I have noticed this for a while and I was wondering how this works; ranked 27 and 30 on the ranking list are cc and cc, respectively. So, I have had this incessant question lingering in my head for the past few days: what does SM require to make a unique username?

Do underscores show up as blanks? Does this mean someone else could create a seemingly identical username as my own in what would be tantamount to identity theft in this game (for the purposes of posting on the forums and multiplayer battles that is — not PMs or private battles)? Any light shed on this would be very much appreciated, as well as other intriguing questions from curious community members.

The name in the rankings is the name of the mech, which does not need to be the same as the account name. Account names are unique, mech names are not.

In my case, my account name is bigdaddy22 (this is what the forum uses), but my mech's name on the rankings is bigdaddy. I also have my old account, with a different account name but the mech name is also bigdaddy.

there are two mechs called bigdaddy, and I imagine its a similar thing with cc.

In my opinion, the game shows only letters (a-z) and numbers (0-9), any other symbol isn't displayed.
That's why you get same named mechs in the game and you may also meet mechs who's name isn't visible at all (like i've met).

As for forums, you can log-in to the forums with the very same username and psw as you do in the game (that's what i did, without the need to create a new forum account with different name).

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Aeacus

Ok, guys, only the forum account names are unique, but the mech name you write after creating an account isn't. That's why there are two cc's in the ranking list, and probably more than two of other names.


Bigdaddy is right, folks!(I didn't read this post before I wrote my stuff )

Well again, my only concern by allowing this would be some sort f identity theft thing. What if someone, for whatever reason, develops a grudge against another player in the game and creates the same mech name just to piss other people off and have them dislike said mech. Might sound a bit unlikely, but I think it is worth discussing/exploring.

Identity theft as such is if someone uses your real name to impersonate you, usually for financial gain.

In the internet, there's no law against using different usernames since username doesn't belong to you (you have no rights over your username).
It's basically the same with nicknames. Even though nickname is generated mostly from your first name, it doesn't mean someone else can't use the same nickname if they have the same or similar first name.

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Aeacus

I get that. But when you build a reputation, you kind of build an identity. Aeacus, imagine if someone used your name in the game and started using a bunch of exploits. Subsequently (in this hypothetical scenario), people start saying really nasty things about you on the forums and essentially call you a fraud and a cheater. Within a few hours, before you even see the thread, it gets closed by the admins because it is against the T of S Agreement. Meanwhile, the SM community has been bombarded with negative thoughts of your character, the admins rush to watch the replays and reprimand both accounts (this part is very highly hypothetical because I am not exactly sure what the admins see on their end) with a suspension or something of that sort. Evidently, you are left trying to contact the admins in an effort to remove any possible guilt you have from the situation, whilst having no way to retribute your now vilified account name.

Like I said in so many words previously, this scenario is highly unlikely, but as the possibility does exist (at least parts of it), I think it is important that we address what would happen in such a scenario so that there is some sort of contingency plan-thing in the event there are multiple accounts with the same or very similar names.

When someone stole my name in battledawn I wasn't so happy I went and killed him and his alliance just to make sure noobs weren't stealing my name I agree totally that people shouldn't have the same names. It's not nice seeing someone taking your name for the fame you've worked on making (even if it is only game fame) and destroying it by playing poorly

(I know this is for SM , just comparing it to BD)

Sorry to hear that man — that was quite a cheap move on that person's part.

He learnt his lesson