character names suggestion - names like titles

I was looking for an official 'game suggestion' feedback place and this seems appropriate.

Many players feel that too many 'good' names are already taken, including names assigned to currently inactive trial accounts and such. When trying to build a character around a 'themed' name, people can find this discouraging. There have been many threads about this topic so there are some strong feelings regarding it out there.

I wanted to offer a suggestion to development: for character name display to be configured more like how titles currently are.

Currently a number of optional titles can be displayed or not. It may be interesting to add toggles for 'hide surname' and/or 'hide firstname' for a particular character, at the player's option.

Other players could be given an option to 'always force display of full name' for all characters if they felt it necessary. Having the pocket D bird or equivalent handle both this and the name hiding feature could make it easier to implement, and less confusing for new players.

If another player with the same 'main' character name logs in, that character is forced to display the full name. The original character would then also be forced up to full name display the next time it changes zone -- this limits 'name checking' overhead to when a player is zoning and doing heavy data exchange anyway. If a hidden name character zones and there are no hits (when you log out it would clear the name from the list) then it would revert to 'main' name again.

So, in such a system, if I wanted just the name 'Champion' but it is taken I might use 'Champion for Freedom' instead and set it to hide the surname. Then as long as no one else logs on a 'Champion' hidden name flagged character, most people would only see 'Champion' for my character's name, and NPCs would address my character as such.

This is a kind of compromise option between the current system 'all names must be totally unique' and an alternative like name@globalname that has been suggested in the past.

Oh good, this thread again.

...Was going to be my initial reaction, but you seem to be new, so instead I'll say that this suggestion comes up often, and is often shot down for the following reason:

No. I want to be unique. I don't care if my global is hidden, I don't care if I never run into another character with the same name, I want my characters to have unique names on their server. If there were some other dude going around calling himself Wolverine, you'd better believe Logan would head on over and give the dude a well-deserved beatin' (or worse). Never mind the potential for griefing (copy the costume of someone you don't like, use the same name, log on when they're not on, act like an unrepentant jerk, ???, profit!).

There are plenty of good names available. Yes, the "obvious" ones are pretty much all taken, but it doesn't require being that creative to name a character. There was just a thread about this, although apparently it was on one of the other subforums as I don't see it here (although I am being lazy and not checking thoroughly; sue me, I'm getting ready to go to bed), and I saw somebody make a number of suggestions for ways to name characters. Among them: referencing song titles/lyrics, famous quotes, puns based on the aforementioned, and that's just for starters.

Sadly I expect the devs may eventually end up having to do this post-Freedom. Before that, they at least would have had the option of wiping out trial accounts, if nothing else, but with a F2P model (okay, hybrid model), you can't wipe out anything ever. Makes me think people will start making free accounts solely for name-camping.

yeah, I'm aware that there is a portion of the userbase that is extremely hostile to any sort of change. I'm not interested in another myway-yourway discussion, and don't disagree on all points anyway. This is just an idea about a particular alternative way to address what many people consider to be a problem, if they are so inclined. So I posted it in the 'suggestions and ideas' section.

I don't think it likely for anything to change in the near future, but thought this was an interesting idea if one starts from the premise that some sort of change will probably happen eventually.

Oh yay! This again! Weeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeee!!!! ^_^

*switches from beating the poor dead equine to pricking it with a fork*

Bit of advice, when posting in the notorious suggestions forum, prepare for the worst and try not to get defensive of your suggestion, it only eggs on the... less respectful posters.

That said, I still haven't felt a need for this in 6 years. I've always been able to come up with something that fits, even if it takes a few tries.
For that matter, I feel the way it is now actually has positive results, when I have a new concept and try for the 1st name that comes to mind, it's usually taken. Which forces me to get creative, a process when looking back, produces more memorable/enjoyable toons for me.

Besides that, it really isn't that hard to grab great names on any server still. Just the other day I reserved Steam King and Pyro Patriot on Virtue no less. Those were 2 I felt confident would be taken long ago, yet was overjoyed to see they were free.

I have to say no to this for the exact reason spelled out by DarkGob, Even if we can hide the global etc, I like being the 'only' Mr. Mystical on Virtue. When players see that name in broadcast or help, they know it's me, and not yet another guy that wanted to be Captain Amazing Man.
Not to mention the griefing that would be guaranteed by people copying just to ruin reputations.

"Oh no, it's Batman!"

"Look out, it's one of the Batmen!"

Which one implies more fear and/or respect of the character in question?

If Batman was just one of dozens of guys running around calling himself that, he wouldn't be nearly he iconic character he is today.

Lets keep our names unique please. You don't see a bunch of completely unrelated characters with the same name in comic books, I'd rather not see it here either.

The various Green Lanterns and Flashes and such are all related by storyline, there is something connecting all of them together. I mention this because there is always someone who brings them up. There is a difference between 2 characters who have a valid storyline-based reason to have the same name and 2 completely random individuals who just wanted the same name. Just because my character uses a baseball bat doesn't mean he should be allowed to call himself Batman.

Some of the more common criminals actually do believe that Batman is just one of many Batmen, but this is probably just a coping mechanism because if they accepted the fact that it's just one man who does all this they'd have a mental breakdown.