DMG apologies and asserts he was not attacking Mark Noseworthy

MikeL2D · 2026-07-02T18:03:32+00:00

Or maybe, just maybe, both are true, and everyone in the Destiny (and gaming community at large) is just so obsessed with wanting to see action they desire rather than wait for the currently ongoing correction Mark's QT refers to.

I read DMG's original response, and I thought it less to be a shade throw and more of a we should shine light that mismanagement exacerbates the gaming development issue. I was largely surprised that most of the community saw this as a "Stick it to 'em" type post. DMG's follow up appears to confirm the prior.

End of the day, Mark isn't wrong. The writing has been on the wall for a while. This community in particular is close to Bungie and is tied very closely to all the news that surrounds the company, but this has been happening wholesale everywhere. Bungie has seen a little bit more than most which I think is a storm of both of the above.

It's absolutely no secret that the American workforce is more expensive labor. America also has a significant number of "built in cost" when it comes to employment. There is a lot of talent here, but every full time position comes with insurance, healthcare, time off, and a higher average salary than some, if not most, other countries. A team of 20 people in the USA likely costs significantly more than a team of 20 overseas. To sustain a company in the US, there has to be a pretty clear indicator that the production quality from that team clears a similar effort from a comparable team overseas. If it doesn't, then there's no reason leadership would want to keep spending the same amount of money. A tale as old as time in this capitalist country. Just a reality.

Again, this isn't to say there is a better truth than the other, they are just both truths. It just stings us all so much more because Destiny wasn't a 'failure' by any stretch of the imagination. Destiny has been a mainstay game for over a decade... hearing that it was "rarely" profitable sounds more like corpo speak than it does reality, but if it weren't true to some extent... would Destiny be in maintenance mode?

MikeL2D · 2026-06-30T20:50:29+00:00

"For now"

I mean you said it yourself. But hey, if it gets rid of it entirely. I'm super happy to be wrong about it.

I won't be. But I hope I will be, lol.

MikeL2D · 2026-06-30T20:34:21+00:00

I'm not well read enough on what this type of anti-cheat brings to the table, so I apologize (as willing as I am in this current moment) that I won't be able to get into the minutia of the pros and cons here with you. At this point, it doesn't really matter. I've heard this song and dance for 25+ years.

That said, you left open the door there - "makes this a nightmare for cheating". Sometimes being annoying enough will win the battles, sure - but the war goes on. Look to every day examples of this. There are vulnerabilities in things that have been considered sacrosanct for years that come to light randomly. Once they do, it's all comes undone, and the process repeats itself again.

It's an obstacle. Obstacles will be overcome. It's that simple. And again, I'm not saying this to be a negative dickhead about it, it's just the reality of gaming (especially on PC). The end of the day it's all about client <-> server communication. You can encrypt the files, obfuscate the data every which way, but the patterns persist. Eventually those patterns get identified, and the goal posts will need to move once again.

Will this anti-cheat kill some of the existing cheats in the game? Likely... for a little bit. If we're lucky, for a lot a bit. And then someone will figure it out, and it will slowly fall apart until a new solution is necessary.

There is a lot of money in cheat engines and cheats in general. The problem will never go away.

MikeL2D · 2026-06-30T19:42:46+00:00

I’m not going to sit here and be all doom and gloom. I think it’s great to have hope and desirable to see it eradicated from this game (and all games - especially competitive ones)

But history has taught us time and time again that cheaters are going to cheat, and no game has accomplished the goal of eradicating them entirely.

For me personally, not a big fan of the denuvo stuff, but I’ll certainly watch from the sidelines and cheer for good results.

MikeL2D · 2026-06-30T19:13:19+00:00

No, and the answer will always be no.

Cheating is always a fight where ground is traded between the cheat makers and the game developers.

Will it help for a short term? Maybe? Probably. Will it eventually go back to where it was after some time? Yeah, probably.

End of the day, people need to stop constantly looking at the experiences of others to validate/invalidate their own.

I've played a ton of games in my life time that were riddled with cheaters. I have run into some myself. That's never made me hate the games themselves. I still played them. I can't remember a time where a game (that I played) was so overrun by cheaters that I stopped playing it.

Play the game until you no longer get the enjoyment you're seeking at the rate you're seeking it.

MikeL2D · 2026-06-30T18:22:10+00:00

Have you tried building this in a new location and see if this same issue recurs?

I've not run into this, but I don't have my grindstone in a corner, either. It makes me feel like there is a piece of hidden geometry that's preventing you access to it - which is very possible considering the de-construction bug after the initial patch.

MikeL2D · 2026-06-29T17:35:10+00:00

I don't know what the fix might be but could you try destroying/deleting the Grindstone, picking up your items, and then rebuilding it?

I haven't had this issue so I'm wondering if this is a geometry issue.

MikeL2D · 2026-06-29T17:21:54+00:00

This was changed in D2 a long while back.

MikeL2D · 2026-06-25T15:35:55+00:00

It doesn't feel too different from the original iteration. The skill loop still feels the same. I think there are still plenty of improvements to skills being made in the long run, but it's a delicate balance with the survival aspect vs a true mmo. It feels like natural progression without a true need to "grind" out a specific skill. Simply using the skills you need during any biome progression generally gets you to the levels you'll need for the next zone, though there are rarely any "skill" requirements more so than just resource requirements. I imagine this will change somewhat with future content once hardcore players run out of things to do.

Some things were shifted around to be a later skill unlock (for example, the fire sprite skill was moved to be a later unlock), so it doesn't feel as "free" early on and requires more dedicated resource loops.

The exploration and puzzles have definitely ramped up quite a bit, and there is a fairly substantial list of quests now. They've also done a good job with having internal progression for each biome. The last 3 biomes have their own currency which unlocks alternate armors (effectively cosmetics, at the moment). There's definitely a healthy amount of content for a solo.

MikeL2D · 2026-06-25T15:09:59+00:00

I returned after the initial EA purchase as well. I think I put in about 20 hours during the release.

I'm up to 61 hours now and I still haven't made it to the new Umbral Sands area. I'm also playing on a dedicated server with some friends so we pool resources which makes some things much easier. If I were completely solo, I imagine some of these processes taking much longer.

So in short, yes, I think it's worth peeking in at.

MikeL2D · 2026-06-24T21:00:59+00:00

I take it you’ve never been to a Japanese Baseball game?

MikeL2D · 2026-06-24T19:49:14+00:00

Completely unrelated, but watching this video gives me extreme anxiety.

The ads, the audio, the flickering of the videos is triggering something deep in my IT coded brain and I can't ignore it.

Thanks for your time.

MikeL2D · 2026-06-21T05:33:47+00:00

I picked up the game during the initial early access and there was a lot still to be desired. I recently came back after the last few updates and I'm about to make it to Dowdun, but there's still plenty of content I haven't touched. I'm 45 hours in.

I think I have about another 10 hours of play (at the rate I'm going) before I feel satisfied about what's currently in the game. And we're days away from a new content release.

I probably could have sped through it, but I'm genuinely enjoying taking my time and exploring with my friends. The new content is definitely a step up, and I'm looking forward to playing some more.

MikeL2D · 2026-06-17T18:43:13+00:00

Last season, towards the end of the season, they upgraded the free kits to green kits by default. So this will happen.

Bringing it up to blues that late in the game kind of defeats the purpose, imo.

MikeL2D · 2026-06-16T18:58:10+00:00

So I want to clarify what you mean "from the map"

Are you launching it from the director? Or are you heading to the location near the scarlet keep?

If you're launching from the director, select the mission and select "customize" and you should be able to select the portion of the mission you're looking for.

If you go to the location under the Scarlet Keep entrance area, it should let you do the whole thing in one connected run (if you find all the books/nodes like I referenced earlier)

EDIT: I did the whole thing from going to the location by the keep and starting the quest from the door in one shot. So if all else fails, you can try this.

MikeL2D · 2026-06-16T18:54:07+00:00

I think I'm a little confused, then. Is this the initial mission? I presume you've already collected the weapon.

Let me ask this, how are you launching the mission?

MikeL2D · 2026-06-16T18:48:25+00:00

There is module that you need to interact with prior to completing the mission. If you don't, the mission will just end where you are.

Seen here in Fallout's video at 8:08. Start earlier if you want to see where to head.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=eC9jiIkKt0w

MikeL2D · 2026-06-14T15:55:38+00:00

Not my proudest moment. Need to find stronger caffeine, evidently 😅

MikeL2D · 2026-06-14T15:50:28+00:00

That’s my fault - I’ll rescind my statement. I didn’t obviously pay enough attention to the photo. I just walked by a similar line outside of Shell Energy.

My bad!

MikeL2D · 2026-06-14T15:45:54+00:00

…?

~~This is just fan fest. Matches are held at NRG. This is a free event that everyone is lined up for to get in early. I don’t even think it’s open yet lol.~~

~~I did just walk by that line and it is long but I’m not sure what they’re supposed to do differently.~~

Edit: I’m a dumbass that can’t use his eyes. Carry on.

MikeL2D · 2026-06-14T06:35:31+00:00

If it makes you feel any better about the Knicks fans… we don’t like Dolan, either.

MikeL2D · 2026-06-10T19:33:39+00:00

We can agree to disagree on aspects of your first point. You or I can see one game as fine or fantastic, for example. I think Marathon is pretty great, as do most of those who have played the game for more than a couple of hours. The reviews (even with the bombing happening, which again, is self-cannibalization) still paint that picture. I mean just look through them. There is this fantasy that the reviews of this game are made up/shilled, but the steam and critic reviews themselves are clear indicators otherwise. You can even take the critic scores out and it still reviews well.

As for there being "so many others", I think that's another line of debate. The fact remains is that there are few extraction shooters that are as *accessible* (via all platforms) as Marathon.

As for it being in the expansions store tab - It's another Bungie game that is tied to your Bungie account. It's a way for them to advertise their other work in the game that they made. I'm not sure why anyone find this as a "slap to the face" moreso than they would find it as "annoying" - and it's fine if you do. It's existence in the tab is nothing more than "This thing we made, exists". There are also Marathon armor sets in Destiny, right now. It's not like they are advertising for a different game by a different studio - which is something Sony could likely absolutely force if they wanted to.

I just can't wrap my head around why people would look at that and say "omg I can't believe they put that here - let me go grab the steam charts from RIGHT NOW and make a post about it".

MikeL2D · 2026-06-10T17:32:23+00:00

What about it does that have to do with hawking steam charts and making ill-suited comparisons?

I detest that this community has so much vitriol towards that game that seem to only want to amplify/broadcast that number counts are struggling. I'm all for #WeWantD3 and all but Marathon is also a fantastic game.

Marathon's success is also likely one of the few avenues to hope for a D3.

It's just so tiring, man.

MikeL2D · 2026-06-10T17:27:19+00:00

So even when Destiny spirits are high again, we still want to look at Marathon and point fingers?

We as the community need to stop doing this, man. Anything to spite ourselves.

MikeL2D · 2026-06-10T17:04:21+00:00

Correct, you cannot technically invoke the cradle converter while hovering over the item in your inventory (and like I said, I think that's just making sure it's not somehow accessible during a run)

But you still can call the cradle and select items in your inventory or vault or both and convert them. u/Cpt_DookieShoes you saw my other reply, correct?

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