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Free Up Old Names

Discussion in 'Wishlist Requests' started by Sammegarian, May 9, 2021.

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  1. FBohler

    FBohler Avatar

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    Let me understand, it makes sense to you that people pay more money to be able to avoid playing the game for longer time?
    Maybe I'm missing some point? Maybe people who fund games want the right to not play it?
    I would bet the vast majority of the backers that abandoned the game for good wouldn't even notice they lost their spots in NPC towns.
     
  2. Time Lord

    Time Lord Avatar

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    If someone doesn't use their Bitcoin for a very long time, maybe they could send out an e-mail to see if that owner is alive or just give notice that the Bitcoin in question is being repossessed or recycled so it can be issued to someone else?

    Much of SOTA Stuff is like Bitcoin, yet has reached it's limits of issuance, with "Heritage Item's" thereafter becoming an added value "to just that particular account".

    In the spirit of "Heritage Items", maybe any player could use any name they wish, "but only they themselves could see it", while every other player sees that player's name as whatever name that was not owned by another account?

    Heritage Items further explained, yet they can't be the original:
    [​IMG]

    I own Portalarium stock, as well as Portalarium stock in game through the stuff I purchase, which both can be owned, yet the initial in-game stock came in limited quantity.

    Welcome to the game I own (along with others), please don't steal what's inside my storage containers, assume my account or steal the name on the stocks it was issued to.
    Thanks and I hope you enjoy the game we built and for enjoining in building our game's future.

    :) May your stocks and the stocks you will purchase become valuable too! :)
    [​IMG]
    ~Time Lord~ "The Bitcoin"
     
    Last edited: May 14, 2021
  3. Net

    Net Avatar

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    I am absolutely against this idea, just get a different surname;) Some people will return and then what? Should they get their name back?
    And what about people whose friends have not played in a while and suddenly the avatar is controlled by someone else?
     
  4. Lily Byrd

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    I think people claimed lots and thought they would use them as an 'investment' and planned to make money by selling them when they are worth something more than they paid. I see a lot of lots owned by the same people in multiple towns that are not decoed or used. I think those 'investors' are wrecking our game because they aren't here to play, they are here to make money and will hold onto their spots in towns until they get a return on their purchase.

    There are also people who get busy for years at a time and come back to play, there are people who don't play except 2 weeks a year when they have time, there are people who play every day. Taking character names because someone hasn't used it as often as someone thinks they should is just weird.
     
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  5. Virsago2099

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    I wouldn't want to see names made available due to inactivity, but names of characters that have been deleted absolutely should be free. I made a second character long ago, and found I never played it so I deleted it. Recently I've had some friends join the game, so I made a new character to play with them. I was going to give him the same name as the character I deleted, but it was still unavailable. I can't think of any good reason a character that doesn't exist, should hold a name.
     
  6. oplek

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    I'm in favor of freeing up character names from inactive players. I'd snatch up Lord British.

    /sorry, I couldn't resist.
     
  7. Sorgin Txakal

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    Problem is there are some very shady gamers out there who have no problem with corrupting the experience of the game for other players by just snagging a lot in a highly desirable place and waiting for the right real money offer to come by for the lot.

    Soltown, Ardoris, Central Brittany, Aerie - all these towns suffer from players who parked in highly desirable places and then left the game, some of them are brazen enough to even post ads requesting money for the lot. Unfortunately Catnip doesn't have any policies in place to deal with these parasites, so they will just continue to ruin player experiences for the remaining lifespan of the game as it stands now.
     
  8. Anpu

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  9. CICI

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    The game use to allow it on the forums till the game ban it on here =)


    Free Up Old Names :nope in less it was deleted

    if you claim a npc lot you can do w/e with it everyone paid for a deed! tons of ghost player owned towns also make the game look bad.. but it was all paid for so the owners can do w/e with it
     
    Last edited: May 14, 2021
  10. Cora Cuz'avich

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    [​IMG]
     
  11. Alleine Dragonfyre

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    I'm in the camp that being active in a game should gain rewards, not parking lots for years and making entire cities ghost towns preventing new, active, enthusiastic players from using lots in NPC towns.

    I'm against releasing names unless deleted, but the lots are a symptom of a very bad financing decision that has remained to continue to kick Catnip Games and the rest of the active members of this game's community in the face. The promise was the deed, not the lots.

    Allowing people, that have no interest in the game or its community, to hold lots from otherwise active players is unfair to them and a terrible financial decision by Catnip.
     
    Last edited: May 15, 2021
  12. Atticus Gryphonheart

    Atticus Gryphonheart Legend of the Hearth

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    Sorry, I am against Player Lots resetting for being absent.

    My job sometimes has me out in the field for months at a time.

    Because of the Pandemic, I have been able to play more frequently and progressed.

    But once we get back to normal, I will probably get to log on maybe a weekend or two every other month (if I am lucky).

    I have lost my taxable lots many times already, and it was a pain to recreate. Would hate to have that happen to my the pledge property I purchased.

    I think it is is a misnomer in regards to we paid for deeds and not lot.

    The deed states a period of time so. As long as log in according to size, the lot is yours (time dependent on type of Deed used to claim a Lot..thus if used a Keep lot to claim a row house...it lasts a year).

    This allowed me flexibility to continue to play.

    Just a side note...I call my place Gryphonheart Freehold...but technically it isnt since the Deed does provide an expiration date...thus technically a lease.
     
  13. Datendrache

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    I would have to disagree with this up to at least the point that there's no "forever name" on the lots. The promise of the lots going to the highest Kickstarter backer is not only 100% official, but was done in a way that was major news throughout the gaming community. The people who paid the most and the earliest were given the first choices. They went hand in hand and the following link explains it clearly: https://www.shroudoftheavatar.com/forum/index.php?threads/final-wipe-and-lot-selection.44430/ In addition, earlier backed deeds have longer tax-free lifespans than later purchased tax-free deeds, some as long as a year without playing. This was so could go without playing for longer periods without losing their spots (i.e., they keep lots longer without playing, plain and simple.)

    In addition, the higher the pledges included more deeds than just the largest one, usually with cascading rewards including village and row lot deeds. Also, they included placing deeds that were purchased individually, so a LOTM could place their 3 PAD limit lots even with purchased deeds. Even more, larger deeds like Castle Deeds could be used on smaller lots so that it could be possible for the very first players to grab more good spots in Soltown or Owl's Head and attempt to place the castle lots at a later time since most were locked out of doing so. Some players invested heavily in the land rush, such as "Prince Guni" (who had that title because of his business-like investment and even had a team of people that managed the in-game portfolio.) He and his team (or multiple teams under other big investors) grabbed the closest locations to the zone-in point of as many towns as they were able to.

    The point of all this is simple: people wanted the BEST spots in SotA just like in UO, where some spots were simply better than others. Portalarium knew this and offered the first choices (good or bad) to the biggest backers. People with the best locations had the most popular stores and the most traffic and could resell them for the most money.

    There is a LOT of intent and history that went into this land rush design, it didn't just happen that way. They knew what they were intending to do, both buyer and seller.

    If we want to keep seeing this game lose more chances of reaching Episode 5, I suggest SotA implements low-class moves like more mechanics to force out other players' persistent world spots and/or take their in-game names. Pointing to an empty house on a good spot and proclaiming that they are "wrecking our game" seems absurd to me, sorry. More like, "Eyesore." They paid for the right, they won the spot. The whole IDOK experience should be familiar to most of the players by now, and hunting for better spots than the one(s) you have is more like gameplay. Even those homes that the Kickstarter people placed have mostly fallen.

    Sincerely,

    Engineer
     
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  14. Warrior B'Patrick

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    Greetings all
    Several of you mentioned that you had created a character name and then deleted the character. After a while you wanted to use that name on a new character. I would think that support would be willing to allow that if you explained that the name was yours and you just wanted to use it on a new character on the same account.

    Character names are usually personal and for me take a long time to come up with the perfect one. Once chosen I do not want to lose it. If I get bored with the game or need a break I expect it to still be there when I come back. Think about how Google or any email supplier does names. You could change the structure of the name or add characters or numbers to it to get something like it but should not be able to get someone else's identity.

    As for the lots, all lots expire after a predetermined time. If a player logs in during that time then they ARE still playing. If they do not log inn due to interest in this or another game or due to health or work problems then their stuff goes to their bank and the lot is freed up for someone else to claim. If you think having a time limit is unfair then how do you feel about bots or price manipulation? Since I do not know the RL situation someone is going thru or their reasons why they are doing the things they do I will not attempt to decide their actions for them.
     
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  15. Alley Oop

    Alley Oop Bug Hunter Bug Moderator

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    not if they only log in in for 30 seconds to refresh their lot every few months

    (which is fine for people legitimately taking a break for whatever reason)
     
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  16. Warrior B'Patrick

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    Greetings Alley Oop
    Just to clarify, "As for the lots, all lots expire after a predetermined time. If a player logs in during that time then they ARE still playing." which means the timer resets.
     
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  17. Eveara

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    Dear y'all,

    Let's start with the names, since it's what the post is originally about.

    Almost every online game has had this issue after a while. But is it a true issue for SotA, yet? In my (humble) opinion: no. We're able to create characters with both a first and last name, meaning the possibilities are already almost endless. Moreover, taking care of such an 'issue' would take time and energy better spent elsewhere.

    The only suggestion I could make would be to delete free accounts, if they check all these three boxes:
    - no money spent on the game;
    - not logged in since X months;
    - less than X hours /played total.

    I believe this should free up some names for new players to use, and wouldn't cost too much money to set up. But I'm not a developer, so don't quote me on that, please.

    Now, let's go on with the housing, even if that was not originally the point.

    I just got back from a two months break. During this break, I was able to log in once, for about... 2 minutes. More or less a couple seconds. When you work 14 hours a day, 7 days a week, and have a family to take care of, sometimes 2 minutes is all you can afford.

    When I did log in, I found out that the Governor of the PoT I was living in had evicted me. And looking closely at the date of the eviction, I noticed they did it when I was away for about... two weeks. Two fraking weeks. I can't tell you how much I was pissed. My first thought was it was unfair and arbitrary.

    But, was it really?
    Nope.
    They ain't responsible for my hectic schedule. And it's their PoT, so it's their rules. If I don't comply, that's on me – not on them.

    I learned my lesson, and went back to living in my favorite NPC town. In said town – like in most NPC towns – most of the best locations have been claimed years ago, and have been sitting empty, untaken care of, ever since. Some of these lots have belonged to the same – never seen in-game – players since the game was released. Others have reverted back to 'claimable' several times – and each time, a different player arrives, claims them, then leaves them empty until they revert back again.

    Does it annoy me? Sure. I would rather see them available for (semi-)active players.

    But the problem is: if we set up new rules about keeping lots, what about those that have been claimed by people just like me? People who have to step away from the game for long periods of time? People who have settled in NPC towns using TF deeds because they know, for a fact, that they can go away for 3, 6, 12 months, without getting evicted?

    How are we gonna know the difference between them, and peeps sitting on a lot because they hope for a quick buck?

    That's why I'd rather keep things the way they are.
    PoTs for active players. With the risk of getting evicted.
    NPC towns for people who can't play on a regular basis. With the risk of having lots claimed by speculators.

    No, it's not perfect. But it works.

    Sorry for the long read, and thank you for putting up with me. As usual, any grammar/vocabulary mistake is courtesy of 'English not being my first language'.
     
    Last edited: May 31, 2021
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  18. Alley Oop

    Alley Oop Bug Hunter Bug Moderator

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    side note: a pot governor or steward can mark a lot stone so it's only claimable by a specific account. if you find a pot where lots are NOT so busy/in-demand that the governor evicts for inactivity, explain your situation and ask, your lot can be reserved for you so that even if your deed times out and all of your stuff goes to the bank, no one else can claim that empty lot: it'll show as reserved.
     
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  19. majoria70

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    Also I'm in agreement to leave it as it is regarding names. I know players who spent $20 -30,000 on this game. Yes imagine that's a lot. We had great beliefs for the possibility of this game in early days. I don't agree to deleting any accounts or freeing up player names. Since you can have a first and last name true some possible things can be done with names and different spellings tried with Maybe adding a number to the name to differentiate.

    Just leave people alone. There's many places to be that are open.

    The game could also do a much better job of making everyone more visible if they so wish such as with global item search and global dungeon search and adding a nice little rating system and reward system for housing and dungeons. Think Everquest 2 for example.
     
    Last edited: May 31, 2021
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  20. Eveara

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    @Alley Oop – I love the way you can pound on any post, and make it useful for everyone. <3
     
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