Thanks.
The old versions of players are saved as ‘PCL,’ the new ones as ‘EGE.’ ‘EGE’ is also displayed next to most player names now. Not sure if it counts the ‘EGE’ players as new ones, who are distinct from PCL, and thus makes them start over. It’s possible, but not certain. Still, might be useful if players wish to distinguish between older and newer versions of their character.