The Traveler grew quite a bit. (Destiny)

by Korny , Dalton, Ga. US. Earth, Sol System, Friday, December 22, 2017, 13:06 (2606 days ago) @ MacAddictXIV

but now you are down much lower than the old tower.

That doesn't really explain things, though. If anything, the Traveler looks bigger/closer in the newer shots. And it's not just the Traveler, it's everything. Those spires sticking up from the ground are slightly bigger.

Maybe we never left the simulation and we are actually in the past where we have younger and better eyes!

I've checked it out. It's definitely way, way bigger, while not appearing to have moved closer. When you first start the game, the traveler is off in the distance, and it doesn't cover up the entire screen.
At the end of the game, it towers over everything, up into the atmosphere, and pieces of it hover what is clearly miles away from it, and yet it still sits directly above the inner city.