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

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Really enjoyed the alpha, keeping my preorder.

One thing though, I know the crucible negates level differences, but does gear still have an impact? Or do they normalize everyone's damage?

Unsure if I'll stick to warlock. Think I'll give Titan a go next time.
 
Completed two events in Exploration. One of them included killing a Devil Walker. No problems at all and there were two other people in the action. Also found a Level 11 Fallen Knight, managed to kill him but he only dropped ammo. Gonna try Strike on Legend in one hour
 
VisceralBowl said:
Loved the Alpha, despite my boredom with it near the end. Glad I preordered this last year.
Here are some shots I took while I played over the course of the last 6 days.
https://farm6.staticflickr.com/5555/14429323611_a5a025b7e3_o.png My favorite.
https://farm3.staticflickr.com/2914/14410003916_9154caf92a_o.png
https://farm3.staticflickr.com/2931/14433114395_d32a5af776_o.png
https://farm4.staticflickr.com/3924/14432000954_b350fbd595_o.png
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How did you get these screens in photo mode?
 
Ya this guy was easy.

KkaDnDAl.jpg
 
NoTacos said:
How did you get these screens in photo mode?
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I didn't. I either sat down or got close to an edge or wall, moved the camera upwards, paused, and took the screenshot. I then removed the "Alpha" stuff which brought the pictures (thankfully) to a 2.40:1 aspect ratio (1920x800).

The traveler shot was much more complicated.
 
I won't remember this Alpha for the exploration, or the strike mission, or the badass Sparrow, or the loot, or the PvP that I didn't even get to try, or the tantalizing level 10+ gear that I hid in my locker in a pointless attempt to bypass the stat reset. All that matters is that random people danced together, pointed together, and chilled together. Because no matter how many aliens be attacking, even a Guardian gotta rest, yo.

10473118_142434912784mwyxm.jpg
 
PsychoRaven said:
The lighting improved a ton. Particle effects and such improved. The snow for example was more pronounced and noticeable. There were graphical bugs. For example you heard the splash of the water puddles in the tower but you couldn't see the water. Just overall everything was amped up from pre-alpha to alpha. The loading between zones for example is seamless now where as then there was noticeable chugging when hitting a zone change. It would chug a lot like Halo did at times changing zones.

The big changes though were that pre-alpha you had access to both talent trees in each class. The old E3 demo location was closed off. There was a wall over the doorway to the chamber. Then you could also explore further up into the building in rocket yard that the fallen spawn in front of up in the corner. The Walker tanks were bugged also and you could pretty much solo then in minute maybe two tops. The final boss fight of the strike would teleport into the floor of the stairs and other spots like that. There also wasn't the campaign mission or Crucible. So all you had was explore and the strike. But just overall it was what you would expect it was an earlier build of the alpha here but not as complete.

Hell the same thing will happen with beta too no doubt. It's just natural that with each new build the game improves.
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Thanks for the detailed response, I always find this kind of stuff interesting. I'm curious to see if the visuals improve even more between now and the Beta.
 
Bungie ‏@Bungie 1h
Alpha characters will not survive the migration to Beta. Tonight's your chance to take that last portrait. Be brave. Thank them for playing.
 
I love the AI 's reactions to you; I could load up my sniper rifle, sit a hundred meters away, and headshot one of them. The others would freeze, be shocked for a moment, then panic, and some would duck into cover. They would then poke out to try to spot you, and maintain that level of fear for a long time, never exposing themselves for more than a few seconds. Another strategy I used was shooting them from one direction, being spotted, then ducking behind a wall, circle wide around them, and when I got to the group, they were all still looking at where they last saw me, not where the game knew I was. These are the kind of things that make me very excited for Destiny.
 
doUDVR8


Well, it's been a blast.

This game hits all the right notes artistically for me. I get vibes from District 9, to HL2 to Oblivion zipping around the Cosmodrome on my Sparrow.

So pumped for the beta and full release.
 
So I've:

  • Done the story mission, the strike, and nearly every mission in Explore.
  • Beat the Devil Walker in Explore.
  • Did the Defend the Warsat mission in the Skywatch in Explore.
  • Defeated Karhiss in Explore.
  • Sprinted through the Grottos.
  • Peaked into the sewers.
  • Traipsed through the area from the E3 2013 demo.

Did I miss anything big?

I got my armor up to 152, but I don't think I'll be able to get that any higher. I haven't added to it in awhile. My best primary is 106, my best secondary 93 and my best special 96 (though I haven't upgraded it yet). I just got a Pulse Rifle that is 96 base, so I'm gonna try to upgrade that really quickly.
 
So I gave my Alpha key to a friend (wouldn't have had much time to play over the weekend). Judging by the impressions I guess I should pre-order to get into the beta. I figure it should be a fairly safe bet, considering I loved Halo 1-3 and played the shit out of Borderlands 1 and 2.

Really loving the art style, screenshots look great.
 
Striek said:
Has Bungie revealed the max. level in the game?
I hope they add more RPG aspects, the tower is a bit boring even if its populated because none of the AI characters are interesting at all in the alpha.
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I hope you meant "none of the AI characters are interesting at all in the alpha except for hearing Claudia Black's voice".
 
I enjoyed the alpha it was fun

But will see what the final game turns out like
I have mine pre ordered. Not normally into online games but maybe this will be different.
 
I was on-record as somewhat of a Destiny hater as recently as... right before the Alpha, at E3 2014. I'm not sure why, but the game just doesn't seem to show well at shows like E3 or in trailers. It never looked bad... it just kinda looked old/uninteresting/bland.


...and like everyone else, extended hands-on time with the Alpha has absolutely, 100% turned me around. Destiny has shot way up to the top of my most-anticipated list, and could easily become my evening "go to" game for months/years. Like Halo used to be.

I dunno if Bungie truly needed this Alpha for tech testing or if the Alpha is just more marketing, but man... the timing sure was perfect. I tweeted out how the Alpha caused me to complete turn around on the game, and dozens of people replied saying it was the same for them. Good for Bungie.

A delicious combination of Halo, World of Warcraft, and Borderlands? Yes please - inject it directly into my veins. I just hope it ships with at least 10 dungeons (Strikes).
 
GDJustin said:
I was on-record as somewhat of a Destiny hater as recently as... right before the Alpha, at E3 2014. I'm not sure why, but the game just doesn't seem to show well at shows like E3 or in trailers. It never looked bad... it just kinda looked old/uninteresting/bland.


...and like everyone else, extended hands-on time with the Alpha has absolutely, 100% turned me around. Destiny has shot way up to the top of my most-anticipated list, and could easily become my evening "go to" game for months/years. Like Halo used to be.

I dunno if Bungie truly needed this Alpha for tech testing or if the Alpha is just more marketing, but man... the timing sure was perfect. I tweeted out how the Alpha caused me to complete turn around on the game, and dozens of people replied saying it was the same for them. Good for Bungie.

A delicious combination of Halo, World of Warcraft, and Borderlands? Yes please - inject it directly into my veins. I just hope it ships with at least 10 dungeons (Strikes).
Click to expand...
Right there with ya man, when it was announced at the Sony E3 event that the alpha was coming last week I was like "Oh, that's cool."
After getting a code from a Bungie staff member off Twitch, and starting to play, I was all "DIRECTLY INTO MY VEINS!"

I agree with you when you surmise that this alpha wasn't so much for testing purposes as it was for marketing and generating hype, but it's done so much to boost people's interest in the game where there was pessimism before.
 
I had an absolute blast with the Alpha. I'm already addicted and we're still 3 months from release! I was definitely one of those who didn't really 'get it' before the Alpha, but I am completely sold now. Good job Bungie.
 
JCX said:
The Alpha completely switched me from uninterested to a pre-order. Very fun game.
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Yea same here. This game was not on my radar at all. I knew it had a borderlands loot system as they say and MMO features, but it was a shooter, so I got turned off to it..........until i played it. Now I'm going to go pre-order it.

it's been years since I pre-ordered a game. i VERY rarely pre-order a game. I've been burned a few times by devs lying to me in the trailers and preview and the retail game is nothing like that.

But I have a fee;ing that this game will be different. if the damn alpha is this good and got me hooked, just imagine what the full game will be like.
 
I just wanted to add that I hope more people get microphones to use when playing. My most fun was when I had conversations with other gamers about what was going on. Coordinating strikes....laughing about dieing in mutiplayer...


Thanks Bungie. You're about to get me hooked into online gaming again.
 
SnakeEyes said:
I agree with you when you surmise that this alpha wasn't so much for testing purposes as it was for marketing and generating hype, but it's done so much to boost people's interest in the game where there was pessimism before.

(Also, sad to hear what's happening with you and the fellows over at GT. Sucks to be sure :( )
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It definitely got me hyped. I wasn't planning on buying this game and hadn't been really impressed with what they had shown before this E3. The alpha gave me an opportunity to check it out, which I wouldn't have gotten to do because I wasn't going to preorder a game I didn't want just to play a beta.

Now I'm completely hyped and can't stop reading page after page of people's impressions.
 
Well I'm off to bed. It's only been a few days but I am going to miss the alpha a lot. Thank you to all that have joined up with me and played. I look forward to playing with the rest of you come beta and final release!
 
Xplatformer said:
I just wanted to add that I hope more people get microphones to use when playing. My most fun was when I had conversations with other gamers about what was going on. Coordinating strikes....laughing about dieing in mutiplayer...


Thanks Bungie. You're about to get me hooked into online gaming again.
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I plugged in my headset, but in couldn't hear anything. :(
The one that came with my PS4
 
Welp, I'm done I guess. Did one last Strike though that wasn't one of my better outings. Having an underleveled Titan with two other Titans might not have been the best idea.

Has there been any mention on how many Focuses there will be?
 
Had such a fucking blast. I've been kind of punishing myself as far as gaming goes until I accomplish some shit I need to do in life, but this alpha was awesome. Regardless of my shit getting handled, I'm on this ASAP. Can't wait for the Beta!
 
I must say Destiny is one of the best games that I've ever played. Bungie really did a great job. Here is my favourite screenshot :D (also my first ever post on GAF!!)
kTUiCsf.jpg
 
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