This Week At Bungie - 08/10/2017 1h - DeeJ

This week at Bungie, we're gearing up for the last mile on the road to launch.

The next time it's the 6th of a month, we'll all be playing Destiny 2 together.

Can't wait.

— Luke Smith (@thislukesmith) August 6, 2017

This is real life. For years, we've been dreaming about the next adventure you'd take with us in the world of Destiny. For months, we've been talking about it. In a matter of weeks, it begins.

These weeks will be fierce. Some of us have a travel schedule that will keep us up in the air longer than a blind Nova Bomb. We have final preparations to make for your arrival. We're planning an epic celebration. You are the guests of honor. The Red Legion are the party crashers.

The air in our studio is crackling with energy. What excites us as we play final builds of the game at home is that we've held so many surprises back for you to experience on your own journey. Today, we'll pull back the curtain and tell you a little bit about how the things you do know have changed since the Beta.

To Fight. To Crush. To Conquer.

Even if you were able to eliminate every last enemy of humanity from the solar system. There would still be other Guardians who would want to kick your ass.

Whenever you engage your fellow players in the Destiny arena, like you did in the Destiny 2 console Beta, our designers are studying you. They know when you play, how you win, why you lose, and what you have to say about it. They use all that knowledge (in concert with our own playtest war stories) to update an experience that is in flux until we rip it from their talons and press it onto a disc - or a download server.

All of this has happened before. And it will all happen again in the Destiny 2 PC Beta that starts with early access on August 28. Last week, we suggested that the new Beta build will include some changes. Let's tell you more about the evolutions.

Crucible Design Lead Lars Bakken has some information on how you'll meet new people in the PC Beta.

Lars: During the console Beta, we learned a lot from the players who entered the Crucible. Some of these learnings will be on display in the PC Beta. Our core goals haven't changed. We still want to serve all players who love the thrill of competition with fair and fun matches. We have, however, done a bit of work under the hood.

One of our goals for Destiny 2 has been to create two different ways to challenge yourself against other players. From this point forward, to allow for more varied experiences between the playlists, matchmaking for Quickplay and Competitive will be tuned separately. Along with some other changes to the rule sets for specific game types, these are the moods we want to cultivate in the new Crucible.

Quickplay
Matchmaking times will be shorter, with less emphasis on Skill. This is the fastest route to a game, but you may face opponents outside of your comfort zone. The winning score in Control has been extended from 75 to 100 to allow for more time to play and use your abilities. Because too many matches were shorter than we expected (some Guardians weren't even able charge their Super) we've extended the trigger for the Mercy rule so it will come into play less often.

Competitive
Matchmaking takes more time to introduce you to players that are closer to you in skill with a good connection. These matchmaking settings may take longer, but we feel that the quality of the gameplay experience will be worth the wait. We have also made improvements to the way we calculate your skill in Countdown to better reflect how you'll perform against your opponents.

We always use an element of your skill rating when we match you with opponents or teammates, whether in a pre-made Fireteam or going in solo. In all cases, the average rating of the team is taken into account when looking for matches. As always, we'll be eager to hear from you all about how this feels.

Sandbox Designer Josh Hamrick has notes on how to survive when you come under fire in the PC Beta.

Josh: First, Sandbox would like to give big thanks to everyone who played in the D2 console Beta! I can happily say that a lot of issues you all encountered are things we were tracking. I can even happilyerly say that, because of your hard work and dedication to making D2 awesome, there were a few things you reported that have now been fixed. Seriously, THANK YOU.

With the PC Beta coming up, we'll have another chance to sample the mayhem. This will be an opportunity for you to experience a few tweaks that have been made that will help make for a more enjoyable D2 experience all around. Here's a list of the major adjustments in the PC Beta.

FIXED: Infinite Super Glitch
Infinite Supers are all well and good until someone loses an eye.

FIXED: Warlock Glide Glitch
This bug was awesome... So awesome it hurt us a little bit to kill it. Thanks to those in the console Beta who helped us track this down.

FIXED: Infinite Grenades Glitch
Another issue found with the help of our friends in the console Beta. (Thank you!)

FIXED: Warlocks now have the same Melee Range as all other classes
With the exception of where perks directly increase their range, Warlocks will punch like the rest of us. Our PC friends will get a chance to experience a world with consistent base melee ranges. So will the rest of you, when the game launches.

TWEAKED: Globally reduced the time it takes to charge your Super
This was a big change that came directly from your feedback during the console beta. We agree it was taking a bit too long to cook up a Super.

TWEAKED: Increased Grenade Damage in PvE
Increased damage helps Grenades feel as powerful as they should facing hordes of alien combatants and, more specifically, makes the longer cooldowns more palatable. We want abilities to be slightly more rare, but worth it. In the console Beta, the "worth it" part wasn't quite there yet.

TWEAKED: Increased Power Ammo drops in PvE
This is something we had felt internally and have been slowly tuning up over the last several weeks. The PC beta has been updated with our new values and will provide much more Power ammo in PvE than what was found before. Power ammo can also be directly farmed from all Yellow Bar Combatants. Go big, Guardians!

We know you'll be doing everything in your power to discover shenanigans. Sandbox is optimistic that, with these big changes to the build, the PC Beta will be several steps closer to the game you will find in your hands in (less than) a month from now. We will be playing and watching right alongside you all, ready to document additional issues that you might find along the way. Happy hunting!

Eyes up, Guardians. Even if you're not equipped with the exotic gadgetry you'll need to jump into the Destiny 2 PC Beta, you'll still experience the new state of the Crucible and the Sandbox in the version of the game that we ship to your console on September 6. Like its predecessor, Destiny 2 will adapt and evolve as you play it. We hope you will as well!

Your Final Trial

Tomorrow will kick off the final Trials of Osiris in the Destiny 1 Crucible. If you think you have what it takes to claim the ultimate victory, pack your bags for one more trip to the Lighthouse. Many of you are probably wondering what the final map will be. We're going to maintain the ritual of the Friday morning surprise. We'll announce the map at 10 AM Pacific tomorrow when Trials goes live one last time. 

The Right Stuff

The Destiny Operation Center and Destiny Player Support teams are the ones on the front lines of the live game making sure you have the best experience possible.

This is their report.

Destiny 2 PC Security: Third-party App Compatibility
Last week, we published an article to prepare players for third party app features that may not be compatible with Destiny 2 on PC. While third party applications will not fully lose functionality during Destiny 2 PC gameplay, features that attempted to insert code into the game will not be compatible. The following are answers to the most frequently asked questions in the #Help forum:

Will these security measures only impact third party applications during the Destiny 2 PC Beta?
No, this will apply to both the Destiny 2 PC Beta and full Destiny 2 PC release on October 24.

How will players monitor FPS performance during gameplay?
Destiny 2 on PC will include an in-game FPS counter.

How will players be able to monitor hardware performance?
Hardware performance monitors will be able to function alongside Destiny 2 PC, but any form of overlay functionality will be restricted.

Will Destiny 2 on PC include a frame rate target option?
Yes, Destiny 2 on PC will include the ability to specify a frame rate upper-limit (via a config file).

Are third-party streaming and communications applications completely broken by this security feature?
No. Players may stream Destiny 2 PC using supported modes within the streaming software (e.g. OBS, XSplit, etc). Communication applications such as Discord and Mumble will work normally except for the overlay of their UI in the game.

Why are streaming, capture or overlay applications being impacted by these security measures?
The methods that some third-party applications use to add features (inserting code into the game client) are the same as some of the methods hackers and cheaters use to disrupt the experience of other players. As a part of our security efforts, we have designed Destiny 2 for PC to resist all attempts from external applications to insert code into the game client.

It is a high priority for us to ensure that Destiny 2 is a safe and fair experience for all players, on all platforms.  We remain committed to creating a positive and fair in-game experience in all of our products, and believe that this is a necessary measure in bringing you a great gaming experience in Destiny 2 on PC.
We will continue to update this Help content with additional questions and answers through the Destiny 2 PC Beta later this month, and Destiny 2 PC launch on October 24.

Bungie.net Account Recovery
Bungie.net will soon receive an update to support a form of Account Recovery. If a player has lost access to a Bungie.net account through the account linking process, we will offer a means of recovering and re-linking the original Bungie.net profile to desired credentials. This feature will not provide a means of recovering deleted Destiny characters. Players may view our deleted character policy here.

Additional information concerning Bungie.net Account Recovery will become available in the coming weeks. Stay tuned to @BungieHelp for future announcements.

A Time to Kill

And now a few words from your Community Manager. 

Cozmo: It's come time for the final editions of a few Destiny 1 rituals. This weekend will be the last time Guardians compete against each other in Trials of Osiris. It will also be the final time Guardians hunt down a D1 Bungie Bounty and attempt to claim a rare Emblem to wear as a badge of honor. The final Bungie Bounty will be on XB1. Your target will be VersusTheStream.

Bungie Bounty: VersusTheStream
Region: Georgia
When:  12 PM Pacific 8/11/2017
Console: XB1
Playlist: Clash

This will be your last shot at claiming the Sign of Opposing Will. All you have to do is match into VersusTheStream's game and secure the victory. Doesn't matter if you are with him or against him, if your team comes out on top you will receive your Emblem sometime in the following week.

Cozmo: Movie of the week is sticking around. If you are not familiar with the concept, let's get you up to speed. Every week, the community sends in videos. We watch as many as we can and pick our favorites to share here. To the winners go the spoils, and the spoils in this case is this nifty Emblem. If you want your chance to claim that Emblem, send in your video to our Creations page here.

Movie of the Week:  Destiny 2: FAN TRAILER

Honorable Mention: Nice to Meet ya

Honorable Mention: Surrender

Games change throughout their development. They grow and transform and refine every day. It's our privilege to bring you along for that journey - but the game we finally deliver is the destination that really matters. You have a front row seat for a series of evolutions, and you're a part of the creative process. Thanks for coming along for the ride, as we twist and turn down the winding road to launch.

In the weeks that follow, we'll make our last stops. We'll give you a sense for what you might see coming out of gamescom and PAX in the weeks to come. There are still some people out there who have yet to hear our call to arms to defend the City. We'll need every willing Guardian on hand for this fight. It's time to hit the road (or the skies) again - and end up right in our own backyard.

A storm is gathering. 

DeeJ, out.