Dear Bungie Devs,
I believe that Destiny is an expertly crafted and supremely fun experience. I personally think that it looks excellent in most regards. However I do think that a few ideas to enhance player experience should be stated. I do think that at current it is a great game on the verge of becoming excellent and I also know that my list of ideas may be impossible in your game development time limit or may be disregarded completely, but I do hope that Bungie takes notice and gives it good consideration.
1. I have noticed that multiplayer seems unbalanced. I believe that replacing the slot for "special" weapons with a slot named "secondary" weapons and allowing special and "normal" (e.g. auto rifle, scout rifle, hand cannon, and burst rifle) weapons to be interchangeable may help. Now in a multiplayer regard, "special" weapons should not spawn with ammo. This would help to inhibit the player base that would try to use this to cheese the system by spawning with both a sniper rifle and a shotgun or something of a similar capacity. Also, I think that each weapon considered "normal" should have its own ammo supply. In a single player capacity this would also allow players to personalize their character and play style. This is something I think your game needs the most and I feel very strongly about it.
2. I think that enemy encounters in the exploratory missions should be randomized to a certain degree. I believe that static groups would begin to stifle the fun of roaming the landscapes of Destiny rather quickly. An example of this would be the group of enemies that constantly spawn right inside the area by the devil's layer. There was always the same set of enemies and the mini-boss from the raid mission. Changing the possibilities of what you may encounter around a familiar corner would add another level of mystery and exploration to your game.
3. One other thing that I think Destiny may benefit from is a few changes and additions to the weapons available to the player in game. For instance, the idea of the machine gun may seem great to put into the heavy weapons category but, it does not stand up to the quick damage output of the rocket launcher and becomes obviously inferior in the midst of a multiplayer match. Decreasing the power of the machine gun and relegating it to a special or even normal weapon spot may be better for play as a whole. This may open up opportunities for the player seeking a more tactical and team based approach to the games multiplayer. On a related note, adding in more weapons to choose from may also help the experience as a whole. Things like pistols with less power but better fire-rate than the hand-cannon, sub-machine guns with quicker fire rate but less power than other weapons, and grenade launchers as an apt heavy weapon replacement for the machine gun. One last topic to add would be class based weaponry. A good example would be adding a tower or riot shield to the titan class. While I put this of lesser import than the two notes above due to obvious game design challenges I do believe this would also help to balance multiplayer gameplay and add many more options for story play and personalization.
4. This is a smaller list of some bugs and small edits that should be tweaked. First, some balancing between class powers need serious assessment in the competitive multiplayer area. The warlocks ability seems powerless while the hunters ability appears to reign supreme. Second, I noticed a lighting glitch in the refinery on the pathway to the king's domain (I think that is what it was called, not sure) where the light source was a wall instead of the intended generator light.
Anyways that is my thoughts on the matter of Destiny and how it may improve. I would like to mention again that I do believe that the full game would be a grand experience to behold. I also urge anyone who has an idea on how to improve this game should share it. It won't harm you and it may catch the ear of a designer. Also, constructive criticism guys, please think about your arguments. Thank you for your possible consideration Bungie devs.
- Super Yoshi
-
[quote]Also, I think that each weapon considered "normal" should have its own ammo supply. In a single player capacity this would also allow players to personalize their character and play style. This is something I think your game needs the most and I feel very strongly about it. [/quote] Why? how does giving each weapon an individual ammo pool customize it? All it does is create an added complication to the ammo system. If you had the opportunity to read the description of many of the weapons, it is implied that they shoot a form of programmable material, not bullets. With that as lore, there is no reason to make individual ammo pickups. I really can't see how that helps anything. How does it improve customization? That is a limiting mechanic not something that provides freedom. The fact that the ammo scales based on weapons, definitely is a simple and efficient mechanic, nothing else is needed. If you had seen any blue tier weapon there is a ton of customization. For instance relic iron rounds. They dramatically improve impact and increase damage, but they reduce the amount of ammo carried for that weapon. Skipjack rounds are ultra dense small ceramic rounds that allow you to carry more and bounce off hard surfaces. The weapons are said to generate the ammo, the reloading is simply 'adding material' to be processed. Weapons will be able to change and have dramatically different ammo types, but it is gun based not a complicated ammo system. [quote]2. I think that enemy encounters in the exploratory missions should be randomized to a certain degree...[/quote] They were, if you played as much as I did, you would have found that captains/majors Would sometimes spawn in to the normal group as well as some times they would include stealth enemies as well. I took the time to get to Vanguard Rank 3 I spent a ton of time in the explore missions, they do change. Maybe there could be more, I could agree with that, but getting to know an area and the 'usual' activity --despite it actually being varied, not to mention the public events-- is a valuable experience. [quote]3. One other thing that I think Destiny may benefit from is a few changes and additions to the weapons available to the player in game. For instance, the idea of the machine gun may seem great to put into[/quote] Relic Iron rounds equipped on one of the guns that only held 29 in the mag to begin with will disagree with you. I could do way more damage to a spidertank with that than any rocket launcher in the game --~390 a tick per bullet on a leg. maximum damage from one rocket a splash maybe totally up to 2000, but with no real focus and much of the damage wasted on things that take less damage, or 80 or more rounds of ~390 damage a tick when and where I need it. There is plenty you have not seen or had the opportunity to experience. Trust me they are heavy weapons, and perform like it. I will have to out right disagree with you on this. Explosive tipped heavy machine gun rounds is a much more effective solution to enemies that aren't all grouped up, and it still has crowd control fun. Rockets...carry 5 and have them be effective once in awhile, or sowing mayhem and shredding through a pile/column of enemies/bosses with almost pin point accuracy, I like my heavy machine gun and it disagrees with you. I do like rockets...they can be tons of fun to, I just felt that your portrayal of Heavy Machine Guns was very inaccurate. [quote]First, some balancing between class powers need serious assessment in the competitive multiplayer area. The warlocks ability seems powerless while the hunters ability appears to reign supreme.[/quote] Disagree I have seen Warlocks disintegrate an entire group of enemy players with a well placed Nova. You played one subclass per class out of 6, or so I am told, with more to be potentially released later. I am going to have to point out that your frame of reference is pretty small. A skilled hunter can take out 3 people at most with there golden gun, a titan can wipe out a whole team if they place it well. The powers balance each other out. The Nova has range, is very aimable and splash, and has no limits on how many it can kill. The titan has very limited range, big splash, and again no limit on the amount of people it can kill. The Hunter can kill at most 3, has no AoE, is directed, has great range, but can miss, or being killed out of the golden gun state without ever using it once. They definitely have their pros and cons, some might be easier to use, and some might be already being wielded skillfully. Also level 8...You have a lot more gear and stuff that is going to change the balance of PVP, not to mention more subclasses.