone's Friends list, or do they have to re-add you?
A: When a character does a rename, their name will not change on other peoples friends list until they a) zone, or b) logs out and then back in. Once one of these 2 conditions happens, other peoples friends list will be updated with the new name.
Lighthouse
Community Relations Manager
If you have a specific in game, account, tech or billing problem please contact our Customer Support team via The Knowledge Base "Ask A Question" page.
Starting on Tuesday, July 17th, the Training Room Test Server will have two new game features enabled for testing: Character Transfer and Character Rename.
[*] Character Transfer will allow customers to move characters from one server to another. [*] Character Rename will allow customers to rename a selected character. [/list]Both of these features are not part of Issue 10: Invasion. Although we are beginning to test them now, we anticipate that they will not be enabled on the live service until after the launch of Issue 10.
We estimate that both features, Character Transfer and Character Rename, will carry a transaction fee of $9.99 each per use (there will be no fee for transfers to or renames on the Training Room). Should a Character Transfer have a name conflict on the destination server, a free Character Rename will be made available to resolve the conflict and rename the moving character.
These new features exemplify our commitment to improve the quality of the City of Heroes experience. We feel the price of these features is enough to prevent potential abuse, but also reasonable enough to not be prohibitive for those who want to improve their gaming experience by moving servers or changing a character name.
IMPORTANT! Customers who are interested in taking advantage of the Character Transfer service should know that it is possible in the future that we may make changes to the game that would remove the need to Transfer servers. One example of such a change would be a server-less game configuration where all players can group with anyone, without the restriction of which server they play on. We are not committing to this server-less configuration, and in fact there are no plans to implement a server-less environment this calendar year, but because we are charging a fee for these services, it is important that our players understand that the possibility exists. We want to be very clear in this regard so that those who do decide to make use of a Server Transfer, when it becomes available, understand that they may not need it in the future.
For those interested in assisting with the testing efforts of Character Transfer and Character Rename, keep your eye on the Official City of Heroes Announcement Forum for further details. Thank you for your continued support!
The City of Heroes Development Team
To discuss this announcement, please join us on this Discussion Thread.
Lighthouse
Community Relations Manager
If you have a specific in game, account, tech or billing problem please contact our Customer Support team via The Knowledge Base "Ask A Question" page.