Many of us play alts, but keep returning to one main character. It would be nice if one could merge alts that were no longer to be played into the main. At a minimum, merging should add to the persisting pilot the merged pilot's: credits, PKs, and raw XP points. I think trying to merge ribbon values like ores mined, bots killed, etc. may get too complicated - but there's no real reason to to merge those in, too.

Merging faction seems like it would actually be an exploit around the faction system, so I oppose that.

An unrestricted merge function, where you can pick any ole pilot in your account to get stuff merged into it, seems like it would be a way around the 'you have to level up an alt to get a name change' thing. So, I further propose that you have to designate a single pilot in your account to be your "main." Only that pilot would be able to receive merged pilots' stuff.

I'd suggest the ability to merge mentor point data as well. And let's be fair, no merging Pk data without death data or total kill data.

I'm a bit afraid that a limited merge function would need a lot of documentation, to avoid someone merging two characters and disliking the result (say they didn't realize faction didn't transfer) and then calling the devs. (this app, like most, are targeted towards the average user...)

Agreed on all points in your first sentence.

I could care less about the risk of annoyed people - just handle it like the character deletion thing, requiring confirmation. I don't see it as particularly great, either, since most people have their most developed faction standings on their mains. Only seasoned pirates are likely to have mains with shitty faction and alts with good faction - and we're big boys and girls capable of being held to account for our choices.

NO! Alts are separate characters

-1

What's your point? There's no reason for all the fruits of one's play to be lost to deletion. The credits are already easily transfered anyway. If I was suggesting that you be able to alter your faction by this method, you'd have a point. Instead, I'm just saying XP and kills/deaths should carry over - which makes sense, since all of that is player, not character, dependent information. There's no RP element to grinding our combat, weapons, and trade/mining XP, and it's pilot skill, not RP, that dictates PKs.

Seriously, this is more illiterate and poorly reasoned/supported than your normal posts - and that is saying an awful lot.

-1 when you make an ALT you make a choice to spend getting it to where you want. It may be an insanely small amount of EXP carried over from a char that just did the flight training and then deleted himself, but its still easily exploitable. As far as precedents, I know of no other game.. mmo or otherwise that lets you merge characters. Although it would be, admittedly, extremely minor... as long as inventory was not also transferred. so maybe a +0 and complete ambivalence is more apt then -1 i just dont see the need.

uh how is carrying over xp exploitable? You are still killing the bots you are just doing it on another character. Unless you mean someone is going to make a bunch of characters and get them all to level 3 and then merge them together, but I don't see that as an issue, actually it would probably take more time to do that then level up a single char.

If merging alts is implemented, I want dividing alts as well! Yes it can be fun to work up a new character from scratch, but it shouldn't be required every time you want a new character. I'd max out what you can take at 4/4/4/4/4 or something like that, a clean slate and no more than 500,000cr

I see no problem with this, Lecters model is not exploitable

+1

I don't see anything wrong with this.

"Fusion, HA!"

Dividing characters/creating alts with X fraction of the stats of your "main", which has been suggested before, creates a problem distinct from merging into a single "main." Basically, it makes it easy to anonymously create fully-trained up alts. There are merits to it, but it's a separate issue.

And no, merging as suggested here is not exploitable. Try thinking before you post, if you're capable of it, ender. Maybe you could just post yut! yut! yut! instead.

"NO! Alts are separate characters"

PaKattle brings up an interesting point, alts... as the name infers are alternate characters. However given that (I would guess) less than 2% of the player base treats alts... (other than their own)... as separate characters from the originals.

That mentality makes alts somewhat superfluous as for example, 98% of traders will regard Pirate Pete's alt, Tim the Trader as a pirate. In many circumstances I have seen an alt or even merely a suspected alt made KoS without any behavior from the alt warranting such extreme treatment.

In light of all this I would say that the argument "NO! Alts are separate characters", is invalidated.

At any rate, there does not seem to be any situation where in this could be exploited. Beyond that, those of us who play on alts do so for a variety of reasons...

1. To more fully experience all aspects of game play.
2. To take a break from "life" as the main character.
3. Satire or a joke... ie, Peytros Jr or Space Hobo 13 or the many many alts of the royal family of Pelatus.
4. Because Lecter has offered a RL prize to whoever could do it best.

I bring this last point up because ALL my alt slots are full, periodically I go through and delete one or two and silently wish there were a way to salvage the xp for the next alt or just add it to my primary.

+∞

"It may be an insanely small amount of EXP carried over from a char that just did the flight training and then deleted himself, but its still easily exploitable."
Good point, all I or anyone else would have to do is create, complete flight training and delete the alt, transfer the xp to my primary character and repeat the entire process twenty million times and I'd have a really high level character!

Ryan... I've found the opposite of what you've said to be true. There are many pirate chars with trader alts, and as far as I know, those trader alts are in no way persecuted. Those alts who are persecuted usually have issues with alt separation anyways...

I think the argument for character merges boils down to the following: If you're done with a character that you've spent X hours of grinding on, why not put those X hours of grinding to use (rather than let it get destroyed)?

It's always best to reward players for their time, rather than punishing them.

As for the creation of fully fledged alts... you can pretty much do that via name-change anyways.

As for the creation of fully fledged alts... you can pretty much do that via name-change anyways.

Um, what? I've known the Devs to occasionally switch a character's nation alignment, but I've never heard of them changing an existing character's name.

If I still played I would LOVE this function. I've used and discarded a lot of characters. I'm also well known to have created an RP identity that, once outed, was simply a second me. Everyone knows imp and tumble are the same, the only reason I have them both is because I can't combine them into one.

Atice, I suppose we are going to have to agree to disagree here. Though I can think of several examples right off the top of my head. There was, not long ago one of the more gentlemanly pirates, logged in as himself, not the pirate. And was being repeatedly attacked/and killed by a member of a relatively respectable trade guild, when members of another trade guild came to help the victim of the attacks, the instigator began to attack all of them, claiming that friends of known pirates are just as bad as pirates.

Apart from that you and I have both been around long enough to have seen the multitude of "alt tracker/alt confirmation " plugins that have come and one.

Um, what? I've known the Devs to occasionally switch a character's nation alignment, but I've never heard of them changing an existing character's name.

Heh, well... guess you aren't paying much attention. Name changes are more common than you'd think.

And Ryan, while I don't deny that such events have taken place in the past (or even recently), I don't believe it to be the norm.

No ones ever hassled me about my evil alt but if I wanted to some day merge his epicness into my regular character that'd be nice.

Well, solve the problem would be this as an option. It should be an option when you delete your character to merge data.

So, if you want to keep your alts secret or private or whatever, then you can choose to do so.

+2