Support NeoGAF

[The Jackdog]

Without having the full game, take the beta as a demo. I'm not judging this and thinking the full game will be like this and nothing more.

Heres the thing though.

This isnt like, a beta a year out.

The game ships in a little more than a month.

Its not like all that is gonna get some radical fix and all the kinda "walls" around old russia are gonna disappear. I know its not a current build, but its not like if they saw the loot system was just broken theyd actually have time to fix it all (not saying it is, just example)

 

[ProvenDeadly]

Wow.

 

[Dhruv_hanom]

Doesn't anybody else think Old Russia is an extremely poor choice to represent all of Earth?

If only Old Russia had Old Moscow in it, instead of being a barren wasteland with the wreckage tech resembling the 21st century.

Edit : I might be going off topic a bit, sorry.

If the collapse happened after the "Golden Age" I wanna see a wasteland littered with tech from that age not the one before that.

I always wondered if humans had the tech to terraform Venus into a garden world then atleast their planes wouldn't resemble 21th century MIGs

Case and Point:

Propeller planes when you have space ships and are colonizing planets just seems odd.

 

[shadowstar]

This is vanilla diablo 3 with less content and guns. Calling the disappointment now.

 

[Mr Moose]

How?

I literally spent 10 minutes doing that mission. If not less.

They moon walked

I have no idea how that mission could take that long, I mean sure if you explore everywhere, maybe, but just the mission? Nah, 10 - 15 mins if that.

 

[Two Words]

Somebody who can get an answer out of Bungie should ask "Does this news meanOld Chicago and Mumbai Push are not in the game?

 

[Trickster]

Without having the full game, take the beta as a demo. I'm not judging this and thinking the full game will be like this and nothing more.

I doubt they stripped Old Russia and The Moon of all the things that would make exploring the zone feels fun and rewarding tbh

 

[Sofa King]

So why is it no problem in Borderlands then?

Because there is a shit ton of loot in BL2. That and you can gib any weapon you want in BL2, but experimentation with your loot combos in BL2 is half the fun.

 

[shark sandwich]

This is strange. The more I read about the structure of this game the more disappointed I become. It seems like they've made some of the compromises you'd typically deal with in an MMO but a lot of the benefits of what you'd expect from an MMO are missing as well.

That's exactly the problem I have with Destiny so far. It has a lot of crappy design choices that only make sense for MMOs, but none of the things that make MMOs fun.

- lots of really boring loot (ooh armor with 2 more defense than my current one!), can't let anybody get too overpowered too quickly

- story where the player character doesn't make any impactful choices

- all the interesting gear not only has high price and level requirements, but also requires various rare materials

Etc. I wouldn't mind if there were some sense of community and heavy emphasis on teamwork. But it just feels like there is hardly any communication with others.

 

[moonbox]

If only it was that simple. $500 million investment. Pre-orders (supposedly) being cancelled left, right and centre. Activision definitely care. Bungie too. But they'll never come out and confirm what isn't in the game, there is too much on the line. There's a lot of hype right now, they need to maintain it and get those initial release numbers out of the way. So they'll remain deliberately vague in order to appeal to the widest audience possible.

 

[Grief.exe]

Actually how will Bungie/Acti handle that? What happens if the majority of their purchasers(casual gamers) dont end up buying DLC?(Do casual gamers even buy DLC?)

Call of Duty has a massive amount of DLC sales.

I actually wrote something on that regard that I didn't post, but the summary is this.

To me, I've always viewed Destiny's marketing from 2 perspectives, which is pre-2014, and post-2013.

We all know how Destiny's marketing started out. A lot of big promises, concept arts, names being dropped down. Then later at the year we saw the gameplay slice, with public quest, etc being showcased for the first time.

But what happened after that?

Destiny's marketing post E3-2013 significantly winded down as they kept quiet from a marketing perspective for months on end, only getting very sporadic updates. And even when the marketing engine revved back up in early 2014, it was very apparent that there's been a shift in their marketing and messaging, where they've avoided mentioning places like Old Chicago and Mumbai Push, but instead laser focused on Old Russia, Moon, etc. I recall there being an interview where Bungie was asked if there was any other explorable space on Earth other than Old Russia, and they deflected to answer it by saying that they're focused on Old Russia right now or something along those lines.

I don't know if it was developmental troubles or rather their original vision being unachieavable by September for whatever reason, it was starkly apparent, imo, that never mind content, even from a gameplay perspective they were unable to deliver their original E3 2013 gameplay promise, with real-time ship teleport to world and ghost lighting being removed from the final retail release.

That's why I was initially even questioning whether or nor our Guardian would be a mute character, because all the trailers post-E3 2013 didn't show our character talking at all. When the E3 2013 trailer was cited as an example for that, I said that that old trailer is pretty much bullshit at this point, because it's clear that there are things that at a fundamental level that has changed from then to now.

Kinda like Bioshock Infinite. I could reference back all the promised stuff showed at the old trailers/interview, but it's clear that things had changed since the original reveals. The same is true for Destiny at a lesser scale.

Interesting retrospective.

Assuredly, those areas have now been pushed to DLC. Whether it be due to time constraints or just Activision's greed is another matter.

 

[DY_nasty]

This is vanilla diablo 3 with less content and guns. Calling the disappointment now.

There's an auction house and broken difficulty system that we don't know about?

 

[LiquidMetal14]

Heres the thing though.

This isnt like, a beta a year out.

The game ships in a little more than a month.

Its not like all that is gonna get some radical fix and all the kinda "walls" around old russia are gonna disappear. I know its not a current build, but its not like if they saw the loot system was just broken theyd actually have time to fix it all (not saying it is, just example)

That's the point though. Tight condensed content to test the core features pre-release. This isn't the first beta which has come shortly before release and Destiny has a good month f dev time left.

 

[DaleinCalgary]

Even though the content seems to be lacking and the quests are not that interesting Destiny will have more to do than most shooters.

I've purchased many a COD for $60 and I haven't touched the single player the last 2 times but I bought it for multiplayer and have got my moneys worth.

This is version 1.0 and we don't know how much we have seen, lets give Bungie a break for right now.

But just to get back on the thread negativity train I really don't like the multiplayer at all.

 

[CREMSteve]

I've played the Alpha/Beta for like 30 hours.

If anything, the game is too big. My wife is going to divorce me when I buy this, lol.

 

[Nightengale]

2 hours on those story missions?

Can't have taken me more than 45 minutes to an hour to do those. Also I don't really count the tower as actually gameplay considering it's essentially a glorified menu system.

Exploring every locale at least once is also non-repetitive. if we remove Devil's Lair, Skywatch, and the Car Wreckage from the explore list because it was part of the story, there are still other places to explore than adds up to an extra hour, give or take.

And since you're counting out the Tower, let's remove two hours from my count of content. 18 hours then.

 

[Windom Earle]

Because there is a shit ton of loot in BL2. That and you can gib any weapon you want in BL2, but experimentation with your loot combos in BL2 is half the fun.

Seems Destiny also has half the content (if even).

 

[The Jackdog]

That's the point though. Tight condensed content to test the core features pre-release. This isn't the first beta which has come shortly before release and Destiny has a good month f dev time left.

i really think this was a server stress test more than a gameplay systems test

 

[Confused Cheeseburger]

There's an auction house and broken difficulty system that we don't know about?

#snap

 

[Love Deterrence]

Pre-orders (supposedly) being cancelled left, right and centre. Activision definitely care. Bungie too.

Wanna show me the receipts?

 

[Pathos]

That seems pretty underwhelming... But I've been enjoying the hell out of the beta so idk

 

[Ambient80]

Too pro for me.

 

[shadowstar]

There's an auction house and broken difficulty system that we don't know about?

Non auction house, like I said less. The loot whining is going to be hilarious.

 

[ComputerMKII]

Doesn't anybody else think Old Russia is an extremely poor choice to represent all of Earth?

Why? Russia isn't on Earth?

 

[Gorillaz]

Yep figured it was. Definitively think they will double down on PVP and hope that carries them alone after SP is done and weapons were unlocked and in between expansion packs

 

[Hoho for breakfast]

There's still going to be plenty of content for me to justify paying $60, but I'm disappointed Old Russia = Earth. One area for a planet seems pretty lame.

 

[LiquidMetal14]

Exploring every locale at least once is also non-repetitive. if we remove Devil's Lair, Skywatch, and the Car Wreckage from the explore list because it was part of the story, there are still other places to explore than adds up to an extra hour, give or take.

And since you're counting out the Tower, let's remove two hours from my count of content. 18 hours then.

The research is done. 18 hour game confirmed. Well, not really. This is interesting how the tone of this conversation is now trying to guess how much hours of game play there is as if we need to guess so some can keep or cancel orders. It's imperative!

i really think this was a server stress test more than a gameplay systems test

Definitely as well.

 

[DNAbro]

If only it was that simple. $500 million investment. Pre-orders (supposedly) being cancelled left, right and centre. Activision definitely care. Bungie too. But they'll never come out and confirm what isn't in the game, there is too much on the line. There's a lot of hype right now, they need to maintain it and get those initial release numbers out of the way. So they'll remain deliberately vague in order to appeal to the widest audience possible.

hahahahaha preorders being cancelled left and right. I'm pretty sure opening up the beta to everyone has only helped and increased the preorders for the game. I've only seen praise for the game outside of gaf.

But yeah they will not say how much content there is because it's too risky.

 

[biteren]

There's a lot of Russia we haven't seen yet right due to all the ?? Level enemies that are blocking the edges of the approved Beta area?

its not much, just a equivilent to a small cave that links to the first area of the Devils lair strike mission.

what a upset ladies and gentlemen.

 

[The Jackdog]

Why? Russia isn't on Earth?

I think people were hoping for the dynamics of an actual planet.

old russia is snowyish and desolate. maybe a city somewhere nearby, etc.

 

[Ambient80]

If only it was that simple. $500 million investment. Pre-orders (supposedly) being cancelled left, right and centre. Activision definitely care. Bungie too. But they'll never come out and confirm what isn't in the game, there is too much on the line. There's a lot of hype right now, they need to maintain it and get those initial release numbers out of the way. So they'll remain deliberately vague in order to appeal to the widest audience possible.

Please to be providing proof of these cancelations.

 

[Camp Lo]

I actually wrote something on that regard that I didn't post, but the summary is this.

To me, I've always viewed Destiny's marketing from 2 perspectives, which is pre-2014, and post-2013.

We all know how Destiny's marketing started out. A lot of big promises, concept arts, names being dropped down. Then later at the year we saw the gameplay slice, with public quest, etc being showcased for the first time.

But what happened after that?

Destiny's marketing post E3-2013 significantly winded down as they kept quiet from a marketing perspective for months on end, only getting very sporadic updates. And even when the marketing engine revved back up in early 2014, it was very apparent that there's been a shift in their marketing and messaging, where they've avoided mentioning places like Old Chicago and Mumbai Push, but instead laser focused on Old Russia, Moon, etc. I recall there being an interview where Bungie was asked if there was any other explorable space on Earth other than Old Russia, and they deflected to answer it by saying that they're focused on Old Russia right now or something along those lines.

I don't know if it was developmental troubles or rather their original vision being unachieavable by September for whatever reason, it was starkly apparent, imo, that never mind content, even from a gameplay perspective they were unable to deliver their original E3 2013 gameplay promise, with real-time ship teleport to world and ghost lighting being removed from the final retail release.

That's why I was initially even questioning whether or nor our Guardian would be a mute character, because all the trailers post-E3 2013 didn't show our character talking at all. When the E3 2013 trailer was cited as an example for that, I said that that old trailer is pretty much bullshit at this point, because it's clear that there are things that at a fundamental level that has changed from then to now.

Kinda like Bioshock Infinite. I could reference back all the promised stuff showed at the old trailers/interview, but it's clear that things had changed since the original reveals. The same is true for Destiny at a lesser scale.

So in hindsight, we should have known all the things listed in Two Words' post was bullshit because they said it early on and then stopped saying it? I mean, you saw the forest through the trees but maybe you always had your eye on this game. Personally, I wasn't one to concern myself with the post-2013 Destiny because before the alpha I had zero interest in the game. I guess we should come to expect things like this in our major titles.

 

[Ingueferroque]

Man, the responses in this thread are ridiculous. I guess it speaks for the quality of the Beta that people set their expectations so unrealistically high. It's a cross-gen game..

 

[IAmRandom31]

if you beat the moon in 5 minutes you're playing the game like a maniac

Not really. You land, go into a building, fight while your ghost scans. Go to the next building and have him scan again. Go to the final doorway, fight the swarm, end.

It is a very quick mission

 

[ElTorro]

Remember how every type of planet in Star Trek was completely represented by a small area? (Desert planet, jungle planet, etc...)

 

[Nightengale]

The research is done. 18 hour game confirmed. Well, not really. This is interesting how the tone of this conversation is now trying to guess how much hours of game play there is as if we need to guess so some can keep or cancel orders. It's imperative!

If you can't tell, I'm entertaining jem0208's non-repetitive narrative, because it seems to be a deal-breaker despite the game clearly being built for constant repetition as part of the experience.

 

[ProvenDeadly]

What does DeeJ mean by "We've revealed everything that you'll explore in the first version of the game."? First version?

Stream from 1:49:30

Destiny 2 and 3. They've already planned it all out.

 

[Einbroch]

Disappointing, but it's not like there's going to be a lack of content. Could easily spend 10 hours in the beta, and that's without competitive multiplayer or even trying to build out my character knowing she would be wiped.

 

[RawRebel]

Is it me or does the multi-player feels totally unsatisfying? I dunno if it lag because something doesn't feel right when shooting at opponents.

 

[Flipyap]

I always wondered if humans had the tech to terraform Venus into a garden world then atleast their planes wouldn't resemble 21th century MIGs

It doesn't sound like they had that at all and instead a Space Ball did all the work for them in a drive-by magicking as it rolled through the Solar System.
Lore, you guys.

 

[EL CUCO]

Urk, where art thou? There is damage control to be needed here.

 

[Diablohead]

So how many of you had issues with PSO back in the day with only 4 areas too?

 

[ProvenDeadly]

I have to say I am really disappointed in Bungie. After the lackluster PVP shown in the Beta, and now we know that the game is significantly smaller than they would like us to believe, this game is looking kind of shallow.

 

[george_us]

So the game is probably going to be the length of a Diablo campaign? I'm more than okay with that. Only thing I worry about is visual and creature variety.

 

[BigDug13]

Man, the responses in this thread are ridiculous. I guess it speaks for the quality of the Beta that people set their expectations so unrealistically high. It's a cross-gen game..

Not sure what cross gen has to do with game size. Borderlands 2 seems like it has a ton more varied locations than Destiny and that shit plays on Vita level hardware.

 

[LiquidMetal14]

If you can't tell, I'm entertaining jem0208's non-repetitive narrative, because it seems to be a deal-breaker despite the game clearly being built for constant repetition as part of the experience.

I'm on the same wave you are. I also want a detailed breakdown of the game on my desk by tomorrow morning.

 

[Two Words]

Why? Russia isn't on Earth?

What's the point of having a rusted land when you have Mars already?

 

[ViewtifulJC]

Man, the responses in this thread are ridiculous. I guess it speaks for the quality of the Beta that people set their expectations so unrealistically high. It's a cross-gen game..

gotta work within that last-gen RAM

Get hype for Destiny 2 tho(if its next-gen only)!

 

[Nightengale]

So in hindsight, we should have known all the things listed in Two Words' post was bullshit because they said it early on and then stopped saying it? I mean, you saw the forest through the trees but maybe you always had your eye on this game. Personally, I wasn't one to concern myself with the post-2013 Destiny because before the alpha I had zero interest in the game. I guess we should come to expect things like this in our major titles.

Find me one time that Chicago and Mumbai were mentioned by Bungie in any official press release, interview or whatnot.

In hindsight, it wasn't hard to figure out that if you aren't even willing to name drop/acknowledge something you mentioned a year ago, chances are that isn't part of the plan anymore.

 

[Katana_Strikes]

I'm perfectly happy with that. The beta showed there was enough to do to keep my occupied for over a week with very limited stuff to do, so the full game will still be a blast with everything on offer. One map contains a lot to see alone to keep you busy if you aren't just flying through it. Of course you could complete missions in minutes but that would be missing the fun. I think it took me a good 40 mins to finish that mission and still didn't see everything.