Mischief/Thornblade Shared Character Name List

Discussion in 'Time Locked Progression Servers' started by Pinbin, May 19, 2021.

  1. Pinbin Journeyman

    I agree server bias will not be a big factor, it may not even occur at all in practice. Still, why not avoid all name conflicts by just use a shared name list? The current rules do mitigate the chance that a player will feel like they "lost" their name, but using a shared name list completely eliminates it. It can only be done in a situation where two servers are created at the same time and destined to merge though.
    If the admins of P99 figured out how to do it with Green/Teal, I would assume the actual EQ devs could as well.
  2. Tweakfour17 Augur

    The point of 2 servers is to reduce congestion, I wonder if a shared database of names would add to lag/zone time/performance as both servers tried to access the database instead of standing on their own.
  3. Celestian Elder

    All they would need to do is cross check the other server's DB at name validation. There is no need to tie them all into a single database for every single db call.
    Pinbin likes this.
  4. Pinbin Journeyman

    Didn't seem to be an issue on Green/Teal during launch. I have no knowledge of exactly where the bottlenecks are on an EQ server, but I'm sure member of the dev team would know.
  5. Pinbin Journeyman

    True. Based on this answer I'd image the effect wouldn't be noticeable.
  6. Pinbin Journeyman

    Yes, OR just avoid the issue altogether. The shared list way sure one of the Wompers won't get the name, but they will also never LOSE the name. Losing name sucks for more than just wanting to be "Womper". It creates confusion.
  7. Accipiter Old Timer

    Womper or Womperx... /shrug

    Do they still append the x or do they let you choose a new name?
  8. Pinbin Journeyman

    Based on last time I had my name changed, both. First you get the X, then you can petition to get a new name. That was a few years ago though, maybe it's changed now.
  9. Machen New Member


    You'd only ever need it on character creation. So, outside of day 1, probably no impact.
    Pinbin likes this.
  10. Neuro Elder

    The current system is more than fair. I’d not really want to see them implement something like this with such short notice, too much chance to break something.

    Also, the current system makes it where if someone abandons the name, it’s not blocked on the other server. That’s a positive in my opinion.

    If you are really concerned with your name, create it on both servers. Problem solved.
  11. Machen New Member


    This, but it means that both servers will have login queues on opening day. You can run two clients, one for each server, on the same computer....
  12. Elabone Augur

    If you're not clever enough to come up with a name noone else wants, you need to try harder. People that steal the name "mabbu" aren't going to play it. They are going to sit it on a level 1 that never logs in.

    Even if there are 2 people of the same name. Why would you even run the risk of taking the name of some who has been terrorizing the server.

    I've never met anyone who actually needed to change their name because of a merge. This is a non issue.
    Tweakfour17 likes this.
  13. error Augur

    Adding insult to injury, since the guy who lost his name in that scenario spent all his time playing his main, any "second choice" names he had reserved will probably also be lost since those characters would have little to no playtime on them.

    Really, there's no good way to handle names in a server merge that's fair to all parties. I think this "most time logged in" policy isn't the way to go, though. It's just going to encourage people to stay logged in 24/7 and use macros to avoid getting autokicked since I'm sure that'll be enabled at launch. The game doesn't need more mechanics encouraging players to do things which will degrade server performance. Should just be a roll off if both parties meet certain threshold criteria (both logged in within the past month, both equal level, both surpass some reasonable amount of playtime given the server age at the time of the merge, etc...).
  14. Accipiter Old Timer


    RIP Ducreux
    Bobbybick likes this.
  15. oldkracow 9999 Is the Krono Account Limit

    Hahah
  16. Pinbin Journeyman

    Just because you've never met one doesn't mean they don't exist. It happened to me. It's overly dismissive to say "this hasn't affect me or anyone I know, therefore it's a non issue." Believe me when these servers are merged SOMEBODY is going to get the end of the stick. Probably more than you think.

    What's at the heart of this situation? Are these really two servers, or one server that is temporarily split in half to accommodate the population spike associated with launch? Because if these are really two different servers then they should have two distinct name lists, but if it's really just one server, then it should have one name list. Why bother inevitably having to shuffle all the names back together, and potentially make some players feel like they lost something? Even if you do have "mostly" fair rules to do that, why do it if it was really just one server all along?

    I could be wrong, but based on everything I have read, these really aren't intended to stay two separate servers. Having two right now is just a tool to accommodate population.

    I do understand that it may not be reasonable to expect this because there is not time left to implement and test it properly. Still I think the shared name list is a good idea and a better way to handle this type of situation even if it can't happen this time.

    Edit: added a point.
  17. Pinbin Journeyman

    I know, I know...
    [IMG]
  18. FrodeEQ Journeyman

    Probably because it takes too much effort to code that unprecedented thing into the game.
  19. smartwater New Member

    It's not a bad idea, let DPG comment on it.
  20. Pinbin Journeyman

    The admins of p99 did it with the Green/Teal launch, so its not unprecedented. There is in fact one precedent, just outside of official servers :).