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To the "Destiny 2 looks like DLC" crowd. Why?

As an outsider, just the visual/art style alone doesn't excite me as something *new* that I gotta have. If the original didn't entice me, why would this?

I tuned in to the premier because I was hyped and in the mood for a galactic shooter with an epic scope. The story, characters, and action didn't grab me, unfortunately. There's still time.

Why would they ever change the art style? I can almost understand some of the complaints about enemy types - despite already seeing a few new ones - and gameplay loop, but... why would you ever change the art style of a sequel?
 
Is Halo 2 a different IP than Halo 1? Is Uncharted 2 a different IP than Uncharted 1? And so on and so on. The answer is no, because sequels are meant to evolve the series just as much as refining what was there prior. If they just wanted to revise and update what was already there, and thats the main argument people are using to defend the footage, than that would fall under "expansion" criteria rather than sequel status.

Was Left 4 Dead 2 a sequel to Left 4 Dead 1?
 

DevilDog

Member
Why would they ever change the art style? I can almost understand some of the complaints about enemy types - despite already seeing a few new ones - and gameplay loop, but... why would you ever change the art style of a sequel?

So that it feels like another game, and not an expansion.
 

Psoelberg

Member
I'm interested in knowing this, OP / StalkerUKCG:
Are you really interested in understanding why people are calling Destiny 2 a dlc/expansion. Are you really? Because there are several threads with lots of detailed and great answers. And the answers are not really that unreasonable.... I mean, I don't got anything "invested" in Destiny. I liked the first, played about 50 hours, and I'm probably going to buy the second if I got time on my hands to play video games I'm September/October. But with just a small bit of understanding and empathy it's not that hard to understand the criticism that Destiny 2 doesn't bring that's much new to the table. It's just more of the same. And I - as someone who sees Destiny from somewhat of a neutral point of view- it's not that hard to agree with. So, I'm just trying to understand: what do you want to accomplish with this thread?

Edit: also: comparing Destiny with narrative based games are just removing the focus of this discussion completely.
 

jett

D-Member
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=DFSQZKkmetU

Same designs, same AI patterns, same models.

I like the color pattern on the ship, at least.

Lancia-Stratos-HF-Group-4-%27.jpg


It's like a super Destiny expansion, clearly still built heavily on the first game. It just looks intensely familiar. For the fans that still play, I'm sure they're fine with that. For those that dropped the game or never liked it, probably not so much. It really is like an MMO expansion. The base is rarely going to change. Maybe this is just the way the Destiny experience is like. I guess how disappointed someone is will depend on their expectations. I figure when Destiny 3 comes out we'll have the same "looks like DLC" comments.
 

Carn82

Member
Skolas, Psion Flayers and perhaps Bond Brothers.

Echo Chamber with the Restorative Mind had you transfer the orb around. They also gave the revamped Nexus some relic action. Wretched Eye had the Ogre stomping around. The darkness thing with Alakhul was pretty neat.
 

Bold One

Member
Is Halo 2 a different IP than Halo 1? Is Uncharted 2 a different IP than Uncharted 1? And so on and so on. The answer is no, because sequels are meant to evolve the series just as much as refining what was there prior. If they just wanted to revise and update what was already there, and thats the main argument people are using to defend the footage, than that would fall under "expansion" criteria rather than sequel status.
Revise? Update? I never used those words.

See, here's where throwing around terms like expansion and DLC becomes nebulous, where do you draw the line?

At what point did UC2 graduate to become a full sequel to UC1? same bandits and some armoured type enemies, similar mystical beasties, same hero, same guns, new locations bigger set pieces? ¯\_(ツ)_/¯
 

jviggy43

Member
Was Left 4 Dead 2 a sequel to Left 4 Dead 1?

Its almost universally agreed upon that more of just the same is the worst type of sequel in any type of medium. Most directors and author's will explicitly tell you that they wont do one unless theres a reason that would expand and evolve on the prior material, not just reiterate and refine it. Yes, some game sequels clearly don't push that objective, but almost everyone agrees that the best ones, do.

Revise? Update? I never used those words.

See, her's where throwing around terms like expansion and DLC becomes nebulous, where do you draw the line.

At what point did UC2 graduate to become a full sequel to UC1? same bandits and some armoured type enemies, similar mystical beasties, same hero, same guns, new locations bigger set pieces? ¯\_(ツ)_/¯

Which is why I said most people, not you, are saying those things to defend the fairly minimal changes.
 
So that it feels like another game, and not an expansion.

You're right, I keep getting all these Ueda games confused for expansions of each other.

I think people don't know what they expected. They just expected to be impressed. And then they weren't. But they don't know why. Kind of like how it's sometimes hard to really express why a movie failed or succeeded, people don't really know the root cause of why they were disappointed. So they just start nitpicking and hoping they land on the right reason.

Edit: For me, enemy logic seems exactly the same. Enemies aren't doing anymore than being meat walls that messily aim in my direction. Maybe because the difficulty is low? Who knows. It was a big issue in D1 so seeing it again feels pretty bad. Once again, there are no real roles. Every one is a DPS killing machine. I didn't see any support abilities or any abilities whose sole purpose wasn't to merc some poor alien bastard. The set pieces weren't any bigger. The fights weren't anymore impressive. The goals for the strikes and missions didn't seem any different. They could change add all the enemy types, visual changes, and anything they wanted and the game would still look similar just because of how bland the game is. Destiny's most prominent trait is the remarkable level of blandness found on a per encounter basis. New enemies? Shoot them. New boss? Shoot him a lot. I think part of that might be because of the need to make an accessible and balanced PvP, so it makes it harder to have classes with defined roles so every character basically ends up DPS. I'll hold out on an opinion until I see more though.
 
Why would they ever change the art style? I can almost understand some of the complaints about enemy types - despite already seeing a few new ones - and gameplay loop, but... why would you ever change the art style of a sequel?
I mean more in an upgrade sense.

The OP mentions games that look better, or feel newer. I'm most familiar with Uncharted so I'll go with that. The sequels retain the same overall visual style, but you can sense the *newness and are able to tell them apart. I can't really with this one, but again, I'm an outsider.
 

Psoelberg

Member
I played Destiny for around 200 hours, on the low side compared to so many here but I've done almost all of the content through The Taken King. For me, that's a lot of time spent on one game.

I know there are people who have spent thousands of hours on it. I have a cousin who has been playing Black Ops 1 since it came out, and to this day that's all he always goes back to, even after trying newer COD's, GTA V, he's happier being great at one thing and only doing that one thing over and over.

I, personally, can't fathom spending that much time on any game because I would quickly get over doing the same thing so many times, where it becomes familiar to the point that I can't derive enjoyment out of doing it. The way Bungie said they were starting fresh with new characters, and getting rid of the tower, I had expectations that this was getting a big overhaul that would make everything you do feel new, like there is a sense of discovery from the moment you boot it up vs. a sense of instant familiarity. I can't speak for everyone but I don't replay games very often after I've beat them save for some that resonate with me strongly. I've probably replayed Destiny 20 times with how often I've done daily story missions and strikes.

So, I guess my expectation is a compliment to Bungie, because they are a dev that I have confidence can innovate constantly and bring fresh and interesting ideas to the table at the forefront of the industry. I'm not saying this feels like a DLC and not a sequel, but what I wanted is more innovation than what was shown, and I'm not going to sob about it but I was leaning on the hype side because it's Bungie.

I mean these guys brought us VOG at a time when no one fathomed something like that out of a FPS. Is it really asking for too much to want them to reinvent the Strikes and throw in more variety to daily missions to make them feel more engaging, especially on inevitable repeat visits. Maybe avoiding the bullet sponge approach and using team based mechanics that so many raids require?

This is a good post. Everybody read this post.

It isn't about the numbers and statistics. It's about the feeling. The feeling of being pulled into something new. Something many mmo expansions and sequels have accomplished. But something the gameplay reveal of Destiny 2 didn't show. Feeling of discovering something new. Hopefully Bungie got some surprises.
 

renzolama

Member
It seems pretty cut and dry: it's a major content expansion and mechanical/technical update to an existing service platform that Activision is forcing Bungie to put a "2" on for marketing purposes. There's nothing wrong with that, it's a hugely successful game that people love and will gladly pay for more of. The whole sequel vs expansion argument is becoming less relevant with each passing year. All software is evolving in this direction, but people still seem really touchy about admitting it out loud. Just start naming the new releases "Destiny 2017", "Destiny 2018", etc or "Destiny: <update name>" and everyone will be less confused and hostile.
 

Bold One

Member
Its almost universally agreed upon that more of just the same is the worst type of sequel in any type of medium. Most directors and author's will explicitly tell you that they wont do one unless theres a reason that would expand and evolve on the prior material, not just reiterate and refine it. Yes, some game sequels clearly don't push that objective, but almost everyone agrees that the best ones, do.



Which is why I said most people, not you, are saying those things to defend the fairly minimal changes.

My post wasn't trying to defend anything, just trying to understand your reasoning between what is a sequel and what isn't, because now I am struck with an existential crisis as to whether all the sequels I have playing the past 15 years were actually expansions all along...
 

melkier33

Member
Honestly for me it's the core gameplay elements. The fps and graphics are all fine. But yeah, the core gameplay hasn't really been expanded, treasure maps no clue how that plays out but if it pulled off like most games it will get full fast. As a heavy D1 player (didn't buy last expansion) looking to jump back in to D2 all I'm seeing is a remix/rebalance of classes and weapons. I haven't seen anything that makes me think that's cool I want to do that. For a game that's designed to potentially be played for thousands of hours I'm not seeing a lot of changes or improvements over the first game that feels fresh in any sort of way.
 

Miasma

Member
They were a space combat mechanic away from being a full fledged sequel. I'm afraid they've been downgraded to DLC as a result.

Man i really thought they were going to add space combat, alas the ship is relegated to a nice looking loading screen again.

Bungie have proved they can do good space combat (Long night of solace) unfortunately i think we are doomed.
 

ChrisD

Member
OP reads like what I think in my mind every time someone says Splatoon 2 is just a port, or could have been an update.

I feel for you. We share confusion and annoyance in this, just with different games.
 

Kusagari

Member
All we heard is that without the strain of last gen we would finally get the Destiny promised to us all those years back.

We didn't. We got an improved sequel to Taken King Destiny.

That's why. The game still hasn't come close to the promises they originally made years ago before Destiny 1 launched.
 
All we heard is that without the strain of last gen we would finally get the Destiny promised to us all those years back.

We didn't. We got an improved sequel to Taken King Destiny.

That's why. The game still hasn't come close to the promises they originally made years ago before Destiny 1 launched.

Bingo.

You just killed some people with truth.
 

ExVicis

Member
Glad you informed us of how the bosses in Destiny 2 play. Tell us more....

lol

Stop trolling, your CRAP at it, and just making shit up. Nobody has no idea about boss mechanics yet...so
Why are you being so antagonist and dismissive? I can see what the bosses are like in the gameplay videos very clearly.

If you disagree that is fine but there is no need to get rude and upset at me because we have different thoughts about this. Honestly out of the two of us I think your post is closer to trolling.
 

Juan

Member
1495237677-capture-d-ecran-2017-05-20-a-01-46-22.png


They didn't even change the loader. ^^

You see, a lot of people feel like it's an expansion rather than a new game because a lot of contents look like recycling assets from D1.

It's not visually very different from what we had with D1, and it sure doesn't help when people have to see it as a whole new game.

You see, during the Homecoming mission, one thing could have made me scream "brand new game", and it's the part where Holidays take you for a ride to the Cabal Ship. If we had to get there by ourself with a flying vehicle, I would have say they changed the way mission design behave and is intended to be played.

I'm just wondering, and that's a real question, not trolling, for all the people defending D2, is it really hard just to understand why people think it looks like a DLC?
 
1495237677-capture-d-ecran-2017-05-20-a-01-46-22.png


They didn't even changed the loader. ^^

You see, a lot of people feel like it's an expansion rather than a new game because a lot of contents look like recycling assets from D1.

It's not visually very different from what we had with D1, and it sure doesn't help when people have to see it as a whole new game.

You see, during the Homecoming mission, one thing could have made me scream "brand new game", and it's the part where Holidays take you for a ride to the Cabal Ship. If we had to get there by ourself with a flying vehicle, I would have say they changed the way mission design behave and is intended to be played.

Nope, cutscene!

Kinda hoping Bungie spent the extra money on that cutscene to keep space combat a surprise lol
 
Yeah, there are lots of changes but the changes seem to be tweaks rather than whole new gameplay experiences. I mean, even the animations for the ghosts scanning the structures are nearly identical. I get it though. Destiny took years of optimizations to get to this point so why throw it all away. But for me (and lots of other people), it feels more like Destiny Version 2.0 rather than a whole new sequel.
 

Muffdraul

Member
I'm definitely looking forward to D2, but I can't believe they aren't at least adding a new character class. I literally can't believe it. I have to believe they're saving it for a surprise. Because wt effing f.
 

PeterGAF

Banned
Everything you listed in the OP will probably make destiny 2 a better game, but I just watched some gameplay from a strike and if I didn't know better I'd think it was a destiny 1 expansion. If someone told me it was an expansion before I knew about destiny 2 I would believe them
 

UberLevi

Member
1495237677-capture-d-ecran-2017-05-20-a-01-46-22.png


They didn't even change the loader. ^^

You see, a lot of people feel like it's an expansion rather than a new game because a lot of contents look like recycling assets from D1.

It's not visually very different from what we had with D1, and it sure doesn't help when people have to see it as a whole new game.

You see, during the Homecoming mission, one thing could have made me scream "brand new game", and it's the part where Holidays take you for a ride to the Cabal Ship. If we had to get there by ourself with a flying vehicle, I would have say they changed the way mission design behave and is intended to be played.

I'm just wondering, and that's a real question, not trolling, for all the people defending D2, is it really hard just to understand why people think it looks like a DLC?

Well when it comes to small things like UI, I just assume it's placeholder because, who cares what the loading icon looks like 5 months from release? There's bigger fish to fry first. As for the part with Holliday, yeah I wish they emphasized vehicles in the sandbox like Halo, but more cutscenes during story missions already adds a level of depth that was lacking in OG Destiny. Plus that tank segment they teased has my hopes up that there will be at least some semblance of vehicular gameplay outside Sparrow traversal. My question is, does considering that Destiny 1's DLC was being developed alongside Destiny 2 not help you understand why it looks so similar, and don't you think that Destiny 2, during its lifetime, can see radical change the way OG Destiny did compared to Year 3? Destiny is a continually changing title. I don't think the game at launch is indicative of all they plan to add to Destiny 2 as a game that intends to see years of updates. So my defense is that I expect the game to change as I play it, not before.
 
So far , the same enemies , the same enviroments design except for the oceanic map which looks gorgeous.

No new guardians, no new factions (yet).
 

Trakan

Member
I would have liked for it to look better, run at 60 frames, and have dedicated servers.

Things may change, I know it's only the first reveal, but it feels like there's only 1 new subclass for each character and they're just reworkings of old subclasses that aren't returning. I wanted at least 2 for each class that were brand new. The hunter's just looks like bladedancer.

I was hoping for a new class altogether as well as new races. Nothing would make the game feel like a sequel more than brand new ways to play it.
 
I must have not been paying attention.

What were the promises Bungie made or how did they advertise or hype up Destiny before the release of the first game?
 

Juan

Member
I must have not been paying attention.

What were the promises Bungie made or how did they advertise or hype up Destiny before the release of the first game?

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=V9YoJjdEBv8

Well when it comes to small things like UI, I just assume it's placeholder because, who cares what the loading icon looks like 5 months from release?

5 months away from the launch and 2 months away from the beta, the UI won't change, that's for sure. The priorities are on bug fixing, content check, etc... But it was merely an example about the feeling you get when you're seeing a lot of recycled assets, either being UI or 3D models/animations/sounds, etc...

WMy question is, does considering that Destiny 1's DLC was being developed alongside Destiny 2 not help you understand why it looks so similar, and don't you think that Destiny 2, during its lifetime, can see radical change the way OG Destiny did compared to Year 3? Destiny is a continually changing title.

Sure, it may change. We don't know about that. We're only making comment from what we have seen so far, and we're not making speculation what the game could be (and people defending D2 should do the same).
 

-hadouken

Member
Why OP? You can list all the marketing bullet points about "new this" and "enhanced that." Fact remains that at a glance I would have thought it was one of the existing expansions. This is surprising considering the time that has passed, and the fact that D2 isn't held back by platforms that launched in 2005.
 

Besides just that, they showed off footage and trailers with cutscenes that promised a much more engaging and cinematic story than the one in the final game. Plus, player interaction really wasn't that great. They said in earlier footage that there would be trading and that didn't make it in initially either. Things have greatly improved and player interaction has been improved but Destiny 2 is sort of what Destiny 1 should have been.
 
Besides just that, they showed off footage and trailers with cutscenes that promised a much more engaging and cinematic story than the one in the final game. Plus, player interaction really wasn't that great. They said in earlier footage that there would be trading and that didn't make it in initially either. Things have greatly improved and player interaction has been improved but Destiny 2 is sort of what Destiny 1 should have been.

Dont forget some zones were showed at destiny launch trailer but pulled out as DLC
 

pmunk

Member
Seems like opinion is splitting largely on whether you enjoyed the core gameplay loop of loot and repeat with excellent gunplay and mechanics from Destiny 1 or not.

I personally found the 400ish hours I put into Destiny 1 to be the most enjoyable time I've ever had with video games, so I'm pretty satisfied with this reveal.

Opinion subject to change as we learn more of the singleplayer and general patrol opportunities, but I've got confidence Bungie will deliver this time around.
 

jviggy43

Member
Having different opinions than you is shitposting? Can you really not handle someone thinking this reveal looked underwhelming so much to say ridiculous things like this?
The splatoon 2 posts are far more akin to shit posting anyone on any side of the destiny debate right. They're coming into a thread that has nothing to do with that game and making a comparison that isn't really accurate and it's obnoxious.
 
I guess what concerns me personally is that they made a reputation for themselves of reusing old assets in Destiny 1.

"Here's a new mission. It's just like the old one...IN REVERSE!"

So, here's comes the reveal for D2, which has me pretty excited still, but with obvious canned animations and AI movement, I can't say I'd be too happy forking over the cash for expansions with the high likelihood of playing retooled levels.

Ah well, I'll hold off til a consensus is reached.
 

KillLaCam

Banned
At first glance it looks worse than I expected. But when I watched the Strike gameplay it looks like alot of things were improved. Doesnt look like a big enough jump to hype me up or anything but it looks good. There's alot of improvements that you cant see at a glance.
 

ExVicis

Member
The splatoon 2 posts are far more akin to shit posting anyone on any side of the destiny debate right. They're coming into a thread that has nothing to do with that game and making a comparison that isn't really accurate and it's obnoxious.
Agreed, it's getting harder and harder to talk about this when everyone calls a disagreement trolling.

I really can't understand this attitude too. Like you're going to look at someone going "I would like Space Combat in Destiny" and go "No you're wrong stop trolling" ? How can you look at someone who says they want more things in a game you love and go "Stop hating" They're clearly not hating or they wouldn't be asking for something to have improvements; just think about the things people are saying for a moment instead of giving rapid knee-jerk responses you guys.
 

Jblanks

Member
Hang on a second.

We were told the EDZ is the largest zone they've ever made by a factor of 2 of Destiny's largest zone. Destiny's largest zone is the Cosmodrom, so the EDZ is twice the size of it.

That means Nessus, IO, and Titan are all smaller than the EDZ, and we don't know how much smaller at all.

I also haven't seen anyone say how many strikes Destiny 2 will launch with. Do you have a source for that one?

100+ new weapons isn't new content. It's recycled content, because everyone is just going to flock to the fast shooting AR archetype, or the medium passed Scout rifle archetype. The except here is possibly exotic weapons, but I'll hold judgment on those until I see some of them.

This doesn't even seem that impressive. Cosmodrome wasn't that big and you could zip around the circle of corridors in a couple of minutes.
 

Servbot24

Banned
I don't know, nothing listed in the OP looks that new? Yeah there are new weapons, missions and maps, no shit. Graphics are a little better, that's fine. Other than that it's just reworked gameplay details. It's more than your typical DLC, but it's also not very inspiring for anyone hoping for a big leap.
 

jviggy43

Member
Agreed, it's getting harder and harder to talk about this when everyone calls a disagreement trolling.

I really can't understand this attitude too. Like you're going to look at someone going "I would like Space Combat in Destiny" and go "No you're wrong stop trolling" ? How can you look at someone who says they want more things in a game you love and go "Stop hating" They're clearly not hating or they wouldn't be asking for something to have improvements; just think about the things people are saying for a moment instead of giving rapid knee-jerk responses you guys.
I just don't understand why those who love the game wouldn't want it to expand and unlock the potential of what bungie originally envisioned. I get being concerned about too radically shaking it up, but I really don't think they'd go down a "Halo reach" route with this. To me I just see how much this game has to offer, there's nothing really like this for consoles, and there's so much more that could be done with this. Most of what a lot of us are asking for aren't even that ridiculous either so it isn't as if were being unreasonable either.
 

ExVicis

Member
I just don't understand why those who love the game wouldn't want it to expand and unlock the potential of what bungie originally envisioned. I get being concerned about too radically shaking it up, but I really don't think they'd go down a "Halo reach" route with this. To me I just see how much this game has to offer, there's nothing really like this for consoles, and there's so much more that could be done with this. Most of what a lot of us are asking for aren't even that ridiculous either so it isn't as if were being unreasonable either.

Right? Like in Destiny 1 I had some really nice looking ships that I really enjoyed looking at but...that's really all I could do with them and you only can see them when you're in Space, I should be able to do at least a little more them. Hell why show in the TTK trailer Ship to Ship battles if we're never going to have them? And why is it trolling to want something like this?
 

jviggy43

Member
Right? Like in Destiny 1 I had some really nice looking ships that I really enjoyed looking at but...that's really all I could do with them and you only can see them when you're in Space, I should be able to do at least a little more them. Hell why show in the TTK trailer Ship to Ship battles if we're never going to have them? And why is it trolling to want something like this?
Lost in the shuffle, I'm now realizing that since we no longer have to go to orbit, they serve even less of a purpose. I'd love to get a mission or mode like they did for halo reach space battles. That was awesome.
 
I just don't understand why those who love the game wouldn't want it to expand and unlock the potential of what bungie originally envisioned. I get being concerned about too radically shaking it up, but I really don't think they'd go down a "Halo reach" route with this. To me I just see how much this game has to offer, there's nothing really like this for consoles, and there's so much more that could be done with this. Most of what a lot of us are asking for aren't even that ridiculous either so it isn't as if were being unreasonable either.

The game honestly makes me want to get into development and capitalize on its wasted potential. But ya know I don't have 800 employees and hundreds of millions from a publisher. This isn't really something an indie game can accomplish.

Which makes all their bizarre design decisions all the more frustrating.
 
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