No way to claim abandoned squadrons?

[Buster Banks]

Somebody created a squadron with the same name as our PMF. It's never had any activity and the founder is still the only member. We messaged the person(xbox) but they haven't shown online. We put in a support ticket explaining and they said there's nothing they can do, and that squadron information can not be changed.

It seems odd that if there is requirements that they can't be changed, there is not something that deletes them after inactivity. Especially if they've never been active.

 

[Factabulous]

I would have thought that a Squadron with the name of a PMF would be seen as 'name-squatting' and evicted (I know they certainly pre-reserved some PMF names before squadrons launched) - as PMF should have priority over squadrons. Not sure if it's worth trying that angle with support?

 

[Dharrch Streynjer]

We've got the opposite problem. Somebody has got a commander name with the name of our squadron.

 

[Buster Banks]

Further conversation with support revealed, even if the player deleted the squadron themselves, or if they contacted support to request it be deleted, the squadron name and ID would STILL be unavailable.


This means one could just create new gamertags on Xbox, quickly make the 10 million to register a squadron, and poach the PMF release lists and permanently block them out of having a relevant squadron. Or just crank out desirable(any lore or significant location or faction related) squadron names and then delete them.

Unfortunately, we are unable to delete player squadrons. Not unless the player gets in touch and requests this of us of course. Apologies for any inconvenience.

In addition, I believe that like commander names, Squadron names are reserved once used, so regardless of whether or not that players squadron is deleted, that name will not be able to be used again.

I ask that if you have any further questions or issues, do not hesitate to get back in touch. Otherwise, have a fabulous day.

This is REALLY silly. If anyone ever hopes to have a squadron with a name tied to anything in-game, I'd advise you register it as soon as you think of it.

 

[Dharrch Streynjer]

This is REALLY silly. If anyone ever hopes to have a squadron with a name tied to anything in-game, I'd advise you register it as soon as you think of it.

Not the only thing that FDev have done which is very silly.
Pretty much par for the course I would say.

The answer is to contact the creator of the squadron and have them hand it over to you.
If a squadron's leader leaves the squadron (Yes they can do this) the commander with the highest rank inherits it.
You can then contact FDev to have them change any conflicting allegiances etc..
I would have thought that FDev could add you to the squadron as the leader should they choose to.

o7

 

[avow555]

Something that needs looking into for sure by the devs.
They wont allow storage but it would seem unlimited squadron names can be generated via console if so desired.
Not very well thought out.

If inactive a squad should be removed after time.

 

[GroG79]

Can I get the Terra Mater squad?

 

[Mrjupp]

BoTM may have something to say about that.

 

[Factabulous]

You can then contact FDev to have them change any conflicting allegiances etc..

Probably not - I've seen multiple threads where the advice is 'delete the squad and recreate it'.

I would have thought that FDev could add you to the squadron as the leader should they choose to.

Nope. Sounds like a great way for bad actors to infiltrate an existing squadron.

The only way I could see fdev acting is if a pre-existing PMF has their PMF name used by an unrelated squadron after they are created, as that is name squatting - though from the OPs post it seems they don't care. Anyone creating a PMF without checking the Squad name is not already taken is making issues for themselves (though fdev don't make it clear that it's a good idea to claim all player named assets before starting business).

 

[Obi Wan Naboo]

Can I get the Terra Mater squad?

No you can't. You may join though if you ask nicely.

 

[Chaparral]

What squad buster?

 

[SpaceAnna]

This is REALLY silly. If anyone ever hopes to have a squadron with a name tied to anything in-game, I'd advise you register it as soon as you think of it.

This "issue" has been a thing since Squadrons were introduced and tested back in the Beyond Chapter Four Beta. There is a reason why Frontier let pmf founders know about squadrons and allowed them to reserve names back in the day. Support can't do anything because they can't modify someone's game without their consent, like taking away their squadron. Squadrons don't have expiration dates, or required member count, so...

 

[Buster Banks]

Probably not - I've seen multiple threads where the advice is 'delete the squad and recreate it'.


Nope. Sounds like a great way for bad actors to infiltrate an existing squadron.

The only way I could see fdev acting is if a pre-existing PMF has their PMF name used by an unrelated squadron after they are created, as that is name squatting - though from the OPs post it seems they don't care. Anyone creating a PMF without checking the Squad name is not already taken is making issues for themselves (though fdev don't make it clear that it's a good idea to claim all player named assets before starting business).

to be clear, our PMF was added before squadrons. I'm totally in agreement that we should have taken the initiative to get on and register the squadron ourselves when they were released(we were on a BGS burn out when they came out.) But it's just ridiculous to see something sitting there that isnt or has ever been used. Especially since again, since names are apparently permanently locked in, anyone could just pump out squadrons with desirable names and delete them. And as someone who has been on the internet before, I'm sure it will happen.