Character Name Cost

[Guest Doll]

Yeah, that's me. As anyone can see from my profile pic.

 

And this pretty much sums up what this issue is about. I am not saying that there are no bad apples, but the vast majority of players here have more than one character and are open about who their characters are, but a much smaller group of individuals insists that "alts are mostly for the duplicitous." Thanks so much.

 

As I said broad brush...and mostly...and observation by proxy is my only evidence. I've heard much more about people being duplicitous than I have about those that play nicely...I cannot say sir into which camp you might fall without extensive study

 

As for majorities vast or otherwise...no evidence for that or to the contrary...I'm all about gut feeling me sorry

 

And I almost never insist...

[Sage Stoner]

As I said broad brush...and mostly...and observation by proxy is my only evidence. I've heard much more about people being duplicitous than I have about those that play nicely...I cannot say sir into which camp you might fall without extensive study

 

As for majorities vast or otherwise...no evidence for that or to the contrary...I'm all about gut feeling me sorry

 

And I almost never insist...

 

So you basically admit you are opining from ignorance? Great. In which case, where does "painting with a broad brush" end and "perpetuating stereotypes" begin?

 

And that is my whole point. This thread was never about whether people use alts to be duplicitous or not. It was about how to make the current system easier to use. Until it was hijacked by those with an "everybody should just use one character" agenda, that is.

[Shanti]

....

If what I have been told is correct soon after that thread a friend of one of the forum mods had trouble where an alt was miss used, because of that and the threads that continued to be posted discussions were held between the 4 forum mods on what could be done.

They decided the best solution would be to have a charge for the 2nd and 3rd avi slots and put that forward to the devs.

There are quite a lot of people that still feel the coloured names will have been the best solution.

.....

I still don't understand why when there had been threads on the subject going where very much the majority of who agreed something needed to be done agreed the coloured name option to be the best option, why is it that the mods chose to do something else.

 

This is ridiculous.

As a matter of fact, I know exactly where you are trying to shift the blame, but let me make some things clear :

 

ForumMods were just that ForumMods, handling the forum issues when it needed to be, not making decisions on how fix the game because of forum issues.

ForumMods didn't have discussion on how to fix their friends' personal issues within the game.

ForumMods never decided that a cost for alts was the best solution at hand.

ForumMods did however sometimes point admins towards threads that needed action or involvement from them.

 

 

Little bit of history, so I'm gonna bounce from Camden's post (thanks Camden for making me think of that topic).

 

IgnoreSystem was changed from account block to character block, along with the alt cost.

Why was the Ignore changed ? It was not simply about people ignoring one to find out who were the other two alts.

Here you said it yourself, and it's a fact :

 

 

It was changed back due to : Ignore System

 

On the poll, you can see that Gizmo was already trying to find solutions against "mindfuckers", due to threads on forum, reports.. not because mods pushed their own agenda about their friend dilemnas.

 

 

There has been a lot of threads in the past on alts and being able to distinct an alt from a main avi.

There was one in particular where coloring the alts names above our avis different to that of our main avis.

It was argued strongly by both sides with a number of other suggestions being put forward.

The colored names was the most accepted as being the best way to lesson the problem of miss use of alts.

Any suggestions however were strongly argued against by people who simply did not want any change.

It was suggested that coloring the names would be an invasion of privacy and would cause witch hunts to see who owned that alt.

....

There are quite a lot of people that still feel the coloured names will have been the best solution.

Charging for 2nd and 3rd avis has had an effect but I believe that coloured names will have done much more.

 

This is nothing but wishful thinking, and biased comment. A lot did agree with you that it could be a solution, but just as much, if not more, disagreed with you.  So besides you wanting this to be implemented absolutely, doesnt equal to it being the "best solution". It's all about perspective.

 

 

*****************************

 

Ignore System was changed back (and thank god it was). Yet alt cost is still here. I always believed it was a temporary fix that would be removed but here we are, over a year later. 

It is what it is, and it doesn't bother me, but I don't think it's right to add a fee to something that was free to begin with, and helped promote the game.

I always had my main character, + 2 toons, and I never paid a cost for them, so I don't think as paying customers of the same product, any newcomers should be met with it. The cost didn't change anything to "mindfuckery", besides making a very few mindfuckers try to find new ways about it. On the other hand, it removed a lot from community, from which vast majority isn't harmful.

 

I fully support that there should be a way to check availability, for example, I don't know, typing first few letters would bring in a list of names beginning same way, or whatever else. There is a fee to it, so it's to be expected to give us more guarantee then overcharge people on some potential typos. Same applies to the game gifts, that you cannot check before sending, or aren't even stopped when the characters limit is reached. Quite silly.

 

 

Also I think something very important, and I hope admins will read it.

Character cost was introduced by the development team as "a solution to mindfuckery". So I think it's a bit contradictory when  said solution is then helped by cheaper Xgold deals on BlackFriday and CyberMonday events. I understand the need to bring in money for the game, but I don't think you can be on both sides of the coin here.

[Nymphpott]

Should be free. 

 

Like the good old days. 

 

Was fun making alts whenever we wanted. Ironically i met a few people in this thread for the first time on a alt at some roleplay event 3 years ago. For me Alts have never been a problem. 

[Sage Stoner]

actually the thread was about the fact that alts should be free but dont let facts get in the way of an argument.

 

In fact, the thread is about the cost of characters as well as having a way to verify whether or not a particular name is available.

 

But we all know that you will never let facts get in the way of your trolling, either, so what the hey.

[Guest Twiggy]

Shanti

Why make the comment that Gizmo was trying to find a solution to the alts problem in that post as a defence on you having nothing to do with it.

That post was started after the 10k charge was for 2nd and 3rd avis was added, not before, that decision had already been made and added to the game.

I have been told by different people who's integrity and honesty I trust that you and the mods put the charging for 2nd and 3rd avis as a solution to the devs and I believe that to be true.

Yes it is up to them to decide which way to go and they did, but we all know the weight your opinion carries with them.

In that thread Gizmo was looking for answers and was considering different options that were presented until you posted this.

 

 

Account wide ignore is back. That should cover enough troubles. Whether you block #1, #2 or #3, you are now again rid of all 3 ! 

Against multi accounts, there is no easy way to counter it, it can be bypassed in many ways, as gizmo has pointed out.

 

About any new systems you want to implement, it's bound to drama, however you look at it. Whether it's color coding the alts, or giving hints on profiles, or anything else... It will be the haves and the haves not. It will create even more secluded groups and separations within the community than we have already. Some say it will restore trust, I say it will add a feeling of distrust even more,  against whoever doesn't fit in the right category according to each and everyone.

 

At the risk of being repetitive, someone who wants to hurt you, will always find a way, but turning 3dxchat into 3dxmilitarycamp, will not help anyone.

 

Keep in mind that you are on the internet, and act accordingly. Giving trust is one thing, but being blind and wishing for a wonderland is a whole other story.

 

 

Ps : Thank you devs for the quick patch.

 

Again I will say that the colour name system was not my idea, I had actually suggested a different idea but thought that one showed more merit.

There was more that were against it yes, I even said that, but they were against anything being changed at all, not just the colour system.

Most of who wanted something brought in thought the colour name system to be the best is what I said, and if you look back through that thread and others before it you will see that to be true.

For some reason though you were one of the ones that didn't seem to want anything brought in.

You said in that comment above it would create a "haves and haves not" how so would it do that ?

You said it would create even more secluded groups and separations in the community than we have now, again how would it do that?

In fact I think it would help bring people back into the local areas and make it so new players are more easily accepted as being new players and not alts.

You say it will add a feeling of distrust even more, that it will not restore any trust, again how do you come up with that?

For me anyway, I would have more trust in a person showing it to be his or her main avi, especially when it comes to someone that shows they are new.

Yes some may make 2nd accounts just to fuck with others, but the way things are they don't even have to do that, just pay 10k and go for it.

[Desirea]

I like the idea of charging for the deletion of an avi instead of the creation.    

[Camden]

No Twiggy that poll did not happen before the charge was instituted, it happened after it was created but during the discussion. Ahh going back there were two polls around the same time. One created on the 18th asking for the ignore system to be put back and a charge for creating alts. Then Gizmo's post on the 19th. The update was on the 18th or 19th of November. Nor did the mods have anything to do with it. It seems that your trusted friends have misled you. Furthermore, Shanti clarified but you always seem to come for her passive aggressively. She stated that mods do not and did not have such power then backed it up. Then you single her out because as much as you hated the fact that she was one and a fair one. You find opportunities to instigate an issue where there isn't any. Why have people thinking the mods have more power than they do? As far as what you are implying with that, you nor your friends really have no idea what happened. It's all speculation as most things are until you are provided with receipts.

[Shanti]

Shanti

Why make the comment that Gizmo was trying to find a solution to the alts problem in that post as a defence on you having nothing to do with it.

That post was started after the 10k charge was for 2nd and 3rd avis was added, not before, that decision had already been made and added to the game.

 

It's a fact, not a defense. It was indeed added prior to the poll, but the poll isn't about the cost, but mentionned there.

Which is why I said :

 

was already trying to find solutions against "mindfuckers", due to threads on forum, reports

 

Threads and reports that preceeded the update.

 

I do agree with the fact that the change should have been discussed or proposed on forum prior to being added in game. Makes no sense.

 

 

I have been told by different people who's integrity and honesty I trust that you and the mods put the charging for 2nd and 3rd avis as a solution to the devs and I believe that to be true.

 

As always, statement made on "people said this, people came to me" never here to back you up.

 

There were 3 other mods, surely they can chime in if they feel the need.

 

 

In that thread Gizmo was looking for answers and was considering different options that were presented until you posted this.

 

Account wide ignore is back. That should cover enough troubles. Whether you block #1, #2 or #3, you are now again rid of all 3 ! 

Against multi accounts, there is no easy way to counter it, it can be bypassed in many ways, as gizmo has pointed out.

 

About any new systems you want to implement, it's bound to drama, however you look at it. Whether it's color coding the alts, or giving hints on profiles, or anything else... It will be the haves and the haves not. It will create even more secluded groups and separations within the community than we have already. Some say it will restore trust, I say it will add a feeling of distrust even more,  against whoever doesn't fit in the right category according to each and everyone.

 

At the risk of being repetitive, someone who wants to hurt you, will always find a way, but turning 3dxchat into 3dxmilitarycamp, will not help anyone.

 

Keep in mind that you are on the internet, and act accordingly. Giving trust is one thing, but being blind and wishing for a wonderland is a whole other story.

 

 

Ps : Thank you devs for the quick patch.

 

LOL.. sure. I'll send him my list of wishes and needs for 2017 in 3DX.

 

 

 

Edit : my apologies to Athene, this does feel bit off-topic, but I can't not respond to unfounded accusations directed at me and the other mods. Especially when it is not true.

[Athene]

 All good Shanti, I always enjoy reading your posts.

[Nikki]

I ve read through the 2 pages that where made since yesterday. Now that escalated quickly

[SamanthaSweetheart]

Honestly, the charge for more characters should remain. It doesn't take all that long to farm an extra 10k if you're a yearly subscriber. If you're only going to play for a month and you're a new user, choose being a male or female, come up with a good name and you're set to go.

 

Need another character to roleplay? Don't be lazy. Use the one you have and Barbie/Ken doll that avatar and use your imagination to elevate that scenario up to the next level.

 

The only people you see complaining at times are those who started playing as a guy, but want to play as a woman now. Farm the XG. You'll have that female avatar in no time. ♥

[Athene]

...

 

The only people you see complaining at times are those who started playing as a guy, but want to play as a woman now. Farm the XG. You'll have that female avatar in no time. ♥

I'm not a guy, never played a guy, don't even have room to create a guy, and I'm complaining.

 

I'm glad it's very black and white for you, but as most things are life... It's more complicated than you're making it out to be.

[Guest Doll]

So you basically admit you are opining from ignorance? Great. In which case, where does "painting with a broad brush" end and "perpetuating stereotypes" begin?

 

And that is my whole point. This thread was never about whether people use alts to be duplicitous or not. It was about how to make the current system easier to use. Until it was hijacked by those with an "everybody should just use one character" agenda, that is.

My opinion is based on what I think...informed by my observation. I never claimed to have any evidence just a gut feeling (which experience has taught me is usually on the money) so once you/anyone present some I'll happily re-evaluate my opinion. Don't think I'm perpetuating stereotypes by saying what I think and being perfectly willing to discuss it

 

Also...how can we have a discussion about how to make the current system better without some discourse on why the current system was implemented in the first place. I think you use the term hijacked because you see this as a personal attack on anyone who uses alts and I don't think anyone has said that.

 

I don't see what's wrong with just having one character...it's all I've ever had except to guard name variants once...but I also agree that a lot of people use their alts just for a bit of silly fun and it's a shame to have that taken away.

[Sage Stoner]

My opinion is based on what I think...informed by my observation. I never claimed to have any evidence just a gut feeling (which experience has taught me is usually on the money) so once you/anyone present some I'll happily re-evaluate my opinion. Don't think I'm perpetuating stereotypes by saying what I think and being perfectly willing to discuss it

 

Also...how can we have a discussion about how to make the current system better without some discourse on why the current system was implemented in the first place. I think you use the term hijacked because you see this as a personal attack on anyone who uses alts and I don't think anyone has said that.

 

 

Alright, fair enough. I am always willing to agree to disagree with someone who is actually discussing the issue, not just making snide remarks.

 

But I used the term hijacked not because I see it as a personal attack on anyone, but because I get tired of people who purposefully went off topic and turned this into into yet another discussion of their own agenda.

[Sage Stoner]

Need another character to roleplay? Don't be lazy. Use the one you have and Barbie/Ken doll that avatar and use your imagination to elevate that scenario up to the next level.

 

Sorry but you are missing the point.

 

A long time ago we had an awesome murder mystery RP event on the yacht in which the participating players were assigned a role and given a series of tasks to perform in acting out a predefined scenario. To do so, we all had to make temporary alts with the names of our assigned characters, so that we knew who the other actors were and could distinguish them from the many spectators who showed up to watch the action.  It was one of the best, most enjoyable events we've ever had here, and it simply cannot be duplicated anymore, unless you can find 10 or 12 players who are willing to pay 10k xgold to make a temporary alt. 

 

And frankly, I think that is a shame.

[Guest Doll]

Lol...oh I'm usually off topic but rarely purposeful.

 

I do think it's central to the discussion about making it free again to understand why it was restricted and not sure we know that. From other peeps posts in this thread it sounds like duplicitous behaviour on the part of a minority maybe was the cause. I guess it sounds like on evaluation it's done nothing to stop or reduce that but I think we're all going on heresay on both points.

 

Edit - the murder mystery event is an excellent example of where it's a major asset for the community and the game experience

[Ashbash]

The Yacht event was a very cool event, a lot of thought and planning went into it and is one of the highlights of my time here in 3DX! I do miss events as grand as that one and would definitely love to see events like that return in the future, perhaps have devs set up these sorts of events maybe to switch up from musical events on special occasions like a Murder case for Halloween or something? Or combined the spooky tunes from the DJs with the spooky event people have planned with devs.   Would definitely make the special occasions much more enjoyable and fun!

 

But back on the what the topic was originally about, I think a name checker system would be terrific, and will stop people accidently spending 10,000xGold for getting a name they didn't really want or misspelled etc. It would be a nice thing to have! To give people the chance to get the name they want without risking the loss of their xGold as 10,000 xGold is basically a months worth of logging in and not everyone is going to log in each day and may miss a day and lose out for that month. So +1 from me for a name availability checker!

[Abbey]

Yeah, that's me. As anyone can see from my profile pic.

 

And this pretty much sums up what this issue is about. I am not saying that there are no bad apples, but the vast majority of players here have more than one character and are open about who their characters are, but a much smaller group of individuals insists that "alts are mostly for the duplicitous." Thanks so much.

 

 

 

Just to make a point, where are you getting your statistics that the "Majority of alt users are well behaved and the Smaller group of individuals that use alts are dupilicitous" ?

It's just your opinion like Doll has her opinion. It be nice if the community could have a discussion without attacking each other, see it from each others side.

 

Anyway this is a pointless debate both sides want their own outcome. But I think what the devs did is not brilliant but it was a middle ground.

 

Honestly if you wanted to solve the alt issue have a simple small tag on profiles across account like a lot of mmo's (account name) it would give alt users no paywall

so they could roleplay events to their hearts content and choose any available name for the alt, but also provide transparency.

 

Any one objecting to transparency? would be interesting to hear the reason.

 

I am all for a name checker though, it is silly to have to pay and pay to find out if the name you want is available and make one you like.

 

Abbey ♡

[SamanthaSweetheart]

I'm not a guy, never played a guy, don't even have room to create a guy, and I'm complaining.

 

I'm glad it's very black and white for you, but as most things are life... It's more complicated than you're making it out to be.

It is easy for me, actually.

 

I farmed by time, logging it at 5:30 PM Mountain time to collect my XG, raised enough XG to create a new character, which then, the server checked to see if the name was available, and then I created it.

 

Easy peezy, Japanese-zey. Never said you were a guy, never thought you were one, don't see why you tried to bite my head off because I said that.

[SamanthaSweetheart]

Sorry but you are missing the point.

 

A long time ago we had an awesome murder mystery RP event on the yacht in which the participating players were assigned a role and given a series of tasks to perform in acting out a predefined scenario. To do so, we all had to make temporary alts with the names of our assigned characters, so that we knew who the other actors were and could distinguish them from the many spectators who showed up to watch the action.  It was one of the best, most enjoyable events we've ever had here, and it simply cannot be duplicated anymore, unless you can find 10 or 12 players who are willing to pay 10k xgold to make a temporary alt. 

 

And frankly, I think that is a shame.

Ah yes, the days of when Duck Tales played on our standard TV's, we could only make phone calls on a land line, and nostalgia kicks in to high gear.

 

So, let me pose this question.

 

When an actor in Hollywood portrays a character in a movie, they go out of their way to learn their character and stay in character, they memorize their lines precisely and deliver when asked, and then, the movie begins to shoot. That's basically what you're describing here.

 

What you want then, is to create an entirely new body so that you can portray the, 'murder mystery' as it were that is 3dxChat? You couldn't ask the spectators to take a seat in the room, while the actors went about their business portraying the movie?

 

What is it about your avatar that you can't change, much like actors do, about their appearance to help you get in to character? You have the color palette to save your personal hair color, eye color and the sort, right? You're not just, coloring by fly by wire are you?

 

What is it about that particular scenario that you couldn't reproduce again, given a group of well-rounded storytellers? Was the name on top of your avatar really that necessary to keep track of who was what?

 

No, I think you'd much rather keep your initial avatar intact and not have to bother changing the skin color over and over again, change the hair style again and again to comply with the 'role play' you're currently into.

 

A good storyteller uses what they have on hand and portray the best scenario possible. If you feel the need to jump out of bodies, just to fulfill an emptiness you carry when storytelling, then the problem does not lie with a game that has actively destroyed the amount of trolls by having implemented the 10K XG wall.

 

The problem lies in the person who's lazy and would much rather be spoon fed their avatars, rather than practice the true Thespian Motto:

 

"Act well your part; there all the honor lies."

 

And mind you, I was one of those in fierce opposition about having them take away my ability to create as many characters as I wanted to; nay, needed to in order to do storytelling right.

 

But I thought, "Gizmo is not in charge of my imagination. I am."

 

And yes, you can revert to my previous statement and say, "Well, you have three avatars." And this is true, I do. I had to farm the XG for the last two, which in my opinion, are avatars hard earned by patiently abiding my time, rather than log on and create them on the fly, and delete them on the fly.

 

Now, not everyone has that kind of patience, but they should practice that from time to time. And please, correct me if I'm wrong about the whole avatar thing. I'm sure Chris Evans, Liam Neeson and countless other actors and actresses, have other shells they jump into when portraying different characters.

[Sage Stoner]

And please, correct me if I'm wrong about the whole avatar thing.

 

You are wrong about it to a certain extent. And I did try to explain, but clearly you missed the point.

 

So I will try one more time: There are some RP situations where coordinating a scenario to be played out by multiple players requires that each participant use an avatar with a specific name. 

 

Can't say any more simply or more clearly than that.

[SamanthaSweetheart]

You are wrong about it to a certain extent. And I did try to explain, but clearly you missed the point.

 

So I will try one more time: There are some RP situations where coordinating a scenario to be played out by multiple players requires that each participant use an avatar with a specific name. 

 

Can't say any more simply or more clearly than that.

 

"There are some RP situations where coordinating a scenario to be played out by multiple players requires that each participant use an avatar with a specific name."

 

No, I didn't miss the point. I found the right way to explain it. Check it out.

 

It's kind of like muppets in an episode of Sesame Street. You need someone dressed as Elmo or Cookie Monster in order to tell who they are, because otherwise, you can't tell the difference. And they need to have their nickname on top of their heads or else, you can easily get lost.

 

Because I'm sure that the production you all put on had at least, 25 avatars trying to act out the scenario at the same time. It's not like you can expand the chat window to see more of the chat going on. It's not like you can't remember who you are interacting with. But hey, what do I know, right? 

 

But I think I got a little too complicated for you with what I wrote. I'll dumb it down next time. ♥

[xMaceyx]

I watched my ex wife when the murder mystery production was put on. She is pretty good at following  what is going on, but even she was having trouble keeping up with the pm's from the characters she had to interact with plus also the storyline that was going on between all the characters in local chat, not to mention the people who kept commenting who weren't involved in the production. So yes an alt with the name of the character above their head was a huge help otherwise it would of just been total confusion.

This also came in handy when we had the Cosplay event a few years ago, with limited clothing everyone looked similar, so by creating the alt with name of the character you were portraying, plus a short description in their profile helped pick one person from another.

 

On the point of the topic, I have always believed we do not need three slots, two is ample as you can have your main and then your rp character on the second, while the cost of alts may have deterred some mind fuckers, it has not got rid of the problem, people still create second and even third accounts just to find a way to get at you as I have had happen recently.

But we do need a system where we can see available names, and on that note...does anybody know how long a name is unavailable for when someone leaves? When I created xMaceyx, I had to put the x's each side because Macey on it's own was not available, yet in 3 years I have never seen a Macey on this game.

[Athene]

It is easy for me, actually.

 

I farmed by time, logging it at 5:30 PM Mountain time to collect my XG, raised enough XG to create a new character, which then, the server checked to see if the name was available, and then I created it.

 

Easy peezy, Japanese-zey. Never said you were a guy, never thought you were one, don't see why you tried to bite my head off because I said that.

 

Sure, the act alone of pressing buttons to log in is not hard. You're correct.

 

But I think you are taking for granted the dedication and continuous log-ins over a course of time it really requires in order to receive the maximum amount of XGold. In order to obtain 10k XGold fastest (outside of paying money) you MUST log in 36 days straight without gifting anyone or resetting your XGold timing.

 

So yes, it's easy to log in. I don't think that was ever the issue. It's the matter of how long it takes and, personally, how ridiculous it is to even be a cost in its current form. I like the idea of being a cost to delete (under the assumption that we can still use a name verification to check rather than having to create/delete to check).

 

My point with commenting on not being a man, was not because I assumed you thought that of me, Sam, but because I myself am proof that your claim is fallacious. Take that as biting your head off or not; I'm merely stating a fact to an opinion.