name-reservation
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Leaderboard: Do you make unique character names?
WildStar's first real brouhaha centered around character names. More specifically, there was some concern about losing a favorite name due to Carbine's reservation system snafu. I watched all this from the sidelines with a bewildered expression on my face because I tend to roll with unique names. Ergo, there's no reason to fret about someone "stealing" Pat McGroin, Legolass25, or InsertGameOfThronesCharacterHere. What about you, Massively readers? Do you make unique names for your MMO avatars? If not, do you use the same name in multiple games or a name based on a popular character character? Vote after cut! Ever wish that you could put to rest a long-standing MMO debate once and for all? Then welcome to the battle royal of Massively's Leaderboard, where two sides enter the pit o' judgment -- and only one leaves. Vote to make your opinion known, and see whether your choice tops the Leaderboard!
Why WildStar's name reservations were screwed up
So WildStar's name reservation system didn't work quite right. It's working now, but when it went live it wasn't working at all, and for a first-come-first-served thing that's kind of a catastrophic problem. Compensation has been announced, but why did everything go wrong? Carbine's director of operations posted in the forums about how things went from bad to worse and where the breakdowns in communication took place. The short version is that it started when a big information drop introduced a lot of new assets to the site, causing even more load than was expected for the page when the name service went up. After that was handled, however, another problem surfaced with the site's feedback, leading to what is described as the server performing what amounts to a DDoS attack against itself. And once that was fixed, another problem surfaced. If you'd like to see the whole breakdown in detail to understand how everything got messed up, take a look at the full post on the official forums.
Compensation planned for WildStar's name reservation failures
WildStar players attempting to reserve their name yesterday ran into a bit of a problem -- namely, the fact that it didn't work. Maintenance took place, the page went up and down, and a lot of people trying to reserve important names ahead of time found themselves unable to do so. Needless to say, this kind of defeated the entire purpose of allowing people to reserve names ahead of time to ensure that they're available on launch. A recent forum post by Jeremy Gaffney apologizes for the issues and promises that compensation is planned for players affected by the issue: We'll compensate to the best of our ability in a fair fashion for folks who missed out on a name (or really folks affected in general) in as rational a fashion as tech and fairness allows. The details will need to be fleshed out before we communicate so we don't make a misstep on that; there are lots of moving parts. He went on to state that this was not a planned stress test as well as discussed the reasons behind gaps in communication. If you think your name got through but want to double-check, you can do so via the method outlined in this forum post.
Camelot Unchained Q&A talks box copies, name reservations, and stretch goals
The community got to kick several questions at the Camelot Unchained team lately, the answers to many of which were returned with gusto in a new Q&A post. Some of the topics included boxed copies of the game being limited for collectors only, name reservations being done on a first-come basis through Founder's Points, and additional funding stretch goals for developing the Depths and adding more team members to the project. The magic system is coming along as well: "Mark [Jacobs] has been writing and editing the magic and combat systems documents and we have had team meetings to give him feedback. Once we have these systems to a point where the team feels that they are exciting and workable, then we can start releasing details to the community." The team also gave its monthly update regarding the development of the game. Special mentions were given to work being done on the archery system and preparation for the January playtest.
Guild Wars 2 reserved names to be released on Nov 8th
Way, way back in time, when Guild Wars 2 first launched, character names in the original Guild Wars were reserved for those who had linked their accounts. Originally, the intent was that those names would be reserved for the headstart weekend and launch day, then released so that if someone had been sitting on Legolas Greenleaf but didn't claim it, that coveted name could be put to use. In response to a veritable flood of account issues and support tickets, however, ArenaNet postponed the release of those names -- until now. Well, not precisely now, but November 8th. Previously reserved names will be put up for grabs on the 8th at 5:00 p.m. EST. That means if you've been putting off getting one of your own reserved names onto a new character, mark your calendars!
Guild Wars 2: Account linking and you [Updated]
You are surely aware that Guild Wars 2 is nearing its headstart and launch dates. You might also know that players of both Guild Wars and Guild Wars 2 have a bit of incentive to link their accounts. The Massively team has been getting a fair few questions about the ins and outs of account linking, so this here is a bit of a knowledge dump that'll hopefully sort out some problems.
Reserve your Guild Wars 2 character name today
Everyone seems to freak out about grabbing his or her special character name at the launch of a new MMO, and we imagine Guild Wars 2 will invoke the same emotions. Instead of leaving this oh-so-important action to Day One, ArenaNet is giving players a chance to reserve their Guild Wars 2 names... starting today. The way it works is that ArenaNet will be reserving all current Guild Wars names for the launch, and players attached to those names can then swoop in and collect them from the start. Three caveats are attached to this process, however: You have to log into Guild Wars sometime in 2012, you have to claim your names in Guild Wars 2 by launch day, and you can't secure Guild Wars 2's single names (as Guild Wars forces you to make two-word names). The studio says that there are 20 million two-word names in use at this point, and we suspect that list will grow much longer after today. These names can be reserved at any point from now until whenever ArenaNet decides to compile its master list. After launch, ArenaNet promises to free up the unclaimed names for others to take.
Jagex announces Transformers Universe plans for BotCon 2012, includes sneak-peek and name reservations
Transformers fanatics everywhere are surely gearing up for the official Transformers fan convention, BotCon 2012, which will be taking place in Dallas, Texas, from April 26th until the 29th. Well, Jagex is giving fans of its upcoming MMO Transformers Universe a reason to be even more excited for the con: Attendees will have the opportunity to pledge their allegiances to the Autobots or Decepticons and reserve their in-game character names. On top of that, members of Jagex's Transformers Universe development team will be hanging out at Jagex's con booth, and fans will be able to "meet with members of the development team, attend a behind closed doors Transformers Universe panel discussion, and preview the latest game trailer ahead of its public release." So if you want to get a sneak-peek at Transformers Universe and reserve your favorite character name for the game's release, just set your sights on BotCon 2012 and transform and roll out. [Source: Jagex press release]
