K....yep, had a ton of fun. Thought Bungie employees were happy to have us all there and it showed in the way they talked to us and the event they created. We asked a shit ton of questions and tried to get people on the record. They refused. What this podcast was about was our experience only. Many more questions we need answered...And we will get into that as more shit is uncovered, beta etc. For now, it was awesome playing D2 shit. Think we're all sell outs? Cool. We will see how it goes down in the weeks and months ahead.

Sigh... I did not call you guys sellouts. If that's how you took it I sincerely apologize. I withdraw from further interactions. Good luck with your future endeavors.

[quote]Okay, semi-serious response - glad you guys were self-aware of the "Stockholm Syndrome-esque" nature of the cast. Now you know why lobbyists in Washington are so successful![/quote] It had nothing to do with Stockholm Syndrome. It was mutual respect and an understanding of where we were and what they could/couldn't share. [quote]Serious response - it was a "feel-good" event. It would have been poor taste to go there on Bungie's dime and rip every rep you saw. That said, while it's always good to remember that person on the other side of the debate is a human being, it is useful to maintain journalistic integrity and always search for truth. If it puts you at odds with people for whom you have newfound respect it shouldn't color your search for truth. Not saying you aren't, but as you now know, getting the royal treatment is pretty persuasive.[/quote] We're not journalists, first and foremost. We weren't there with microphones shoved in their faces, we just talked Destiny with them and I think that's a big part of why they were so open with us. We asked about things like pve/pvp separation. We discussed in-game matchmaking with Pete the night before at dinner. We tried to get more in-depth on the decision to go 4v4 but could never meet up with Lars. We also approached it just like we do when you and others guest on the podcast. We asked what was their favorite moments of the event. We have relationships with Coz and DeeJ going in. I'd talked a bit with Hamrick in the past, but to categorize them as somehow being disingenuous because they're trying to pull the wool over our eyes or something is a huge disservice to what this was about. We'd never had any interaction with Pete and who are we that the CEO of Bungie should give us the time of day? We're forum posters on bnet (that as much as we love and try to promote, largely doesn't give a shit) yet he not only introduced himself, he sat at dinner with us for 45 minutes just talking about Destiny, the community, their hopes and visions. It wasn't phony and it wasn't gaining them anything. It was just people sharing a love of this game we all want to be great. The other one that stands out is James. He talked to us for probably 30 minutes. Who are we? We're at a party with True Vanguard, Crucible Radio, Say No To Rage and others and he was there just as engaging and open as could be and as happy talking to us as we were him. There was nothing malicious. There was no secret agenda. Again, we aren't reporters and maybe we could've gone in full question mode, but as DeeJ said, there will be time to talk about the rest and they just wanted to discuss the things they were showing that day. [quote]I've watched a lot of the footage that's come out since the preview. Though not a real PvP grognard it left me with questions: 1. Will the MLG version utilize white weapons?[/quote] They're not ready to discuss that yet, but very much doubt it [quote]2. Will private matches be possible? 3. What player options will we have if we do?[/quote] From what I've heard, they won't be available at launch, but that's just hearing second hand through Twitter [quote]On the PvE side I'm wondering: 1. Does the ammo crate limitation of PvP (only the person pulling crate gets ammo) exist for PvE?[/quote] Yes [quote]2. Do we still lose ammo if we swap guns in a slot?[/quote] Didn't pay attention to this too much and it would've been difficult to tell anyway with double primaries running half the time, but I think probably. [quote]3. Are shielded enemies' shields attuned so that we need to match elements?[/quote] Honestly I don't really recall any shielded enemies being present, but that's always been how it worked, so if elemental shields exist, I'd expect them to function similarly [quote]4. How will the clan feature (where activities of the individual contribute to the clan) work?[/quote] In WoW, each activity individual members (and groups running together) completed, unlocked various things for the entire guild at certain tiers. I would assume similar functionality here with overall clan xp that builds up either on weekly resets or just on a one time overall level (much like the current record books). They aren't ready to get into specifics at this time. [quote]5. Will the clan rating system be in place at launch or come later?[/quote] I doubt it. When talking to DeeJ and suggesting it as a way to combat trollish nature of some people, he seemed to respond like it was something that didn't exist but might be a good option. When we brought it up to Pete, he said they'd thought about similar things or along those lines but I think it's all still being worked on and in internal testing phases. I think the fact it's happening is huge and hopefully we planted a seed as to a way to make it even better. [quote]Sorry I could resist on the video links. No harm intended.[/quote] No offense taken lol. Would've been better with some Chariots of Fire music lolol

The Stockholm Syndrome thing was tongue-in-cheek. The caution to maintain journalistic integrity is an admonition to remain true to your cause - or is #destinytruthcast just a meaningless name? You've evolved over time, a natural occurrence, but the original purpose of the podcast was to discuss issues related to the game - to find truth, so to speak. It's also fair to note you were fairly adversarial then. Not saying at all you should go back to that, just saying there is a reason the podcast bears that name. You apparently are not aware to what degree you two gushed over Bungie in the cast, but it ate a considerable amount of time. It was a great experience no doubt, and your enthusiasm to discuss it is evident. I am not saying there was any malicious intent on anyone's part. I'm not saying those folks aren't real people. I'm not saying they weren't nice to you. I am saying I've seen the other side, DeeJ in particular, and he can be incredibly mean spirited. I don't hold a grudge with people, but I am not going to be so quick to trust someone who has behaved in such a way. But that's me. We are all inclined to think more favorably to people who are nice to us, and the nicer they are the more we feel that way. It may even begin to shift our bias one way or another. And that's fine too, because it allows the opportunity for people to make amends for the things they do. I guess I look at this from the standpoint Bungie has not always been forthright, they haven't always respected both sides of the game, and sometimes their feet have to be held to the fire. Like it or not you have acquired a voice and a following, and that comes with a responsibility. As for myself I will defend Bungie when they do what I believe is right and I will criticize when I think they don't. I'm too old and too cynical to completely trust them, because when it gets down to it they are a business and they will do whatever brings the most money into the coffers.

The point was not to be adversarial. The point was to build communication between community and developer. I've been shit on for 2 years for not doing the hate-cast some people wanted me to do. That would've been the sellout. It's easy to hate and talk shit and people love it and it's easy likes and follows. What's hard is being fair and objective and sometimes your going to be more disgruntled or happy. We know exactly how much we "gushed" because we were there and we experienced a connection to these devs we see on streams and in news feeds that most don't get to see and whether you want to mistrust them or not, these are really genuinely good people that care about this community and this game. I know going in we're going to get ripped apart by some for saying that and for posting a positive experience, yet we're called sellouts. No again, selling out would be to not give Bungie the opportunity to show this side of their company and to post hateful shit for people to lap up. Guarantee you if this podcast were ripping them it'd have thousands of comments. But back to why we do this. Beyond matchmaking (which we got almost the exact system I fought for in year one). My biggest fight was communication and the relationship between community and devs and that is something we've grown and as the hosts of a community podcast that aims to let our guests be heard, it's paramount that we be willing to listen and be open when Bungie reaches out or speaks to us if we would like the same from them. Yeah we gushed about them because they went so far beyond anything they had to do to welcome us. We probably had more access than most big name streamers. Why? What'd they get out of that? It's because they are genuine and really wanted us there and there's a mutual respect for what we all want this game to be. We also spent the last mini-episode going off about the 4v4 decision and questioned it a lot here as well, but this was a really positive thing Bungie did with this event that they didn't have to and probably didn't realistically have time to as they try to get this game out and yes we tried to get some answers, but the point of this episode was to share the unbelievable experience we had and give people a little glimpse at the people we got to spend a little time with.

You know, I never meant to trigger you like this. It was actually more of a platitude I offered. Ill-timed perhaps, but just an observation. If you take that as ripping you, sorry. That said, I'm a bit uncomfortable with the reaction here. Think I'll keep future comments to myself. Good luck with your future endeavors.