Destiny Alpha Thread: Impressions from the wild [Code Begging=ban]

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I played about 3 hours of the alpha this morning. So far the presentation is slick, the music is just as good as the other Bungie games and the gameplay is a great mix of Borderlands and Halo. But to me, this game lacks personality. It looks like a generic sci-fi shooter and that is what keeps me from being completely immersed into it. Borderlands 2 actually had a personality with it (however crude it was) and that is what kept me interested in the game. I wanted to see more of the world and its goofy characters. But with Destiny I felt like I was in a high budget knock-off of Halo and Mass Effect.

I'm not saying Destiny needs to be over-the-top like Borderlands, I know quite a few people that are enjoying Destiny for its atmosphere, but to me it's not compelling. It's missing that "soul", so to say. Other than that, the game is super fun with friends and I'm going to pick it up for sure because the co-op is so damn good.
 
Posted this earlier but the thread is moving so quick. Sorry to post again:



Forgive me if this has been answered (it most likely has been):

The ratings for the guns: is the number just the rarity of it or the actual effectiveness? I have a gun that it's in the upper 90's from the raid I completed, but the individual characteristics of it seem lower than some guns I have that are in the 30's. Am I reading the stats wrong?
 
Gurish said:
What am i missing? :((
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The explore area is almost endless in terms of side-quest, so you just go back into orbit once you feel like you leveled up a bit. I perceive them as the daily quests of mmo such as WoW and the like which you can grind for gold, exp and reputation. It's a glimpse of what it's going to be like in the beta and retail version of the game.

Since the game draw from mmo and loot game such as Diablo, you have to be able to tolerate a certain amount of repetitive tasks to properly enjoy Destiny.
 
Pixel Samurai said:
Also for those complaining about the dialogue in Destint in lieu of Borderlands...

"I hope Jack didn't send Willhelm...PLEASE tell me he didn't send Willhelm"

"And if they get Roland...well, just find Roland"

I loved Borderlands 1 + 2 but I feel like the complaints against Destiny comparing it to that series is like saying OT Star Wars isn't as good as Michael Bay's Transformers. The taste of some in this thread is...trite and strange.
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Borderlands dialogue can be dumb, but always has tons of personality. Destiny's dialogue is terrible with absolutely no personality. It's a video game, so guess which one a lot of us "trite" folks prefer.
 
My personal impressions from the Destiny Alpha:

- It's definitely a lot like Borderlands
- I'd say best comparison is Borderlands + Mass Effect armor designs + Halo style animations and multiplayer
- Strikes are f#$%ing hard, and that's awesome. My team wiped three times on a boss until we finally took it down, only to find out there was a boss right after it. Awesome!
- Old Russia map is pretty huge, but also has a ton of small corridors
- Not having a mini-map sucks, though Ghost AI / Peter Dinklage does navigate you toward your goal, I'd like to be able to see where I am on the map when I'm just exploring and not completing a mission.
- With that said, I loved Old Russia design, and exploring every nook and cranny.
- I like skill leveling depending on usage. For example, my grenade skill leveled up into a grenade that now shoots homing projectiles, because of continued usage.
- The game seamlessly pairs you up with others, no lobby required. Though there is a pre-mission lobby where you can team up with friends to form Fireteams.
- Leveled up to max level of 8 (for the Alpha) pretty quickly, and from the legendary armor vendors, it looks like max level might be 20.
- Don't really care for competitive multiplayer, so I played one match. It was multiplayer alright.

Overall, I put in a ton of hours just yesterday into it, and that's just with one map, so I can see myself being quite immersed once the actual game comes out.
 
Put in around 4 hours so far and it's pretty good. The gunplay is smooth and responsive although the charactet movement feels slightly 'floaty' but it's a minor issue. The level cap seems to be level 8 which is a shame when the shops are filled with all of this epic level 20 gear I can't have :(

I've been playing as a hunter and I have an assault rifle, sniper rifle and rocket launcher equipped. The heavy ammo is in short supply when you play so you can't spam rockets and make it too easy which is good and there is just enough secondary ammo drops for my sniper rifle. It seems to be pretty well balanced.

The strike mission with 3 people is really fun and it's definitely where the game shines. Overall it's a small but enjoyable sample of what's to come and I'm excited to play more.
 
You know what I most loved? The game is Alpha and feels finished already... I didn't have any bug of situation of a Alpha code.... everything worked flawless for me.

Most Beta didn't feel like this Alpha... well some games in Gold status didn't feel like this Alpha.
 
I've played quite a lot already and I'm really enjoying it. I'm liking some of the mmo elements and some of the other things they're doing in terms of itemization and what not. I've had quite a hard time on that first strike mission lol, it's nuts.

I'm a sucker for Borderlands so this is right up my alley. I've yet to try MP but I'll do that tonight. This is pretty good as far as alphas go. I'm excited for the beta!
 
Hit level 6 today. Odd, levels 1-4 are a breeze, but after that it's been a chore. Not complaining mind.

Also, people are complaining the game doesn't look good enough?? Really? I think it looks impressive enough. If you factor in the big space, particles, group of players on one existing stage, etc. it's made even more impressive.

I'm definitely liking it a lot more than I would have expected.

Just a question, GAF. After the initial Array mission thing and that Level 6 quest on the map, are there any story-related missions at all or are everything Crucible stuff and those side quests?

It's bonkers we still don't know how long (if any) the game's single-player is.
 
Strike Mission Question - does the game put you into a group when you select the strike mission from orbit or do you already have to be in a fire team in order to play the mission with others?
 
LkPr said:
Strike Mission Question - does the game put you into a group when you select the strike mission from orbit or do you already have to be in a fire team in order to play the mission with others?
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It put you in a group but you can create your own group too.
 
The multiplayer is pretty fun. Makes sense since most of the time it just feels like I'm playing Halo. Its very very similar.

Haven't played too much of the campaign, but why is the voice acting so bad?
 
I keep getting an "Unable to connect to PSN" error every time I try and play it. -_-

Also, has anyone who has a UK PSN account been given a code? Cus I just checked Activision's site, and the UK isn't actually on the list of countries included in the alpha.
The Alpha is available in the following participating countries:
United States
Austria
Balkans
Belgium
Brazil
Canada
Cyprus
Czech Republic
Denmark
Finland
Greece
Hungary
Ireland
Israel
Luxembourg
Mexico
Middle East
Netherlands
Norway
Poland
Portugal
Romania
Russia
Serbia
Slovakia
South Africa
Sweden
Switzerland
Turkey
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Lasty95 said:
My main gripe is the emphasis on ADS. Now ideally I'd like to see it removed, but that really isn't going to happen. If it must be there, then what they need to do is rebalance it with firing from the hip, making the latter the higher skilled option (i.e. harder) for players who don't want to sacrifice their mobility. This is even more important in Destiny than Halo as there are even more movement options available here. ADS should be left for longer range and to assist less skilled players in aiming. .

With 2 equally skilled players at medium range with the same weapon, the player firing from the hip and using their mobility to out-dual the other player should have the edge. Right now, its all a little bit COD.

Seems in the the alpha they really don't want you jumping and firing from the hip - in the air the reticule goes MASSIVE.
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Agree completely.

Ideally, Bungie would remove all the accuracy penalties for jumping and/or not using ADS. Using ADS should slow-down your character in exchange for a little bit more zoom and better control of your aim (reduced sensitivity) and nothing more. Forcing you to use ADS by introducing accuracy penalties for everything sucks. It is even worse when you consider all the new movement options they have introduced in Destiny (slide, hover, double jump, etc) Why introduce all those cool new movements and then ruin it with accuracy penalties? Makes zero sense. Almost seems like the game has an identity crisis, IMO.
 
I assume your alpha character and info will cross over to the beta, and again with that to the full game? I wonder if the beta level cap will be 15 or something?
 
tghm1801 said:
I keep getting an "Unable to connect to PSN" error every time I try and play it. -_-

Also, has anyone who has a UK PSN account been given a code? Cus I just checked Activision's site, and the UK isn't actually on the list of countries included in the alpha.
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I'm in the UK and got a code. I haven't had any issues playing the alpha
 
Had a blast playing with my bro last night, played for about 2 hrs. 1st time exploring the underground with the lights was crazy, kept hearing noises and they some big guy instant killed us. Went back and it was gone.

I will be all over this on 9-9-14, going to have to tke the day off.
 
tghm1801 said:
I keep getting an "Unable to connect to PSN" error every time I try and play it. -_-

Also, has anyone who has a UK PSN account been given a code? Cus I just checked Activision's site, and the UK isn't actually on the list of countries included in the alpha.
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I'm in the UK and got my code about 8:30pm last night. I think the list is wrong.
 
SDCowboy said:
I think there needs to be a lot more loot chests out in the world. I loved all the exploring, but I too found it felt fruitless. That's one of my only issues.
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Certainly there are not enough loot chests. Also I'd like more chests that contain weapons or armor pieces.

Bosses take too much damage on normal. The bosses are cool tho!

Peter Dinklage sounds bored as fuck tho. Damn, and they got so much great VA talent in this game already. Like Lt Daniels from the Wire, just get him to do all the story VA because his shit rocks.
 
excaliburps said:
Hit level 6 today. Odd, levels 1-4 are a breeze, but after that it's been a chore. Not complaining mind.

Also, people are complaining the game doesn't look good enough?? Really? I think it looks impressive enough. If you factor in the big space, particles, group of players on one existing stage, etc. it's made even more impressive.

I'm definitely liking it a lot more than I would have expected.

Just a question, GAF. After the initial Array mission thing and that Level 6 quest on the map, are there any story-related missions at all or are everything Crucible stuff and those side quests?

It's bonkers we still don't know how long (if any) the game's single-player is.
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Haha, level 1-4 is a breeze because they did the first 3 for you before you even started. =)
 
excaliburps said:
Hit level 6 today. Odd, levels 1-4 are a breeze, but after that it's been a chore. Not complaining mind.
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I agree. I'm stuck on level 5 and I'm currently doing missions in Free Roam over and over again. It's definitely a boring point.

I also agree with the need for NPCs in Old Russia. The map doesn't feel very alive.

Also, is it just me or is the Revolver slightly OP?
 
Can someone go in with a friend or something and test something for me?

I want to know if player movement slows down when you aim down the sights. In Halo when you zoom in your spartan maintains full mobility.

But in most if not all games with the aim down sight mechanic, player movement slows down significantly.
 
Just got my code!
This is the FIRST Alpha I have ever been invited too. Never got a single one on PS3.

wolf_of_wall_street_dance.gif
 
ethomaz said:
I will say it is Borderlands + Warframe ;)

Some references from Halo but that's all... the game play and works different from Halo games... a mix of Borderlands and Warframe for sure.

The voice is from the drone... so it have to be lifeless... it is a computer ;)
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As soon as I started playing it I immediately made the Warframe comparison. That's a good thing, and if people haven't tried out Warframe yet they should.

Played for an hour and a bit last night and had some fun. Have they stated how big your squad can be for the release?
 
Just tried a little bit, and it looks amazing! I liked the gameplay 1st impression that I got, and that seems to be what I was looking for (a better Bordelands style of game). Will play more tonight though!

About the graphics, theyre good! I liked it! Its not Killzone SF level, but still pretty good, specially taking in consideration its a 3rd party game, on aplha state, and with some big areas!
 
DWinn7 said:
Yep, yep and yep. I wish the world was slightly more alive. Scatter some NPCs around

Hopefully they tweak the accuracy penalty and allow players to "play faster". I truly believe Destiny is something you have to experience. I'm excited to pick the game up in September.

Before E3, a part of me thought that it would be delayed. Then they announced the white PS4 bundle.
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That's kind of missing the point of the free-roam mode, I feel. There aren't supposed to be any NPCs or people outside the City; the City is the last holdout for humanity; everywhere else is dangerous and unknown territory. That's why there's no map.

Plus, you have birds, wind, snow falling, day/night cycle, other players to make it feel alive.
Byron Bluth said:
So I guess that is all of it, yes I put 9 accidentally I guess, level 8 is where I am at. So I've kinda done everything then....
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Heh. You can still have fun! It's been a while since I've seen and did everything. Playing with other people really helps make the Alpha feel fresh again.
Tawpgun said:
Can someone go in with a friend or something and test something for me?

I want to know if player movement slows down when you aim down the sights. In Halo when you zoom in your spartan maintains full mobility.

But in most if not all games with the aim down sight mechanic, player movement slows down significantly.
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You do slow down, yes.
 
With the music and the darkness, I couldn't play missions in Old Russia's bunkers too much last night. Gave me crazy goosebumps not knowing if there was a group of mobs around the corner. Especially in a big room where you could pick two directions. Didn't want to be killed from the back.

Had great fun though. Got a drop off one mob that I had identified and it was a Green sniper rifle(need level 8 though), so can't wait to use that also. Need to try out Warlock and Titan still.
 
just hit lv 8, that spider tank was hard, but as others have said, such a bullet sponge...mind you i was just hitting that front dome thing till we cracked it..

haven't even touched pvp yet ... not really a huge fan of deathmatch

really enjoyed the co-op tho.

feels like a mix between boarderlands and ...masseffect
 
ethomaz said:
You know what I most loved? The game is Alpha and feels finished already... I didn't have any bug of situation of a Alpha code.... everything worked flawless for me.

Most Beta didn't feel like this Alpha... well some games in Gold status didn't feel like this Alpha.
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Alpha and beta are meaningless terms, this game comes goes gold in 2 months.
 
Just managed to get the thing downloaded late last night, so I only played the first mission.

Overall, I have a much more positive feeling about the game after just a half hour of play than all of the PR thus far. I wasn't a huge fan of Borderlands, and I never played much Halo, so maybe I'm coming at this from a weird angle, but I liked what I saw.

I think it's the overall aesthetic - it's grandiose, yet muted, which appeals to me more than the totally-bonkers world of Borderlands.

Looking forward to playing more tonight.
 
RSB said:
Agree completely.

Ideally, Bungie would remove all the accuracy penalties for jumping and/or not using ADS. Using ADS should slow-down your character in exchange for a little bit more zoom and better control of your aim (reduced sensitivity) and nothing more. Forcing you to use ADS by introducing accuracy penalties for everything sucks. It is even worse when you consider all the new movement options they have introduced in Destiny (slide, hover, double jump, etc) Why introduce all those cool new movements and then ruin it with accuracy penalties? Makes zero sense. Almost seems like the game has an identity crisis, IMO.
Click to expand...

I was getting plenty of kills with my scout rifle in crucible using hip fire. I think the balance between ADS and hip fire is pretty good as-is, but I don't play many console FPS games.
 
Peter Dinklage sounds more like a 1st person narrator than a voice-over for an in-game droid/bot that does tasks for you.

The voice sounds like it's booming down from the heavens when it should be a tiny little voice off to the side. It has no personality and doesn't feel like a supporting character.

It literally sounds like a narrator.

This isn't Peter's fault, mind you. It's whoever was directing and implementing his voice-over into the game. It wasn't done well. The voice doesn't fit the droid/bot it's supposed to be representing. I honestly thought it was the MAIN CHARACTER talking the first time I heard it.

They should have digitized the voice or thinned it out or something. I think Bungie made the bad mistake of trying to use Peter Dinklage's celebrity just to get more hype for the game, rather then having him just be a supporting cast member.
 
ethomaz said:
You know what I most loved? The game is Alpha and feels finished already... I didn't have any bug of situation of a Alpha code.... everything worked flawless for me.

Most Beta didn't feel like this Alpha... well some games in Gold status didn't feel like this Alpha.
Click to expand...

This.


The game feels done already
 
What's with the horrendous accuracy drop during movement? I feel like its a subtle hint that Bungie prefers us not to lone wolf much.
 
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