Published on: Nov 9, 2015 @ 16:50
Swain, Birds and Bones had the opportunity to visit Bungie Studios on November 2nd and spend the day talking with the people who create Destiny.
It was definitely a fun time, but in true journalistic fashion, Crucible Radio knew they’d have to return with some new information that can help us improve.
This article will review of some of the things we learned.
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Jon Weisnewski Explains Telesto
After Crucible Radio’s Exotic Review episode, Sandbox Designer and weapons master Jon Weisnewski had a few things to say. Swain had rated Telesto pretty low, but Jon insisted that the gun had some uses, albeit “niche” uses. Instead of going straight for kills, Jon recommends using it to shut down hallways and control maps.
It’s also important to remember that the Telesto does have a drop off in impact at farther ranges, but no matter how far you shoot the projectiles, they will do the same amount of damage when they explode after sticking.
If you missed episode 16, Jon explained Range and much more:
Fabian Strategy – It’s Not Bugged
Jon had more information for CR regarding Fabian Strategy, the Titan exclusive Exotic auto rifle (full guide). A controversial weapon, Jon explained that it works exactly like Tlaloc – the rate of fire is increased while damage-per-shot remains the same, offering more damage-per-second.
The major difference is because of the extremely fast RoF; the effect is less noticeable. It’s a weapon built for Titans, designed to be the ones to bust down doors and clear a room – this means you have to get close for it to be effective.
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What Is Handling?
Per Jon Weisnewski, it’s defined as “stow time, equip time, and time to aim-down-sights.” This means that a gun with faster Handling can be equipped faster, put away faster, and allow you to get your scopes up quicker – something that perks like Snapshot and Quickdraw improve significantly. Along with other hidden stats like Aim Assist, Handling cannot be immediately determined by simply inspecting a weapon – check the database for the secondary stats.
Certain scopes and perks that increase Handling significantly, such as the “MD-Reflex” scope that Bones loves to brag about, or the Last Resort perk found on adept trials weapons. Even though some things don’t appear in the UI, it’s always possible to get a feel for these hidden stats by giving it significant time in the field.
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Don’t Inspect In Orbit
Weisnewski reveals another helpful tip that solves an issue many players have noticed but have been unable to explain. Have you ever applied a perk that reduces the magazine size, but when inspecting the weapon, the number does not go down? This is because of the fact that anytime you inspect a weapon while not in the field, the game doesn’t know your gun exists.
Because of the way information is stored and processed, examining a weapon while in Orbit will leave the game confused, and forced to present information that might not be accurate.
To see an accurate display of stats and magazine sizes, you must be in any live PvE or PvP activity!
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Stat Bars, Detail Screens, & “Fruit Space”
Sandbox guru Sage is here to explain a term he both loves and hates – “fruit space”. When looking through inventory and weapons, there exists an option to compare a weapon with the weapon currently equipped. What occurs is a display of which stats are higher or lower on each weapon, allowing players to compare their weapons and decide which one might be better. A problem arises frequently when two different types of guns are compared: it’s difficult to compare apples to oranges on the same scale – thus, fruit space.
Sage explains that Bungie is constantly at working trying to improve the UI and the way we view our weapons, but the stat bars can be extremely misleading if you’re comparing a handcannon to an auto rifle, or shotgun to a fusion rifle. All stat bars are relative to the type of weapon, so to get an accurate reading, it’s best to compare apples to apples and oranges to oranges, or weapons of the same type. Comparing two different weapon types will not give you the information you necessarily want to see.
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Map Design
At the far end of the dinner table, away from Swain, Bones and Deej discussing the possible uses of Erin’s raisins, Birds got a chance to talk with Adam and Coolie, two map designers at Bungie. They explain the process that goes into bringing a map from the drawing board to the game.
First, geometry and structures are put in place, creating the actual arena in which Guardians are to compete. Only after that fact do artists take their turn to animate and render maps in such a way that allows them to fit into the world of Destiny, with Vex imagery, Cosmodrome imagery, or anywhere else Shaxx might decide to host practice.
Crucible Radio plans on having both Adam and Coolie on a later episode to talk more about the beautiful PvP maps in Destiny.
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ADS Tracking Literacy
Multiplayer Designer and avid gamer himself, Leif Johansen dropped some knowledge on the best way to detect the difference between a low skill player and high skill player: aim-down-sights literacy. Leif points out that a good player will always be aimed before engaging an enemy, even if it’s just a second in advance. If a player feels like they are caught off guard or too slow, it might be because of their readiness; because Destiny has low times-to-kill, getting the jump on an enemy is key when winning gunfights.
ADS tracking literacy can be improved with good map knowledge; if a player can tell where an enemy is, they will have a sense of what they might be thinking or how they might approach, allowing for a better chance to prepare. Leif is a knowledgeable competitor, and has a multitude of tips when it comes to strategy and skill.
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Raisins
Last but not least, community manager Deej is up to his old tricks – he tried to tell Crucible Radio that consuming raisins buffs your weapon damage by 20% – and it stacks… 😉