Allow setting char name independent of mod portal & account

[factoriouzr]

It used to be that I can set my character name to whatever I wanted in the last version of the game. Now I can set my char name, but it's overwritten by my login username when I log into the mod portal.

I know this is stated as a feature, but I don't think it's a good one. There is no reason to bind these two things together and we should have the option of setting a character name independent of our online login username.

The following are some of the reasons why you should allow setting our character name to whatever we want regardless of our online username and other other online settings:

• This game can be played offline, on LAN, using a direct connection (via IP) and none of these require a login to the factorio services and I like having direct IP play and LAN play. One of the reasons I love this game is because it doesn't have DRM.
• There is an option in game (disabled by default) to require online verification of players joining a game. Since this option can be disabled, why force character names to be online user names?
• I set my character name as I always do, started a game, played for a while, saved, went onto the mod portal, had to log in, then later I loaded my previous game and all my items were gone because the game decided to change my character name. I had to go into options and change my character name back to what it was before (lucky I remembered what I set it to before). Now every time I want to check for mod updates or new mods, I have to go back and undo the character name change so I can play my game
• I want to set a different character name then my online user name
• I don't want to make a new account or change my online user name when I feel like a different character name (I don't even know if it's possible to change my user name online without a new account, and If I make a new account, I will have to buy the game again?).
• I don't want my character name visible in forums, online etc, and I don't want to see my online user name as my character name
• My online user name is too long and annoying to see on the map and mini-map in game
• Verification for mod portal should have nothing to do with character name. I want to check for mods, or mod updates, no problem, we will now set your character name to something we think is better. What?
• I might want my character name to be my actual name, and I don't want this as my online user name
• I picked an online user name I no longer like
• etc

These are just some of the reasons I ask you to change the game so I can set any character name I want. You can let the player be responsible for remembering their character name between games if they choose to change it, or you can simply prompt the host of the game when creating it to choose one of the characters that has previously joined the game to play as and skip the prompt if there is only one character (single player).

[kovarex]

I still believe that the simplicity is better.

[factoriouzr]

Please give us the option. At least make it a checkbox in options to bind the two or not, and if unbound don't change my character name.

[factoriouzr]

Please re-visit this issue. You already had the functionality for allowing us to set our own user/player names. Add a checkbox to bind the two and default it to enabled for fresh installs, but let us uncheck it and set our own names. You might play a certain way, but not everybody does (I remember when you were convinced that the default request amount should be one stack or so and people didn't like that change). Variety is the spice of life. Let people enjoy the game the way they want to.

[kovarex]

Please re-visit this issue. You already had the functionality for allowing us to set our own user/player names. Add a checkbox to bind the two and default it to enabled for fresh installs, but let us uncheck it and set our own names. You might play a certain way, but not everybody does (I remember when you were convinced that the default request amount should be one stack or so and people didn't like that change). Variety is the spice of life. Let people enjoy the game the way they want to.

Yes, but we just can't allow it. How could you then ban people in verified multiplayer games?

[factoriouzr]

Please re-visit this issue. You already had the functionality for allowing us to set our own user/player names. Add a checkbox to bind the two and default it to enabled for fresh installs, but let us uncheck it and set our own names. You might play a certain way, but not everybody does (I remember when you were convinced that the default request amount should be one stack or so and people didn't like that change). Variety is the spice of life. Let people enjoy the game the way they want to.

Yes, but we just can't allow it. How could you then ban people in verified multiplayer games?

This would be for unverified multiplayer games. I think what you say about verified games makes sense, but I like playing with people I know and trust so it's not an issue with banning for me, I would just like the flexibility. Not all of us host public games open to everyone. I bet most people play with their friends.

[factoriouzr]

Please re-visit this issue. You already had the functionality for allowing us to set our own user/player names. Add a checkbox to bind the two and default it to enabled for fresh installs, but let us uncheck it and set our own names. You might play a certain way, but not everybody does (I remember when you were convinced that the default request amount should be one stack or so and people didn't like that change). Variety is the spice of life. Let people enjoy the game the way they want to.

Yes, but we just can't allow it. How could you then ban people in verified multiplayer games?

This would be for unverified multiplayer games. I think what you say about verified games makes sense, but I like playing with people I know and trust so it's not an issue with banning for me, I would just like the flexibility. Not all of us host public games open to everyone. I bet most people play with their friends.

Also, I just thought of a way you could identify people without their online user name. You could generate some unique identifier based on their computer setup or MAC address. There are hash algorithms out there that I'm sure you could use, but again, verifying users doesn't matter to me, I play with people I trust, and If i decide to host a public game, and want verification, then that would be the compromise, to use online user names.

Another idea though, is that you could generate a hash code that's generally guaranteed to be unique the first time they start factorio and send that. You could encrypt it too if you want and people are not likely to uninstall and re-install their game just to join the same game again that they got banned from. Most people wouldn't even be aware how this mechanism happens. Just a thought.

Regardless, I would just like the option to set our own user names for unverified games.

[kovarex]

You can change the name in the options. It works as long as you play on unverified game.

[factoriouzr]

You can change the name in the options. It works as long as you play on unverified game.

That's not true, unless you made a change recently, since every time I look at the mods or update them, my user name is changed from what I set it to, to my login name.

[Adil]

Yes, but we just can't allow it. How could you then ban people in verified multiplayer games?

Why exactly do you explicitly need to show the piece of login information in the game?
It not like if you see xxx_Datrh_Angel_Slayer_2000_xxx, in WoW for example, you can tell what login is he using and yet there was never a problem to report or ban someone even though his login is not shown anywhere.

[factoriouzr]

Yes, but we just can't allow it. How could you then ban people in verified multiplayer games?

Why exactly do you explicitly need to show the piece of login information in the game?
It not like if you see xxx_Datrh_Angel_Slayer_2000_xxx, in WoW for example, you can tell what login is he using and yet there was never a problem to report or ban someone even though his login is not shown anywhere.

That's a good point Adil. There is nothing preventing you from joining a game with your own character name that you defined in options and at the same time be logged into the that player's factorio account in game. Then when the server decides to ban that player, they would type their player name in game and factorio would know that this character's current name is bound to this account and ban the account from the game. It's a simple hashtable lookup.

[factoriouzr]

Can this go into 0.15 please?

[Klonan]

Can this go into 0.15 please?

It can, but it won't.

If you don't like your username, you can change it on the website:
https://www.factorio.com/settings

[factoriouzr]

Can this go into 0.15 please?

It can, but it won't.

If you don't like your username, you can change it on the website:
https://www.factorio.com/settings

Ouch!

All it takes is a hashtable lookup of user name to online login name, come on. Are you going the online DRM way now? One of the reasons I bought this game is because it had no DRM. Now you are forcing me to use an online service to change my user name!

[Articulating]

How would this work with commands though? Would game.players.username use their display name or account name? And what happens with duplicate names? This just seems like a big change for something barely beneficial, since you can change you account name anyway.

[factoriouzr]

How would this work with commands though? Would game.players.username use their display name or account name? And what happens with duplicate names? This just seems like a big change for something barely beneficial, since you can change you account name anyway.

I'm not sure if you are talking about banning players or modding, Ideally you can use both and in case of duplicates, either ban all players with that name or throw up an error of duplicates then the user can use the account name. Another option is just to number the players that join by the order in which they join. Then if there are duplicates, you can specify their number as well as their user name. But it can even more easily always use the account name.

I hope that answers your question.

What I care about is playing with people I know. I don't play with 400 people, and as such I don't want to be forced to validate accounts online. I usually play LAN at home or over the internet with my friends. I shouldn't have to log in online to be able to change my character's name when I have the verify players option unchecked. I don't want to verify players, so don't force the online accounts on me please. I already set my character name in options, don't change it just because I log into the mod portal. Let the settings be separate and let us set our user names without online login and account management please.

[factoriouzr]

Please allow changing character name and make it independent of mod portal etc.