Day 9: Yet another bitch list (not really) (Destiny)

by RC , UK, Wednesday, November 26, 2014, 08:38 (3448 days ago)

So, I've just passed 9 days total play time across 4ish characters and I have even more to complain about!

Not really. It's largely minor stuff.

I was playing quite a lot of Iron Banner this last weekend (on my own) and I was really enjoying it. It probably helped that for most of the games I did very well. Something clicked with strategy in my brain and I started to flank and use lines of sight better. Rather than being frustrated at spawn at A on Blind Watch, I would just go over the rooftops to C and then take B from behind. Similar things on other maps.

Of course, it was still frustrating when my teammates did the exact opposite and lost us the game. But hey, Medallions.

Honestly, I've felt like such a noob with Destiny. I can aim and jump and shoot fine but strategy and tactics has been slow to come to me.

Alright, commence list!

Gameplay

Control schemes with sprint NOT on left stick click
Really I'd like to try anything else.

It feels awkward to push the left stick forward and then try to click it in to sprint. Two simultaneous actions on the same digit, that the stick doesn't feel designed to do; the contact surface area is much less when pushed forward. Unless you guys have giant hands or some voodoo way of holding the Dualshock 4. Consequently, it can get uncomfortable to do this frequently. Which I do. Because speed.

I had a little think this last weekend and I'd like to try this modification to default PS4 controls:

• L3: Crouch (and keep toggle crouch)
  
• R3: Sprint
  
• B: Inspect player

Or simply swap the sticks:

• L3: Inspect player
  
• R3: Sprint

I find I don't really want to adjust my aim when I'm starting to sprint, and I don't have cause to be moving laterally in Destiny when trying to crouch. So, putting those functions on opposite sticks makes sense to me. It does break with the 'tradition' that CoD established of having having sprint on left stick but, tradition is crap when it comes to comfort.

The first option does make sliding more awkward to activate, but at the same, it's less frequent than sprinting (you have to sprint first to slide, so sliding instances are strictly fewer than sprinting actions. Therefore, less discomfort). Players also retain their ability to aim while sliding.

Another alternative I'd like to try is to simply allow the option to swap the sticks' click actions. A stick click still feels like overkill placement for inspect but, I can't think of much better (and obviously Bungie can't either).

Accuracy feedback on ADS while mid-air
If I'm aiming in a direction I expect my bullets to go that direction. But often, while jumping, the shots are sent flying all over the place - that's fine, that's to balance the insane jumping abilities. But this inaccuracy isn't communicated to the player at all. Throw our sights and weapons around the screen a bit while mid-air so we know we're not aiming straight.

No delay between audio objective and being able to complete action
It's very frustrating to have Ghost say 'get me there!' and you're standing right next to it, with everybody dead, and can't do anything for several more seconds. Times I particularly remember are at the end of Charging the Eye of the Gate lord, starting Venus Patrol and trying to pick up the objective right in front of you, and the very end of Buried City with the old computer stack thingy. But it happens all the time.

Make 'deploy ghost' two-step button process that matches animation
On PS4: press touch-bad to bring up ghost, then X to deploy (for example)

Makes it more quicker, more kinetic. Saves players time and breaks up monotony of the action when patrolling a lot or doing missions.

Level 30 Nightfall Story missions
I dare Bungie to dare us.

Ammo synth sharing
In PvE, if you use an ammo synth within 20m of your Fireteam, a box for them will drop from your character as well as loading your own ammo up. So it's more similar to Heavy Ammo Boxes in PvP. Only downside is: it's one more thing to network.

However, it will encourage teamwork and coordination, allows teams to optimise resource usage, and share when a player has run out or forgets to bring some along. Players also start associating player-activated heavy ammo with 'whole team huddles close' so it might help proper usage in PvP as well.

Loot Mechanics

Able to upgrade armour pieces to max stat bonuses regardless of initial rolls
Luck is fine, but feeling like you're permanently doomed to keep buying/finding slightly better versions of the same armour you've already got isn't. On top of that, you lose all the XP and materials you'd put into a worse armour piece.

Case in point: The Armamentarium. Comes out at Xur a while ago. Decent Discipline, buy it. Then it comes again with slightly more. Then even more. Fine, I'll buy this one again. Then a couple of weeks ago it's 138 - 2 off the current estimated maximum. Then I do the Nightfall and get one that is 137. But I might as well shard that one and get the Xur one. *sigh*

So I've gone through 4 of the same exotic chest piece with different stats and still feel like it's not quite the best I can get. But will it even be worth anything after Crota's End and the next expansion?

Please, fix this Bungie.

All armour engrams should decode into random class
Currently, the decoded class of armour engrams depends on the class of the character handing them in. Which ends up with strange situations like mine: where I'm awash with Sapphire wire for my 2 Hunters with nothing to spend it on, but am having to feed my Titan with engrams through the Vault to get enough Plasteel Plating to get her to 29.

But if it decoded into a random class, this wouldn't happen.

Then a player isn't as surprised (and disappointed) when suddenly their Legendary and Exotic armour engrams give them pieces for other classes. They'll also build up a fund of class-specific armour materials (at least) and can save strategic armour pieces to make leveling a new character easier.

Scavenge perks from other Legendary weapons to make your ideal customised one
Despite the fact I didn't get a chance to use it, I'm glad Bungie implemented the 'Reforging' for Iron Banner weapons. So you got another chance to get perks you wanted from RNGesus without having to find or buy a whole new weapon. Still, I want a definite path to this ability as well.

Suggestion: the ability to 'scavenge' a perk from a weapon of the same class and quality as you dismantle it. One perk at a time. Then you take the scavenged perks and the weapon you want to customise to Banshee and he'll put it together.

Long and kinda grindy, sure, but you can at least feel like you're making progress to where you want to go. Make the device that does it a Nightfall reward or something.

Guardian Outfitter to repair capes
Seriously, my FWC one looks BATTERED. I swear Laksmi just pulled this rag from the bottom of the pile. As the most stylish class, I don't think dirty, torn capes are acceptable. Especially since the one I pulled out of a dusty hole on Venus is absolutely pristine (the Shattered Vault cloak).

Bonus: allow the outfitter to apply different 'wear' effects on any armour piece. Scratches, tears, dirt etc. As well as a 'pristine' look.

Right now I never visit her. So she must be getting lonely behind all those puddles.

UI

Manage all character's inventory from Vault
Or really anything that makes cross-character inventory management quicker and easier

I'm getting annoyed at trying to use a glimmer consumable and realising I've left it on another character. Or leaving my fully upgraded scout rifle equipped by another.

It's such a hassle right now and it doesn't need to be, and shouldn't be.

Pop-up notification when buffs have expired
On Monday night I wasted a hand-in of a bounty for Iron Banner because I didn't realise that my Tempered buff had expired. That meant I didn't quite get to rep 5 by the time I passed out, and couldn't get the Goldspiral I wanted or could even comtemplate the Scout Rifle. The player feedback isn't every kill like a Glimmer consumable, nor is it until a set time like the Nightfall XP buff, so I think we need something a little extra for Tempered.

More detailed Bounty Icons
So we can see at-a-glance which ones are getting close. Is it an XP without dying, Major/Ultra Kills, a target kill, etc.

Note: probably an issue with memory and loading time on last-gen consoles so I'm not too hopeful here)

Mark missions/planets we have active bounties for in the Director
e.g. If we have a '200 impact shards on moon' bounty active, give us a litte icon to help us decide where to go without going back to inventory screen all the time. Mission-specific bounties are hard to remember all the bosses and mini-bosses names as well.

More up-front objective info for kill & collect Patrol missions
For a long time I would pick some of these up, and not realise that pressing the touch pad (PS4) would bring up a piece of text telling you who to kill. So I was confused as to why I was killing loads of dudes and not seeing anything to pick up.

Obviously, it's only specific enemies, and even then not all of them. Dialogue, on-screen text, anything that say's 'Kill X, collect Y' without having press the button every time.

Engram counter at cryptarch hand-in screen
Like the house banners et al. have. The UI stacks the same type of engram, but doesn't tell you how high the stack is. Really minor.

TLW: Destiny is still cool. Looking forward to The Dark Below. :D