Destiny 2

Blizzard just released the PC Beta Trailer an hour ago (spoilers - you'll be able to play in 4K & uncapped FPS):

 

I think I'll be getting my Triumphs t-shirt tomorrow - of course, since customs tax costs the same amount to import as the item price and shipping (i.e., £50 for a £25 item), I won't be buying from the Bungie Store ever again...

What US developers really need is an official reseller for non-game content in the UK and EU.

 

The final trailer before release is now available:

 

Managed to get my t-shirt today from the post office - as my parents have reiterated, however, paying £25 on intl. shipping and customs delivery (on top of the other £25 it actually cost) is utter crap and I don't plan on doing it ever again. Importing from the USA has become so expensive because of Trump it feels like he's turning the country into China.

The way Bungie put my nickname on the item is even more shitty; it could've been just my name on the shoulder rather than what they've added, but I'll post a photo later this week to show it off...

I did have some good news - today another retailer got restocked with the limited edition, so I was able to purchase that and cancel the original, standard edition order I made. It is a bit more expensive, though, as this "bundle" comes with the three character-class figurines of Ikora, Zavala and Cayde-6.

 

You remember I said there would only be one more trailer before the launch? Well I was right. However, not all videos from Bungie happen to be trailers; others are actually video documentaries or narrated overviews...

So, with Gamescom this week, Bungie have made a video exploring humanity's new home in Destiny 2 - the European Dead Zone (EDZ):



Yesterday also saw the a series of character ads to bring in the game, the first being Cayde-6:

 

The second character video has been released, this time discussing Hawthorne:



IGN have also did today an interview with Bungie:

 

So Gryphon ignored my warnings about the clan being trashed by Bungie if we didn't do anything for the upgrade... it has now reverted to a group. We need at least three active persons to make it a clan again.

With the PC beta happening 28-31 August, the search/creation of a new clan is done using this link. If Gryphon doesn't want to, I can do it.

 

This week's Bungie Update discusses the control scheme for the PC beta. I've copied a screenshot for key mappings:



There are also chat commands for members of your Fireteam (/f), to whisper to someone in your Friends List (/w), or to cycle through chat visual modes (T). Though not part of the beta, they are adding a chat function for clan members as well.

The last piece of news is a list of bugs that are "known issues" with the PC beta:

• Players may encounter issues when playing the Destiny 2 Beta with drivers that are out of date. Updating drivers to the latest version grants the best experience when playing Destiny 2 on PC.
  
• The Destiny 2 Beta may not run when installed to a folder with some localized character types in its name (e.g. Greek, Cyrillic, Kanji, etc.). Players should ensure that they install the Beta to a path that does not include these character types, or use the default install location.
  
• Players may encounter issues when joining the Fireteam of another player on their same local area network. Players who encounter this issue should ensure that they have UPnP enabled in their network settings.
  
• MSAA is still under development. As such, players may encounter various issues including visual artifacts and performance degradation when using MSAA.
  
• Multi-GPU support is still in development. Players may encounter issues including visual artifacts and performance impacts when using NVIDIA SLI. AMD Crossfire support is not available in the Destiny 2 PC Beta.
  
• The Destiny 2 Beta must be launched from Blizzard’s Battle.net app. If players launch the Beta client directly from the executable, they may receive an error message or the Destiny 2 Beta client may become unresponsive. Players who encounter this issue should close the Beta client through the user interface or by pressing Alt+F4, and proceed to launch the Destiny 2 Beta using the “Play” button in the Destiny 2 tab of the Blizzard app.

GeForce GTX users:
If players wish to have the optimum experience in the Destiny 2 PC Beta, they can download and install NVIDIA’s new Destiny 2 Beta Game Ready Driver. Simply download and launch NVIDIA's GeForce Experience, then proceed to click the "Drivers" tab to download the update, or download it from the NVIDIA website here.

 

The third character trailer is available - this time for Titan vendor Zavala:

 

The fourth of five character ads are now available, this time Ikora:



If you've pre-ordered the PC version, you should be able to download the game client today in lieu of the Beta tomorrow. As for submitting bug reports, please submit them in this section.

On a Segway, I've made a series of themed Xbox Controllers should you want to buy them... TBH I wish they had more colours, and designers don't even get paid from sales, but there we are. In particular, my "D2 Truth Seeker" made yesterday got over 200 likes in 2 mins!

D2 Ghaul = https://xboxdesignlab.xbox.com/en-us/view?instanceid=062b359e-0c47-4795-9a78-2ef8118f7f18
D2 Hawthorne = https://xboxdesignlab.xbox.com/en-us/view?instanceid=26b67648-a57b-487a-ac63-14a832cd58ff
D2 Truth Seeker (Ikora) = https://xboxdesignlab.xbox.com/en-us/view?instanceid=ea198997-2f61-452b-a341-0cd2bd5aa650
D2 Zavala = https://xboxdesignlab.xbox.com/en-us/view?instanceid=6f738297-3ef7-4a8f-9bff-0d6549193622
D2 Cayde = https://xboxdesignlab.xbox.com/en-us/view?instanceid=1ec5d38e-bece-4bc0-b316-2db7babd707b

 

As I'm sure you're aware, the Beta doesn't start until Monday and, at that time, only for pre-order customers.

However, a number of magazines and websites were offered an early playthrough of the first area people can access, the European Dead Zone, on the PS4 platform, which will be especially useful to players new to Destiny.

So here it is... 45 mins of gameplay goodness:

 

The final character ad released today for the antogonist, Dominus Ghaul:



There was also another ad that asks the burning question, "What Is Destiny 2", with a few shots of the upcoming Raid:

 

As many may be aware, the state of Texas has been plagued in recent days by torrential flooding, leaving many homes uninhabitable and affecting some 35,000 people or more.

In response to the crisis, the Bungie Foundation will be donating ALL proceeds from purchases of a collectible pin, priced at $14.99. In addition, any purchases of this item will include a special emblem (most likely a code to redeem on Bungie.net) for use with Destiny 2, in recognition of your support for the relief effort:



Click here to head to the Bungie Store and get your pin. You can also donate to the Hurricane Harvey fund with Direct Relief, who are in charge of the relief effort for the Texas floods...

As I have stated, taxes being what they are prevent me from buying any item from the US without paying a hefty customs duty, but there's no reason the rest of you can't take part.

 

I would reckon that hunting for loot will be more fun with a fireteam than doing it solo - that way others can compliment you on getting something better or rarer than what they receive

I know I said there wouldn't be another trailer before the launch, though I forgot that nearly every expansion is given the "live action" treatment. They are an acquired taste; I would assume, however, this will be the last video with the game only a week away:

 

I tweaked the "Cayde" and "Hawthorne" controller designs just a little; the latter now has over 200 likes as well...

I also made two more designs, based on the "Kill Tracker" Ghost shell and the Coldheart Exotic Rifle, respectively:

https://xboxdesignlab.xbox.com/en-us/view?instanceid=b4db8ff0-a437-475f-b031-e4faaa681f7a

https://xboxdesignlab.xbox.com/en-us/view?instanceid=a6665e51-31ac-4a5a-b897-e541f1dc5754

 

So, got the game a few minutes ago and hope to play it in a while...

In other news, anybody wanting to hear the sounds of the universe should pick up the Destiny 2 Digital OST, which includes a code for an emblem you can use in the game. Order between now and 31st October and you will receive the "Stand Together" emblem as well, designed to celebrate the launch of Destiny 2.

Note: the codes received require a purchase of Destiny 2 in some manner for them to work.

 

I think I've managed to get 2/3 the way through the base campaign missions. On a side note, environment lighting is much brighter, and framerate is higher in this game than it was in the original Destiny, so people should be aware of this if they suffer from photosensitivity or motion epilepsy.

This Tuesday the game's first raid, "Leviathan", also went live on the servers. Thus far the average completion time is around 5-6hrs though, with practice, this should fall to no more than 2hrs 30mins. Bungie announced the first completion at 11:30pm GMT last night, which was covered here by Eurogamer. Following this, a new PvP map set on the Leviathan was deployed...

This is likely to be my last update until Christmas since, as of next thursday, I will be back studying at University.

 

A new video documentary has been released, covering development of the PC release:

 

A new trailer was launched today teasing Destiny 2's first upcoming expansion, "Curse of Osiris":



Features include an increase to Level 25, a Light cap of 330, a new patrol space set on Mercury, the return of Trials of Osiris mulplayer mode and "a new Raid activity" (though Bungie won't confirm whether it is brand new, or merely an extension of Leviathan)...

The expansion is due to launch 5th December.

[UPDATE] A new page has been added to the DestinyTheGame mini-site. Click here to view it.