Character Name Renewal coming on November 12, 2013

[WarpedAcorn]

On topic, it's a good thing for the game. So many names go to waste because people like myself spam that login button on launch claiming all the good names and then never use them.

Full disclosure, I did this in SWTOR. On the plus side I did actually end up playing most all of my characters fairly regularly. When the server merges came I lost half my names (fortunately I managed to keep Entropi which is one of the main characters I play).

I have mixed feelings about running into people who have a name I used to use though...

[anyaka21]

So what do you think?

I don't have an issue with this for any mmo. Hell, I don't have an issue with my WoW names disappearing since I haven't played the game for 2 years either. Why would I care about a name on a toon I don't play any more. If someone wants my name, they can have it.

This isn't about pissing off customers because obviously those customers aren't playing that or those toons anyways. This is a good plan

[Achaman]

kinda douchy but i do have multiple chars on multiple servers just for the name where as two i actually use and im pretty sure my agent is above 30 which sucks as id like to rename it

kinda sucks its not for all chars but then my sith sorc has an awesome name

[notorious98]

I wonder why it is so hard for people to create their own unique name instead of trying to take away other's.

I wonder why it is so hard for MMO companies to allow more than one player on the same server to use the same name while still being able to individualize them.

[Edge-]

I wonder why it is so hard for MMO companies to allow more than one player on the same server to use the same name while still being able to individualize them.

Because character names are tied to the characters themselves, meaning any duplicate names would cause the system to freak the fuck out because it wouldn't know which character was being specified.

There are ways around it though. Cryptic avoids this in their MMO's by tying account names to characters rather than the other way around. So you can have a million xXxLegolazzxXx's, because you're not sending a tell to xXxLegolazzxXx, you're sending a tell to Sexytime69, who happens to be playing the character xXxLegolazzxXx.

I wish more MMO's would do this as I truly loathe losing out on the few character names I actually use, especially since none of them are common.

[RohanV]

Because character names are tied to the characters themselves, meaning any duplicate names would cause the system to freak the fuck out because it wouldn't know which character was being specified.

There are ways around it though. Cryptic avoids this in their MMO's by tying account names to characters rather than the other way around. So you can have a million xXxLegolazzxXx's, because you're not sending a tell to xXxLegolazzxXx, you're sending a tell to Sexytime69, who happens to be playing the character xXxLegolazzxXx.

I wish more MMO's would do this as I truly loathe losing out on the few character names I actually use, especially since none of them are common.

I like FFXIV's solution of having an explicit first and last name. Since the combination must be unique, you can have two people running around with the same first name. Personally, I think a first and last name looks better than Cryptic's solution, and feels more natural. It also avoids explicitly tying characters to accounts, which a lot of people don't like, because of privacy concerns.

[Verain]

I have a top tier name on an alt ("Violet") that somehow carried over through the merges, and honestly, that fact has kept me interested in the game. When I logged on to see "Verain" renamed to somthing like "Verainay" as part of a Warhammer realm merge, I logged back out and that was it.

Currently I'm subbed so I don't think it will affect me? I wish I had time to play tor right now though, and I just don't.

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There are ways around it though. Cryptic avoids this in their MMO's by tying account names to characters rather than the other way around. So you can have a million xXxLegolazzxXx's, because you're not sending a tell to xXxLegolazzxXx, you're sending a tell to Sexytime69, who happens to be playing the character xXxLegolazzxXx.

I generally dislike this method, actually. It makes me feel like not my character- and of course, your account name could easily be awful, and then you appear that way in chat.

[Capt Froggy]

One of the reasons I left SWTOR was because I was hoping they fix/change some things that needed to be fixed. I put alot of effort in my characters and spent some money on this game. Waiting patiently to come back. But if my names get taken, then there will be no reason for me to come back.

I understand the reasoning behind taking the names back, two fold, you free up names, and try to get older players to return. I understand it, but dont like it.

I guess that means Im done with this game.

[Stormcall]

One of the reasons I left SWTOR was because I was hoping they fix/change some things that needed to be fixed. I put alot of effort in my characters and spent some money on this game. Waiting patiently to come back. But if my names get taken, then there will be no reason for me to come back.

I understand the reasoning behind taking the names back, two fold, you free up names, and try to get older players to return. I understand it, but dont like it.

I guess that means Im done with this game.

Umm, log into the game on your characters, and there is NO RISK AT ALL of your name getting taken? Did people not read that part? The characters only become flagged for renaming if you haven't logged into them in 60 days(or longer, for preferred players, and not at all if you're subbed). So log into your damn toons for 10 seconds, and your name is safe.

[moff]

I guess that means Im done with this game.

If your interest in the game is so low, that you wont even log in right now for one second to save your names, I doubt you wold ever have come back

[notorious98]

Because character names are tied to the characters themselves, meaning any duplicate names would cause the system to freak the fuck out because it wouldn't know which character was being specified.

There are ways around it though. Cryptic avoids this in their MMO's by tying account names to characters rather than the other way around. So you can have a million xXxLegolazzxXx's, because you're not sending a tell to xXxLegolazzxXx, you're sending a tell to Sexytime69, who happens to be playing the character xXxLegolazzxXx.

I wish more MMO's would do this as I truly loathe losing out on the few character names I actually use, especially since none of them are common.

Um, that's not a way around it. It's doing exactly what I wish they would do. Meaning it CAN be done. It just, usually, isn't.

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One of the reasons I left SWTOR was because I was hoping they fix/change some things that needed to be fixed. I put alot of effort in my characters and spent some money on this game. Waiting patiently to come back. But if my names get taken, then there will be no reason for me to come back.

I understand the reasoning behind taking the names back, two fold, you free up names, and try to get older players to return. I understand it, but dont like it.

I guess that means Im done with this game.

Honestly, this is just a bitch session post in order to bitch. Personally, I don't care if I lose my names because I don't think I'll come back. But to piss and moan about something that you could easily take some time out to do is ridiculous. If THIS is what makes you done with the game, you were done with the game long before this bit of news came around.

I mean, honestly, what are you waiting for them to fix? They've fixed pretty much everything they're going to fix or change. If you're waiting for space combat, it's coming soon enough that logging in to save your names makes sense. But, like I said, you're just bitching to bitch at this point.

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I generally dislike this method, actually. It makes me feel like not my character- and of course, your account name could easily be awful, and then you appear that way in chat.

It's a much better solution than unique names for every toon. If you're looking for immersion, nothing destroys it more than seeing a name like xXxLegolazzxXx.

[hailey]

I don't see why a character over level 30 would ever get its name changed. I guess it's to lure people into playing the game to renew their name, but personally losing my character names ensures I never log into this game ever again.

[Hyve]

There are many good reasons for this, but the first thing that popped into my mind is, this'll cause a surge of players to revisit the game, even for a moment.

Some of them may be attracted to stay for a while, remembering the good times they had, but overall, it'll look good on paper as well for their investors, the company profile and game longevity.

[moff]

There are many good reasons for this, but the first thing that popped into my mind is, this'll cause a surge of players to revisit the game, even for a moment.

Some of them may be attracted to stay for a while, remembering the good times they had, but overall, it'll look good on paper as well for their investors, the company profile and game longevity.

even though thats certainly true, I still dont see
a) a better way to do this (and its a good thing)
b) any harm in it

[Arlee]

The only real downside on this is for the preferred accounts who were once subbed and have more characters than they are allowed to have on their account. They can't log into their inactive characters to protect them without giving Bioware money somewhere. I don't think it's a huge deal, but I could see how they could be a bit miffed.

[Verain]

It's a much better solution than unique names for every toon. If you're looking for immersion, nothing destroys it more than seeing a name like xXxLegolazzxXx.

I would argue that in your example, the account name of SexyTime69 is substantially more disruptive than a shitty Tolkien reference. Remember that there are more account names than there character names. I may have 8 characters whose names I give a shit about, but they are all on Ursin, and there are way more than 50 servers.


Also, you can solve names like your suggestions with actual name policies that are enforced.

[SirRobin]

I got that email and was "meh..." about it. I lost my prefered names back during the various server mergers. And have not cared enough about the game, to establish a particular brand in it, since then.

[notorious98]

I would argue that in your example, the account name of SexyTime69 is substantially more disruptive than a shitty Tolkien reference. Remember that there are more account names than there character names. I may have 8 characters whose names I give a shit about, but they are all on Ursin, and there are way more than 50 servers.


Also, you can solve names like your suggestions with actual name policies that are enforced.

It's not the Tolkien reference. It's the 6 X's around it. It's the absurd lengths many people have to go to in order to create a unique name. And it's impossible for it to be more disruptive. Where you can ignore that person in a chat function, it's impossible to ignore their toon name plastered across your screen.

Honestly, I find that MMOs have the worst immersion anyway. Anytime you kill a named NPC and he/she respawns, it breaks immersion.

[Capt Froggy]

Well I have 14 or 16 characters on the server because of the merge, dont remember how many names I lost or still have.

[Mormolyce]

I wish they'd do this more aggressively in WoW.