Require custom player names

[Derleth 1357]

I am sure this has been asked before, and I know there are community tools available doing it already, but this really should be a baseline server configuration option:  Add a server parameter to require a customised name to be able to connect to the server. With the parameter enabled, if the player has not changed the default "Survivor" into something else he will simply be rejected with a message to change the name.

Really, I feel a server owner should not need to rely on third party apps for such a basic feature.

Combine this with a way to set the name from the in game start menu so it saves to your profile.

Edited January 5, 2021 by Derleth

[VodkaFish 38]

If you are suggesting a permanent account name we can see in game? Yes.  Link it to the players account so any character they create in the future must have the same name.  Fix base building and limit one character for each game copy.

 

[Derleth 1357]

34 minutes ago, VodkaFish said:

If you are suggesting a permanent account name we can see in game? Yes.  Link it to the players account so any character they create in the future must have the same name.  Fix base building and limit one character for each game copy.

 

That would be unnecessary, you still have the GUID/SteamID so no need to restrict in-game naming, if a player wants to change name between characters it should be possible. However, unless you have some savant ability to memorise multiple GUID/SteamID:s, reading server logs is incredibly frustrating when sifting through multiple entires of Survivor, Survivor (2), Survivor (3) and so on.

[VodkaFish 38]

11 hours ago, Derleth said:

That would be unnecessary, you still have the GUID/SteamID so no need to restrict in-game naming, if a player wants to change name between characters it should be possible. However, unless you have some savant ability to memorise multiple GUID/SteamID:s, reading server logs is incredibly frustrating when sifting through multiple entires of Survivor, Survivor (2), Survivor (3) and so on.

I was looking at it from a player's point of view, not a sysop.  I'd like characters to have a unique name I can see in the game.  This way I could start real relationships.  As it is now I just shoot them.

[drgullen 596]

54 minutes ago, VodkaFish said:

I was looking at it from a player's point of view, not a sysop.  I'd like characters to have a unique name I can see in the game.  This way I could start real relationships.  As it is now I just shoot them.

Here's a way to start a real relationship: instead of shooting them, approach them and ask what their name is.

[VodkaFish 38]

yes, and make friends, pal around, until they learn about you.   Then use an alternate character to rob/kill you. 

No worries though, with no way to link his alternate to him you two can still be 'friends'.

[Derleth 1357]

The only way you should be able to know the name of another player in-game is by asking him, or being told by another player. Nametags have no place in DayZ, you'll get that in more arcadish games, or on a plethora of modded servers with dogtags or indeed visible player games etc.

My suggestion was purely from a server owner perspective, it would mean little to players (other than forcing them to pick a name) while making moderating a server much less of a headache.

[VodkaFish 38]

3 hours ago, Derleth said:

you'll get that in more arcadish games

We could use it here.  Would not be useful without limiting the number of characters a player can have on one game license though.

 

[William Sternritter 449]

I think there should be a list of server owner/player changes needed in general. Like when you're connecting to a server with password and not only does your client not remember the password but also you cannot just hit enter to confirm. I'm not even going to call these quality of life improvements because this is frankly embarrassing lack of what are otherwise standards. 

I choose a name for my survivor every time by the way. The only problem is that what will happen if more people want to be called something common like Joe? This could easily turn into more struggle for the player if a really unique name would be enforced on the server. At least I appreciate that the general moniker is survivor rather than player. 

[Derleth 1357]

1 hour ago, William Sternritter said:

I think there should be a list of server owner/player changes needed in general. Like when you're connecting to a server with password and not only does your client not remember the password but also you cannot just hit enter to confirm. I'm not even going to call these quality of life improvements because this is frankly embarrassing lack of what are otherwise standards. 

I choose a name for my survivor every time by the way. The only problem is that what will happen if more people want to be called something common like Joe? This could easily turn into more struggle for the player if a really unique name would be enforced on the server. At least I appreciate that the general moniker is survivor rather than player. 

Keeping track of two or three Joes on a server would still be easier than 75% "Survivor"... Agree about Survivor vs "Player", that is a good thing. With servers having lowish player ceilings I doubt there would be a great avalanche of characters with the same name, so forcing a unique name would probably be overkill. I remember the frustration trying to find sufficiently weird spellings for my chosen name for a character when playing WoW. It could get worse in DayZ if every character on the public hive was required to have a unique name. 

And Vodka, you're talking about "number of characters" on a game licence, but I don't really get what you're going after. You only have one active characer per hive at one time, and this is the character you play with on that hive* until it dies. Once dead the character is gone, cleared from the database and overwritten by your next life.

*) As far as I know there is still no support for community hives, the only hives that exist are the public regular and hardcore hives. Every community server has its own database.

Edited January 7, 2021 by Derleth

[William Sternritter 449]

7 hours ago, Derleth said:

Keeping track of two or three Joes on a server would still be easier than 75% "Survivor"... Agree about Survivor vs "Player", that is a good thing. With servers having lowish player ceilings I doubt there would be a great avalanche of characters with the same name, so forcing a unique name would probably be overkill. I remember the frustration trying to find sufficiently weird spellings for my chosen name for a character when playing WoW. It could get worse in DayZ if every character on the public hive was required to have a unique name. 

Yeah ok, if that would not be forced to be unique then sure. I understand the benefit for server owners. Corpses should still say just survivor, you either knew the person's name from talking to them or not.