Free names of toons that have not been played for > 5 years

[TrixxieTriss]

On 5/17/2023 at 6:56 AM, Diamaht said:

I must have spent 30 minutes typing out names the other day.   Many of them I thought for sure no one could have used.  I was wrong.

You can always use a last name then turn off the legacy title.  Feels lame though, the name doesn't show up correctly in chat.

Not a good substitute.

There are also a lot of obscure naming restrictions that BioWare put in place.

So quite often, when the system says a name isn’t available, it’s the restrictions & not because someone else has the name. 

Some of the restrictions are a little ridiculous too. If BioWare actually published a full list of the restrictions & naming conventions, it would be easier.

They could at least make the pop up more relevant & say the name is taken or it breaks “this” naming restriction. That way we would 100% know & understand when a name is unavailable.

[SteveTheCynic]

5 hours ago, TrixxieTriss said:

If BioWare actually published a full list of the restrictions & naming conventions, it would be easier.

They could at least make the pop up more relevant & say the name is taken or it breaks “this” naming restriction. That way we would 100% know & understand when a name is unavailable.

The problem with either of those approaches is that they reveal the edges of the *automated* "forbidden zone" of character naming, which would allow people to skate right up to those edges, which is probably something BioWare doesn't (and shouldn't) want to get involved in.

[TrixxieTriss]

1 hour ago, SteveTheCynic said:

The problem with either of those approaches is that they reveal the edges of the *automated* "forbidden zone" of character naming, which would allow people to skate right up to those edges, which is probably something BioWare doesn't (and shouldn't) want to get involved in.

People in the know already skate right up to the edges & keep on going by using Alt codes to circumvent the forbidden 

[Ahndri]

On 5/17/2023 at 2:34 AM, denavin said:

I feel sorry for your lack of imagination.

I have created 3 new character in the last 4 months and created a unique name for each one on the first try.

There is no shortage of names. Only a shortage of creativity.

I agree with this. I'm a new player, and I've created six characters in the last month or so, and haven't had any issues at all with naming. I haven't seen any error about names being already taken. Naming characters uniquely isn't that hard. I will note that I use last names, because it seems logical to me (whether or not these last names show up capitalized properly in game).

I'd be pretty unhappy if BW started taking names away from characters, no matter how long I'd been away.  I'm no mathematician, but there must be an almost infinite number of combinations of letters that would make a name. Instead of trying to take from others, use more than ten percent of your brain power and be creative, people!

[Shaori]

On 5/16/2023 at 1:55 AM, denavin said:

They are MY characters I PAY for them monthly their names are Mine not YOURS....

You can NOT steal my characters names.

Your inability to think of a name and your lack of imagine is not my fault or problem.

I’m pretty sure nobody is asking to take name from a sub so there’s no reason to spaz out like you’re 5.

[Diamaht]

18 hours ago, TrixxieTriss said:

There are also a lot of obscure naming restrictions that BioWare put in place.

So quite often, when the system says a name isn’t available, it’s the restrictions & not because someone else has the name. 

Some of the restrictions are a little ridiculous too. If BioWare actually published a full list of the restrictions & naming conventions, it would be easier.

They could at least make the pop up more relevant & say the name is taken or it breaks “this” naming restriction. That way we would 100% know & understand when a name is unavailable.

It's not naming restrictions.  Over the span of 10 years people have been making characters.  Originally there were a dozen or two servers (I don't remember the exact number, that was a long time ago lol.)  None of those character were deleted unless the player did it themselves.

As the server populations decreased, server merges took place.  Those people who had similar names had to rename, so if 10 people had the same character name 1 one them kept it while the other nine either created some variation or renamed.  In that way, even the same name multiplied up to 9 times as all the logical variations of that name were created.  Or up to 9 new names were taken.

Even currently, single individuals have dozens or even hundreds of characters all with different names.  Also single individuals likely have dozens of lvl 1 characters as "holders" since they know they like a particular name and will eventually use it.  Probably.

So you wind up with the grand total of all the characters ever made by millions of people, on all the servers ever made, all the "holders" ever made, all the current population combined onto one or two regional servers depending on where they live, along with all the characters being newly created as we speak.  Its the most overloaded system of taken names I've ever seen.

It's not Bioware's fault, they made a game that lasted a decade and did what had to be done with server merges as it was needed, to their credit.  This is a natural result of that process.  However, it's time to either free up names or create new servers with no transfers.

Edited May 18, 2023 by Diamaht

[TrixxieTriss]

5 hours ago, Diamaht said:

It's not naming restrictions.  Over the span of 10 years people have been making characters.  Originally there were a dozen or two servers (I don't remember the exact number, that was a long time ago lol.)  None of those character were deleted unless the player did it themselves.

As the server populations decreased, server merges took place.  Those people who had similar names had to rename, so if 10 people had the same character name 1 one them kept it while the other nine either created some variation or renamed.  In that way, even the same name multiplied up to 9 times as all the logical variations of that name were created.  Or up to 9 new names were taken.

Even currently, single individuals have dozens or even hundreds of characters all with different names.  Also single individuals likely have dozens of lvl 1 characters as "holders" since they know they like a particular name and will eventually use it.  Probably.

So you wind up with the grand total of all the characters ever made by millions of people, on all the servers ever made, all the "holders" ever made, all the current population combined onto one or two regional servers depending on where they live, along with all the characters being newly created as we speak.  Its the most overloaded system of taken names I've ever seen.

It's not Bioware's fault, they made a game that lasted a decade and did what had to be done with server merges as it was needed, to their credit.  This is a natural result of that process.  However, it's time to either free up names or create new servers with no transfers.

None of that negates what I said. 

But sure, for arguments sake, let’s say there are names that are taken. Even if BioWare frees up names on accounts that haven’t been used or subscribed in several years, that doesn’t mean you’ll get to use the names you want. 

There are still naming restrictions or you might find the names you want aren’t released because people are still using them. 

So that is why I don’t think this is a silver bullet that will fix your naming situation. Why don’t you do what the rest of us do with 50+ characters & use Alt+ codes  or these - ‘ , or try different spelling to get a similar name. 

And if you want to ask BioWare to do anything, then ask them to add a ID number to each player with the same name, then there are no naming problems.

Edited May 19, 2023 by TrixxieTriss

[Pirana]

12 hours ago, Diamaht said:

It's not naming restrictions.  Over the span of 10 years people have been making characters.  Originally there were a dozen or two servers (I don't remember the exact number, that was a long time ago lol.)  None of those character were deleted unless the player did it themselves.

As the server populations decreased, server merges took place.  Those people who had similar names had to rename, so if 10 people had the same character name 1 one them kept it while the other nine either created some variation or renamed.  In that way, even the same name multiplied up to 9 times as all the logical variations of that name were created.  Or up to 9 new names were taken.

Even currently, single individuals have dozens or even hundreds of characters all with different names.  Also single individuals likely have dozens of lvl 1 characters as "holders" since they know they like a particular name and will eventually use it.  Probably.

So you wind up with the grand total of all the characters ever made by millions of people, on all the servers ever made, all the "holders" ever made, all the current population combined onto one or two regional servers depending on where they live, along with all the characters being newly created as we speak.  Its the most overloaded system of taken names I've ever seen.

It's not Bioware's fault, they made a game that lasted a decade and did what had to be done with server merges as it was needed, to their credit.  This is a natural result of that process.  However, it's time to either free up names or create new servers with no transfers.

It appears you were here at launch, so you probably remember the queues, which ranged anywhere from fifteen to thirty minutes to log in. In under two weeks, BioWare added additional servers, the game ballooned to well over 200 servers at one point. Once people got to end game and realized there wasn't one, people left in droves, forcing those desolate servers to be abandoned, game went FTP in under a year, and consolidating servers happened at least twice that I can remember, creating new names became tricky.

Surnames were not an option back then either, you could only have the one name, so it made naming a little more finicky. As mentioned above, alt codes, this is how a lot of us got around names taken or restrictions. During the consolidations, when we were forced off our servers and onto an existing servers, we were forced to change names, naturally a lot of names were taken on servers we merged onto, so you had to get creative. Point is, if people could be that creative back then when the numbers were that high, there's no reason that cannot be done now with the consolidations and a much smaller population. You could even use WoW as an example, still the highest populated triple a MMO on the market and people get around naming restrictions, it can be done here.

As I mentioned in a previous post in this thread, you could ballpark a number of five years of inactivity on an account and all names are reset, but it's also not needed. If someone wants to name their character Luke Skywalker, but altered, such as Lùkê Skýwálkér, it can be done.

[Diamaht]

You guys always wish there was more content, more frequent updates and more players.

However when it comes down to it you become rigid gate keepers when the issues new/returning players run into are pointed out to you.

You can't have both.

[SteveTheCynic]

6 hours ago, Diamaht said:

You guys always wish there was more content, more frequent updates and more players.

However when it comes down to it you become rigid gate keepers when the issues new/returning players run into are pointed out to you.

You can't have both.

The point people are making is that a name unlock will probably not solve the specific problem, and a name *purge* (actually removing names unconditionally) might or might not *solve* problems, but will definitely cause *other* problems, especially if it is based *strictly* on time-not-played and doesn't take into account  e.g. subscribedness of the account.  (Noteworthy : BioWare has *never* allowed name-unlocks or purges to affect subscriber account characters, even if those characters have been played for just one minute six years previously.)

[TrixxieTriss]

10 hours ago, Diamaht said:

You guys always wish there was more content, more frequent updates and more players.

However when it comes down to it you become rigid gate keepers when the issues new/returning players run into are pointed out to you.

You can't have both.

If you mean making new names, then it’s no barrier at all. I think you’re blowing the situation out way more than is realistic. We’ve already explained how we get around the naming situation by using Alt codes or these , - ‘ or different spelling. 

But try & imagine you return to the game after a few years & find all of your characters names, who you spent years playing, having all their names reset 🤷🏻‍♀️

Pretty sure that would be a massive turn off for those returning players who might just quit again & never come back again. Those people would be here crying that BioWare took their names away too. They could argue that BioWare shouldnt have done that & they should get their names back from you to accomodate them. 

Plus, releasing names doesn’t mean you’ll get any of the names you want because they might still be used by subscribers or active players. 

Like Steve said, unlocking the names won’t necessarily fix your issue & it will actually cause more problems than it fixes. It’s not worth BioWares time & potential lose of returning players just so some people “might” get a name they want.

If you don’t understand how Alt codes work, google it. Alternate spelling & Alt codes is how many of us with 50+ characters get the names we want to use 😉

Maybe if you told us what names you are trying to create, we could help you find a spelling or Alt code to create it🤷🏻‍♀️

[xordevoreaux]

On 5/16/2023 at 4:56 PM, Diamaht said:

I must have spent 30 minutes typing out names the other day. 

It's never taken me more than a minute.

1. During character generation at the name field, hit the randomize button.

2. Control-C to copy the name.

3. Hit randomize again.

4. Hit space key.

5. Control-V to paste the first name.

Done.

Most random names aren't names I want, but when I see two random names next to each other, I have the basis for something to work with, and that never takes long.

Second trick: Themes. Many of my original set of characters all have Gaelic / Celtic names. Not that difficult to go to babynames.com and start playing.

 

Edited May 20, 2023 by xordevoreaux

[xordevoreaux]

Imagine the furor and frustration if Bioware went along with the OP's idea but doing so doesn't help the situation.

Frustrated player: Free the names!
Bioware: Okay.
Frustrated Player: I still can't get the name I want!!! What the heck!!!
Bioware: Player in question has only been gone 2.5 years. Keep waiting. Thank you for your patience in this matter.

The idea of freeing names of characters not played in 5 years won't help people complaining on the forum for names created by players that have only been gone less than that. The people complaining would still need to cool their heels another 2 years to get the name they want.

The idea that somehow, magically, maybe the names they want would be freed by players gone 5+ years is only a hope, a probability, definitely not at all a likelihood.

Edited May 20, 2023 by xordevoreaux

[TrixxieTriss]

Just now, xordevoreaux said:

Imagine the furor and frustration if Bioware went along with that idea but it didn't help the situation.

Frustrated player: Free the names!
Bioware: Okay.
Frustrated Player: I still can't get the name I want!!! What the heck!!!
Bioware: Player in question has only been gone 2.5 years. Keep waiting. Thank you for your patience in this matter.

The idea of freeing names of characters not played in 5 years won't help people complaining on the forum for names created by players that have only been gone less than that. The people complaining would still need to cool their heels another 2 years to get the name they want.

The idea that somehow, magically, maybe the names they want would be freed by players gone 5+ years is only a hope, a probability, definitely not at all a likelihood.

Pretty much 🤷🏻‍♀️

It would also end up causing more harm than good

[TahliahCOH]

This would be good. I got locked out of my first swtor account (moved and didn't have access to the email anymore), and I would love to have my old names freed up to use on my new account.

[WayOfTheWarriorx]

15 hours ago, TahliahCOH said:

This would be good. I got locked out of my first swtor account (moved and didn't have access to the email anymore), and I would love to have my old names freed up to use on my new account.

Just so you know for the future, you can change the email attached to your SWTOR.

I recently got a new computer and needed a one time password in order to move the account to the new computer but because the account was made 10 years ago, I no longer had access to that old email so I called Costumer support and was able to change the email attached to the account to an email address I do have access to and it worked just fine and it only took about 15 minutes.

[TahliahCOH]

14 hours ago, WayOfTheWarriorx said:

Just so you know for the future, you can change the email attached to your SWTOR.

I recently got a new computer and needed a one time password in order to move the account to the new computer but because the account was made 10 years ago, I no longer had access to that old email so I called Costumer support and was able to change the email attached to the account to an email address I do have access to and it worked just fine and it only took about 15 minutes.

Thanks! This was a few years ago, and I did call customer support, but I honestly couldn't remember my exact account name (I knew the main part) or password, just my old (and now inaccessible) email address and my real name.  I didn't even have the same bank because I'd moved across country and went from one regional bank to the next.  I did remember my toon names and the level of the highest one, oddly enough, and even though I got the feeling the support person was staring right at my account, she said she couldn't help me because I didn't know enough.  That was fair enough, but it's literally sat there, unused for well over10 years now! By that point it didn't matter because they couldn't keep charging me, so I just started a new account and started over. 

tldr; I didn't know enough to get back in, according to support, but I would love to have my old toon name back. 

[Stradlin]

On 5/16/2023 at 8:55 AM, denavin said:

They are MY characters I PAY for them monthly their names are Mine not YOURS....

You can NOT steal my characters names.

Your inability to think of a name and your lack of imagine is not my fault or problem.

You only rent them from EA pal, sorry. 

[WayOfTheWarriorx]

13 hours ago, TahliahCOH said:

Thanks! This was a few years ago, and I did call customer support, but I honestly couldn't remember my exact account name (I knew the main part) or password, just my old (and now inaccessible) email address and my real name.  I didn't even have the same bank because I'd moved across country and went from one regional bank to the next.  I did remember my toon names and the level of the highest one, oddly enough, and even though I got the feeling the support person was staring right at my account, she said she couldn't help me because I didn't know enough.  That was fair enough, but it's literally sat there, unused for well over10 years now! By that point it didn't matter because they couldn't keep charging me, so I just started a new account and started over. 

tldr; I didn't know enough to get back in, according to support, but I would love to have my old toon name back. 

That's really too bad. I mean, couldn't they check the billing information as a form of confirmation? If you knew all the characters names on the account, and you can demonstraight proof of identity to go with the billing information, I don't get how they could lock you out of your own account like that.

If you still want to get your old toon and name back, I would call again bro. Maybe ask to speak to a higher up, push it a bit. I'll bet if you try again and seek a higher manager or something you could work it out. No harm in trying at any rate.

[YodaUnrea]

Absolutley NO!

[Shaori]

I don’t think we should be taking names from people that actively play, and never from a sub, but I don’t understand why we want to protect someone that tried SWTOR 5 years ago, decided they didn’t like it, then haven’t been back since. 

Is there a reason for this..? Why are we not wanting to free names from dead accounts? 

[SteveTheCynic]

Just now, Shaori said:

I don’t think we should be taking names from people that actively play, and never from a sub, but I don’t understand why we want to protect someone that tried SWTOR 5 years ago, decided they didn’t like it, then haven’t been back since. 

Is there a reason for this..? Why are we not wanting to free names from dead accounts? 

The big problem is where to draw the line between "away long enough to justify the unlock" and "nope, not long enough yet".  There's also the point that they should not *take* names from people.  Make it so names that are on unused characters become available, but aren't taken away unless another player actually wants them.  (That's more about declining the opportunity to actively harm players' accounts than it is about actually protecting them, since the unlocked name might get taken away by another player using it.)

And as some have noted, it's not a universal panacea:

• maybe you don't get that name you wanted because I logged in before you did and coincidentally got it
• maybe the name was like one I had, Luminara Excelsis, which I was able to put on a character.  After a while, I decided the specifics of the character were aggressively wrong, so I dropped the character, and tried to create the right version, and it was blocked by the automated name censor ("Invalid").  (Probably because of the religious reference in Excelsis if I had to speculate.)

[xordevoreaux]

48 minutes ago, SteveTheCynic said:

Make it so names that are on unused characters become available, but aren't taken away unless another player actually wants them. 

That has been suggested before in this thread and is the only possible fair way to do it. Don't rip names away from people just because the inactivity timer has finally expired.

[Shaori]

2 hours ago, SteveTheCynic said:

The big problem is where to draw the line

It’s not a problem.

- Don’t take them from a sub, regardless of how long they have held onto the name.

- Don’t take from anyone that actively logs on.

Set a time frame, just using this timeframe as an example, 4 years, then send out emails. 

It’s really that simple. And this isn’t about getting that one name I wanted so bad, this is about the fact we can’t even use the random name generator. I can’t even tell you the last time I got a name from the RNG that I could use. It’s ridiculous. 

[xordevoreaux]

12 minutes ago, Shaori said:

this is about the fact we can’t even use the random name generator. I can’t even tell you the last time I got a name from the RNG that I could use. It’s ridiculous. 

Once again I'm reminding people it takes 10 seconds to get a name off the RNG system in this game.

1. Click random name button. Control-C the results, clear the text box

2. Click random name button. Hit space after the name that appears. Control-V.

Done.