name reservation for all of DDO

[Eltronin]

Of course, I would like to use the name Chacka if possible. From my point of view, as someone who has used the name Chacka for more than 18 years, it's understandable that I identify with that name more than any other DDO player.

However, if there is no other way, another name would also work for me.

I understand that introducing such a name system can be challenging for DDO, but I believe it is something that all MMOs should have.

As an additional suggestion, I think it would be cool if you could send and receive serverwide tells under your chosen name for the entire DDO. Of course, the question arises of what happens with players like Strimtom to prevent them from getting spammed with tells. To address this, it could be possible to introduce a friend list system where players can only receive tells from friends who have mutually agreed to be on each other's lists.

Couple problems I have with your reply:
1) You don't know how long the other person using Chacka has had that name. They may Identify with that name more for other reasons, you are not THE Chacka.
2) Serverwide tells wouldn't work as you don't know if the person is on and since you have to log out of the game to switch worlds, wouldn't work.
3) Only having friends send tells defeats the purpose of having tells. Examples: 1) Hardcore server, tells is how you join guilds on HC. 2) See someone with a cosmetic you like and want to ask what it is. 3) In party, communicating with someone out of party chat.

As you said, "From my point of view..." Your looking at a game change for selfish reasons, not for the betterment of the community. I would suggest either accept that on one server, someone else who may or may not have had the name for a long time is going to use it OR, find a new unique name not used across all servers and claim it with toons of that name. This is too late in the game development to come about and many have identical names on different servers.

 

[Chacka]

Couple problems I have with your reply:
1) You don't know how long the other person using Chacka has had that name. They may Identify with that name more for other reasons, you are not THE Chacka.
2) Serverwide tells wouldn't work as you don't know if the person is on and since you have to log out of the game to switch worlds, wouldn't work.
3) Only having friends send tells defeats the purpose of having tells. Examples: 1) Hardcore server, tells is how you join guilds on HC. 2) See someone with a cosmetic you like and want to ask what it is. 3) In party, communicating with someone out of party chat.

As you said, "From my point of view..." Your looking at a game change for selfish reasons, not for the betterment of the community. I would suggest either accept that on one server, someone else who may or may not have had the name for a long time is going to use it OR, find a new unique name not used across all servers and claim it with toons of that name. This is too late in the game development to come about and many have identical names on different servers.

1. I have been using the name Chacka for a longer period of time than DDO has actually existed. It's possible that I've been using it for over 22 years, since I "invented" it for myself. It doesn't matter to me if someone else also had the idea of using that letter combination as a name. And yes indeed for me, I am THE Chacka!

2. I know there is currently no serverwide tell system, but I can imagine that it could be possible.

3. Perhaps I wasn't clear enough. I'm referring to a separate tell and friends list system where players can communicate through a different channel. Of course, the current system doesn't have to change.

I'm genuinely curious about your thoughts on how ideas are generated. Naturally, I have this idea because I believe it would be an improvement for myself. What else would you expect?

However, I also believe that this could be beneficial for other players; otherwise, I wouldn't suggest it. Labeling me as "selfish" for making a suggestion that I believe would improve the experience for myself and others is a rather strange interpretation of the word, in my opinion.

As I mentioned earlier in this discussion, I received a tell from someone who felt their name had been "stolen," and they referred to the person who took the name as an "impaler." So, it's not just my imagination; other players might have the same problem. This incident served as a reason for me to initiate a discussion on the forum regarding this topic, even though I had the idea much earlier.

I also know that I'm not the only one on the hardcore server who faces this issue with these level 1 fighters occupying names who are obviously never played. You might not have encountered this problem, but for me and others, it is an issue when we want to use the names we are accustomed to.
It's never too late for such a change. To my knowledge, there is no inherent "right" to use any specific name in DDO. SSG can make the change if they decide to.

For instance, a game master changed the name of one of my characters without asking me, from Gerald-Dorn to Geraldorn, simply because another player who was harassing me couldn't put me on ignore (my only mistake was to answer his tells instead of setting him on /squelch because of my "strange" habit to try to respect everyone). The name Gerald-Dorn is obviously not violating any name policy and was changed anyhow. (just an example that actually happened to me)

 

[Eltronin]

1. I have been using the name Chacka for a longer period of time than DDO has actually existed. It's possible that I've been using it for over 22 years, since I "invented" it for myself. It doesn't matter to me if someone else also had the idea of using that letter combination as a name. And yes indeed for me, I am THE Chacka!

2. I know there is currently no serverwide tell system, but I can imagine that it could be possible.

3. Perhaps I wasn't clear enough. I'm referring to a separate tell and friends list system where players can communicate through a different channel. Of course, the current system doesn't have to change.

I'm genuinely curious about your thoughts on how ideas are generated. Naturally, I have this idea because I believe it would be an improvement for myself. What else would you expect?

However, I also believe that this could be beneficial for other players; otherwise, I wouldn't suggest it. Labeling me as "selfish" for making a suggestion that I believe would improve the experience for myself and others is a rather strange interpretation of the word, in my opinion.

As I mentioned earlier in this discussion, I received a tell from someone who felt their name had been "stolen," and they referred to the person who took the name as an "impaler." So, it's not just my imagination; other players might have the same problem. This incident served as a reason for me to initiate a discussion on the forum regarding this topic, even though I had the idea much earlier.

I also know that I'm not the only one on the hardcore server who faces this issue with these level 1 fighters occupying names who are obviously never played. You might not have encountered this problem, but for me and others, it is an issue when we want to use the names we are accustomed to.
It's never too late for such a change. To my knowledge, there is no inherent "right" to use any specific name in DDO. SSG can make the change if they decide to.

For instance, a game master changed the name of one of my characters without asking me, from Gerald-Dorn to Geraldorn, simply because another player who was harassing me couldn't put me on ignore (my only mistake was to answer his tells instead of setting him on /squelch because of my "strange" habit to try to respect everyone). The name Gerald-Dorn is obviously not violating any name policy and was changed anyhow. (just an example that actually happened to me)

Developers are not going to make huge sweeping changes to a game system for the benefit of only one person who feels entitled to a name. I labeled you as selfish for your answers. You keep on how it is about you and your name, how you have been gaming, how you deserve it, how you don't understand how anyone else came up with it. All those point to selfishness. Did you come out with arguments for this idea based on a need for others? No. Did you come out with arguments that shows this is needed? No. Did you come out with reasons why this should be considered other than your own wants? No. The whole discussion has been about what you want to benefit yourself. Couple other people have commented how this can't be done and would cause many problems. Yet, you keep at it, brining up how you have had this name for years and that you are THE Chacka. Maybe the other person is THE Chacka, and you stole the name from them. No way to tell and completely unfair to players to make them change names because someone wants to pay for a name.

 

[calouscaine]

Here's a question. . .why can't more than one person use the same first name. . .?
Why not update the coding so that it's not first name tag based scripting and more account tied, then people could use the name they want?
Yeah, it'd be a lot of work, and it would take time, but it can be done. . .it's been done in other games.

 

[hanul]

In neverwinter nights online each player has a name and an account name. So all alts are also identified as belonging to the same account which can be seen by everybody.

 

[Lorianna]

As Cordovan stated for the new Forum, name sniping is not tolerated by SSG. If someone pays the fee and attempts to occupy the name "Strimtom," there should be a way for Strimtom to request SSG to return his name.

So it is highly probable that Strimtom pays the fee and no longer has to worry about another player occupying his name or impersonating him on any server. Therefore, it would likely be very advantageous for Strimtom.

I understand that my name is by far not as widely known as Strimtom's, and there are other players who are even less known than Chacka. However, the idea is to give every player the opportunity to reserve the name they want to be recognized by. Notice I strongly believe in equal rights for everyone!

Furthermore, there are likely many names that active players would like to use but are currently held by players who no longer play DDO.

Please don't misunderstand me; I'm not claiming that my idea is perfect and will satisfy everyone. However, I believe it is something that would benefit the majority of players who care for their main-character's names.

I'm not "well-known" by any means. I keep to myself, have a few people I chat with, and generally just wander around and do quests and hunt for gear.

But if I logged on one day and found that a character I've had for 8+ years was renamed because someone "reserved" that name on another server (and likely had zero idea who I was)? Yeah, that's a "send SSG an angry letter and never subscribe again" moment for me.

A suggestion like this is 100% vanity, nothing more.

What happens if someone decides to declare that "Jennifer" is their reserved name? I'm sure that name exists on every server. And most likely are all different people. Now all those people are required to change their names because one of them reserved it.

Some of my oldest characters are named Fiona, Lorianna, and Tourmaline. They're not unique or rare. But I would be PISSED if I suddenly lost my character's name because someone on a completely different server was allowed to "reserve" it.

 

[Amorais]

Instead of using "-1" or "-2", why not personalise it a bit with " The Second" for "-1" and " The Third" for "-2"? Since the original name would have no "-x" identifier

So I create a character called "Corwin" on Ghallanda, move to Wayfinder then there's someone there already called Corwin. My name then changes to "Corwin "The Second" Surname" to make a it a bit less "system" and a bit more "RPG"

 

[Ptalon]

I've already reserved my name (on every server)... for free.

Actually, my name is the result of not being able to get the name I wanted.
Took me a couple years or so to come up with the current one, but now I have adopted it as my Internet name for as many sites as possible.
I'm sure someone else out there is using it somewhere, but for the circles I surf in, it's now my unique alias.

 

[Searious]

I know Chacka - he left Ghallanda and now I am sad :(
But I grouped with Chackab on HCL8 and that was fun

I kid LOL. Seems the best way to 'fix' the issue is periodically purge/delete all chars that have not logged in for more than a year or two.

 

[Chacka]

In neverwinter nights online each player has a name and an account name. So all alts are also identified as belonging to the same account which can be seen by everybody.

What I want is very similar to this, but I want the option to choose a different name than my account name. I see it as a security risk if you make your account name known to anyone, as it would make it easier for someone to "hack" your account because he only needs your password in addition then.

Regardless of what the "Drama guys" here say about my so-called vanity and selfishness, or that I expect the developers to make a change exclusively for me, which is completely ridiculous from my perspective, it doesn't matter to me.

The current situation makes absolutely no sense to me, especially when you have at least two hardcore seasons with leaderboards every year, and you cannot clearly connect the name on the leaderboard to a player. This simply lacks any logical sense, even for someone with the slightest understanding of logic.

However, I'm not very optimistic that this will ever happen, even though I'm 100% sure it should happen and is essentially something every MMO should have! (With this, I also stop replying to this thread because I think I have said everything I can say here)

 

[Douglas Glyndwr]

The "Name Sniping" for the forums was to maintain a continuity from the old to the new forum, it has nothing to do with the live servers. It is two vastly different issues. If they could have transfered the names from old to new servers, I guarantee this would not be policy at all, since it is a non-issue. If they had to reset all live servers, this policy would then be analogous. Having display names tied to a hidden account id would solve a lot of problems. Even making Last Names part of the ID would help a lot. Despite the OPs feelings, while not super common, Chacka is far from having unique usage. Many of my character's names are also non-unique, but since day one entering here I've known that it's first come-first served on a per-server basis. Probably a limitation from the old Atari days. Lots of people want to be Drizz't or Tanis Half-Elven or Garfield the Cat or whatever. Since she's been around a long time now, I'm sure a Chacka Khan fan could make a "many years before" arguement too. Since changing things could result in multiple same-names, you would have to be more careful looking people up in the WHO tab.

In the end your arguement does devolve to "I think this not unique name is mine and mine alone". And while I would support allowing multiple uses of a display name, entitling a non-unique name to a single person is wrong if the name has already been claimed by another on a server you were not on. It's the same problem I have with server merges. If it happened, and I lost a single name because I made them on a per-server basis, I would quit the game. All the names I claimed PER SERVER are mine, within the rules. But to go back and change them because "I created this name before I played the game", no. They wanted that name on that server before you decided to move. I wish the name system was more robust, but, in the words of the great Centauri philosopher Londo Mollari, here we are.

 

[Eltronin]

What I want is very similar to this, but I want the option to choose a different name than my account name. I see it as a security risk if you make your account name known to anyone, as it would make it easier for someone to "hack" your account because he only needs your password in addition then.

Regardless of what the "Drama guys" here say about my so-called vanity and selfishness, or that I expect the developers to make a change exclusively for me, which is completely ridiculous from my perspective, it doesn't matter to me.

The current situation makes absolutely no sense to me, especially when you have at least two hardcore seasons with leaderboards every year, and you cannot clearly connect the name on the leaderboard to a player. This simply lacks any logical sense, even for someone with the slightest understanding of logic.

However, I'm not very optimistic that this will ever happen, even though I'm 100% sure it should happen and is essentially something every MMO should have! (With this, I also stop replying to this thread because I think I have said everything I can say here)

Unfortunately you're the one with the drama. Look at your posts on this subject, how many likes grand total do you have? Look at the posts opposed to this idea, the posts explaining why this wouldn't work and the posts that call you out and explain how you are making this about yourself and what you want, not what the majority wants. I even asked you "Do you have any data to back your claim that this is beneficial for the majority and not just a wild opinion?" and you never answered. The majority has spoken by no one liking your idea or your many arguments that you want a name reserved for yourself. Please drop it. You are losing this suggestion 100%.

 

[hanul]

I know Chacka - he left Ghallanda and now I am sad :(
But I grouped with Chackab on HCL8 and that was fun

I kid LOL. Seems the best way to 'fix' the issue is periodically purge/delete all chars that have not logged in for more than a year or two.

Not a good idea at all.

 

[hanul]

Unfortunately you're the one with the drama. Look at your posts on this subject, how many likes grand total do you have? Look at the posts opposed to this idea, the posts explaining why this wouldn't work and the posts that call you out and explain how you are making this about yourself and what you want, not what the majority wants. I even asked you "Do you have any data to back your claim that this is beneficial for the majority and not just a wild opinion?" and you never answered. The majority has spoken by no one liking your idea or your many arguments that you want a name reserved for yourself. Please drop it. You are losing this suggestion 100%.

Having a name showing up in the bio for example, which would show up in all the characters, would be good to avoid "trolls" in hc for example. And having that name tied to the leaderboards of hc would also make it so none would get in the leaderboards with the name you just picked in previous versions. It would also allow you to show up that you got multiple achievements in the leaderboards (many in hc, when dying, restart with the same name but with a slight variation so as to let others know that he died and started again but is still the same person)

 

[Eltronin]

Having a name showing up in the bio for example, which would show up in all the characters, would be good to avoid "trolls" in hc for example. And having that name tied to the leaderboards of hc would also make it so none would get in the leaderboards with the name you just picked in previous versions. It would also allow you to show up that you got multiple achievements in the leaderboards (many in hc, when dying, restart with the same name but with a slight variation so as to let others know that he died and started again but is still the same person)

With the exception of Content Creators, Admins, Mods, Reserving your name for HC is wrong. If more than one person on different servers use the name, you're making it unfair to the others who want to use that name.

 

[comfy]

1. I have been using the name Chacka for a longer period of time than DDO has actually existed. It's possible that I've been using it for over 22 years, since I "invented" it for myself. It doesn't matter to me if someone else also had the idea of using that letter combination as a name. And yes indeed for me, I am THE Chacka!

I have a friend who made a pen and paper character named "Chacka" 30 years ago. I'll let them know... you wouldn't mind changing your forum name and character names so they can have it, right?

 

[tsotate]

Seems the best way to 'fix' the issue is periodically purge/delete all chars that have not logged in for more than a year or two.

That's an even worse idea than the OP's. Purging names every couple of years would just guarantee that people who take breaks from the game would never come back.

 

[SiliconScout]

So they implement this I log in before you and claim the name.... how's that make you feel.

What if I paid 5 years ago for it and quit playing soon after. Can you then come in and buy it because I am "Inactive"? If so what if I return, what happens there?

I get what you are saying but it's just a really bad idea.

 

[calouscaine]

Or the could just change how characters are tracked and let people choose what ever name they want so long as it's not vulgar. . .even is some one else has the same first name. . .

 

[Phoenicis]

I know Chacka - he left Ghallanda and now I am sad :(
But I grouped with Chackab on HCL8 and that was fun

I kid LOL. Seems the best way to 'fix' the issue is periodically purge/delete all chars that have not logged in for more than a year or two.

I play DDO for years, spend real money on tomes, character bank, whatever.

RL comes along, I lose my job, get sick, have to take care of family. Whatever, there are huge numbers of reasons people might no longer have the time to play.

Things straighten out and I come back to DDO, but it's been years, and my character, who I spend real money on, has been deleted in a name purge.

NOT signed.