Fear of loseing a name

[Saltybill]

So what you're saying essentially is that over the 150+ servers, there should only be ONE Bob? That's absurd.

 

A FIGHT TO THE DEATH!!! I demand it to be so!

 

there can be only one!

[Valkirus]

he said desire to play ..he still has a desire to flame the forums and troll:P

 

He may have canceled, but he has the right to post his opinion until his subscription runs out. Just for you information as you seem to have forgot that.

[thomasgallant]

He may have canceled, but he has the right to post his opinion until his subscription runs out. Just for you information as you seem to have forgot that.

 

oh i know he has that right.. and i have the right to accuse him of starting flame wars:P

[EricJS]

In my case, I'm pretty sure someone who has a beef with me killing them in PvP has probably parked a placeholder character on my transferred to server with my character's name. I log in, level 1 imperial agent. Is this really fair?

 

Possible, but unless your name is fairly unique, more likely that someone just did that to hold the name until transfers for their server open up.

[Liquidacid]

So what you're saying essentially is that over the 150+ servers, there should only be ONE Bob? That's absurd.

 

yes... just like how in real life there is only one person named Bob in the entire world

Edited June 14, 2012 by Liquidacid

[Valkirus]

oh i know he has that right.. and i have the right to accuse him of starting flame wars:P

 

But he is'nt. He just happens to be posting a concern he has and you feel he should think like you do..

[Mowin]

i started this game with early access so i could have the name choices i wanted (my name is my online identity). now that BW has successfully ran this game into the ground (IMO) we are forced to move our toons to another server for low population issues. why must i give up the name i have used for so long, in so many games...for someones level 1 placeholder?

 

this is unacceptable Bioware, i can understand you all are "noobs" to the MMO scene but seriously, look at the history of other games, and how they lost millions of subscribers...i could go into detail with specifics, but im sure most people reading this already have a lengthy list of their own.

 

i still have a few days or so of playtime, so i will be back to this thread a few more times.

 

Peace to all my guildies/friends, may we meet in another game!

[Valkirus]

i started this game with early access so i could have the name choices i wanted (my name is my online identity). now that BW has successfully ran this game into the ground (IMO) we are forced to move our toons to another server for low population issues. why must i give up the name i have used for so long, in so many games...for someones level 1 placeholder?

 

this is unacceptable Bioware, i can understand you all are "noobs" to the MMO scene but seriously, look at the history of other games, and how they lost millions of subscribers...i could go into detail with specifics, but im sure most people reading this already have a lengthy list of their own.

 

i still have a few days or so of playtime, so i will be back to this thread a few more times.

 

Peace to all my guildies/friends, may we meet in another game!

 

To be fair and I do understand your concerns, but we are not "forced" to transfer. Atleast for now. For example; I wil unsub if the 1.3 group finder does not help me get into end game content on a timely basis. And I am not transfering and am now on a very low pop server...lol. But noone will "force" me to cancel. Do the old fashion "vote with my money" thing.

[Mowin]

To be fair and I do understand your concerns, but we are not "forced" to transfer. Atleast for now. For example; I wil unsub if the 1.3 group finder does not help me get into end game content on a timely basis. And I am not transfering and am now on a very low pop server...lol. But noone will "force" me to cancel. Do the old fashion "vote with my money" thing.

 

i agree that im not "forced" in the traditional sense, but when your entire guild and multiple RL friends not to mention my own child decide to xfer...im forced to go with them ;-P

[Mowin]

Do the old fashion "vote with my money" thing.

 

i whole heartily agree with this, the only thing Bioware/EA will hear is the sound of a shrinking bottom line.

[Valkirus]

i agree that im not "forced" in the traditional sense, but when your entire guild and multiple RL friends not to mention my own child decide to xfer...im forced to go with them ;-P

 

Hehe..you feel " pressured" to go with them. There is a difference. But really..I understand your flustration. BioWare should have come up with solution to handle name conflicts rather than just tell the players..to change them. It is a easy way out for them and takes less time and programming to do.

[HotStuff_SW]

Bioware definitely underestimated how much people value their names.

 

They don't seem to realize, or simply choose to ignore, that to some people (myself included) keeping my name means more to me than playing on a crowded server.

 

My wife and I duo'd our way to level 50, completed our seperate class stories, and can typically duo (with companions) most story-mode Flashpoints. We both PvP (sometimes together, sometimes seperately) which we've never had a problem getting into queues for, and neither of us is interested in Operations (though I might give one a try when Group Finder comes out.....assuming I have a server left after they finish gutting us to pump up the numbers on the "chosen" servers). So really, I have nothing (of value to ME) to gain out of moving, and yet doing so would guarentee that I lose something that I DO value. My name.

 

So I really have no incentive to transfer. And luckily, I currently don't have to do so.

 

My fear is that eventually, I will have to do so, and on that day I'm stuck with gaining nothing (again, nothing of value to ME) and losing something I value a lot (my name).

 

Very disappointing, this is, Bioware, very disappointing.

 

Now, perhaps, just perhaps, they will realize that names do matter to some of us, and put some effort into making it so we can keep our names (as many others have pointed out), making our unique ID be tied to a combination of Character Name + Account Name, or Character Name + Legacy Name, or any combination of those elements, so that multiple people can have the same first name (like other MMO's have done successfully), or, maybe I'm just SOL. I dunno.

 

I definitely DON'T want anyone else out there to lose the name, but I don't want to lose it either (and adding alt characters, or apostrophes, or different spellings doesn't cut it. It's still losing the name you chose, in favor of a workaround bastardization of the name).

 

I just wish they would give us any indication that there's hope, or not, for somehow keeping our names, if/when the day comes that it's no longer voluntary...

 

And yeah, I realize that to some people, names mean nothing, or that some people are fine with changing it in order to play on a crowded server. More power to them. I'm glad they're happy.

 

And yeah, I know some people are going to ridicule and mock me for what they see as something silly and inconsequential. They have that right, and while I could fire back......I won't. Not worth it.

 

Help me Bioware. You're my only hope.

 

(que someone telling me I'm doomed in 5....4....3....2....)

[Colewyn]

Bioware definitely underestimated how much people value their names.

 

They don't seem to realize, or simply choose to ignore, that to some people (myself included) keeping my name means more to me than playing on a crowded server.

 

My wife and I duo'd our way to level 50, completed our seperate class stories, and can typically duo (with companions) most story-mode Flashpoints. We both PvP (sometimes together, sometimes seperately) which we've never had a problem getting into queues for, and neither of us is interested in Operations (though I might give one a try when Group Finder comes out.....assuming I have a server left after they finish gutting us to pump up the numbers on the "chosen" servers). So really, I have nothing (of value to ME) to gain out of moving, and yet doing so would guarentee that I lose something that I DO value. My name.

 

So I really have no incentive to transfer. And luckily, I currently don't have to do so.

 

My fear is that eventually, I will have to do so, and on that day I'm stuck with gaining nothing (again, nothing of value to ME) and losing something I value a lot (my name).

 

Very disappointing, this is, Bioware, very disappointing.

 

Now, perhaps, just perhaps, they will realize that names do matter to some of us, and put some effort into making it so we can keep our names (as many others have pointed out), making our unique ID be tied to a combination of Character Name + Account Name, or Character Name + Legacy Name, or any combination of those elements, so that multiple people can have the same first name (like other MMO's have done successfully), or, maybe I'm just SOL. I dunno.

 

I definitely DON'T want anyone else out there to lose the name, but I don't want to lose it either (and adding alt characters, or apostrophes, or different spellings doesn't cut it. It's still losing the name you chose, in favor of a workaround bastardization of the name).

 

I just wish they would give us any indication that there's hope, or not, for somehow keeping our names, if/when the day comes that it's no longer voluntary...

 

And yeah, I realize that to some people, names mean nothing, or that some people are fine with changing it in order to play on a crowded server. More power to them. I'm glad they're happy.

 

And yeah, I know some people are going to ridicule and mock me for what they see as something silly and inconsequential. They have that right, and while I could fire back......I won't. Not worth it.

 

Help me Bioware. You're my only hope.

 

(que someone telling me I'm doomed in 5....4....3....2....)

 

I agree with you 100%. I have 5 level 50 toons and 3 in the 30s. Been in game since the first day of early access. I am attached to their names I like their names and every single one is taken on my destination server. I am cancelling my subscription as of today....yes all because of a name.

Edited June 15, 2012 by Colewyn

[Koyi_Aldira]

Bioware definitely underestimated how much people value their names.

 

They don't seem to realize, or simply choose to ignore, that to some people (myself included) keeping my name means more to me than playing on a crowded server.

 

My wife and I duo'd our way to level 50, completed our seperate class stories, and can typically duo (with companions) most story-mode Flashpoints. We both PvP (sometimes together, sometimes seperately) which we've never had a problem getting into queues for, and neither of us is interested in Operations (though I might give one a try when Group Finder comes out.....assuming I have a server left after they finish gutting us to pump up the numbers on the "chosen" servers). So really, I have nothing (of value to ME) to gain out of moving, and yet doing so would guarentee that I lose something that I DO value. My name.

 

So I really have no incentive to transfer. And luckily, I currently don't have to do so.

 

My fear is that eventually, I will have to do so, and on that day I'm stuck with gaining nothing (again, nothing of value to ME) and losing something I value a lot (my name).

 

Very disappointing, this is, Bioware, very disappointing.

 

Now, perhaps, just perhaps, they will realize that names do matter to some of us, and put some effort into making it so we can keep our names (as many others have pointed out), making our unique ID be tied to a combination of Character Name + Account Name, or Character Name + Legacy Name, or any combination of those elements, so that multiple people can have the same first name (like other MMO's have done successfully), or, maybe I'm just SOL. I dunno.

 

I definitely DON'T want anyone else out there to lose the name, but I don't want to lose it either (and adding alt characters, or apostrophes, or different spellings doesn't cut it. It's still losing the name you chose, in favor of a workaround bastardization of the name).

 

I just wish they would give us any indication that there's hope, or not, for somehow keeping our names, if/when the day comes that it's no longer voluntary...

 

And yeah, I realize that to some people, names mean nothing, or that some people are fine with changing it in order to play on a crowded server. More power to them. I'm glad they're happy.

 

And yeah, I know some people are going to ridicule and mock me for what they see as something silly and inconsequential. They have that right, and while I could fire back......I won't. Not worth it.

 

Help me Bioware. You're my only hope.

 

(que someone telling me I'm doomed in 5....4....3....2....)

 

If you get the name that's already taken, someone is losing that name. This is what you people are not understanding.

 

I will say it again. You people are not above any one else because you like your name that much. you do not hold some godlike position above everyone else in the pecking order, having the ability to force someone else to change their name in order for you to have it. There is no need to tell you that you are doomed, because there is nothing to be doomed from when it would never happen.

 

Throughout all this bickering, I have not heard of one example of where a company actually did what you all are proposing, so I would like to know of one game where the company allowed the removal of one persons name to cater to someone who is transfering over.

[HotStuff_SW]

If you get the name that's already taken, someone is losing that name. This is what you people are not understanding.

 

Apparently I was not clear enough.

 

I don't want the other person losing it either.

 

What I want, is for Bioware to use the combination of Name, plus Account, or Name, plus Legacy, etc, to determine what is "unique" to a player, instead of just using Name.

 

Doing the above, would result in NO ONE losing the name.

 

I realize that I did not word that plainly enough, but I hope it makes sense now. What I propose is that "Bob Smith" and "Bob Jones" BOTH be allowed to have the name "Bob" (along with "Bob Walker", "Bob White", "Bob Fitzhugh", etc). Because "Bob" would no longer have to be unique.

 

Does that make better sense?

 

Or would you rather just villify me? :-)

[Lethemback]

Throughout all this bickering, I have not heard of one example of where a company actually did what you all are proposing, so I would like to know of one game where the company allowed the removal of one persons name to cater to someone who is transfering over.

To name one off the top of my head, Age of Conan:

What happens if several characters with the same name end up on the same server?

 

This depends on the following conditions and rules:

 

• Is the character on an still active account?
  
• If several characters of the same name are all from active accounts, the one with the higher level will keep his name.
  
• If merged characters have the same level, the one from an account which is registered on a longer time base will keep the name (so 3 month recurring over 1 month recurring).
  
• If characters are from accounts with the same subscription recurring time, the last login will decide which one keeps the name.
  
• The other(s) will be prompted with a message at the first attempt to log in with that character stating that a new name must be given to this character.
  

 

Does that count, or not?

 

Cheers.

Edited June 15, 2012 by Lethemback

[BoredSolo]

"I realize that I did not word that plainly enough, but I hope it makes sense now. What I propose is that "Bob Smith" and "Bob Jones" BOTH be allowed to have the name "Bob" (along with "Bob Walker", "Bob White", "Bob Fitzhugh", etc). Because "Bob" would no longer have to be unique"

 

This,

 

In real life there are a plethora of people with the same name, John Smith, Robert Walker, Maggie May. They learn to deal with it. With Legacy names, it makes it rare that multiple players will have the same combination of names. With the transfers combining 5-8 servers into one, just how many Han Solo's would be present? Considering you probably picked Han before you were at the level to get the Legacy name 'Solo' ?

I guess what I'm trying to say is there can be several characters named Han (Legacy Name) and several characters named (Whatever) Solo. But the chances they would all be in the same Guild and using the same Title are very small. And could be dealt with.

[HotStuff_SW]

"I realize that I did not word that plainly enough, but I hope it makes sense now. What I propose is that "Bob Smith" and "Bob Jones" BOTH be allowed to have the name "Bob" (along with "Bob Walker", "Bob White", "Bob Fitzhugh", etc). Because "Bob" would no longer have to be unique"

 

This,

 

In real life there are a plethora of people with the same name, John Smith, Robert Walker, Maggie May. They learn to deal with it. With Legacy names, it makes it rare that multiple players will have the same combination of names. With the transfers combining 5-8 servers into one, just how many Han Solo's would be present? Considering you probably picked Han before you were at the level to get the Legacy name 'Solo' ?

I guess what I'm trying to say is there can be several characters named Han (Legacy Name) and several characters named (Whatever) Solo. But the chances they would all be in the same Guild and using the same Title are very small. And could be dealt with.

 

It's better than that, if you include the account name. To use mine as an example, and the made up name "Bob Smith", the system could know me as "Bob Smith@HotStuff_SW". THAT would be unique, unless I tried to make two characters named "Bob" on the same server (which even I wouldn't do!). :-) To send me mail, people send it to "Bob Smith@HotStuff_SW". It's unique, and it lets there be other characters named "Bob Smith" and "Bob (Whatever)" on the server without them being confused with me, and at worst, people have to type a few extra characters (WITHOUT being alt characters or special characters, apart from the "@") to invite or send tells, etc.

 

Would be light years better than what we have now, where people have to either lose their name entirely, or use funky spellings / special characters, etc. But whether or not Bioware would do it, or just consign multiple servers worth of people to losing their names, some of which people put forth a lot of effort to make sure they got.

 

Time will tell, I suppose.

 

At the very least, it would be nice to hear an offical response from Bioware, even if it is to say "Sorry, we're not doing that, you just have to lose your name." At least then, we could move on with whatever we choose to do.

 

Here's hoping for a response soon.

[dermitni]

Or how about this...next major patch will be the naming policy fix

 

-Names will no longer be an issue for players once you receive your Legacy name

 

-Since Legacy names always remain even during transfers, you will be permitted to rename yourself (any name), but this can only be done once.

 

-Your legacy name will protect your player name, they will be linked together

I totally agree with your suggestions; they make perfect sense and should have been implemented all along with the whole legacy system, to start with. In all honesty, who had the "brilliant" idea of making first names unique if you have a legacy to distinguish them, anyways? If I move from Berlin to Toronto, I don't have to change my name, even if there already lives someone named "Niko" (which most probably is true) because our last names (=legacy names) are different.

 

I'm just afraid though that Bioware won't do it; it's no "low-hanging fruit" and would require some effort on their side which I doubt they'll be willing to invest when it's so easy to just tell all us whiners to just suck it up and come up with something new. It's not that we might be attached to our names or so, or that some of us might be using the same character names for 17 years in any computer game they play, no.

 

Oh, and sure, there was actually a choice to make: Stay and die on a dead server or move and rename. Great choice, really... Like "breath fumes or stop breathing, your choice!".

 

Just my 2 Cents, Niko (who also had to change his non-Star-Wars-Canon-name in the transfer)

[Mogsey]

Toons names and legacy/surnames are for many an integral part of what makes "immersion" in an mmo.

 

Bioware have proved once again that they have no understanding of what makes an mmo tick for players.

 

Just my 2cents worth.

[Hambunctious]

Yep, I'd move servers every week if they asked, and could keep at least my first names.

[Drudenfusz]

Lost the name I had taken back during early access... considering now not to continue playing.

[Tiron_Raptor]

Created my character on the second day of early access, on a server assigned to my guild by bioware. Name's taken by a level 12 sith on our destination.

 

I'm NOT transferring unless I can keep the name. I'll quit playing rather than change names, end of story.

[thomasgallant]

Created my character on the second day of early access, on a server assigned to my guild by bioware. Name's taken by a level 12 sith on our destination.

 

I'm NOT transferring unless I can keep the name. I'll quit playing rather than change names, end of story.

 

now is the reason why you wont transfer because you are attached to the name..or is it a you think you deserve the name because you were early access and this person is only level 12.becuase i have a couple of characters that are low level, that have been low level a long time. yet ive been in on second day of early access too

 

 

just because the character that has your precious name is low level it doesnt mean they are a new character.. if you are looking for special consideration for being early access, you have to consider the fact that that level 12 character might belong to an early access player as well

[Tiron_Raptor]

now is the reason why you wont transfer because you are attached to the name..or is it a you think you deserve the name because you were early access and this person is only level 12.becuase i have a couple of characters that are low level, that have been low level a long time. yet ive been in on second day of early access too

 

 

just because the character that has your precious name is low level it doesnt mean they are a new character.. if you are looking for special consideration for being early access, you have to consider the fact that that level 12 character might belong to an early access player as well

 

Simply put, Nobody should have to change names because bioware screwed up. The fact that bioware flat-out assigned me to the server I'm on just makes it about 10 times worse.

 

The simple fact is, I've been using that name for over 10 years on many, many games. I don't have any possible alternates I can use without major modifications to the character that aren't allowed period, let alone as part of the transfer.

 

There are plenty of ways to solve the problem without breaking their system, one of which should've been implemented before doing transfers.

 

Simple fact is, if I were rolling on that server now, I'd just mess with the character so I could use a different name. Because of the fact that they messed up and waited this long to do anything about it... I shouldn't suffer because of that.

 

And if he is early access, he hasn't played that character since, or so. Level 12? Either it's someone brand new, a mule, or an abandoned character.