Likelihood of All Names the Same?

[ChiefWahoo]

Has anyone edited the default lists for player names, so that all names have the same chance of being generated? If so, have the results been zany? Does anyone know where I could find files edited to allow this? I hope this was clear! Thank you.

[joefromchicago]

1. Open the names file in the database folder and select all (ctrl+A);
2. Open a spreadsheet program (I use OpenOffice - any program that has Excel's commands should work);
3. Choose "paste special" and make sure that you choose a format that accommodates comma-delimited files so that the categories in the names file are placed in separate columns;
4. The A column should be the names themselves, the B column should be the frequencies, and the C column should be the nation identifier;
5. For your purposes, you'll want to change all of the numbers in the B column to "1." The easiest way is to enter 1 in the first entry and then do a "fill down" command;
6. In the D column (it should be empty) enter a comma (,) and fill it down all the way to the last entry;
7. In the E column, copy the following: =A1&D1&B1&D1&C1
8. Fill the E column all the way down;
9. The results in the E column should look like the results in the names file - e.g. Aaron,1,0
10. Copy the E column into a new names file (or overwrite the old one - but don't forget to make a backup);
11. Place the new names file into your database folder;
12. Repeat steps 1-11 for the first names file;
13. In the game, make sure you reload the names databases.

[ChiefWahoo]

Thank you so much, Joe! With my limited knowledge of Excel, I feared I would have to enter "1" in manually a gazillion times in order to do this.

Could you possibly elaborate upon the "paste special" step, please? I have tried both options Excel seems to present and both times all the text has been pasted in the first column. Thanks!

[joefromchicago]

I can't tell you what to do in Excel because I don't have that program. As I mentioned, I use OpenOffice (which is free to download - I highly recommend it). Once you've completed steps 1-2, choose "paste special" and then press "OK" for unformatted text (that's the only option), at which point you get this screen:



Check the "comma" box and press "OK."



I would guess that Excel does it somewhat similarly. Maybe someone else who is more familiar with Excel can chime in.

EDIT: take a look at this - Excel has something called a "text import wizard" that you can access under the data tab. Follow the instructions under "How to import CSV to Excel." Good luck!

[ChiefWahoo]

Thank you, joefromchicago, for the explanation. I am going to attempt to do this now!