The weekly lore/pinnacle grind in the final season of Year 4.
I did not finally get around to doing this until mid August 2020, well after the announcement of Year 5/expansion delays were made, and the extension of Season 11... during the final, end of year Solstice event to be accurate. It had also been at least a full month, since I had even fired up the game.
As a one off run, this level was fun, varied... beautiful. In some ways it was another sad reminder of what once was. It is levels like this that remind you how good Destiny 2 can be.
What it takes to get here though, I cannot justify repeating. As a living, story progressing piece of game design, offering alterations each week in the tree and such, and a little bonus bit of new dialogue from Eris at the end... this is the exact same approach used for the weekly Ascendant bounties during the first few months of Forsaken... however the Ascendant challenges were clever, accessible, awesome, and 100% solo-able and could be given the speed run treatment if you had the skill.
This however requires that you first farm the Contact events that are 100% about firepower, not skill. If it were possible to solo those events, you would have to be on the bleeding edge of + Power ratings with the latest meta weapon exploits/advantages. And considering the event itself is basically a one sided, one-team-only Gambit match that is also setup to imitate Escalation Protocol from Mars... I do not see that being possible without using all out cheats... so no, not an option.
In short, the contact events are far from a casual little farm. It requires GRINDFEST repetitions to then "be allowed" to replay this mission each week.
I would have liked to have seen the evolution of that tree during the season had this been more accessible and skill focused as a living bit of content. Unfortunately the payoff was a single power item and a tiny bit of lore... I was right in judging that it would not be worth the amount of time invested, just like every other GRINDFEST bit of content from Year 4.
Even if you have a highly coordinated group of good, skilled, and equipped clan members to smash this out, I still cannot justify this kind of time sink when you take into consideration how many other things are in the game that need grinding to keep pushing your Power level up... then add the loot grinding for optimal gear rolls... it is out of control.
This is another very clever bit of game design, reduced to a long, drawn out re-grinder that can only be replayed by those with a gaming addiction, and NOTHING to do in the real world.
You will also notice the amount of lore I picked up at the end... clearly there was no need to grind this out every single week to catch those snippets of dialogue... this one run had the accumulated lore just sitting there waiting to be triggered. There may be another three or four bits of lore to hear... but this was a one time play through for me. I love the story, but... no.
NOTE: This is not a guide, these Destiny 2 vids are just me capturing some of the more memorable missions/activities/etc. As the game becomes more and more of a grindfest for MMO nerds that can waste all hours of the day, every day, grinding mindlessly... I can at least look back at this beautifully crafted world and be reminded of some really good gaming sessions, and the really good times outside of the game during those "good ole days." =================== If you dig my content, by all means show some love SUBSCRIBE & SUPPORT
One of my favorite Strikes. I loved the look and feel of Mars, the whole Rasputin tech. Gorgeous.
This strike in particular has a nice flow to it I think. You can clear the enemies if you want, or you can jump through and speed run. It always feels busy and action packed. Even with the end boss, you were able to speed kill with the right weapons/loadout, and not be trapped into doing the various phases.
This was one of the key bits of game design that made me fall in love with Destiny 2... it increased the replay value because you could skip past the tedious stuff if you really were grinding/replaying for numbers, and you were nimble enough, and familiar enough with the mechanics, to be able to do so. If you wanted a real challenge in absolutely destroying everything while trying to move through as quick as possible.... that's what Nightfalls were for.
"The power of choice" is a big thing that felt like was lost once Shadowkeep enforced damage phases in boss encounters of every type of "new" content... even in the newer Lost Sectors. Everything slowed down to create the illusion of value while bumping up time spent in the game. I think it had the opposite effect for many players, including myself, because the time spent "in the game" was increasingly wasteful and redundant... if I can kill it quick, just let me kill it quick.
So here is to the Warmind expansion and Mars. one of the better "Mars" experiences in the world of gaming/media/entertainment.
NOTE: This is not a guide, these Destiny 2 vids are just me capturing some of the more memorable missions/activities/etc. As the game becomes more and more of a grindfest for MMO nerds that can waste all hours of the day, every day, grinding mindlessly... I can at least look back at this beautifully crafted world and be reminded of some really good gaming sessions, and the really good times outside of the game during those "good ole days."
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This is one of those Year 3 Exotic Weapon quests that I finally got around to doing after the announcement of "Sun Setting," and my final choice to let go of this game and move on. It is also the final mission/step that I had left for more than half a year, waiting to be completed.
As an aside, I also had another final Exotic mission, just like this one sitting on the EDZ map, that happened to disappear after Season 11 was released. I was not impressed to see a second grind quest I made the effort to get through, disappear, to make way for a pre-deleting of content/missions come Year 4.
This is kind of a reminder of how far south the quality of quest/content design went in Year 3. Recycled D1 content (Old Russia), which I wouldn't have an issue with... but the fact that this mission really goes nowhere... it is disappointing, and a waste of an interesting environment. This was like a pale shadow of the Cosmodrome mission that ended the quest for the Thunderlord exotic.
After all the previous grind steps that were so boring that it literally provoked me to leave this final "content" step unfinished for months because I needed to purge my disgust of the mindless grind, I can not say that there was any sense of "reward" reaching the end.
A sign of things to come? Maybe.
What it definitely was, was a reminder that my pre-order of the Digital Deluxe Shadowkeep was money flushed down the toilet. A year's worth of content, much like this mission, designed to alienate gamers like myself that are not grind-obsessive, super hardcore fanboys.
I also left the firewall notification popup in this video to remind myself of the odd way this game works within Windows. With streaming/video recording software that isn't native to the video card (in my case, nVidia), the game will not record/stream unless it is set in Windowed or Borderless Windowed mode... and because I actively reject Microsoft's built-in malware datamining (even when you deactivate the bloatware like Cortana/Maps/etc., it gets repurposed, reintegrated and forced down your throat in further patches), I am constantly notified of the shady way Windows tries to restructure files that have already been blocked to get around 3rd party firewall software, so as to beat you into submission to just make a blanket approval rule to allow the M$ datamining. D2 in windowed mode, sadly, will not allow those notifications to move into the background, they have to be acknowledged for that pop up to go get off the screen. It sounds petty, but another odd quirk of coding that adds to the frustration, particularly when this has been a consistently "above average" streaming title (in terms of popularity).
NOTE: This is not a guide, these Destiny 2 vids are just me capturing some of the more memorable missions/activities/etc. As the game becomes more and more of a grindfest for MMO nerds that can waste all hours of the day, every day, grinding mindlessly... I can at least look back at this beautifully crafted world and be reminded of some really good gaming sessions, and the really good times outside of the game during those "good ole days."
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Raw comparison of the PC (left) and Android (right) games.
First up a disclaimer. The Android version was recorded via the in-built recording feature in my Samsung Galaxy Tab S4 tablet... and the recorded footage does have some noticeable, though slight, pauses throughout. The gameplay itself was smooth, it is just the recording-to-file function that was kinda struggling to function at the same time.
That said, the Tab S4 is capable of playing back games at 60fps, and Autosport averaged 30fps, peaking at 39.45fps (that's something I can check in the recorded video files). Even without recording, the gameplay sticks around that 30fps mark.
Also, the tiny bit of footage with the Aston Martin where the camera is rotating all over the place, that's the default gyro cam rotation... and it's pretty terrible, at least on this tablet it was (you can turn it off). The idea is good, but there is too much going on in this game for it to cope with gyro lag. Sudden, dramatic turns create a significant visual delay in the rotation, that then messes with your perception because while you're trying to turn left, the rotation and horizon line is still slanted WAY to the right and it messes you up.
Otherwise, this comparison was performed with an XBox One controller for PC, and just straight touch/tilt on the tablet. The Mount Panorama footage was done on the easiest level of assists for visual consistency. I did try the full Expert/manual mode on the tablet, and shifting gears with a swipe of a finger onscreen does not work well. This game is too quick and responsive to factor in serious shift delays when trying to hard brake/downshift AND turn into a corner. You either play with some auto/basic assists in tilt/screen mode, or play this properly with a controller.
Aside from the obvious fidelity advantage the PC has (on Ultra settings) and the ability to use a proper sim wheel controller, the Android version is superior value for money. I captured the Summer 2020 sale price on Steam. It breaks down as follows:
STEAM (PC + Mac edition)
Base Game = $7.25 AUD on sale, normally $14.50 AUD
+ Season Pass = $42.95 AUD ... and I NEVER did see this go on sale, after so many years.
or
GOOGLE PLAY (Android)
Base Game + ALL DLC = $14.99 AUD
The iOS version for Ipad/Iphone/Ipod Touch should be around the same price.
Now, you'll notice at the start where the sales pages are, I clicked on the devices I currently have registered with my Google account. As you can see two devices are not compatible. The glaring omission is the nVidia Shield (2019 gaming edition)... and this game would be PERFECT for that device. Feral really need to correct this. Real Racing 3 works perfectly on the Shield, and that is a bloated, micro-transaction mess of a game with questionable AI when the game tries to push you into buying those last, "gold token" only parts upgrades to any given car.
And, as of putting this video together, late June 2020... multiplayer is scheduled as a standalone closed beta experience on the Google Play store. If all goes well, the kinks will be figured out, and it will be smoothly added to the game with an update.
The other non-compatible device listed in the Google Store one is my old Sony Xperia Z5 phone.
Interestingly, the Xperia XZ1 is listed as supported, but my current phone at the time (listed as the Sony G8141) was the Xperia XZ1 Premium... which, when the game loads up, tells me it is not officially supported. The Premium does have a 4K screen, so go figure.
This video should everyone some raw exposure as to how good and "complete" this Android/iOS version of this game is. These are the kind of games you should play and support on mobile platforms... we need more REAL games like this, without the annoying and dishonest token/gem/gold gambling machines.
And oh yeah, that final shot of the Options screen in Android... a pretty comprehensive ability to tweak settings for your choice of controls. Very impressive!!!
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This is an honest and realistic graphical comparison for those that understand what Ray Tracing really is. Not just for those that are primarily experienced PC gamers, but also those that have proper "creative" experience dealing with ray tracing in 3D apps (like 3DS MAX, Maya, etc.) and, to a lesser extent, game engines (Unreal Engine, etc.).
A comparison from my recently acquired Xbox Series S, a vanilla version on PC (before the raytracing update comes our way), and a modded version of PC (not the ultra ray tracing mod that is out there, but a simple environmental mod). Mod choices are listed way at the bottom of this description.
There are a lot of GTA V "ray tracing" console gen comparisons out there that, quite honestly, miss the point, and some of them completely fail to demonstrate the nuanced impact of ray tracing tech. This was not rushed out like many day/week one comprisons, just to become watch-count-clickbait.
In its best moments, and when masterfully implemented, ray tracing is utterly unimpressive on a surface, shock value level. It has its greatest impact as a subtle, all encompassing enhancement of visual depth and immersion into a set of "graphics." It is all about the finer details. Another thing many do not understand is that the Ray Tracing tech being promoted in the gaming world is not just "ray tracing" but also includes a thing called radiosity (light bouncing off surfaces to contribute as secondary/tertiary/etc light sources)... the next gen GTA V rereleases do not include radiosity.
The enhanced Ray Tracing gen of GTA V is far from a great example of that for a number of reasons. It is too exaggerated, and semi-cartoon-ish a world to serve as a poster child for ray tracing (like Cyberpunk 2077 was).. and is it also too large of a world to convert properly. Many fanboy gamers/influencers fail to realise just how much effort is actually involved in converting/modifying every (and I mean EVERY) single light source and surface material/shader in a world as massive as GTA V's San Andreas. It would likely require 10x times that time and effort again to (properly) add radiosity to the world. If they did, it would destroy both your circa. 2022 era ultra console/PC spec systems... if you understand the tech beyond gamer hype, you will understand how much of a reality that is. This is a game engine from 10 years ago, and you cannot expect it to compete with, for example, all of the crazy things that Unreal 5 can already do.
Some hard observational facts:
1. The console rerelease has an increase in contrast settings that creates a false sense of improvement. My impression is that the enhanced version is an enhanced version of the console editions of the game client ONLY, which does not make this a fair comparison to the pre-ray tracing era of vanilla PC. Though you will notice the altered constrast settings (and then some) can be achieved on PC by installing just the ENB mod.
2. Some shadows and many textures still seem better in general on PC, despite the lack of ray tracing (take a closer look at the shadows from Jimmy's hair when he's sitting on the bed).
3. The modded version adds a lot more life in refreshing ways that you would have hoped for from having to repurchase a game many have already owned on their consoles. My choice of combined mods and settings appears to have killed some of the atmospheric fog that gives the world a lot of character. But the enhanced lighting choices, and volumetric particles make a HUGE difference without having to resort to ray tracing. The volumetric butterflies are a bit too much at times for my tastes, but all in all that also adds a massive amount of character and life to the world.
4. The next gen release claims to be 60fps... and it simply is not true. I ain't buying into anyone's claim that frame rates go down in ray tracing mode, as opposed to performance mode. LIES. The new gen of consoles have dedicated and optimised hardware on par to PC standards now, and have been hyped to be capable of proper raytracing... from a PC gamers point of view... this is unacceptable. I could understand performance mode unlocking a 144fps, but to introduce you to a mere 60fps instead? Welcome to PC gaming in 2002!
PC - stock/vanilla - Highest Settings
vs
Xbox Series X|S optimised edition with Raytracing ON
vs
PC - MODded - Highest Settings
NaturalVision
Volumetric Particles
ENBSeries (custom settings)
Ultimately it comes down to personal choice. It is an extremely minor bump up in visual quality at the expense of frame rate on new gen consoles (Xbox or PS) that should have been able to handle PC levels of performance, at least within the world of GTAV. It will be interesting to see when the raytracing upgrade comes to PC, to see how it boosts the various MODs ot there.
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I had to fire this up as a Nightfall just to get in on a match that was not being farmed by AFK douchebags. Played at "Adept" difficulty near the end of Year 3... zero rewards of value, and really no challenge either. It was hard to justify this as a Nightfall. I died at the end because... to be honest, I am not really sure how that happened. For a moment, there was a little bit of input lag... like the server side feedback was delayed and my inputs to self correct my jump were too little, too late.
This reminded me why I stopped caring about Nightfalls once "The Ordeal" came into play... either ridiculously easy with no rewards, or requiring bleeding edge Power levels to grind through for.... okay rewards? The fact that I did not have an endless amount of spare time for the increasing grind to stay "up" on my Power to remain in a decently "active" clan (and the mega clans started leaning into that direction of power grinding from what I saw), made doing proper Nightfall runs infeasible from Year 3 onwards.
Another indicator that D2 was already catering to the Hardcore Homebodies (folks that can afford to grind 7 hours sessions, each day, every day of the week) at the start of Shadowkeep, well before the whole sun setting plans were proposed.
NOTE: This is not a guide, these Destiny 2 vids are just me capturing some of the more memorable missions/activities/etc. As the game becomes more and more of a grindfest for MMO nerds that can waste all hours of the day, every day, grinding mindlessly... I can at least look back at this beautifully crafted world and be reminded of some really good gaming sessions, and the really good times outside of the game during those "good ole days."
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The "other" strike from Mercury... similarly, you can speed run through this one as well. My couple of deaths in this video were careless, partly because I had forgotten how impossible to dodge the AI firepower can be when the game chooses to target a single player... although that said, my play style had turned pretty wreckless when I realised one of the players in this instance was clearly an AFK farming douche.
Nevertheless, still a fun run through the Infinite Forest... and an in-game concept that had so much potential and was only ever really used for mindless grinding events (like Halloween, X-Mas, Valentine's Day, etc. events) beyond the core Curse of Osiris content... ssoooooo much wasted potential.
NOTE: This is not a guide, these Destiny 2 vids are just me capturing some of the more memorable missions/activities/etc. As the game becomes more and more of a grindfest for MMO nerds that can waste all hours of the day, every day, grinding mindlessly... I can at least look back at this beautifully crafted world and be reminded of some really good gaming sessions, and the really good times outside of the game during those "good ole days."
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Insurgency: SANDSTORM [PC]
CO-OP: Checkpoint Security
Map: Hideout
Playing as Commander.
Died before calling in Assassin (attack chopper), but at least I did manage to get Cleric (mini-gun) onsite.
... this was an otherwise well defended "final defence" objective that came down to a last man standing situation... and a final WTF moment from the last AI Bot that stole our win.
I highly recommend this game. It's brutal and unforgiving, and very satisfying when you win. The weapons require real skill to handle (varying recoil/kick, actual bullet drop over distance, calibre-vs-material-penetration, etc). It has its issues like any game, but its well supported by a dedicated dev team that is committed to giving the game at least as long a lifespan as the first Insurgency... unlike some AAA trash franchises that get vomited out on a yearly basis for top $$$... ahem.
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Another great strike. It had a good flow, the ability to speed run, with the option/challenge to speed kill the end boss during the first encounter (which did not happen with these random teammates).
As much crap as many hardcore fanboys hung on Curse of Osiris and Mercury in general at its release (the only fair comment was that it was too small a chunk of content)... it was a beautifully designed environment, and it is a real shame it had to become one of the destroyed worlds, post Shadowkeep.
NOTE: This is not a guide, these Destiny 2 vids are just me capturing some of the more memorable missions/activities/etc. As the game becomes more and more of a grindfest for MMO nerds that can waste all hours of the day, every day, grinding mindlessly... I can at least look back at this beautifully crafted world and be reminded of some really good gaming sessions, and the really good times outside of the game during those "good ole days."
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This video was put together back in May 2020... keep in mind that the Pay2Win weapon situation in CoD Mobile has actually gotten worse. The newer Legendary weapons need to be upgraded to higher tiers fter purchase, which requires even more $$$.
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Behold, I have flushed money down the toilet so you do not have to. I have included in-game play footage in the second half of the video to demonstrate the big prize gun and avatar, in action.
The Draw, to completion, costs 11940 CoD coins... let that sink in.. eleven thousand, nine hundred and forty coins!
To be honest, I was not expecting the value of each additional "draw" to become so stupidly expensive. Keep in mind that the total cost, even at best dollar value... you could have pre-ordered the most bloated, Super Deluxe Edition of whatever the last, or next Call of Duty PC/Console title will be. You can buy two to three first day release AAA titles for this cost. And then consider how often people don't think through the full expense of each in-game purchase they buy, especially on the mobile platform. How much money are these games actually making? How can anyone pretend that AAA titles need AAA purchase prices when they have micro transactions like this inside of them? How much money is enough?
Let me stress the point that I find this kind of price gouging to be disgraceful and disgusting... encouraging gambling addiction in the world of gaming is on par with child molestation. It should be criminalised with extreme prejudice.
You will see the very predictable nature of the fake "random" nature of the draw. The most worthless, undesirable items are what you will acquire first. Weapons based on value are dropped in the appropriate order, with the most valuable item, the Type 25- Bloody Vengeance, a LEGENDARY rifle, being the very last thing you will acquire. This was so formulaic a delivery... the code doesn't even try to pretend to "not be rigged."
The dollar value is based on my region, Australia. If you are not very good at maths, this is how you break down the dollar-per-coin value for the currency you see in-game.
"Real $$$ Cost" divided by "Total CoD Coins" equals the "Real $$$ Cost of One Single CoD Coin"
To transcribe the onscreen figures:
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Best Dollar Value = 8000 + 2800 Bonus CoD Coin Pack = 159.99 AUD
1 CoD Coin = $0.01481388889 AUD
Worst Dollar Value is the 80 CoD Coin Pack = $1.49 AUD
1 CoD Coin = $0.018625
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Draw 1: 30 coins = $0.44 AUD
Draw 2: 80 coins = $1.18 AUD
TOTAL So Far: 120 coins = $1.77 AUD
Draw 3: 120 coins = $1.77 AUD
TOTAL So Far: 240 coins = $3.55 AUD
Draw 4: 300 coins = $4.44 AUD
TOTAL So Far: 540 coins = $7.99 AUD
Draw 5: 500 coins = $7.40 AUD
TOTAL So Far: 1040 coins = $15.40 AUD
Draw 6: 800 coins = $11.85 AUD
TOTAL So Far: 1840 coins = $27.25 AUD
Draw 7: 1300 coins = $19.25 AUD
TOTAL So Far: 3240 coins = $47.99 AUD
Draw 8: 2000 coins = $29.61 AUD
TOTAL So Far: 5240 coins = $77.61 AUD
Draw 9: 2800 coins = $41.47 AUD
TOTAL So Far: 8040 coins = $119.10 AUD
Draw 10: 3900 coins = $57.77 AUD
TOTAL So Far: 11940 coins = $176.87 AUD
TOTAL [Best Value] = $176.87 AUD
TOTAL [Worst Value] = $222.38 AUD
As for what you get... the lesser weapons? Who cares, honestly.
Artery: She looks pretty cool. You only get to see her on menu screens and end of game score podiums... everyone else in-game gets the pleasure of looking at your fancy-rare avatar... not you.
Type 25- Bloody Vengeance: It feels pretty good to shoot. The blood mist left behind from a fresh kill is a cool idea. It almost does feel like a Pay2Win weapon. Now that I have it, I have no reason to use any other full auto weapon unless it is for a contract/mission fulfillment. Good at range, good in close quarters. It's kind of perfect. During the third match on display in this video, I did however notice that it was not full proof. In fact, this was the first time I really identified how the aim assist in this game distinctly fails to deliver at times when you suddenly start aiming at what is obviously a human player, not a bot-in-disguise... aim suddenly feels sluggish, the ability to track becomes full manual, like the assist has suddenly turned itself completely off.
So don't think that this, or any of the previous, or coming legendary weapons in these obscenely overpriced Draws will give you an edge... the game still has very specific bait-and-switch mechanics meant to lull you into thinking you're good, and then punish you from time to time to maintain a somewhat level playing field... and considering how hopeless a lot of mobile gamers are compared to those of us that are at least reasonably skilled at real PC/console games, it is still very easy to win in this "community."
Call of Duty: MOBILE [ANDROID]
The Huntress Draw
DEVICE: Samsung Galaxy Tab S4 + PS4 Controller
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