Destiny

[melmer]

I'LL BE YOUR FRIEND. You can easily rake up a good 20 friends from the idle thumbs PSN exchange thread

 

Also, i had quite a bit of fun in the open world map where you take on small tasks as opposed to full on missions, there was lots of public events happening like tanks appearing. I think there's still a lot of fun to be had playing alone. Also, like jon said its really easy to join someones fire team (groups of three) to do a mission. They can always kick you if they don't wont you there. I will be break dancing into random games anytime i see a forum member playing

[Griddlelol]

I should add everyone to my PSN, completely forgot about those threads. There's still just not many games for the PS4 yet though!

[melmer]

If you have already accepted that at some point in your life you shall hand over £350 and acquire a PS4, do it today. Time is irrelevant. At the end of the day whether it be tomorrow or one year from now you shall still be £350 worse off and a PS4 better off! That's my philosophy on life and is why i have 100 bottles of ketchup in my fridge. Chips are going to be dipped, its just a fact of life.

 

Anyway back to Halooooestiny

 

It took me a little while to realise that all ammo and loot drops only appear locally in your game. So don't feel bad about swiping someone else's loot as it never appeared for them anyway. I think dead alien bodies are also local as i had a bug where a dead alien was floating in zero G but my friend wasn't seeing it.

[Professor Video Games]

I played through all the story missions by myself and it was fine. Like JonCole said, it's a LOT like Halo, so if you enjoy that, you'll be fine. No way to know how solo-friendly the later game content will be though. I hope it keeps up because like you I usually only have an hour or so in the evenings to play games and I don't want to have to coordinate with others because I'm a selfish person.

 

Oh, I really like how a beam of light shoots out of baddies' (now headless) necks when you kill them with a headshot. Good/satisfying feedback.

[melmer]

Idle thumbs clan: http://www.bungie.net/en/Clan/147032

Join the clan and be part of the gang

[twmac]

Played to level 3 and got bored.

 

It felt like a dull version of Halo.

 

Does it get better?

[JonCole]

That's what, two story missions? I don't really know if that could possibly be a representative sample of the game. I liked it from the beginning, so I can't provide much insight.

[SilentBtAmazing]

I felt the same way twmac, it's a shitty MMO incarnation of Halo. I may still buy it because my friends will play ( i do the same with CoD) but yeah at level six after five or so hours I really didn't move off that opinion.

[Griddlelol]

Listening to both Chris and Jeff Gerstmann talk about Destiny, they both seem to have the same problems. It's like a lot of people are finding it Halo minus some cool stuff, plus some RPG stuff, while also seeming to call it bland. 

 

I should also add: Health bars are lame. How the enemies reacted to damage by both animation and AI movement was one of the things I loved about Halo. For example the Elite's shield smash, then blood, while it ran and hid waiting for its shield to recharge.

 

However, I think Chris was wrong when he commented on how a boss - I guess the infamous Wizaaaaaard from the moon - required him to hide and shoot, hide and shoot which he decided was shitty. I remember every boss in Halo games (granted I didn't play 4) being exactly like that. Hide then shoot, don't stand there and play tactically, just hide and take pot shots. The most egregious example that comes to mind is the Elder? in Halo 2. Where he's flying around on a throne or something, you shoot the shit out of him while hiding from loads of fire, then jump on him and punch him. Rinse and repeat.

 Maybe it's more obvious in Destiny because of health bars - you can see that this guy is a bullet sponge which maybe makes it feel more of a chore. Also the fact that there will be more bosses in Destiny compared to Halo, just by design, but that probably wouldn't have been apparent in the beta.

[JonCole]

I wish people could be a little more detailed about how this compares poorly to Halo. I feel this beta is almost exactly like the first 1-2 hours of a Halo game - largely linear, about half corridors and half larger arenas with a couple routes through them, a handful of enemy types that behave distinctly different, a story that is not particularly compelling to begin with, not a ton of weapon function overlap, some pretty skyboxes...

 

To me, the first compelling mission in Halo: CE was Silent Cartographer which I think is four missions into that game. That's when you actually got into what Halo was about. The Destiny Beta feels like the Halo and Truth and Reconciliation missions before Silent Cartographer - getting to know Cortana, understanding the setting, introducing the Covenant and how they work mechanically, but not really getting into the meat of the story. I'm really hoping Destiny is about to get better considering the upcoming story mission is on the Moon and presumably begins to get into the Fallen's place in that universe. Thus far, Destiny has only barely set the stage - you know where you are, what the stakes are, and the names of the opposing teams. With so little on the table, I don't know how it really could feel much better than bland at this point.

 

The addition of enemy health bars just seems like a necessary change as this is an MMO. I guess what they could do is remove the health bars if you're the only person in your fireteam and you're playing story or explore missions. For anything cooperative, the purpose of the health bars is to see what your buddies are doing and coordinate your attacks.

[Griddlelol]

I'm sure the health bars were put in for a good reason - like you said - so you can see who to attack and not attack. I just hope they have at least kept the animations and AI changes with damage. 

 

Also, how does the game work with time zones? Are the American players restricted to American servers while Europe separate? I don't like the idea of playing on a desolate EU server or being forced to play with people who I can barely communicate with whilst restricting my ability to play with American friends.

 

On another note: I found a person willing to sell me a PS4 they "won in a competition" for £275 if I pick it up and pay cash. I'm REALLY tempted, I've just never done a cash exchange with a random person before for such a large amount of money. I'm kinda awkward so I'd find it difficult to say "hey bro, can you open the box for me so I can check if there's a PS4 in there and not just soiled nappies?" Also I'd have to do it in a public place, so how do you check if the thing actually works in a starbucks?

[heybeardo]

On another note: I found a person willing to sell me a PS4 they "won in a competition" for £275 if I pick it up and pay cash. I'm REALLY tempted, I've just never done a cash exchange with a random person before for such a large amount of money. I'm kinda awkward so I'd find it difficult to say "hey bro, can you open the box for me so I can check if there's a PS4 in there and not just soiled nappies?" Also I'd have to do it in a public place, so how do you check if the thing actually works in a starbucks?

 

You're better off ordering from Amazon. For an extra £25 you can get a used PS4 direct from Amazon Warehouse and you'll be covered for 30 days. Peace of mind and convenient delivery.

 

http://www.amazon.co.uk/gp/offer-listing/B00BE4HOIM/ref=sr_tr_sr_1_olp?ie=UTF8&qid=1406297259&sr=8-1&keywords=ps4+console&condition=used

 

EDIT: This sounded a lot like an Amazon advert, sorry. I just get most of my stuff from them.

[JonCole]

Yeah, I bought my Vita as well as many electronics like my camera from AWD and have always had a pleasant experience. Plus if anything is not in the condition described they have a generous return policy, at least in the US.

[Griddlelol]

Thanks Beardo (:

 

Interestingly, people on Gaf seem to say that the remote play on vita is good. That's a huuuge plus point for me.

[Badfinger]

The health bars exist because with different levels of abilities and weapons, people do varying levels of damage and showing that is the best way to model it. Health bars and numbers popping off are the most direct ways to provide that feedback. It's basically Borderlands in that way.

[JonCole]

The health bars exist because with different levels of abilities and weapons, people do varying levels of damage and showing that is the best way to model it. Health bars and numbers popping off are the most direct ways to provide that feedback. It's basically Borderlands in that way.

 

Ah, that's a good point. There is weapon damage types and enemy damage weaknesses in Destiny, but I haven't noticed them to be particularly worth acknowledging that early in the game. Would not be surprised if there are enemies immune/highly resistant to Fusion and Ballistic damage, for instance.

[Apelsin]

The more I hear about Destiny the more convinced I become that it is a game that comes very close to something I would enjoy, only to deviate enough in a couple of areas to make it miss the mark.

 

The variable damage outputs for the "same" guns and bullet-sponge enemies that Mr. Rem(o) spoke of is what turned me off of Borderlands combat, and I'm quite wary of it in this game as well. I just dislike situations where you've pumped three or four full magazines into a humanoid enemy and they've got half a health-bar left. Especially if, as the case often is in Borderlands, the ammunition for your gun is explosive!

[JonCole]

I need to listen to the podcast, I suppose, so I can get a full idea of what his view is. That said, I personally haven't faced a single normal enemy in Destiny that took more than a single clip to dispose of unless there was a large level disparity between us (enemy is level 8-9, I'm level 3-4). That also doesn't apply to special enemies with a yellow health bar, which often take a couple clips or a grenade + a clip to dispatch.

 

I prefer this game to Borderlands because there aren't nearly so many damage variables - just a single value for damage, and bars for stability/accuracy/etc that you'd normally expect in a shooter that don't seem to be on a 1-100 scale and instead a 1-10 scale (that's hidden, so large gradations). Honestly, just having the messaging being "here is a bar" vs "here is a value" is less stressful by itself and reflects the intent of their design.

 

I have an anxiety when I play Borderlands because there are just so many variables in addition to there being like 4-5 different types of guns that all fire somewhat differently but not massively differently. That's not really the case here - there are three kinds of sniper rifles, for instance, that each have variations so that one has high fire rate, one has low recoil, and one has a large clip. It's easy to tell them apart. Also, the damage types seem to be more like ammo in Mass Effect. Ammo doesn't do different types of damage (poison vs explosion vs fire) as in Borderlands, where the type means that damage persists after the original hit or damage stacks based on how long you attack. Instead, Destiny only has damage bonuses against different types of enemies (Disruptor good against shields, Incendiary good against Armor, etc) in a Pokemon/rock-paper-scissors kind of simplified style.

[juv3nal]

I tried it out last night on the ps3 when the beta opened up and liked it.

 

It's pretty. I'm neither a huge halo guy or fps guy in general but the shooting felt good. The enemies felt more active (reactive?) than borderlands 2 (the last fps I spent any significant time with).

 

The grenade was a bit of an adjustment coming from BL2 because in BL2, the grenade kinda goes where you're looking, but in this if you want more distance you have to look up a bit to arc it.

 

Other players (i.e. not people you're intentionally grouped with) being around is a little weird because sometimes a dude will steal a kill or two.

[Apelsin]

So it is not total shite then?

I suppose the best thing to do for me is to give it a fair shot. I've mostly enjoyed Bungies offerings so far, with ODST being the peak, and from your comments here it sounds to be at least far enough removed from the shooting mechanics in Borderlands 2 that I might actually enjoy it.

 

Do they have any more public test coming up or do I need to actually purchase the game before being able to try it out?

[JonCole]

They actually just opened the beta so anyone can play it. It's available for the rest of the weekend on 360, Xbox One, PS3 and PS4.

[Apelsin]

Unfortunately, the only platform I have access to at my current location is a PC!

I guess any further testing plans are not announced yet?

[JonCole]

Ah, unfortunately no. And I kinda doubt there will be more, considering we're pretty close to release.

[SilentBtAmazing]

@joncole it is really the MMO elements that drive me nuts.

Two quick examples from last night:

- a couple enemy guys stand in the door of one Cosmodrome building you go into pretty often. One particular time our Fireteam rolled up just as another group had finished killing them and were headed inside. Just as I was commenting on that, the reincarnated dudes stepped out through the door onto their own bodies. That just wouldn't happen in a normal Halo game.

- it's pretty hard to take the story seriously when in the hub town LongSchlongSilver and his band of merry pranksters start leg humping me every time I go I into a menu. Super lolz I'm sure but man f MMO bullshit.

[Denial]

Ah, that's a good point. There is weapon damage types and enemy damage weaknesses in Destiny, but I haven't noticed them to be particularly worth acknowledging that early in the game. Would not be surprised if there are enemies immune/highly resistant to Fusion and Ballistic damage, for instance.

 

There are a couple of high-level Hive enemies underneath one of the buildings who have proven immune to everything I hit them with so far - although I think that was level disparity rather than ballistic immunity. I hit them with the Golden Gun as well, and nada.