Homecoming Server Update (May 20th): What's Next?

[Player2]

I have 113 characters on the Excelsior server.  Several of those names I have duplicated on other servers, because when everything was first setting up I wasn't sure which server I was going to stick with.  So let's say I probably have over 200 characters total.

 

I am FINE with the naming policy.

 

My highest level is 40, and I'm not certain when I'll get to 50.  My next highest is 28, and it drops off to low 20s and mid teens after that, meaning that the bulk of the characters I have shown an interest in I will have to check in on them once every 90 days.  Plenty of level 1 - 4, and we'll see if my interest in them grows before someone else claims one of their names.

 

I am GLAD for this naming policy...  even if it doesn't help me, I remember back in the old days passing on the Virtue server because a number of names I wanted were taken.  And later on when server populations started to slack off a bit and more of my friends played primarily on Virtue, I found it highly irritating to log in their on a regular basis with all of those names I wanted put on my friends list and NEVER ONCE seeing them logged in.  I suffered through character renames and also abandonment because I couldn't get the name I wanted where I wanted.  So if the policy helps anyone on the SCORE servers avoid that frustration, then I'm happy for them.

 

 

Side note:  some people are not jerks about names.  Once I settled on Excelsior, I had a very short list of character names that someone beat me to that I wanted.  Three, actually.  Using the /getglobalname feature, I got their names and contacted them via global chat and asked about trades.  One was ignored, another was a simple no (and I left it alone), and the third was definite maybe.  He had only just started playing and I had made a character with the name I wanted on Everlasting where he was currently playing, so I proposed a trade.  He asked if I could wait a couple of days until his regular gaming group decided which server they would call home.  I checked in a few days later, and sure enough they'd decided on Everlasting, so we set up the swap.  I moved my character to Excelsior with a 1 after the name, logged in and let him know the slot was freed up on Everlasting.  He logged out and moved over, then let me know so I could log out and change my name.

 

I still say hey to him in the game now and again even though we're on different servers, and recently popped over to see what his take on our shared name was.  Definitely pleased.

 

It was a friendly and respectful exchange.  And if it could work like that even a third of the time, then maybe the name reuse policy wouldn't be necessary.  But, in the old days, it was just terribly frustrating that I couldn't play what I wanted where I wanted because very likely someone had moved on from the game and left the name camped indefinitely because just in case they might come back.  Not that I ever saw any of them.

 

So bravo to the SCORE team.  It may not be the most popular decision that they've made, but I support and endorse it even though I know I'm going to lose some names I camped.

 

If you are an active player, you should be able to login once every 90 days to keep your names reserved, so just do some missions and hit level 6.  If you need longer than that, then might I recommend the Death From Below and Drowning in Blood trials.  You can get to level 21 EASILY, and that will give you a whole YEAR to catch up on as many alts as you need to secure their names.  And if you need more than a year to log in briefly on each character...  then too bad.  A line has to be drawn, and I commend the SCORE team for being bold enough to do so.  Get to level 50 if you want your character named to be immortalized as your own.

[Captain Fabulous]

I actually have an unpopular opinion regarding this... I think a level 50 should not be immune... I think they should get 1-2 years max and then their name is freed up. Same concept - if it is that important to you... log it in.

 

 

I actually agree here. I'm just saying that if we have a system that protects character names, it should account for all play styles.

 

Your "hours online" proposal makes no sense and won't help those people who are the most vocal in this thread as they simply make a character and never play it again...so they have the name. Your suggestion makes no sense to me because if a character is logging in and accumulating 20-40-60-100 hours... they are logging in and will not be affected by this policy. (I say that in a non-confrontational way because I don't see how a character being played for 40 hours is in danger...because they're not).

 

If someone has 100 characters they can't be arsed to actually play, at all, I don't give a damn about their character names.

 

My point on the hours thing is protection against life getting in the way of your gaming, which I said in my original post on the subject.

 

There's a lot of things that can happen to lead to a person not being able to log in for 30 days or more; military deployment, sudden illness or injury, chronic illness, computer failure, moving, loss of internet, etc.

 

Allow me to provide two scenarios:

I build a new character for PvP, I PL them to 50 (not that every 50 is PL'd, at all, just bear with me please), in all of 4 hours. I realize I need to farm more merits and/or inf to complete the build, so I shelf it. I plan to get back to it in about a week after I am doing farming up the resources for it, but my laptop dies. I can't afford a new computer for at least a month.

 

Three friends and I decide to play through Praetoria's story arcs and get the badge for switching alignments a ton. Because we want this badge, we need to turn XP off quite a bit. Maybe we're also roleplaying through, which slows us down on leveling even further. We play for 4 hours every Monday. After the second week we're still only level 5 because we had to turn off XP. Again, my laptop dies (I really need a new laptop if it dies this much ;)).

 

In the first scenario, it doesn't matter how long I am away from the game unable to log in, I will not lose the character name.

In the second scenario, if I can't get a new computer in 30 days, I could lose the name. Even though I have spent more time, and probably have more attachment to that character's name than I do the character in the first scenario.

 

As far as I understand it, the idea behind using character level as a metric for how long a character name is protected, is to provide a player with protection for their characters when life happens based on how much work/how attached to a character you are. My suggestion adds a second metric to check for that protection, to account for other play styles.

 

We cannot measure a persons attachment to their characters in any meaningful way, if we look at the metrics of what level they are and how much time they have spent on the character though, we can get an idea. Are they a high level? Then they probably really enjoy playing that character. Have the clocked a lot of hours? Then they probably really enjoy playing that character.

 

Solution to scenario 2: have one of the friends you play with log in for you.

 

Problem solved. Enjoy your perpetual level 5 with a lifetime of broken laptops.

 

Of course this won't help if all your friends die from a zombie apocalypse, a plague, or drown from tidal waves due to global warming. Or some other ridiculous scenarios you continue to concoct.

[Zolgar]

Solution to scenario 2: have one of the friends you play with log in for you.

 

Problem solved. Enjoy your perpetual level 5 with a lifetime of broken laptops.

 

Of course this won't help if all your friends die from a zombie apocalypse, a plague, or drown from tidal waves due to global warming. Or some other ridiculous scenarios you continue to concoct.

 

Sounds like a perfect solution!

 

All names expire after 30 days, if you can't log in, have your friends do it for you.

[nDervish]

But this naming policy seems OK to me. I'll just do an excel spreadsheet and make sure i login. Oh wait, I already did one to keep track of day jobs! Never Mind.

 

You don't even need a spreadsheet to track it.  The Character Select screen already tells you how many days it's been since each character was last used.  I've been using that from the start to help me rotate through all my alts - most of the time, I don't have a specific character I'm looking to play, so I look through the list and play whoever has been idle the longest.

[Zarghak]

I totally agree with the name policy but...  what about appearance ??

I met several toons bearing a striking ressemblance with well-known superheroes/villains (and i must confess that some of my own toons are in the same case).  Doesn't it risk to bring trouble (aside from NC Soft for the game itself) with Marvel and DC lawyers ?  I know some quite similar case has been  tried a few years ago, but even if succesful, the fees for defense would be for the less "heavy" (sorry, english is not my native language for me, not sure for all the right words)

[Burnt Toast]

Addressed in this thread: https://forums.homecomingservers.com/index.php/topic,2176.0.html

 

 

I totally agree with the name policy but...  what about appearance ??

I met several toons bearing a striking ressemblance with well-known superheroes/villains (and i must confess that some of my own toons are in the same case).  Doesn't it risk to bring trouble (aside from NC Soft for the game itself) with Marvel and DC lawyers ?  I know some quite similar case has been  tried a few years ago, but even if succesful, the fees for defense would be for the less "heavy" (sorry, english is not my native language for me, not sure for all the right words)

[Rajani_Isa]

Or perhaps allow the first 2 characters per shard to be name locked at 30?

 

If you mean the first two in the list that are 30, one issue would be you cannot change the order of the list, only the display order (it's based on a text file on your computer).

 

If you mean the first two to reach it at all, not sure how easy it would be to do. They'd need to create new database entries for this, unless they're able to scan the badge info (level badges date acquired) which I'm not sure how easy it would be for them to do.

[raverbane]

Just wanted to throw in my two inf worth here and say I like the naming policy.  For all those that think it is a bit harsh.  Try making a character in SWTOR nowadays...  It is simple enough to just go through your list every few weeks and log in / log out every character ya got.  Done and done.  Names kept.

[termyt]

I don't mind the naming policy too much.  I much prefer the names be made by account rather than server, though.

[gilce]

I'm not against first comes first served as regards the naming policy. It's been like that for years since I started playing very long ago. Yet I am not against names to be dropped if the characters are not played, though I'd have appreciate the overall time spent playing to come as a "shield"or a booster, ie if someone has played longer than you he'll be given the name, but you'll stick with it if you have played longer even though you have not logged the given character for a while.

 

A side measure would have been to limit the number of characters per shard in order to limit name-camping (10 for instance). Such a rule could be softened by granting new character slots every x played days and/or every time a character hits 50. The more you play, the more characters you can have, otherwise you're stuck to 10 (if I stick to the example I have previously quoted).

 

I feel you have to encourage overall real playing time instead of just logging in and out all of your alts in order to keep your names.

 

After that, we’re going to be spawning some Giant Monsters, Arch-Villains, and Heroes for you all to fight. We’re doing this for two reasons:

 

If you spawn badge-giving monsters, will we be given the badge like we have defeated them the usual way?

[MERCURY DRIPS]

A side measure would have been to limit the number of characters per shard in order to limit name-camping (10 for instance). Such a rule could be softened by granting new character slots every x played days and/or every time a character hits 50. The more you play, the more characters you can have, otherwise you're stuck to 10 (if I stick to the example I have previously quoted).

 

I like this !

Probably more than 10 to my mind, but limiting the available slot to a smaller version than what we have today, and allow progressively with time spent in game to increase this number.

Exemple : start to 15 slot and be able to go up to +100%, wich mean 30 character slot for intensive players.

[Frakk]

accounts are free, so limiting the amount of characters per acct will only make people make more accounts.  Because making a character in this game can be a game in and of itself.

[gilce]

accounts are free, so limiting the amount of characters per acct will only make people make more accounts. 

Sure, but if you have multiple accounts you'll have an overall played time reduced compared to the one who would have stuck to a single account.

 

Moreover, with multiple accounts, you could be at risk according to the games rules when the server rise in population.

 

Because making a character in this game can be a game in and of itself.

Sure... yet if you have a 10, 15 or even 20 character slots per shard, that's 50 to 100 characters to start with. Of you add slots (per shard given the original number is per shard) per time played and per 50ish character that's could be much more.

From my personal experience, creating characters was a game, yet deleting them after a few hours was one as well.

 

[Player2]

Sure... yet if you have a 10, 15 or even 20 character slots per shard, that's 50 to 100 characters to start with. Of you add slots (per shard given the original number is per shard) per time played and per 50ish character that's could be much more.

From my personal experience, creating characters was a game, yet deleting them after a few hours was one as well.

 

50 to 100 characters to start with... if you don't playing on multiple shards. Personally, I prefer to stick with one main shard, and an alternate in case that one goes down for any reason. I want my 50 to 100 characters where I know people who are playing so I can join them with whichever of my characters that I choose. And the alternate shard I'll keep 5 to 10 characters on hand for a little diversity. So no, I don't like your idea. Sorry. The current system is acceptable to me.

[MrAxe]

Not even sure if the naming policy is working. An SG member wants the name of someone who's left, but can't get the name despite meeting the requirements apparently.

[Apparition]

2 hours ago, MrAxe said:

Not even sure if the naming policy is working. An SG member wants the name of someone who's left, but can't get the name despite meeting the requirements apparently.

 

The naming policy was never implemented.

[MetaVileTerror]

While the GMs are overworked as it is, and I hesitate to bring this up for fear of it being considered advocacy of what I'm about to say . . . but . . . 

 

Your friend could send an in-game support petition asking for the specific name to be freed up, citing the length of time the existing character has remained offline, and allowing for the GM to check for any signs of activity on that character's player account.

 . . . please don't utilize this suggestion too much, folks.  Please.  The GMs have more pressing problems to contend with day-to-day.

[nightroarer]

On 5/27/2019 at 12:14 PM, MERCURY DRIPS said:

 

I like this !

Probably more than 10 to my mind, but limiting the available slot to a smaller version than what we have today, and allow progressively with time spent in game to increase this number.

Exemple : start to 15 slot and be able to go up to +100%, wich mean 30 character slot for intensive players.

I currently have 59 characters and none are for name-camping. Some are soloers, some were created to team with specific people so that we level together, some are open to PUGs, etc. There are so many power and costume combos available in this game that it is ripe for creating many characters. 10-30 characters is nothing in CoH.

 

I had over 170 when CoH shut down before. There were times it took me a little effort to find a name that was not taken, but I never settled for a "bad" name. Even when Paragon implemented a timed name reuse policy, people still complained that all the "good" names were taken. I don't expect that to be any different when HC implements their policy.

 

Limiting players' creativity is rarely the best answer.

[MetaVileTerror]

Hear hear, nightroarer!  Altoholism is not a disease:  It's the cure!  The cure to boredom and tedium.  

I had around 150 on Live at the time of close, and had deleted somewhere between 50 to 100 of other characters before then simply because there weren't enough Slots on Live for me to keep them all on the Shards I wanted.  The 1000 Slots per Shard with unlimited free accounts of Homecoming is precisely the way I always wanted to play!  

[Jimmy]

1 hour ago, Apparition said:

 

The naming policy was never implemented.

It's more "not yet" rather than "never". It'll happen at some point, it's just not an urgent priority. The main reason we wanted to communicate it early was to ensure it wasn't a surprise.

[MetaVileTerror]

Communication is fantastic!  Thank you, kindly.
When the policy is ready to go in to effect, will a precise date be announced, or will it just be a "stealth update" sort of affair?  How many weeks of notice will be given, if the former?

[Kismette]

18 minutes ago, Jimmy said:

It's more "not yet" rather than "never". It'll happen at some point, it's just not an urgent priority. The main reason we wanted to communicate it early was to ensure it wasn't a surprise.

No, now!

I want a ball.  I want a party.

Pink macaroons and a million balloons and performing baboons and ...give it to me now!

 

😝

[nightroarer]

1 minute ago, MetaVileTerror said:

Communication is fantastic!  Thank you, kindly.
When the policy is ready to go in to effect, will a precise date be announced, or will it just be a "stealth update" sort of affair?  How many weeks of notice will be given, if the former?

This. In anticipation of the policy, I've tried to make a habit of logging in characters when they are reaching the "danger zone" for their level, but a good heads up announcement will help.

[Parabola]

I am a massive altoholic and lived in fear of the naming policy for months without realising that it hadn't in fact come into force. Each month I would log into dozens of characters in rotation to keep their logout time down - I was also a little hazy on what the different cut offs were ... When this does get implemented would it be at all possible to have some indication at character select of what the rules are or if we are getting fancy could there be some kind of warning on characters that are approaching the cut off for their level range?

 

I will say that I predict the response from people finding they have lost names due to the policy to be ... well lets just say 'not pretty'. I'm not saying I disagree with the policy in the broad sense but rather you guys than me in terms of dealing with the fallout :).

[Jimmy]

7 minutes ago, MetaVileTerror said:

Communication is fantastic!  Thank you, kindly.
When the policy is ready to go in to effect, will a precise date be announced, or will it just be a "stealth update" sort of affair?  How many weeks of notice will be given, if the former?

Of course. We'll give a good amount of notice, won't commit to an exact timeframe though 🙂