I have recently returned to Eve online from over a 10 year break! Now much older and wiser, wanted to change my ridiculous name. However, been told this cannot be done due to the policy.
While I understand why this is, I feel that if you are an old returning player there should be at least a one off exception for this.
This would help get players back into Eve online as mine and my partners names are putting us off using the game again. It is having a negative impact on gameplay. I have explained this to the guys at Eve, but they do not seem to care either way. Very disappointed.
If CCP allowed this it would soon be followed by a huge outcry from many players demanding that they make it publicly available. Names in EVE have meaning and alot is tied to it and thus should never be changeable.
You can change your name if you really want to, it’s just very costly to do. Simply make a new character, extract all possible SP and give SP injectors to your newly created character and sell/biomass you unwanted character.
Another ‘Prodigal Son’ post - someone returning to Eve after a long break wanting special treatment - maybe you should have stayed, and help support the game, instead ?
Just rip as much sp as possible out and restart. Really the only way anyone should be able to get a new name is a new character with it. So much is tied to the individual name, from forum posts, to kills, and most importantly employment history and recognition. Most of the people in game that know me either know me for running freight or coming up with off the wall ship fits that somehow work. If I change the name on the character and log in, all that changes as well. If you have been playing a decent game and have a decent reputation, laugh about the absurd name and keep it.
Life is a learning curve in many ways, so I guess if you really, really care about your name it is possible to change it, you just need to do what he said with the skill injectors.
A wise person ( a Buddhist if I remember rightly) once said: during our lives, we walk through the consciousnesses of others and leave footprints behind and so we should ensure that as we journey forth our feet are clean.
Eve players would be well to bear this in mind when choosing the name for their character.
Choose a name at haste, repent at leisure.
For those who are curious, my name stems from my interest in the book Dune (obviously) but also from the fact that when I was a teenager making my way in the world for the first time I lived on a desert kibbutz in the middle east for 18 months. The experience was deeply profound and transformative and deserts remain amongst my favourite places to be in the world.
Way things are getting monetized lately, just charge $20 per name change with a limit of once every 2 years, as well as adding an AKA “old name” to their character’s sheet. Win/Win, although I agree your history and name should be forever entwined.
Yes it would be nice to change the name of a char BUT!!! char’s that are known as corp thieve’s, awoxers they would jump at this, so I agree this should not be aloud
Allowing a name change after initial creation might (and most probably would) end up allowing people to hide their previous career.
If their activities have been benign this might be of very little concern to other pilots but if they have indulged in nefarious and/or criminal activities (been a ganker, a corporate thief, a griefer, a con artist and so on) then this history ought to follow them and be something that other pilots can see and read about.
. . .
On a more general level, unlike real life (or at least as it extends to us as children) in Eve, you have the ability to choose your name. Up to a point you can choose any name you like and this can be (and more often than not I suspect is) reflective of the kind of pilot you aspire to be and/or the person that you are.
Like the paths of the Jedi and the Sith, you name can be reflective of light or it can be reflective of darkness. Either is a viable choice, but both come with consequences.
If you chose a name that is reflective of the dark side - eg: aggressive, warlike, ruthless, ambitious, cunning and Machiavellian - then it is possible that this is how you will be seen and perceived by others.
If you chose a name that is reflective of the light side - eg: peaceful, ethical, charitable, empathic, idealistic and trustworthy - then it is possible that this is how you will be seen and perceived by others.
Given the amount of time and energy you might invest into the game, the life lesson here is to choose your name very, very carefully and to be mindful of what impression the name might give off, both in terms of positivity and negativity.