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Good God, no way. That's so unsigned by me I've retroactively gone back in time and uninvented ink.|
Originally Posted by Seldom
One idea I had would be this: You choose a name. all are available, but it places an auto "_(II)" on the end. [Or (III), (IV), (V) etc.] This doesn't show up anywhere but in the names having over heads and the search function. The first guy gets the perc of being the one without a numeral. There would be no "Captain Person (I)."
If the first character to use that name does not log into the game for 9 months or so, then Character Name_(II) gets to be "Character Name." The guy who first got the name then logs in? they get the (II), (III), etc. Again, the roman numarals would not be used in dialogues, info, or any such things. They would simply be there to differentiate if two (or more) of the same name were on. |
When I was playing WoW (which I hated), I was invited to a team by a random guy. Except I didn't know it was a random guy, since he shared the same name a friend of mine used here and in other games. So I was blithely jabbering away about stuff "we" had done in Paragon City versus what was going in Lordaeron and the guy never let on that he had no idea what I was talking about.
At the most, link character name to our unique global handle, then hide the global name unless you open the info window. So all you see is "Super Dood" until you click on their info and discover it's "Super Dood @Ironik" or "Super Dood @Seldom."
The Alt Alphabet ~ OPC: Other People's Characters ~ Terrific Screenshots of Cool ~ Superhero Fiction
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Ah, presumption. No it doesn't have to show in every scenario. It should show in every scenario where it matters.|
Originally Posted by M_I_Abrahms
There's one difference between the two scenarios: You will generally only see certain names reworked with punctuation, leet speak, or intentional typos. (though, some names, such as my own, may suffer unintentional typos) However, a system where Global names are visible would effect EVERY name no matter how many people may have it.
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There comes the tech overhead if you want to limit it. Consider if the chat-box only displayed a distinction when there was one? It would still need to maintain knowledge of the distinction [perhaps through mouse-over. although that is admittedly a level of annoyance in terms of the user] should the situation change (the name was unique in the zone, then someone zoned in and it became non-unique). Difficulty with that becomes the 'trailing' end. And that can impose a bit of a heavy impact on the tech requirements.
Me, I like the idea of simply generating the color-hash from the global handle as a primary distinguishing factor, with say a mouseover the name for 'more details'. Just have to deal with the overlap of the color-hashes.
Let's Dance!
Tie names to your global. That will fix the problem across all servers.
For example...
My main is Beef Cake, so my name would be tied to my global @Beef Cake
So if I happen to make a new character and the name is taken, I would still be able to use it because the name will be tied to my global. So in theory, I would not have any problems with names, except if I wanted to create another name I already have.
You would still see my name in all cases as Beef Cake, not Beef Cake @ Beef Cake.
Then with doing it this way, we can place all of our characters into the SG and only take up 1 spot vs. many spots from one account.
As much as I hate to say it Champions Online used this sytem and it works perfectly. This game has the global names already in place, it wouldn't be hard to tie names to globals to free up all names for each and every player.
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I like it the way it is. When I see someone using that "creative" crap it's truth in advertising: they're letting every know up front they're a would-be diva who can't deal with not getting their own way.
| If someone wants the name, they're going to use that "creative" crap to have it. So just GIVE it to them without the clutter and nonsense punctuation marks. Other than schadenfreude and being petty and childish, there's no reason not to. |
Current Blog Post: "Why I am an Atheist..."
"And I say now these kittens, they do not get trained/As we did in the days when Victoria reigned!" -- T. S. Eliot, "Gus, the Theatre Cat"
Do some name purges. Trial accounts should be purged at most two months after the trial expires. Names of characters under level 10 on accounts that have been inactive for over a year should be purged every few months. Names tied to accounts that don't even have a global should be purged regardless of level. Face it, they ain't coming back.
No, I'm not bitter that my "perfect name" is taken. Most of my naming problems stem less from a name I like being taken and more from my inability to think of a name I like.
As for what to do when/if cross-server teaming is implemented, add the server name to the character name when it matters, such as when inviting someone to a team. So you would see Eva Destruction over my head, you would see Eva Destruction in the team window, but to invite me to a team you would type "/i Eva Destruction(Champion)" or something like that. A /getserver command or rightclicking on me would show you my server.
Eva Destruction AR/Fire/Munitions Blaster
Darkfire Avenger DM/SD/Body Scrapper
Arc ID#161629 Freaks, Geeks, and Men in Black
Arc ID#431270 Until the End of the World
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True, but you're still the only Amazing Man. There's no realistic way to stop derivative versions of your name but that's not an excuse to just say it doesn't matter and let everyone share it.|
Originally Posted by reiella
And that is a fair statement. However, I believe the contention is that people using kreatyve methods of using the same name anyway.
I still see Amazing Man, Amaz'n Man, Amazing Mann, and Amazzing Man as still really being the same name, even though they aren't literally [obviously]. |
I'm an advocate of name purges but that's secondary to why I'm against Name@Global style solutions.
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No, it's not an excuse, it's merely pointing out that one of the criticisms of a suggested change already occurs within the status quo.
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Originally Posted by Jophiel
True, but you're still the only Amazing Man. There's no realistic way to stop derivative versions of your name but that's not an excuse to just say it doesn't matter and let everyone share it.
I'm an advocate of name purges but that's secondary to why I'm against Name@Global style solutions. |
Let's Dance!
I'm not a fan of the @global system. I think things are pretty good now, just keep freeing up names from old, inactive accounts. Paying customers should get priority over non-paying, simple as that.
Sure it may not make a huge difference, but a customer who lucks upon a cool name they were hoping for is a happy customer.
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Firstly, people are going to use names with punctuation and numbers even if they don't need to.|
Originally Posted by Johnny_Butane
People have been using "creative" punctuation and extra numbers for too long. Frankly I tire of it.
It'd rather have to look at two Captain Shadows than ever see "The_Capta1n-Shad0w." thank you. It's ugly, damages suspension of disbelif and most importantly, there is no need for it. The devs have already offered to put it to bed. If someone wants the name, they're going to use that "creative" crap to have it. So just GIVE it to them without the clutter and nonsense punctuation marks. Other than schadenfreude and being petty and childish, there's no reason not to. |
Secondly, I don't want someone else to have the same name as me. And I really don't care if you think that's petty and childish.
Paragon City Search And Rescue
The Mentor Project
I like the naming system as it is, but I do believe that a greater naming purge should take place (Despte that people will say that the naming purges do not free up much names,if any at all).
I think any account that has been defunct for... Oh, I'd say 1-2 years should have characters' names of any level opened up for potential usage.
I know the one sticking point can be people in the military, but I'm of the camp that figures it is really not that important to love a video game character's name if it is left that long without paying the subscription.
I could see maybe 3 years.
Regardless, I think the level limit for the name purge should be removed and any and all characters that have been unpaid for 1-3 years (Whatever is decided upon by Paragon Studios) or more are fair game.
Just my opinion.
I do believe, over the years now, that there are some names locked up that new people would probably use.
I know I've searched many names that are taken by accounts that never even had a global name attached to it. That really shouldn't be, at this point, in my opinion.
Still... I play on Virtue and haven't had problems getting a good name. However, I do believe that names will continue to be locked away and not used as time goes by.
If these longtime absent customers don't return around the release of Going Rogue, I think we can afford to upset them on their unlikely later return by pilfering their names.
Best would be to send out emails about it to inactive accounts, but resources should only go so far.
@Zethustra
"Now at midnight all the agents and the superhuman crew come out
and round up everyone that knows more than they do"-Dylan
and round up everyone that knows more than they do"-Dylan
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You obviously haven't played a certain other super hero MMO because I've seen that exact situation happen several times. I've also watched numerous idiotic arguments break out between morons fighting over who chose the name first because one of them is acting like a jerkwad and giving the other a bad reputation.
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Originally Posted by Johnny_Butane
That would happen as much as you see LOrd of Darkne$$ next to LoRd of Dark-ness now. That rarely happens. When it does, it's not a huge problem most of the time, and I doubt it would become one.
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Priceless. The guy having a hissy-fit because he doesn't like the naming feature and is mad because the majority of players disagree with him is calling them petty and childish.
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Originally Posted by Johnny_Butane
Other than schadenfreude and being petty and childish, there's no reason not to.
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Yeah, and one of the bad aspects of allowing repeated names (Besides having to use the global names as a sort of surname) is that there's no deterrent to picking that name that 5 other people already have.
So you will indeed see more of repeated names than you would see alternate/klevyr spellings.
So... you won't see as many DarkLord, Dar Lord, Dark-Lord, D4rkl0rd, DarcLored, XxDarkLordxX groups in the current system as you would see Dark Lord, Dark Lord, Dark Lord, Dark Lord and Dark Lord groups in a system that allows repeated names.
@Zethustra
"Now at midnight all the agents and the superhuman crew come out
and round up everyone that knows more than they do"-Dylan
and round up everyone that knows more than they do"-Dylan
I already get enough side stupid associated to me from openly admitting to marrying Mr. NoPants. I don't need to get flask for something LISAR@TITSOGTFO did.
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Just want to point out that you are making the assumption that a significant portion of the names on those inactive accounts are ones that players would actually want, as opposed to names like "sgfiller973", "asdf hjkl", or "RMTsite.com".|
Originally Posted by Electric-Knight
If these longtime absent customers don't return around the release of Going Rogue, I think we can afford to upset them on their unlikely later return by pilfering their names.
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I have no doubt that people are deluding themselves on how many actual good names would be freed up.
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Yeah, this is what people often say.|
Originally Posted by Forbin_Project
Just want to point out that you are making the assumption that a significant portion of the names on those inactive accounts are ones that players would actually want, as opposed to names like "sgfiller973", "asdf hjkl", or "RMTsite.com".
I have no doubt that people are deluding themselves on how many actual good names would be freed up. |
I'm not deluding myself about it.
There are some solid names that will never be used again by long dead inactive accounts of ex-customers who will never return and I see no reason in keeping it that way. That's all.
If it is a hassle and costs too many resources, then it's not worth it. I just doubt (standard code rant) that it's that costly. I could be wrong about that aspect though.
They made the name purge cap at... level 6 was it?
That's silly, in my opinion.
I think a full level purge... even of 4 years, would definitely open up some names.
Of course... they'd probably be gobbled up by alt-crazy vets and rarely played... but still... it'd be fun for some while it lasted.
@Zethustra
"Now at midnight all the agents and the superhuman crew come out
and round up everyone that knows more than they do"-Dylan
and round up everyone that knows more than they do"-Dylan
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Ok, here is a simple explanation. I see your character with the name Johnny Butane. I think it's a cool name so I create myself a character named Johnny Butane. Unfortunately for you I'm also an obnoxious racist jerk. I spend some time in broadcast telling racial jokes, cursing, calling people names, basically behaving like scum of the earth. Then I think to myself. "You know, Johnny Butane isn't such a cool name after all. I think I'll remake this guy as Johnny hot pants."|
Originally Posted by Johnny_Butane
Is it because they don't want someone having the same name as one of their characters? That seems a little shallow to me. If that bothers them, is seeing someone with the same name but with a period at the end OK then? That seems even more shallow.
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And then you either get to buy a rename for your character or spend a significant portion of the time you are playing that character getting rejected from teams, getting cursed out, getting ignored and getting petitioned all because of my actions.
Don't count your weasels before they pop dink!
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Originally Posted by Electric-Knight
Yeah, this is what people often say.
I'm not deluding myself about it. There are some solid names that will never be used again by long dead inactive accounts of ex-customers who will never return and I see no reason in keeping it that way. That's all. If it is a hassle and costs too many resources, then it's not worth it. I just doubt (standard code rant) that it's that costly. I could be wrong about that aspect though. They made the name purge cap at... level 6 was it? That's silly, in my opinion. I think a full level purge... even of 4 years, would definitely open up some names. Of course... they'd probably be gobbled up by alt-crazy vets and rarely played... but still... it'd be fun for some while it lasted. |
They already have a program they run that frees up names, and they can select the level range when they run it. The first time they did it, it was set up to level 35. They told us after that most of the names that were freed up were much lower so they set the range lower the second time they ran it.
They can run that program whenever they want and raise or lower the range as needed. While I have no objection to them running the program, I was just commenting that some people (not necessarily you) may have unrealistic expectations about what will happen when it gets run.
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Exactly. And because 99% of the players will turn off the "@thisnamelooks stupid", they aren't going to try to find out if the jerk that Ironblade (just using you as an example) saw mouthing off is "Johnny Butane@Mandu" or "Johnny Butane@Johnny_Butane". They are just going to ignore any character named Johnny Butane.
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Originally Posted by Mandu
And then you either get to buy a rename for your character or spend a significant portion of the time you are playing that character getting rejected from teams, getting cursed out, getting ignored and getting petitioned all because of my actions.
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this continues to be the lamest response.|
Originally Posted by Judas_Ace
I play on Virtue, Freedom and Champion. I don't have problems getting names.
People just need to use some intelligence and creativity (i.e. stop trying to be "Captain Shadow", "Midnight Hawk" or "Spawn of Darkness") and they'll find that there are plenty of good names. |
Sorry, but "Romgon the Orc" is a craptastic name.
Sorry, but "Reika Myanami" is not super hero sounding.
Stuff like Captain Shadow (okay I wouldnt use it, but thats besdies the point) is a typical Super Hero name.
People want their super hero names. And being an english based game, a lot of people want to stick to english.
Now, what they should do, is stop worring about people who's account have been inactive for a year, and free up their names. That would solve a lot of the problems.
BrandX Future Staff Fighter
The BrandX Collection
Personally, I don't care either way how this suggestion goes.
The @globalname part would look lame, but I would get used to it. Honestly, if the best you can think of is something like Amazing Man, Power Guy, or Dark Flame then you really need to work on your vocabulary.
On the other side...
A lot of people think their name is special and unique, when in reality it's not. Newsflash, if you(general you) thought of it, somebody else in your position either has already though of it too, or somebody will. To me the arguments against it are basically that people feel they should own things like ideas and names.
So my basic point is, it doesn't really matter because both sides are putting forth worthless arguments. What that really means is we all suck at life and should be ashamed.
in that other game there's an option to hide the @globalname in chat and team search.
The names being used in Preatoria aren't as bad as I thought they would be with the newbies. I was thinking I'd end up seeing a bunch of names with S P A C E S and numb3r5 in them.
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Lets talk about you and your actions in your made up scenerio. You go change your name to Johnny Hot Pants. You're still one starred by the people who say you spouting racist junk in broadcast. |
Originally Posted by Mandu
Ok, here is a simple explanation. I see your character with the name Johnny Butane. I think it's a cool name so I create myself a character named Johnny Butane. Unfortunately for you I'm also an obnoxious racist jerk. I spend some time in broadcast telling racial jokes, cursing, calling people names, basically behaving like scum of the earth. Then I think to myself. "You know, Johnny Butane isn't such a cool name after all. I think I'll remake this guy as Johnny hot pants."
And then you either get to buy a rename for your character or spend a significant portion of the time you are playing that character getting rejected from teams, getting cursed out, getting ignored and getting petitioned all because of my actions. |
If you misbehave in broadcast people can click on your name and report you by global, they can star you (which is tied to your global) or they can ignore you which might be by global.
This game has a system that lets us keep track of those who are jerks and those who are not. Players don't have to remember that johnny hot pants who was once jonny butune is a racist jerk, the game will keep a note of that for us.
I'd still like to know if someone else had the name beofre I went with it.
I don't suffer from altitis, I enjoy every minute of it.
Thank you Devs & Community people for a great game.
So sad to be ending ):
The Abrams is one of the most effective war machines on the planet. - R. Lee Ermy.
Q: How do you wreck an Abrams?
A: You crash into another one.