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Mind -> BLOWN | The nature of the Exo (via reddit) (Destiny)

by CruelLEGACEY @, Toronto, Thursday, June 11, 2015, 11:59 (3248 days ago)

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WOW: my thoughts

by Schedonnardus, Texas, Thursday, June 11, 2015, 12:25 (3248 days ago) @ CruelLEGACEY

love this.

I'm curious, how many guardians are in the final scene of the campaign with the Speaker?

Perhaps Ghosts don't really exist. They are malware in the vex systems that reboot your guardian when you die. Darkness zones are hardened areas that require a manual reboot from another guardian.

Gorgons can erase you from existence b/c they delete you from the simulation. The vault of glass is the ROOT folder. Atheon cannot remove the relic, b/c the gorgons that it is made from are hard coded into the simulation.

What if the Deathsinger learned the code that is used by the gorgons to erase data and put it to song?

Mind -> BLOWN | The nature of the Exo (via reddit)

by ChrisTheeCrappy, Thursday, June 11, 2015, 12:34 (3248 days ago) @ CruelLEGACEY

Really interesting ideas. This is why I wish the story was not in grimoire cards. Yes we wouldn't get everyone's own interpretation, but if this is even close to their ideas, that's fucking cool and i would want it hinted at a bit in the actual gameplay.

Mind -> BLOWN | The nature of the Exo (via reddit)

by yakaman, Thursday, June 11, 2015, 13:09 (3248 days ago) @ CruelLEGACEY

So this must mean that we, the players, and all of Destiny takes place in a simulation. Except, no, there is a Warmind (Rasputin) in our reality so we are in Prime. Are we all Dr Shim? Eh, we could still be in a simulation if the simulating entity was more sophisticated than a warmind...say the Traveller. Or, a Warmind itself.

So, we could still be in a simulation as long as it was Rasputin's or the Traveller's (or something even more complex). If I am to accept the Simulation philosophy, and the lore says it is true, then the odds that I am in the 'prime' layer of my existence is exceedingly low. Therefore, I must assume we are in a simulation.

Which allows us all to be Dr Shim. Allows us all to execute an activity over and over. Allows us all to own the one and only Thorn.

The Traveller might be thought of as malware itself, roaming the galaxy (universe?), and changing the rules of the simulation (ie swapping Venus, changing moons gravity, etc), while The Darkness tries to smooth out the wrinkles. The Darkness would thus be an agent of the higher reality, and therefore worthy of worship as a god (or representative of) by the Vex.

Mind -> BLOWN | The nature of the Exo (via reddit)

by General Battuta, Thursday, June 11, 2015, 21:26 (3247 days ago) @ yakaman

At some point you have to accept that a simulation is equivalent to a reality in every way that matters to the people living in it.

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You are not Dr. Shim

by Durandal, Thursday, June 11, 2015, 13:46 (3248 days ago) @ CruelLEGACEY

We already know the Vex are an almost incomprehensible enemy. The idea that Exo's were invented primarily to deal with the hazards of the Vex is appealing.

Note though the other implication, that the Vault and the Citadel are not from our native timeline.

There is an inconsistency here. The researchers model of time is a singular and immutable. You cannot go back and change time because the law of physics excludes any solutions that create a paradox.

FWC and the Vex Citadel state the opposite, that there are alternate timelines that can be crossed, the many worlds hypothesis.

Only one of these situations can be true. Time is immutable or it isn't. If the former is true, then the Stranger's mission is impossible, as are the Vex's inscrutable goals. If the latter is true then the Ishtar Collective's researchers are in for a wild ride much like Sliders.


Also, Occam's Razor: You are not Dr. Shim, Ghost just happened to use her login credentials when he hacked the lock. There is no indication Shim Prime moved to an Exo body and then died fighting in the Cosmodrome.

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What if you are the traveler?

by Schedonnardus, Texas, Thursday, June 11, 2015, 13:57 (3247 days ago) @ Durandal

- No text -

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You are not Dr. Shim

by Ragashingo ⌂, Official DBO Cryptarch, Thursday, June 11, 2015, 14:11 (3247 days ago) @ Durandal

Also, Occam's Razor: You are not Dr. Shim, Ghost just happened to use her login credentials when he hacked the lock. There is no indication Shim Prime moved to an Exo body and then died fighting in the Cosmodrome.

Yeah, that's what I thought. Even simpler than that though, to the best of our knowledge Awoken did not exist until the collapse and you can play as an Awoken... The genderless thing with Dr. Shim is interesting, but yeah, we'd need a lot more explanation on how "you" went from researching the Vex on Venus to being an Exo or Awoken dead in a line of cars trying to get into the Cosmodrome.

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You are not Dr. Shim

by Cody Miller @, Music of the Spheres - Never Forgot, Thursday, June 11, 2015, 14:33 (3247 days ago) @ Durandal

There is an inconsistency here. The researchers model of time is a singular and immutable. You cannot go back and change time because the law of physics excludes any solutions that create a paradox.

FWC and the Vex Citadel state the opposite, that there are alternate timelines that can be crossed, the many worlds hypothesis.

Only one of these situations can be true. Time is immutable or it isn't.

I don't see how something crossing from one quantum world into another violates the Lost / Terminator rules of time travel. They don't seem mutually exclusive to me.

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Or are you?

by CruelLEGACEY @, Toronto, Thursday, June 11, 2015, 15:20 (3247 days ago) @ Durandal


Also, Occam's Razor: You are not Dr. Shim, Ghost just happened to use her login credentials when he hacked the lock. There is no indication Shim Prime moved to an Exo body and then died fighting in the Cosmodrome.

I was about to invoke Occam's Razor in the opposite direction: If the lab AI identifies you as Dr Shim, it's because you are Dr Shim. If ghost merely used Shim's login credentials, then why would he be surprised when the AI identifies you as Shim?

I LOVE this stuff :D

Occam's Electric Toothbrush

by someotherguy, Hertfordshire, England, Thursday, June 11, 2015, 15:27 (3247 days ago) @ CruelLEGACEY

The Speaker is Dr. Shim, Exo are robots from the future, Vex are sophisticated Golden Age Toys Gone Bad and The Traveler didn't cause the Golden age - it was just passing through at the time. Xür is also Dr. Shim - identical twins, hence the speakers mask.

Actually, I might be onto something with that last one.

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Post of the day :)

by CruelLEGACEY @, Toronto, Thursday, June 11, 2015, 15:28 (3247 days ago) @ someotherguy

- No text -

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Or are you?

by Durandal, Thursday, June 11, 2015, 15:57 (3247 days ago) @ CruelLEGACEY

Because it was encrypted via radial A. Ghost didn't know whom he stole the log in info for, just that he had gotten it.

Given the stated dangers of just being in proximity to Vex structures, it is reasonable that the collective took serious measures to keep people from poking around, including encrypting the login data. So even if Ghost decrypted the user ID in order to get access, he would have no idea who the ID was for.

Not how security works

by Earendil, Thursday, June 11, 2015, 16:21 (3247 days ago) @ Durandal

Because it was encrypted via radial A. Ghost didn't know whom he stole the log in info for, just that he had gotten it.

Given the stated dangers of just being in proximity to Vex structures, it is reasonable that the collective took serious measures to keep people from poking around, including encrypting the login data. So even if Ghost decrypted the user ID in order to get access, he would have no idea who the ID was for.

That isn't true, at least not today.

User Names are usually clear text, while passwords are hashed. You may not be able to look at the hash and determine anything from it, but you can look at the user name. On top of that, when systems are "hacked" they usually bypass the authentication system entirely. Brute forcing (rainbow attacks etc) would, if successful, give you the login and password in clear text. Bypassing the authentication entirely would mean that the doors were opened, but the AI wouldn't know who entered.

Having said that, the problems with encryption in use today, are already solved problems, it's just that the world is slow to adopt the solutions. Given the time difference, I would not expect traditional login/pw brute forcing and related "hacks" to be the way of the future. For example, you can simply have a couple incorrect attempts lock out the account. No matter how fast Ghost could brute force, he'd never be so lucky to nail it in the first couple tries.

On top of that, when you break into a system via a REAL login and password, it's usually really simple to figure out who you logged in as, because there is a permission level associated with that person that Ghost would most certainly want to know. Given that he hacked in whole minutes before the Dr. Shim greeting, ghost should have known who he signed into the system as.

And again, since you brought it up, Occam's Razor. We have an AI that interfaces with hardware via light beams, and cracks doors all the time. If every other instance of cracking a door open, I doubt he's using a Hive login/pw. So, I don't think he typed in a password, I think he bypassed the security and authentication entirely, giving himself root access to all data, not a subset of data limited by whatever "random" credentials he happened upon first.

Now, modern security tends to use two-factor authentication. Something you have, and something you know. Something you "know" could be guessed, hacked, or bypassed, and usually would not be identifying. For example, I know my passcode for work, and my work does not. They have a hashed version, but that's it. On the other hand, the "have" usually is identifying. In my case it's a keycard, which identifies me as a unique entity on the system. This is also where biometrics are used. A finger print, an eye scan, an entire body scan. That is something you have, combined with something you know.

So, either Ghost went through the authentication system, in which case Ghost knows who he logged in as, and shouldn't be surprised by being referred to as that. Or, and this is my simple explanation, Ghost went around the authentication system, and security before or after identified us biometrically as Dr. Shim.

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Not how security works

by Kermit @, Raleigh, NC, Friday, June 12, 2015, 18:20 (3246 days ago) @ Earendil

Because it was encrypted via radial A. Ghost didn't know whom he stole the log in info for, just that he had gotten it.

Given the stated dangers of just being in proximity to Vex structures, it is reasonable that the collective took serious measures to keep people from poking around, including encrypting the login data. So even if Ghost decrypted the user ID in order to get access, he would have no idea who the ID was for.


That isn't true, at least not today.

User Names are usually clear text, while passwords are hashed. You may not be able to look at the hash and determine anything from it, but you can look at the user name. On top of that, when systems are "hacked" they usually bypass the authentication system entirely. Brute forcing (rainbow attacks etc) would, if successful, give you the login and password in clear text. Bypassing the authentication entirely would mean that the doors were opened, but the AI wouldn't know who entered.

Having said that, the problems with encryption in use today, are already solved problems, it's just that the world is slow to adopt the solutions. Given the time difference, I would not expect traditional login/pw brute forcing and related "hacks" to be the way of the future. For example, you can simply have a couple incorrect attempts lock out the account. No matter how fast Ghost could brute force, he'd never be so lucky to nail it in the first couple tries.

On top of that, when you break into a system via a REAL login and password, it's usually really simple to figure out who you logged in as, because there is a permission level associated with that person that Ghost would most certainly want to know. Given that he hacked in whole minutes before the Dr. Shim greeting, ghost should have known who he signed into the system as.

He may have known the user ID, but that means nothing.

Even today, User IDs do not have to bear any resemblance to a real person's name.

Not how security works

by Earendil, Friday, June 12, 2015, 18:31 (3246 days ago) @ Kermit

He may have known the user ID, but that means nothing.

Even today, User IDs do not have to bear any resemblance to a real person's name.

Even if true, there HAS to be a link between the user ID and Dr. Shim, else the computer that Ghost broke into wouldn't know that it was Dr. Shim...unless, as I postulate, the facility is able to determine a person's identity based on biometrics.

It just seems very limiting to say that our hack-bot was able to break into the computer to open the door, and access "A wealth of information", yet is surprised (and then dismissive) of the way in which he got in. If anything, the mere fact that Ghost had access to all that data means that he either logged in as one of the key scientists, or was logged in as a sort of Admin... or not actually logged in at all.

Now, it's plausible that the Bungie writers didn't know enough to make this completely realistic. However, we break through a lot of doors, and this is the only door where we're greeted on the other side. There are also no other references or reasons in game for Dr. Shim's name to even appear. In the real world maybe the two are only connected by happenstance, but this game was designed, and we were intentionally called Dr. Shim for some reason.

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Not how security works

by Xenos @, Shores of Time, Saturday, June 13, 2015, 20:28 (3245 days ago) @ Earendil

There is actually another possibility, even if less likely: Dr. Shim is the only one who had access to that archive and therefore it greeted anyone as Dr. Shim who entered the proper credentials based on the logical conclusion that it would be Dr. Shim.

This has happened to me a number of times in IT. Someone has a customized greeting for their system. I login as root, and the startup sound is a customized sound intended for their main sysadmin, but I get the greeting because it was set system-wide instead of based on user.

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Not how security works

by Ragashingo ⌂, Official DBO Cryptarch, Saturday, June 13, 2015, 20:49 (3245 days ago) @ Xenos

This one is pretty easily disproved. Right after you go in the big locked doors there's a number of skeletons on the floor on the left. I wouldn't be surprised if there were more scattered around the archive room itself. :)

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Not how security works

by Xenos @, Shores of Time, Saturday, June 13, 2015, 22:25 (3245 days ago) @ Ragashingo

This one is pretty easily disproved. Right after you go in the big locked doors there's a number of skeletons on the floor on the left. I wouldn't be surprised if there were more scattered around the archive room itself. :)

Notice though I said he's the only one that has access, meaning credentials. I was more imagining that if anyone was in there it was because Dr. Shin entered his credentials, not that no one else would physically be there. :)

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Not how security works

by Schedonnardus, Texas, Saturday, June 13, 2015, 17:39 (3245 days ago) @ Earendil

[image]

Occam's Razor is too simply here

by Earendil, Thursday, June 11, 2015, 15:28 (3247 days ago) @ Durandal

We already know the Vex are an almost incomprehensible enemy. The idea that Exo's were invented primarily to deal with the hazards of the Vex is appealing.

Note though the other implication, that the Vault and the Citadel are not from our native timeline.

There is an inconsistency here. The researchers model of time is a singular and immutable. You cannot go back and change time because the law of physics excludes any solutions that create a paradox.

FWC and the Vex Citadel state the opposite, that there are alternate timelines that can be crossed, the many worlds hypothesis.

Only one of these situations can be true. Time is immutable or it isn't. If the former is true, then the Stranger's mission is impossible, as are the Vex's inscrutable goals. If the latter is true then the Ishtar Collective's researchers are in for a wild ride much like Sliders.

I think the entire "we are a simulation" idea doesn't allow for time to be immutable. Perhaps the simulation can be reset to a certain point in time? If some amount of memory or information were to survive the reset, then that would be a sort of time travel, in that you could send information back to your past self, thus effecting the next outcome of the simulation.


Also, Occam's Razor: You are not Dr. Shim, Ghost just happened to use her login credentials when he hacked the lock. There is no indication Shim Prime moved to an Exo body and then died fighting in the Cosmodrome.

Not that Ghost doesn't spill out all kinds of mumbo jumbo, but that doesn't fit with what ghost does or how he reacts.
If ghost used a simple login/pw he got it in one of two ways
1. The tower, in which case he really should't be surprised by the Dr. Shim greeting
2. He brute forced it, which would defy the "radial A encryption" that Ghost goes on about. You don't need to know the encryption algorithm in order to brute force something.

It seems more likely to me that Ghost did a more traditional hack and found a way to bypass the security all together. That's the simplest explanation in my mind. It's also simply to imagine that in the future biometrics would be used as passwords, not something you enter into a keypad. It is in fact the idea of biometrics that made me SURE we were Dr. Shim when we first arrived.

I would agree that Shim moving to an Exo body and going to earth is an unsupported leap. However it is also a plausible one in the absence of other information. The motivation and ability to transfer into an Exo (or simulation a perfect version of themselves inside an exo) would have lied with those scientists if anyone. As the Golden age came to an end, going back to earth would be a plausible location to retreat to. Plus, just because every other human at the spaceport was trying to escape Earth, doesn't mean Dr. Shim wasn't just arriving. If we assume Dr. Shim didn't die on Venus (for which we have no evidense) then where is the most likely location for Dr. Shim to die?

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We're missing the obvious!

by Ragashingo ⌂, Official DBO Cryptarch, Thursday, June 11, 2015, 15:29 (3247 days ago) @ Durandal

Our Guardians aren't Dr. Shim. Our Ghost is! :)

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Mind blown... Again!

by CruelLEGACEY @, Toronto, Thursday, June 11, 2015, 15:30 (3247 days ago) @ Ragashingo

- No text -

Ha! This almost made it into my Electric Toothbrush post.

by someotherguy, Hertfordshire, England, Thursday, June 11, 2015, 15:33 (3247 days ago) @ Ragashingo

But it was too plausible.i like the idea of Ghosts being repurposed simulations, maybe rescued from the Citadel by the traveller. Or "rescued".

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We're missing the obvious!

by dogcow @, Hiding from Bob, in the vent core., Thursday, June 11, 2015, 16:17 (3247 days ago) @ Ragashingo

Our Guardians aren't Dr. Shim. Our Ghost is! :)

I've often thought that MY ghost is the traveller, it's essence put into a ghost. Everyone else's ghost is a decoy. :)

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We're missing the obvious!

by CruelLEGACEY @, Toronto, Thursday, June 11, 2015, 16:49 (3247 days ago) @ dogcow

Our Guardians aren't Dr. Shim. Our Ghost is! :)


I've often thought that MY ghost is the traveller, it's essence put into a ghost. Everyone else's ghost is a decoy. :)

Now that would be an interesting twist.

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Mind -> BLOWN | The nature of the Exo (via reddit)

by Ragashingo ⌂, Official DBO Cryptarch, Thursday, June 11, 2015, 14:07 (3247 days ago) @ CruelLEGACEY

It's a good theory but he missed some stuff. Specifically, stuff about the Exos. In Ghost Fragment: Exo we have an Exo trying to reason with us about his existence. That both we and he are machines, one biological and one super high tech / mechanical. But then he asks the question:

Why does a war machine have emotions? Why should a war machine have awareness? These are not useful traits on the battlefield. Don't flatter yourself. They are not useful. So why should the Exo mind mimic the human architecture so closely?

and concludes:

I think someone wanted to live forever.

That doesn't really fit with the story of the Ishtar scientists. At least not yet...

I am however fully on board with the Exo Stranger being one of the scientists. Note in her card:

Stories of an Exo who walks in the Darkness without a Ghost have long haunted the Tower. Legends say this anomaly dissolves in and out of the world, intangible and elusive, as if she is a visitor from somewhere beyond.

Some believe she's the last of an ancient Exo squadron, fighting a long-forgotten war. Others dismiss her as a hallucination caused by exposure to Vex technology. But there are those who maintain that her intervention saved their lives - or averted unspeakable catastrophes

That's a nice dovetailing of the stories there.

A couple of side notes:

1. Their copies were rescued from a Vex simulation and now they've all voted to go explore in the Vex network. Surely that ends very badly for most of them, right?! That said, the Ishtar Archive had "mappings of a Vex underworld. A place called the Vault of Glass." Maybe now we can guess where those mappings came from?

2. Is it just me, or does connecting a Warmind to a Vex mind, even to rescue some trapped Humans, sound like a really really bad idea? It's interesting that our Warminds were more powerful than a Vex would could perfectly simulate 227 realities at once, but I can't imagine that everything went as perfectly with the rescue and neural firewalling as we're led to believe here. I wonder which Warmind it was that they contacted...

This is why they'd have emotion

by Earendil, Thursday, June 11, 2015, 15:13 (3247 days ago) @ Ragashingo

It's a good theory but he missed some stuff. Specifically, stuff about the Exos. In Ghost Fragment: Exo we have an Exo trying to reason with us about his existence. That both we and he are machines, one biological and one super high tech / mechanical. But then he asks the question:

Why does a war machine have emotions? Why should a war machine have awareness? These are not useful traits on the battlefield. Don't flatter yourself. They are not useful. So why should the Exo mind mimic the human architecture so closely?


and concludes:

I think someone wanted to live forever.


That doesn't really fit with the story of the Ishtar scientists. At least not yet...

I am however fully on board with the Exo Stranger being one of the scientists. Note in her card:

According to the theory put forward, you have two scientists (half of them) that are in love. That's good enough reason to choose a design to incorporates emotion assuming the scientist wanted to take on the body. If the scientist was able to inhabit an exo, I would expect emotion and living forever to be at the top of the list. Contrary, if you built Exos simply as battle bots, there is no reason for emotion.

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Mind -> BLOWN | The nature of the Exo (via reddit)

by dogcow @, Hiding from Bob, in the vent core., Thursday, June 11, 2015, 14:35 (3247 days ago) @ CruelLEGACEY

I just read through Vex 1 - 4 yesterday over lunch break, and I had similar thoughts, but I didn't take it all the way to Dr. Shim. O.o!

The question I was pondering is what kind of Vex was the specimen they had? I suspect an Oracle or a Gorgon and not just a regular old combatant Vex.

I had the exact same thoughts re: "Welcome Doctor Shim"

by someotherguy, Hertfordshire, England, Thursday, June 11, 2015, 15:17 (3247 days ago) @ CruelLEGACEY

- No text -

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Dear Bungie/Activision

by red robber @, Crawfish Country, Thursday, June 11, 2015, 16:18 (3247 days ago) @ CruelLEGACEY

Can we get some Destiny novels pleaze?

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Not written by Greg Bear

by Durandal, Thursday, June 11, 2015, 16:46 (3247 days ago) @ red robber

Not that he doesn't know how to write, but Bear's Halo prequels are cringe worthy.

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O_o

by CruelLEGACEY @, Toronto, Thursday, June 11, 2015, 16:48 (3247 days ago) @ Durandal

I LOVED them. Yes, even the 2nd one.

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I loved them all.

by red robber @, Crawfish Country, Thursday, June 11, 2015, 16:50 (3247 days ago) @ CruelLEGACEY

Some people didn't like the Karen Travis novel either, Glasslands IIRC. But I've enjoyed every single one. Come to think, there are still a few I haven't read. Need to pick up that series about the forerunners.

huh...

by electricpirate @, Thursday, June 11, 2015, 16:53 (3247 days ago) @ CruelLEGACEY

So my complaints about Bears novels was that constant verbal stream of meaningless sci fi jibber jabber. Kind of the exact thing Destiny does.

No wonder I didn't like the storytelling of either.

Couldn't get through the second one

by Monochron, Thursday, June 11, 2015, 20:43 (3247 days ago) @ CruelLEGACEY

Yes, even the 2nd one.

I think he is a good writter it was just . . . too murky? Reading about them slogging around the ring chapter after chapter was like wading through mud. I must have started and stopped reading that book 5 times now.

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Couldn't get through the second one

by Ragashingo ⌂, Official DBO Cryptarch, Thursday, June 11, 2015, 21:00 (3247 days ago) @ Monochron

I kinda liked the ring slog section for the different perspective on a halo ring. It was one of the few points that I felt I kinda sorta understood where I was within the Halo universe. Earth and the Forerunners and even the Flood were all described so differently I often felt lost. In some ways that gave me a new perspective on Halo but in a lot of others I felt it was too much of a challenge to just figure out how this might possibly relate to the Halo stuff I did know...

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He removed all agency

by Durandal, Friday, June 12, 2015, 09:57 (3247 days ago) @ Ragashingo

I read his first two books, and he completely removes all agency from the characters. They just wander around like dumb mouth breathing tourists for most of the books. Humans also go from having this awesome empire, losing it in an epic confrontation with the rulers of the known universe, who then give it back because they have determined that humans are "special". Also, Forrunners are jerks to their creators and the rest of the universe.

Prior to that we had a largely benevolent galaxy spanning commonwealth that engaged in a centuries long war with an extremely intelligent and virulent parasite and ended up sacrificing themselves in order to save the galaxy from being eaten.

I mean according to 343's fluff the Human/Forrunner war could have been prevented by a phone call, and the current Didact's madon for humans is completely irrational.

Based on that, any Destiny novel better not be a bunch of random people with personality problems wondering about the traveler while they schlep around the solar system. I'm really sick of these epic Sci Fy backstories ignored for lame characters that end with a shallow ME3 3 color light show.

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I think that was intentional *mild spoilers*

by CruelLEGACEY @, Toronto, Friday, June 12, 2015, 13:28 (3247 days ago) @ Durandal

By the time you get to the 3rd book, the sense of dread is palpable. There's a strong feeling of "inevitability" about the whole thing that makes the flood terrifying. The Forerunners feel powerless to stop them.

As far as the 2nd book goes, what made the whole thing worthwhile for me was Guilty Spark's "creation". The transition happened gradually, in pieces. It's difficult to pinpoint the moment when he stopped being who he was, and became who he is. I thought the tragedy and sense of loss was beautifully written.

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Couldn't get through the second one

by Kermit @, Raleigh, NC, Friday, June 12, 2015, 13:41 (3247 days ago) @ Monochron

It took me a year to read the first one. Didn't make it to the second one.

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Couldn't get through the second one

by Ragashingo ⌂, Official DBO Cryptarch, Friday, June 12, 2015, 13:49 (3247 days ago) @ Kermit

I think the first one was actually much harder for me to get through. It seemed so disconnected from Halo until it finally sorta kinda picked up near the end. Again, I did like the very alien viewpoint the books brought, but maybe they could have both been alien and Halo at the same time? Well... maybe not.

I never bought the third. Mainly because of Halo 4.

Couldn't get through the second one

by Monochron, Friday, June 12, 2015, 15:49 (3246 days ago) @ Kermit

The last chunk of the first one was interesting enough to keep me going. Also I think I was incredibly bored at a dull internship at the time...

+1

by Oholiab @, Thursday, June 11, 2015, 17:45 (3247 days ago) @ Durandal

- No text -

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Dear Destiny stop hiding great stories in terrible card form

by CommandrCleavage @, USA-Midwest, Thursday, June 11, 2015, 17:38 (3247 days ago) @ red robber

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+1 again

by Oholiab @, Thursday, June 11, 2015, 17:45 (3247 days ago) @ CommandrCleavage

- No text -

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The form's bad, but the writing's great.

by Funkmon @, Thursday, June 11, 2015, 18:38 (3247 days ago) @ CommandrCleavage

- No text -

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The form is fine.

by Kermit @, Raleigh, NC, Friday, June 12, 2015, 13:40 (3247 days ago) @ Funkmon

The game lacks story. If it didn't the cards would be this supplementary cool thing for the hardcore. There's not enough to supplement--that's the issue.

No it isn't

by Avateur @, Friday, June 12, 2015, 16:52 (3246 days ago) @ Kermit

The UI is mostly terrible on it. If you literally mean the form as in the fact that it's online as opposed to in the game, I'll meet you half way and say there's nothing inherently wrong with that aside from the given fact that the game itself has -9000% story and narrative, but the Grimoire display itself is a mess and hardly easy to navigate.

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No it isn't

by Kermit @, Raleigh, NC, Friday, June 12, 2015, 18:15 (3246 days ago) @ Avateur

I think if people were happy with the Destiny in-game story they'd think the Grimoire cards were slick and awesome as implemented.

If the only decent story in Halo 3 were in the terminals, then we'd be upset that they are hard to get to and disappear after seven seconds. As is, most people think the implementation is really cool.

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One million times this.

by Kahzgul, Thursday, June 11, 2015, 23:34 (3247 days ago) @ CommandrCleavage

- No text -

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Mind -> BLOWN | The nature of the Exo (via reddit)

by CommandrCleavage @, USA-Midwest, Thursday, June 11, 2015, 17:31 (3247 days ago) @ CruelLEGACEY

[image]

It's going to take at least 10 read throughs to wrap my head around this.

CC

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I know I'm a broken record...

by car15, Thursday, June 11, 2015, 19:25 (3247 days ago) @ CruelLEGACEY

...but WHY is this stuff not in the actual game?!

Relegating this kind of deep and interesting lore to Pokemon cards that are not available in the game itself kills immersion.

No....

by Earendil, Thursday, June 11, 2015, 19:27 (3247 days ago) @ car15

...but WHY is this stuff not in the game itself?!

Relegating this kind of deep and interesting lore to Pokemon cards that are not available in the actual game kills immersion.

Being confronted in game with a wall of text breaks immersion. Some of the cards are better campfire stories, not something that would be read to you mid-mission.

I won't argue that it would be good to get more of this stuff into the game, BUT I don't think you could put it all into the game without it being highly distracting and immersion breaking.

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No....

by stabbim @, Des Moines, IA, USA, Thursday, June 11, 2015, 19:45 (3247 days ago) @ Earendil

I don't think he really meant just taking the same text word-for-word and dumping it into the game. I don't think most of the people who talk about "putting the Grimoire content in the game" mean it literally in that way.

What they (we) do mean is that there is a LOT about the nature of the Destiny universe and characters that potentially could have been hinted at more in the cutscenes and dialogue. And I believe that at least some people at Bungie probably intended to do so in the beginning - but, like so many things in game development, at some point some of that stuff wasn't a high enough priority, and was cut and/or relegated to the out-of-game Grimoire.

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No....

by car15, Thursday, June 11, 2015, 20:11 (3247 days ago) @ stabbim

Indeed.

Although I wouldn't be opposed to an in-game Grimoire viewer by any means. The Reef was a perfect opportunity for Bungie to implement a feature like that.

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No....

by stabbim @, Des Moines, IA, USA, Thursday, June 11, 2015, 20:31 (3247 days ago) @ car15

Indeed.

Although I wouldn't be opposed to an in-game Grimoire viewer by any means. The Reef was a perfect opportunity for Bungie to implement a feature like that.

I suppose I would take that option over having to go to a website or app. REALLY integrating it into the in-game story would be the best way IMO, but in lieu of that...

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No....

by Ragashingo ⌂, Official DBO Cryptarch, Thursday, June 11, 2015, 20:26 (3247 days ago) @ stabbim

At the same time I think there is a pretty strong need for cool backstory like this that isn't revealed on day one in a terminal or cutscene. And that isn't in game. Connecting the dots over time and watching stories like Thorn vs The Last Word and the story of The Ishtar Collective and perhaps the Exo Stranger come together is pretty neat. But on the flipside, I think to have such neat backstories Destiny really needs to work on its frontstory.

For instance, when we kill the Heart of the Black Garden we get a message from The Speaker saying Light is returning to The Traveler. Wut?? We knew The Traveler had been silent for a long time. We knew The Hive were attacking it via a captured shard of its shell. But we killed something in the Black Garden without really knowing what it was or what it was doing or why it was doing it. We went there to stop the Vex but we sorta accidentally fixed The Traveler too... except it still hasn't done anything over the first two expansions... even after having a big Tower ceremony at the end of the original story missions...

Describing the entire Reef Wars via in game cutscene would be way too much, but having the idea that what the Vex were doing in The Black Garden was affecting The Traveler get lost and muddled was way too little. The in-game story needs a solid shove to a place quite a bit more in between.

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No....

by stabbim @, Des Moines, IA, USA, Thursday, June 11, 2015, 20:38 (3247 days ago) @ Ragashingo

Describing the entire Reef Wars via in game cutscene would be way too much, but having the idea that what the Vex were doing in The Black Garden was affecting The Traveler get lost and muddled was way too little. The in-game story needs a solid shove to a place quite a bit more in between.

Exactly. I don't think anyone wants the entire Thorn or SGA backstory to be revealed in 2 minutes via cutscene, along with every other bit of mystery. Just... something in-game to give us an idea of how things in Destiny are connected to each other.

No....

by Earendil, Thursday, June 11, 2015, 21:55 (3247 days ago) @ stabbim

I don't think he really meant just taking the same text word-for-word and dumping it into the game. I don't think most of the people who talk about "putting the Grimoire content in the game" mean it literally in that way.

I guess that's just how I interpreted him saying (emphasis my own):
"Relegating this kind of deep and interesting lore to Pokemon cards that are not available in the game itself kills immersion."

Once you add in more basic story, and add in deep and interesting lore, exactly what are you not putting in there? This entire thread started with a story that revolved around a conversation between scientists eons ago. How do you slip that into Destiny without it being text? And if it's text, where do you put it?

Call me old fashioned, but I really don't mind reading, and think that many stories are told better as text. Do I think TLOTR movies are an incomplete telling of the story? Yes. Do I think all that info should have been squeezed into the movie? @#$% no. If you want to understand more about the movies, go read the books. And if you want to understand the books better, go read the Silmarillion, which is borderline written in Grimoire farm.

Now. Just as any movie adaptation of a book can be good, bad, or meh, I think that Destiny's game adaption of the story they obviously have written is meh bordering on bad. The example below of light returning to the travel is great. Some things were cut that shouldn't have been, some things were left in that should have been cut. I realize that the realities of game design do not allow for last minute editing of games the way they can with movies.

I do wish there was an alternative format for the cards. I'd like to sit down with them as a PDF and read them on my couch without having to flip through cards.

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Read it....

by red robber @, Crawfish Country, Thursday, June 11, 2015, 23:09 (3247 days ago) @ Earendil

Call me old fashioned, but I really don't mind reading, and think that many stories are told better as text. Do I think TLOTR movies are an incomplete telling of the story? Yes. Do I think all that info should have been squeezed into the movie? @#$% no. If you want to understand more about the movies, go read the books. And if you want to understand the books better, go read the Silmarillion, which is borderline written in Grimoire farm.

and it was the hardest thing I've ever tried to read. The beginning was kinda cool. It started like the Bible, and it also had lineages IIRC. Also it was more of a collection of stories, much like the Bible/Grimoire, not a single evolving story arc.

Read it....

by Earendil, Friday, June 12, 2015, 16:00 (3246 days ago) @ red robber

Call me old fashioned, but I really don't mind reading, and think that many stories are told better as text. Do I think TLOTR movies are an incomplete telling of the story? Yes. Do I think all that info should have been squeezed into the movie? @#$% no. If you want to understand more about the movies, go read the books. And if you want to understand the books better, go read the Silmarillion, which is borderline written in Grimoire farm.


and it was the hardest thing I've ever tried to read. The beginning was kinda cool. It started like the Bible, and it also had lineages IIRC. Also it was more of a collection of stories, much like the Bible/Grimoire, not a single evolving story arc.

Your memory is quite good. It was not the kind of material that you'd want to squeeze into TLOTR books, nor is it material that stands on its own very well. But as backstory and context for those that want more detail, it works pretty well. That's how I feel about the Grimoire as a whole, it should not be thrown into Destiny in its entirety.

Rather OT, but it's actually the Silmarillion that I'd love for Hollywood to tackle. The stories are epic and good enough for a good film, but not so detailed that Hollywood would have trouble conveying everything in two hours.

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Read it....

by iconicbanana, C2-H5-OH + NAD, Portland, OR, Friday, June 12, 2015, 16:03 (3246 days ago) @ Earendil

Rather OT, but it's actually the Silmarillion that I'd love for Hollywood to tackle. The stories are epic and good enough for a good film, but not so detailed that Hollywood would have trouble conveying everything in two hours.

It'll have to be over Christopher Tolkien's cold corpse, because he still owns the movie rights and he's never going to sell them.

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Read it....

by red robber @, Crawfish Country, Friday, June 12, 2015, 16:11 (3246 days ago) @ Earendil

Good to know I still can remember that. I read it 20 years ago. Fuck I'm old. I was in high school at the time. I really got into Fantasy back in those days. I read the LotR trilogy by checking out the novels from my high school library and I can still remember the smell of those books. The had this rustic smell that seemed like they had been saved from actual manuscripts of Bilbo.

I also remember Black Trillium which I just found out is series, and the Dragon Riders of Pern. Looks like I need to catch up on my reading.

Also a friend of mine wrote a novel that she is trying to get published. It's The Matrix meets any magical fantasy novel. First few chapters are tough to understand and still need some editing, but after that its really good.

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Problem: Game supplements the Grimoire, not vice-versa

by Schedonnardus, Texas, Friday, June 12, 2015, 11:16 (3247 days ago) @ Earendil

therein lies the problem. After the epic opening cutscene that you cannot replay (also the only cutscene that you can actually skip), you are given literally no story. Sure, we could tell you a story, but it frightens children, and besides we don't have time to explain why we don't have time to explain.

Grimoire would have been just fine had there been more meat to the campaign story.

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Problem: Game supplements the Grimoire, not vice-versa

by Kermit @, Raleigh, NC, Friday, June 12, 2015, 13:02 (3247 days ago) @ Schedonnardus


Grimoire would have been just fine had there been more meat to the campaign story.

Exactly, Grimoire cards are excellent at being what they are. The game needs more story. Different issue, really. The problem of the game not feeling like it has a narrative wouldn't be solved by allowing us to view Grimoire cards in the game.

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Problem: Game supplements the Grimoire, not vice-versa

by stabbim @, Des Moines, IA, USA, Friday, June 12, 2015, 13:05 (3247 days ago) @ Kermit

The problem of the game not feeling like it has a narrative wouldn't be solved by allowing us to view Grimoire cards in the game.

No, but it would probably mean that more people actually see them.

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Problem: Game supplements the Grimoire, not vice-versa

by Ragashingo ⌂, Official DBO Cryptarch, Friday, June 12, 2015, 13:16 (3247 days ago) @ stabbim

...and possibly not read them. In a lot of ways I like the cards being text and out of game and watching the community find hidden clues and make audio productions and explain things to each other. Destiny could put each new card full screen as you get it and I bet the majority of players would just click away from them to get back to gaming. The Grimoire isn't for most of Destiny's players, I don't think.

It's for us. And it's up to us to help share them to those interested and I kinda like that challenge. :)

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Problem: Game supplements the Grimoire, not vice-versa

by dogcow @, Hiding from Bob, in the vent core., Friday, June 12, 2015, 13:25 (3247 days ago) @ Ragashingo

Destiny could put each new card full screen as you get it and I bet the majority of players would just click away from them to get back to gaming. The Grimoire isn't for most of Destiny's players, I don't think.


That's why I suggested getting something (extra grimoire score/rep/exp/whatever) for reading the Grimoire, problem is it'd just end up being like EULA's where people don't read, but just click through.

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Right. They'd get points but they'd still just click through

by Ragashingo ⌂, Official DBO Cryptarch, Friday, June 12, 2015, 13:46 (3247 days ago) @ dogcow

Making sure they listen to the whole thing or scroll to the bottom or whatever starts to feel like too much over the shoulder hand holding to me.

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Right. They'd get points but they'd still just click through

by stabbim @, Des Moines, IA, USA, Friday, June 12, 2015, 13:52 (3247 days ago) @ Ragashingo

I'll agree with this part - people shouldn't be forced to read them. Just the OPTION to view them would be nice.

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Bonus Grimoire Score

by dogcow @, Hiding from Bob, in the vent core., Friday, June 12, 2015, 13:55 (3247 days ago) @ stabbim

Bonus grimoire score would at least give them a reason to put it in their face. I'm sure some would actually get into reading them too, but as I said, most will likely just click through. As is it's just too far away from the game to be bothered with for most people.

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Bonus Grimoire Score

by Ragashingo ⌂, Official DBO Cryptarch, Friday, June 12, 2015, 14:14 (3246 days ago) @ dogcow

RIght. DONTNOD's Remember Me is pretty much the perfect example of this. The game's main story was "almost good" but ended up pretty solidly in "blah" territory. But, it had a ton of backstory readable in game. Not so much the Grimoire but more like Mass Effect's Codex. I poked at it a bit but never got around to reading much because Remember Me's main story was so blah. I didn't feel a big need to learn the backstory to a frontstory I didn't so much like.

I'd be afraid Destiny and an in game Grimoire would suffer a similar problem. No matter how good the Grimoire stories are.

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Problem: Game supplements the Grimoire, not vice-versa

by stabbim @, Des Moines, IA, USA, Friday, June 12, 2015, 13:51 (3247 days ago) @ Ragashingo

Wait, so just because some people might ignore it, it's better to not give anyone the option? I really can't understand that notion.

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Problem: Game supplements the Grimoire, not vice-versa

by Ragashingo ⌂, Official DBO Cryptarch, Friday, June 12, 2015, 14:40 (3246 days ago) @ stabbim

By all means have it in there... after the main game gets an exposed story worthy of the wonderful backstory in the Grimoire. Given that Bungie is probably moving ever forward I'd think maybe an in-game Grimoire could wait until Destiny 2.

Problem: Game supplements the Grimoire, not vice-versa

by Earendil, Friday, June 12, 2015, 15:51 (3246 days ago) @ stabbim

Wait, so just because some people might ignore it, it's better to not give anyone the option? I really can't understand that notion.

Because development is a zero sum game*. You can't have in game Grimoire and not trade off other content that may be more useful for the majority.

*Caveat:
It actually doesn't have to be a zero sum game, but that's only when you have talent sitting unused. You could have a couple devs capable of putting the content into a cool web format, but don't have the skills to put it in game. All those with the in game skills are busy with really important things, and the testers are already over whelmed. Thus, you get Grimoire in a web browser because it requires less testing, far less risk, and doesn't take features away from the paid game.

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I mostly agree.

by dogcow @, Hiding from Bob, in the vent core., Thursday, June 11, 2015, 19:56 (3247 days ago) @ car15

...but WHY is this stuff not in the actual game?!

Relegating this kind of deep and interesting lore to Pokemon cards that are not available in the game itself kills immersion.

I certainly wish most of it made it into the game in some form, but some aren't very easily placed in game, for example, Thorn is just too long to be read by dinklebot (http://astrumterra.com/files/Ghost_Fragment_Thorn.mp3). Perhaps they could be accessed via a terminal in the tower & you would get exp/rank/rep for listening/reading them. I think this awesomeness is missed by way too many people.

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Mind -> BLOWN | The nature of the Exo (via reddit)

by slycrel ⌂, Saturday, June 13, 2015, 18:00 (3245 days ago) @ CruelLEGACEY

Thanks for sharing.

I haven't seen anyone point out that all the speculation about simulation is kind of hilarious -- BECAUSE IT IS. That's exactly what they are -- previous and next-gen simulations. I wouldn't be surprised if Bungie did all of that just a little tongue in cheek.

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