The Queue: So much to do, so much to see, so what’s wrong with screaming into the Void?

I feel like a broken record — or, maybe just an adult in 2022? — but it’s been a busy week, and things don’t feel like they’re going to slow down anytime soon. But hey, it’s Thursday (right?) and it’s time for a Queue.

So let’s Queue.

Honestly, I have no clue. I haven’t kept up with gaming news and frankly, the idea of another inundation of “NEW GAMES!” is a bit overwhelming right now. I’d love to keep up more, but there are just so many things happening at any given moment that I am very genuinely starting to feel like that old man yelling about how kids move too fast these days.

That said, I’m definitely more excited to see what’s coming from the studios with *checks notes* at least one woman hired than the studios that haven’t hit that high bar quite yet.

I don’t think we will, unfortunately, since it seems like new loading screens for old content have been a thing of the past. I used to love seeing what new Eastern Kingdoms or Kalimdor loading screens we’d get with a new expansion! But Blizz seems more keen on new loading screens for new content (which I don’t blame them for but still). That said, Rendle would NEED to be on the load screen if Blizz were to update Shadowlands’.

I don’t really know enough about cleaning to give amazing advice, but I’ve learned that it’s best to never rub spilled liquids into something. Pat it down, then press in on some of the tougher spots. There’s probably also something involving the right temperature and soap, but that’s as far as my knowledge takes me.

Also, don’t have liquids near electronics unless you have an “in case of spill” plan in place already :P

Literally any game’s quest log that is from this decade will do. Seriously, WoW’s quest log is awful and I don’t get how it missed the boat on all of the late-Shadowlands QOL changes.

Outside of that, the multi-class system from FFXIV (where one character can level any class) would be my go-to. I’ve never been an alt person, but I’d be more inclined if it were the same character playing different classes.

To be blunt, what you described sounds like 1) a total blast for the person playing the OP combination and genuine fun in a single-player experience and 2) bad balancing for a PVP game.

Stuff like this is why I don’t envy devs who have to constantly build new systems on top of old systems. At some point or another, someone will find a combination that hits alllll the right points to become a scenario like the one you described.

What would be cheating is if, say, summoning Minion A inadvertently made Minion B cost nothing, despite nothing in the game indicating that as an intended interaction.

Of course, the line can be A LOT blurrier depending on the game and the situation. World-first guilds in WoW often play with that line, sometimes finding something that genuinely is clever, if unintended (like dropping tank aggro so a Mage can take it, then Ice Blocking to negate a tanking mechanic entirely) and sometimes finding something that is clearly not just “clever” and more “blatantly bugging the game” (like whatever happened with the Lich King and Engineers back in Wrath).

Unfortunately, what you described just sounds like poor balance.

I am not! I actually played a bit last night, and while some of the newer gear I acquired didn’t fit perfectly, my ‘mog game is still on point.

Bad answer, but it depends on the game and the genres and the time between releases and a whole mess of factors.

Generally speaking, though, I think I’d lean toward playing the sequel and seeing if it could win me over. If I make it like 1/3 of the way through the game and none of the systems are capturing my attention? I’ll likely put it down and switch to another game, letting the sequel fade out.

If I like the game well enough (but still prefer the original), I might play through it but then opt for a Let’s Play if they make a third game in the same genre. At the end of the day, I still do try to keep up with the game in some way or another — reading the Wiki, watching a playthrough, reading articles about it — but I don’t usually force myself through something unless I went in with a specific “I’m going to finish this series” mentality (which is sort of what happened with Sekiro).

Perhaps they are saving that for sweeps.

That’s our Queue for today! I hope you all have a great day and keep up with the gaming news better than I can! (And be sure to leave lots of questions for tomorrow’s writer, please and thank you <3)