I have almost never ran into an already taken name since my first 6 months playing this game. That is also playing on Freedom, a few new ones:
(The)Biggest Army Needed(MM)
(The)Ground is Alive(Tanker)
Party Demons(MM)<--Not that new
Shadow in the Cracks(Stalker)
In my hoard
Captain Smashing
Flying Buttress
Professor HardKnocks
Unter Panzer
Incantos
Professor Incantos
Doc Cathode
Ohm Mega
Huntress Thompson
Jacqueline Tern
Straight Eight
Crooked Mick
There is a name I want that belongs to an inactive player. This player has long deactivated his account and is playing another comicbook MMO...When does his name become available?
He deactivated his account several years ago. and he decides to be an unsavory character and returns once a year to buy a month so no one takes his name (>_<)
http://s305.photobucket.com/albums/n...stumes%202011/
Quote:
Despite my previous post, I admit to making plenty of characters as well that fail the newspaper test. These, are more along the lines of heroes and villains one might encounter in The Tick or Mystery Men universes.|
Originally Posted by kamxam
I do agree that a good costume just isn't right sometimes without a good name to back it up.
My stone/fire tanker "Tectonic" has the stone and fire look and looks like a walking rock and woudn't sound right as "The Pebble" or something like that. I do have to admit i sometimes make names that i think are funny or keeping with the toon design at times. |
Here's my most prominent sillies:
I also have a couple that decided to forgo an actual super nickname and just stay with their "real" names, my most recent being this handsome and dashing young Sprite:
Quote:
IF the name policy script is run during a server maintenance (we have no notice if or when such a thing will happen), a name will be unreserved on the conditions:|
Originally Posted by Shadow Wail
There is a name I want that belongs to an inactive player. This player has long deactivated his account and is playing another comicbook MMO...When does his name become available?
He deactivated his account several years ago. and he decides to be an unsavory character and returns once a year to buy a month so no one takes his name (>_<) |
1. The character is level 5 or lower, and
2. The account owning the character has been deactivated for 90 days (either through payment expiration or account suspension).
Characters at level 6 and above will not have their names unreserved. On the flip side, the player you're talking about isn't sufficiently protecting himself by only coming back one month out of the year.
A character whose name becomes unreserved only loses anything if another player uses the name before that character is logged into again. If the player reactivates and logs into the character before someone else uses the name, nothing is lost.
If someone else does use the name, the character will lose its description, battle cry, all mail, membership in their SG, and their friends list. They will also be removed from other people's friends list, and emails from them will change the sender to "unknown".
NCSoft is obliged to tell us if these rules change, but not when the script is run. If you know for a fact that an inactive player holds a name you want and that character is lv5 or less, all you can do is try to take then name after their account goes inactive for 90 days. However, if the character is lv6 or higher, the only way to get that name is to make a plea to the player.
http://www.fimfiction.net/story/36641/My-Little-Exalt
I wasn't really implying that my names were "Good" or "the best ever" for everyone. I don't even like some of the names I come up with. 
When I was 10, I wanted to make a superhero named Comet Man. When I was 20, it was Aftermath. At 30, it was Euphoria. Now I'm approaching 40, and it's whatever sounds interesting and unique.
Most of my names are taken from songs, poems, books or just dialogue from tv and movies that sticks with me. So a lot of the iconic names I see and hear just kind of make me cringe sometimes. But that's just me.
The again, I just saw "Storm-" in Precinct 5.
And it's hilarious to see an NPC say, "I heard a lost teddy bear defeated Nemesis."
I'm just surprised that there hasn't been a single post yet in this thread to the effect of "Wow! I'm really surprised I managed to get (insert name here so obscure that perhaps only one or two other people who ever lived might have even briefly thought of it.)"
Quote:
Indeed, some names are fun just for the amusement of sticking the name into NPC dialog.|
Originally Posted by GibsonMcCoy
And it's hilarious to see an NPC say, "I heard a lost teddy bear defeated Nemesis."
|
Faultline: Hey, a fuzzy kitten! Wait up!
Kadabra Kill: What is a fuzzy kitten doing here?
Mindspider: Oh, it's a fuzzy kitten! I'll do them for free!
Fortunata: Oh, no! She sent a fuzzy kitten!
Dr. Aeon: a fuzzy kitten! AHHH! Where's my armor! Where's my armor!
Wolf Spider Enforcer: Calm down, girls. We'll show you how to deal with scum like a fuzzy kitten.
http://www.fimfiction.net/story/36641/My-Little-Exalt
I remember someone here mentioning a few years ago seeing, "Eek a Mouse! Run!"
And wasn't there an attempt to get a super group going where all the characters had the name of a destructable object from the Safeguard/Mayhem missions?
"Parking Meter has defeated Paladin."
Perhaps someone should make a character called An Inanimate Object. That could be good for a few chuckles.
Quote:
When my sister did equestrian events, there was always some joker who would "show name" their horse something like Wish I Was or If Only I Could Be.|
Originally Posted by Fleeting Whisper
Indeed, some names are fun just for the amusement of sticking the name into NPC dialog.
Faultline: Hey, a fuzzy kitten! Wait up! Kadabra Kill: What is a fuzzy kitten doing here? Mindspider: Oh, it's a fuzzy kitten! I'll do them for free! Fortunata: Oh, no! She sent a fuzzy kitten! Dr. Aeon: a fuzzy kitten! AHHH! Where's my armor! Where's my armor! Wolf Spider Enforcer: Calm down, girls. We'll show you how to deal with scum like a fuzzy kitten. |
"Now showing, number seven... My Dream Is To Be... owned and ridden by Sarah McDonald..."
Actually, one of my first ever toons i made at the start looks pretty much like that Thermo-Dynamic pic, except i named mine "The Red Lobster" and is a cold/cold blaster.
My primary version of Therm (Virtue) is a Dark/Dark Defender with his powers colored to look like heat powers. The Freedom version is a Fire/Rad Controller that I made for that weekly Fire/Rads night (which I have not done in a long time).
***A special note for those making the suggestion, "Just be more creative with your names."
Hellooo! (using a sutably silly voice) Rest assured I HAVE NO BLOODY PROBLEM making up character names. Been here a while... Haven't stopped making alts... to the point I have only 3 50's and a large number twixt 1-49. I am quite capable of making odd names, varriations on names, hyphenating normal names or just plain slightly misspelling them. Haven't ressorted to numbers yet unless you count a wee robotic toon called "Defense Unit 12"... So please stop with that argument. Not all those suggesting a more agressive stance vs names held on dead or mostly dead accounts have trouble making names, hyphening names, splitting names, slightly miss-spelling names or just plain being goofy with names. Some folks do and those of us that see fit to agree with them that it is indeed sad that they can't use names claimed and held by such accounts should not be villified and simply told off to go do what we've been doing for the last 1-7 years allready. Thank you very much.
My latest toon in fact to illustrate creativity and craziness in naming is a Rad blasting/Dark miasma "poofin" skunkish looking Corruptor named "Pepe' Le PewPewPew". Naming not a problem for me... okies?! I even can let pride go and just be silly.
Get it? Got it? Good.... 
(That's a winking grin emoticom by the way... remember the tone of the above is not overtly snarky but meant to be 'heard' as a humorous, "Slightly snarkey" tone.)
I merely replied to the OP with a sensible and fair solution to this long standing problem... issue... slight annoyance (depending on creativity and willingess to "Make do").
Baring rarities like that young fellow who hadn't played for 3 years but dearly loved his toon.... Most of thse names could be set free. There could always be a special petiton for such things. Something very resonable.
I personaly know 5 friends in victoria here alone that have played... theyre done for sure. They are not going to re-sub (pay cash) just to delete characters. Those names one Vic, Freedom and Virtue are Taken. TAKEN and they don't need to be. Mind you 3 of them at least are 50's and the CoH active players would be sheet outa luck with those even if a resoanble name unlocking proceedure existed. A draconian one would free them all up... the current one... is a foolishly low setting of level 6 or 14 tops accomplishes almost nothing for us. 14... as I've said before you can sneeze and get a toon to 14 these days. That's too darn low to leave all those names... correction. The Good the Bad and the Silly, in limbo on accounts that never get touched again, or don't after a number of years.
Anyway, my 2 cents.
Perhaps a grandfather clause for such names? A warning when you take them that a pre-existing but currently innactive account has a character on this server with that name and if they return your outa luck.
"This name is in use but on an innactive account. It will be given to you, and the innactive account will earn a free rename token. All this is done with the understanding that should that account reactivate and the name be petitioned by the owner of the elder character, you may loose it and gain a rename token of your own. With this in mind, do you still wish to enter game/tutorial with the current name selection? Yes? No?
I think that would be plenty fair. Perhaps too hard to set up? (shrug) I dunno! I went to art college not MIT.
Whatever the case. The argument I make isn't that all the "GOOD" names are taken needlessly. My beef is that that "ANY" name is taken, and kept locked out needlessly.
I'm merely suggesting that the current policy is far too generous to the absentees while needlesly penalizing active players.
Ok, forgive this old gal for rambling. Hope I haven't offended anyone.... much.
Cheers!
Heather aka @Roguedemonhunter
Quote:
|
Originally Posted by Fleeting Whisper
IF the name policy script is run during a server maintenance (we have no notice if or when such a thing will happen), a name will be unreserved on the conditions:
1. The character is level 5 or lower, and 2. The account owning the character has been deactivated for 90 days (either through payment expiration or account suspension). Characters at level 6 and above will not have their names unreserved. On the flip side, the player you're talking about isn't sufficiently protecting himself by only coming back one month out of the year. A character whose name becomes unreserved only loses anything if another player uses the name before that character is logged into again. If the player reactivates and logs into the character before someone else uses the name, nothing is lost. If someone else does use the name, the character will lose its description, battle cry, all mail, membership in their SG, and their friends list. They will also be removed from other people's friends list, and emails from them will change the sender to "unknown". NCSoft is obliged to tell us if these rules change, but not when the script is run. If you know for a fact that an inactive player holds a name you want and that character is lv5 or less, all you can do is try to take then name after their account goes inactive for 90 days. However, if the character is lv6 or higher, the only way to get that name is to make a plea to the player. |
The account has been inactive for about 3 years and the player hasnt even logged on...level 41.
http://s305.photobucket.com/albums/n...stumes%202011/
Agreeying on a stronger script for inactive accounts... Maybe be more severe if an account is not subbing and inactive over 3-4 months.
For making up original names... I also use history, legend, small stories and songs...
A small grip of my UNION toons...
Erzsebet Bathory
EIizabeth Bathory
Countess Bathory
Dutch Storm
Yim Wing-Chun
Siberian Sentry
GI Camouflage
Cher Nobyl
Uebermensch
Lilith Lamashtu
LiIith Lamashtu
Jack Wulfe
Shannon O'Banshee
Desert Princess
Caribean Queen
Marie Laveau
El Mariachi
Nancy Mesmer
Tarana
Dr. Silver
- The Italian Job: The Godfather Returns #1151
Beginner - Encounter a renewed age for the Mook and the Family when Emile Marcone escapes from the Zig!
- Along Came a... Bug!? #528482
Average - A new race of aliens arrives on Earth. And Vanguard has you investigate them!
- The Court of the Blood Countess: The Rise of the Blood Countess #3805
Advanced - Go back in time and witness the birth of a vampire. Follow her to key moments in her life in order to stop her! A story of intrigue, drama and horror! Blood & Violence... not recommend to solo!
Quote:
You act like that's significant when in fact from what the devs themselves told us that the name freeing program never included characters over 40. |
Originally Posted by Shadow Wail
The account has been inactive for about 3 years and the player hasnt even logged on...level 41.
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The handful of characters on inactive accounts that high in level have always been safe. And yes I said handful because when compared to all the number of all the characters ever made on all the accounts ever created, the number of inactive characters that are over 40 are only a tiny fraction of the inactive population.
Quote:
Hee! I've never done that, but I think I'll have to try something along those lines for my next characters. I need a new scrapper, and with the animal booster pack coming soon...
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Originally Posted by Fleeting Whisper
Indeed, some names are fun just for the amusement of sticking the name into NPC dialog.
Fortunata: Oh, no! She sent a fuzzy kitten! Dr. Aeon: a fuzzy kitten! AHHH! Where's my armor! Where's my armor! |
Arc#314490: Zombie Ninja Pirates!
Defiant @Grouchybeast
Death is part of my attack chain.
Quote:
A friend of mine and I made an SG and a bunch of characters based on how funny it would be to see their names in NPC chat. Our SG is suggestive of "the oldest profession," named "Nymphs of the Pavement." My character is "You Bawdy Bimbo." Through 43 levels, it is still funny to see an NPC say something like, "You Bawdy Bimbo, you saved me!"|
Originally Posted by Fleeting Whisper
Indeed, some names are fun just for the amusement of sticking the name into NPC dialog.
Faultline: Hey, a fuzzy kitten! Wait up! Kadabra Kill: What is a fuzzy kitten doing here? Mindspider: Oh, it's a fuzzy kitten! I'll do them for free! Fortunata: Oh, no! She sent a fuzzy kitten! Dr. Aeon: a fuzzy kitten! AHHH! Where's my armor! Where's my armor! Wolf Spider Enforcer: Calm down, girls. We'll show you how to deal with scum like a fuzzy kitten. |
I love to come up with names that amuse me in some way. Most are puns, but some are subtle references that very few people will get. For that reason, I consider it to be a challenge to my creativity to come up with a name that nobody else has thought of (or at least used).
On the other hand, there are a lot of good names locked up on characters that nobody will ever play again. I don't like the idea of freeing up names after as few as 3-4 months, because recently I have seen several people come back to the game after a year or more. One person on my global re-subs during vacation from college/grad school, but then lets her subscription lapse while school is in session.
A better choice might be to free up names for characters under level 20 on accounts that have been inactive for maybe two years. That sounds pretty reasonable. Level 20 has become a significant level, so it seems to be a good cut-off point.
LOCAL MAN! The most famous hero of all. There are more newspaper stories about me than anyone else. "Local Man wins Medal of Honor." "Local Man opens Animal Shelter." "Local Man Charged with..." (Um, forget about that one.)
Guide Links: Earth/Rad Guide, Illusion/Rad Guide, Electric Control
OR, The original owner of the name is sent an e-mail saying that unless they resub if on an inactive account, the name/s they have will be freed, (unless over 40) and a name token will be given. If they come back, fine and dandy, if not then the name is given up. Or something along those lines...
If already subscribed, then no changes.
Quote:
The character is over level 5. Therefore, until and unless Paragon Studios changes their name policy, the character's name is safe forever.
|
Originally Posted by Shadow Wail
The account has been inactive for about 3 years and the player hasnt even logged on...level 41.
|
http://www.fimfiction.net/story/36641/My-Little-Exalt
Quote:
OOORRRRR after 120 days, NCSoft just auctions off your account.|
Originally Posted by kamxam
OR, The original owner of the name is sent an e-mail saying that unless they resub if on an inactive account, the name/s they have will be freed...
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"Lot #2311 is this account with a Lvl 23 Tank on Freedom named Ice Girl! Do I hear $15 for this account?..."
Ca-CHING!!
I thought the devs said any time they'd do a name scrub they'd give the community a 90-day notice before running the script. Has that changed? The last massive scrub I'm aware of happened in 2007 and I got nearly every name that was on my Want List. I wish they'd do it again.
Legion of Valor / Fallen Legion (Victory server)
http://legionofvalor.guildportal.com / http://fallenlegion.guildportal.com
Pagan Priest - L50 Dark/Dark Defender
Quote:
I posted an origin for my character Frostfire (which I played back in the 80's via the Champions pen & paper game) on the forum boards they had up before the game ever launched. By the time I realized the game was out and I joined up, I found that the game had made the character theirs and he was now a villain in The Hollows. I'm not saying they stole the name or the character, maybe they had thought of it on their own. There are times I come up with a name and I think to myself nobody has come up with this I bet! Then of course when I go to reserve it, it's unavaible. It was slightly disappointing however to find I couldn't make my character. I did however snag Firefrost so I did get to make him after all.
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Originally Posted by Ironblade
I'm pretty sure at least some of them are. There was a story a while back how someone with the name Frostfire got generic'ed. He appealed the decision and got his name back due to the fact that he had the name FIRST (before the NPC was introduced to the game).
|
Legion of Valor / Fallen Legion (Victory server)
http://legionofvalor.guildportal.com / http://fallenlegion.guildportal.com
Pagan Priest - L50 Dark/Dark Defender
Quote:
LOL, I played a character named Frostfire in Champions as well. |
Originally Posted by Pagan Priest
I posted an origin for my character Frostfire (which I played back in the 80's via the Champions pen & paper game) on the forum boards they had up before the game ever launched. By the time I realized the game was out and I joined up, I found that the game had made the character theirs and he was now a villain in The Hollows. I'm not saying they stole the name or the character, maybe they had thought of it on their own. There are times I come up with a name and I think to myself nobody has come up with this I bet! Then of course when I go to reserve it, it's unavaible. It was slightly disappointing however to find I couldn't make my character. I did however snag Firefrost so I did get to make him after all.
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I was rather bummed when I got generic'ed not longer after creation.
I find your lack of signature disturbing.
I do agree that a good costume just isn't right sometimes without a good name to back it up.
My stone/fire tanker "Tectonic" has the stone and fire look and looks like a walking rock and woudn't sound right as "The Pebble" or something like that.
I do have to admit i sometimes make names that i think are funny or keeping with the toon design at times.
Examples:
Creme DeMenthe-Archer/Kin
The Heifer-(A literal Cowgirl)-SS/SR Brute
Fly Girl-Rad/Rad Controller-Has the insect look and likes to Bug people.
The Salamander-Energy/Inv brute
The Embalmer-Undead MM with zombies
My latest toon i'm still working on the concept but wanted to get the name if i could. Named it "Mission Completed" so every time anyone finshes up something my name will be there...