Iksar said:Hmmm, I really like the suggested idea that you can have just a firstname and be the only one instead of requiring a surname but those after can use the name as long as it has a surname.
I was kind of pained to hear brads explanation of the naming policy, though I understand. The above quoted would not only help compromise with the people in my camp, but also add value to the pledges early naming perk.
I've had to fight for my character names in a lot of MMORPGs, and it's been very frustrating. I like to think that the names I choose are original, and I try very hard to avoid names that come from movies or books, shows or popular single-player games. But apparently, what sounds good to me sounds good to a lot of other people to, and so the result is that in games that only allow one name, I am *always* having to race to reserve my character names before anyone else gets them, even starting at launch. Feels bad man. And don't get me started on server merges. I've stopped playing games before after losing the name of my main character in a server merge.
I am very attached to my character names. There are a few I have been using for nearly 20 years across multiple games. Real life friends who have gamed with me sometimes call me by those names because they're that much a part of my identity. So, ditching them and coming up with brand new ones isn't really something that I would enjoy doing either. Not to mention I'd still have the same problem with a bunch of faceless people out there picking the names I had chosen somehow.
BUT, in games where everyone is forced to pick a surname at creation, I don't have this frustration. It doesn't matter whether I get in right at launch, and I'm not penalized by my time zone or the fact that I might have a RL job and responsibilities. I don't have to create a bunch of characters that I won't use for weeks or months solely to reserve their names either. Overall, it's a lot less stressful, and it lets me focus on enjoying the game instead of trying to preserve my identity.
I get why people don't like being forced to pick a surname, or why they don't like that someone else can have their first name, but the alternative situation is far worse in my opinion.
I see no reason not to allow the surname to be blank. That way if I want just plain Dorotea as a name I can enter Dorotea as my selection and get it if I am the first to select Dorotea Snow ((cough)) ((oops)) I mean Dorotea ((blank)) as my name. Anyone coming later can then get Dorotea ((any unchosen last name))
How about- to add "edge" to the so-percieved care-bear filthy casual RP PvE servers, make one of the rules: A surname can be taken from another player if they are defeated in the arena.
Or make it a core rule on a PvP server? i.e. any player defeated by another will have their surname taken from them. The defeated player will have to choose another, non-identical surname. the winner, will have that surname to use. the winner will have a list of won surnames to choose from.
The winner can have any one of those surnames taken from them by another player - OR - only the former bearer of the original surname can take back their old surname, and destroy their current surnname if they win.
dorotea said:I see no reason not to allow the surname to be blank. That way if I want just plain Dorotea as a name I can enter Dorotea as my selection and get it if I am the first to select Dorotea Snow ((cough)) ((oops)) I mean Dorotea ((blank)) as my name. Anyone coming later can then get Dorotea ((any unchosen last name))
And people will think those characters are you, but you've finally chosen a surname.
I think both firstnames and lastnames should be unique, not the combination of the two.
I know that doesn't help to give a large pool of names, but I don't like the idea of the confusion.
If I have characters called Valorous Disposalist, Nefarious Disposalist, Pious Disposalist, etc, I don't want someone coming along and naming theirs The Disposalist or Disposalist Valorous or just Disposalist.
The pool of names is greater, sure, but the potential for confusion is greater, not less.
There's got to be a way to make the pool of names larger without making confusion/impersonation worse.
Maybe you should always be able to right-click and see the players name/id/alias?
dorotea said:Manouk - very nice thinking outside of the box suggestion. Though I suspect a cheek bulging from the pressure of a tongue.
half-true. Surnames mean alot on RP servers, so if a name can be taken in a duel that would be huge!. The totally player driven vendetta, as I see it, would be to get that name back.
In a PvE environment that would make duels in arenas a big thing, not casually gotten into. On the other hand, it might make PvP environments desirable to the RP'er just for this feature, to rip the surname from their foe or hated one. Likewise in a moment of catharsis or dark romance, to allow oneself to be slain to give their surname.
The mechanics might be impossible. What I would like to see is a selective choice made available only to the winner. For instance: if I am a good player killer, I will have 20 surnames "collected" that I have taken, I may choose to use any one of them as my own surname. I may choose to keep my real surname hidden and not used. Someone whose name I have taken then comes and duels me (on a PvP server, ganks me) If they win, they get a menue choice to get their surname back that I originally took, or take my real surname but they cannot take the surname I am currently using.
This makes first names important as that is the only identifier as to who owns your name if you are defeated.