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

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Lol Moon Wizard.

Really enjoying the game so far, feels polished as fuck for an alpha, especially the UI, shooting feels great also.

Pretty devo the lvl cap in this is 8 though, found a really good pair of boots but they require lvl 9 :(
 
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?

You can gain EXP in pvp as well. Once you hit level 6, I would suggest doing the strike on Legend. It's the most fun I've had in the alpha.

Throw me a friend request (PSN: Dredguno). I will gladly run the strike with you sometime this weekend if you want.

As far as the handcannon. I don't think it's OP. One of my buddies who swore by it last week has since changed to one of the rifles.
 
I'm glad that I wasn't the only one doing quests in free roam thinking it would trigger story progress.

They need to frame that a little better before release.
 
It's bonkers we still don't know how long (if any) the game's single-player is.

There are plenty of rumors flying around, but we don't know for sure. I heard that the retail game will have 3 planets to explore at launch, so we will see. The alpha is only a teaser, so I'm optimistic that the beta will probably reveal another playable planet and enemy type. If Bungie is dedicating 500 people to work on the game, it's gotta be massive even for a shooter. Borderlands had more or less 30 hours of content (excluding the DLC) and Gearbox probably had 10% of the budget of Bungie. Borderlands 2 is even longer (how long to beat report 103 hours on average for the main story + extra for the GOTY version) and Gearbox had a higher budget to make it, but it's hard to compare to Destiny since we only see a glimpse of it. I'm thinking that it should have more content, but reaching level 20 isn't supposed to be a very long process.

Bungie is going from short and sweet campaigns to something that is meatier, so there's no way to tell how they executed on the transition (especially since it's not a pure campaign experience given that you can do strikes or exploration in between, just like FF XIV mix it up as you level toward 50 with dungeons where you need to group).
 
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.
Well, the accuracy penalties when not using ADS are not as big as in COD and other shooters, that's for sure, but they are still there, and I'd love to see them gone. It would greatly benefit the flow, and the overall feel of the gameplay, IMO.
 
I really wish your fire team was four players. It's really an akward number for co op and one of our friends is getting left out. I also wish old Russia was more open. There's too many go through buildings to get to small corridor in order to get to a bigger open area. Loving it other than that
 
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.

Keep in mind, we are not able to play the story campaign missions in this alpha other than a single story mission completely lacking any context and it just throws us into the middle of it.
 
I like it, though I don't know how I feel about it taking 30 minutes to kill a boss in the strike, particularly on medium difficulty. I can only assume its the result of everybody being under-geared and unsure of the encounters at this point. Otherwise I'm pretty excited to play the full game!
 
There are plenty of rumors flying around, but we don't know for sure. I heard that the retail game will have 3 planets to explore at launch, so we will see. The alpha is only a teaser, so I'm optimistic that the beta will probably reveal another playable planet and enemy type. If Bungie is dedicating 500 people to work on the game, it's gotta be massive even for a shooter. Borderlands had more or less 30 hours of content (excluding the DLC) and Gearbox probably had 10% of the budget of Bungie. Borderlands 2 is even longer (how long to beat report 103 hours on average for the main story + extra for the GOTY version) and Gearbox had a higher budget to make it, but it's hard to compare to Destiny since we only see a glimpse of it. I'm thinking that it should have more content, but reaching level 20 isn't supposed to be a very long process.

Bungie is going from short and sweet campaigns to something that is meatier, so there's no way to tell how they executed on the transition (especially since it's not a pure campaign experience given that you can do strikes or exploration in between, just like FF XIV mix it up as you level toward 50 with dungeons where you need to group).

Well keep in mind too that there will be expansions and even sequels that add onto what we have now according to that old court case details. So it's only going to get bigger as the years go on.
 
Most of Russia in the Alpha takes place inside that wall. But you can get out where the rusted cars are (the beginning OG the reveal vid) and it's epic!

I'll just have to look around some more then. I feel like I went all over the area and couldn't find it.
 
The shotgun recoil is too much, you fire and your view goes way up lol, maybe is the weapon itself or your level but I didn't liked it that much because of that.
 
How can i do missions together with random ppl on free roam mode? Is it possible or every man to himself in this mode?

If we both go to a beacon and press it can we do the mission together?
 
Is it possible to see people out and about in the free roaming portion? The first area I was in was basically devoid of human contact.

Yes, me and my fireteam ran into a bunch of other lonewolfs and fireteams in the exploration mode.

How can i do missions together with random ppl on free roam mode? Is it possible or every man to himself in this mode?

If we both go to a beacon and press it can we do the mission together?

Press Options and go into Roster and change the fireteam privacy setting. It's set to friends only as default, so it won't match you up with randoms unless you change that.

Or if you meet a random anywhere, you can go up to him and press R3 and then you'll be able to invite him to your fireteam.
 
I'm liking it - played 3.5 hours tonight and got my hunter almost to level 6 just doing the one story mission and then the exploring. I love the transitions into orbit and the hub, also the scout bikes are cool to ride as well. Hooked up with some randoms for a random defend event - guns feel great and I want more!
 
my gut feeling was spot on with this game, i just love it mang the moment the game puts me with my character in the first area made me weak in the knees

pre-order justified
 
Played a bit last night. Played the first mission and explored the tower. It plays well for the most part. I did not like how some rooms will respawn as soon as you turn the corner. I am looking forward to getting some more time with Destiny.
 
Keep in mind, we are not able to play the story campaign missions in this alpha other than a single story mission completely lacking any context and it just throws us into the middle of it.

That is true, I really hope the full game has a fantastic story and atmosphere. I never want to see a game fail so I honestly hope this game exceeds my expectations when its released in September.
 
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.

Accuracy is only penalized when not using ADS it seems. Not very happy with this myself either, as I like to just shoot from the hip sometimes ( especially with the Hand Cannon ).
 
so I got my code today through a friend and in three words:

Halo on PS4.

there is nothing to add here more than that to be honest. this is what I had in my mind of a next gen Halo.

however 2 things I do not like at all

- the animation. some of the animation I feel like its missing. or is it the frames ? no I think its the animation. its not smooth.

- the voice acting of the dude about points A B C. he is just super annoying " with all respect ofcourse" I just do not see his voice is a good choice.

other than that ? I loved it. I honestly didn't expect the game to be any good for that matter. but I was surprised. I am buying this day one now.
 
So, if I had to sum up the main complaints from all that I've read:

1. Bullet-sponge effect of larger enemies, e.g., Sepiks Prime and Fallen Walkers. This could be remedied by upping the gameplay/damage feedback and lessening their health.
2. ADS clashes with the chaotic, fast nature of Destiny's PvE combat.
3. Peter Dinklage's voice acting is a little flat.


Definitely agree with points 1 and 2.
 
so I got my code today through a friend and in three words:

Halo on PS4.

there is nothing to add here more than that to be honest. this is what I had in my mind of a next gen Halo.

however 2 things I do not like at all

- the animation. some of the animation I feel like its missing. or is it the frames ? no I think its the animation. its not smooth.

- the voice acting of the dude about points A B C. he is just super annoying " with all respect ofcourse" I just do not see his voice is a good choice.

other than that ? I loved it. I honestly didn't expect the game to be any good for that matter. but I was surprised. I am buying this day one now.

What's wrong with the animation? I did not noticed any choppy animation or dropped frames. I also quite like the VA for the Crucible.

Dax do you not think Peter Dinklage's VA is a little flat?
 
So, if I had to sum up the main complaints from all that I've read:

1. Bullet-sponge effect of larger enemies, e.g., Sepiks Prime and Fallen Walkers. This could be remedied by upping the gameplay/damage feedback and lessening their health.
2. ADS clashes with the chaotic, fast nature of Destiny's PvE combat.
3. Peter Dinklage's voice acting is a little flat.


Definitely agree with points 1 and 2.

On one hand I get that the Ghost isn't supposed to be too expressive, on the other hand, why hire Peter Dinklage for that role?
 
I don't agree with peoples comments about Peter Dinklage's voice acting. He's voicing a machine. Technology sprung from The Traveller. I would find it REALLY weird if he sounded energetic and human like. I prefer the tone of voice he's using.
 
Advice for anyone just starting and exploring; if you run into enemies with questions marks (??) for their level, RUN lol! I was roaming around and discovered a cave location named
The Grotto
. Was full of these (??) enemies that cannot be killed at level 8 lol. Push forward at your own risk!
 
[Off topic but wow it's hard to keep up with NeoGAF threads. Wake up and 20+ new pages lol]

Played with a couple of people from here and was a blast. Game has great potential.

PSN: lostprophet23x
 
I don't agree with peoples comments about Peter Dinklage's voice acting. He's voicing a machine. Technology sprung from The Traveller. I would find it REALLY weird if he sounded energetic and human like. I prefer the tone of voice he's using.

I like his role too. His voice is soothing.
 
Everyone says "it's Halo mixed with Borderlands" when really, it's the canceled Halo MMO.

This is not a bad thing, I spent a couple hours last night hopping in and out of co-op with a couple friends, it felt great.
 
So, if I had to sum up the main complaints from all that I've read:

1. Bullet-sponge effect of larger enemies, e.g., Sepiks Prime and Fallen Walkers. This could be remedied by upping the gameplay/damage feedback and lessening their health.
2. ADS clashes with the chaotic, fast nature of Destiny's PvE combat.

3. Peter Dinklage's voice acting is a little flat.


Definitely agree with points 1 and 2.

To each their own on this one. Those are some of my favorite things about Borderlands. As your weapons improve, those bosses die faster and faster which leads to a greater sense of progression.
 
What's wrong with the animation? I did not noticed any choppy animation or dropped frames. I also quite like the VA for the Crucible.

honestly not sure, I can't get my hands on it what is it exactly or what is the exact tech term for it. but I feel like some of the animation is missing. I went back and watched some videos of halo 2 /4 online. and yes, I can tell some animation in reloading the gun or walking for example are missing. not as smooth maybe ? or the animations needs to be a little bit faster ?
 
So, if I had to sum up the main complaints from all that I've read:

1. Bullet-sponge effect of larger enemies, e.g., Sepiks Prime and Fallen Walkers. This could be remedied by upping the gameplay/damage feedback and lessening their health.
2. ADS clashes with the chaotic, fast nature of Destiny's PvE combat.
3. Peter Dinklage's voice acting is a little flat.


Definitely agree with points 1 and 2.

Add to this, excessive loop of re-spawning enemies :)

and the lack of 60fps. I wish I had no clue what high frame rate looks/feels like lol
 
I think they're going for a Marvin the Paranoid Android vibe with Dinklage, but they're not lacing enough deadpan sarcasm in there.
 
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.


That's supposed to be that little things voice? it doesn't suit it at all. It needs a robotic effect on it at least.. I'm thinking C3PO. lol
 
On one hand I get that the Ghost isn't supposed to be too expressive, on the other hand, why hire Peter Dinklage for that role?
Because Bungie REALLY likes its TV celebrities. That's why Nathan Fillion plays a lonely robot (least fitting voice I've ever heard) and they have Claudia Black voicing a random space stall owner.
 
Seems like the casting choice of Peter Dinklage as the Ghost is universally agreed to be a miscast. Does not fit well at all. I think they should have went with a voice actor with a bit more .. character. Comic relief perhaps.
 
Now that I know the level cap will be 20, I am afraid that there will not be enough content. I had hoped there will be 10-20 maps as big as Old Russia to explore in the final game, but I fear there will be only one map per planet (Earth, Moon, Mars, Venus), which would be massively disappointing.
 
On one hand I get that the Ghost isn't supposed to be too expressive, on the other hand, why hire Peter Dinklage for that role?
It's hard for me to judge Dinklage's lines without knowing what Bungie is going for.
To each their own on this one. Those are some of my favorite things about Borderlands. As your weapons improve, those bosses die faster and faster which leads to a greater sense of progression.
Even if Bungie doesn't reduce the health of larger enemies, they could still add more gameplay/damage feedback which would make them feel dramatically less like bullet sponges.
Add to this, excessive loop of re-spawning enemies :)
It's actually improved since the Pre-Alpha!
 
Is it possible to see people out and about in the free roaming portion? The first area I was in was basically devoid of human contact.

Yes. In Old Russia (think that's what its called( I found a couple of enemies that were way overpowered for me. Just as I was getting overpowered, I spotted two little squares marking where two friendlies had appeared outside. I ran from my fight and found them. One of them waved. I didn't know how to wave back, so I clumsily looked up and down, hoping my character model would appear to be crudely nodding.

Anyway, they followed me into the spot where I was being overpowered and helped me take down two of the enemies with the swords. It was pretty awesome. Then we got split up and I lost track of them. About 10 minutes later, I found one of them again and decided to just tail them for a while, going where ever they went and just providing fire support. It was really fun.

I'm super excited for this. I really didn't think I'd have time to play it and I'm so glad I got to. This is an absolute must-buy for me this September.
 
Most of Russia in the Alpha takes place inside that wall. But you can get out where the rusted cars are (the beginning OG the reveal vid) and it's epic!

There's absolutely nothing to do on that side of the wall though. Which kinda pisses me off. During one of the gameplay demos during last years E3, the person demoing the demo, went to the edge of the cliff and while panning over the vista, told people in the audience that all that they could see there was explorable space that you would be able to go an explore. But I really doubt they would go through the trouble of editing out large chunks of Old Russia for the alpha. If they wanted to keep players from accesing certain parts of the zone, just put a locked door in the way.

Here's the video just for good measure - http://youtu.be/BTfhrONAp-c?t=1m56s
 
I don't agree with peoples comments about Peter Dinklage's voice acting. He's voicing a machine. Technology sprung from The Traveller. I would find it REALLY weird if he sounded energetic and human like. I prefer the tone of voice he's using.

"I've got a baaaad feeling about this"

"It's the hive!"

Come on those lines were just badly executed. Took me out of the moment. Cortana always felt pretty natural and expressive as well, and didn't feel out of place IMO
 
Seems like the casting choice of Peter Dinklage as the Ghost is universally agreed to be a miscast. Does not fit well at all. I think they should have went with a voice actor with a bit more .. character. Comic relief perhaps.
real miscast is multiplayer announcer. Holy hell does that guy not work.
 
Kind of crazy that this game basically has the Flood and 343 Guilty Spark in t.
What's the Flood? The Hive? They feel nothing alike to me.

As for 343 Guilty Spark, having an AI in their game has been practically a Bungie staple since Marathon at the earliest. It should be expected.

Destiny: Ghost
Reach: Dot
ODST: Superintendent
Halo 1 - 3: Guilty Spark/Cortana
Marathon: Durandal
 
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