Naming Characters

[Ultimo]

I don't know if it's been suggested before, or if it's even possible, but I'm finding it VERY difficult to name my characters.  In some cases, it's a matter of wanting to use a name I'd used back in the old days, such as my tanker (and main) the Canadian Shield.  That name is simply not available on any server.  In other cases, it's just a matter of trying to find a name that fits the concept of the character.  For example, I'm trying to find a name for my Batman-themed character, and simply cannot find a name that isn't unavailable.  I've tried Crusadar, Nightshade, Night-Shade, Night Shade, on and on and on.  I remember this being an issue for the original game under NCSoft, and they never did anything about it except occasional name purges.

 

However, name purges might not be ideal in this case, because being free to play here, there's no telling when players might come back after lengthy absence.  So, my suggestion is to do something like what Champions Online did.  We all have chat handles.  Mine is @Ultimo1.  The way Champions did it was to append that handle to the end of the character's name.  So, the Canadian Shield would actually be Canadian Shield@Ultimo1 (though, you wouldn't see the @Ultimo1 part).  This would allow multiple players to use the same name.

 

Either way, I think this is an issue that needs to be looked into. 

 

Thanks.

[Ruin Mage]

This would require taking an axe, scalpel, and jackhammer to the game and even then that wouldn't be enough. I also don't agree with the Champions way in terms of unique names. I think the naming policy / activity policy is better.

[MTeague]

This is a very recurring concern.  Search a couple different forums and you'll find several posts related, every few weeks.

 

That said, Devs have confirmed that while they have an on-paper idea (linked in the FAQ.... very very top bar..... Browse, Activity, Account Center, FAQ, etc......) on "Name Release Policy", it has not been coded, and I'd guess they're wrestling a bit with pros and cons and when is just vs unjust.

 

I mean, in LIVE.... I don't remmber if there was ever a name-purge. I know I heard it talked about as an idea.... but I don't know that it ever HAPPENED.  And I had to come up with different names for all my characters on Guardian server back in the day.  Several of my first tries were rejected. Some few I got.  A few I wrestled with how much mispellings could I tolerate, some I said no and came up with a different name entirely or scrapped a character idea for lack of a name. 

 

I DO think the problem is probably amplified because of the sheer number of characters that each account can create on the same server.  On Live, I think we had ... what?   12 slots per server?  Thereabouts?  And multiple accounts meant $$ per month, at least for much of the life of the game, so that probably toned things down. 

 

I'd be open to the idea of maybe being able to flag X number of names as "Untouchably mine" on a first-come first serve basis, because everyone probably has a "core" group of characters that they very much identify with couldn't bear to lose.  And any number of names above that number being at some state of risk.  But I will admit freely, part of why I say that is I have only 30 characters, and some of them have very obscure names to begin with.  So I would be less likely to be personally impacted, and as such, it's probably not entirely fair for me to suggest the idea.

 

Most of all I'm glad I am not personally responsible for having to choose and implement an idea, because you know that person is going to catch flak no matter what, even if the ultimate decision is "do nothing."

Edited March 6, 2020 by MTeague

[Ultimo]

1 hour ago, Shadeknight said:

This would require taking an axe, scalpel, and jackhammer to the game and even then that wouldn't be enough. I also don't agree with the Champions way in terms of unique names. I think the naming policy / activity policy is better.

Could you elaborate on why you don't like the Champions method?  It seems to me we already have the @handle, so it wouldn't mean adding THAT... and it WOULD let everyone have whatever name they want for their characters.

[Ruin Mage]

I don't like that unique names go out the window.

Also, the game works entirely different code-wise than CO. The're two very different beasts.

[Sif]

21 minutes ago, MTeague said:

I mean, in LIVE.... I don't remmber if there was ever a name-purge. I know I heard it talked about as an idea.... but I don't know that it ever HAPPENED.

It did, and the devs commented that it had little impact on things.

 

 

Personally, I think it would be interesting to log stats about every name attempt, including how old the character that took it is, their level, their time played, last played and last play for that account, and plot it. This could tell you some interesting things, like that nearly all failures are for hot names, which means even if they implemented the stated policy, it would have effectively no impact in the challenge of getting a name. Alternatively, it might show a huge long tail, that it's not just everyone trying to make Supramans and Incredible Borks, and it would result in a large increase in successes.

 

And then watching over time, using that data, simulate various policies, and see how many of the taken names are on characters/accounts that get played again later, every one of those would potentially be a person that had a character get damaged.

[WanderingAries]

I'm gonna get torched I'm sure, but those are really obvious alternatives and likely common enough that others would pick up on for sure. This appears to be the problem many have (that have issues finding the name they want), but to some of us it feels more like a lack of effort than anything else. Be it Live or Now, I've very rarely had an issue getting a name within the first couple tries. Granted, I don't tend to try cloning existing things (which is technically against the naming rules btw) either.

 

People have different approaches to names, costumes, etc and that's great. Personally, unless I already have a theme in mind, I'll base the character off of say a new AT. Here are some examples of names that I'd managed within 1-6 tries (mostly first try):

 

Bone-Chilling                  Ice costume
Hard Boiled                     Fire costume
Stone Walled                  Stone costume
Titan Oh Myy                  Titan weapons
Water Marked                 Water powers

 

Here to Bite KOIS            Tribute alt for the purpose of looking at KOIS' bases that he builds on a server I wasn't playing on :P

 

Cyphilis Centurion          Crab AT
Double Reticle                Dual pistols
Main de la Morte            MM with zombies I believe
Verborgenes Feuer         Fire/Fire/Fire alt

[Llewellyn Blackwell]

Got to say I feel in the case of your batman parody... homage? Not sure which was really your goal with the above names you tried.

 

Here is my batman homage born in praetoria. The Black Flying Fox! Along with his sidekick The Bumblebee Bat, they fought the violent and merciless who harmed innocent people, no matter their station or faction.

 

I originally made BFF back on Live and had no issue getting his name again.

 

On one hand I have zero issue with how CoH does it, and on the other had fun with COs global handle system as well. If they changed it for CoH it wouldnt break my heart but would def change things.

[Outrider_01]

14 hours ago, Ultimo said:

Could you elaborate on why you don't like the Champions method?  It seems to me we already have the @handle, so it wouldn't mean adding THAT... and it WOULD let everyone have whatever name they want for their characters.

Global didn't exist when game was introduced.  Game was designed in a time before the idea of a Charactername(@fullaccountname hidden used in other MMO)

 

Also, topic ad infinitum ad nausea.  This was just mentioned barely over a week, called "Squatting" but the greatest answer is :

1. Lack of imagination and original ideal names
2. Try name
3. Someone got it first
4. Try a different name
5. Someone got it first
6. Try a different name
7. Someone got if first
8. Everybody desires that specific name
9. Lack of patience to find something different
10. They get extremely pissed and agitated.
11. Lack of patience is at an end
12. Run to the Suggestion section
13. Random idea to fix the problem
14. Bitter and bickering argument (maybe)
15. Someone goes and points out the Dev's laid out plans
16. Another person mentions its not actually implemented, it is just a basic outline
17. Bitter bickering continues (probably)
18. Lack of imagination and original name actually turned out to be the problem
    1. Suggestion of tools to help out
       1. Thesaurus
       2. Another language
       3. Punctuation mark
       4. Alternate spellings (Defense/Defence, based on origin of where is spoken on the planet)
       5. Obfuscation of name such as capital I and lower case L ( I - l so which is which? )
       6. Combination of the words together or separation of the words used (Superman Super man or Batman Bat Man)
       7. Lack of imagination and original names
    2. RAAAAAAAAAHHHHHH! IN ANGER IT STILL ISN'T SOMETHING I LIKE
19. *sigh*
20. Umm, anyone got suggestions and help out? (<--- no one took this option, as someone might give up a name if you asked; provided they are active)

 

Also doesn't help if you are on Excelsior or Torchbearer as they are the most populated with the greatest number of names taken.

 

Edited March 6, 2020 by Outrider_01

[Chris24601]

Not really a solution so much as a workaround is that I use [civilian name]-[hero name] for my names. There’s a lot less chance of both parts being previously taken. The only downside is the character limit for name means you have to keep both short.

 

Alternatively, if there’s no reason for a particular concept to have a secret identity then I just use a given name. Lots of my magic origin toons who are members of the Midnight Squad go that route.

[WanderingAries]

5 hours ago, Outrider_01 said:

Global didn't exist when game was introduced.  Game was designed in a time before the idea of a Charactername(@fullaccountname hidden used in other MMO)

 

1. Lack of imagination and original name actually turned out to be the problem
   1. Suggestion of tools to help out
      1. Thesaurus
      2. Another language
      3. Punctuation mark
      4. Alternate spellings (Defense/Defence, based on origin of where is spoken on the planet)
      5. Obfuscation of name such as capital I and lower case L ( I - l so which is which? )
      6. Combination of the words together or separation of the words used (Superman Super man or Batman Bat Man)
      7. Lack of imagination and original names

 

I actually came back to mention some of the above as even on live I molded the bio's of my alts based on this too. I had a set of sisters that were Rad based so I chose Chernobyl as a backstory which resulted in applicable names. It's so much more about stepping outside of the box really when it comes to character names. I have one name that I use Everywhere online for gaming and I've Never had trouble getting that name even though there aren't any fancy characters or spacing.

 

As for your top bit (on the snip), this is what most players don't seem to know/remember and it has a Major impact on naming. That and the fact that the global was introduced to allow you to interact across servers. So when it comes down to it, it'd be Easier to do naming based on servers than global because global would REDUCE the capacity of names (if it were even possible) because then you couldn't have the same name on two servers (some people like mirroring their alts to play with different friends, expand on alt build design, etc).

[biostem]

I'm curious why someone would think they are entitled to a particular name at all.

 

That being said, I wonder if certain small accommodations could be made, such as allowing the use of the ampersand (&).  I've named several characters "[Something] 'n [Something]" because the & isn't permitted...

Edited March 6, 2020 by biostem

[MetaVileTerror]

Also, call me paranoid, but the potential for trolling or outright impersonation would only increase if multiple players could have characters with exactly the same name.

I've seen enough drunk and/or emotionally-charged players generate drama which just spreads like wildfire.  I'm not eager to provide a tool for that kind of conduct to be employed with more precision.

[Ruin Mage]

Big agree with MVT

[EmmySky]

4 minutes ago, MetaVileTerror said:

Also, call me paranoid, but the potential for trolling or outright impersonation would only increase if multiple players could have characters with exactly the same name.

I've seen enough drunk and/or emotionally-charged players generate drama which just spreads like wildfire.  I'm not eager to provide a tool for that kind of conduct to be employed with more precision.

But where will I get the drama in my life?  I'm old and boring, kids are grown, coworkers only provide so much entertainment.... 😝

[VileTerror]

Might I recommend the joy and merriment of -artificial- drama!
Same great taste; none of the real-world shittiness!

Available NOW! at your local Roleplaying Shard:  Everlasting.

[Oubliette_Red]

16 minutes ago, EmmySky said:

But where will I get the drama in my life?  I'm old and boring, kids are grown, coworkers only provide so much entertainment.... 😝

I would recommend either 'General' or 'Suggestions & Feedback'. Drama crops up in those sections every few days or so.

[_NOPE_]

22 hours ago, Ultimo said:

I don't know if it's been suggested before, or if it's even possible, but I'm finding it VERY difficult to name my characters.  In some cases, it's a matter of wanting to use a name I'd used back in the old days, such as my tanker (and main) the Canadian Shield.  That name is simply not available on any server.  In other cases, it's just a matter of trying to find a name that fits the concept of the character.  For example, I'm trying to find a name for my Batman-themed character, and simply cannot find a name that isn't unavailable.  I've tried Crusadar, Nightshade, Night-Shade, Night Shade, on and on and on.  I remember this being an issue for the original game under NCSoft, and they never did anything about it except occasional name purges.

 

However, name purges might not be ideal in this case, because being free to play here, there's no telling when players might come back after lengthy absence.  So, my suggestion is to do something like what Champions Online did.  We all have chat handles.  Mine is @Ultimo1.  The way Champions did it was to append that handle to the end of the character's name.  So, the Canadian Shield would actually be Canadian Shield@Ultimo1 (though, you wouldn't see the @Ultimo1 part).  This would allow multiple players to use the same name.

 

Either way, I think this is an issue that needs to be looked into. 

 

Thanks.

 

Let's see... Canadian Shield:

 

1.  Alternate Words - Pull out the Thesaurus:

• Canadian Bulwark
• Canadian Aegis
• Canadian Defender
• Canadian Buckler
• Canadian Guard
• Canadian Escutcheon
• Canadian Ward
• Canadian Rampart
• Canuck Shield
• Canuck Bulwark
• Canuck Aegis
• Canuck Defender
• Canuck Buckler
• Canuck Guard
• Canuck Escutcheon
• Canuck Ward
• Canuck Rampart

2. Alternative Language - Pull out Google Translate

• Spanish:
  • Baluarte Canadiense
  • Aegis Canadiense
  • Defensor Canadiense
  • Escudo Canadiense
  • Guardia Canadiense
  • Escudo Canadiense
  • Barrio Canadiense
  • Muralla Canadiense
  • Escudo Canuck
  • Guardia Canuck
  • Escudo Canuck
  • Muralla Canuck
• French (Probably more appropriate):
  • Rempart Canadien
  • Égide Canadienne
  • Défenseur Canadien
  • Buckler Canadien
  • Garde Canadienne
  • Écusson Canadien
  • Quartier Canadien
  • Bouclier Canuck
  • Rempart de Canuck
  • Rosace Canuck

etc. etc.... infinite possiblities here!

 

3. Get Creative - Be Open to New Interpretations

• Maple Avenger
• The Red Shield of Canada
• Avenger of the Northlands
• Newfoundman
• Auroran Warrior
• The Great Torontan
• Shield of the Inuits

Really, REALLY, the only limits are:

A) Your imagination, and

B) Your acceptance of the fact that you can't have that EXACT SPECIFIC name that you want.

 

 

[Outrider_01]

4 minutes ago, The Philotic Knight said:

Really, REALLY, the only limits are:

A) Your imagination, and

B) Your acceptance of the fact that you can't have that EXACT SPECIFIC name that you want.

 

Masked Manitoba Mapleleaf Marauder

Edited March 6, 2020 by Outrider_01

[VileTerror]

 . . . 

 

"Maple Avenger."

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=dCjNi20daiI&t=38

[_NOPE_]

Just now, VileTerror said:

 . . . 

 

"Maple Avenger."

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=dCjNi20daiI&t=38

GOD I loved DBZ Abridged. I really have to go back and re-watch all of them. Are they still making new ones?

[VileTerror]

They -just- announced that "No, sorry.  The passion is gone."

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=vZy8D4B8LLs

[Sif]

None take on Excelsior yet:

 

Mighty Moose

Canadian Rabid Moose

Moose on the Loose

I have a shield

Maple Moose

Spooky Moosey

I'm Sorry

 

 

3 minutes ago, VileTerror said:

They -just- announced that "No, sorry.  The passion is gone."

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=vZy8D4B8LLs

They did finish the Cell Saga, which was probably their last good place to stop before completing Z.

[VileTerror]

"I'm Sorry" or "Sorry. Eh"

Sadly, without a "hold the Door open for uncomfortably long times" Power Set, I don't think such a concept could ever be complete.

 

Also:  https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=-sdJMslWLFw

[srmalloy]

1 hour ago, WanderingAries said:

I actually came back to mention some of the above as even on live I molded the bio's of my alts based on this too. I had a set of sisters that were Rad based so I chose Chernobyl as a backstory which resulted in applicable names.

After discovering that CoH supported Unicode, I did this with many of my characters. One, recreated from live, a Fire/Rad controller, I named Yaderniy Ogon (Ядерный Огонь -- 'Nuclear Fire'), the other, new on Homecoming, a Rad/Dark tanker, Yadernaya Ten' (Ядерная Тень -- 'Nuclear Shadow'), sisters born to a woman exposed in the Chernobyl disaster.

 

It's a little more tedious to get decent names with a foreign language because sometimes the words don't translate to something that flows well, looks too much like badly-mangled English, or -- particularly with Russian -- translates into a pair of fifteen-character-long words that are unpronounceable, or look like 'KAOPECTATE' ('kah-oh-res-tah-tay' pronounced as Cyrillic), so you have to fiddle a bit more and sometimes switch languages to get a name that looks and sounds good, but you rarely have name-collision problems.