Minecraft 1.7.6 pre-release 1 takes huge step towards Name changes

Minecraft 1.7.6 pre-release 1 is now available for testing, Mojang announced today. With its release, Minecraft is one step closer towards one of hte most requested features since launch: Name changes.

"This version provides complete support for identifying players through unique IDs and not by names, so that no matter what a player is called they will remain banned/whitelisted/oped/etc on servers," explained Mojang's Nathan "Dinnerbone" Adams.

Over on Mojang's website, Adams posed a lengthy FAQ shedding some more light on name changing, explaining that names are still unique and that name changing will be enabled when "enough users are using 1.8 or higher."

If I ban a player “Foo” and he changes name to “Bar”, will he stay banned?
Yes. Same for whitelisted players and oped players. They also keep their inventory, pets, statistics and everything they own on a server.

Can I steal somebody’s name? Can I call myself “Dinnerbone” too?
No. I am Dinnerbone and names are still unique. You cannot have the same name as another player, they will have to change their name for you to be able to take it.

How will this work with mods? What about my custom stuff on this one modded server?
Ask your mod maker/server owner. They should be able to support this system easily, but we aren’t responsible for mods or servers!

Can I already change my name? Where do I go? Will it cost? How often can I do it?
We will enable name changing when we feel that enough users are using 1.8 or higher, so that servers have time to switch to the new player formats. We do not have any details on how name changes will be performed or any restrictions that will be required to actually perform a name change. We want it to be easy and freely available, but we also don’t want people changing their name every 5 minutes!

So where do I change my name?
Read the previous answer!

I’m a server owner, what do I have to do when I update to 1.7.6?
Nothing, really. The server will update itself, but it’s entirely possible that it may require your input if it finds an issue (nonexistant players, for example). If your server fails to start then check the log, otherwise it’s ready to play!

Is this compatible with 1.7.5?
No, sorry. We had to change the protocol to support the new player formats.

I’m scared. I need a hug.
Aww, here you go little guy. *hug* Don’t worry, it’s not as scary as it sounds.

In addition to name changing, the pre-release also comes with more Minecraft Realms improvements, crash fixes, optimizations, and general bug fixes.