February 2015 – Page 2 – Destiny-Guide

Destiny: These same concepts could easily be applied

After the debacle of The Dark Below expansion’s economy, which reset progress on weapons, the game could honestly use some cohesive form of community feedback that doesn’t involve forums exploding with anger when an update is released and then weeks of grousing about how Bungie should have implemented changes.

The reactions to the upcoming weapon changes are another example. Destiny players are already complaining about the nerfs to the Auto Rifles and other weapons. A Public Test Server where Bungie could get feedback and real-world data for weapon changes could only be beneficial.

Obviously, the implementation of how to run a Public Test Server for Destiny and who to allow in is up for debate. Microsoft already has the Preview Program running for the Xbox One to make it easier to get feedback from players. The PlayStation 4 could easily deliver updates as well.

“We’re learning and watching and seeing and responding day-in and day-out,” a Bungie representative told GameSpot about learning from mistakes since the game’s launch. “We put this thing out there; we hoped that it would resonate with people. And we’re watching and we’re seeing what’s working and what’s not and trying to adjust. So it’s a passion for us.”

It’s clear that Bungie likes to surprise players with new content. However, when that content is filled with glitches and changes the economy in a way that frustrates players, perhaps it is time to consider a different approach. It may be too late for The House of Wolves expansion that’s scheduled for a second quarter release, but maybe it’s something for Bungie to consider with the Comet expansion in the fall.

Server For Future PlayStation And Xbox Updates From Destiny

Destiny players on PlayStation and Xbox consoles are already familiar with tweaks and changes to the game’s economy, gameplay, and weapons. In fact, Bungie recently detailed a slew of weapon buffs and nerfs coming in the next patch. However, the developer admitted that it has made mistakes in the past and is still learning. Which begs the questions, should Destiny power leveling have an on-going public test server to ensure the changes are well-received by the community?

Bungie has avoided calling Destiny a massively multiplayer online (MMO) game and has gone with “shared world shooter” in the past. Still, many consider the game to be a MMO or at least a MMO-lite (like myself) and public test servers aren’t uncommon with MMO titles.

For example, The Elder Scrolls Online launched a public test server last June. It is currently being used to test the upcoming 1.6 update which is adding all new functionality like the Justice and Champion Systems plus the Crown Store that is part of the new Buy-to-Play economy. It’s only been out approximately a week and ZeniMax Online has already fixed numerous issues with a 1.6.1 patch. There’s been over 300 suggestions from those who have played on the test server as well.

The idea of a Public Test Server isn’t limited to MMOs either. DICE opened a Community Test Environment for Battlefield 4 Premium Members last year to help its developers iron out issues to the game and make updates to gameplay elements such as movement and weapon balance. Other examples include Diablo III‘s Public Test Realm and World of WarCraft‘s Public Test Realm too.

Massive Leak Has Revealed Dozens Of New Pieces Of Weaponry And Armor

If you’re curious what new items Bungie has in store for players later this year when Destiny’s next expansion, House of Wolves, releases, wonder no more. A massive leak has revealed dozens of new pieces of weaponry and armor that is supposedly coming later this year, along with new story details about House of Wolves.

Destiny Spoilers Below: Read At Your Own Risk

The leak comes via Reddit, from a poster named megamanexe4 who claims they’ve found a way to access the as-of-yet unreleased files coming in House of Wolves. The original poster says they are not good at English and appears to have translated their words using Googe Translator. Nobody is quite sure what exactly the OP is saying or how they obtained the files, but it is definitely the real deal, as the post links to dozens of previously never-before-seen items.

First up is a look at the story that will surround the House of Wolves expansion. The OP seems to have found the “Purchase DLC” screen that serves as a preview of the content in the expansion. It gives away a few plot points, mainly that the Awoken Queen’s Fallen soldiers have gone rogue. It will be up to players to hunt down the traitors, which will lead into the new strike and raid included in the DLC.

Megamanexe4 goes on to link brand new Vanguard and Crucible gear for each class. None of the item names and descriptions are in English, but players can at least get a glimpse at the raw stats of the new gear. There are far too many images to all post here, but here’s a sneak peak at a few of the items players can look forward to. These images are (according to the OP) new Vanguard helmets for each of the classes, as well as new Vanguard weapons.

These new pieces of gear, per the post, look to raise an item’s maximum light level to 39. It also looks like the level requirement for the weekly nightfall strike will be bumped up to level 32, Destiny power leveling let you upgrade easieras.

Perhaps most interesting of all is the release date for the expansion, according to the post. Previously rumored to be released sometime in March, the OP claims House of Wolves won’t actually release until May. We won’t know for sure until Bungie makes a formal announcement, which may come sooner rather than later in light of the leak.

So what do you think? Do these new pieces of gear look promising? Bungie says they won’t be making the same mistakes in House of Wolves that they did in the game’s first expansion, The Dark Below, namely in how the expansion reset the talents for exotic weapons. Look for Destiny’s House of Wolves expansion to release sometime in the first half of this year.

Destiny: Bungie Will Be Patching Out This Bug In An Upcoming Update

Ready to go on a raid and then all your stored Heavy ammunition that you’ve got on you glitches itself away. Bungie is finally going to address one of the single most annoying bugs in Destiny. Destiny power leveling make your game more convenient.

Apart from its other technical problems and game mechanics issues, this particular bug has been around for quite some time and has been quite a nuisance at times. The glitch makes a player’s stock of Heavy ammunition to disappear from simple gameplay triggers such as dying, returning to orbit, or viewing unskippable cut scenes. Heavy ammo isn’t always a very commonly dropped item either, unless you have the right equipment or perks on your character.

In fact, a good chunk of your Glimmer will probably be spent on Heavy ammo during the game. This can sometimes make a or break a carefully planned battle (during a raid for instance), making this bug one of Bungie’s most frequently reported glitches right now.

Destiny’s Sandbox Engineer, Jon Cable, explained in the latest Weekly Update how they’re going about fixing the bug (Q&A style):

Jon: The basic flaw here is an ordering problem. Our inventory system creates your weapons when your characters spawn. When that happens, it tries to restore the same fraction of ammo that you had when you died. The bug occurred because the weapon is created before capacity modifiers from armor perks are applied, so the persisted fraction yields fewer rounds.

Way over my head! Sounds like you’ve identified the issue, though. Any word on why it’s taking so long to resolve?

Jon: Fixing bugs in a live game is always about managing risk. What are the chances that the fix is going to cause an issue that might be worse than the original bug? Players outnumber our testers by factors of several thousand, so if there is a problem that slips through the cracks, it is virtually guaranteed that the community will find it. This bug was mainly risky because it was at the intersection of a lot of different systems – player profiles, investment, sandbox, perks, and weapon management.

Would it be simpler and faster to just fix the affected perk?

Jon: There are a lot of weapon and armor perks in the game. Changing the order of how they are applied has a huge impact. It would have required a large restructuring of the way the game works to even accomplish this, because the armor perks can’t take effect until the weapon is created anyway. The application of armor perks would have to be inserted in between weapon creation and the rest of the weapon setup code.

So, what’s the ultimate solution?

Jon: In the end, I came up with a surgical change that fixes the main issue and minimizes the chances that a new problem would be introduced. I do not think I can overstate the complexity of these systems – it took me several tries to come up with a fix that did not cause other problems.