So with the Retirement of Free Trials...

Now that Free Trials are done with, can we have the names on them released? There really is no point in locking names behind accounts that will never see the light of day again.

And before you try to say that all the names on all trial accounts are crappy names generated by RMT scammers, I hope you realize that you are lying to yourself. Tons of people try out the game on Trial Accounts and make characters with decent names. After Trial Accounts had their Global Names purged, when /getglobalname is used, you could see that there are some pretty great names locked behind Trial Accounts, and not just RMT Scammer names.

If these people aren't going to be using these, why can't you just release them? They never made it past level 14 and never belonged to a paying customer anyways!

The problem with that idea is that they're just retiring the creation of NEW trial accounts. With the free/premium/VIP setup coming in Freedom, there's nothing to stop one of those trial players coming back, firing up that old trial account and starting one of those characters up again.

Would deleting them wholesale because they're 'just a trial' be equitable?

Possibly more importantly, I can't see Paragon Studios shutting off a potential revenue stream when they're heading for a free/hybrid pay model.

I still fully support the suggestion that, yes, trials more than 90 (or if we want to be generous 180) days old, before Freedom launches, have names marked as available. They don't *lose* the names if they come back, and they're all marked as @[TRIAL] accounts. But if someone wants to use one of the names there... why should a 4 year old *TRIAL* account have a name? If someone didn't convert over, it's REALLY doubtful they'll come back or remember that account *now.*

See my Guides and Tutorials

I think this should be done AFTER Freedom launches. A few months delay has the potential to bring in more players. We can't guess how many people who had trial accounts will be itching to come back now that they can play for free. And when I say, "We can't guess how many...", it could be thousands or it could be zero.

What this game really needs is a non-unique naming system. Especially with the large influx of new players coming with Freedom, the need for a non-unique system grows with every new character rolled.

Ey, now don't start THAT again!

That's another whole discussion, that took place in a different topic. While I agree that a global naming system would probably be the best idea considering all VIPs will be getting a free character transfer a month, some people are very attached to their names and don't wish to see another player's version of said name.

Personally, I would prefer Memphis_Bill's idea.

Isn't part of the point of Freedom to lure back old players - even the trial players?

Blood Widow Ricki * Tide Shifter * T-34 * Opposite Reaction * Shaolin Midnight * ChernobylCheerleader

Entropy Legion * Hyperion Force * Hero Heights

Hope to God not.

Hope to God not.

Why one earth would it need that? Did one of the Supermen tell you that? Ignore them; they're all clones.

Most likely it was one of the Green Lanterns or even a Flash that told them this. Maybe even a Robin.

As much as I would love to see it, I highly doubt that a feature like this will be in for the launch of CoH: Freedom or even in any upcomign issues post CoH: Freedom. Seeing as Freedom is in open beta right now, or VIP beta as the devs like to call it , and a change like this isn't even in it. I just don't see it happening in the forseeable future for this game. Then again, the devs still might have a trick or two up their sleeves, but I honestly think the content we have in beta is the content that will go live when CoH: Freedom launches.

Well at least Paragon Studios isn't going to do what SOE did when they did a server merge on DC Universe Online.

No doing it after Freedom launches is a very good idea.

I suggest no earlier than January 1st, 2525. That'll give the devs 514 years to get the feature perfected.

It's true that players do come back all the time.....even the ones gone for years.

The problem at the same time however, are the former players who have names that people want, but have been gone for years and have no intention of returning.

Example: I've added the name Intense to my friend list in hopes that I can one day meet him/her to try to get that name. That was way back in 2006, and that character has still not logged on. At anytime of the day (or night).

I know, right? How long has it been? a week? Two?

Couldnt agree more. Last time I checked there are 3 other Zach's where I work. I certainly wont mind if I run into another hero with the same name as one of mine.

Not so long ago, in a thread very similar about naming purges, a red name (Zwil iirc) popped in and said something similar to 'for reasons I can't explain, Paragon wont be running a name purge script in foreseeable future".

My guess at that statement is that there might be another name convention that makes purges a waste of time.

Of course it could also mean, 'suck it up buttercups', the name system is here to stay and we wont be purging names.

Or after the merge of EU and US servers, they might consider it too dangerous to go any where near that codebase again.

But my 100 inf bet is on it (naming system) changing within 12 months.

Tex, I said nothing. Okay?

NUH-THING.

DING! DING! DING!

We have a winner ladies and germs.

As I stated in a global channel earlier tonight, I'm not Tex, he's a redname.

I'm simply TJ.






It's bad enough people get confused with characters of the same name, but when they confuse people with different names, well, that's just going too far.

I blame GreenLantern69.


















*where's the brain bleach for the mental imagery that name brings?*

This is what I feel Zwillinger meant when he posted about no more name purges. Part of CoH Freedom is to lure back former players into the game. Makes no sense to wipe out the names on inactive accounts, invite people to come back, and have to deal with upset customers asking why the names to their characters are gone.