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.

<QR>

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.

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

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....)

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.