Suggestion: Nameplates 🏷️🏷️🏷️

twinkle • 18 August 2023 at 8:10 PM

We're almost at 3 million adopted creatures here and as adoptions are increasing, my name ideas are getting even fewer. It has been very difficult trying to trade for good names because either owners give ridiculously high prices or aren't even trading them at all, but it's understandable considering how limited our name options are. I think it's about time that we're allowed to have non-unique names through Nameplates. Other sites allow non-unique names and I don't see why we shouldn't have this feature as well.

What are Nameplates?
Nameplates are a way to give our pets names that have already been taken.

What differs Nameplates from Birthnames?
Birthname - the name that you assign the creature upon adoption
- the name that can be searched in the Search box
Nameplates - renaming your creature using a name that already exists
Upon giving a nameplate to your pet, the new name will now be displayed under the creature's image, but their birthnames will still be visible at their profiles.
Please take note that Nameplate names do not appear in searches to prevent confusion if multiple names pop up.

How would it look like?
Visualizers:
With Nameplate: https://i.imgur.com/ZWraTHW.png
- in this image, the creature's birthname is Elysse & her nameplate name is Star.
- hovering on the nametag, a tiny box pops-up: 'Custom name bought from the town hall'
- on the potions bar, a name plate icon is seen to add more transparency that the name is custom
Original name (without Nameplate) https://i.imgur.com/W1JcrA7.png
- hovering on the checkmark, a tiny box pops-up: 'Original/Official name'
Marker in the trade center & auctions: https://i.imgur.com/Cix56vw.png

How much would it cost?
I think it should cost EC, just like renaming in the town hall, but it would cost much more (around 500k EC?). I would love the value of EC to rise again from this but I wouldn't mind spending CC for it. Let me know your thoughts by voting on the poll above ^^

The users who might be against this idea would be old users who spent a good amount of CC for good names. I have also spent some money for names but I really don't mind having this feature. Other users will still know that I hold the original name if I happen to have it cuz the creature's profile will indicate that. I think this feature would attract newbies and returnees like me~ Name picking shouldn't be a chore to do, honestly.

musical_slytherclaw • 18 August 2023 at 8:21 PM

I think this is a great idea - it really is getting harder to name your creatures something cute and making your profile all pretty, and I love the idea of making it a lot more expensive so EC is worth more 😊

twinkle • 18 August 2023 at 8:23 PM

@musical_slytherclaw
Exactly!! Our beloved pets deserve cute names ;w;
Thank you for lovely comment 😊 ❤️

boba • 18 August 2023 at 8:24 PM

@twinkle
I think this is a great idea! ❤️
This would make it fair to newer users who didn’t arrive in time to get the names they wanted! I would be willing to pay ec/cc for it 😸
I think a lot of users will be very happy if this was added, and we wouldn’t have to pay 1000 cc for every name we wanted!

twinkle • 18 August 2023 at 8:30 PM

@boba I lost some really nice names when my pets died during my decade-long hiatus ☹️ It's just sad that some users even look for over 3k cc for a single name, really makes this game so unfun :c
Thank you very much for sharing your thoughts!! ❤️

snowywinter • 18 August 2023 at 8:35 PM

just stopping by really quick, may comment more & look at image later (currently really hard to do on current device.)
Sounds like a great compromise! (especially since character limit and special characters had to be reduced because of coding issues.)

dibabeebees • 18 August 2023 at 8:54 PM

This is a great idea!!

dragrawr • 18 August 2023 at 9:46 PM

@twinkle i think this is a fantastic idea. And being able to see both names would be helpful so people don’t try to sell the “original name Bob” or something. I LOVE THIS 💕

twinkle • 18 August 2023 at 10:29 PM

@snowywinter @dibabeebees
Thank you so much for checking this out! c:

@dragrawr Yesss! That's why I thought this would be better than just automatically be able to name them that way upon adoption~ Thank you very much, drag! 💕

shirothekittehlover • 19 August 2023 at 12:16 AM

@twinkle
Love this fantastic idea so much, as everyone else here said it'd allow people to give perfect names for their creatures w/o having to pay too much EC/CC for it :0
Hope to see this implemented sometime 🥺

twinkle • 19 August 2023 at 12:40 AM

Thank you so much for the support ❤️
I'd love this to be implemented soon before the busy months (lots of events coming up) ;w;

Pinging more people ^-^ Sorry if you dislike being pinged :c
@heatherm19 @minnie298a @tryvegan4theanimals @5eggs79 @by-joycee

okami • 19 August 2023 at 12:52 AM

I'm in the middle on this idea (please don't come at me everyone ;-; ).

I really love the idea of allowing users to name creatures whatever names they want, but at the same time it would deter the appeal of name collections and plummet name values (even though I agree many are insanely overpriced, they are still trading 'material'). I'd be more for the idea if there were a more blatantly obvious difference between the creature with the actual name, and those with the nameplates. Maybe a little tag icon (like the one in the topic name) next to the name of the creatures with the nameplates, or something similar? My original thought to differentiate was to have the nameplate creatures have a colored background to their name, but that would be an accessibility issue because it could make it difficult for users with impaired vision to read the names.

heatherm19 • 19 August 2023 at 12:58 AM

Hmm, this is interesting. I'm not personally too invested in the idea, as I have no problems finding names for my creatures and don't really care about having exact spellings or real words or whatever. However, I've never understood the whole idea of unique names in petsites/adoptables to begin with... It was a big debate over on DragonCave when I was active there but at least there it made some sort of sense, as creature pages could be accessed using their names in the url. Here, to my knowledge, that's not a thing. I really don't see any reason why multiple creatures can't have the same names.

This sounds like a good compromise since older users would still have the original names as birthnames, but newer users could also use those names. I like the idea, but I feel like maybe it needs to be a little clearer what's going on in the visualizer image. Like, just looking at that creature's page, there is a name partially in parentheses. But there is no 'nameplate' or 'birthname' labeling or anything, so it's not really intuitive what the parentheses means or that the names are different in any way.

twinkle • 19 August 2023 at 1:24 AM

@okami
Your concern is totally valid, don't worry! c:
Personally, as much as they are trading material, not a lot of people are willing to buy them at such high prices and many owners with good names aren't even interested in trading to begin with, even some are no longer playing here ☹️ There are names that I want that I cannot even trade for because the owner hasn't logged for over 5 years ;w;

I think adding extra stuff to differentiate them will take more technical effort, hence why I only placed the marker on their profiles. Maybe an additional marker on their profile would suffice? Like in twitter/IG/FB, they can have check marks beside the username like this one: https://i.imgur.com/W1JcrA7.png
and upon hovering on the checkmark it would say 'Original/Official name'
I have also revised the profile appearance for those with nameplates and I linked it below for Heather ❤️

@heatherm19 Thank you so much for the comments and support! ❤️
For original birthnames, a marker could be the one I linked for okami 😊
For those with nameplates, maybe a tag beside the new name https://i.imgur.com/SEeR6DL.png and upon hovering on it would say 'Custom nameplate bought from the town hall'
I hope this one makes it clear ^^

minnie298a • 19 August 2023 at 2:14 AM

I've been thinking on this the last couple hours.
I like the basic concept. It is something I might seriously consider using and possibly something I'd be willing to fork out CC for(but would prefer to use ec as it's easier for me to come by).

It would honestly come down to the final display. I'm not a fan of the example given where the plate is under the image, over the true name especially if that is how it is displayed site wide. It could cause confusion that in a rush could lead to people paying more than intended (last minute auctions, quick glancing in trades, offers on trades). Yes it could be seen as the responsibility of the person paying to investigate, but I'm sure we have all been caught up in a impulse decision. The name plate being the name displayed could be construed as scamming. Particularly with deceitful language.

Story time you may skip but kind of explains my concerns.
Once upon a time, many moons ago I was effectively scammed out of a name. The actions taken against me have since had measures put in place to stop it still happening, but I can see the danger of similar feelings reemerging with name plates.
Basically a user wanted to swap a creature with me. I think mine was less evolved, but it was identical species for species. Anyway, the creature they created the trade with had a fantastic, 3 letter, real word name. The name was what sealed the deal for me, so I offered. The name was then changed and the trade accepted leaving the creature I got with a random lettered abomination. Keep in mind, this was technically legal at the time, but it was changed not long after so that names could not be changed if the creature was in a trade, auction or transfer. In essence, I did not receive exactly what I had offered on. It still infuriates me a decade later.

So my brain is throwing up all sorts of similar bait and switch sorts of shenanigans. Where it appears to be a great name, but isn't. I know the exact situation that happened to me won't happen (my situation was deliberately malicious in the intent, with no way of me knowing it could happen and there are now safe guards in place), but rushing could still lead to misinformation, and ill feelings.

twinkle • 19 August 2023 at 2:49 AM

@minnie298a
Omg I'm so sorry that happened to you!! D:
I would be infuriated ;w;
You're correct that it is essentially the payer's responsibility to investigate and to check before confirming the trade if the name has been altered or not. And if this suggestion will be implemented, it's also the payer's responsibility to check if the name they're trading for is original or not. With the new visualizers I had posted, I don't think they will be mixing up original names vs nameplates unless they still look confusing to others but yeah it can be quite difficult if it's for a quick auction so you'll have to check beforehand but I think there's ample time to check. I'm open to recommendations ❤️

ahgirltc • 19 August 2023 at 3:10 AM

This is an interesting idea 😊 May I clarify if the creature's nameplate is called "Star", would another creature be able to take that name as well?

twinkle • 19 August 2023 at 3:16 AM

@ahgirltc
Thank you so much! c:
Yep! Nameplate names are non-unique and anyone can use the same name ❤️

minnie298a • 19 August 2023 at 4:39 AM

@twinkle
I was extremely angry (and still am to an extent). The tickets I sent make that very clear to the staff, particularly after their initial response. I almost quit for good over it. I'm probably fixating a little on it as well as I had to go submit a ticket the other day for the Trivia thing and it's dug up old feelings. That and my arthritis is playing up due to the weather, so I'm in more pain than usual.

As I said above, I would probably use a feature like this. It all comes down to the public image. Maybe the symbol needs to be on the nameplate, not just the profile. Like the star can be put next to the name. Or maybe an image like the one for freezing and the VEND machine. Something blatantly obvious, more transparent.

I will say I'm now envisioning an entire cove of creatures named the same. Just row upon row of "Fred", or "Cat", or "MINE". An entire hoard of Obarns simply labeled "Who" or "Hoot".

twinkle • 19 August 2023 at 6:54 AM

@minnie298a

I'm really sorry to hear that you've been feeling that way, and I understand how frustrating it can be when issuing tickets. It's clear that you care a lot about the community and I really appreciate your comments ❤️

As I have responded to okami earlier, I think adding extra stuff to differentiate them will take more technical effort. If an extra symbol is to be placed on a custom name, I think that would warrant a higher purchase price because it would just be like the star potion's effect. Also, I think adding so would make the creature's image layout look crowded, especially if the creature itself is already starred. I would be okay with an image/icon on the creature's profile beside the Freeze potion/Star potion/Creator badges that would say that it's a custom name c:
Edit: How about something like this? https://i.imgur.com/ZWraTHW.png 😊
(image is not mine, just got it from google images)

That is so adorable!! :00 I would love to rename all my Smittens to Meow lol

daisycat • 19 August 2023 at 9:03 AM

@twinkle
Thank you for the ping!

I like this idea and I believe it should cost EC. I agree with a much higher amount of EC versus the 1k name change.

Since names are so tiny on the creature's image, I think the name plate should just be on the creature's profile.

I'd love to have the names Mildred, Kevin, and Daisy. I've offered 5000 CC for each of these names (two wall posts, one message) and received no response from any lol so this name plate option would make that possible.

twinkle • 19 August 2023 at 9:11 AM

@daisycat Thank you so much for the support, Daisy!! 💕💕
Awww I really wish we could all have the names that we want ;w;
It's currently impossible for me to get them cuz the users haven't logged in for years D:

okami • 19 August 2023 at 2:00 PM

@twinkle

Thank you for being so kind in your response, I was nervous to voice my opinion because I know it is in the minority. x3

I think that the updated visual examples are much better, but I do agree with Minnie that I personally think there still would need to be a more obvious differentiating factor on the creature image itself. I know that's not an easy thing though, because the images are already quite small and if the creature has a star then that could just make it very cluttered. :/

But I'll admit this is the 'collector' in me talking. I've always been drawn to the games/features where collecting things is encouraged. For me, someone who has been fortunate enough to collect a good number of Pokemon names and managed to get several species names, it'd be a bit disheartening to suddenly not have those names really be fun to collect anymore. Unless there is an obvious differentiating factor on the creature image itself I don't think I'd personally be 'for' this idea, but again I know I'm in the minority and the pros probably outweigh the cons if I take a step back from my 'collecting mindset' lol. That being said, I wouldn't be upset if this was implemented because I'm sure I'd get used to it soon enough. Wouldn't be the first time I was wrong- I was pretty strongly opposed to CC creature re-releases way back in the day when the concept was being discussed as a possibility, but since then I've done a complete 180 and am all for those. :]

Regardless, I was thinking about this- do you know how in the trades/auctions if you hover over a creature image it'll show you how many views/clicks/feeds that creature has? Maybe the same kind of thing could be implemented for creatures with nametags, so when you hover over their image in auctions/trades/forums, a little icon will show signifying that it is a creature with a nameplate. That would help lessen the risk of people getting tricked into unfair name trades/etc.

twinkle • 19 August 2023 at 3:57 PM

@okami Awww that's okay!! 😊 I would be on the middleground too if I had really nice names so I understand where you're coming from c: I think the payoff would be pretty nice though cuz now not only a few of our pets would have nice names but all of them can now be named however we please ^^
I have actually revamped it for Minnie, what do you think of this one?
https://i.imgur.com/ZWraTHW.png 😊
- hovering on the nametag beside the big name on top, a tiny box pops-up: 'Custom name bought from the town hall'
- on the potions bar, a name plate icon is seen to add more transparency that the name is custom
These would make it more conspicuous for further trades to prevent being tricked 😊
I also like your suggestion on adding it to the black pop-up box on the trade center. I have made an example for it
https://i.imgur.com/Cix56vw.png
and I'll add it to the main post. Thank you so much ^^

jlya • 19 August 2023 at 4:03 PM

@twinkle

@minnie298a I'm so sorry that happened to you. Unfortunately I too know the feeling of being scammed and it certainly lasts with a person. I tend to agree with your opinion on this subject.

Thank you @okami for laying out exactly what I was thinking in your last post xD
I too am of the collector mindset and have worked very hard (and spent many hours) finding names for as many critters as possible on my collection side @petrichor. I'm very proud of the names, especially the coveted real-word names that are, as you said, exceedingly hard to come by. One of the things that always drew me to Eggcave was the fact it was unique (to me at least) in making each specific name only available to one user. It makes an old creature with a common name like Amy or real-word name like Sky particularly pleasing to the eye.
Because of these factors, I have to admit it would break a small part of my heart to see names distributed all over the site that were once a unique find. A hundred creatures named Star would dull the beauty of this site just a little bit.

However, I completely understand from the point of view of a new player, or one returning from a hiatus to see their names gone to another user. When I joined Eggcave 5 years ago names were limited but certainly not to this extent, especially with the growing popularity of name collections. If I were joining the site today and wanted a name for my first creature, I could see becoming frustrated having to settle for a combination of words or a jumble of letters or putting three dashes behind the name I want. The longer this site is alive, the fewer and fewer names will be available.
Like @/okami I was mostly against rereleases/Vend creatures at first, but I've grown to be thankful for them. The opportunities it presents to users who weren't around in the first years of the site fully outweighs the drop in some creature values. People are finally getting their dreamies 😊 And after all, while these things are important to me and users opinions/feelings are valid, at the end of the day, this is just a game. It is better for more people to share that joy than to keep all the glory reserved for the old players.

(My apologies this is becoming long but I wanted to fully lay out my opinion on the subject)
All that to say, for me it does come down to how the birthname/name tag are displayed. The biggest reason I've become okay with Vend creatures is the clear distinction between OG creatures and those bought through the vend machine (the VEND symbol on their profile). I am in favor of the name plate symbol on the profile down by the star potion in https://i.imgur.com/ZWraTHW.png
I also like the black pop-up box on the trade center.
As for the display of the actual name, it would definitely require some tweaking. Searching for a creature by a name could become difficult if the birthname is not clearly displayed. Of the options you've presented so far the one with the little nametag by the new name is the one I favor. I like that the birthname is clearly visible and the new name is clearly labeled. I don't know how I feel about the nameplate being displayed under the creature. I understand how this is appealing but I also see how this could become confusing and/or present scam risks.
If everything is clearly labeled to protect the value of original names, and we can settle on imagery that best prevents confusion/shenanigans (while satisfying the buyer of the nameplate), I could be in favor of this suggestion.

@/twinkle thank you for opening the conversation and allowing yourself to be the target of potential criticism. I know that as a site we can be pretty divided sometimes ^^" I appreciate the ability for everyone to speak freely about their concerns and opinions so that we can come to the best compromise.

twinkle • 19 August 2023 at 4:19 PM

@jlya Wow I am genuinely in awe for how you're able to say the things I wanted to say in such well-spoken manner. English isn't my primary language and I'm actually having some trouble putting those into words but you've said exactly what I had thought of! :0
As for searching names, I think only birthnames should be allowed to be searched to also prevent any confusion 😊 Thank you so much for pointing that out, I've added it to the main post c:
I have tried my best to give additional safeguards for future trades and I'm also open to compromise in order to satisfy old users ^^

jlya • 19 August 2023 at 4:52 PM

@twinkle
Aw, thank you, I'm a writer at heart so that's a huge compliment to me ❤️ Your English is amazing, I can't believe it's not your primary language! I wish I could speak any other language as well as you. :0

I think searching only for birthnames is perfect ^^ Thank you for all the safeguard ideas.

minnie298a • 19 August 2023 at 7:37 PM

@twinkle
I definitely prefer the image with the plate large on the profile. And the pop up box.

I 'm sure you mentioned something about over crowding (or someone did). As it stands at the moment, I can think of there being a max of 3 images. Star, Frozen and VEND being the most common. A creators mark or description writers mark would only be present if the VEND mark wasn't. The nameplate would make 4.

Although all this has made me realize that unless you go looking at dates, the CC Rereleases aren't easily identifiable unlike the VEND rereleases. Other than a lot of them are eggs. And now I'm just thinking up issues for things I was fine with...

twinkle • 20 August 2023 at 12:03 AM

@jlya Thank you very much for being so kind!! ❤️

@minnie298a
Yes I did mention that placing the marker in the creature's image itself can cause overcrowding but I'm totally fine with having it displayed on their profiles beside the potion icons ^-^
I also agree that CC rereleases should also have a special marker but since I've already gotten used to just looking at the dates, I'm not particularly too invested in that but it'd be cool to have. 😊

wonder404exe • 21 August 2023 at 8:55 AM

@twinkle
This made me think of the unsername/name websites do
This is like nickname/name-ID
If u wanna search the creature up you do name-ID

I think the name plate one has a good visualizer so you can tell instantly

I always wonder how u did those things…