A Destiny repost from Reddit about missing content

I just saw this and after reading that the original post had been deleted, thought I would copy and save on here. Some interesting stuff about why Destiny is lacking in what was originally promised to the audience. I really like the game, but the story is so weak, thus this is pretty interesting. Original post is as follows:

"This thread is a collection of posts and my thoughts that show how Destiny's development changed DRASTICALLY within its last year.

It is the reason why the story is lacking, the missions are repetitive, and why there are grimoire cards. A lot of shady stuff went down during the end of 2013 and beginning of 2014.

Anyway, let's start off with what the Story was supposed to be like:

STORY: This reddit post from a deleted thread Here explains how Destiny's story was originally during E3 2013. Bungie.net user Diver2441 sums up all of this here:

(Key parts are BOLDED for the lazy)

So recently a Reddit thread came to light detailing what Destiny's narrative looked like in 2013, and it's very different from the ailing excuse for a story we're presented with today: the Traveler bringing the darkness, Crow, different progression through planets and even considerable cut areas. So it becomes apparent that between mid to late 2013 and launch, Bungie gutted the story. Now this is where it gets good, something else happened back in late 2013 before the story was gutted; Joe Staten, Bungie's former lead writer left. Some may think it coincidence, but I think not.

Now the Reddit thread (which has mysteriously disappeared) outlined a story sprawling across a considerably larger solar system, and including a number of characters and factions who never so much as appear in the full game. The prime example of this is Crow, the character/faction who was set out to expose the Traveler and Speaker for in fact bringing the darkness along with the Traveler, and not the Golden Age. A specific reference to Crow can be found in the above video at 1:01, where a mission would have you assist Crow in looting the Archive on venus for details on the Vex Gatelord (which is in fact a mission we end up doing in the main game, but Crow is clearly not a part of it). The Gatelord was said to contain a way to access a pre-Collapse AI construct who had the ability to expose the Traveler, and we can see this in the form of the inaccessible Bunker RAS2.

Even in the PvP, we see a reference to "faction wars" at 1:20 in the video, so it appears that justification and explanation for the different factions in the tower was cut as well.

Destiny's current half assed story starts to make a little more sense when we apply the context that the entire narrative was gutted less than a year before launch, and remade without Bungie's lead writer. Why Joe left, and why Bungie felt the need to completely gut the story of the game and cut huge areas is beyond me, but it's abundantly obvious that there's a lot more going on than meets the eye.

WHAT THE STORY WAS RE-WRITTEN INTO: Grimoire Cards. I'm currently trying to find the post where I discovered this Check Edit2 for Source, but basically back in February 2014, a man was hired to write all the Grimoire Cards. This was clearly the solution to trying to incorporate as much story as possible with what little story was actually in the game. This also is most likely the reason why there is no Grimoire UI in-game, because it was far too close to release to actually incorporate such a thing.

UNUSED LOCATIONS AND FEATURES:

Continuing from Diver2441's post, he mentions:

If we look at an article from 2013 and the reveal ViDoc, it becomes very obvious that the game we have today is vastly different from what it was as little as around a year ago. For starters there are references to areas such as Old Chicago, the ghost fleet in the rings of Saturn, Charlemagne's Vault, and others that very clearly never made it into the full game, despite being fully made and playable around a year ago. Additionally, at 3:24 in the video above, we see an in game location in The Reef, and from 3:43 - 3:51 we see a pine forested area in game that never saw the light of day as well. Even in our own back yard of Old Russia in the retail games, we have locked off areas such as King's Watch, the Jovian Complex, and the Seraphim Vault, none of which are even mentioned in the retail game today.

CUT CONTENT BEING RESOLD AS DLC (POSSIBLY):

This video shows that the majority of the first two expansions of DLC is potentially already on the disc! Even in the beta, areas such as the King's Watch and Seripham Vault were accessible through glitches and yet are not available in the full game (Actually, these places aren't even mentioned in the DLC either!) More proof about these areas can be shown through the data dumps athttp://db.destinytracker.com

I want to note here that this doesn't mean the content is actually finished, but the idea that it could be is annoying and makes sense given the amount of content that had already been cut.

ANOTHER COINCIDENCE: Along with Bungie's Lead Writer departing for unknown reasons, we can't forget about Marty O'Donnell being fired too. We're all aware that the situation had to do with salary, but when Marty left, there was a clear bitterness between him and Bungie. Bungie had changed, and the lead writer had recognized it too. Was it Activision? Probably. But we're not being told the full story and I don't expect us to find out unfortunately.

WHAT BUNGIE SHOULD DO: There are a variety of options Bungie can do to fix these problems.

1. GIVE US THE HELD-BACK CONTENT FOR FREE: Unfortunately, this isn't very likely given Activision's greed and contracts already settled in to sell this content later. Some could also argue that it's a good thing this content is being held-back so that the game will stay alive for much longer, although I personally disagree given the lack of content available at launch.
2. GIVE US JUST THE STORY MISSIONS FOR FREE: This is a bit more reasonable and would solve the overall complaint with Destiny. We know there is a story being held back greatly, and we should not let them sell this to us as DLC.
3. GIVE US A SCHEDULE AND COMMUNICATE BETTER: This is my final plea to Bungie. The game is already out; we don't need to be left in the dark anymore. They need to tell us when content is being released and what we can expect so that we can voice our opinions better and prevent them from making more mistakes.

THOUGHTS? I know this thread is extremely long in details, but I think it needs to be seen. The Destiny today is not the Destiny we were promised or the one Bungie had even imagined. Locations, ship customization, a real story, and other deleted content were all things planned/created before last year and are all gone now. Something must be done.

(I will continue to edit this post as more info comes along).

EDIT1: Source to Diver2441's post: http://www.bungie.net/en/Forum/Post/70651356/0/0

EDIT2: More details about the Grimoire cards and the fact that all of this "cutting out content" was very recent.

Posted by Reddit user /u/mrdabu:

...Moreover, basic game elements were removed - in the developer commentary for the gameplay reveal the bungie developer (Mike Zak, environment artist) says that the hunter could have gained his weapons and armor through trade with other players or a kind of gambling (8:12). this is not implemented in the release version. The video was released on july 8, 2013 on youtube. So the decision to cut these features out was made in the last year of a more than 5 year development period which is very uncommon.

Perhaps the story is so lame and such a mystery because of all the changes during the last year.

Then he talks about the grimoire cards which contain the story. in the forum of destiny.bungie.org a guy called general battuta says that the grimoire story was „mostly written and edited in one crazy spiny very close to launch“. (sept 14, 2014) On feb 13, 2014, he posted a thread in which he shared his excitement of being hired as a writer for bungie in seattle. this was 7 months before release.

EDIT3: Reddit user /u/PopeOwned gives a little bit more info about Bungie's Lead Writer, Joe Staten, leaving:http://www.reddit.com/r/DestinyTheGame/comments/2hk88o/spoiler_redditor_provides_insight_as_to_why/ckthwqk

EDIT4: Further proof that the story claimed by the reddit poster is TRUE: https://i.imgur.com/Xv02vmU.jpg (Thanks /u/martellus!)

EDIT5: I want to note that the demands listed are just things Bungie COULD do to fix all of this turmoil. I am not saying that we deserve anything from them, although it would be in their favor to at least communicate better with us on Destiny's future."

An Open Letter to Bungie

Dear Bungie,

I have been playing games for about two and a half decades, ever since our family got our first computer, a Commodore 64. I have put more hours than I can probably count into games and it's my favourite medium in regards to entertainment, enjoyment and engagement in storytelling. It's how games tell stories that really makes me love them more than almost anything else. I love a good RPG and really anything that has a solid story behind it. Generally I have no interest in shooters, CoD has ruined that for me probably. The stories always seem kind of tacked on and it's merely there to prep you for playing online. Not a lot of interest for this guy.

Then came something called Destiny.

Truth be told I only ever beat one of your Halo games, and that was Reach as I took it out of the library and plowed through the campaign in a few days. However, I loved the story, the characters, and the tragedy that was unfolding around me. Master Chief has always seemed too distant and I could never relate to him. However, this squad made me care about them and what was going to happen to them. That was when I really started to care about the games you guys make.

Back to Destiny.

I remember first hearing about it as the new IP that you were working on, and as more details started to surface I thought it looked pretty cool. I was down with the shoot and loot style of gameplay that has made Borderlands so popular, and the idea of MMO influences in a semi-open world shooter seemed pretty great. But once I started to read about the worlds, about the Traveller and the tragedy surrounding humanity I wanted to know more.

Then I played the Alpha, and Beta.

I was hooked.

I had so much fun playing with my family and friends, the game even convinced my one brother who had an Xbox One to sell it and get a PS4 to play with the rest of us. We even have a clan all set up for next week. This all comes down to right now, the game is a mere week away and I am so incredibly excited. I play a lot of games and get excited for some, but I have not been this excited since anticipating the end of Commander Shepard's journey in Mass Effect 3.

I'm excited to see the worlds, to explore other maps, to join up with my family members, friends and even new friends I have made in the burgeoning Destiny online community. I want to take on new Strikes, I want to get new gear, and most of all I want to take on the first Raid and see how me and my crew fare.

I love games, but this anticipation has grown greater than most other games that I have looked forward too. I highly doubt that this will let us down and I just wanted to say ahead of time thanks for the memories. I look forward to them.

Sincerely

PS4 Guardian- Virtute1979

Destiny Is Almost Here

Destiny releases on September 9th and I can't think of a title in recent memory that I have been more excited for. I have held off on watching too many of the newer trailers or seeing any new posts because I don't want the game to be too spoiled for me outside of what I played in the Alpha and Beta, but honestly the wait for the next 2 weeks is going to be too much I feel.

Destiny ad campaign at Times Square is impressive to say the least.

I am not a big fan of first person shooters, generally I am not too good at them but on occasion I like to play some FPS titles. Destiny has been one that I have really gotten a high level of interest into, partially because of the same kind of shoot and loot style of playing and rewarding that made me like the Borderlands games so much, but also for the world that Bungie has carefully been crafting for the last number of years. I am excited to get the game and start playing with my brothers and friends, in both the Story mode and also in Explore; just roaming around those gorgeous maps is something that I really can't wait for. As far as Crucible, well I am sure on occasion i'll try my hand at some versus but it's not my bag. I am in this for the story and co-op so I am pretty sure I will stay away from that mode.

The Warlock is going to be my go-to character class.

I'm excited to dig into the game but with a new baby on the way am not too sure how often I will play. However, I do recall many nights with my son where I would be up with him in the middle of the night and could not sleep so i would cradle him in my arms and then still hold a controller and play some Mass Effect or something of the sort. I'm sure it'll happen on occasion.

I can't wait to explore Destiny and while I may not have as much time to sink into it as others, it's going to be a title that I treasure for quite some time, I can feel it.

Hands-On Time with PS Now

Now that school has wrapped up for me and I am back from my time working the Squamish Valley Music Festival, I figured it was time to game a little. Imagine my surprise when I realized that PS Now is up and running for PS4 in Canada. I took a poke around at the titles that were available and the pricing for the service.

For those unaware PS Now is the game streaming service that Sony is leveraging for the PS4 utilizing the game streaming capabilities they got access to with the acquiring of Gaikai a couple of years back. For right now they have a few dozen PS3 titles available but I am sure that more will be released down the road and hopefully PS One and PS2 titles will be available. The games are available to rent based on a number of timing options; 4 hours, 1 week, 30 days or 90 days. The prices are still a little so-so I think but overall I think it's not too bad. Before you can even stream or do anything really you can run a check to see if your internet connection is good enough for streaming games, which is great.

Deus Ex Human Revolution was my first go at PS Now

So I ran the check and it said that I was able to stream games, which shocked me as our router is two floors up from us, and I tried to figure out what I wanted to play. I enjoyed Deus Ex Human Revolution on the 360 so I figured I would give that a try. Rented it for the 4 hour option just to see how well it worked and off we went. So the game loaded up and started just as if the disc was in the system. The game started up and off we went. I played the first hour or so of the game, including cut scenes and the great stealth and shooting action that the game is known for and there were no issues whatsoever. I was greatly impressed by how well the streaming worked, and another great thing is that trophies you get in the game can be synced to your trophy list and added to your overall trophy score. Pretty awesome if you ask me.

No one messes with Alpha Protocol

I was impressed by how well Now worked and am pretty sure I will go back and dig into some of the great games they have on there, like Darksiders 1 and 2 and some not-so-great games that I like anyways, like Alpha Protocol. Definitely give PS Now a go and see if it works on your system, and it'll be interesting to see if it works as well on the other devices that it's supposed to come too also.

What I've Been Up To

So I haven't written in here in almost a month it seems. School got crazy, life got crazy, however I've still fit some time in for some gaming. Primarily, the biggest standout would have to be playing the Destiny Alpha. Me and my brothers got some quality time in, adventuring and doing Strikes, and let me tell you, that game is awesome. I can't remember the last time I had that much fun with a shooter and I'm anxiously anticipating the release of the beta here in a couple of weeks.

Well, and the full release in September.

Yes, it's that good.

I've also gotten quite a bit of time in with Mario Kart 8, and while I am not the best kart racer in the world, I still have a lot of fun. My son loves Mario and anything with Mario in it, but his favourite character is easily Bowser. Any time I am playing now I pretty much have to choose Bowser, but I'm ok with that. I also have played a bit of Pikmin 3 which has been a fun title as well, and I'm glad that I'm finally getting around to playing it. There's still even more gaming to get to but with my semester quickly ramping up I'm not sure how much I will play but soon I'll have a ton of free time.

Time to hit up that backlog that has been building up.

Nintendo at E3

I feel like I write more about Nintendo than anyone other gaming company on my blog, and with good reason. I love the Big N and love their games, and have for decades now. I've stated before here that I purchased a Wii U so that I could ultimately play Nintendo games with my children as they become old enough to game, though that doesn't keep me from enjoying them right now. As we head into E3 there are a lot of questions on peoples minds including my own so I wanted to speculate a bit and write about what I hope to see come out of E3.

Wii U

Only a few days to go.

I have been enjoying my Wii U since launch and even though third-party support has pretty much turned into no support at all, minus some Ubisoft and Activision games, there is still a bit of hope. Nintendo is a firm believer in the idea that software sells hardware and if they provide great games then systems will sell. We know that Mario Kart 8 is coming out this week and Nintendo has already started a strong marketing push for the game, and as well is offering free digital downloads for those that get the game and register on Club Nintendo. Smash Bros as well is going to be out by the end of the year, and I still stand by the prediction that it'll be out the week before Black Friday, though some are guessing December. I think November is still the better choice and it will help move systems through the biggest selling week of the year, though this will be the third Black Friday the Wii U will be on sale so hopefully things go a bit better this time around. But what comes between Mario Kart 8 and Smash Bros?

Bayonetta 2. Any new Platinum game is reason to celebrate.

Well the titles that should be coming out before long that we know about are fairly varied and should offer a little of something for a variety of gaming groups. Platinum's much anticipated Bayonetta 2 is expected to be out this summer and I would guess that we will see it in July at the latest. Also out this summer is Hyrule Warriors, or whatever it ends up being called, and the marriage of Zelda and Dynasty Warriors looks intriguing, but again this seems something up the alley of the more dedicated gamer. I feel this one will be slotted for September in the west, though it could be as early as August. With these 2 games Nintendo could lure away even more hardcore gamers and if not, when Smash Bros comes out look for these titles to be picked up alongside them. 

Yarn Yoshi looks straight up adorable.

Yarn Yoshi is another title probably heading out this summer or into the fall and offers up something for the families alongside getting Mario Kart 8. I'm surprised that this is the only family friendly title that we know of so expect to see something like a new Kirby or even a Mario sports title to show up.  But what else is there, what else is going to show up at E3? Hopefully we get some more word on X and on Shin Megami Tensai x Fire Emblem, again more for the hardcore, but I am certain that Nintendo will show off their new Zelda. While many feel that it will look similar to the teaser from a couple years back, through interviews with Aonuma I think it will actually have a similar aesthetic to Skyward Sword, and I am totally fine with that.

I think Nintendo will have a great deal of Wii U titles to show and with Mario Kart 8 and Smash Bros plus the other supporting titles they can start to turn around the system. However, if these titles don't do it then I think support for the system will really start to tail off as they push more towards their Quality of Life project.

3DS

The 3DS is in an interesting spot as it's still continuing to sell a great deal of hardware and software but little is known as to what is coming out soon for the system. That does include Smash Bros and really, everyone and their dogs is going to get Smash Bros to play on their 3DS so I don't blame Nintendo for holding much back, everyone will be too busy battling on the go and collecting StreetPasses to bother with much of anything else. At least Tomodachi Life comes out in a couple weeks and there seems to be quite a bit of buzz regarding that from people that I wouldn't expect to hear talking about the game. Looks like their ads are working, which sometimes makes me a little crazy that Nintendo has marketed the 3DS pretty well but still has done so poorly with the Wii U.

Smash Bros on the go, who doesn't want that?

Down the road though there are the remakes of Pokemon Ruby and Sapphire that will be coming out, and again people seem to be very excited for them. I have always had a rough time with the Pokemon games as their stories offer very little and I haven't ever quite gotten into the battle system. Regardless, those games will sell a great deal and those will be a lock for Christmas sales. What else is coming? Well Nintendo has confirmed that at E3 there will be a lengthy press-only event for an unannounced title and I have heard all sorts of rumours, such as a new Metroid. Whatever it is it'll be a meaty title that will end up on many a radar thanks to the showcase Nintendo is giving it, so I look forward to that. As for anything else, well we will have to see.

Assorted

I feel like Nintendo will probably have a good showing of some of their upcoming indie titles at E3, focusing on things like Shovel Knight and other titles that they really want to highlight. I think there will also be some more information given on the DS titles available for the Wii U which I am looking forward to as there are a few games that I would love to play on my tv using the system, especially the Zelda titles, and even Advance Wars.

Advance Wars for 3DS is what I really want.

Speaking of, what do I really want to see? I want an Advance Wars 3DS announced by Intelligent Systems probably more than anything. They have stated that they want to keep making the games and I feel after how big Fire Emblem: Awakening was they probably have the freedom to go and make a new Advance Wars. I would definitely be a happy camper if that showed up at the show. I also think it is still too early to talk about the Quality of Life concept in detail, but it could get a mention. Also, I feel that with the success of Wind Waker HD we may see some other Gamecube games given the HD treatment, and think that Super Mario Sunshine HD could come by the end of the year. Just a guess but I feel like it's going to happen.

What will happen at E3? Only time will tell but it's only a couple of weeks away so soon enough we will know what Nintendo has in store and though some still say the company is doomed, I think their future is bright and full of games that I'll enjoy, and that my kids will enjoy someday as well.

Transistor Review

When Transistor was first revealed last year I was enthralled. Bastion is one of my all-time favourite Xbox 360 games and when I found out what Supergiant Games was working on I had to have it. Well the wait is over and Transistor is finally out and after sinking a great deal of time into it I am happy to say that it has lived up to expectations and in some ways outdoes Bastion.

Red and Transistor. Image belongs to Supergiant Games.

Transistor is an isometric action game with some light RPG elements. I would say that sums it up best and is comparable gameplay-wise to Bastion in many of these aspects. The focus on the game is Red, a popular musician in the futuristic city of Cloudbank, which is part cyberpunk and part art deco. At the beginning of the game you are introduced to Red and the Transistor, which is a giant sword plunged into a mystery man that Red retrieves. However, it is not merely a sword but one that is imbued with intelligence and a voice. It's Transistor that provides the game with the bulk of the narration, guiding Red through the streets and rooftops of Cloudbank as she battles the Process, a type of robot legion, and searches for the Camerata who originally ordered her dead.

The story is very intriguing and I kept playing and searching through regions of the city to find little hints of story as they are strewn everywhere. Studious scavenging will reveal you with a great deal of backstory and even simple activities like voting at computer terminals gives you some insight into the world that has been created. The story and narration are key here, as is the beautiful world that you are presented with, but it is the use of music that really stands out in this game. Red is a musician so it goes without saying that music is a key to this game, and whether it is from her songs to the electro-infused jazz pieces that make up the games score, this game is an aural treat. With this soundtrack coming right after the outstanding Child of Light soundtrack, it's been a great year for music in games without a doubt.

The city of Cloudbank. Image belongs to Supergiant Games.

Combat however is the meat and potatoes of this game as you will be doing a lot of it, and guess what, it doesn't disappoint. At the start of the game you have a mere two combat actions, a basic close-range attack and a projectile attack. As the game progresses you gain access to more functions, which are the skills you can either equip as prime actions or you can set as support actions to increase the power of your main functions. This allows for a fair amount of customization and the ability to change your loadout, as it were, and whenever I got a new function I was always keen to see what it could do or how it could affect the others.

Red and Transistor and a stranger? Image belongs to Supergiant Games.

When in actual combat however you can opt to play it a couple of ways. You can maneuver the combat areas in real-time and use your attacks instantaneously without repercussion to how many actions you can take. The other way is to initiate a Turn which pauses the combat and lets Red move freely and use her actions. However each one takes away from her Turn bar and after you un-pause the game and let loose with your attacks, you will be left open for a time while your Turn bar refills. This leads to many decisions to be made in combat and quite a bit of risk-reward which I really enjoyed. As well, if you are to die in combat (which does happen) you will be revived but will be missing one of your functions. As long as you have functions left you can keep fighting but you will be hindered by the absence of needed abilities. It's never the end of the world and you get them refilled at the end of combat, but I enjoyed it as it added extra complexities to an already engaging battle system.

Red taking on a Jerk. Image belongs to Supergiant Games.

All in all, I enjoyed my time in Cloudbank. The world and characters have a great amount of depth to them, and the Transistor himself and his narration offer a great deal to the experience that Supergiant has created. With a great combat system, and a new-game plus mode to offer some additional replay value, Transistor is a game that should be added to your PS4 collection.

Score A-