BWU Archive
23 January 2020
Link to this Update
Original B.net Link
Return to main page

previous
next

This Week At Bungie - 1/23/2020

This Week at Bungie, the path was found.

The Corridors of Time have been charted. Guardians from around the world took on the monumental challenge of navigating time itself, some losing their minds in the process. We'd never shipped a puzzle of this size before, and watching the community engagement was a thrill in itself. We've seen a few requests for commentary on the creation and development of this puzzle. As always, we're happy to invite you behind the scenes and share some of the thinking that goes into the experiences you play.

Destiny Dev Team: Over the past week, we've watched in awe as the community came together to solve one of Destiny's most complex puzzles to date. Everyone who took the time to participate in the solution will be remembered for years to come - whether you submitted a screenshot, transcribed puzzle pieces, generated maps, wrote code, worked the data, or cat-wrangled this monumental team effort. Please take a moment to congratulate yourselves. Your efforts and accomplishments were truly inspiring. Watching the first players solve the puzzle in the early hours of Monday morning was a career highlight for many of us on the Development Team.

With the puzzle solved and the Corridors of Time closing next week, we wanted to take a moment to talk about our goals and early designs for this puzzle.

When we started planning the puzzle, we created a few goals to guide our development:
  • Create a time maze through which any player can dive to discover secrets and lore
  • Serve as a shared community puzzle that rewards the Exotic Fusion Rifle
  • Celebrate community achievement and invite all players to partake in the reward


With these goals in mind, we took inspiration from multiple sources in creating the early designs for the puzzle.

The bones originated several years ago with the discovery of the Sleeper Simulant and the ensuing quest to unlock it. At the time, we recognized that the moment of discovery was reserved for the few people that happened to be online at the time when that hidden content unlocked. Similarly, the secret missions for The Whisper and Zero Hour were also moments of discovery reserved for the few people online within a limited time window to experience first. By contrast, this puzzle was meant to be experienced by everybody who wanted to be included.

As is tradition at Bungie during our annual studio Pentathlon (which was held last Friday), many of us spend the entire day solving puzzles crafted by some of our brightest minds. This always culminates in a meta-puzzle that cannot be solved without the contribution of all of the smaller solutions. Similarly, the Corridors of Time puzzle was designed from the start to be very simple in nature, but also require that all of the little bits come together in harmony before revealing its solution.

The delivery of this puzzle came together as the team began exploring the concept and narrative for Season of Dawn. The puzzle seemed to fit well with the idea of the Corridors of Time, with players meandering and weaving through time to find a very specific reality. The early ideas for this space were roughly based on the idea of the cult-classic movie Cube, where you would leave one door and end up in another identical room with a new death trap waiting for you. As always, our artists delivered a mind-bending and stunning visual language that simply brought the whole experience together into something that inspires the imagination. Much like other classic movies, such as Alice in Wonderland or the Matrix, this space and the way it was connected together was done so to invoke questions like "Just how deep does this rabbit hole go? Can you just keep going on forever?", and "Is there even an end to this?"

Again, we want to thank everyone who participated in this puzzle or cheered from the sidelines. We're actively monitoring and collecting your feedback, from the puzzle itself to the rewards contained, to inform how we build experiences like this again in the future.

Now, we look ahead. We've got a rundown of performance issues that are currently under investigation, and another patch note preview for next week's update!


Performance Pass

Over the last few months, we've been gathering feedback associated with game performance. This translates to moments when you may see framerate drops during activities or long load times when accessing a menu. The team has been deep in the code, looking for potential causes of these issues. 

Next week, we'll have a few performance issues addressed in Destiny 2 Update 2.7.1, including:

  • Improved some performance issues in the Chamber of Suffering encounter.
  • Fixed an issue where players could die when transitioning from the Necropolis encounter to the Tunnels of Despair.
  • Improved a performance issue that could occur when chunks of land return, or are removed during the Sanctified Mind encounter.
  • Improved performance when receiving certain investment related messages. This could be reward acquisition, placing tributes, or interacting with Obelisks.
    • The largest impact will be in the Tower, but this should help everywhere.
  • Players who load into Crucible matches faster than their peers will no longer be put in black screen. Rather, they will remain in spaceflight until all players have loaded into the match, as before.

Some proposed fixes are currently in development for the below items. These need to pass through rigorous testing before they'll find their way to a future edition of patch notes: 

  • UI stuttering and framerate drops when loading or applying mods
  • Framerate issues in Gambit and Gambit Prime
  • Framerate issues during the Sanctified Mind encounter of the Garden of Salvation Raid
  • Framerate issues in the Pit of Heresy Dungeon, specifically in tunnel encounters
  • General improvements to performance on PC when a lot of debris is on the ground

While our goal is to address these at the beginning of the next season, these fixes may be delayed if further issues arise. We'll be sure to keep you updated as we approach Season of [Redacted]. There are also other performance issues we're currently investigating that aren't listed above. If you've been encountering framerate drops or stuttering issues during gameplay, please make sure to post a report to the #Help forum on Bungie.net. Please include which platform you were playing on, what activity you were in, and a video if possible.


Patch Note Preview, v2

Last week, we had a short and sweet preview of what's coming in Destiny 2 Update 2.7.1. While Hard Light is creating some excitement, we have a few more patch notes addressing Quests, Seals, Exotic perks, and more.

Investment

  • Fixed an issue that is preventing Eris from granting her final Lore entry
  • Fixed an issue where the "Green with Envy" Quest was not progressing for some players
  • Fixed an issue where the "Playin' the Odds" emblem was not unlocking correctly for players
    • This could prevent some players from fully unlocking the Dredgen title
  • Improved Black Armory Rare Bounty acquisition
    • Chances increase as you complete weekly and daily bounties
    • Guaranteed to drop from bounty completion after 5 days if completing all Ada-1 bounties

Sandbox

  • Fixed an issue where the Heavy Handed mod could trigger from Telesto bolts
  • Fixed an issue where players could retain buffs from Wormgod Caress, Winter's Guile, and Synthoceps even after swapping armor
    • Equip restrictions on Wormgod Caress and Winter's Guile will be lifted once this patch has shipped

We'll have a few more notes to share; expect the full list on Tuesday when Update 2.7.1 becomes available.


A Memento in Time

Keeping track of every timetable in development could make your head spin. Luckily, you have Destiny Player Support at your service, and they don't shy away from the task. Known issues, release timelines, and more can be found below.

This is their report.

PASSAGEWAY OF THE AGES
With the Destiny Community changing the timeline, the Corridors of Time have become unstable and will only be available until the weekly reset on Tuesday, January 28.

Players have until this time to collect the 19 "The Pigeon and the Phoenix" Lore pieces and the "Savior of the Past" emblem, along with a heartfelt message from Saint-14.

UNLOCKING BASTION
We have noticed that some players are having issues getting their Bastion Exotic Fusion Rifle quest from Saint-14. To claim the quest, players need to fully complete the Saint-14 storyline. This includes completing the following quests that can be claimed from Osiris:

  • Recovering the Past
  • An Impossible Task
  • Completing An Impossible Task


After completing these three quests and claiming their triumphs, players can visit Saint-14 in the Tower to pick up the "Memento" quest located in his inventory.

Players having issues may need to clear their console cache or verify the integrity of their game files on Steam then visit Saint-14.

UPDATE 2.7.1 AND RESOLVED ISSUES
Next Tuesday, January 28, we will release Destiny 2 Update 2.7.1. This update will resolve some issues currently affecting players. Here is another preview of some of the issues that will be resolved:
  • Players who have the Leviathan's Breath Exotic quest will now be able to access "The Arms Dealer" Strike. This quest will become available to all Season Pass owners, regardless of which Season Pass they own. Players can pick this quest up from Banshee-44 in the Tower Courtyard after reaching Power 800.
  • Progress will now count toward the Season 9: Challenges, Season 9: Rituals, and Season 9: Engagement Triumphs and the requirements for each one have been reduced so they can be completed during Season of Dawn.


Additionally, here's the timeline for the Destiny 2 Update 2.7.1 release on Tuesday:

  • 8:00 AM PST (1600 UTC): Destiny 2 maintenance will begin. Players may experience sign-on issues during maintenance.
  • 8:45 AM (1645 UTC): Players will be removed from activities and will be unable to log in until 9 AM.
  • 9:00 AM (1700 UTC): Destiny 2 Update 2.7.1 will be released and players will be able to log in.
  • 11:00 AM (1800 UTC): Destiny 2 maintenance will end.


CURRENT KNOWN ISSUES
Here is a list of the latest known issues that were reported to us in our #Help Forum:

  • The Efrideet's Gift triumph isn't unlocking for players who collect 50 Iron Banner packages from Lord Saladin.
  • When resetting Infamy rank, progress gets reset for the "Get Closer" step for the Green With Envy quest.
  • The Sundial Fractaline Extractor III, obtained from the Nessus Obelisk, incorrectly states an increased chance to find Polarized Fractaline when completing Vanguard Strikes. The enhancement actually increases the chance to find Polarized Fractaline when completing the Sundial and the Menagerie.
  • The three Dreaming Tokens given to players during the Wish-Ender quest, sometimes do not all go into a player's inventory and cannot be reacquired on that character.
  • The Warlock's Arc Web no longer chain-lightnings enemies.


For a full list of emergent issues in Destiny 2, players can review our Known Issues article. Players who observe other issues should report them to our #Help forum.

Precision and Focus

This week, our selections are keeping an eye on their respective battlegrounds. In one, the slightest movement can result in a headshot. For the other, coordinating flesh and metal to produce an amazing musical cover, something you could headbang to as you march to victory.

Movie of the Week: Revocation

Honorable Mention: Zulmak Metal

Winners will find a shiny new emblem in their collections within the next 365 business days! Really, I'll get to it as soon as I can. If you'd also like a chance for the emblem, submit your video to the Community Creations page.


That's a wrap for this week. As we near the end of the season, we've got a few final stops on the roadmap. Next week, Cozmo will bring some details concerning the Empyrian Foundation, which is just under two weeks away.

We'll see you again soon.

Cheers,
-Dmg04