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#feedback

11/4/2014 7:05:21 PM
2

State of Game

For starters, before I move into what this post [i]is[/i], I want to address what it is not supposed to be, but will undoubtedly turn into. I would prefer this thread to be a constructive dialogue between community and Bungie so that legitimate concerns can be met, whether they are met with time or met immediately, but nonetheless should be addressed in some manner to ease players to some extent. However, there is a high chance that posts that may follow will devolve the points made and deter productive discussion. Nonetheless, I have high hopes that this thread remain sincere in its intent and maybe even draw a response from Deej. It will fade in and out of rambling, I'm sure. I'm also a longwinded writer, so beware. In order to understand the state of the game, it's worth dissecting the game from what it is intended to be to its various components, the primary being story, pvp, general mechanics and content, DLC, and of course what was done well or poorly within all of these. Following, it's probably worth addressing community concerns that I've noticed as of lately. That said, what exactly is Destiny? I'll pull from Bungie's own website: "The next evolution of the first-person action genre that provides an unprecedented combination of storytelling, cooperative, competitive, and public gameplay, and personal activities that are all seamlessly woven into an expansive, persistent online world. Venture out alone or join up with friends. The choice is yours." We, the gamers, are presented with a pretty high expectation solely from the site alone, but of course, those that followed from the development stage are, rightly so, a bit more disappointed. Ironically, like the Speaker, I could go into why those disappointments exist, but will choose not to, primarily because whatever happened, happened, and if it was a developmental issue or conspiracy-riddled result (something I severely doubt, as many of those conspiracies are drawing on generalities and the words of an anonymous figure), it does not matter. The game has some DLC areas on it already because like any other MMO or RPG, there are areas preloaded with textures and environment, but they aren't accessible and incomplete, and exist as a placeholder. Whether or not the areas are incomplete, a truth I understand as an MMO player, or a conspiracy, because they were stripped for DLC and money, is a truth only you can decide for yourself unless Bungie addresses it with 100% clarity. Again, the point is, what has happened, happened, and does not matter; it's where we go from here that can turn a beautiful albeit flawed game from having limitless potential to traveling down a road that leads to one of the biggest financial and critical letdowns of the century. That is not just from a gaming perspective, either, given its massive budget. [b]Story: What Was Wrong[/b] This is one of the points where Bungie receives the most flack. Story. It's a bit sad, given the epic that is Halo. While Halo is not exactly the greatest story, it is undoubtedly a good and intriguing story coupled with solid gameplay. It's an epic with a hero. There may not be very many shades to the characters, but we know what they stand for and the cinematography, lore, and player's experience with the Master Chief left us with an understanding of the world we were in. Destiny? It has a little trouble with that. There are too many unanswered questions and a glaring inconsistency with the methods of storytelling. There's a few odd moments where we are given cutscenes and otherwise, it's simply up to Dinklebot and the Grimoire to provide us with an understanding. The problem with this is that even if Bungie intended to use the Grimoire for story, the story has to stand enough on its own to make sense for those who are not grinding for the cards. Ultimately, if we want to use a game with item-based lore for comparison, we'll use Dark Souls. Although they are two entirely different games, two central similarities are the minimal use of cinematic experience and advancing the lore through acquired items. The first Dark Souls did not have much lore thrown in your face. It was not handed to us, gift wrapped in magnificent cinematic experiences (although there were impressive ones, however short), but they had enough. The character and the player, had purpose. We understood what we were doing and why we, specifically, the Chosen Undead, was going on this journey. The world was fleshed out enough that, despite vagueness for those unconcerned with item lore, it would make sense for the Chosen Undead to continue on. The dialogues that almost anyone can trigger, the narration, and sprinkled in finer details allowed players to move on with purpose and a sense of clarity. The story at face value is not overly complex, either. There's enough to keep you moving: you're the chosen undead, you do not want to go hollow, ring two bells along the journey so you may advance, receive the Lord's Vessel and kill four great souls so that you may inherit the first flame, and bring an end to the Hollowing process. Since you are hollow, obviously you would want to stop it. You're also chosen, makes you feel a little special. It's only with doing events properly and reading into the items that we find a more complex and debatable story, but it only serves to compliment the game, world, and lore; it isn't technically necessary and serves lore buffs (of which I am one). Destiny's story does [i]not[/i] do this in its current incarnation. As aforementioned, what cinematic elements there are remain lacking in depth. There is very little to provide our character with agency. We were resurrected by the traveller, a fact I assume we should be grateful of, but are then led to a world with cardboard cutouts of people and races. There's no context save for what we see, and what we see is very little. Dark Souls, again, did not suffer this same issue. The gamer may have to make assumptions, but what we see of various elements and characters, in conjunction with the world, leaves us with an idea as to what things may be. Destiny, however, has bits and pieces handed to us, but there's so little to accompany them that we don't have enough to fully suspend disbelief or even appreciate how much effort went into creating these elements. One example is the races. Grimoire cards or not, the fact that different races exist should be mentioned in a more concrete way since they are our fellow Guardians. The user has no understanding as to why Exos exist or why Awoken are among humans. They simply are. No, this does not mean it needs to be spoon fed to your audience, but it still needs to be established in some way that players can come to their own understanding and be satisfied. Perhaps the lack of satisfaction is related to the inconsistency of detail; some parts are detailed like the Vex all being controlled by a singular mind. Others? Lacking. They're in and out of the story so fast that you're left wondering why anything matters. Worse is the fact that regardless of race, we have no idea why we were on Earth (which is not necessarily a bad thing). But, if we don't know why or how we died, we should at least know where we are going, give use agency. Instead, we are left with a vague idea that the Darkness is coming and we need to defend the Traveller and Last City from the Darkness and other aliens. Unfortunately, the other aliens, primarily Fallen and Hive are outlines waiting to be penciled in. They're named and yet we have little understanding of how they came to be or what they are unless you dive into the cards, things that are not accessible in game, and things that should at least be glossed over better. We don't need to understand every last detail, but agency, why these things are bad other than being a threat, needs to be understood. They have lore, it just needs to be presented more effectively. It only takes a couple brush strokes to create character; create character, Bungie, you've done it before. Mystery matters, but so, too, does detail. We are simply left with too many questions and no way to gain answers save for grinding. Otherwise, even if the game is incomplete as many mmo or multiplayer rpg's are, there needs to be a finite beginning, middle, and end to this first part. There simply are none, at least, none that are satisfying. The campaign's middle consists of far too many scan-and-defends instead of sweeping narrative and gameplay. More creative elements like building the spire for VoG and Sword of Crota should have been used more often. Or, more conclusive find-and-retrive missions? What about escorts? Fleeing vehicle chases? These are just a few simple examples, but they still illustrate my point. Besides, the beginning cinematic is interesting but lacking, and the end? Well, receiving a junker gun and speaking to that shifty Exo did very little to satisfy anyone.

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  • Edited by Guardian3263: 11/4/2014 7:35:54 PM
    [b]Story: What Was Right:[/b] I may receive flack for it, yet I'll say it anyway: the story was not a complete bust. You have so many pieces to play with. You have wonderful art to accompany it. The zones and aliens themselves could go a long way provided we have these glaring holes filled in. The races all look interesting and unique; make them feel unique and interesting. You already have enough planets for years! After all, despite the community's insistence that create more planets, you literally have entire planets and different moons (theoretically) to work with as is. Personally, I want to see more Earth. I want to be told to find an ancient Guardian's relic or the like, or a rescue mission. You just need to execute better on further expansions. Personally, I am looking forward to the new DLC, but, even with what has been revealed, it might not be enough. I'm sure from a programming and developmental standpoint, the core game might not be fixable. The best way to improve your story may be to hit the mark on future DLC or utilize the bareness of our HUB. [b]PVP :[/b] I won't spend too much time on PVP. Many sources highlight PVP as one of the more successful aspects of the game. PVP by nature is repetitive because it's player-vs-player. What makes it playable is going against different challengers and therefore a different experience every time. What was done well, for the most part, I would say is class balance. I don't feel particularly overwhelmed by any class, shouting obscenities toward every special at some point. I've seen Bladedancers get a lot of hate, perhaps rightly so, although a well-timed shotgun blast and/or focus fire melts them provided people don't group up. Personally, I'd be okay with them being nerfed and receiving more PVE usefulness besides "stealth medic" (although it is fun, just useless in hardmode from what I've tried, being that you can't rez). Fusion rifles may or may not need tweaking; if they find you first, like any weapon, you're usually dead, but there's something about that charge-shot-kill, from close-to-mid range that seems finite and too powerful. The maps are fun but incorporation of custom matches, playlists, or vehicle less playlists would only serve to help. The vehicle maps seem lacking specifically because of vehicle design and the way ammo is dispersed; can make it far more difficult in dealing with vehicles. Comparing the vehicles and their identities to Halo vehicles definitely feels lacking, too. The gameplay just doesn't appear to be there. Finally, make the marks and pvp gear more worthwhile somehow. [b]Brief Statements Regarding Mechanics, Content, and DLC:[/b] I'm running short on time hence why the other sections besides story, including this, are winding down quickly. Destiny needs to find its identity. Its shooting elements are fantastic. It's clearly sci-fi and has a sense of adventure to it, but the rpg elements are inconsistent. The Loot system needs tweaking because the RNG can favor those who do little-to-nothing or, for the fortunate soul, grant them a hot streak of items. Then, there are those that receive nothing for an extended period of time, regardless of their contributions. The biggest place I have problem with this is reports of the raid; it's difficult enough for those unable to find a group, but those that have grinded it and received little, well, it makes little sense. Although it has rpg elements, I actually stand by your decision to not allow trading and an auction house. Typically, they only serve to harm the quality of items, devaluing them by making it that literally anyone can get them ... of course, there's still kind of that issue from the RNG. There needs to be a line made; if you don't want trading because players can abuse the system, don't allow the RNG to abuse itself. Color shaders and the inclusion of different ships are fun ... but make the ships something more than cosmetic value. Otherwise, we're just changing our loading screen. Content is lacking. This is no news to anyone. I know I've gotten my money's worth, but have we gotten the budget's worth? The PVP may satisfy the community and the raiding has satisfied the casual raider in me and my guild, but at the same time, even as casuals (to an extent), we've rain VOG twice under two hours and are ready to farm it on normal to gear up for hard. If it wasn't for the first DLC coming out soon, we would run into the issue that more hardcore players have found: not enough content. Even for the "opening release" there should be more than the nightfalls and raids. It may be too late to retool the first DLC (one of two parts that make up the expansion), but the second DLC should add more than one raid and a few strikes that will make end up being nightfalls for end game pve players. More story is nice, too, but it's not enough to constitute being considered a worthwhile DLC. It's hopefully a fix for the lacking story elements though. An expansion typically adds a wealth of content. The first release is just that: DLC, not an expansion. Depending on how much the second DLC includes will determine whether or not it was truly an expansion pass or just two DLCs stitched together. I'm not saying these two DLC will make or break your game, but they will set the pace and lead to an understanding of whether or not this trend can continue. It will also provide the community and Bungie with a wake up call; I just hope it's for the better. Story missions and strikes alike do not take much time with an effective group, and complaints like those surrounding the release's content will only continue. Playerbase can potentially diminish, too, and I don't want to see this game bleed out before reaching the potential that it deserves—given the hard work put into the game. Except for the bosses. The fights themselves were fun in VOG due to the mechanics of the fights, but the bosses could have been more unique. [b]TL;DR:[/b] No game is perfect, but no game with so much potential should fall so short. At its core, a sci-fi shooter, it succeeds, but for everything else Destiny is supposed to be, story included, it does not have the content or execution to be as it was advertised. Developmental hell may have taken Bungie by storm. Fixing the game, making it worthy of a ten year plan, and turning this rough gem into the glory it can be, will take a certain level of tenacity and honesty on the developer's part, as well as the community's. No, this does not mean flaming Deej as so many see fit. Nor does it mean we should be whining like entitled children; it only furthers the stigma that gamers may be spoiled and unknowledgeable as to what they want. Worse, it gets in the way of constructive of dialogue. Inversely, Bungie guys should try to keep us in the loop better, whether it be a developmental blog that's updated more regularly or simply more concise answers as to what is going on. The past is the past. Improving the game started from the day it was released and continues from now until DLC releases. I understand part of the community will ruin that as no one wants to promise something they cannot deliver, but if not that, a better level of transparency may be needed. Personally, I'm okay, provided the development team understands the troubles ahead and is actively trying to address the more legitimate and vocal community concerns, but the more that things don't add up, the more things are consistently disappointing, the greater the chance that those who want Destiny to succeed, myself included, may not get to. I have faith in Bungie as a developer and I've greatly enjoyed this game, but the rose-colored glasses need to come off, just as the community's bashing needs to be taken with a grain of salt. Find the happy medium, develop a plan-of-action for more immediate changes, and I think this game will improve faster than anticipated. Be brave, Bungie. P.S Maybe add a Horde-like mode in the mean time? Might help quell the masses at least a little bit while further developments for PVE are underway.

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