Random name generation

[defender43]

I think it would be beneficial to RPing if the system, when it spawned Rogues, Fanatics, and other nameless, fightable NPC\'s randomly generated names.

Instead of instantly knowing where a rogue is, you\'d come down an alley, and see a man. You come up to him, wanting to chat, and-- oh no!-- He pulls out a dagger, and as you try to run, he chases after you, slashing at your back.

That\'s more like it. And better than Rogue hits such-and-such for so-and-so damage!

[peeg]

Yep. I like the idea.

[Karyuu]

That\'s an interesting suggestion :3 The only point I\'d make is that you aren\'t supposed to know anyone\'s names from a first glance anyway, so everything should be approached as you would normally - in the sewers or the wilderness, with caution.

Unique, though!

[BrotherCaine]

I agree, here\'s my contribution to the effort.

http://www.gamasutra.com/features/19990917/infinite_03.htm
http://www.gamedev.net/reference/articles/article2016.asp
http://www.ruf.rice.edu/%7Epound/

[hook]

I dunno ...it sounds rather wierd to me, because how could you know the name of some stranger attacking you?

...of course, if it were a person known to you already (even for being notorious, known all around already), it would have been another thing.

But even so, I think it would be more interesting with the combiantion of recognition factors ...you know - distance, fog, rain, etc. make visibility poorer and thus harder for you to identify someone - foe or friend!

Now THAT would rock!
when you come nearer it\'d be like:
\"some distant figure\" -> \"a male dermorian\" -> \"\"
...maybe even more stages like \"figure holding a weapon, walking your way\" or \"male dermorian with a scar on his face\" (if you don\'t know him)

...this would also make sense for the standard question to NPCs \"tell me about yourself\" ...now it doesn\'t make much sense, that they introduce themselves although they have their names litteraly shining about their heads :]

p.s. sori, me sleepy ... english go bad...
p.p.s. sleep! now! *bump* ZZzzzZZzzzZzzzzzzzz...

[defender43]

Yes, but what I\'m saying is, if he has a name, he\'s just like anyone else... until he attacks you. If he has a sign above his head that says \"Rogue\" You know that he\'s a Rogue from two blocks away. But if that sign says \"Signar Lefusco\" you don\'t know he\'s a rogue until either you notice his clothes or he attacks you.

Know what I mean?

[zanzibar]

Originally posted by defender43
Yes, but what I\'m saying is, if he has a name, he\'s just like anyone else... until he attacks you. If he has a sign above his head that says \"Rogue\" You know that he\'s a Rogue from two blocks away. But if that sign says \"Signar Lefusco\" you don\'t know he\'s a rogue until either you notice his clothes or he attacks you.

Know what I mean?

If it was done well, it would be sweet. :-D

[Vaylos]

It\'s a neat idea, i\'ll give it that, but face it, you\'re not going to know the name of every tom dick and harry in the world. And as it is a world of High fantasy and adventure...I think any adventurer would be pretty cautious.  

What i\'d suggest is perhaps having some mobs being named mobs, known for their notoriety. (maybe have a wanted list, or randomly generated bounty list?)

These may or may not be strong mobs, but they shouldn\'t be thought of as \"bosses\" Although there could always be quests dealing with certain named mobs i guess...I dunno...some people don\'t like the \"quest for mob\" idea.

[hook]

But I have to admit, that I rather like the way things work now.

You meet a rogue, have no idea how tough it is untill you either examine it closer or attack it.

Maybe it would be slightly cooler if the name was more descriptive, but not hinting much on the \"toughness\" of the character itself.

But names hanging on the heads of just about anybody is quite confuzing ...I mean, imagine being in a crowd in the city and trying to find your friends, while you obviously don\'t know even 5% of the whole population around you - they\'re all strangers to you.

I do support the idea in such way that NPC\'s (like attackable or less importaint ones) should get their names generated.

But the name should only show up if you learn it somehow - usually by asking them about themselves or maybe even if they are unmistakebly them (like notorious gangsters you know from posters, the current mayor, if your character knows his name, allthough he has never seen him in person before etc etc)

[Vaylos]

As far as name clutter, i\'m sure eventually the devs will code a way to turn certain names off.  EVERY mmorpg known to mankind has that feature I think

[hook]

True.

But if you haven\'t noticed, PS isn\'t like \"every MMORPG\"

We do things differently ...and we\'re proud of it :]s

[Nyramael]

What would be better than the same rogue with a random name is a list of rogues with set names and skills that can appear at any rogue spawn point. That would reduce the spawn point camping and associated problems because eventually a player will meet a rogue that will take him out. And people won\'t be so keen on camping in any one spot in particular. I like the original suggestion as well. I haven\'t thought out my alternative too well but it would be nice to see something like it.

[hook]

So basically you\'re suggesting that we should divide rogues into difficulty categories and name them Tom, Dick and Harry?

I don\'t think that would neither solve the problem of camping - because already now rogues (and other mobs) have different abilities - nor would it be really realistic.

I mean ...you meet a Larry rogue and know you can kill it, but then a Bob rogue spawns and you say to yourslef \"Oh, blimey! It\'s a Bob! Run for your life!!!\"

Naaaah, I\'d still rather that you cannot judge a mob\'s skills from it\'s outside. It always seemed rather illogic in some MMORPG\'s that you could just put your cursor over the mob and already know how hard it is to kill.

[Nyramael]

I don\'t think that would neither solve the problem of camping - because already now rogues (and other mobs) have different abilities - nor would it be really realistic.

I mean ...you meet a Larry rogue and know you can kill it, but then a Bob rogue spawns and you say to yourslef \"Oh, blimey! It\'s a Bob! Run for your life!!!\"

Yes that\'s a fair enough point, as i said i haven\'t really thought it out, but it would atleast add some more varity to the game.

Naaaah, I\'d still rather that you cannot judge a mob\'s skills from it\'s outside. It always seemed rather illogic in some MMORPG\'s that you could just put your cursor over the mob and already know how hard it is to kill.

I would tend to disagree with that. A trained master of the sword, or a skilled warrior with decent enough intelligence between their ears should easily be able to way up their opponent. As you would know, how well you rate your opponent determines on your intelligence stat, so if your character is stupid then it says words tot eh effect of you don\'t know whether you can beat this guy.

If however you are intelligent, and a new warrior, and you see a battle-scarred rogue in armor standing around comfortable with a shiny good looking sword, then you should be able to figure out that you are going to die. If you are stupid with little intelligence, then you might go ahead and fight him. If you are intelligent and a skilled warrior and you see a nervous, unscarred rogue in sweat, looking at you, then obviously you\'d be able to guess that you can take him out. And likewise with a skilled rogue you should be able to tell that they\'ll put up a good fight.

I think it is rather logical that your character can observe an opponent and way up their strengths depending on your characters mental stats and experience.

[hook]

Originally posted by Nyramael
I would tend to disagree with that. A trained master of the sword, or a skilled warrior with decent enough intelligence between their ears should easily be able to way up their opponent. As you would know, how well you rate your opponent determines on your intelligence stat, so if your character is stupid then it says words tot eh effect of you don\'t know whether you can beat this guy.

If however you are intelligent, and a new warrior, and you see a battle-scarred rogue in armor standing around comfortable with a shiny good looking sword, then you should be able to figure out that you are going to die. If you are stupid with little intelligence, then you might go ahead and fight him. If you are intelligent and a skilled warrior and you see a nervous, unscarred rogue in sweat, looking at you, then obviously you\'d be able to guess that you can take him out. And likewise with a skilled rogue you should be able to tell that they\'ll put up a good fight.

I think it is rather logical that your character can observe an opponent and way up their strengths depending on your characters mental stats and experience.

True ...but that doesn\'t have anything to do with what the poor bloke\'s name is