OK...major news. READ THIS CAREFULLY!

First, read this entire post before asking a question.

Second, please keep all questions and comments in the proper category (in other words, to discuss this, click the link at the bottom of the page to be taken to the right place).

Third, read this entire post before asking a question.

Fourth, go back and re-read this entire post again before asking a question! :)

When we first discussed the possibility of "sharing" last names, removing last names, changing last names, etc., you all had several issues and concerns. Luckily, I think we've hit on a plan that will cover all the bases in terms of the major issues that were brought up (those of "impersonating a family member" and any other "stealing my last name" scenarios).

Beginning next Thursday (after we take the games down and load the new core mechanics in), all NEW characters that are created in DR will have NO last name. When a new character is created, they'll only be asked for a first name and will then proceed into the Character Manager as usual.

Any existing LAST NAME will be able to be chosen as a new character's FIRST NAME. This will free up HUNDREDS OF THOUSANDS of names that have been unavailable and make life a lot easier for new folks coming into the game.


FAQ SECTION

Q: What if I already have a last name? What happens to me?

A: NOTHING. Your last name will still be your last name and no one will be able to take it (yet...KEEP READING).
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Q. What if I want to get rid of my existing last name? Will that be an option?

A. Yes, sort of. Keep reading.
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Q: What if someone takes my last name as their first name?

A: Nothing. This is not really a big deal. Just because your last name is Bob doesn't mean someone else can't have Bob as a first name. We will not be addressing any complaints about anyone being upset that someone is using their last name as a first name. This is a non-issue.
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Q: What about last names, then? Are they just going to go away?

A: No. Now that this major change is happening, we can do ALL KINDS of things that we've always wanted to do and ALL KINDS of things that you all want us to do with last names.
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Q: Like what? What are you going to do with last names now?

A: Well, now that last names don't have to be unique and we have all this flexibility, we can:

Allow all characters on your account to have the same last name

Allow you to actually "adopt" your in-game families so you all share a common last name

Allow you to free up your last name so that anyone can use it if they want (and no one else will be able to later lock it in)

Allow you to marry someone and have them actually take your last name, instead of our having to "cheat" and tie the name mechanics into the wedding rings

Allow you to completely lock your last name so that no one else can use it

Allow you to hide your current last name if you hate it and never want to see it again

Allow you to change your last name, provided someone marries, adopts, or otherwise allows you to use their last name (ie you choose a name that someone's made "open")

Q: Cool! When will all these changes happen?

A: Soon! Sort of. The thing is, until this was coded (and it was just finished today by the on-site tech folks since it required changes to the core game engine), we had the same concerns you had, but had no way to address them. Now that we have the problem resolved, we can finally do all this. It's just a matter of coding it. Some of the basic stuff MAY come out during HSN (depending on how fast we can get them done), some might come out between HSN and HWN, some might come out during HWN, and some might be reserved for DR II.
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Q: Ok, will anyone be able to do all the things you mentioned with the names?

A: Some of the options will be available to everyone, some MIGHT be limited to Premium Subscribers. We will deal with that as we develop the systems to alter existing last names.
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Q: I'm not Premium, though. Does that mean (insert concern here)?

A: We don't know yet. As we said, we'll deal with that as we write the systems and go from there.
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Q: Ok...so basically, if I have a last name, for now, nothing will happen to it except someone will be able to use it as their first name?

A: Correct. Don't worry. Your last name is yours and no one else will be able to use it as their last name yet. We'll talk about how that will work later.
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Q: What about my FIRST name? I hate it! When can I change it?

A: That's got nothing to do with this and there are still no plans (at this time) to allow anyone to change their first name. Please don't ask about this right now.
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One more thing...

Don't plan on rolling up names and then turning around and deleting the character, just to prevent someone else from getting the name. The next project we're working on are ongoing purges and those will likely be the first ones to go (not to mention that it would just generally a pretty cruddy thing to do). This is being done to HELP people (both new players and existing players) make a character they are going to PLAY with a name they want. If you're not going to PLAY the character you roll up with this new name that's been freed up, just be a good person and don't roll it up in the first place.

I hope you all are as excited about this as I am. It took 5 SGMs and an On-Site GM to keep me from shutting the game down tonight to make it happen. ;)



Solomon

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Wow! Great news, Solomon. I have a few characters whose last names I've wanted to change for a long time. I can't wait! Kudos all around!

Solomon, a question:

If you take a family name or something, do you end up forfieting your own?

<<So I don't want anyone else to take my last name, so I lock it up. Then I get married and want my spouse to be able to take my last name. Does that mean I have to "open" my name to everyone, or will there be an option to actually register the person as my spouse and therefore only they can take my last name (same with adopting children etc)?>>

You will control who has access to your last name. If you want your spouse to have it, you can allow them (and only them) or you can allow whatever individuals you choose, or you can allow anyone to have it.


<<And say I have my named locked but I get married and want to take my spouse's name. Would I have the option of keeping said name locked or will that automatically open it up to everyone again? I know that question sounds a little selfish, but say I did want to return to the name later, or that I played the last suriving member of "such and such family.">>

Good question and something we'll have to consider. IMO, it will still stay locked (on the off chance the marriage ends and you want your name back), but I'm not saying anything definite on that yet.


Solomon

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<<Or are new chars going to just have no last names at all?>>

New characters will have no last name for now. At a later date, we'll have ways for them to possibly select them.


Solomon

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I like this system/release thing. I think it has the potential to open a whole new level of RP. I think it could take the game to a whole new level. It has alot of potential course there will be the nay sayers. But i like it as a whole. Just a thought.

Ibec Alshaerd of Zoluren

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"Too often we...enjoy the comfort of opinion without the discomfort of thought."

One more thing. For those of us with multiple accounts. Will we be able to have some type of mechanism to "add" personA to the family, such as register them at the town hall, etc, and then restrict access to that particular name for those not in the "family?"

cosa nostra gonif



~stabbity,whiff,thud~

Kudos to all concerned - this sounds like a large pile of Excellent. I have some concerns (mostly involving the mechanics of allowing other characters on your account to do things, when you can't actually be in the game at the same time), but I'm sure you've thought of a lot more than I have, so I'll wait to complain until I actually see the how things work. ::grins::

Again, very good stuff!

Daya, Pointy-Eared Git Extraordinaire (price two lirums at all good alchemists')

Three things Solomon..

1...
>>Second, please keep all questions and comments in the proper category (in other words, to discuss this, click the link at the bottom of the page to be taken to the right place).<<

What link??

2...
>>Allow all characters on your account to have the same last name<< AND
>> Allow you to actually "adopt" your in-game families so you all share a common last name <<

Is there any way to make sure it doesn't work unless they're the same RACE or of two races that can.. well, you know..? I ask this because c'mon, how are a S'kra and a Prydaen gonna have the same last name.. no way that i can think of, physically.

3..
>>Allow you to completely lock your last name so that no one else can use it<<

You didn't specifiy if we could lock it out totally and/or lock it out for everyone but specific people. Will the latter be avaiable? So when/if my character gets married i don't need to use the 'cheat' method for my spouse to have my same last name, or me theirs?


B

>>Yeah, I did. I said you'd have the option to let anyone/everyone use it, any character on your account, or only people your specify.<<

Yeah, sorry, i noticed that after I posted. MIssed it the first time through.

>>No, that's why I said "adopt". Didn't you watch Diff'rent Strokes? :P<<

Ok.. ok.. but the first time i see some Prydaen and S'kra couple claiming the little elf next to me is their offspring i'm gonna throttle them.. oh.. wait..


B

>>There's a link in the announcement that is posted in category 1, topic 1. The announcement here has no link because you're already in the right place. ;)<<

I think you should have still added the link, just to mess with people's heads. I mean, that is what you do, isn't it?


B

I'm going to try to be as delicate as possible with my great distaste for this release. I have a lot of respect for you Sol, but at this moment that is greatly overshadowed by my disappointment.

<<Q: What if someone takes my last name as their first name?
A: Nothing. This is not really a big deal. Just because your last name is Bob doesn't mean someone else can't have Bob as a first name. We will not be addressing any complaints about anyone being upset that someone is using their last name as a first name. This is a non-issue.>>

I have a character, who will further be called John Smith to preserve anonymity, who goes by his last name. So 'John Smith' is called Smith by his friends. I made this decision with the understanding that Smith would be unatainable as a first name. There would never be any confusion with any other characters choosing the first name Smith. So, if someone was to say, "Have you seen Smith lately?" People who were friends of my character would know that this was a reverence to the character named John. There would be no confusion.
Now, there will be confusion. The entire premise for my character's name has been removed.
I'm conciddering deleting the character, which would make me very sad, but I'm not seeing too many more options to preserve the intent I had when I created him. If you see options that I do not, please present them.

My question? Will I have the option of making 'Smith' my first name, and having my first (John) name just go away?
I anticipate a 'no,' since that would make me a "special case." I understand that I'm just one player with a complaint. The whole of the playerbase hasn't made this complaint. I hope I'm not ignored or rejected, however. I may be just one player, but the DragonRealms community is made up of several thousand "just one player"'s.

<<Q: What if someone takes my last name as their first name?
A: Nothing. This is not really a big deal. Just because your last name is Bob doesn't mean someone else can't have Bob as a first name. We will not be addressing any complaints about anyone being upset that someone is using their last name as a first name. This is a non-issue.>>

I don't think this is a non-issue. I think it's a very big issue. My concerns are with my primary character in this issue. I chose my last name because I wanted it. I wanted my character to have a unique last name that no one else could take away from me. Now that name is being offered up. I imagine some other people are going to feel the same way. There are going to be a lot of people rolling up characters with names that they chose just to harass the people who currently have them as last names. I thought about listing some of the names that I would expect to be taken. I've decided to take the high road and not do that, but I feel it's safe to say anyone over 90th circle can expect to see their little simulacrum running around.
I have to say, honestly, I'm probibly going to roll up a character with my last name and keep him on my account. I'll pay the two extra dollars and clog up the database. (That sentence sent a shiver through my spine that made me think this might be the point. Getting people to shell out an extra $2 per character. A stunt for money. I'm going to push that idea away and hope it was just paranoia.) But if I don't get to it in time, and I see someone with my last name as their first, I'll most likley cancel my account. I don't pay to be mocked. I'm sorry.

As a closing statement, and at the risk of sounding egocentric, I find this release to be a violation of my creativity.


S.

This is so cool. Thank you all for your hard work on this.

::waits patiently for it to be implemented::

~Coine

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"A positive attitude may not solve all your problems, but it will annoy enough people to make it worth the effort. -- Herm Albright

>>Pureblade>>Or name a second character Smite XXX

Smite? Freudian slip, there, pally-tin? <smirk>

~~~Krin

You can lock a last name so that no one else can choose it as a last name. A single person could still wind up choosing your last name as a first name, however, since first names won't check the 'last name database' to see if a name is taken.


~Azimee Ta'Shiza
~Gypsy Songbird
~Tinbird In Training

<<Consider medieval English society>>

That is an excellent point.
"For dozens of generations, if you came across someone with a given name like Percy, Neville, or Mortimer your immediate reaction would be to assume some connection (e.g., descent through a female line or service on a lord's lands) with those great and famous political families."

That statement specificly seems VERY important to me. This game is supposed to be based on medieval fantasy, and at that time names, both first and last, were unique in some way. I can see maybe two or three people in any given Province sharing a last name, but with this release there will be no limit (that I'm aware of). You can have 50 people with the same last name, and none of them know each other. Sure, that's not uncommon in MODERN society, but we're not playing a MODERN fantasy role-playing game. I think this release (and many others that have been announced/released) is, intentional or unintentional, an attempt to 'modernize' the medieval world of DragonRealms.

<<You can lock a last name so that no one else can choose it as a last name.>>

Yes, that was said, by Solomon. But, I read every one of Sol's posts in this folder, and he also said you would NOT be able to do that. He directly contradicted himself. Now, either I misread ONE of those statements, or he misunderstood a question. But for this I'll give a few quotes from the first page...

"you won't have to have permission to choose a last name that someone else already has"

"Anyone would be able to roll up a character with any last name they wanted, even if it already "belonged" to someone else."

Someone asked: "Could there be a way for someone to "lock" their last name...so no one could chose it without their permission?"
Solomon replied: "No, because then we'd be back in the same position, with all these names "locked". That's what we're trying to get away from."

"Again, almost everyone would "feel strongly" about it and lock their name, taking us right back to where we started."
I have to take a moment to reply to that one.
If 'almost everyone' would lock their names in, given a chance, then why are you doing this? If ALMOST EVERYONE disagrees with the choice to make names nolonger unique, then it's a bad idea. I guess I just always thought the GMs existed to make the game more enjoyable for the Players. Was I wrong?

Now, to give this post some real substance, I have a question.

After the purges, what will be done about people who had to misspell their names to get them? One of my characters had to misspell his first AND last name to get them to sound the way I wanted. Will I just have the ability to change my last name? On the spot, just make it something else? And will it be possible to change my first name ever? (I know this topic is about last names, but if it will NEVER be possible to change first names, thought you could let me know.)


S.

<<But for this I'll give a few quotes from the first page...>>

Ignore everything that was said before the announcement yesterday.

At any rate, everything that was said before then was also clearly stated as "tentative", "possible", and "unconfirmed".

Solomon

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I think this is a great thing. Especially with the opportunity to see family type stuff. Also marriages etc, or even hiding your last name.

My last name is actually from my first character in Prime, and created in Plat when I moved. Timar being that character. I even wrote up a geneology for him.

Folks, lets calm down a bit, a lot of folks might have your first name in even medevial society. I doubt that Solomon and Maelona are trying to moderize DR.

Come on, why does everything have to be a conspiracy?? The real consipiracies get buried under all the false ones. Like the real conspiracy as to why I have not received my just compensation for all my stellar posting skills. I know I have enough posts to receive at least 100 tdps if not more. ;)

A lot of the things Solomon mentioned are things that are coming "Soon" which means about the same time that man walks on Mars. Oh wait, another conspiracy!

Solomon, give a pat on the back to those who coded this new thing and while you are at it, why don't you and Maelona go on a shopping spree compliments of Pep. As long as you don't spend more than a gold a piece.


Player of Peperic Timarson, Ranger and tanner in training.
Tree-house, North Road, River's edge.
"No matter how hard you try, you can't fix stupid."
"Your chances are slim and none and slim just walked the Starry Road."

<<If Bob Smith want to lock his last name, does that mean that no one can create a character named Smith Stevens?>>

WEll, no one will be creating characters with last names after Thursday anyway. The only (currently) planned way you'll be able to get a last name is to be adopted into a family, or married into one. It's entirely possible that someone will be able to register a last name at some point, but that last name will have to be one that's either been made open to everyone by the person that currently "owns it" (since they're all totally unique at this time) or, will have to be one that's totally unique.

But, if Bob Smith locked his last name, that still won't prevent *one person* from being able to choose the first name "Smith".


<<Also, with the same scenario, will someone be able to get the name Billy Bob (using Bob as a last name)?>>

Well, again...no one will be able to roll up any last names at all, but if we get to a point where last names were "purchasable" then yes, Bob would be available as a last name unless someone already grabbed it and locked it.

Solomon

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>>SELLING: One pre-name change OLD character w/original LAST NAME! 243643262plat!

::bids 243643263 plat::

Will it come with a pink frilly dress and matching accessories?


PS Still loving the name thing. I can't wait for it to come out. Oh and for the person worried about people confusing Smith with John Smith.. I'd just slap a label on something you wear.. label it SMITH. It's really not a huge deal. Your friends are prolly going to have enough sense to ask.. hey, which Smith are you talking about?