The Queue: Wherein Gray feels guilty
Welcome to the Queue, wherein Michael Gray feels guilty for contemplating the imminent mastication of Michael Sacco's favorite things.
I caught up on The Queue this weekend and only then did notice Sacco's ungulatophile nature. I was immediately stricken with an overwhelming sense of guilt. Why would I feel so guilty, you ask? I only had just then finished making plans for my first pig roast.
So, like, there I was, researching and making plans on how to roast a pig. Then I tab over and am immediately presented with Sacco's tiny baby piggy. So I felt a little guilty. Sue me.
I will now assuage my guilt by answering the questions of our loyal Queue readers. I'm using you for catharsis. It's like a pity date, but I deliver at the end.
The infinitely well-named Knuckleneck asked:
"It seems inconceivable that no one from Blizzard has even commented on the uproar over the School of Hard Knocks achievement for the Children's Week meta. Should we take this to mean that Blizzard is going to ignore complaints from both PvE-centric AND PvP-centric players, and keep such a frustrating "every-man-for-himself-regardless-of-the-week-long-ruination-of-battlegrounds" achievement as-is?"
Welllll. To be fair, there's a difference between "hearing complaints" and "taking the action the complainer might want." Crygil posted back in 2009 that they don't consider the achievements outside the reasonable bounds. But while Blizzard might not be making any changes regarding the School of Hard Knocks, there's no doubt they're plenty aware of how many people dislike the achievement.
What we don't know, though, is how many people do like it, how many people completed it just fine or if the achievement as-is will remain in Cataclysm. I'm guessing that we won't be rocking the same long, strange trip in the expansion, at any rate.
Wellsee asked:
"Please help me with this noobish question. I need something made that I can't make myself, and the people I know can't make it either. Once I get the materials together, I'll go to trade chat in Dalaran and ask for someone who can make it and offer a tip.
When I find someone who can make it, do I just hand over the mats (worth hundreds of gold on their own and about 1500 once made into the item) and just trust the person will make the item and give it back? What can I do to protect myself, other than asking them to link their profession and be sure they have the formula?"
Handing over expensive materials to a craftsman is scary as heck. There is nothing you can do to protect yourself from fraud, if the crafter decides to take your stuff and bail. You can open a GM ticket, and I've heard some good results from that. But as a rule, if someone is going to fraud you, you're hosed.
Consider posting on your realm's official forums if you're nervous; that gives you a little more chance to find a reputable player than random trade chat.
Hex asked:
"In Cataclysm, will the Blizzard designers be completely redoing the underlying mesh of the landscape, or are they patching what already exists to make it flyable?"
On a conceptual level, they will be making use of what already exists. Since the new land resembles the old land, it should be visually reminiscent.
On a technical level ... the only people who can know for sure right now are the designers. However, I think the complete redesign of the areas mean they're probably starting from scratch for all intents and purposes. They might get to save a little time with the odd bit of terrain and model. But when you're talking about something of this scope, the difference between reusing tiny bits and a 100% fresh game is relatively mild. It's kind of like saying that this edition of The Queue is a repeat because we've used all of these words in different posts, in different contexts.
Talyre asked:
"My toon is a female but whenever Deathbringer's Will procs, i turn into a male version of the new race. Any idea if Blizzard plans to bring some gender neutrality to the proc?"
I was stymied on how to answer this question, so I asked a good friend of mine who plays a female warlock. She popped Metamorphosis and said, "It's probably not going to become gender-sensitive any time soon."
Have questions about the World of Warcraft? The WoW.com crew is here with The Queue, our daily Q&A column! Leave your questions in the comments and we'll do our best to answer 'em!
