A name reset would be nice .

Discussion in 'Gotham City (General Gameplay)' started by Zaar, Oct 4, 2021.

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  1. willflynne 10000 Post Club


    Over the years I've made over 20 characters. Some were throw-away characters to test a power set and then deleted, some were throwaways that became storage characters, some were made for a concept but never played and the rest are all active. For the most part I got lucky in getting the names I wanted, but there were a few where my first choice was not available. My reaction?

    "Dang it, someone else beat me to it. Oh well, let's see what else I can come up with."

    The naming system has always been a "first come, first served" deal. If someone else got to the name first, they got it. I'm not entitled to getting it because they may not be playing that character and I might want it more, and honestly even if any names I wanted did become available I probably wouldn't change names because I like what I came up with better.

    Given all the potential problems out there (both in the game and in real life), getting hung up over NOT getting the name you wanted in the game just seems a little silly.
    • Like x 4
  2. willflynne 10000 Post Club


    It's refreshing to see that you do acknowledge that you're engaging in more than a little speculation about what might be going on with other characters you can look up via sites like wavedox. Most wouldn't admit to that. :)

    However, we've had at least one name reclaim before now, and I've seen similar types of reclaiming events take place in other games. Star Wars Galaxies had a problem where a LOT of player housing (you could set up houses/buildings on many of the planets in game) was cluttering the landscape because they had turned off house maintenance (gesture of kindness towards players affected by hurricanes) but the players weren't playing anymore for reasons. So they announced a house clean-up event where inactive houses could be "demolished" to clear up space for current players to place houses.

    (They weren't demolished, just packed up into the player's inventory so they could be set back up should they come back. They weren't THAT heartless LOL)

    Quite a few houses were flagged for clean-up, and a decent amount of space opened up once the dust from all the demolition settled. But a lot of prime real estate and some nifty locations someone might have wanted to place a house at were still occupied. And things didn't change all that much after players complained about house clutter again and they did another clean-up event.

    Whether it's been house clean-up or name redistribution, the imagined effects of those events have never really matched what happened in reality, especially on the second pass.
    • Like x 1
  3. OnlyNomad The One Above All

    [IMG]


    I'd double thumbs up if I could. The fact that people deal in selling/buying names and get hung up on not getting the name they wanted is beyond ridiculous and silly. Use your damn imagination.
    • Like x 2
  4. OnlyNomad The One Above All




    See that's the thing, it's happened plenty of times where I came up with a name and it was taken. Sure it was a bummer but I sat there longer and cooked up my imagination and came up with something else. That's the reality, people got to it first, it sucks but that's life. I think your point is pretty representative of younger generations who think they're entitled to things.

    Again the only people who have a bone in name reclaims are those who are unimaginative and lack creativeness and those who have a financial gain in it.
    • Like x 2
  5. Beat Active Player

    But, see there's a funny thing that is important in both aspects between real and fake, it's called balance.

    I'm not saying people should get anything they want when they want it, I'm just saying the "I had it first" idealogy in a video game is foolish to say the least.

    If you buy a limited edition pair of shoes in real life then of course it's yours, no one has a right to take your shoes because they'd wear them more often.
    BUT
    A name in a video game( an MMO at that) shouldn't be a "first come first serve" game going on, there should be BALANCE between the two.

    For example, booster bundle items shouldn't be given to people who want them, because they were sold as "exclusive" (so this ties more into the real world logic side of things) but on the other hand

    A growing MMO that's going to be "expanding" and growing more and more in the future shouldn't be a "I had it first war" over something as simple as a name.
    Free them for active players, don't leave em locked away because "But but but , in the real world". Balance
    • Like x 2
  6. Jurandyr Ross Well-Known Player

    At this point I'd rather have DI come up with a naming system than do another fiasco of a name reclaim.
    • Like x 4
  7. the solowing Steadfast Player

    Other games will typically have servers, so multiples of the same name can exist on multiple servers, but here across like PC/PS its a shared name pool for a free to play game that only has done 1 name purge within 10 years.
    • Like x 1
  8. Steamboat2302 Well-Known Player

    It's not a had it first war. Its the mindset of it. "Someone has my name, I must find out and take that away." I have characters I plan on using that are level 5 right now. You can't even know when I came up with the name based on the information you have. You can't know if I'm active on my main toon or not. If it has a bunch of stuff accumulated on it. If DCUO wants to do a name reclaim, they have the right to. My issue is that people are acting like they have the right to. If things are done for purely the purpose of people proclaiming the right to have them happen... No single person holds the answer to what the balance is. Everyone has a different opinion on that.

    My point is, people who go to name a character should work with what they have. When a name reclaim is announced, they can see if they can improve the name they chose, and won't be broken hearted and screaming about the guy then selling the name that actually got it in the name reclaim. It sets up expectations that are unrealistic and likely going to just anger people in the end. Name reclaims are best left to server merges, or unannounced random processes determined by devs and not known to the general public imo.

    I wanted the name Kos Mos for my iconic plan for the toon. That name is just off the ship, 4 CR, but has 25 SP for some reason. The likely reason is someone who is an active player has her as an alt and plans to use her in the future. But its not mine to tell dcuo who should be able to get the name.
    • Like x 1
  9. KHALONofOGUN 10000 Post Club

    You can choose whatever you'd like...what you're likely getting is bupkis.
    • Like x 1
  10. OnlyNomad The One Above All

    At the end of the day, people could just come up with another name. The only argument I hear here is that "Someone has MY name, I must find out who and take it away". The argument is coming from a place of entitlement, I would understand if they did name reclaims during server merges (they already have done this) to avoid problems like people having the same name but outside of that reason, it's purely selfishness.

    I'd much rather see our naming options be expended with spaces, symbols or whatever.
    • Like x 2
  11. OnlyNomad The One Above All



    Then what's the point of coming up with our character's name if it's not for "First come, first served". Might as well let everyone pick the same names if that isn't important, right?

    It's has nothing do with balance, it's about being creative. The issue some of you guys have is that someone beat you to it and you can't stand it.
    • Like x 2
  12. ShadowTheHunter Well-Known Player

    I can understand your concern...

    ...but this idea that the name reclaim is morally reprehensible is ridiculous in my opinion. This is being blown completely out of proportion. It's not as if people are simply saying, "I want his/her name. Delete their character for me and give it to me", regardless of whether the names belong to active players or not, regardless of whoever else wants the same name, etc. and the developers are deleting names left and right and handing them out!

    The original name reclaim, something the developers did, basically set the precedent that if you obtain a name first, the name IS your name and you are free to use it, so long as you log into the account with that name, at least once at a minimum, whatever time frame the developers will set (which was 18 months before the 2015 reclaim) before the next reclaim. Therefore, to keep your name you must be active.

    There's even less of an argument now that the name reclaim is unfair seeing as though this upcoming one is occurring after one already preceded it. People already should know by now that they could lose their character name if they don't log into their account, not every name on their account but simply any name on their account, at least ONCE every 1.5 years. Not even once every 1.5 years, 1.5 years before the next reclaim.

    For example, if they do a reclaim on January 20, 2022 with the same time frame (1.5 years), anyone who hadn't logged in since July 20, 2020 or before loses their name. Log in between July 21, 2020 and January 20, 2022 and they maintain the name. Someone who stopped playing during the last reclaim could take a nearly seven year break, log in once during that window and keep their name. Anyone who was at least playing 1.5 years ago is unaffected, even if they knew nothing about the reclaim.

    You could argue that this could be better communicated, that's a fair point.

    But in the real world, you can lose your things if you are stagnant and don't follow whatever stipulations are necessary to maintain those things. Not paying rent? You're getting evicted. And it would be incorrect to presume any wrongdoing on the person who now occupies where you were evicted. That person didn't "take" anything from you.

    No one's being asked to pay anything to keep their names. Simply to log into the game 1.5 years before the next reclaim.

    No one's taking anyone else's names. There's nothing wrong to "want" what someone else has. Everyone does. That "want" is completely harmless, it's not going to get anyone's character deleted directly. The developers have in the past set what players have to do to maintain their names, and they have stated that they will eventually do it again. So, if you oppose the reclaim, blame the developers. They're the ones who ultimately decided to go through with it.

    Anyone who loses their name after this reclaim is likely to be someone who moved on from the game. Especially, if the window that considers a player to be "inactive" is extended to something like 3 years. And if they extend the time that prior notice is given, that gives people a heads-up well in advance. I don't see the crime there.
  13. OnlyNomad The One Above All

    Again it's more about the selfishness, lack of creativity and entitlement from those who desperately want a name reclaim.

    Whatever the developers decide to do, I'll live with it, I'm not arguing their decisions because in the end, it's theirs and it means little to me.

    The reason why I'm concerned about name reclaims nowadays is because there's been a huge surge in selling/buying names in the game, which is in part responsible for some of the gross inflation the game's economy has suffered.

    I don't particularly have a bone in the fight unlike some of the people here outside of the ramification this might have on the game's economy. Again the only people really fighting for a name reclaim are those who wish to obtain a financial gain from it or those who simply wish to take someone else's name out of lack of creativity.

    A better analogy would've been; Someone wins a prize car but never uses it, a person who didn't win wants the car since the winner isn't using it. Those responsible for the contest come and repo the car from the winner and decide to put it up for grab on the premise that the original winner isn't utilizing the vehicle.

    See what I mean? It's the entitlement, silliness and selfishness behind the reasons why we should do a name reclaim. For a lot of people here, it's all about "Me, me, me!' and "I want, I want, I need!". Like I said, I'd rather have them expand our abilities with names by adding symbols, more spaces, etc.
    • Like x 1
  14. KHALONofOGUN 10000 Post Club

    It is ridiculous...and never uttered by me...and I don't recall seeing anyone else state that (I could have missed that post though).

    Wanting something that someone has is not wrong in and of itself. However, this feeling of entitlement to what others already posses is not harmless nor realistic. And whatever anyone wants to say about what should or shouldn't be or reality, the fact remains that this game has a long established first come, first served policy when it comes to names.

    A name reclaim will mostly benefit the Developers (because of technical reasons for the reclaim), and a few individuals that will snatch up a few names here and there. The majority hollering about another reclaim are getting that second prize, disappointment. Instead of all this clamoring for the next reclaim, people need to temper their expectations to reality. That's all.
    • Like x 2
  15. Spider Jerusalem Well-Known Player

    Even if I get bupkis, and another player gets something, I'd consider that a win.
    • Like x 2
  16. Beat Active Player

    I mean we just have different opinions on it, there's nothing wrong with either or. I just don't understand the benefit of the "First come first serve" mindset over a name, a Booster Bundle ultra rare drop? Sure. Rare material? Sure. Super rare auras? For sure. But a name? Not in my opinion, no.

    Names would still be valued with my idea, it would actually be MORE valuable, because someone could say "I've held this name and been active for 2years+ still going strong!" Not "I got it first".
    Just difference of opinions and ideas really.
    • Like x 1
  17. Brit Loyal Player


    I wish name selling were as big a deal as players like to pretend that it is.

    If a player was actually offering the names I want, I would readily pay a billion dollars.

    But the names I want are inactive. There is no way to get it.

    I will always maintain that having a really lousy unfair way to get something you want is better than having no way at all.
  18. Clintelligence Level 30

    Clearing names from accounts that were abandoned years ago is just general maintenance. It's effectively the same as a restaurant washing a table and allowing another customer to sit there after you leave.

    Nobody is talking about taking character names away from active players.

    When a player last logged in in 2014, and that was still within the 18 month window to save the name during the 2015 purge, that player has now not logged in for SEVEN YEARS.

    Regularly name purges should be a part of regular game maintenance. You know, like World of Warcraft does in their far more successful business model. Telling your existing customers "tough luck. bugger off" so that you can take good care of the person who has been gone for seven years and is never coming back... that's bad for business.

    If they're going to nerf all of our gear with a stat clamp because they want the game to be a better experience for new players, then maybe they could consider a name purge so that those new players don't end up quitting on the Brainiac Ship because they had to spell their Ch4r4c73r N4m3 11k3 th15.
    • Like x 4
  19. Im Mavis New Player

    One Eternity later.....still no name change event.
  20. Lucerne Active Player

    Name selling is a constant plague. Honestly, it'd be more fair to ban name sellers so those names open up.
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