Well, I played the alpha and the beta is much of the same, just a bit more. Which of course means it's quite fun. The movement, gunplay, and other basic mechanics feel great. I like how even though the game has ADS, unlike other games that use it (e.g., COD, Battlefield) I don't feel obligated to use it. I can hip fire just as effectively; it's more like if every gun in Halo had a scope. Even though we're still limited to just the Cosmodrome level, if that's just a taste of Bungie's new approach to level design, then color me impressed. The Cosmodrome is a pretty big level with a lot to explore. It feels as big as Assault on the Control Room, and there's a good mix of open outdoors environments and indoor areas. There's still a lot of areas blocked off by barriers — either invincible ??-ranked enemies, or ominous, impenetrable black mist, or physical objects that seem like they either open or aren't normally supposed to be there (hello, Fallen Dreg arm sticking out of that mysterious sealed door) — but I assume they'll be passable in the final game, and that means that we haven't even seen all of that one level. The multiplayer is decent, though not anything remarkable. I imagine it becomes much less conventional at higher levels when your Guardian becomes a veritable superhero.

Of course, this is a beta test and the game's not finished, so there's some issues. Here's the ones I remembered to record while I was playing:

- Special/heavy weapon ammo needs to carry over when you switch weapons, or at the very least each one needs its own independent supply just like regular weapons. Let's say I found a shotgun in the first area of the game in that first treasure chest and I'm fully stocked up on ammo. I then find a sniper rifle later on and then switch to that since it's more suitable for open outdoors environments. Of course, it has no ammo so I fill it up with green ammo boxes. But when I switch to my shotgun when I go back indoors, the shotgun is empty even though I had previously stocked it full of ammo, and of course because I switched to the shotgun any sniper ammo I had left disappears as well. Even if I switch to another special or heavy weapon only briefly to check it out, it means any special or heavy ammo I've collected just evaporates into the ether. At the very least, each class of weapon (shotgun, fusion rifle, sniper rifle, machine gun, or rocket launcher) needs their own separate pools of ammo), kind of like how Perfect Dark had SMG, rifle, pistol, revolver, and shotgun ammo, and each weapon in those classes that you have on hand shares your stock of ammo of the appropriate type.

- There needs to be more variety in enemy encounters in explore mode. The same squads keep showing up in the same spots, and at regular and frequent intervals, which can make exploring repetitive and sometimes tedious. In fact, there's this one cave in the first outdoors area of the Cosmodrome level that you have to climb up a plane's wing to get to. There's two Fallen in the cave. If you kill them and then leave that chamber, they immediately respawn. Enemies either need to respawn less frequently, or the numbers, types, and positions need to change.

- There's no collision detection with either NPCs at the tower or other player characters. I can just walk straight through them with no problem, which is just weird and immersion-breaking.

- There's an area in the hangar wing of the tower where you can get over the fence and then get stuck in a small area in the hangar proper because invisible walls block you from going more than a few feet. The only way out is to go back into orbit. They need to either A) get rid of the invisible wall and let me explore that area, B) put an RTB barrier that will kill me after 10 seconds in that area, or C) make it to where it's impossible to hop over the fence. I just pray that there's no areas like that in the actual missions. Invisible walls suck, but if they're going to be there they need to actually do their job and not cause me to get stuck because I got curious and wanted to explore.

- The bosses in the Strike mission — the Devil Walker and and that floating orb thing (can't remember its name) — have too much health. It ends up becoming a battle of attrition. It shouldn't take that long for three people to kill one bad guy. Boss battles can be fun, but there's a point where they simply become tedious because you're doing the exact same thing for five minutes straight. Most bosses should realistically take only two or three minutes to beat with a good team.

- Special/heavy weapon ammo needs to carry over when you switch weapons, or at the very least each one needs its own independent supply just like regular weapons. Let's say I found a shotgun in the first area of the game in that first treasure chest and I'm fully stocked up on ammo. I then find a sniper rifle later on and then switch to that since it's more suitable for open outdoors environments. Of course, it has no ammo so I fill it up with green ammo boxes. At the very least, each class of weapon (shotgun, fusion rifle, sniper rifle, machine gun, or rocket launcher) needs their own separate pools of ammo), kind of like how Perfect Dark had SMG, rifle, pistol, revolver, and shotgun ammo, and each weapon in those classes that you have on hand shares your stock of ammo of the appropriate type.

First of all, your guns DO share ammo by type. You can swap a fusion rifle for another fusion rifle without losing ammo for example. It's only when you switch to a different type of gun that your ammo depletes.

I actually like this system. In Crucible, being able to freely swap between sniper and shotgun would simply be ridiculous. This way, you have to plan a bit and stick with it, and if you want to change you need to get the ammo drops.

Likewise in the story / strike modes, the system works out well I think. It creates an interesting limitation, and makes you plan a bit for the encounters you are going to face. Being able to access all weapons at once would create a game Destiny isn;t really designed to be. Games with full arsenals are balanced around that, and they are fast, brutal, and have tons of different types of enemies all the time (Doom, Serious Sam, etc).

You also always have ammo packs.

First of all, your guns DO share ammo by type. You can swap a fusion rifle for another fusion rifle without losing ammo for example. It's only when you switch to a different type of gun that your ammo depletes.

I actually like this system. In Crucible, being able to freely swap between sniper and shotgun would simply be ridiculous. This way, you have to plan a bit and stick with it, and if you want to change you need to get the ammo drops.

Likewise in the story / strike modes, the system works out well I think. It creates an interesting limitation, and makes you plan a bit for the encounters you are going to face. Being able to access all weapons at once would create a game Destiny isn;t really designed to be. Games with full arsenals are balanced around that, and they are fast, brutal, and have tons of different types of enemies all the time (Doom, Serious Sam, etc).

You also always have ammo packs.

Yeah, I wasn't sure about the mechanic at first, but it seems to work out really well in practice.

Also, I've felt that Secondary ammo is usually pretty plentiful. You always have Primary at your disposal, and there are a number of times when I've left piles of ammo laying on the ground behind me after a big fight just because I can't carry all of it.

Heavy ammo, however, IS a limited resource (as it should be). I feel that it generates more often when I do excessive damage against an enemy, but that may just be coincidental.

First of all, your guns DO share ammo by type. You can swap a fusion rifle for another fusion rifle without losing ammo for example. It's only when you switch to a different type of gun that your ammo depletes.

Ah, I thought I noticed this, but I never bothered to check it out.

Also, I've felt that Secondary ammo is usually pretty plentiful. You always have Primary at your disposal, and there are a number of times when I've left piles of ammo laying on the ground behind me after a big fight just because I can't carry all of it.

This has tended to be my experience as well. I find that often times I could use some Special ammo, but I'm rarely out of it.

Heavy ammo, however, IS a limited resource (as it should be). I feel that it generates more often when I do excessive damage against an enemy, but that may just be coincidental.

I suspect this is the way it works for Engram drops as well. Sometimes I'll wipe out whole squads of enemies and won't see anything but a little primary ammo, but there have been a several times where I'll headshot a lone enemy at range and I'll get an Engram or some heavy ammo. Amazing feats beget amazing rewards, etc.

~m

It's only when you switch to a different type of gun that your ammo depletes.

I actually like this system. In Crucible, being able to freely swap between sniper and shotgun would simply be ridiculous. This way, you have to plan a bit and stick with it, and if you want to change you need to get the ammo drops.

Likewise in the story / strike modes, the system works out well I think. It creates an interesting limitation, and makes you plan a bit for the encounters you are going to face.

I don't think there's any good reason why they can't have different behaviours for Crucible as opposed to PvE combat.

Either way, I disagree that it's an ‘interesting’ limitation; it just encourages you to carry on with a less suitable weapon (and therefore, use it less) when changing between different environments. If you're carrying a sniper rifle as your special roaming around outside, then get a mission that takes you indoors it's natural you'd want to swap for a shotgun. At this point you can choose to either swap whilst outdoors and scavenge for ammo (not ideal) or you can wait for drops indoors (risky). Or, third choice: you just stick with the sniper and hope you don't end up really needing the shotgun inside. They're all kind of annoying rather than interesting choices.

My preference would be for you to lose maybe 2/3 of your special ammo when swapping, that way you're not changing to a completely useless weapon (until you pick up some ammo) and you're not entirely disincentivised from swapping weapon type. I think I may even have seen a weapon that had something like this as a special feature…

It's only when you switch to a different type of gun that your ammo depletes.

I actually like this system. In Crucible, being able to freely swap between sniper and shotgun would simply be ridiculous. This way, you have to plan a bit and stick with it, and if you want to change you need to get the ammo drops.

Likewise in the story / strike modes, the system works out well I think. It creates an interesting limitation, and makes you plan a bit for the encounters you are going to face.

I don't think there's any good reason why they can't have different behaviours for Crucible as opposed to PvE combat.

Either way, I disagree that it's an ‘interesting’ limitation; it just encourages you to carry on with a less suitable weapon (and therefore, use it less) when changing between different environments. If you're carrying a sniper rifle as your special roaming around outside, then get a mission that takes you indoors it's natural you'd want to swap for a shotgun. At this point you can choose to either swap whilst outdoors and scavenge for ammo (not ideal) or you can wait for drops indoors (risky). Or, third choice: you just stick with the sniper and hope you don't end up really needing the shotgun inside. They're all kind of annoying rather than interesting choices.

My preference would be for you to lose maybe 2/3 of your special ammo when swapping, that way you're not changing to a completely useless weapon (until you pick up some ammo) and you're not entirely disincentivised from swapping weapon type. I think I may even have seen a weapon that had something like this as a special feature…

I actually enjoy fighting without a special for however long it takes me to scavenge ammo. It's an added challenge. I don't find it annoying, I find it invigorating.

If you're carrying a sniper rifle as your special roaming around outside, then get a mission that takes you indoors it's natural you'd want to swap for a shotgun.

"What am I supposed to do with this inside a Covenant ship?
-Romeo, explaining that he's never played Halo 1 before

It's only when you switch to a different type of gun that your ammo depletes.

I actually like this system. In Crucible, being able to freely swap between sniper and shotgun would simply be ridiculous. This way, you have to plan a bit and stick with it, and if you want to change you need to get the ammo drops.

Likewise in the story / strike modes, the system works out well I think. It creates an interesting limitation, and makes you plan a bit for the encounters you are going to face.

I don't think there's any good reason why they can't have different behaviours for Crucible as opposed to PvE combat.

Either way, I disagree that it's an ‘interesting’ limitation; it just encourages you to carry on with a less suitable weapon (and therefore, use it less) when changing between different environments. If you're carrying a sniper rifle as your special roaming around outside, then get a mission that takes you indoors it's natural you'd want to swap for a shotgun. At this point you can choose to either swap whilst outdoors and scavenge for ammo (not ideal) or you can wait for drops indoors (risky). Or, third choice: you just stick with the sniper and hope you don't end up really needing the shotgun inside. They're all kind of annoying rather than interesting choices.

My preference would be for you to lose maybe 2/3 of your special ammo when swapping, that way you're not changing to a completely useless weapon (until you pick up some ammo) and you're not entirely disincentivised from swapping weapon type. I think I may even have seen a weapon that had something like this as a special feature…

Though I agree that it feels like a bit of a letdown to a degree...you have the option to switch from a Sniper to a Shotgun and vice versa at any time. A marked advantage compared to the Halo days. So...gotta balance that out somehow. Would you rather NOT have that option at all?

I actually enjoy fighting without a special for however long it takes me to scavenge ammo. It's an added challenge. I don't find it annoying, I find it invigorating.

Good for you! I find it annoying.

If you're carrying a sniper rifle as your special roaming around outside, then get a mission that takes you indoors it's natural you'd want to swap for a shotgun.

"What am I supposed to do with this inside a Covenant ship?
-Romeo, explaining that he's never played Halo 1 before

I've found the sniper really useful in a few places indoors, but there's also those moments when you get charged by 5 Hive Thralls and you find yourself really wishing you had something that did massive to-the-face damage…

I actually enjoy fighting without a special for however long it takes me to scavenge ammo. It's an added challenge. I don't find it annoying, I find it invigorating.

Good for you! I find it annoying.

Good for you! I find your post annoying. He stated his opinion, why rebut it (that's a word, right?) by stating your opinion again along with what I can only figure is sarcasm? Who are you, Cody Miller from 2008?

I actually enjoy fighting without a special for however long it takes me to scavenge ammo. It's an added challenge. I don't find it annoying, I find it invigorating.

Good for you! I find it annoying.

Good for you! I find your post annoying. He stated his opinion, why rebut it (that's a word, right?) by stating your opinion again along with what I can only figure is sarcasm? Who are you, Cody Miller from 2008?

It's not sarcasm, it's exasperation. It appears that I can't even post my opinion without Claude subtly implying that my personal preference might somehow be invalid.

It's not sarcasm, it's exasperation. It appears that I can't even post my opinion without Claude subtly implying that my personal preference might somehow be invalid.

I'm not seeing how Wu's wording implies that your opinion is somehow invalid, subtly or otherwise.

All I'm seeing is someone having a different experience than you and expressing that.

It's not sarcasm, it's exasperation. It appears that I can't even post my opinion without Claude subtly implying that my personal preference might somehow be invalid.

I'm not seeing how Wu's wording implies that your opinion is somehow invalid, subtly or otherwise.

All I'm seeing is someone having a different experience than you and expressing that.

Maybe it's implied, maybe I'm inferring it. Claude has a track record of being contradictory to me so maybe I just can't read his responses to me without seeing them in that light. Shame if that's the case.

It's not sarcasm, it's exasperation. It appears that I can't even post my opinion without Claude subtly implying that my personal preference might somehow be invalid.

I'm not seeing how Wu's wording implies that your opinion is somehow invalid, subtly or otherwise.

All I'm seeing is someone having a different experience than you and expressing that.

Maybe it's implied, maybe I'm inferring it. Claude has a track record of being contradictory to me so maybe I just can't read his responses to me without seeing them in that light. Shame if that's the case.

Certainly is.

Certainly is.

Maybe you could speak up and let me know when you agree with something I've posted sometime! That'd be cool.

If you're carrying a sniper rifle as your special roaming around outside, then get a mission that takes you indoors it's natural you'd want to swap for a shotgun. At this point you can choose to either swap whilst outdoors and scavenge for ammo (not ideal) or you can wait for drops indoors (risky). Or, third choice: you just stick with the sniper and hope you don't end up really needing the shotgun inside.

Option 4: buy ammo packs and use them if you really need to swap weapons.
Option 5: play differently. e.g. know your exits and keep your distance.
Option 6: Customise and keep your gear options open.

If you want to 100% optimise your efficiency for every encounter on the fly, from day 1, then Destiny simply isn't that game, sorry. Halo wasn't either - 2 weapon limit?

Though with a combination of:

• Ammo packs,
  
• Swapping between weapons of same type with no penalty,
  
• Weapon customisation &
  
• Class cusomisation/subclass switching.

You'll still have a ton of options. If you prepare for it.

In The Devil's Lair Strike I sometimes had my special as a Fusion Rifle and brought ones with alternate damage types in reserve. Solar Fusion Rifle ripped through the Hive Wizards and Arc ripped through the Fallen Captains. Left my Void one back at the tower.

Weapon customisation wise, I have an uncommon Jigoku Scout Rifle with 2 different scopes: one mid-range (acog-like) and one short range (red dot-like). I switch between them depending on the range of encounter I'm dealing with. Usually by mission or map.

I also have an uncommon Sniper Rifle that has one long-range scope and one mid-range scope. Haven't really used that ability yet but it's there. I'm pretty sure the higher level stuff will have even more ways to customise it.

With the Hunter Class, I often use the 'explode and burn' grenade (forget what it's called) for most of the Strike, then switch to the 'split and seek' for Sepiks. Since that one will explode on impact, split, and then all the pieces will deal damage. Whereas the first type bounces on first impact and then usually wouldn't do any damage to Sepiks at all.

The 'seal subclass' option looks like you'll be able to gain a bit more overall power in exchange for losing some on-the-fly customisation but, that's a trade-off decision you'll have to make.

It also looks like you'll be able to switch out the sub-classes on the fly. Even if you do lose your grenade/melee/super charges, that won't be a big deal since they're time*kill based. The Hunter's Blade Dancer sub-class looks focused on close-range melee (certainly it's super is). So instead of the Golden Gun you could save your Blade-Dancer Super for those 'oh shit' up-close moments when you're inside.

So, I'm not exactly saying you're wrong; I'm saying I don't think you quite understand the type of game Destiny is. That's OK: I definitely didn't before I got stuck into the Alpha and I'm only starting to see more of the interesting wrinkles and depth after playing the Beta.

A LOT of the complaints I see (e.g. MP announcer voice) are simply because Destiny isn't quite what people where expecting (e.g. Halo) rather than because it's bad in itself.

Destiny still has flaws, but I don't think this is one of them :)

My preference would be for you to lose maybe 2/3 of your special ammo when swapping, that way you're not changing to a completely useless weapon (until you pick up some ammo) and you're not entirely disincentivised from swapping weapon type. I think I may even have seen a weapon that had something like this as a special feature…

I have both a Fusion Rifle and a Heavy Machine Gun with a perk that says 'Expect to find more ammo for this weapon.' I'm not exactly sure whether it increases the drop rate or lets you pick up more ammo from each drop. The Fusion Rifle is definitely harder to run out of ammo with than other ones. Sound familiar?

Someone told me once, "if you're going to play psychic and assume the worst, don't." Good lesson and one I forget. It'd be an improvement if we all did a better job of remembering it.

A LOT of the complaints I see (e.g. MP announcer voice) are simply because Destiny isn't quite what people where expecting (e.g. Halo) rather than because it's bad in itself.

Personally I think the announcer might be both-- I can see how they might decide to go for a more low-key announcer and announcement style, but I think that's absolutely the wrong decision (but that's still a personal judgment call, not a universal, objective one).

What balance is that? They basically give you the option to have unlimited sniper ammo. And I've just spent hours watching Snipe get 15+ kill streaks because of it. Crucible is highly flawed. I'll get into more later. :P