I'm so sad

[Ignatz the Insane]

4 hours ago, Excraft said:

I disagree.  

 

How are you in any position to agree or disagree about what the Devs can or cannot do?  You think they can manage it just fine you say.  How the heck do you know?  Because it's your opinion?  If you have more technical knowledge to impart, you should let the Devs know.  

 

Your arguments are pointless and self-centered, filled with conjecture based on what you want and what you expect.  There's a kind of hubris to your posts...like you deserve the changes you want, and the Devs are there to serve your desires.  Just my opinion.  Feel free to disagree.

[Oubliette_Red]

33 minutes ago, Ignatz the Insane said:

 

How are you in any position to agree or disagree about what the Devs can or cannot do?  You think they can manage it just fine you say.  How the heck do you know?  Because it's your opinion?  If you have more technical knowledge to impart, you should let the Devs know.  

 

Your arguments are pointless and self-centered, filled with conjecture based on what you want and what you expect.  There's a kind of hubris to your posts...like you deserve the changes you want, and the Devs are there to serve your desires.  Just my opinion.  Feel free to disagree.

 

I equate most of the "should be no problem to programs" posts I've in various threads as "I'm not a doctor, but...".

 

I may be misremembering (I have a hard time recalling last week, much less 2 decades ago) but originally, back in Legacy I believe it had to do with how global names impacted/interacted with accounts and/or billing. While there is no longer billing, the rewrite for the code revolving around globals/accounts may be a bigger pita than it's worth at this point.    ¯\_ (ツ)_/¯

 

[Excraft]

35 minutes ago, Ignatz the Insane said:

How are you in any position to agree or disagree about what the Devs can or cannot do?  You think they can manage it just fine you say.  How the heck do you know?  Because it's your opinion?

 

Well for starters, I can agree or disagree with changes being made to the game since I'm an individual with my own individual tastes, just like you and just like everyone else.  Second, yes, it is my opinion the folks here can take on and handle larger projects if they chose to do so.  Just read through some of the more technically oriented threads any of the HC folk working in the code have posted over the years and you'll see quite clearly they have a very good understanding of how things work.  I'd even go so far as to say they know it better than the original developers did.  Given their knowledge, experience and understanding of some of the more complicated issues the game engine has, I do think they have the talent and skill to take on larger projects and make major changes and code upgrades if they chose to do so.  I'm not in any way saying they must do those things and I am in no way dictating what they should or should not work on.  Most all of the stuff they've accomplished over the years has been wonderful and I'm very thankful they've devoted so much time and effort into it.  Their hard work and dedication is truly appreciated.  That doesn't mean I agree with or like every change that's been made and as far as I'm aware, we're all allowed to express our opinions here if we don't care for something.  If you don't think anyone should question anything or be allowed to post anything other than lavish praise, petition the HC GMs to change the forum rules to allow "praise and affirmations only". 

 

40 minutes ago, Ignatz the Insane said:

Your arguments are pointless and self-centered, filled with conjecture based on what you want and what you expect.  There's a kind of hubris to your posts...like you deserve the changes you want, and the Devs are there to serve your desires. 

 

No idea where you're getting any of that from as I never said anything of the sort.  I'm certainly not demanding anything of anyone at HC.  Your misrepresentation of my posts are definitely more a you problem than a me problem.  Your post seems like you're looking to start an argument for the sake of starting an argument for the sake of arguing.  Thanks, but no thanks.  Not interested.

[Excraft]

7 minutes ago, Oubliette_Red said:

I equate most of the "should be no problem to programs" posts I've in various threads as "I'm not a doctor, but...".

 

I may be misremembering (I have a hard time recalling last week, much less 2 decades ago) but originally, back in Legacy I believe it had to do with how global names impacted/interacted with accounts and/or billing. While there is no longer billing, the rewrite for the code revolving around globals/accounts may be a bigger pita than it's worth at this point.    ¯\_ (ツ)_/¯

 

 

Out of curiosity, have you ever read any of the posts from the HC folk about the technical aspects of that topic? 

[Nuc]

Quote

By all means, please point out where I said they weren't professional.

 

5 hours ago, Excraft said:

 

You've essentially said they're a volunteer staff and can't take on large(r) projects due to manpower.  I disagree.  I think they can manage it just fine as they look to have a firm grasp of the code and architecture of the game.  I'm not suggesting stuff like new costumes, powersets and such should be put on hold completely in favor of larger scale back end code improvements.  Just my opinion.  Feel free to disagree. 

 

Volunteer is not the same thing as "not professional". Plenty of professionals volunteer their time and skills with charities for example, the fact that they're volunteers makes their work no less professional. Try finding your nearest volunteer fireman and tell him he's not doing a professional job, let me know how you get on.

 

I also never said they can't take on larger(r) projects:

Quote

Very few things in software development are downright impossible, given enough time and resources, that doesn't mean they're all worth doing. Especially when you're working with limited resources, return on investment becomes a major factor. So yeah, it's certainly possible but what else gets pushed to one side in the meantime?

 

Bolded the bit you seem to be having trouble with. Unless they have enough resources to fully resource every single change they want to make simultaneously then yes, allocating resources to a difficult/tricky (your words, not mine) change like character names mean that other projects have less to work with. It's basic logic/maths. Feel free to disagree.

[Excraft]

1 minute ago, Nuc said:

Volunteer is not the same thing as "not professional". Plenty of professionals volunteer their time and skills with charities for example, the fact that they're volunteers makes their work no less professional. Try finding your nearest volunteer fireman and tell him he's not doing a professional job, let me know how you get on.

 

I'm not the one who suggested that they're not professionals and couldn't handle larger scale projects. 

 

2 minutes ago, Nuc said:

Unless they have enough resources to fully resource every single change they want to make simultaneously then yes, allocating resources to a difficult/tricky (your words, not mine) change like character names mean that other projects have less to work with. It's basic logic/maths.

 

Aren't they actively looking for more people who can work on development?  This may be true for now, but it doesn't mean larger scale things cannot be taken on in the future.  Again, I think you're selling the HC team very short.

Edited January 30 by Excraft

[Oubliette_Red]

15 minutes ago, Excraft said:

 

Out of curiosity, have you ever read any of the posts from the HC folk about the technical aspects of that topic? 

 

Don't recall, if I had it would have been a while ago.

 

[Ignatz the Insane]

54 minutes ago, Excraft said:

No idea where you're getting any of that from as I never said anything of the sort.  I'm certainly not demanding anything of anyone at HC.  Your misrepresentation of my posts are definitely more a you problem than a me problem.  Your post seems like you're looking to start an argument for the sake of starting an argument for the sake of arguing.  Thanks, but no thanks.  Not interested.

 

Shoot, after reading your reply and rereading mine, I came off as far more aggressive than I felt while typing it.  Sorry 'bout that.  That post definitely was a me problem.  There's a certain cadre of players who have such an intense sense of entitlement directed towards the Devs it makes my teeth hurt. 

 

You're generally mild in comparison, but you imply a great deal about what the Devs can/should or can't/shouldn't do.  You say repeatedly that you understand they are volunteers and I believe you when you say you appreciate the work they've done...but you don't seem to take into consideration their time constraints.  What's their commute like, do they have a physically or emotionally demanding job, do they have a family...  Running Homecoming up to now was more of a hobby than a job.  Hell, not more of...it is a Hobby.   

[ZacKing]

17 hours ago, Ignatz the Insane said:

How are you in any position to agree or disagree about what the Devs can or cannot do?  You think they can manage it just fine you say.  How the heck do you know?  Because it's your opinion?  If you have more technical knowledge to impart, you should let the Devs know.  

 

No personal offense meant to you, but this is very arrogant and presumptuous.  You aren't in any position to speak for anyone here either and you're attacking someone for their  supposed lack of knowledge and sharing their opinion.  Your post isn't lending anything to the conversation.  It comes off as defensive and just looking to start a fight by attacking someone who has a different opinion than you do and white knighting.  That's not cool.  I do see you apologized for it though, so that's a good thing and very kind of you to admit you were wrong.  Says a lot of good about you.

 

I'm happy to admit I don't know anything about the code here or what the devs are or aren't capable of.  I will say I do agree with what @Excraft said in that based on the devs own posts, they look to have a very good handle on why things work or don't work and what it would take to fix things properly for good.  So yeah, that's not demanding or dictating to anyone what they should or shouldn't work on.  It's just sharing an opinion on what they feel might be a more worthwhile effort if the team here decides to take on that project and expressing their confidence in the devs that they can handle a big project like that.  No idea why a couple of people here are taking that as some personal insult of the dev team or someone kicking a puppy and using it as a white knighting opportunity. 

 

Anyway, one thing that seems to have been lost here is that the whole names topic and how to fix it has come up a quite a lot over the years.  Having a name not be available has been a continuing pain point for a lot of people and has led to a lot of frustration for many players.  Seems like some people posting here have forgotten that's what this thread is about.  So yeah, maybe it's worth the extra time and effort to put in a fix that makes the name problem go away so more people can enjoy the game playing a character with a name they really want.  Being of the opinion that kind of project is a good and valuable use of dev time isn't being selfish since it helps everyone, especially those who would get the opportunity to get a name they really wanted but couldn't get.  For me personally, I could definitely live without a new costume piece or story content for a while if it meant that the name issue could be resolved properly once and for all for everyone.  That makes sure there's no guesswork in whether or not a name would be released and no disappointment when it isn't through the existing naming policy.  

 

@Excraft is right, the HC devs have posted quite a few tidbits over the years about the challenges in fixing how names work.  It's not something they said they absolutely couldn't do, they just chose less involved things due to limited staff, but they're recruiting more now.  They definitely know what they're doing and they're fully capable of understanding the problem and have the skills to fix it.  Maybe they can take on something bigger like that with more people helping to code.  I don't think that's a bad thing for them to work on for the long term health of the game.  That's just my opinion though.  You may feel different and that's ok too.  Free and open discussion and sharing of ideas and opinions should be allowed here without others immediately pouncing on someone who disagrees with something done here.

[ZacKing]

17 hours ago, Oubliette_Red said:

While there is no longer billing, the rewrite for the code revolving around globals/accounts may be a bigger pita than it's worth at this point.

 

I remember the dev posts talking about this where they said it would be a big project and require a lot of work, but not impossible to do.  If taking that on helps eliminate the pain point and frustration a lot of people have with character names, maybe its a pita worth enduring.  Like I said above, I personally can live without a new costume piece or two or new mission for a while while this gets worked on.

[Excraft]

17 hours ago, Ignatz the Insane said:

Shoot, after reading your reply and rereading mine, I came off as far more aggressive than I felt while typing it.  Sorry 'bout that.  That post definitely was a me problem.  There's a certain cadre of players who have such an intense sense of entitlement directed towards the Devs it makes my teeth hurt. 

 

You're generally mild in comparison, but you imply a great deal about what the Devs can/should or can't/shouldn't do.  You say repeatedly that you understand they are volunteers and I believe you when you say you appreciate the work they've done...but you don't seem to take into consideration their time constraints.  What's their commute like, do they have a physically or emotionally demanding job, do they have a family...  Running Homecoming up to now was more of a hobby than a job.  Hell, not more of...it is a Hobby.   

 

No need to apologize at all, but thank you for doing so.  I didn't take any personal offense to your comment.  I certainly understand your thinking here and I'm not saying you're wrong, I just think you're making quite a few assumptions about my opinion and ascribing some purposefully negative, insulting connotation to it that isn't there. 

 

I'm basing my opinion on what the HC folk are capable of doing from the posts the folks handling the code made posted themselves, so I'm not making anything up and pulling stuff out of thin air.  I'm accepting their clear expertise on the subject after reading their comments on it.  I'm also not demanding anyone drop everything on work on what I demand they work on.  Maybe I haven't made that opinion clear enough, so that's on me.  I think @ZacKing summed things up rather well.  I too think a larger project that would fix issues for everyone like unique names is a worthwhile effort, with the caveats if the HC folk are able to find enough people to help with that coding effort and if they decide its something they'd like to tackle.  Again, to be clear, I'm not demanding anyone drop everything and do this instead.  It's entirely up to HC to decide what to work on.  I'm just offering a point of view expressing that I believe that's a worthwhile project for the long term.  You're of course welcome to disagree.

 

I'll reiterate that I understand they're a volunteer group who are doing this as a hobby.  I'm not demanding anyone turn this into a full time job and burn themselves out.  I'm not sure where or why some folk here are reading that into it.  Just as you call out the small cadre of people who have a clear sense of entitlement, there's also (sadly) a very large cadre of people who want to jump all over and attack anyone who may express any thought that runs counter to or is in any way, regardless of how minor, critical of anything the HC folk do.  Both those are extreme positions though and I think most people fall somewhere in the more reasonable middle. 

[Perfidy]

On 1/15/2024 at 10:48 PM, Glacier Peak said:

Try another shard, perhaps it's not taken there. You can also try and contact the player whose name you're seeking and ask if they're willing to part ways. 

I would be remiss if I didn't share that I have contacted several people, and also been contacted about getting a specific name. 

I have never turned anyone down, and I have only been turned down once. It's not a lost cause. It also helps sometimes if you explain briefly why the name is important to you, maybe the back story and other details. 

One of my characters on Torchbearer I hadn't played in months, if not a year or so. I'd even taken a spot on a free farm and imagined leveling that way until I could get my Phantom Army power. I did that - but never played the character, despite a pretty cool name. So, I gave up the name when asked. A lot of folks, I suspect, would be willing to do that for free. 

If you find someone who wants you to pay a zillion inf or something - come to the forums and explain why you need the inf, you may find yourself being donated the necessary sum. 

[Oubliette_Red]

3 hours ago, ZacKing said:

 

I remember the dev posts talking about this where they said it would be a big project and require a lot of work, but not impossible to do.  If taking that on helps eliminate the pain point and frustration a lot of people have with character names, maybe its a pita worth enduring.  Like I said above, I personally can live without a new costume piece or two or new mission for a while while this gets worked on.

 

How many is "a lot"? Seems like there is a very small percentage of folks that bring it up and a considerable amount that worked out their own sollutuion, made a character and played on. I think I've seen about the same amount of posts from folks still raging about ED.

 

[lemming]

1 hour ago, Oubliette_Red said:

How many is "a lot"? Seems like there is a very small percentage of folks that bring it up and a considerable amount that worked out their own sollutuion, made a character and played on. I think I've seen about the same amount of posts from folks still raging about ED.

It gets mentioned everytime the name stuff comes up, but based on what I've read on it, it would be a complicated thing to fix, so most people go "Would be nice, but understandable why it's not"

 

I used to work on a game that had a couple bad design issues that dealt with the DB.   I modified one since it was causing a lot of overhead processing problems and that took a good couple months of work.   And that was nothing compared to what would entail getting this account server and the rest of the game to cooperate.

[ZacKing]

2 hours ago, Oubliette_Red said:

How many is "a lot"? Seems like there is a very small percentage of folks that bring it up and a considerable amount that worked out their own sollutuion, made a character and played on. I think I've seen about the same amount of posts from folks still raging about ED.

 

Enough that it's a problem that comes up often here and is clearly a big issue for many.  Here's just one recent example. 

 

There's already a handful of open threads about it in General Discussion right now, not to mention various server subforums for name releases and such.

 

Personally, I'm fine with using a thesaurus or doing without a name, but clearly some people just aren't.  Like I said, I'm perfectly fine going without a costume piece or new powerset if it means people like those expressing their frustration over names can get that problem resolved permanently. 

 

[DrunkFlux]

Most of my character names are derived from thesaurus definitions, with a few exceptions.  *Shrug*