Destiny 2 [PC] + Battle.net

They have their own server/client code that is used for games to make sure everything is synced. One of the reasons is to deter piracy and for the most part it works. Diablo 3, despite being extremely popular at times has never had a full crack or anything remotely approaching a full crack or even emulation. EA and others have tried this as well but without much success. This is likely due to how much is stored on their servers and provided to the client only when needed.

Denuvo has been relatively successful at protecting games by making it take longer until a cracked version appears. In general this is viewed as good enough as the majority of sales come during the launch window. However, it's still problematic as some games can have extremely long and profitable tails. Again Diablo 3 being a prime example.

The other major reason is to ensure there is as little cheating going on as possible. That's also readily apparent when you compare to other games or to the older Diablo 2. Cheating is virtually non-existent on the PC compared to console or other PC games.

But it doesn't appear that Destiny is going to take advantage of Blizzard's expertise in this area so that's a moot point. I'm not entirely surprised, however, as Blizzard is a very insular company and I imagine that they probably wouldn't feel comfortable sharing some things outside of the company. Which would mean them potentially taking control of certain aspects of Destiny in order to facilitate something like that. Of Bungie would most likely not be comfortable releasing control of parts of their product to another company.

As all of Blizzards games focus heavily on multiplayer, the games are constantly updated to address any new hacks, cheats, or expoits in the games code. As well since most of their games feature a competitive component, the games and their mechanics are periodically rebalanced to respond to whatever the latest meta is. As well, the games will periodically get updates to introduce new content. New content can be as small as a weekly cosmetic or something as large as a new class, new cards, new maps, etc.

While some people evidently don't like it, it is key to maintaining player interest and engagement with their games over a long period of time. A stagnant game will lose interest relatively quickly. A game that is constantly evolving with new additions and changes will keep players engaged far longer. Similarly if cheats, hacks, and exploits (bugs in the code) aren't quickly addressed things will quickly devolve and players lose interest.

Regards,
SB

 

Posted this in the console forum then realised it fits here:
Played the beta for 2 hours.
PvP feels lcompletely new on PC with mouse. Its very fast and quick and much much more fun.

As for PvE, with mouse aim its too easy. Killing everything with contiinuous precision shots with my AR. All the enemies that took a while to beat in th eps4 beta and crumbling in seconds under the continuous precision aim of the mouse. Even forgot I had a super.

I hope Bungie introduces some kind of recoil or increases recoil or something like that. RIght now everything in PvE just melts in front of ur guns. Feels trivial and uninteresting.

As for gfx, except for the obvious 60 fps, all I see is better AO and AF. Otherwise its pretty much what I saw on the ps4 pro. 60 FPS brings clarity and smoothness of course, but the gfx didnt make me go "Wow" as I was expecting on PC max.

But kudos to bungie game feels totally natural on pc . Crisp and slick controls. I don't feel for a second this is a console title ..except for feeling easy with mouse. That feels off to me currently.

 

Well, played it with my ps4 controller and seem slike recoil is mcuh lesser on the pc version. I could land continuous crits with AR with my controller too, so its not a mouse thing, controlling guns seems easier on the PC . Something of the sort was said by Bungie once I think.
Challenge is much lower in strike making it less fun than it was in previous PS4 beta. In fact, the strike isnt much fun at all as you can just breeze through it without much to do. I just hope the console version hasn't been made easier like this.
OTOH, PvP is a LOT ore fun on PC. Was kindof drab on the ps4 version.
Cant wait for the game to launch next week.

 

Uploaded some gameplay from the beta Strike:



Will also upload 4k60 capture tommorow

 

I like Bungie sound design for weapons - not overbearing, and still has that crunchy pop.

 

https://www.bungie.net/en/News/Article/46077/

 

Good news, the 1080 Ti is able to maintain 60 fps at native 4k just by dropping 3 settings from max to the next best option. Everything maxed without MSAA (I've found FXAA to be the best AA in this game), dropping what looks to be a world space AO ("3D") to screen space (HDAO) and dropping the DOF from Highest to High. It is hovering around 80-90 fps most of the time with drops to 60s and 50s at worst (I've seen that only in one area) and it peaks at 100+ fps.

 

Some HDAO vs 3D AO comparisons in 4k:

3D: https://abload.de/img/destiny2screenshot201x6ax9.jpg
HDAO: https://abload.de/img/destiny2screenshot201klbyb.jpg

3D: https://abload.de/img/destiny2screenshot201bzyj5.jpg
HDAO: https://abload.de/img/destiny2screenshot201ydxny.jpg

3D: https://abload.de/img/destiny2screenshot201o1luc.jpg
HDAO: https://abload.de/img/destiny2screenshot201tkyhu.jpg

3D: https://abload.de/img/destiny2screenshot2018fz22.jpg
HDAO: https://abload.de/img/destiny2screenshot201anxab.jpg

3D: https://abload.de/img/destiny2screenshot201zmabv.jpg
HDAO: https://abload.de/img/destiny2screenshot201g9lln.jpg

 

And the gameplay with FPS displayed in the top right corner:

 

I'm not into PVP and I liked destiny.

Destiny of pve only is good enough

 

in fact if u ask th emajority of Destiny players, Destiny is all about PvE. PvP is a smaller part of it and honestly, I feel other games do it much better. Destiny 2 PvP in the beta felt OK at best to me, not the meat fo the game at all.
Just like with D1, I am going to be playing all PvE again, thats where Destiny shines !

 

I know that. I think they are really trying to promote D2 as an esports game hence the push to showcase pvP.

 

Destiny 2 PC Graphics and Performance Guide: https://www.geforce.com/whats-new/guides/destiny-2-pc-graphics-and-performance-guide

 

Well, played it for a bit yesterday. Game is pretty decent. Graphics are not bad.

Gameplay (movement, shooting, powers, weapon variety, weapon modding, etc.), feel like a poor man's Warframe. I do like that there's an element of variety in wardrobe vanity in types of clothing. But I wonder how much control you'll have over how you look at higher levels. Also, the coloring/dye system is pretty weak compared to Warframe.

Haven't seen much of the story so far, but it looks like they put in some effort. The random Adventures are fun so far, but I don't know if their novelty will wear off over time. Other players dropping into the same "world exploration" instance is kind of nice. Number of players per instance seems to be very small, but it's still nice.

It doesn't appear they've changed much from the console version to accommodate KB/M players. IE - it's pretty easy so far. Constantly headshotting enemeies since they move pretty slowly.

Not a fan of a shotgun being an uber weapon or whatever they call that weapon slot.

It is nice that I rarely feel a need to ADS. Shooting from the hip is reasonably accurate and I've only used ADS for additional zoom so far. In many cases it's far easier to get headshots firing from the hip than using ADS.

Nice array of graphics options. I was happy to be able to immediately turn off motion blur and DoF. I was surprised to see an option to turn off chromatic aberration.

Levels take a REALLY long time to load on SSD compared to other games I have. But keep in mind I don't buy many AAA games anymore, so I'm comparing to games like Gears of War 4 (where it also has really long load times, but they are hidden by semi-interactive walking segments).

Overall a positive experience so far.

Regards,
SB

 

Maybe part of the loading is syncing the instance?

 

Game is easy on the console too. Its a shadow of the challenge D1 offered. KBM makes it even easier on PC and that was my exact feeling during th ebeta. I could get as meany headshots firing from the hip as I wanted on PC making PVE even easier than what it is on the console where u hardly ever fire from the hip. This is a conscious decision to make the sequels easier. Dark Souls was a huge inspiration for D1, the feeling fo overcoming a challenge, and it is not for D2, they changed direction to make it as welcoming as possible. Personally I do not like that change.

On high level, the only thing u can change about the look of ur armour is the shader. Same for weapons. There is no transmogrification ala Diablo 3 which I would like since th earmour I like doesnt really have the best perks. But I dont mind it that much, as it keeps stuff visually clear as u can tell what the other player or anyone is using by just looking at them.

Will be very interested in how PC players react to D2, considering I have very mixed feelings for D2.

 

You are correct. While loading and traversing, destiny do matchmaking in the background