why are we getting this message?
Hey, you have have recognized that we have started the process of blocking your alternate accounts. Cheers, ee_skyfyre8 If you'd visit the forums you'd find out that this account is legit �...
Forum Discussion
Hi Gamerdruid, my message was clear and said "in-game name" not forum names. For the exact reason you state is why I recommended a forums announcement be made because players can't configure/edit the legitimacy of their forum names/profiles and therefore a developer stands out. In-game is a different story. Anyone could create an account and name themselves "ee_skyfyre8" or something similar and start messaging players claiming they are a Dev and follow up with requests. Many thought this account was spam in this scenario (veterans included) which is why the message went largely ignored and why an official message should be documented. Especially since multi-accounting has been discussed and ignored before and was not being enforced. In my 11 years playing this game on and off I have never heard of a developer messaging requests to individual players in-game.
Not sure the relevance to the comment in regards to my posting frequency but I have been a member of this community since 2013. I posted more frequently under the old forums before it migrated to this forum, but again not sure how that was relevant to this post.
A reply on a thread isn't visible enough for players - an official announcement should be made addressing both issues that 1) Yes, devs are finally looking into multi-account and will crack-down on it and 2) That yes, developers will use in-game accounts to message players to address issues. This would be a good thing for both developers and players alike. It shows the devs are still invested in the game and are taking action when needed and also works as a deterrent for anyone thinking devs are not active and it makes the players feel safe within the community. Snowballing Side idea here - is it possible for developers to have a trait that stands out to players in-game like a developer badge or gold star or something rather that identifies them as different than a player account?
In the end this doesn't impact me but from a business point of view it seems odd that an announcement can't be made. Again, a simple announcement here on the forums with a clear action plan against multi-accounting will have a much further reaching impact than messaging players 1 on 1 on individual servers.
That's all I will write here, I just wanted to make that request with supporting evidence as to why I think it's a good idea - at the end of the day I support the decisions made by the developers.
I think your idea of having an in-game identifier alongside the player name is an excellent one! I'll be sure to draw it to the attention of the development team.
I'd missed the fact that it was sent in-game. I'd assumed it was in response to a DM in the forum. (It may not have been in-game, there is nothing to indicate it was.
An announcement could have worked two ways. If players use gamename1, gamename2 .... gamename102 etc then it is obvious multi-accounting but players using less obviously liked names may think they are 'safe' - the developers aren't going to announce the criteria used so players with gamename1....102 could go through and change names.
I think the main thrust isn't just that they are multi-accounting as many play 2 accounts, one GDI and one NOD without causing an issue or abusing the system. It's the players abusing the system that everyone is concerned about.
