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I've been noticing a number of questions related to game updates, like New rare item and enemies in Terraria 1.0.3, and I wonder if these questions aren't limited in their usefulness.

If the thinking behind future releases being too localized is that the question becomes useless after the game is released, then similar thinking can be applied to updates: updated content is released and people care about new content for a week or two, then the content becomes just another part of the game as a whole. Questions about what was added in a minor release after a small post-update window are completely useless to the community and questions about that content become interesting.

My suggestion: we should close updated content questions as too localized and encourage updates of existing questions and new questions about the content itself.

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  • Was going to disagree until I read your suggestion, but that sounds like a really good idea, so I'm all for that. Jun 6, 2011 at 10:49
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    I am the author of that question. I asked it because I was really curious about the new contents and I didn't found any information on wiki at the moment I wrote. I can say that this question reached 2K views in a couple of hours, that means a lot of visitors came to Gaming.SE looking for an answer about it. Speaking about content it is true that after next game release this question will be probably outdated so I am not sure if it is better closing it immediately or later.
    – Drake
    Jun 6, 2011 at 12:27
  • I updated the question title to be more specific... it's not just updates but patch notes that I'm disliking. Jun 6, 2011 at 15:35

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These are "Patch Notes" questions - questions basically asking about changes in patches. Asking for information either contained in patch notes, or that elaborate upon what is introduced by patch notes. This is content that literally exists in the game, and the kind of thing that does get asked about in that regard. We have a history of questions regarding the changes made by certain patches.

This last one I want to point out. When it comes to a game that is constantly updating (as it seems many games are susceptible to, these days...), the only difference between a question like this, and the one presented above, is that the Terraria one explicitly specifies that it's talking about patch changes. As mentioned in your question:

[...] updated content is released and people care about new content for a week or two, then the content becomes just another part of the game as a whole.

Lightning in Minecraft is just a part of the game by now - one that may have already changed after a later patch, if my interpretation of the comments is accurate. If these items introduced by a patch are a part of the game, then it is similar, if not the same material. The only difference appears to be the explicit mention of the patch - so if the lightning question can be considered on-topic, can we not transform the new items question so that it is more acceptable?

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  • All of the stuff you mention is what I want to encourage. It's strictly the "what was added" questions that I dislike. Questions about how that content changes gameplay, strategy, etc are good questions. Jun 6, 2011 at 15:06
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    @Nick I want to just flatly agree with you on that point, because it makes sense. But then I see this question about gameplay/strategy changes, and it's the same kind of scenario. To everyone far later into the scene, that'll be the way things have always been - it will not have changed gameplay or strategy for them. Perhaps this just means we need to close those questions as well. I'm not opposed to their closure if we decide this.
    – Grace Note StaffMod
    Jun 6, 2011 at 15:52
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I agree with @Grace that questions about new game mechanics are fine, because they will be relevant to everyone going forward. But the question originally asked about seems more along the lines of "What was added by patch X?" I understand how this is useful information, and I agree with @Drake that such questions are likely to be quite popular right after the patch comes out, especially with those that want to be the first to experience new content. But a week or two later, nobody cares, those things are just part of the game now, and there is nothing special about them that would warrant having a question about it. So if we really want to avoid questions that are only useful for a short period of time, I think that should include questions about "What was added in this patch". Maybe a compromise where we leave them open for their short period of popularity?

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  • I'm generally in the department of "Can we transform it into something useful?" As in, is there a way we can think of to transform questions like that one and the others that we already have, can we make them into something that is less localized or at least more broadly applicable?
    – Grace Note StaffMod
    Jun 6, 2011 at 15:09
  • Like maybe change the question to "How do I get the Wizard's Hat?" I suppose that could work, if the question text mentioned the patch notes (for SEO). Not sure how to include the "Dead Miner" part. But my point was that for everyone that started playing post-patch, or anyone who isn't a completionist, those elements of the game are just like any other monster or loot. Why should they warrant their own question?
    – bwarner
    Jun 6, 2011 at 15:19

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