Release Names or Tie to Global
I've created about 30 new characters in the last year and only once had trouble finding a name, so I can't relate to this problem. I've no desire to see every character name take up an entire line in the chat window like in Champions. That just looks ugly.
What I find hilarious about the whole idea behind this thread, however, is that its very easy for a player to get any name they want if they're willing to append some extra character to it, but they would rather see a much longer @globalname appended instead. I can only assume that its because appending only stands out when few people resort to it that some want to force every single person in the game to have to endure it.
@Doctor Gemini
Arc #271637 - Welcome to M.A.G.I. - An alternative first story arc for magic origin heroes. At Hero Registration you heard the jokes about Azuria always losing things. When she loses the entire M.A.G.I. vault, you are chosen to find it.
I can tell you this, of all the names I'd like to have, I have never seen another player in-game with any of them.
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I agree the CO method looks kinda ugly, though you can turn the visual of it off in chat and it's pretty much invisible in terms of team list and names floating above character names - after a month in that game I barely notice the @global anymore, but I love the freedom of going with my first choice when naming a character. For me it's a minor evil I'd put up with so I can drop the (to me) clumsy looking adjective from the front of that short and snappy name I'd wanted to use.
I also find many of the more "creative" names don't look or sound as good to me as the "unimaginative" versions: they're not as snappy, don't roll off the tongue as well, or just visually look clumsier. This goes for both the ones I think up (*especially* when I resort to a thesaurus), and many of the examples other people bring out on threads like these. But I suppose "good" is at least somewhat subjective in a name, so that's probably just my personal taste.
Anyhow, judging by this thread (yeah yeah, forums aren't a true representation etc), as with so much in life, I appear to be in the minority on this one. So I guess I'll just leave it at that, and be glad I'm finally getting side switching instead
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You're not in the minority. I look forward to the day this is finally implemented.
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Even if you are right, having a large following has never guaranteed that something will be done. If it was, we'd have merged servers and pure respecs because those come up all the time and have a lot of followers. More often than this does, in fact.
The devs don't and wouldn't just mindlessly add something because a lot of people support it (often without seeing the whole issue). Additions have to be weighted based on the amount of work they'd be to add, the usefulness of such an addition, and the repercussions of adding something. In this case, there are a ton of reasons not to go through with such an addition, arguments on why it would be a problem with for lot of people, and a lot of valid points on why this really isn't a problem to begin with and not worth the time it would take to implement.
Not to insult you, but glossing over this entire thread, ignoring all the counterarguments, and making a blanket statement like "Naw you're right, they're all wrong, it'll happen," without anything to back it up is pretty darn bold. Not to mention really self-centered. What evidence do you have that the devs would want to, or need to do this besides the fact that you and another couple guys on the forums think it's a good idea?
Dispari has more than enough credability, and certainly doesn't need to borrow any from you.
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I really doubt that the majority of people desperately want names to be non-unique just so they can be less creative and make a bunch of duplicates of boring names. I really doubt that the majority of people are so unhappy with the name selection that they'd put up with a clumsy, more complicated, and less visually attractive system in exchange for the ability to be lazy with names. |
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I really doubt that the majority of people desperately want names to be non-unique just so they can be less creative and make a bunch of duplicates of boring names. I really doubt that the majority of people are so unhappy with the name selection that they'd put up with a clumsy, more complicated, and less visually attractive system in exchange for the ability to be lazy with names.
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I really doubt the majority of people desperately want to use a dictionary, thesaurus, and foreign language translator when they create a new character. I really doubt that the majority of people are so happy with the name selection that they'd put up with a clumsy hyphen, period, intentional misspelling, foreign language usage, and less visually attractive system in exchange for the ability to have a good name.
You see, my experience is based upon talking to people both in game and in real life about this. I never assume, as you have, that the majority of our gaming community regularly posts on these forums (or reads them, for that matter). To assume that, as you have, would be very self-centered and bold... don't you agree? (you don't have to answer that, it's rhetorical).
[whew] That was exhausting. Back to my game. "Blowhard mode" off.
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[sigh] Apparently in order for you to understand, I'll need to reply using your "blowhard mode" (ie write several paragraphs in order to voice an opinion). It's a shame, because I really do have better things to do (like play the game). Here goes...
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I really doubt the majority of people desperately want to use a dictionary, thesaurus, and foreign language translator when they create a new character. I really doubt that the majority of people are so happy with the name selection that they'd put up with a clumsy hyphen, period, intentional misspelling, foreign language usage, and less visually attractive system in exchange for the ability to have a good name. |
Victoria Noir
Luna Desani
Mender Sissolie
Kigi Kidate
Gemelle Sable
Tesla Jin
Tanya Atta
Tomatre
Itsumi Charr
Lithium Fog
Sudona Forte
Hurricane Lotus
Meru Itsumi
Texiel
Riley Tiranis
Dispari Scuro
Xanthos Theta
Ardent Black
Vicious Mitsu
Savage Mitsu
Veloce Morte
Courgette
Kaimana Keahilani
You'll notice one or two of those do actually have words from other languages. But to be honest, that has nothing to do with an inability to get a name. It's more my innate inability to come up with a name. Not one of those was a result of me trying a name, not having it, and having to "resort" to pulling out a thesaurus or online translator.
You'll also notice none of my toons have really dull and boring names like "Widow Chick" or "Necromancer" or "Firekin." And why would I want them to? Is not the point of a name to have an identity? Do we really need to open up the gates to appease people who want to name their character "Meow Meow" or "Puncher" ?
Is it really anyone else's fault that someone is so dead-set on a boring name like "Doctor Evil" that they refuse to consider an alternative and add symbols or spell it weird? We're in a world where heroes and villains are registered. In the same way it doesn't make sense to license 5 different restaurants all called McDonald's, why would we want 30 people all named "Vile" or "Neo" ? Do we really need to put effort into allowing people to be more uncreative and unoriginal? Is it really the devs' fault if the person just doesn't care and names their restaurant "macd0nalds" ?
Now, people are going to be boring and lazy no matter what. People are still going to go for names like "r4yvn" even with our current system, because they don't feel like giving their name any serious thought. And really, more power to them if they can stand playing a toon with that name. But I'd really rather not have to stomach a new, complicated system just so "catgirl437" can become "catgirl"
You see, my experience is based upon talking to people both in game and in real life about this. I never assume, as you have, that the majority of our gaming community regularly posts on these forums (or reads them, for that matter). To assume that, as you have, would be very self-centered and bold... don't you agree? (you don't have to answer that, it's rhetorical). |
What IS true is that this particular topic almost never comes up, forums or in-game. If popularity or followers meant anything, stupid changes like raising the level cap would be far ahead of this particular topic on things devs would do based on popularity alone.
Truth is, I talk to people in game and in real life about this stuff too. And I've maybe heard someone complain about getting a name on a couple occasions tops. Your mileage may vary. It may be that I play on Virtue where people put more thought into their characters, and thus their name. I can't say why it seems to you that a majority of players are simply fed up with the inability to get generic names like "No Mercy" or "Radiation Man." But none of the people I know and talk to are so dull that they want those names to begin with.
Dispari has more than enough credability, and certainly doesn't need to borrow any from you.
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Not quite. What we were told was that they freed up a lot of names. Thousands. BUT THEN NO ONE TOOK THEM. They had a way to keep track of the names freed and then re-picked.
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See there are two fundamental facts at work here that make simply "freeing up names" something that doesn't work as well as the nominatively challenged hope it would: 1) they'll never take names away from high level characters, even on accounts that haven't been active a long time 2) There really isn't a magical pool of really awesome names stuck on unplayed lowbies across all servers. |
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Truth is, the majority of players probably don't think about it. Or wouldn't care that much if suddenly their Ultramaiden ran into another Ultramaiden in the parking lot outside of Icon. Both players would probably smile for a second at the meeting, then move on to the eventual target.
My point was that it raises the barrier to new players getting the name they want and it is unrealistic to expect them to invest the same kind of time in choosing a name that a dedicated, long-term player with multiple alts would. Instead they're more likely to add additional characters to a name until they get something they want or go with throwaway names, which means more than likely throwaway characters. Or get frustrated before even playing for the first time and dump the trial, or start playing in a bad frame of mind.
Only the CoH/V devs know the conversion rate for the trial accounts and possibly how many people drop out of playing having barely started a character (or spent time working on a character costume only to quit due to being nameblocked), so only they are in the position to have an idea of the importance of the issue from that perspective. However, I do think some long-term players are very blase about the new player experience, which is a very important factor in the future of this title.
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Truth is, the majority of players probably don't think about it. Or wouldn't care that much if suddenly their Ultramaiden ran into another Ultramaiden in the parking lot outside of Icon. Both players would probably smile for a second at the meeting, then move on to the eventual target. My point was that it raises the barrier to new players getting the name they want and it is unrealistic to expect them to invest the same kind of time in choosing a name that a dedicated, long-term player with multiple alts would. Instead they're more likely to add additional characters to a name until they get something they want or go with throwaway names, which means more than likely throwaway characters. Or get frustrated before even playing for the first time and dump the trial, or start playing in a bad frame of mind. Only the CoH/V devs know the conversion rate for the trial accounts and possibly how many people drop out of playing having barely started a character (or spent time working on a character costume only to quit due to being nameblocked), so only they are in the position to have an idea of the importance of the issue from that perspective. However, I do think some long-term players are very blase about the new player experience, which is a very important factor in the future of this title. |
Yeah not thinking it's that big a deal.
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Seeing as how the devs do have that data and haven't moved in a direction to run the script to free up more names or tie names to global . . .
Yeah not thinking it's that big a deal. |
Or hasn't been raised as a priority.
Or isn't expressly monitored - they might not track the number of times a player attempts and is rejected for a character name, for instance.
Or is something they are philosophically opposed to.
Or hadn't thought about much recently.
Or could be something they are watching the experience from ChampO on.
Theoretically the devs have access to lots of things about CoH/V, but it is only when players draw attention to certain issues that they spend time considering / checking things like drop rates or the taunt system or the RNG reward calculation. Then it goes from, "This probably isn't an issue" to "we need to change this".
Or is too hard to do.
Or hasn't been raised as a priority. Or isn't expressly monitored - they might not track the number of times a player attempts and is rejected for a character name, for instance. |
B: the developers don't monitor names on a real time basis.
Fact is, if the developers monitored names as they were created, they'd have a flood of vulgar, obscene, and rude names in addition to the rip-offs of existing Marvel / DC content. While the developers do go through and do a name check every now and then, resulting in a flood of new generics, a constant up to date appraisal of names and rejections just isn't possible in a game like City of Heroes where players are encouraged to make new avatars. This was actually the reason for the development of the name check tool. So you didn't have to make a character, get all the way to the naming screen, then find out that the name was taken.
There are basic systems in place to try and prevent some names, but for the most part, the developers have to rely on the existing community to use /petition and report players who come up with various rip-offs or obscene names.
Or is something they are philosophically opposed to. Or hadn't thought about much recently. Or could be something they are watching the experience from ChampO on. |
Fact is, the developers do keep track of what other games do. Fact is, some of the suggestions made, such as tying names to a Global tag in the chat system, are brain dead stupid. It's just bad game design.
Theoretically the devs have access to lots of things about CoH/V, but it is only when players draw attention to certain issues that they spend time considering / checking things like drop rates or the taunt system or the RNG reward calculation. Then it goes from, "This probably isn't an issue" to "we need to change this". |
When it comes to naming, we come back to several central assumptions. That many players are outraged and firing off /petition reports left and right that they can't get the exact specific name they want. That there is a wide range of highly desired names that are being held on accounts that nobody's playing. That this is a huge deal.
To be the delivery cat of reality, it's not a big deal. It really isn't. There's no major player backlash. Looking at this thread I think I can count the number of players who think this is an issue on one single hand. There's no huge amount of I must have that name because it's so cool held by people who don't play the game. The numbers the developers have come across on previous name purges have already been giving them. You, Unsub, are deliberately ignoring the data the developers have and creating your own ideas about what data there is.
Now, lets get back to talking about what the majority of the game does. Fact is, when most casual players come across a name they want that somebody has taken, then tend to add numbers or letter to it. There's hundreds of players running around with a name like xXxFrostyxXx because Frosty was taken. The average player simply doesn't care whether or not somebody had a name similar to the one they thought of. They just add some punctuation, add a space, add a couple of letters, and life goes on.
So, once again, being the delivery cat of reality, people demanding modifications to the name system, such as the ones I see being promoted by Thaumator and Unsub. Well, that's THE MINORITY.
I suspect that our developers aren't going to simply fold over to the whims of bad game design so easily.
I never understood the whole 'Vet Player' vs 'New player' naming disparity. When anyone creates a new character, all players are on equal footing as far as getting a name is concerned. It's not like the Veteran players have access to some special character name directory.
"You, good Sir/Miss have no worries for your statues within the games grants you access to a lexicon of names to choose from."
"While you, peon, have this list on 500. Oh and just to let you know, most of them are already take, so we shall be replacing the L's and I's with 1's, o's with 0's, T's with 7's and spaces with -'s. Guess you should have been here sooner."
Do I think everyone should have a dictionary/thesaurus/reference book to play this game? No. I think those books should be on any desk regardless.
That's exactly what I was saying earlier.
I generally find I become more attached to characters with names that I didn't get first try.
The act of getting more creative with the name increases the attachment.
Also if you really wanted to be 'Star Blaster' and its been taken you could do what the comics do and add a title, for example:
Capt. Star Balster, Mr. Star Blaster, Amazing Star Blaster, Stupendous Star Balster, Star Blaster Steve, ect.
I would by far perfer the devs increase the length letters allowed in the name rather than added a global tag.
Imposter@Unoriginal would suck IMO.
For the record, I HATE the idea of tieing to global names. I hated it in CO, thought it was ugly and unwieldy. Each to their own but it's one of the many things that turned me away from CO.
The thing that gets me is the numerous times people use the "more than one 'real' superhero sharing a name like Captain Marvel. Now I don't claim to be an all knowledgeable comic expert, but i don't remember this happening much in over 20 years of reading DC comics. It happened from time to time, but not often and usually was done as a plot device or storyline. Obvious exceptions are Green Lantern, but usually there's very few that share a name, after all, there's only one Superman, one Batman.....erm, well, sort of
The point being, when there are multiple heroes with a shared name in the comics, it's a massive thing, such as Superman and Superman-Prime, Batman (bruce wayne) and Batman (Azrael), and it's usually sorted out in a big comic book storyline/battle with the name going back to the original character, there's not ever been a case of 20-30 people walking around calling themselves Superman. (to the best of my knowledge anyway )
I like the idea that my character is unique and no one else is called Coin. I've played the game for nearly 5 years and people know me as Coin. I'd hate it with a passion is suddenly 4 other people suddenly appeared with the same name and it's the sort of thing that would drive me further from this game.
I think names should be unique per server.......except Scarlet Shocker. That's a silly name :P
We built this city on Rock and Roll!
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Do I think everyone should have a dictionary/thesaurus/reference book to play this game? No. I think those books should be on any desk regardless.
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We built this city on Rock and Roll!
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Actually, thanks to this thread and a thread in the Market forum by Nethergoat about being recognized in-game, I decided to check on the name "Organica" on Virtue.
My namesake has existed for years on Pinnacle as a level 38 katana/regen scrapper. When I later (still in 2004 or early 2005) tried to reserve the name on other servers, it had already been claimed on all but one of them. Later when I came back to the game and started playing on Virtue, the name was still unavailable. I was pretty sure I'd checked again after the last round of name purges... but guess what? I discovered this morning that the name was, in fact, available.
I transferred Organica over to Virtue, and will now have a reason to finally play her up to 50. ^_^
(So... that name's no longer free on Virtue... but it's free on Pinnacle now....)
![](http://i218.photobucket.com/albums/cc232/minty89/coh%20photos/banner3.jpg)
my lil RWZ Challenge vid
(So... that name's no longer free on Virtue... but it's free on Pinnacle now....) |
I like my characters.
I like their powers.
I like their costumes.
I like their names.
Can their powers be copied? Yes.
Can their costumes be copied? Yes.
Ah, but can their names be copied? No!
Names are the only attribute your characters have that can be unique. Everything else can be copied.
I really don't want to see any feature implemented that changes that.
@Demobot
Also on Steam
Truth is, the majority of players probably don't think about it. Or wouldn't care that much if suddenly their Ultramaiden ran into another Ultramaiden in the parking lot outside of Icon. Both players would probably smile for a second at the meeting, then move on to the eventual target.
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Just letting people share names DOES NOT WORK. You need a system to ensure uniqueness for the simple utility of being able to tell who it is that you're speaking to. You can't just plop down 20 Wolverines and expect people to guess which one of the 20 is their friend, as well as figure out how to invite him absent direct proximity. And I've not heard of a system to do that which isn't obtrusive, ugly and unpleasant. Come up with one, then we'll talk.
But, really, sidestepping the issue of implementation and just restating an opinion does nothing at this point.
Samuel_Tow is the only poster that makes me want to punch him in the head more often when I'm agreeing with him than when I'm disagreeing with him.
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Samuel_Tow is the only poster that makes me want to punch him in the head more often when I'm agreeing with him than when I'm disagreeing with him.
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[sigh] Apparently in order for you to understand, I'll need to reply using your "blowhard mode" (ie write several paragraphs in order to voice an opinion). It's a shame, because I really do have better things to do (like play the game). Here goes...
I really doubt the majority of people desperately want to use a dictionary, thesaurus, and foreign language translator when they create a new character. I really doubt that the majority of people are so happy with the name selection that they'd put up with a clumsy hyphen, period, intentional misspelling, foreign language usage, and less visually attractive system in exchange for the ability to have a good name. You see, my experience is based upon talking to people both in game and in real life about this. I never assume, as you have, that the majority of our gaming community regularly posts on these forums (or reads them, for that matter). To assume that, as you have, would be very self-centered and bold... don't you agree? (you don't have to answer that, it's rhetorical). [whew] That was exhausting. Back to my game. "Blowhard mode" off. |
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2) There really isn't a magical pool of really awesome names stuck on unplayed lowbies across all servers.
In case they have another reclaim, make a list of the names you want in advance. Worry about perfecting a costume later.
I've also picked up great (to me) names from friends. American Anthem and Witchcraft were gifts from good friends who had outlived them. Heavenly was a gift from a forum celeb who pm'd me out of the blue because she knew I ran an angel themed group.
Some names were picked up on a whim. Alt, Noa, Terravolta, and Una were just casual afterthoughts while playing. Know what I do often? If I'm playing with a radio or the television on in the office and hear a nice lyric or interesting thought, I'll quickly type "/getglobalname, so and so". If the name is taken, usually a global will come back. If a global is not retrieved, I'll type "/friend, so and so". Heroes will show on the local friends list, villains rejected - or vice versa depending on which side I'm on. If a second message appears stating the name does not exist or is hidden, then I'll log off and check if it's locked or truly available. Sounds like a process but it takes seconds.
I also find inspiration from others in the same way. Dyson had a biography for his main with mention of a starmada force. I was so taken by the word that I took it and Starmada was born. I've wanted a twin for her for some time and saw someone with the name Starkadia; a quick check in Google and found that Arkadia was also spelled with a "c". Starcadia was born a few weeks ago.
Then there's my server's forum's famous Name Thread. Folks will ask for names and put up names (free and trade). Picked up a few names there was well: Dakota, Freeze Frame, and Paris.
Sometimes I will Google themes. With Paris and Berlin, I thought it would be neat to have an army of world capitals since there is a type of angel responsible for protecting each nation. Google brought up a list of all the current and past world capitals from which I picked over the most feminine sounding. A quick check showed that: Havana, Brasilia, Tokyo, and Pretoria were free.
Then there's bouts of silliness. Following a conversation about shameless PL'ing, I made Shameless (a brute) and Pea Elle (her twin sister, a thermal corr). Following a conversation about regional dialects, Broken English was born - she's a Brit with a Cockney accent that no one on her international polo team could understand. Sunday Mourning was also a play on words.
My point is, in the last two years... following a massive wipe on my account, I've been active and resourceful on some and lucky on others on what may be the busiest server. Come to think of it, with all the different ways I pick up names, I can't recall how I got Vanessa, Posh, and Vignette. I'm pretty sure they were "on a whim" picks.
Though my -favorite- to this day is three years old and a thesaurus pick. I wanted an extraterrestrial. Thesuarus found "alien, foreign, exotic". I added an "a" at the end and Exotica was born. Sadly, people think she's inspired by a stripper.
Happy hunting, y'all.