Very disappointed in Destiny. *long* *TL;DR included* (Destiny)

by Speedracer513 , Dallas, Texas, Friday, August 08, 2014, 06:50 (3543 days ago) @ Joe Duplessie (SNIPE 316)

I don't take issue with most of what you said... not because I agree with most of it --but because I think you made many valid points about your experience with the beta. I greatly enjoyed the experience overall, including the multiplayer, but I definitely understand why you hated it so I have no issue with that.

However, I would like to rebut much of this section:

These are general problems and disappointments.

• There is a disturbing lack of customization in this game. I can't select the color of my armor, emblem, ship, or sparrow. There aren't many armors, emblems, ships, or sparrows to choose from in the first place. I think it'd be cool to customize your guns, too. I'd probably like my guns a lot more if I could choose their colors. Also, it looks like there are no custom games in Destiny at all. Which brings me to...
  
  
• The weak feature-set. With Halo, Bungie were pioneers in bringing PC game features to consoles, and inventing new systems of play. First it was the FPS alone, then they created matchmaking. Halo 3 added theater mode, Forge, rendered films, and screenshots. Nobody else was bringing all of these things to a console in one game. They were ahead of the pack. With Destiny, that is no longer the case. The way you run into players in the world randomly is seamless, and very cool. It's just disappointing that they felt things like theater weren't important enough to keep.
  
  Remember all of Pete's awesome mini-games? There will be none in Destiny. You won't see any Destiny machinimas*. Remember Hedge and BlueNinja's awesome panoramas? You aren't going to see any from Destiny*. Screenshots will always have a visible HUD and gun*. You won't be able to inspect your clips from every angle.
  
  *Unless they get creative and someone figures out how to disable the HUD and lower their gun.
  
  
• Destiny is being billed as a social game, but you can't talk to anybody unless you know them already. In Crucible, it's ridiculous that you can't hear your teammates if they aren't in your party. I've been over it, but communication is extremely important in multiplayer. In Campaign, proximity chat should be enabled for nearby Guardians. It would be cool as hell to run into another fireteam in the wild, swap war stories, and go about your respective business. Or tell them about a loot chest you just came from, or convince them to help you take out a high level enemy so you can get whatever it's guarding. Or whatever.
  
  
• They talk about how there are more guns in Destiny than in all the Halo games combined. There are actually only nine guns in Destiny, with many small variations. The guns within each of the nine gun classes operate the same, but have small statistical differences. Every scout rifle is functionally the same. Having a smaller magazine and a slightly lower rate of fire does not make it much different. There are also no alien guns you can get for yourself. That was pretty disappointing. Bungie has been pretty inventive with alien weaponry in the past, and I was looking forward to what they had come up with this time. Most of the enemies use the same Needler-like gun, and the player can't pick it up.

As others have pointed out (not that you weren't aware already), this beta was very much a limited look at the game in many ways, especially the things I quoted above.

The lack of customization options was not indicative of the experience we will have in September and in the following months/years. Bungie has hinted that there will be more customization options when picking your character's appearance. In the beta, you could get different colored (and powered) sparrows; I acquired varying colors of the same armor, and it was clear that we will be able to apply shaders and emblems to both our armor and weapons.

Some of the features you lament being absent could very well be part of the final game. Theater mode and saved films might or might not be gone, but even if they are, they are arguably unnecessary with today's one-button sharing options. Who says machinima tools like dropping your HUD and weapon won't be there? Who says custom games won't be an option? Some of these things are less likely to be in the final game than others (I, personally, think custom games are likely whereas theater mode is almost surely gone), but in any case we obviously don't know yet so I think it is very presumptuous to dismiss the game based on such a limited beta sampling.

I absolutely understand why Bungie has made the decisions regarding audio chat. They are clearly trying to get away from the stereotypical atmosphere of online multiplayer filled with racist, foul-mouthed teenagers and teebagging. I wholly support that goal, and I think the steps they have taken are very effective in making Destiny a welcoming place to all. Sure, I think it's odd that you can't talk to the rest of your team in multiplayer by default, but I will gladly accept that inconvenience if it means I won't have to worry about what I and my kids hear.

Finally, I think the issues you have with the "lack" of guns are presumptuous like some of the other complaints you have. I expect the exotic and legendary weapons (that we didn't get to experience in the limited beta) to look and feel like different weapons. But even still -- even among just a single weapon type like the ARs that you say are all the same gun -- I think the Sahara felt wildly different from the Cydonia, for example. Bungie has also strongly hinted that alien weapons will be available -- I think it was in the video tour of the tower on IGN that they made a comment about a particular corner lounge that would have some "freaky" stuff for sale, and on that particular wall there were alien-looking weapons and stuff hanging.

In sum, I won't take issue with your dislike of the multiplayer because you have valid points and it is obvious that the multiplayer design philosophy is (a) not Halo and (b) not going to change. However, we clearly have not experienced much of what Destiny will have to offer. I have faith that some of the features you lamented being missing will actually be in the final game, and that the story and strikes will have a lot more variability and interesting qualities than what we have seen so far.