Sony Gamescom press conf: include Destiny Competive MP info

[wittyscorpion]

Sony's gamescom press conference is scheduled at 08/12 Tuesday 10am PT. Destiny is going to be showcased with Competitive MP focus, and widely expected to reveal some new info.

[wittyscorpion]

www.oneofswords.com/community/1os/blog/2014/08/12/destinys-multiplayer-detailed-in-new-trailer

1) New trailer of Crucible:



7 game modes, explained in detail below:

There are seven modes in total with a blend of deathmatch and objective-based gametypes. As we saw in the beta, Control challenges teams to retain control of capture points, while Clash pits two teams of six in a traditional TDM mode. For those who prefer to roll solo, there’s Rumble — Destiny’s deathmatch gametype.

Skirmish also requires control of specified capture points, but limits players to teams of three and increases respawn timers. In Salvage, another three-versus-three mode, teams fight to collect relics around the map. Combined Arms is large scale combat with vehicles, and of course, the Iron Banner reap all of the benefits and attributes of their acquired weapons and gear in competitive multiplayer.

2) Announcement of the first expansion, available in December. thedestinyblog.com/2014/08/12/destiny-expansion-i-the-dark-below-available-in-december/ mentioned that PS players can get exclusive content from the Expansion Pass as well?

---

Pure speculation on the expansion topic: with the first one to be released as early as December, does it mean that there will be more expansion packs beyond the first 2? Maybe they are planning for 4 expansion packs that are 3 months apart? The reason why I am speculating this is because

a) 2 expansion packs seem to be too few to fill the gaps between major game releases;
b) 2 also seems like an odd number that deviates from the industry norm, which is 4;
c) Raid has been a majorly taunted feature and a great player retention tool. However, they won't be able to have a lot in the main game (my guess: <= 2) because each one would take a lot of time to make. To make the idea work as advertised and what fans are expecting, they need to be able to incrementally add more, and expansion packs seem to be the ideal vehicle for that purpose;

Therefore I think that they have more expansion packs planned, but only announced 2 so far because that's what they can commit for being included in the Season Pass.

[hebbnh]

I'm assuming we won't see Destiny 2 in 2015, and maybe not even 2016. There's no way they only put out 2 expansions in that amount of time, unless they're both absolutely massive additions, something akin to the WoW expansions (in which case the first one wouldn't be coming out 3 months after release). My guess is that they haven't mentioned anything other than the first two because they'll be brand new planets/areas that aren't included in the main game, and they don't want to give away any details on that just yet.

[wittyscorpion]

Sliver lining for XBL players: although it sucks to see that PSN has timed exclusive contents for ~ 1 year, I am happy to have something new to play once that exclusive time period ends. It would be like a new (and hopefully free) DLC coming out

[TheHawkNY]

Aug 12, 2014 14:39:04 GMT -5 hebbnh said:

I'm assuming we won't see Destiny 2 in 2015, and maybe not even 2016. There's no way they only put out 2 expansions in that amount of time, unless they're both absolutely massive additions, something akin to the WoW expansions (in which case the first one wouldn't be coming out 3 months after release). My guess is that they haven't mentioned anything other than the first two because they'll be brand new planets/areas that aren't included in the main game, and they don't want to give away any details on that just yet.

I'd guess 2016 for Destiny 2. Their contract sets up a tentative schedule of a game release every two years, a "comet" release every 2 years (on the non-game release years), and DLC in the periods between.

[wittyscorpion]

Aug 12, 2014 15:13:50 GMT -5 TheHawkNY said:

Aug 12, 2014 14:39:04 GMT -5 hebbnh said:

I'm assuming we won't see Destiny 2 in 2015, and maybe not even 2016. There's no way they only put out 2 expansions in that amount of time, unless they're both absolutely massive additions, something akin to the WoW expansions (in which case the first one wouldn't be coming out 3 months after release). My guess is that they haven't mentioned anything other than the first two because they'll be brand new planets/areas that aren't included in the main game, and they don't want to give away any details on that just yet.

I'd guess 2016 for Destiny 2. Their contract sets up a tentative schedule of a game release every two years, a "comet" release every 2 years (on the non-game release years), and DLC in the periods between.

That's my expectation as well.

The cool thing about Destiny is that they have already passed the hardest phase of software development: setting up all the infrastructure. From this point on the rest of the development will be mainly about adding content on top of the established infrastructure. As a result, they can plan the rest of the development fairly flexibly: if something could not quite fit into a main game release or an Expansion Pack as originally planned, it is not hard to just move it to the next one.

[hebbnh]

Aug 12, 2014 15:13:50 GMT -5 TheHawkNY said:

Aug 12, 2014 14:39:04 GMT -5 hebbnh said:

I'm assuming we won't see Destiny 2 in 2015, and maybe not even 2016. There's no way they only put out 2 expansions in that amount of time, unless they're both absolutely massive additions, something akin to the WoW expansions (in which case the first one wouldn't be coming out 3 months after release). My guess is that they haven't mentioned anything other than the first two because they'll be brand new planets/areas that aren't included in the main game, and they don't want to give away any details on that just yet.

I'd guess 2016 for Destiny 2. Their contract sets up a tentative schedule of a game release every two years, a "comet" release every 2 years (on the non-game release years), and DLC in the periods between.

Interesting.  Based on my read of that contract, I'd imagine the 2 expansions that have been announced already probably qualify as "DLC," meaning we've yet to hear anything about the bigger "Comet" release.  If they stick to releasing new content every 3 months or so, which seems logical and hits the approximately 4 DLCs a year benchmark, we'll probably see a third expansion before the comet hits next fall.  I'm curious to see what they end up calling the comets since it seems like expansion would be a more appropriate name for them, and DLC would be a more apt name for what they're currently calling expansions.  Semantics I guess, but you have to think they'd call the comets something different than what they're calling the DLC, both to make it obvious that they're a bigger release and to help generate hype.

[mannon]

Aug 12, 2014 14:45:15 GMT -5 wittyscorpion said:

Sliver lining for XBL players: although it sucks to see that PSN has timed exclusive contents for ~ 1 year, I am happy to have something new to play once that exclusive time period ends. It would be like a new (and hopefully free) DLC coming out

I think it's an extra strike, an extra Crucible map, and some weapons and items?

Personally I hope they lift the exclusivity sooner rather than later. The extra strike will be of limited utility once you're over-leveled for it so it kind of permanently reduces variety for some xbox players. (Although real die-hards will probably start from scratch multiple times across their three characters and multiple subclasses.) The cruicible map can come in at any time I guess. I don't think anybody will miss the weapons or items. It's not like playstation players will be on the same servers prancing around with all their exclusive gear in front of xbox players. heh

The exclusivity is kinda pointless. Nobody is really going to pick PS4 over XBONE over this stuff. It's just a feather in Sony's cap. Just another marketing bullet point that ultimately means nothing.

At least it's not like a full on exclusive raid or something. That would hurt. I may be on PS4 because I think it's the better console, but ultimately I want Destiny's success and experience maximized across all platforms.

[wittyscorpion]

There are rumors that the expansion packs may have exclusive content too, but I did not find any official statement related to it so might be just misunderstanding.

EDIT: confirmed this is actually true.

www.engadget.com/2014/08/12/destiny-dark-below-expansion/

The new expansion will come with a map called Blue Exodus that's exclusive to PlayStation 4 users.

EDIT 2: it appears to be the part of the original exclusive announcement. So if I understand correctly, there is only 1 exclusive map, it is not released at launch but as part of the first expansion pack.

[hebbnh]

Eh, whatevs. Not really a big deal if I miss out on a few items or a PvP map here and there, but hopefully that's where it ends. Not getting access to some strikes, or a raid especially, would be kind of annoying. Still going to be getting 95%+ of the same experience though, so I guess I'll manage. A year of exclusivity does seem fairly excessive though.

[iw5000]

A year is kind of shitty. Even CoD's DLC is only like a month or two at most. Why are Xbox players paying the same amount of money, if they aren't going to get the same experience over the course of a year?

[wittyscorpion]

Aug 13, 2014 14:42:54 GMT -5 iw5000 said:

A year is kind of shitty. Even CoD's DLC is only like a month or two at most. Why are Xbox players paying the same amount of money, if they aren't going to get the same experience over the course of a year?

If the game in discussion is CoD, which has an annual release cycle of main games, it would be really annoying. For a game like Destiny however which will feel like one big game over 10 years, I am not as concerned of missing out a Strike for a year. I have one less to play right now, but I'll have one more to return a year from now

[mannon]

It's really not that much content. I don't think there is an exclusive raid. There is an exclusive strike, MP map, and some items. Not really that big a deal, though I wish they'd kept it to only 6 months.

It's my understanding that Bungie and Sony have gotten very close while this was being developed and it's likely they saw some Sony money come their way during development for this as well, but still. The strike is kinda annoying since those are level specific, but it's only one.

Now if it was an exclusive raid, that would be a big deal since there won't even be very many in the game at least early on. But it looks like it's just a couple smaller things.

[Dumien]

Raids also usually denote sick loot. I doubt it will be a raid.

[wittyscorpion]

We know for sure that no Raids are exclusive. So far we only have 1 confirmed Raid so far, and the rumor on the street is no more than 2 at launch (no credible source to back up this rumor though).

[wittyscorpion]

The entire Destiny segment in the press conference:



Note that the description of Skirmish says "Small team tactics. Kill the enemy and revive teammates". So looks like the speculation of revival being available in Crucible is true.

Also, people misunderstood what is said about the timed exclusive content. In the show there are nothing to suggest those are tied to Expansion Packs.

[wittyscorpion]

PvP game play footage from Gamescom:

[mannon]

Nice! Pretty sure I saw a Bladedancer there doing their thing. I imagine all the subclasses were there, but it was pretty nuts and that's just what stuck out. I'm tempted to watch it a bunch of times and try to pick out all the abilities we never saw in beta, but I don't think I can be arsed. The beta withdrawl has died down a bit, but if I get the shakes I may view this thing a few dozen times. ;3

[wittyscorpion]

The things I saw that are noteworthy (I am usually pretty bad at doing this so I am sure that I missed stuff):

1) At 0:03: looks like the Hunter is using Arc Blade super ability (as Bladedancer subclass), and can take out multiple enemies with a single swoop;

2) At 0:06: looks like a Fist of Havoc with pretty significant range;

2) At 0:12: looks like the Warlock is using Radiance super ability (as Sunsinger subclass) to fill himself with Solar light, and took out a sparrow with melee ability significantly enhanced by the Super;

3) At 0:20: another Fist of Havoc with incredible range, probably achieved with a combo of movement ability followed by super activation;

4) At 0:36: Nova Bomb that splits into 3 projectiles ("Shatter" modifier);

5) At 0:40: looks like hunter's movement with triple jump modifier;

6) At 0:45: Arc Blade again, one swoop to take out 2 enemies followed with another for triple kill, This Super seems to look even cooler than Golden Gun;

7) At 0:49: looks like Titan's Shoulder Charge (ability modifier of Stirker subclass);

8) At 0:54: just a regular Nova Bomb?

9) At 0:57: another Nova Bomb with Shatter modifier;

10) At 1:03: regular Golden Gun;

11) At 1:10: something mysterious happened. Maybe Titan's Ward of Dawn super ability as Defender subclass? or more likely (because of 12 below) Juggernaut ability modifier of Striker subclass (after sprinting for a short time, gain a protective shield);

12) At the very end: the guy in 11) got annihilated by Fist of Havoc. Ward of Dawn shouldn't be this weak so Juggernaut modifier is more likely;

[wittyscorpion]

Urk interview at Gamescom about Destiny (the game play on map Twilight Gap is something we already saw from IGN first look):



Well, it is less of an interview (because the interviewer has no clue of what she is supposed to ask ) and more of a commentary from Urk.

Things he mentioned:

1) Pulse Rifle and Hand Cannon may get buffed due to beta feedback;
2) Nightfall will add "game play modifiers";
3) In Skirmish (3v3), players can resurrect each other (essentially support spawning near teammates);
4) they may "add more game modes and playlists" to PvP down the road;

[-3055-]

Aug 14, 2014 20:36:02 GMT -5 wittyscorpion said:

The things I saw that are noteworthy (I am usually pretty bad at doing this so I am sure that I missed stuff):

2) At 0:06: looks like a Fist of Havoc with pretty significant range;

3) At 0:20: another Fist of Havoc with incredible range, probably achieved with a combo of movement ability followed by super activation;

There's a fist of havoc skill that lets you jump first then dive in towards where your aiming instead of a straight downwards slam.