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Games => General Gaming => Topic started by: Xessive on Tuesday, November 27, 2012, 09:29:49 PM

Title: Bungie's Destiny
Post by: Xessive on Tuesday, November 27, 2012, 09:29:49 PM
Looks Bungie is finally working on something that's not Halo, Destiny (http://www.wired.com/gamelife/2012/11/bungie-destiny-screen/).
Title: Re: Bungie's Destiny
Post by: Quemaqua on Tuesday, November 27, 2012, 09:45:55 PM
Sexy art. Hope it doesn't suck.
Title: Re: Bungie's Destiny
Post by: MysterD on Monday, March 18, 2013, 05:35:00 PM
I'm just gonna wait for the irony in all of this said here, (http://www.joystiq.com/2013/03/18/bungie-not-concerned-about-destinys-always-on-connection/) just in case the launch of Destiny winds up as disastrous (or worse) than SimCity 2013's launch...
Title: Re: Bungie's Destiny
Post by: Xessive on Tuesday, March 19, 2013, 02:46:29 AM
Yeah but Destiny is being developed as a MMO experience.. From what I or anyone can understand from the vague descriptions we've read about it from Bungie. Honestly, I think even Bungie are having a hard time defining it.
Title: Re: Bungie's Destiny
Post by: W7RE on Tuesday, March 19, 2013, 05:31:45 PM
From the little bits of information I've seen, I'm expecting something along the lines of Guild Wars 1. For those who don't know, in GW1 you had high population cities, with extra channels (copies of that town) for when populations rise too high in that zone. When you went into a mission area, it was only you and your party.

Or it could be like Neverwinter, which is similar to GW1, but with some public combat areas. Towns are high population, but have channels to accommodate extreme populations. From there you zone into a questing area which is structured the same way. You'll see random players, but there are multiple channels so that not everyone is crammed into the same place. Then the quests you're doing tend to ramp up into final confrontations, which take place in short 5-10 minute private "dungeons" (party members can come with you). Neverwinter also lets you queue up for 5 man dungeons and pvp.

Destiny could very well be mostly open world like World of Warcraft and other MMOs, but their hesitance to come straight out and call it an MMO makes me think it's structured differently somehow.
Title: Re: Bungie's Destiny
Post by: MysterD on Tuesday, June 11, 2013, 06:50:17 PM
GameSpot -> E3 2013 Stage Demo of Destiny (http://www.gamespot.com/e3/destiny-e3-2013-stage-demo-6409881/?tag=Topslot;Slot1)
GameSpot -> Peter Dinklage is doing voice-work for Destiny. (http://www.gamespot.com/e3/peter-dinklage-voicing-bungies-destiny-6410112/)
Title: Re: Bungie's Destiny
Post by: MysterD on Sunday, August 25, 2013, 07:31:01 AM
GameSpot -> Vid-Doc on Destiny from GamesCom 2013 (http://www.gamespot.com/gamescom/destiny-out-here-in-the-wild-vidoc-6413513/)
Title: Re: Bungie's Destiny
Post by: MysterD on Tuesday, May 06, 2014, 04:50:52 PM
Polygon -> Reportedly, Destiny cost Activision around $500 Million to develop AND promote. (http://www.polygon.com/2014/5/6/5686268/Destiny-costs-activision-500-million-to-develop-promote)
Title: Re: Bungie's Destiny
Post by: MysterD on Saturday, June 14, 2014, 08:40:07 AM
GameSpot -> E3 2014 gameplay video; and Activision thinks Destiny is a "good fit" for the PC. (http://www.gamespot.com/articles/activision-says-bungie-s-destiny-on-pc-is-a-natural-fit/1100-6420475/)
Polygon -> Their thoughts of $500 million budget; and gameplay video from E3 2014. (http://www.polygon.com/2014/6/13/5807752/destiny-500-million-budget-activision-bungie)


Title: Re: Bungie's Destiny
Post by: W7RE on Thursday, July 24, 2014, 04:41:37 PM
The beta has been going on for a week for Playstation users. It started up day before yesterday for Xbox users. Starting today it's available to anyone with Xbox Live Gold, so you don't need a code anymore. It ends on the 27th.

~6GB download on PS3/360
~12GB download on PS4/XB1
Title: Re: Bungie's Destiny
Post by: Xessive on Friday, July 25, 2014, 05:12:34 AM
I've been playing it for the past few days and I am hooked.

I've already decided that I am getting this game. My only concern is regional bullcrap with bundled DLC codes so I will not pre-order it. I'll instead wait for official release and buy a physical copy.

The game is a lot of fun. It can be best described as a merger between MMORPG and first-person shooter. The only odd design decision I found (which I hope was only limited to the beta) is that a fireteam (party) can only have a maximum of 3 players. So my 3 friends and I had to split our team in to 2 by 2 so that no one player would be left alone. But the two parties never encountered one another. Even though we were in areas with several other players (8 or more) attacking an objective together. They were just random encounters with other players.
Title: Re: Bungie's Destiny
Post by: W7RE on Friday, July 25, 2014, 04:14:56 PM
The game is a lot of fun. It can be best described as a merger between MMORPG and first-person shooter.

It's actually structures more like an MMO than I expected. All 5 of the missions in the beta take place in the same zone, it just drops you off at different locations depending on which one you're doing. When you go back in explore mode, you can go to all those places again. Other players are running around in the world, and in town, too. It's just limited to 16 players in any given area. (I know it's 16 in town, I assume it's the same in the open world.)


The only odd design decision I found (which I hope was only limited to the beta) is that a fireteam (party) can only have a maximum of 3 players. So my 3 friends and I had to split our team in to 2 by 2 so that no one player would be left alone. But the two parties never encountered one another. Even though we were in areas with several other players (8 or more) attacking an objective together. They were just random encounters with other players.

I doubt they'll change this, but I really wish they would.
Title: Re: Bungie's Destiny
Post by: Xessive on Friday, July 25, 2014, 04:38:45 PM
I don't know why Bungie had such a hard time describing the game to players, it really is an MMO with FPS gameplay. I guess their PR department were reluctant to oversimplify it fearing that players would just write it off as little more than just another MMO.

The exploration mode is great. You can see how each zone connects and it's a great way to just wander the environment and uncovering all sorts of secrets and hidden loot chests.

Judging from the beta, it's not a perfect game obviously, it is extremely addictive. Even more than Borderlands (to which it will inevitably be compared).
Title: Re: Bungie's Destiny
Post by: Cobra951 on Friday, July 25, 2014, 11:12:46 PM
Can it be played solo, like Borderlands, or is it pretty much just MMO?
Title: Re: Bungie's Destiny
Post by: W7RE on Saturday, July 26, 2014, 01:05:04 AM
Can it be played solo, like Borderlands, or is it pretty much just MMO?

It can be played solo, but you will see other people in the world. The Strike missions are like the instanced dungeons in WoW, so you won't be able to solo those unless you outlevel them first. (Any that are designed for max-level won't likely be solo-able.) The story missions and free-roam stuff is all solo-able. There are random group events in the world that can be tough to solo, but if multiple players run up and help, they never have to talk or group up to all get credit.

It requires a connection 100% of the time though, and I think your character data is even stored on their servers, not your local system. Aside from the 16 player limit in each zone, I would say it's structured just like an MMO though. (no monthly fees though)
Title: Re: Bungie's Destiny
Post by: Cobra951 on Sunday, July 27, 2014, 03:59:53 PM
Thanks for your detailed answer, man.  Appreciate that you took the time.  I guess it boils down to "no", from my perspective.  The forever-online requirement and losing control of my save data cross the line into that place where I will not go.

It seems games like Halo, COD and perhaps even Borderlands are all headed that way.  I'm sure it will be very popular.
Title: Re: Bungie's Destiny
Post by: Xessive on Sunday, July 27, 2014, 04:39:11 PM
Beta is officially over. It was fun while it lasted and gave me a good taste of the game to behold.

As with other betas, I hold some reservations about how the final game will be but I will grab it when it's available.

Here's a Gamespot introspective article: The 7 Big Questions We Have After Playing the Destiny Beta (http://www.gamespot.com/articles/the-7-big-questions-we-have-after-playing-the-dest/1100-6421254/)

They pose some interesting questions. Worth a read.
Title: Re: Bungie's Destiny
Post by: Xessive on Thursday, July 31, 2014, 10:28:38 AM
Come to think of it Destiny's online structure plays a lot like Phantasy Star Online.

Get your fireteam together, launch into an instance or you can also go into the world in "explore" mode. The missions all play out in the same areas which you can explore.
Title: Re: Bungie's Destiny
Post by: PyroMenace on Thursday, July 31, 2014, 09:14:39 PM
WOW

(https://pbs.twimg.com/media/Bt63LA3CEAACKfY.jpg)
Title: Re: Bungie's Destiny
Post by: MysterD on Wednesday, September 10, 2014, 02:50:35 PM
Polygon -> Activision shipped more than $500M USD worth of Destiny to stores. (http://www.polygon.com/2014/9/10/6130891/destiny-shipped)
Title: Re: Bungie's Destiny
Post by: MysterD on Wednesday, September 10, 2014, 05:15:43 PM
GiantBomb -> Quick-Look on Destiny - 1 hr 17 min 41 sec (http://www.giantbomb.com/videos/quick-look-destiny/2300-9430/)

Eurogamer -> Early Impressions. (http://www.eurogamer.net/articles/2014-09-10-destiny-early-impressions?utm_source=eurogamer&utm_medium=email&utm_campaign=net-daily)
IGN -> Review In Progress - Discussion. (http://www.ign.com/articles/2014/09/10/destiny-review-in-progress-discussion-day-1?watch)
Title: Re: Bungie's Destiny
Post by: MysterD on Friday, September 12, 2014, 04:10:49 PM
Destiny (console versions) -> REVIEWS:

METACRITIC:
XBox One. (http://www.metacritic.com/game/xbox-one/destiny)
X360. (http://www.metacritic.com/game/xbox-360/destiny)
PS4. (http://www.metacritic.com/game/playstation-4/destiny/critic-reviews)
PS3. (http://www.metacritic.com/game/playstation-3/destiny)


Scored out of 10:
Financial Post -> 9.5 (http://business.financialpost.com/2014/09/10/destiny-review-bungies-500m-shooter-is-weird-cool-deliberate-and-maybe-not-for-everyone/?__lsa=5b22-0efb)
Push Square -> 8 (http://www.pushsquare.com/reviews/ps4/destiny)
Total XBox.com -> 8 (http://www.totalxbox.com/81097/reviews/destiny-xbox-one-review/)
NZGamer.com -> 7 (http://nzgamer.com/reviews/2130/destiny.html)
Metro UK -> 7 (http://metro.co.uk/2014/09/12/destiny-review-the-final-verdict-4866002/)
Polygon -> 6 (http://www.polygon.com/2014/9/12/6138497/destiny-review-no-fate)

Scored out of 5:
Cheat Code Central -> 4.5 (http://cheatcc.com/ps4/rev/destinyreview.html)
Escapist -> reviewed by Jim Sterling -> 3 stars. (http://www.escapistmagazine.com/articles/view/video-games/editorials/reviews/12236-Destiny-Review?utm_source=latest&utm_medium=index_carousel&utm_campaign=all)
GiantBomb -> 3 stars (http://www.giantbomb.com/reviews/destiny-review/1900-655/)
Title: Re: Bungie's Destiny
Post by: Xessive on Friday, September 12, 2014, 04:40:10 PM
Now that I'm playing the final product I can safely say it is all sorts of fun.

Any criticisms I have so far are more about certain design decisions and and perhaps the game's inter-genre identity.

For example, considering the tin size of fireteams (3 players max), the instanced nature of the missions, and the fact that you have minimum social interactivity (e.g. no trading, no chatting, no clans, etc.), I don't understand why the game needs to be in its current online-only format, like an MMO. It could have totally just run more like Borderlands with better matchmaking or a live lobby.

The only place that you really meet people is in the Tower, which is the "town" equivalent of a traditional MMO. Since each combat area is limited to max 16 players, they're usually so sparsely spread out the massive maps that you rarely see other players. When you start a mission or enter a "Respawn Restricted" area the game creates an instance for your fireteam only, further taking away from the MMO aspect.

Many traditional MMO features are missing, as I mentioned there's no trading or clan management, it ends up feeling somewhat stripped down to a shooter with a façade of an MMO veiling its surface.

I'm not saying the game doesn't have any MMO features in it, I'm saying what semblance of MMO that remains is needless in a game of this nature. They just feel like they were added on to set Destiny apart from typical shooter formats like in Halo or Call of Duty and no other reason.

EDIT:
Here's an interesting discussion which was just posted on GameTrailers that sums some of my feelings on the game:
http://www.gametrailers.com/videos/6yprqc/destiny-report--destiny-launch-recap
Title: Re: Bungie's Destiny
Post by: W7RE on Saturday, September 13, 2014, 12:00:09 AM
The game feels a little bit more MMO once you hit max level. Your gear progression will then come from running 3 man instances, or pvp, and most of it requires reputations to buy. In a few days, the first raid comes out and if you haven't geared up, you won't stand a chance.
Title: Re: Bungie's Destiny
Post by: Quemaqua on Saturday, September 13, 2014, 05:54:24 AM
I really love the look of it. Gorgeous game. But reading that you basically just go back to the same areas over and over again completely killed any potential interest I had in the game. Also, the story looks to be completely overblown, worthless, and nonsensical from what I've watched.
Title: Re: Bungie's Destiny
Post by: W7RE on Saturday, September 13, 2014, 01:23:19 PM
I really love the look of it. Gorgeous game. But reading that you basically just go back to the same areas over and over again completely killed any potential interest I had in the game. Also, the story looks to be completely overblown, worthless, and nonsensical from what I've watched.

Did you ever play World of Warcraft? If so, probably from alliance side, right? As a human you start in Elwynn forest, in the vicinity of Goldshire. You get a quest to get candles from kobolds in a mine, and another to kill a kobold named Goldtooth in the same mine. Later there's a quest to kill a pig named Princess. Near the end of the zone, there a quest to kill a gnoll named Hogger.

I just described Earth in Destiny. Just imagine you get dropped off in Goldshire every time you start a mission in that zone. You get on your mount and head to the quest destination. When you get far enough into the mine and are getting close to Goldtooth, it becomes instanced and you're in there alone, which keeps you from waiting for Goldtooth to respawn because another player just killed him. You hearth to town, check your skills and new gear, and then take the flight path back to Goldshire (Earth). Once you get there, you mount up and head toward Princess, because that's your next quest.



The story is really vague about everything though, and the only proper nouns they use are for enemy races and units. (Dregs are one of the units for the Fallen race.) The villain is "The Darkness". You meet important characters that are never given names.
(click to show/hide)
. Even when characters are given names, they're vague, like The Speaker.
Title: Re: Bungie's Destiny
Post by: Quemaqua on Saturday, September 13, 2014, 01:53:58 PM
Yeah, I get the concept, but that doesn't work for me at all in a shooter. Borderlands I think handled it a little more gracefully than Destiny seems to. Though to be fair, I got suuuper sick of Borderlands well before the finale also. It just became very repetitive in a way I can't deal with when playing a game that lets you directly control a character and where you're playing with arcade-level responsiveness. Shooting inherently only holds interest for me when there's enough tactical interest from moment to moment and enough incentive to see what's next. In an MMO format, the "what's next" part gets mostly lost, and the repeated environments sort of end up losing the tactical interest as well. The lack of a worthwhile story (again, from what I've gathered from others) puts the nail in the coffin.
Title: Re: Bungie's Destiny
Post by: MysterD on Monday, September 15, 2014, 04:39:24 PM
Forbes -> Erik Kain on "Why Destiny May Be The Most Controversial Game Of The Year." (http://www.forbes.com/sites/erikkain/2014/09/15/why-destiny-may-be-the-most-controversial-game-of-the-year/)
Giant Bomb -> Patrick Klepek on "The Growing Illusion Of Single-Player" - talking a lot about Destiny + Diablo 3..and the emphasis on multiplayer. (http://www.giantbomb.com/articles/the-growing-illusion-of-single-player/1100-5017/)

SPOILERS in the link below:
Polygon -> OPINION piece from Colin Campbell - "The Most Disappointing Part of Destiny is Its Boring Story." (http://www.polygon.com/2014/9/15/6149579/the-most-disappointing-part-of-destiny-is-its-boring-story)
Polygon -> Ben Kuchera - Opinion:  "Destiny is a mediocre game with a lot of problems, and I can't stop playing." (http://www.polygon.com/2014/9/16/6153843/destiny-bungie-fun-but-flawed)
Title: Re: Bungie's Destiny
Post by: MysterD on Saturday, September 20, 2014, 02:47:23 PM
Kotaku -> Hacker group takes credit for DDOS'ing (knocking down) Destiny + COD: Ghosts servers today (http://kotaku.com/hackers-claim-credit-for-downed-destiny-call-of-duty-s-1637217226?rev=1411244283210&utm_campaign=Socialflow_Kotaku_Facebook&utm_source=Kotaku_Facebook&utm_medium=Socialflow)
Title: Re: Bungie's Destiny
Post by: scottws on Monday, September 22, 2014, 06:11:48 AM
My stepson got a PS4 and I've played some of this game.  It's alright, but I keep getting knocked out of the game.  From my reading, this has something to do with the PS4 not handling WiFi adversity pretty well.  Where my PS4 is at, it is in a place that is pretty noisy on channel 6.  Unfortunately I cannot change the channel to 1 or 11 because those have even more interference.

I either need to get an external WiFi adapter, one that handles interference better, or I need to somehow get a wired connection to the PS4.  :(
Title: Re: Bungie's Destiny
Post by: MysterD on Sunday, September 28, 2014, 02:56:12 PM
GamesRadar -> 11 Things Bungie Can Do To Improve Destiny. (http://www.gamesradar.com/11-small-things-bungie-can-do-improve-destiny/)
Kotaku -> 30 Changes That Would Make Destiny A Better Game. (http://kotaku.com/30-changes-that-would-make-destiny-a-better-game-1642970892?utm_campaign=Socialflow_Kotaku_Facebook&utm_source=Kotaku_Facebook&utm_medium=Socialflow)


***SPOILERS IN BELOW LINK****
IGN -> Reddit user who tested Destiny in 2013 says the original story was much different than what gamers got from version released at retail. (http://www.ign.com/articles/2014/09/29/was-this-the-original-storyline-for-destiny?utm_campaign=fbposts&utm_source=facebook)
Title: Re: Bungie's Destiny
Post by: scottws on Sunday, October 05, 2014, 01:37:12 PM
My issues with Destiny have improved.  I think much of the problem was on Bungie's end for failing to properly protect against DDoS, possibly not having enough capacity, bugs in the server code, and/or a reduction in players since the game came out.  I still every once in awhile have an issue with the PS4 WiFi itself.  Sometimes when I get disconnected, no online features of the PS4 work until I reboot it.
Title: Re: Bungie's Destiny
Post by: Cobra951 on Wednesday, October 08, 2014, 06:56:07 AM
Sony has not handled all these recent DDoS attacks well at all.  PSN has been reported down at least weekly for a while.  They need to ramp up their infrastructure somehow, if they hope to go head-to-head with the ever-present XBL (which has been just as much of a DDoS target, but stayed up and running anyway, with few hiccups).  Also, this business of WiFi issues is alarming.  Isn't that a mature tech by now?  Can you get a booster of some kind?  Or is the problem just on the PS4's end?

It does illustrate the vulnerability of online-only gaming.  You don't have the option to go play local splitscreen with your son when Bungie's servers or PSN go down.
Title: Re: Bungie's Destiny
Post by: scottws on Wednesday, October 08, 2014, 07:20:23 AM
Actually WiFi is in a pretty crappy spot right now.  It looks like the PS4's WiFi hardware, firmware, or drivers (or some combination of the three) just frankly suck.  It's like my Samsung Smart TV, which also has the WiFi just totally crap out occasionally.  With both devices, the only solution is to reboot it.

Some people are using Ethernet-over-power, which makes it generally easier to make a wired LAN in the home for the average person.  I'm hesitant to do that though, because I've heard it can cause your data that's normally on the wire to be emitted as radio waves from the power lines.  I haven't done the necessary research to confirm or deny it.

A WiFi bridge is also a potential solution.  Anyone remember the original Xbox's wireless adapter?  It was a standalone device that you hooked up to the Xbox's LAN port.  This was a WiFi bridge.  As long as you get a decent one, this bypasses the crappy WiFi system in the PS4.  The only negative here is that wireless bridges are half-duplex.

As far as PSN and DDoS, I totally agree.  They need to front end the whole thing with something like CloudFlare, which is basically a provider that does DDoS and threat prevention.
Title: Re: Bungie's Destiny
Post by: MysterD on Thursday, October 09, 2014, 10:00:06 AM
Joystiq -> Destiny players found another upcoming DLC from a glitch/bug - which will be part of House of the Wolves DLC planned for 2015. (http://www.joystiq.com/2014/10/07/destiny-expansion-map-discovered-on-venus/?ncid=rss_truncated)
Title: Re: Bungie's Destiny
Post by: MysterD on Sunday, November 02, 2014, 06:12:42 PM
GameSpot -> Bungie on why unfinished areas for Destiny DLC actually shipped on the disc (http://www.gamespot.com/articles/bungie-explains-why-some-destiny-dlc-is-already-on/1100-6423327/)

Quote
If you've been following our Destiny (http://www.gamespot.com/destiny/) coverage you may have noticed that some clever players have been able to access unfinished parts of the game that will officially released as DLC later. For example, one player managed to enter The Terminus (http://www.gamespot.com/articles/destiny-players-find-yet-another-dlc-area/1100-6422900/), which we weren't supposed to see until the release of The Dark Below (http://www.gamespot.com/articles/destinys-first-dlc-the-dark-below-has-its-own-stor/1100-6421768/), Destiny's first piece of DLC.

In an interview with Eurogamer (http://www.eurogamer.net/articles/2014-10-29-destinys-first-expansion-the-dark-below-takes-aim-at-story-criticism), Bungie president Harold Ryan explained that a bunch of this "shared-world" content was shipped on the disc specifically to limit the download sizes for people. "Both inside the US and all over the world, how much you download on your local home internet connection can be a problem, and even how much storage space it takes up on your console," Ryan said. "So we share a lot of assets across all the activities in the game. When people get into areas that aren't unlocked right now, they're seeing pieces we built and shipped ahead of time, but they're by no means the finished experiences or even the finished content."

Ryan also said that most of content for The Dark Below, for example, was built over the last three months, long after the main game was done. Eris, a new character that will send you on missions in the DLC, her story, and various activities and bosses were all made and polished after the game shipped, ryan said.

Last week, Bungie announced that The Dark Below DLC will release on December 9, and will sell as a single download for $20. The DLC will add new weapons, new story missions, raise the level cap to 32, and much more, which you can read about in detail in here (http://www.gamespot.com/articles/destiny-dlc-the-dark-below-launches-december-9-rai/1100-6423244/).
Title: Re: Bungie's Destiny
Post by: W7RE on Monday, November 03, 2014, 03:42:33 AM
World of Warcraft had tons of areas included in the initial release that weren't used until later. Hyjal was only accessible through glitching your way in. It was used as a raid instance 2 years after launch, and was fully fleshed out in the overworld 6 years after launch. Silithus had no quests at launch, no town, and the enemies didn't even drop loot. A year later they revamped it with a town, new flight path, quests, and even pvp objectives. Karazhan existed, and even had an extensive crypt you could glitch into (which was never fleshed out or used). Ironforge had a huge area underneath it called Old Ironforge, which was never used. Gilneas, the gates to Uldum, Caverns of Time, Grim Batol, Zul'Gurub, The Sunwell and Silvermoon City all had known locations or even entrances on the world map, but were inaccessible.

I know, people keep telling me Destiny isn't an mmo, but as someone who plays a shitload of mmos, it feels closer to that than it does to the typical shooter. I don't really think anything of it when I hear there's areas on the disc that aren't fully developed or used yet.




Now if you want to talk about the lack of content in the game, or especially in the DLC, I'll agree it's bullshit. They already got my money though. I paid an extra $30 to get the season pass with the base game.

Base game:
20 PvE missions across 4 planets
5 group dungeons
1 raid
10 pvp maps (3 of which are only available in the smaller 6 player modes)

$20 DLC:
3 PvE missions on existing planets
1 group dungeon
1 raid
3 new pvp maps
new weapons and armor for the new level 32 cap


On PS3/4 the base game gives you 1 additional group dungeon, and 1 additional pvp map, as well as a few high end items not available to Xbox players. PS3/4 players get an additional group dungeon with the first DLC as well.
Title: Re: Bungie's Destiny
Post by: MysterD on Tuesday, November 04, 2014, 05:21:35 PM
Polygon -> Destiny sequel already in the works. (http://www.polygon.com/2014/11/4/7157453/destiny-has-more-than-9-5m-registered-users-who-play-on-average-3)

Quote
Destiny was the largest new franchise launch in video game history and ranks among the top ten largest video game launches of all time, according to publisher Activision. So it shouldn't be a surprise that Bungie is not only working on more expansions, but the next full game.

"Work has also begun on future expansion packs as well as on our next full game release,"  said Activision Publishing CEO Eric Hirshberg during today's Activision Blizzard earnings call. "We're very pleased with the launch and continuing engagement."

To date, Destiny has more than 9.5 million registered users and active players are playing the game three hours a day on average, according to the publisher's quarterly report released today.
Title: Re: Bungie's Destiny
Post by: PyroMenace on Tuesday, November 04, 2014, 05:41:03 PM
Well I haven't had much interest in the game for a long time now, but I'm glad that it seemed to do well enough to allow continued work. Perhaps it'll turn into something that will turn my interest again.
Title: Re:
Post by: scottws on Tuesday, November 04, 2014, 08:47:07 PM
I played this game to level 20 and beat it and quickly lost interest after that.  It really needs some sort of proximity chat to make building a fire team easier.
Title: Re:
Post by: W7RE on Wednesday, November 05, 2014, 04:16:44 AM
I played this game to level 20 and beat it and quickly lost interest after that.  It really needs some sort of proximity chat to make building a fire team easier.

I get spammed with invites constantly while both in town and in the open world areas. People can't just ask me if I want to group up, because there's no chat of any kind unless you're in a group. I ran by 2 guys on my way in to solo the weekly Nightfall Strike and got a total of 6 invites because I wasn't accepting. I just wanted to solo at the time, but couldn't just tell them that because there's no chat unless you're in a group.
Title: Re: Bungie's Destiny
Post by: W7RE on Wednesday, November 26, 2014, 03:49:08 PM
I just got an email telling me there's a free trial available now. I'm assuming it's just the sections that were playable in the beta (all 5 Earth story missions, a couple pvp maps, and a level 8 cap).

http://www.destinythegame.com/free-trial

For Xbox One it says "trial available via Xbox One dashboard", but I'm not seeing it. Probably because I own it already.
Title: Re: Bungie's Destiny
Post by: Cobra951 on Wednesday, November 26, 2014, 05:56:24 PM
Yeah, I've seen it at the store, and I read about it earlier than that.  I must admit I'm curious.  It is free, after all.
Title: Re: Bungie's Destiny
Post by: PyroMenace on Monday, June 22, 2015, 05:32:42 PM
Man... I can't quite pin down the words to use for this interview (http://www.eurogamer.net/articles/2015-06-22-destiny-the-taken-king-director-defends-40-expansion-price-tag), perhaps vile? It's about the next expansion that's coming and they are charging almost as much as the base game for it and that's not even the worst of it. Just... ugh... it makes you want to wash your hands after reading it.
Title: Re: Bungie's Destiny
Post by: Xessive on Monday, June 22, 2015, 09:08:14 PM
Man... I can't quite pin down the words to use for this interview (http://www.eurogamer.net/articles/2015-06-22-destiny-the-taken-king-director-defends-40-expansion-price-tag), perhaps vile? It's about the next expansion that's coming and they are charging almost as much as the base game for it and that's not even the worst of it. Just... ugh... it makes you want to wash your hands after reading it.
Luke Smith comes off as either a comic-book villain or a mentally disturbed psychopath completely lacking empathy.
Title: Re: Bungie's Destiny
Post by: gpw11 on Monday, June 22, 2015, 10:01:38 PM
I couldn't get past the fact that the guy REALLY seemed to care about emotes.
Title: Re: Bungie's Destiny
Post by: W7RE on Tuesday, June 23, 2015, 12:12:12 AM
I couldn't get past the fact that the guy REALLY seemed to care about emotes.

I care about emotes. :(

I think there's also some bullshit going on with currency conversion that's fucking over non-US customers, which is why he's saying the new expansion by itself is the same price as the original game was. In USD, it's $60 and $40.



For a bit more clarity, here are all the options available:

$40 - The Taken King (digital only)

$60 - The Taken King: Legendary Edition (physical only)

$80 - The Taken King: Collector's Edition (physical, Gamestop only)

$80 - The Taken King: Digital Collector's Edition (digital)


The red text. Why is that not available to people that already own all existing content? (for a reasonable price) If I want that stuff, I have to pay DOUBLE what it would cost me to just get the expansion. Also, why the fuck is the digital collector's edition the same price as the physical one, when the physical one has all that extra shit in it?
Title: Re: Bungie's Destiny
Post by: MysterD on Tuesday, August 04, 2015, 10:47:13 AM
Nolan North will be replacing Peter Dinklage as the role of Ghost in Destiny. (http://www.gameinformer.com/b/news/archive/2015/08/04/destiny-recasts-its-most-important-character-with-nolan-north-9709.aspx)


Title: Re: Bungie's Destiny
Post by: Xessive on Tuesday, August 04, 2015, 12:04:24 PM
Nolan North will be replacing Peter Dinklage as the role of Ghost in Destiny. (http://www.gameinformer.com/b/news/archive/2015/08/04/destiny-recasts-its-most-important-character-with-nolan-north-9709.aspx)



Will this only be for the new content or are they retroactively replacing all of Ghost's dialogue?
Title: Re: Bungie's Destiny
Post by: MysterD on Tuesday, August 04, 2015, 12:22:50 PM
Will this only be for the new content or are they retroactively replacing all of Ghost's dialogue?

Both!!!

From the link:
http://www.gameinformer.com/b/news/archive/2015/08/04/destiny-recasts-its-most-important-character-with-nolan-north-9709.aspx
Quote
Not only does Nolan North play Ghost in the new content in The Taken King, but Bungie also had North re-record all of the original dialogue to create a consistent storytelling experience from beginning to end.

“We wanted Nolan North’s version of the Ghost to wake you up at the start of the journey at level one and follow you all the way to level forty,” says creative director Luke Smith. With this change, the Ghost’s script will remain the same, but Peter Dinklage’s voicing of those lines will not be present in the game.
Title: Re: Bungie's Destiny
Post by: Xessive on Tuesday, August 04, 2015, 01:08:25 PM
Awesome. But kinda on the too little too late side? I'm glad Bungie is still trying their hardest to salvage the game.

I haven't been able to play any of the expansion content because some dumbass reason you can only play solo or with friends. Destiny in solo mode is boring as f***. Worse than Borderlands. You can't match make or join others to play the story content, which is the only stuff I'm interested in.
Title: Re: Bungie's Destiny
Post by: MysterD on Tuesday, August 04, 2015, 01:14:45 PM
I haven't been able to play any of the expansion content because some dumbass reason you can only play solo or with friends. Destiny in solo mode is boring as f***. Worse than Borderlands. You can't match make or join others to play the story content, which is the only stuff I'm interested in.

Am I the only one who loved Borderlands 1+2 solo-style?
Title: Re: Bungie's Destiny
Post by: Xessive on Tuesday, August 04, 2015, 01:16:23 PM
Am I the only one who loved Borderlands 1+2 solo-style?
I played some parts solo but it can monotonous quickly. It's still way better than playing Destiny solo.
Title: Re: Bungie's Destiny
Post by: nickclone on Tuesday, August 04, 2015, 03:13:48 PM
I couldn't stomach Borderlands online...it feels wrong...
Title: Re: Bungie's Destiny
Post by: Cobra951 on Wednesday, August 05, 2015, 07:10:15 AM
Am I the only one who loved Borderlands 1+2 solo-style?

Not at all.  I've played all 3 of the BL games solo, and they're some of my favorites . . . well, ever.
Title: Re: Bungie's Destiny
Post by: scottws on Wednesday, August 05, 2015, 08:45:28 AM
Nolan North will be replacing Peter Dinklage as the role of Ghost in Destiny. (http://www.gameinformer.com/b/news/archive/2015/08/04/destiny-recasts-its-most-important-character-with-nolan-north-9709.aspx)
This link is blocked at work. Why are they replacing him?

Awesome. But kinda on the too little too late side? I'm glad Bungie is still trying their hardest to salvage the game.

I haven't been able to play any of the expansion content because some dumbass reason you can only play solo or with friends. Destiny in solo mode is boring as f***. Worse than Borderlands. You can't match make or join others to play the story content, which is the only stuff I'm interested in.
Haha! "Story" content.
Title: Re: Bungie's Destiny
Post by: MysterD on Wednesday, August 05, 2015, 09:10:31 AM
This link is blocked at work. Why are they replacing him?
At least 2 reasons we know of:
1. A lot of people weren't happy w/ Dinklage's performance.
2. They selected Nolan North to play the role for the next expansion/DLC The Taken King.
So, they decided to have Nolan do also do voice-work from the beginning so the player has the same Ghost voice-over from Level 1 to the new expansion for consistency.

I don't know if maybe Dinklage was busy and couldn't record for the next expansion; didn't want to; wanted more $; or what.
Who knows on that front.
Title: Re: Bungie's Destiny
Post by: MysterD on Wednesday, August 05, 2015, 09:12:20 AM
Not at all.  I've played all 3 of the BL games solo, and they're some of my favorites . . . well, ever.

I also played Diablo II + III the same way.
I find it fun to play alone first time.
Then, if I do a replay - then maybe I'll experience it w/ others.
Title: Re: Bungie's Destiny
Post by: W7RE on Wednesday, August 05, 2015, 09:31:13 AM
I played a lot of Borderlands 1 and 2 solo, same with Diablo 1, 2, and 3. When not solo, I was just playing with 1 or 2 friends. I'm not a big fan of playing with strangers.

Destiny is a bit different though. I mean, you can do the story missions and patrol stuff solo, but there's content specifically designed for groups. The weekly heroic strike has matchmaking, but not the weekly Nightfall strike. You can try to solo it, but you're going to have a lot of trouble. There's also no matchmaking for the 6 man raids, or 3 man Prison of Elders from the second expansion. If you want to get into the more serious PvP, Trials of Osiris, you have to have 2 friends to do it. Playing solo limits what content you can access in Destiny.
Title: Re: Bungie's Destiny
Post by: MysterD on Wednesday, August 05, 2015, 09:43:33 AM
VG247 -> Bungie is looking for PC compatibility tester. (http://www.vg247.com/2015/08/05/bungie-hiring-pc-specialists-to-work-on-something/)

Could Bungie be working on porting Destiny 1 for PC?
Multiplatforming Destiny 2 for PC + consoles?
Or something else entirely for PC?
Title: Re: Bungie's Destiny
Post by: W7RE on Wednesday, August 05, 2015, 07:11:25 PM
Quote
Unless Bungie is working on a new project, or a very elaborate Destiny companion tool, we’re guessing this hire will make sure Destiny works on PC. This would make a lot of sense if Destiny 2 – which by all accounts is releasing in 2016 – is launching on PC alongside consoles.

Companion tool is what my money is on. Their web interface already allows you to swap items from character to vault, and to other characters. There's an unofficial Chrome addon called Destiny Item Manager that gives you a drag and drop interface of that. With Windows 10 out now, they may be making a more in-depth tool for that.

My second guess would be that Destiny (or Destiny 2) is coming to PC. They seem so focused on Destiny, I would be surprised if they had a second project going alongside it.
Title: Re: Bungie's Destiny
Post by: MysterD on Tuesday, August 11, 2015, 04:26:53 AM
Eurogamer -> Bungie says they replaced Dinklage b/c he just wasn't available enough. (http://www.eurogamer.net/articles/2015-08-11-why-destiny-ditched-peter-dinklage)

Quote
Speaking in an interview with Game Informer, executive producer Mark Noseworthy was asked whether Dinklage was ditched due to fan criticism of the character or his performance, or whether it had just been due to "Hollywood nonsense".

"It's more on the nonsense side of things," Noseworthy responded. "Dinklage was awesome to work with but we needed to work with someone who is more available. Nolan is a pro, this is his thing.

"You can just call him up and say 'hey, next week we're doing this internal play test and it would be great to get some Ghost dialogue in there'. And he's available."
Title: Re: Bungie's Destiny
Post by: W7RE on Tuesday, August 11, 2015, 05:00:59 AM
Well, they're not gonna shit talk Peter Dinklage.

What's funny is I was telling my friends before the first expansion hit, that it seemed like a mistake to use so many Hollywood actors for voices. They're going to have limited availability and cost more, so we're less likely to get new voice overs. Then the first DLC came out, and of course, no lines for Ghost. What about The Stranger? She was voiced by Lauren Cohan (Maggie on The Walking Dead). I really want them to reveal more about that character, but will they have to recast her too if they want her to have new lines?
Title: Re: Bungie's Destiny
Post by: Cobra951 on Tuesday, August 11, 2015, 08:09:34 AM
Thing is, those celebs get paid 7 figures to show up in comfy street clothes and read some lines into a mic while wearing headphones.  A lot of them want to do it.  It's easy and highly lucrative work.  Dinklage is the odd man out here.
Title: Re: Bungie's Destiny
Post by: MysterD on Friday, August 28, 2015, 08:12:37 PM
GameSpot -> Upcoming Destiny update (which is 18 GB itself) for ALL versions will soon take up at least 60 GB of HDD space. (http://www.gamespot.com/articles/destiny-ps4xbox-one-will-soon-require-60-gb-even-i/1100-6430149/)
Title: Re: Bungie's Destiny
Post by: W7RE on Friday, August 28, 2015, 09:08:53 PM
Destiny is 25.1GB on my Xbox One HDD. Unless that 18GB is really compressed, or need extra space while installing, I don't know why it would jump to 60GB.

This situation matters most for people on 360 or PS3 with small HDDs. 360 needs 10GB free, and PS3 needs 20GB during installation, 10GB afterward. Destiny's website even suggests to "upgrade your console" if you don't have enough room, meaning buy  PS4 or Xbox One. (Account information and character progress are tied to your PSN account/Xbox Gamertag and will carry on to the newer consoles automatically.)
Title: Re: Bungie's Destiny
Post by: W7RE on Saturday, August 29, 2015, 03:00:53 AM
Woah, this almost sounds like Activision is going to upgrade your HDD for you if you're on PS360 and have a 20GB or smaller drive... that can't be right, can it?

https://support.activision.com/articles/en_US/FAQ/Destiny-The-Taken-King-Storage-Solution
Quote
Use one of the links at the bottom of this article to access a storage upgrade request form. If you are validated as an existing and active Destiny player on one of the 20GB consoles as of September 15, 2015, and you submit your validation requirements to us no later than December 31, 2015, we will assist you in finding the right solution for your console’s storage space. Not available in some countries where players should contact Activision Customer Support at ActivisionCares@activision.com.
Quote
To submit a request, you must include the following:

Email address (so we can inform you of the results of your submission)
PSN ID or Gamertag
Name
Shipping address
A screenshot that clearly displays your console's hard drive capacity along with a piece of paper with your PSN ID or Gamertag handwritten on it (see below for reference)
Your Console Serial Number (see below for reference)
Your Hard Drive Model Number (see below for reference)
Title: Re: Bungie's Destiny
Post by: Cobra951 on Saturday, August 29, 2015, 06:19:38 AM
"Assist to find" is not the same as "provide".  I can't imagine them buying masses of people additional hard drives.  A 10GB update is large even for a new console, and nuts for last gen.  The 360 now accepts up to two 2TB externals, but the update process may require the internal drive to be that big.  Not sure about that.

This is an online-only game, so it's not like anyone has a choice, other than stop playing.  (Must . . . resist . . . preaching . . .  :P)
Title: Re: Bungie's Destiny
Post by: MysterD on Saturday, August 29, 2015, 06:56:10 AM
Destiny is 25.1GB on my Xbox One HDD. Unless that 18GB is really compressed, or need extra space while installing, I don't know why it would jump to 60GB.

Also, remember that they are adding Nolan North's voice-acting of Ghost to the game.
I don't know if Dinklebot's voice-acting will be removed & replaced entirely or if his voice-acting filed will just still sit on the drive to be basically unused b/c of the update.

Title: Re: Bungie's Destiny
Post by: W7RE on Saturday, August 29, 2015, 08:24:31 AM
The article links to destinythegame.com, which says 60GB. Bungie, in their latest weekly update (https://www.bungie.net/en/News/News?aid=13430), simply said that you will need 18GB of free space (for XB1 and PS4). No mention of 60GB total. I'm guessing the info on Bungie.net is accurate and it'll just be an 18GB download (which may or may not add a full 18GB to the install size, depending on if it overwrites a big chunk of data, like the Dinklage audio files).

Depending on what time of day the patch is put out, I won't be able to play for a couple days. I might be able to do 18GB overnight while everyone's asleep, but will probably have to pause it and finish the second night.
Title: Re: Bungie's Destiny
Post by: Quemaqua on Sunday, August 30, 2015, 01:21:51 PM
 ... people still play Destiny?
Title: Re: Bungie's Destiny
Post by: W7RE on Sunday, August 30, 2015, 02:52:11 PM
... people still play Destiny?

(http://i.picpar.com/Ez4b.png)

Never really stopped.
Title: Re: Bungie's Destiny
Post by: Cobra951 on Sunday, August 30, 2015, 05:41:54 PM
The article links to destinythegame.com, which says 60GB. Bungie, in their latest weekly update (https://www.bungie.net/en/News/News?aid=13430), simply said that you will need 18GB of free space (for XB1 and PS4). No mention of 60GB total. I'm guessing the info on Bungie.net is accurate and it'll just be an 18GB download (which may or may not add a full 18GB to the install size, depending on if it overwrites a big chunk of data, like the Dinklage audio files).

Depending on what time of day the patch is put out, I won't be able to play for a couple days. I might be able to do 18GB overnight while everyone's asleep, but will probably have to pause it and finish the second night.

Yeah, they do differential (or delta) patching now, meaning some of what you're downloading will replace existing data, rather than strictly be added to the total.  But you still need to wait for all that stuff to download.

1306 hours?  Holy shit!