Community Focus - MitchySlaps

Hey, Bruno, first of all I would like to thank you, Hippy, and the rest of the team for considering me for this opportunity. My name is Mitch, (Mitchy or MitchySlaps also works). I’m a husband, a father to an adorable Little Light who just turned one, and a stepfather to a highly intelligent young man who makes me feel stupid with how smart he is sometimes. I’m also a licensed physical therapist assistant with a focus in the geriatric population as well as having a certification in dementia care. I like to lace up the skates, toss on a helmet, and slap some hockey pucks around. I’m also a cat-dad to… well, too many cats — even a foster cat who I’m getting more and more attached to each day.  

 

As for gaming habits, I have mostly (as of recent) been grinding those Pinnacle drops and raiding (on that search for those Deepsight raid weapons). When I am not gaming, I am staring at my Stream Deck wondering how I can improve the input tool. What is great about Destiny, time-wise, is that you can plan ahead and get a group going, play for a few hours by yourself, or you can just pop on for 15 to 20 minutes and get in a strike or two. I feel like there is more to do now than ever and the power climb is quick.  

 

I could say that what I like most about Destiny is having the Warlock Devour build with the Void 3.0 class rework or I could say something like, “All the people I’ve met over the last five years playing this game.” Yeah, it’s corny but it’s also true for a lot of Guardians out there. Destiny is one of the first games where I sought out communities to find people to play with. I’ve met a lot of cool Guardians out there, and if it weren’t for those groups and communities I probably wouldn’t still be as invested in gaming as I am today. 

It started out as a way to prevent my raid group from dying while typing in callouts. We were sitting in the first encounter, figuring things out during day-two of Contest Mode and we made the decision to start typing the callouts (also, thank you for actually giving names to the glyphs). But typing the callouts led to dying unnecessarily so I dusted off the ol’ Stream Deck and decided to input the callouts tied to a multi-action macro. It’s a fairly simple process and I’m not the most tech-savvy person; honestly anyone could have made it. I say that to encourage others who are sitting on projects they don’t think are worth working on.  

100% there is a way to customize. You can edit the title which will display directly on the button. I decided to use thumbnails of the glyphs with the English name already on the picture as it was clear to read, and I didn’t have to type in a title for each button I made. If you wish to add a title for another language, I suggest placing the header of the title at the top of each button so that it doesn’t overlap the English on the bottom of the thumbnail.  

There are also ways to edit what input comes out. Just go into the software for Stream Deck, click on a button and all of the hotkeys will show up. We can use Fireteam Chat input for an example. It’s three hotkeys:  

1. Enter. This opens your fireteam chat. 
2. This is the text that will show up in the fireteam chat. 
3. Enter again. This sends the text from step two to your fireteam. 

You can go into that middle hotkey and type in whatever you’d like to be input into fireteam chat, so it’s completely customizable and you can use it for so many applications in many facets of the game.  

I want to thank the Destiny community, and the gaming community in general, for their glowing support. I was so delighted to read so many positive reviews, but I also received some great feedback, such as, “This is great but what about console players?” That’s where the other three input methods came into existence.  

I found an extension for Stream Deck on GitHub that allows you to directly message a Discord channel through webhooks which sends enlarged pictures to said channel. You need to grant permissions to use them, but these special callbacks are really helpful and allow you to send requests from one app to another very easily. This method is great if you would like to see larger images of the callouts as they’re entered into Discord. It’s also great because it works on the same computer as Destiny without interrupting the game if you choose to play that way. All of the steps to set this up are in the Readme file on my GitHub. I’ve had people tell me that they pop their phone up in front of their TV to see the callouts in Discord.  

The other two methods can be used for Discord as well (as long as the Stream Deck is plugged into the computer running Discord). Plug your Stream Deck into the computer that has Discord. For the picture mode or the text mode you simply go into the Discord channel you plan on communicating with your team in and start clicking buttons on the Stream Deck, Stream Deck enters its command, and it’s sent to that channel automatically through the macro, whether is a picture or text. I don’t recommend using these methods on the same computer you’re playing on because you have to tab out to go into Discord. 

As for activities outside the raid, I decided to add Gambit, and I would like to eventually add Trials and PvP maps. I would love some feedback as to what callouts people would like to see added. For Gambit, it’s a pretty simple layout as I couldn’t think of too many callouts required other than where the invader is located (but I also added a time-to-bank input for all those Guardians collecting 15 Motes when there are already 97 in the bank. Wink, wink. (Everyone, please, always bank those 15 Motes fast! Drifter's hungry!)

3/23/2022 UPDATE!
This update has 4 input methods including:
- Fireteam Chat
- Discord webhook method with pics (can use on same pc as playin D2)
- Discord pic OR text methods (different PC than game)
- Added gambit callouts
- Trials https://t.co/UYyHH7EO8p https://t.co/tFzNTgLrKW pic.twitter.com/NSiKdZDZLg
— That Destiny 2 Stream Deck Guy (@MitchySlaps) March 24, 2022

Accessibility comes in many shapes and forms. And it can benefit numerous people even if it’s not clear to you in the beginning whom it may help. If you have an idea for a tool, make it anyway and you may surprise yourself. Personally, the tool helps me raid because my mind sometimes has a hard time focusing on everything going on all at once and my anxiety can start to creep in. My raid buddy CyborgSasquatch, said, “It’s not about the idea, it’s about execution. Also, you got a killer beard.” I may have embellished a bit at the end there. But that put my mind at ease because I felt like I didn’t deserve all this attention for something so simple, but I had done the thing. I am also going to assume that I’m not the first to use the Stream Deck for accessibility purposes and hopefully I’m not the last. Tinker with the tools you have available to you. I’m sure there are people reading this that already have stuff they’ve made, be it macros, or maps, or anything else that helps you with your gaming experience, share it. You can only help others by doing so.  

The accessibility that this project provides wasn’t clear to me until I started reading the feedback. The fact that there were people saying that because of the input tool they were able to participate in mechanics rather than be the ad- clear made me feel like the project had true value. Some Guardians have been missing out on experiences in Destiny and I’m happy to provide a way for people to participate and thrive in a game I love so much.  

Being a therapist, one of my goals is to make the world more accessible to my patients and one of the major ways to do so is through adaptive equipment (walkers, canes, wheelchairs, etc.). I guess you could consider the Stream Deck a form of adaptive equipment for gamers, making the world of Destiny more accessible.  

As for software, this tool was made with only the Stream Deck software that’s free to download from Elgato. You need a Stream Deck (or the app on your phone to use the software). I don’t know how to code, and I’ve never taken any classes. But my buddy Clarksy has successfully coded a workaround to insert webhooks into the Deck’s profile. There are still some steps involved and I am currently working on refining the walkthrough so that it’s easy to follow. 

Void 3.0 subclass with the Void buddy, Nezarec’s Sin, 2x Elemental Ordinance mod, 2x melee Wellmaker mod, 1x Bountiful Wells mod, Volatile rounds mod, and a Funnelweb (still chasing that god roll). I don’t think I’ve taken this build off honestly. Cycling through grenade, melee, and a Void buddy rift, you’re going to almost always have your abilities at your disposal. If you’re quick enough, you can get two Void buddies out at once. That’s a hoot. I also like to run a very similar loadout on Titan with the Cuirass chest piece but right now I’m only really using my other two classes to raid due to time constraints with play time. 

As a person who gravitates towards a healing class, I feel like Solar is the perfect opportunity to do so. Void 3.0 really focuses on self-healing with Devour. I would love to be able to make a loadout that caters to shielding/healing/buffing others as a priority. Yes, I know Titans can overshield their teammates and Hunters can make others invisible, but to have a true team healing loadout would be cool. Some synergistic loadouts with Lumina perhaps? Or an attunement/Fragment that lets you throw/shoot your Rift to other locations similar to Divine Protection for your grenades but…a Rift. Who knows I’m a simple man and will probably be happy with whatever they’re cookin’ up in the studio. Look at Void 3.0. What more could you ask for? 

As for Arc. I want speed. I want electricity everywhere. One of the coolest animations (in my humble opinion) is the Storm grenade. Let me feel like Thor. Lightning from above. Pools of electricity below. Let electricity flow around me, shocking everything in my path, charging my abilities while staying mobile.

Every time I talk to someone about posture it reminds me to straighten up a little. Make sure you’re hydrating, taking breaks, and step away from time to time. Listen to your body. Get outside and touch some grass or whatever the kids say these days. For your setup, try to maintain 90 degrees at your ankles, knees, hips, and elbows. Neutral wrists if you’re on mouse and keyboard. I like to use a gel wrist rest. Carpal tunnel syndrome is not fun to rehab. If you plan on long sessions, I also recommend a standing desk if possible (obviously disregard the 90/90 rule for hips and knees if you’re standing. You’ll just look silly all bent over for no reason). I just got a converter for my current desk so that I can sit or stand and it’s honestly a game changer. Standing up and playing is refreshing. As for stretching and exercise, again I would recommend listening to your body. Look up a couple stretches for each muscle group and go from there. There are some really easy entry-level yoga instructions on YouTube. Staying flexible coupled with proper posture can help prevent some of the common issues that arise from prolonged gaming sessions.  

I’d like to take a moment to thank a handful of people. First and foremost, @Danfinity. Dan’s a real swell dude. You all know that. We all know that. Dan knows that. This project really started gaining attention because of Dan and I’ll be forever grateful because it’s given me the opportunity to help others. To those who are working at Bungie who have commented saying that they use this tool or how helpful this project is, thank you. It’s mind boggling to think that there’s people at the studio using this thing. To those working in accessibility to include everyone in gaming, stay awesome. To all the Guardians I’ve met because of Potato Thumbs Podcast, Guardian Down Cast, Guardian Hub: thank you. (Also check out those podcasts, they're all good people.) And thank you to everyone that talks about Destiny and have great communities to interact within and given many people safe places to call home and feel welcomed. I know there’s so many more communities out there that are great, but these are the ones that I can attest to first-hand.  

Streamers, podcasters, artists, musicians. You make Destiny a unique experience. Get out there and create, Guardians.  

And again, thank you, Bruno. Hey, you made it through your first Community Focus!