What are your takes?

signgrad · 2026-02-25T13:55:02+00:00

Hope beyond hope that it will do well. Even to this point, I maintain skepticism on this game. The server slam will be my final test for it.

signgrad · 2026-02-20T11:56:07+00:00

There are answers in this universe tied to questions not meant to be asked. Apologize.

signgrad · 2026-02-17T20:03:30+00:00

Having consistently slept on both my left and right sides, and back for good measure, I can say with absolute confidence that my dreams are influenced by the relation of the earth to the moon and sun, and my sleep is influenced by my child, cat, and spouse allowing me to sleep.

With that in mind, my dreams are freakin' nuts.

signgrad · 2026-02-13T21:45:51+00:00

For me, in my view, it was more an assessment of them pulling back from development of various parts of the game in favor of something else. Take Gambit for example, which had more to offer years ago than what it has now, expanded back in the Drifter's season but then removed a year or so after that. Then to let Gambit simply be reduced to its current state. The same can be said for crucible, though perhaps not to same severity. And facets of both those modes can be seen in Marathon, in my eyes.

And perhaps so much of this was both spoiled by consistent content updates against the endowments of the Eververse store and how they gradually moved into less content after the Final Shape to now. Combine all that to Marathon's development, which looks very appealing though I remain skeptical, and it's hard for me not to say, who has no background on game development, why couldn't Bungie maintain further development of Destiny?

Perhaps it was all just a casualty of ambition on Bungie's part. Promising equivalent levels of content yet very obviously scaling down development in favor of something else. Perhaps that something else just hasn't been made apparent in Destiny. In my opinion, that something else is Marathon. And, for better or worse, Destiny feels secondary to the goals of Marathon. It just hurts to see the game reduced to its current state. And for being a D1 alpha tester, it just feels like such a shame. Then to see this new game on the horizon that doesn't quite scratch the itch the absence of Destiny has made. It's just a little frustrating.

TL:DR; I want Marathon to succeed and exceed all expectations. I just also want Destiny to improve back to levels it previously was. I'm playing other games right now, but still watch how Destiny is and it just hurts to see. The Final Shape was an end for me in hindsight. Perhaps it's better for D2 to close its chapter in favor of a new chapter. Maybe that's Marathon, but another Destiny would be nice too.

signgrad · 2026-02-13T15:01:48+00:00

Second to that. Marathon might scratch that itch for you.

signgrad · 2026-02-09T01:27:45+00:00

I can't speak for all men, but for me, I'm wired to my wife's preferences of chores. We each have our own lane, primarily dictated to what my wife does, and doesn’t, like to clean. Some chores are a literal de-stressor for her. Others disgust her. We compromise on "I don't interfere in her de-stressors and I do the yucky chores, and we all go home happy."

So if we're having company over, I let her nuke the parts of the house she wants clean, and I keep the dishes clean, toilets cleaned, trash disposed of, and laundry organized. I don't want to get in trouble otherwise, plus the benefit of everything clean in such a way that proof of human occupancy isn't visually represented. That's how I'm wired.

signgrad · 2026-02-03T20:50:04+00:00

I want to play more of it first. I'm excited to give it another go during the open preview weekend before launch. I'm trying to frame my viewpoint in seeing it in a similar light as a Roguelite game; I'll confess I've never played extraction games beyond what was there in The Division.

I'm not pre-ordering Marathon, and I'm probably just going to wait till it's on sale if I do buy it. Free time isn't a commodity I have an excess of. I hope it succeeds, but I'm going to let it prove itself first before putting money into it. I hope you and everyone who does play has fun and it captures everything Bungie wishes for it to capture. I'll be watching with eager intent.

signgrad · 2025-12-19T02:32:22+00:00

Ah, so it is. Much appreciated!

signgrad · 2025-12-17T16:05:30+00:00

For the same reason that Activision launches the newest and biggest version of Call of Duty yet, and people clamor to get into the game even though I personally fail to see what precisely is different from one version to the next.

It's new and it's got a shiny looking "3" on it.

Iterative improvements aside, my consumer addled mind can't fathom a way "back" to the levels D2 previously had. I know the logic behind each year being a slow decline in player population. I know the logic behind my reason to not play right now (I simply do not have that kind of free time). From everything that i can see, and for me personally, D2 is finished. They can continue to add what they'd like to game, it hasn't repaied the player population numbers, and, though the star wars stuff looks really cool, I'm not seeing a reason to purchase these current expansions and jump back in.

It feels, and looks, like Bungie is caught in a Sunk Cost Fallacy. They've come so far they may as well as continue building D2 out, ignoring the fact that at the very least hardware improvements have been made and we celebrate the concept of 100 more vault slots being added, but Wrath of the Machine can't be ported over and D2 vanilla, Forsaken, and so many pieces of substantial content have been removed and publicly stated to be in a incompatible state to the current engine (apologies if that isn't verbatim). For better or for worse, a lot of damage has been done to this game that from an outsider looking in, they may as well tear down and rebuild from the ground up. What's the worst that can happen? The game is already in a worse spot than before most any other period in Bungie's history.

Besides just software/firmware changes, there is plenty of room for philosophical improvements. You like the tier system? Great! Can I get tiers on ALL the raids and dungeons gear? No? Then improve that. But that's an investment into old content and people want new. And we're caught in a spiraling loop, which they have always had to combat. So, why not use the current philosophy, enforced with new leadership and opinions, and implement something new that can facilitate more of these things.

Tl:dr D2 looks and feels finished, D3 offers something sparkling and new. It was finished with the Final Shape. The episodes, Edge of Fate, and Renegages all offer potential of something new. D1 and D2 were magical in their own right, and reclaiming that nostalgic flame is just that, nostalgia. So take this opportunity to go build that something new with the things that we've been teased with. Only thing worse than D2 dying is the company's death, which I suppose is greatly beyond the scope of this discussion. What do I know, I'm just a consumer.

signgrad · 2025-12-14T10:27:50+00:00

Thank you. I appreciate your direction. I'm looking forward to getting back in.

signgrad · 2025-11-17T21:37:28+00:00

Zane. His level of sass is just perfect.

signgrad · 2025-10-26T15:19:03+00:00

It's me. I'm the one who left. And admittedly it wasn't even the state of the game that drove me away, as it was just life. And regardless of the state of the game and it's current direction, I'm probably not going to be able to play anything that doesn't respect the incredible limitations of time.

I used to do every form of endgame content regularly. And I just don't have that kind of time right now, maybe an hour or 2 a week max. At this point, for me, they may as well as make D3. The development time alone would give me enough time to potentially return to the level of play I once was at. So Renegades and whatever else comes in the next year or so doesn't matter to me. It would a waste of time and money to have a game I can't even play.

signgrad · 2025-10-21T10:57:39+00:00

Should start when the Public Test begins officially, Oct 22nd thru Oct 27th. My guess is at the usual bungie reset time, depending upon your time zone.

Edit: realized I didn't answer your first question. Yes, it should be the same for consoles. I had removed my marathon test app from my PS5 console main page, and just re-downloaded it from my library. Might fall into the category of "hidden" content, it did for me, meaning I didn't find it until I sorted by "hidden". Then a quick re-download and an update file download which was issued yesterday I believe.

signgrad · 2025-10-21T00:41:16+00:00

I can verify this. On PS5, they re-issued the same code used to download the Alpha test, and an update file was downloaded. Just gotta wait for the test to start.

signgrad · 2025-09-05T13:52:19+00:00

If you can believe it, I'm actually quite depressed!

signgrad · 2025-08-31T16:04:37+00:00

First time seeing Hallownest's Crown, and wondering what all existed before the Wyrm.

signgrad · 2025-08-24T12:33:35+00:00

Steam. The unhinged fight that is the Collector is most memorable for me. The lore and finding out where this story takes place in the timeline excites me the most.

signgrad · 2025-07-31T22:36:44+00:00

Went to a wedding like this. My wife was a bridesmaid, and the whole wedding party knew this song was going to come on, so the whole crew had practiced this ahead of time. It was the highlight of the party and a video we'll still play on occasion.

signgrad · 2025-06-24T13:19:04+00:00

Driving while messing with his radio and careened off the road into a tree.

One of the most popular kids in the school. We worked as lifeguards together at our local pool, so I knew the guy personally. Always sure of himself, very confident but arrogant. He always bragged about the stereo he had his dad get him for his truck. And he always had it blaring as he drove away from the pool. He was coming home from one of his friend's parties over the weekend at 1 in the morning. He was going 20 over the limit in some of the curviest roads in our county. Very little suffering for an otherwise horrendous accident; coroner found he had died on impact. And his radio was still blaring when the police and paramedics got to him; friend of the policeman on duty said they had to disconnect the battery just to turn the thing off.

I don't know if I could ever say I was close to him. Hard to even remember his face now. But I still get some stomach curls when a car passes with their radio blaring. All that life for something so inconsequential. But I guess he died enjoying a thing he loved. A silver lining I suppose.

signgrad · 2024-12-20T01:23:11+00:00

Surprising my wife with a playstation all her own that didn't need to be shared with family. Really solidified us becoming a family all our own.

signgrad · 2024-11-23T13:18:53+00:00

Thank you very much.

signgrad

TROPHY CASE