Character name sweep for Freedom?
By
Afterimage,
Posted on: 2011-06-24 21:40 in CoH and CoV General Discussions
I'd just like to welcome every one to our THIRD thread on this subject this week.
Captain Den'Rath 53* Merk/Traps MM, Rivona 50Energy Blast/Time Cor,Victoria Von Heilwig 53* Dual Pistols/Traps Cor, Crab Spider Webguard 53* SOA, Accela 53* Bot/FF MM,Valkyrie's Executor 53* Broadsword/Shield Def Scrap. On FREEDOM! @Knight Of Bronze
"Hypocrisy, the human inherent." "Let not this work be wasted, apply yourself always."
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Thank you very much. I feel all warm and fuzzy inside due to your added hospitality. |
Originally Posted by Bronze Knight
I'd just like to welcome every one to our THIRD thread on this subject this week.
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My new Youtube Channel with CoH info
You might know me as FlintEastwood now on Freedom
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Originally Posted by JayboH
Thank you very much. I feel all warm and fuzzy inside due to your added hospitality.
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You my good sir are welcome.
I will say again that the only thing necessary to resolve the naming problem is the proper application of creativity.
Captain Den'Rath 53* Merk/Traps MM, Rivona 50Energy Blast/Time Cor,Victoria Von Heilwig 53* Dual Pistols/Traps Cor, Crab Spider Webguard 53* SOA, Accela 53* Bot/FF MM,Valkyrie's Executor 53* Broadsword/Shield Def Scrap. On FREEDOM! @Knight Of Bronze
"Hypocrisy, the human inherent." "Let not this work be wasted, apply yourself always."
...after the last name sweep which was years ago, I've even spent time looking through a thesaurus on occasion and still come up with names that someone else also thought of.
My new Youtube Channel with CoH info
You might know me as FlintEastwood now on Freedom
<--- Still has no trouble finding names.
Freedom is my main server; I have tons of alts there. I hardly ever have trouble at all finding names.
Arc ID: 348998 - Becoming a villain
Arc ID: 373341 - To Save a Hero
Got Inf?
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My brother JUST got the name 'Character' on Freedom. If a simple name like that was sitting around, you folks just are NOT being creative enough. Seriosuly.
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Originally Posted by JayboH
Oh please do this.
Players, if you thought finding a name that hasn't been taken a problem before, you haven't seen anything yet. Better start getting ready to add numbers to your names. |
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On occassion? I spend HOURS looking through thesauruses, translators and Wikis and what have you to plan some names before I ever try one. Because I LIKE to... not because I think I need to. Lately, I have always gotten the first name I try... and it's one I like. As a rule, I NEVER use numbers in my name (unless it actually makes sense, like for my Clockwork and Malta characters), alter spelling aside from in a visually appealing way, use superfluous punctuation, or swapping letters (like a capital I for a lowercase L).|
Originally Posted by JayboH
...after the last name sweep which was years ago, I've even spent time looking through a thesaurus on occasion and still come up with names that someone else also thought of.
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(Granted, I don't play on Freedom, but I DO play on Justice and Infinity, which I believe are still around number 3 and 4 in terms of population.)
Now that everyone will have an active account, whether they pay or not, I doubt they'll ever run the name script again. You're just going to have to suck it up and get creative; the names that are taken are off the table, unless you can get a hold of the owner and they are agreeable.
@Murphy's Lawyer
@Murphy's 2nd Law
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Originally Posted by JayboH
Oh please do this.
Players, if you thought finding a name that hasn't been taken a problem before, you haven't seen anything yet. Better start getting ready to add numbers to your names. |
We've been told they aren't going to do a name purge.
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Originally Posted by Zwillinger
We are following this thread and taking your feedback into account all.
However, to be perfectly clear: We are not currently planning another name purge in the near future. There are reasons for this, which I am not at liberty to discuss at the moment. |
http://boards.cityofheroes.com/showpost.php?p=3690577&postcount=221
Said it before and I'll say it again, I'd far rather they did a global name purge first. But I doubt it will ever happen. 
@Dante EU - Union Roleplayer and Altisis Victim
The Militia: Union RP Supergroup - www.themilitia.org.uk
I could get behind a Global Name Purge, even though it wouldn't affect me. Wipe the globals off any account that's been inactive for 12 months or more, and grant everyone a global rename token. If the people who have been inactive for a long time come back, their global is set to the name of the first character they log in, and they can change it later, just like what happens to a new account.
Just don't purge the Globals of active or recently inactive accounts.
Names are quite possibly going to be a difficulty under the Free to Play model. I suspect that this will be fixed by allowing non-unique names. If I'm right, I'm not sure what I'll think about that change.
@Roderick
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And if we didn't think finding a name that hasn't been take was a problem before or at any point in the game's history? Then what?|
Originally Posted by JayboH
Players, if you thought finding a name that hasn't been taken a problem before, you haven't seen anything yet.
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I hate to be the jerkass here, but whenever these threads come up and we get down to the nitty-gritty, it's never a question of not being able to find names, good names, appropriate names or interesting names, it's about not being able to use SPECIFIC names that are both obvious (and so obvious to others who've already used them) and part of a needlessly restrictive naming practice, like Something Person.
That's not to say I'm against rerunning the name purge script again. That IS to say that I don't want it to be made any more strict or severe.
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Originally Posted by Arcanaville
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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I think this is backwards. I don't think that the free-to-play players will grab all the good names. I think that the FTP players will create an account, download the software and then run in to a brick wall when they try to think up a name for their new character.
First they will discover that Spider-Man and most of the variations are blocked. Then they will discover that more generic name like Fireman and Iceguy have been taken. And after an hour of having names rejected by the system, they will either quit without playing, or will name their characters something like asdfghjkl or Scrapper999.
Frankly, the other super-hero game's naming system, which allows duplicate names by attaching the user's ID as a suffix, is much friendlier to the FTP model. I would be surprised if the developers haven't thought of this already. I expect to see changes to the naming system here before FTP goes live.
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Guess. Go ahead. I'll wait.|
Originally Posted by Samuel_Tow
And if we didn't think finding a name that hasn't been take was a problem before or at any point in the game's history? Then what?
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I love the idea of asking a question and getting attacked as a vet and by other vets. It shows what the new influx of players will be up against when they are not asking me questions, as I won't do that to them.
Thanks for the link Forbin - Zwill makes it sound like there is more info coming - perhaps account labels will be added to our names?
My new Youtube Channel with CoH info
You might know me as FlintEastwood now on Freedom
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I've seen a friend of mine try to name his characters in Aion, and he was apparently stuck. He kept coming up with names that I could tell him off-hand would be taken before he even tried them in the game. And I was right every time. The names he tried? Things like "Thor," "Legolas," "Superman," "Michael Jackson" and so forth. I never saw him give up in frustration or use a random symbols name, though, he just ended up with a stupid name a lot of the times.
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Originally Posted by Afterimage
First they will discover that Spider-Man and most of the variations are blocked. Then they will discover that more generic name like Fireman and Iceguy have been taken. And after an hour of having names rejected by the system, they will either quit without playing, or will name their characters something like asdfghjkl or Scrapper999.
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Originally Posted by Arcanaville
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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Yeah it could mean a couple of things. Maybe they have changes planned, maybe they anticipate a bunch of returning players and don't want them to find a bunch of name genericed characters.|
Originally Posted by JayboH
Thanks for the link Forbin - Zwill makes it sound like there is more info coming - perhaps account labels will be added to our names?
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Who knows.
Personally I love having unique names but I can understand that switching to a hybrid F2P model may result in their changing that.
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While I'm firmly in the "Coming up with decent names is not difficult" camp, I'm not going to make that argument. Instead, I'm going to point out two things:|
Originally Posted by JayboH
Thanks for the link Forbin - Zwill makes it sound like there is more info coming - perhaps account labels will be added to our names?
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1. Global-wise (while not directly part of your point, it does get brought up,) they've already done a great service by renaming trial accounts with @random [TRIAL] as a global.
2. Ideally Freedom will bring back Premium players (having played and paid in the past, they'll never be just "free" players.) They want to keep them and re-convert them, ideally, to VIP... or at least give them reason to keep giving NC money. Which makes the name wipe, to me, even more unlikely. (And remember, if you will, I was arguing in favor of it... oh, within the past week.) Having the names still there is just an extra "Keep playing, start paying" nudge.
3. Account handles, I still think are an ugly kludge. But if they do go that way... *shrug* I won't quit over it.
On Freedom I got Sneakers, who only wears plain clothes and has a bio of "Tights are for sissies," and Mousetraps(Bots/traps) where I named all of the bots after cheeses.
Just to expand a little on what Memphis_Bill said, a good number of our Premium and F2P players could be those returning to the game after a lengthy absence. Many of those names unavailable to us may be dusted off and used by the returning players. So a name purge could actually discourage older players from returning.
Check out my "Rule Britannia" series if you feel like something different. The arcs are #19599, #20575, #23977, #134775, #134923 and #144543. The series is complete, but spinoffs are in the works.
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You ask a question, I ask a counter-question and you come back with a passive-aggressive "Oh, woe is me!" personal attack. And then you say you won't "do that" to new players? Because, what? Being passive-aggressive and turning their questions into accusations is better than giving them an alternate view point?|
Originally Posted by JayboH
I love the idea of asking a question and getting attacked as a vet and by other vets. It shows what the new influx of players will be up against when they are not asking me questions, as I won't do that to them.
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Yeah, something tells me I'll be nicer to new players than you'll be.
*edit*
Also, I DID answer your question, which you would have noticed had you read past the first sentence:
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Originally Posted by Samuel_Tow
That's not to say I'm against rerunning the name purge script again. That IS to say that I don't want it to be made any more strict or severe.
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Originally Posted by Arcanaville
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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That post wasn't to you. The sentence after your quote was to you only, and it was after reading your entire post. That's still my question. Now however you have gone ahead and twisted things. Good job buddy.
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Originally Posted by Samuel_Tow
You ask a question, I ask a counter-question and you come back with a passive-aggressive "Oh, woe is me!" personal attack. And then you say you won't "do that" to new players? Because, what? Being passive-aggressive and turning their questions into accusations is better than giving them an alternate view point?
Yeah, something tells me I'll be nicer to new players than you'll be. *edit* Also, I DID answer your question, which you would have noticed had you read past the first sentence: |
My new Youtube Channel with CoH info
You might know me as FlintEastwood now on Freedom
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A brazen admission.|
Originally Posted by Samuel_Tow
I hate to be the jerkass here
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| , but whenever these threads come up and we get down to the nitty-gritty, it's never a question of not being able to find names, good names, appropriate names or interesting names, it's about not being able to use SPECIFIC names that are both obvious (and so obvious to others who've already used them) and part of a needlessly restrictive naming practice, like Something Person. |
The real problem, I'd say, is that a name purge doesn't necessarily help anyone running into name troubles.
Goodbye may seem forever
Farewell is like the end
But in my heart's the memory
And there you'll always be
-- The Fox and the Hound
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Maybe we should clarify, just in case - I was referring to the COH Freedom and not the server, but perhaps you are doing the same - just checking.
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Originally Posted by Amy_Amp
On Freedom I got Sneakers, who only wears plain clothes and has a bio of "Tights are for sissies," and Mousetraps(Bots/traps) where I named all of the bots after cheeses.
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My new Youtube Channel with CoH info
You might know me as FlintEastwood now on Freedom
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Given that they want to encourage anyone who has tried the game to come back and play it I am expecting that this will never happen.|
Originally Posted by JayboH
Oh please do this.
Players, if you thought finding a name that hasn't been taken a problem before, you haven't seen anything yet. Better start getting ready to add numbers to your names. |
Your better off pushing for the unique name restriction being lifted. And letting say 100 people on the same server run around with the name Bob The Mighty if they want.
And yes I know some people don't like that but it is more likely to happen than a name purge.
But it's MY sadistic mechanical monster and I'm here to make sure it knows it. - Girl Genius
List of Invention Guides
Oh please do this.
Players, if you thought finding a name that hasn't been taken a problem before, you haven't seen anything yet.
Better start getting ready to add numbers to your names.
My new Youtube Channel with CoH info
You might know me as FlintEastwood now on Freedom