Ask Massively: Christmas Eve eve eve edition
After years of railing against the idea that Christmas gets pushed back further every single year, with most major retailers now preparing for it in mid-May, I finally understand why it's necessary to turn the entire month of December into a martyr for one appropriated pagan holiday: It's because sometimes it's really hard to come up with anything else to talk about, so you just look to the next landmark on the calendar and go with it. Coming up next week: Freedom Day Eve edition!
Moving on... this week's installment of Ask Massively is not all about Star Wars: The Old Republic, but as you probably expected around now, it's still poking its nose in. Also, last week's Lineage II questions continue. As always, further questions for future editions can be left in the comments or mailed along to ask@massively.com. Questions may be edited slightly for grammar and/or clarity.
JuliusSeizure asked: So... when's The Old Republic Insider launching?
At this point? It's not.
This is going to be a response very similar to my response back in the day that we weren't planning on doing a column on DC Universe Online. As long-time readers will remember, that answer was followed by a column on DC Universe Online a couple of months later. So what changed in those couple of months? The idea was re-examined and given the green light.
So right now, there are no plans to have a separate Joystiq-branded blog devoted to Star Wars: The Old Republic. That answer may very well change in a few months. (Certainly some Massively staffers wouldn't mind the idea.) But considering the game only technically launched two days ago, it's a little early to jump on that wagon. If in a few months we're looking at another phenomenon, perhaps the answer will change.
Furdinand asked: Why weren't there any articles on DCUO's Update 7? The game is possibly the only MMO that Massively don't have a weekly column dedicated to it.
Let me respond to the second part first. Really, there are a lot of games without a weekly column. Most of them, in fact. Several of those, however, have had weekly columns in the past, which is the case with DCUO.
So why no more? Our writer departed to pursue other projects. Contrary to popular belief, we're not "assigned" games to play for a column. We play these games, and as a result we're tapped to write a column about them.
This also answers the first part of the question. There haven't been a lot of articles about it because the column has been discontinued, and as the time you asked, the update had yet to come out. It's not malicious, just a simple result of circumstance.
Amlen asked: I haven't played Lineage II yet and I was actually thinking of checking out... is it open PvP?
Yes, with some punishments. Non-consensual assault is allowed, but if you attack someone with his flag down, you'll be a free target and take various other penalties. Ironically, this means that most outright killers will stick to regions where no one could kill them anyway (for example, high-level characters attacking newbies in starting zones).
Looking for some advice on which class is best for soloing in Aion? Not sure who this Raph Koster fellow is? Curious about the release date of NCsoft's newest MMO? You've come to the right place! No one knows MMOs like we do. If there's anything you'd like to know about the MMO genre or the site itself, Ask Massively is here to help every Thursday afternoon. Just ask!
