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

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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.

Are we sure it's 20? or are people speculating because of unlocks?
 
I really, really hope there are cloaks for Titan characters and they aren't all just Hunter exclusive. And if they are, they should definitely add the ability for other classes to wear cloaks... cause they're awesome.
 
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 but a locked door in the way.

Here's the video just for good measure - http://youtu.be/BTfhrONAp-c?t=1m56s

Did you get to the area where the cars are on the broken bridge? I hopped across and died instantly by an invisible death wall. These areas will have things to do I am sure. Remember this is an alpha, and they have to stop you somewhere

I was just impressed I could actually get that far in the demo! I forgot exactly how I got here, but I think it was through the rocket yard
 
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.

I disagree, I think he's perfect.
 
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.

.

I haven't encountered too many people. I'm sure that would add to the world of excitement. lol

Still enjoying the game and can only see it getting better.
 
So I was undecided about whether or not I'm actually gonna get the game. The alpha made my decision for me. It's quite fun to play with a group. Definitely gonna keep my preorder.

Quick question: can we transfer over our alpha data to the full game? I would like to keep the stuff I gathered.
 
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.
I saw two other people in about an hour of Roam last night. And didn't see anyone in The Tower.

I'm trying to go through the thread and other articles ... maybe I just don't understand how the game works? I know the story/strike missions are instanced, but is everything instanced? Including the Tower?

I'm loving it, just confused.

PSN: fossen
Member of DestinyGAF
 
  1. very pretty game for an alpha
  2. plays almost exactly like halo (very good)
  3. weapons are cool, and it looks like it will be a lot of them to choose from in final game
  4. huge rpg mmo element but it isn't overbearing for non mmo people

my cousin (who got in as well) and I are huge Halo fans and we felt this is the closest it would get on a sony console, I could see me playing this game for a long time and am now even more excited for its release
 
As a side note that I appreciated.
Turning on my PS4 to a "Welcome to Destiny" notification that took me to the store and used my code automatically was sooooooo great.
 
"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

Yea I can't believe they put those in the game. Sounds amateuristic, like he wasn't even trying.
 
I'm very satisfied with the look of my character. Too bad you only see their helmets (I wish there was an option to make them invisible, many RPGs have this) and there aren't too many close-ups when you interact with NPCs. I guess this isn't Mass Effect...

rgdWAdF.jpg


Edit: We need more options, too. If the Korean can do it I'm sure Bungie can, too.
 
I saw two other people in about an hour of Roam last night. And didn't see anyone in The Tower.

I'm trying to go through the thread and other articles ... maybe I just don't understand how the game works? I know the story/strike missions are instanced, but is everything instanced? Including the Tower?

I'm loving it, just confused.

PSN: fossen
Member of DestinyGAF

I saw no one in these areas as well. I think things were buggy last night because these areas were well populated earlier in the week and I KNOW there were people online
 
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.

Considering it seems there are gear merchants selling gear up to level 50, I don't think 20 is the cap.
 
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.

For me it's less the bullet sponge aspect and more the very boring design of the boss encounters. I was really hoping they would take a cue from MMO and RPG encounter design. Fights with multiple phases, mini-objectives, strengths and weaknesses vs certain weapons/abilities etc. Mobs should never respawn during a boss fight unless there's some way to stop them to and you were unable to do it for instance.

Right now the two fights in the available strike are just battles of attrition with the only discernible progression being a yellow bar. It's an early fight designed for players that aren't going to have many weapons or abilities open to them so hopefully these encounters get more complex in later levels and this isn't indicative of their design philosophy.
 
To me having NPCs in Old Russia doesn't make sense lore wise. It's enemy territory. I'd like to the the enemy moving around the map more dynamically though, and actually looking like they are working on something other than standing around waiting to be shot. It'd be cool to see convoys driving to different places or something like that.

But I'm going to wait until September to fully pass judgement. I feel like there are still pieces of the Explore puzzle that aren't in the alpha.

Considering it seems there are gear merchants selling gear up to level 50, I don't think 20 is the cap.

Wait, really? Where? I've only seen 20. That great news if true though.
 
I saw two other people in about an hour of Roam last night. And didn't see anyone in The Tower.

I'm trying to go through the thread and other articles ... maybe I just don't understand how the game works? I know the story/strike missions are instanced, but is everything instanced? Including the Tower?

I'm loving it, just confused.

PSN: fossen
Member of DestinyGAF

It's supposed to be crowded and it was whenever I visited the tower. But if you see this thread on the forums, Bungie are aware of a bug that prevents some people to see others in the tower.

Hi, thanks to our big population of Alpha users today, we came across this new bug. We're working on a fix and hope to be able to roll it out during the Alpha so you can see the Tower be lively again.

-Roger (Bungie)

The Tower is a Ghost Town
 
I saw no one in these areas as well. I think things were buggy last night because these areas were well populated earlier in the week and I KNOW there were people online

Same here, I went into the Tower and no one was there but swore I saw tons before. Reloaded it and everyone was there, dancing away :p
 
So far its pretty enjoyable. It does REALLY feel like Halo though.

So surprising that Bungie would make a game that plays so similar. The baddies shoot needler style guns at you and in multiplayer there is a vehicle that looks and feels almost exactly like a Halo ghost. Even the shotgun reload and firing animations look like they were ripped from Halo.

Feels a bit weird but overall, still a really fun game. Loved bumping into randoms on the battlefield, very cool mechanic.
 
To me having NPCs in Old Russia doesn't make sense lore wise. It's enemy territory. I'd like to the the enemy moving around the map more dynamically though, and actually looking like they are working on something other than standing around waiting to be shot. It'd be cool to see convoys driving to different places or something like that.
.

Good point. I guess that plays into the "more alive" world.
 
REMINDER

This game is set to play with friends only as default. Go into your roster via the options button and click the arrow to change to anyone. Before I did this I didn't see anyone else. After people were entering my games, the tower was full of people.
 
I've now spent several hours with the alpha and I must say I am loving it. In fact, I went and pre-ordered the digital copy from the PSN store just now.

The graphics are gorgeous, although a bit uneven at times, it's still stunning. The PvP level on the Moon is jaw dropping. I literally ran around and looked at the environment and took tons of screenshots because I couldn't stop myself.

The game feels very polished for an alpha and I only encountered one bug.

The difficulty level is perfection. I can't remember the last time I was this challenged by a game and actually had to play seriously and not just run in front of everything and killing it and the instantly regenerating health. Bungie know difficulty for sure and I will be gaming on the highest one to get an even longer game. Very excited.

I love the social city, and I hope that there will be more in the future. The interaction system with the players is also good for consoles R3 + Options to inspect and add friend etc. It's very smooth. I really get the feel that this is somewhat of an MMO, even though I only played with like 6 people tops once in the open battlefield to kill the giant Devil, which is nice, because I tried Wildstar and its repetitiveness killed it for me, this is fresh and new and I am liking it.

The the soundtrack is godlike. But that was to be expected after the Halo games, nothing shocking. However, the sound effects from the blasters I feel are a tad weak and could be a bit better, but not bad by any means. I guess I am spoiled by Battlefield's level.

I like the menu system, even though it took me a while to get used to it. Feels like it'd be ideal for a mouse, though. But it works and I can't complain. Very clean. And the fact that it starts counting down from 3 instead of 5 is wonderful.

But boy, it sure does feel weird playing an FPS game on console again. I think the last one was Halo: Reach for me, so it will take time. I am so used to PC at the moment.
 
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 found it, it's cool, but either I missed something or that area doesn't really lead to anywhere. Just the rusted cars and then the edge of the map.
 
About the voice acting...

You're right, after all. If I didn't know it was Peter Dinklage I would have said it sucked. Bungie needs to work on this but I assume it's too late to re-record lines or even re-cast characters.

Multiplayer announcer sucks even harder.

Edit: Lance Reddick is great. His voice sounds full of authority. He scared me in Fringe because of that.
 
As a side note that I appreciated.
Turning on my PS4 to a "Welcome to Destiny" notification that took me to the store and used my code automatically was sooooooo great.

isnt it? i was in the middle of watch dogs when my notification popped up and let out a little squeal
 
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.

OK, I'm adding you but I can only play today and late this sunday :( Someone in my family had the bad idea of getting married this weekend and it's not like I can not attend.

Edit: My PSN ID is ComputerMkII
 
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.

Nope. Not universally. I like the voice the way it is. Fits the role perfectly.
 
Thoughts from someone who dislikes FPS games in general:

1. I like that I can go about my business alone. I hate having to rely on a team all the time.

2. I enjoy how in certain areas you go into a third person perspective. It enhances the sort of MMORPG feeling of it all.

3. I'm fine with Peter's performance. It's subdued, but that's okay. He's not supposed to be Stephen Merchant's Wheatley.

4. I'm quite impressed with the skybox

5. This gen seems to put a lot of emphasis on lighting and water effects. This is a good thing

6. Easy to pick up, quite a lot of customizable elements to the game.


So far I dig it. Good job Bungie!
 
I was out doing the Explore mode and two people from my friends list joined me. How do they do that? I only saw the option to invite friends, not join them. Had a good time just running around doing the beacon quests with them and just exploring the world. With no map I couldn't tell if we were just running in circles or always getting to new spots. Mini map and the bring up ghost for waypoints systems need some work in my opinion.

One of those global encounters happened when it was just two of us and we couldn't even put a dent in it. We did see other people out in the world every once in awhile but when the big event came down from the sky it lasted for 5 minutes and no one else randomly came to help out.

Seems like there should be a bigger global message or broadcast for people in the area or something to get more people to come to the location. We were even right at the beginning of where Explore mode happens; I think just through the first building and out to the other side.

Got to max level 8 with those 2 guys just running around the Explore mode. I use to play MMO's back a few years ago so the 'grind' of the beacon quests was fine by me. I enjoy just running around accomplishing things at a not so hectic pace all the time and just being able to run around in the world.

Played 2 or 3 matches of multiplayer and it was ok. I'm a big CoD player and never played a Bungie/Halo game before so the TTK is good in my opinion. I like quick kills and am not the biggest fan of bullet sponges for multiplayer. I did get the sense though that I'd be shooting at a guy and then all of a sudden I'd be dead in just a couple shots. I don't know if that's a netcode thing or what, but I get that in CoD too.
 
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.


Even today in the real world. GPS voice sounds more and more human. So no reason that a bot has to sound like a bot. Not everything is star wars.
 
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.

"Universally Agreed"? I don't agree

Edit** DO you need to be level 8 to access the Devil's Lair?
 
My god it took almost an hour to take out that Devil Walker! Bullet Sponge pls!

I can usually take it down in about 5 minutes with a good team. Focus on one leg at a time with your team, then hammer his weak point with supers and rocket launchers. Rinse and repeat. At first I thought the bosses were bullet sponges too, but now I think they're perfect. can't wait to see more.
 
I love Dinklage. :P Ran into a Noble Devil Walker today with a group of 6 or 7 people. It was pretty intense, we fought well but were unable to slay the.. tank. :o

DestinyGAF guild invite? PSN is Catfax
 
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