When ship names are implemented, current NPC names should become...

[oRGy]

... their ship names.

Seriously, it makes a lot more sense that random NPC commanders name their ship after Yuri Gagarin or Chris Roberts rather than their ACTUAL NAMES being Yuri Gagarin or Chris Roberts.

As in previous Frontier games, NPC names should be generated from a simple list (name, surname) that provides for a suitably high number of individual combinations.

They could even bring back the procedurally generated faces!

Example:
http://sleeplessblog.files.wordpress.com/2014/02/frontier-crew.jpg

 

[Cmdr Andy B]

one major problem with this, backers of the kickstarter got to name an NPC as part of the rewards - not name an NPC's ship.

many people used the names of friends or loved ones who had passed so it could be considered more than a little disrespectful to change it now.

 

[oRGy]

Not Frontiers problem if some backer decided to name an NPC after someone who died. As long as they are still in the database then whats the problem? Having thousands of players blowing up your dead father who is now a "mostly harmless" trash-talking pirate strikes me as a bit bizarre anyway.

Unfortunately all the silly names are rather immersion-breaking and suffer from extreme repetition.

 

[Cmdr Andy B]

Not Frontiers problem if some backer decided to name an NPC after someone who died. As long as they are still in the database then whats the problem? Having thousands of players blowing up your dead father who is now a "mostly harmless" trash-talking pirate strikes me as a bit bizarre anyway.

Unfortunately all the silly names are rather immersion-breaking and suffer from extreme repetition.

sorry but it IS their problem as they would be changing the terms of a kickstarter reward that everyone who backed the game above £15 had and you cannot do that without causing a backlash.