The problem with Destiny 2’s PVP: No longer fun to play

Destiny 2 is a decent game, not perfect but it fixes many problems from its predecessor, while introducing some perplexing new ones. If you’re playing just for the story or the PvE content, you should be able to enjoy it solo or with a fireteam of friends.

That is, unless you’re a PvP player. Because Destiny 2’s PvP is absolutely unfun. I was randomly browsing GiantBomb, and came across this discussion thread where this user post managed to sum up my thoughts perfectly:

Just comparing old Destiny 1 Trials with new Trials there is a real problem for anyone wishing to express their individual skill. Now it’s almost impossible to make a good flanking maneuver work or to outgun people 1v1 because you’re almost never 1v1. Every round is decided by 2 blobs of 4 people shooting at each other from as far as possible. If your blob is slightly out of position or missing someone you lose. There is no individuality. No creative play making. Or at least not solo. Everything needs to be performed as a duo or as a team of 4. If you move by yourself you will die. It’s like the communism of PvP shooters and it is the worst.

I am not against the fundamental concept of teamwork in FPS shooters. Overwatch nailed this perfectly with their different heroes and class roles: To succeed offensively or defensively, everyone needs to work as a team, synergising their abilities and ultimates with one another in order to defeat and counter their opponents. But at the same time, Overwatch allows for individual levels of skills to shine: It’s possible for a Tracer, Reaper, or Genji to harass the enemy team all on their own without any support. It’s possible for a Torbjorn or Bastion to hang back in base, setting up a defensive position with their turrets and still be useful to the team.

In Destiny 2, you are punished for separating from your teammates, especially in the ultra-competitive Trials of the Nine PvP mode. The PvP game has basically degraded into Counter-Strike with supers. Not that I have anything against CS, I haven’t played it in ages but it was fun back in the day in its own way: A semi-realistic team shooter with maps set in real-world locations, where players purchase and wield weapons modeled after real-world firearms. CS matches are mostly about controlling chokepoints and concentrating your group’s combined firepower on the enemy team to deny them their objectives.

CS had it’s own identity that made it stand out in the online shooter market. Destiny 2’s PvP has changed totally, losing its identity in the process. I have read some users speculate on Reddit that Bungie made this change in order to reduce “insta-kill” tactics, such as shotgun rushing, sniper headshots, or fusion grenade kills. What Bungo doesn’t seem to understand is that these “insta-kills” still require a certain level of individual skill to pull off. And there are counters to these tactics: Shotgunner keeps sliding into you for the kill? Jump backwards or sideways and switch to a sidearm to pelt him down while he’s recovering. Enemy sniper just doesn’t seem to miss a shot? Don’t engage him in his killzone — find another route, or throw a grenade to force him to move, or rush together as a team to flank him out. Keep dying to fusion grenades? Well, you can return the favour yourself — every class has their own version of a fusion grenade.

I even read some comments from users claiming to like Destiny 2’s PvP, saying that it was better than the first game because it felt less chaotic. I wonder if they have played other online shooters before, because CHAOS is what makes things fun. Unpredictability, learning to adapt on the fly, playing dynamically and reacting tactically to the changing situation, is what makes online shooters, and videogames in general really, FUN.

Look, I grew up playing a lot of old-school “arena” shooters, mainly Quake II, all of the Unreal Tournaments, and Half-life deathmatch. To succeed in those games, individual skill and tactical awareness are paramount. And to pit those skills against other like-minded players. each with their own playstyles and tactics, is what makes games FUN. I was able to transfer those fundamentals to Destiny 1 PvP, and while I wasn’t the greatest Crucible player, I still had a good time. It was FUN.

In Destiny 2 PvP, all you see are two teams of four players exchanging long-range potshots with each other using scout rifles. Whichever team scores the first kill will most likely win that entire round because of the numerical advantage. This is not fun at all. It’s mediocrity, it saps the soul of what makes online games FUN.

It’s a shame that newcomer PC players to Destiny 2’s eventual PC release won’t be able to experience the chaos of Destiny 1 PvP. Because this is the current state of PvP in Destiny 2: Not fun.

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It (2017) – Breaking the fourth wall to manifest my worst cinematic fear: Dumbass patrons

This post contains some swearing. You have been warned.

I watched It (2017) a few days ago. It’s a psychological horror movie that’s somewhat similar in theme to The Exorcist. This film adaptation is based on the original 1986 Stephen King novel, although my memory of the book is quite fuzzy because it’s been so long since I read it — the only thing I remember was that the antagonist, Pennywise, is some weird, interdimensional being who preys on people’s fears. He is able to manifest negative emotions and mental images of our worst fears into reality, preying on his victims while they succumb to their inner terror.

My worst fear when watching a movie in the cinema is to be disturbed by other patrons — to the point where I am unable to focus and enjoy the show. I am the type of viewer who demands absolute attention when watching any form of entertainment. If you can’t even give it your full 100 percent attention, then why did you pay for the $8.50 ticket to enter?

That was exactly what was going through my mind as I was constantly disturbed by the group of teenagers seated to my left. One of them could not stop checking his mobile phone, and kept making dumbass comments to his friends like: “I don’t get it, why is it a clown with piranha teeth? I don’t get why blah blah blah…”

Listen up you fucking ch** b** piece of shit. If the movie director was going to handhold you and explain to you the Who What When Where and Why of everything about It, then it wouldn’t be a good horror movie any more. Part of the suspense of watching any good psychological thriller, is to try and figure out for yourself what’s going on. And if you still don’t fully understand what’s happening, then just sit back and enjoy the ride. Dumbass Teenagers also kept going to the toilet (?) non-stop throughout the show. I lost count at the four to five mark.

But it gets worse. There was this old auntie seated to my right who just simply could not stop muttering to herself “Aiyoh!!”. Every time something scary happened, “Aiyoh!”

This went on for almost the full 2.5 hour duration of the movie. Dumbass Teen takes out his phone + “Aiyoh!”. Repeat. For a fucking two-and-a-half HOURS. At one point I seriously considered switching seats to one of the empty front rows, but I endured and stayed in my hellhole spot.

It was when the end credits had started to roll after the finale, that I finally understood what had happened. Pennywise had broken the fourth wall. My greatest fear in the cinema, manifested to its most absolute, terrifying form, by a movie about facing your fears and overcoming them. Well done.

Ryuu ga waga teki AIYOH go fuck yourselves.

A history of Fire Emblem (1990-2017) – YouTube

Clocking in at 2.5 hours, this comprehensive and well-researched video chronicles the entire history of the Fire Emblem series. Everything from the original NES title to the Wii U crossover of Tokyo Mirage Sessions #FE, it’s all covered here.

I really like how the video also goes behind the scenes to highlight some of the important developers and personalities behind the creation of each game. I didn’t know that Shouzou Kaga, the original creator of the series, had left Intelligent Systems to make his own spiritual successor game, Vesteria Saga.

Go grab a sandwich, or two sandwiches. This chronicle is worth watching, especially for newcomers to the Fire Emblem series like me.

Resonance cascade

Every time I practice my violin I end up sweating a bit. You know why? Because all of my windows and doors are closed shut, and I have to rely on my fan to give my stuffy room some circulation.

I am already being very, very considerate to my neighbours by trying not to disturb them, at the expense of breathable fresh air, but unfortunately my violin is the extremely resonant type that produces a strong, loud sound. I apologise, but I really need to practice.

And if you feel upset about this when I practice at 8am, now you know exactly how I feel at night when I’m trying to sleep at 9pm to 11pm, only to be kept awake by dumbass, loudmouth drunkards and night owls. Welcome to Serangoon. Karma works in mysterious ways.

To my other neighbours in my block playing the flute, erhu, and piano, I can hear your music throughout the week at different times of the day. Keep it up and keep practicing. We are symphony of the night, the dark breaking through the day, hard as a stone, lost in thoughts, all alone.

Lost in Thoughts All Alone: Learning in progress Part 2

I tried playing the first line of the song today. It sounded like crap, mainly because my fingers are still not used to their different positions for F Major. When my brain is so tightly focused on finger positioning, the sound that is eventually produced doesn’t sound great.

I know that if I keep practising, I’ll get better and things will sound better. Three months ago when I was still a super-beginner, I had difficulty playing continuous notes on different strings. Now it comes naturally.

Discipline is such a chore to maintain. But I’m seeing improvement and results, and that’s good enough for me to continue practicing everyday.

Find your own inner motivation. For me, it’s videogames. For others, you have to find a way to find it.

Lost in Thoughts All Alone: Learning in progress Part 1

My violin teacher asked me to choose any song from any genre that I would like to learn, as part of my ongoing violin lessons. Immediately my heart and brain chose Lost in Thoughts All Alone, one of the songs that inspired me to learn this instrument in the first place. I’ve blogged about it before.

She immediately took out her iPad and googled for the musical score. I told her that no official score exists, and that there are multiple versions of the song with different durations. Still, there were plenty of results that came up — it’s the signature theme song for Fire Emblem Fates after all. One of the transcribed scores that caught her eye on Google Image search was from none other than MuseScore, that same website that I wrote about before. 10 minutes later I was learning a crash course on how to play the F Major scale on violin, I’ve only learned C Major and D Major so far.

Unbelievable. One of my future goals in learning the violin has just become an immediate goal. I would like to play the full six-minute version one day, but this is still a good start for a beginner.

Suddenly I’m inspired to go back and finish Birthright and Revelation once and for all on my 3DS. And I am eternally grateful to my friend Joe for recommending me such a chill and open-minded violin teacher.

RWBY Volumes 1-3: A second opinion from the Blu-ray release

TL; DR summary: For those of you trying to get into the RWBY series, I highly recommend watching the DVD or Blu-ray releases. Find a way to rent it or buy it, just don’t watch it on YouTube (it’s not the best way to view the series). I cannot comment on Steam’s online streaming because I don’t buy video titles from Steam.

I tried watching RWBY Volume 1 long ago on Rooster Teeth’s YouTube channel when it was first released and didn’t go very far. I liked the action and the character designs (a scythe that transforms into a sniper rifle? Sure!), but didn’t like the pacing. Maybe it was because of the YouTube format — I really disliked the original opening theme (This Will Be The Day), and having to listen to it for every single episode was very grating. I stopped quite early into Volume 1, the part where Ren goes Max Payne on the giant Grimm snake, and that was it.

So 10,000 years later after the return of the Burning Legion, I finally decided to rewatch the series on my sister’s BD collection of Volumes 1-3. I went in with zero expectations (like always), and came out impressed but feeling angry at the same time.

I was exceptionally impressed by the action sequences in RWBY. I’m an action junkie who enjoys a good action show and I rate RWBY on the very high-end of the action scale. I briefly googled Monty Oum, the creator of RWBY, and according to his Wikipedia page he’s a martial artist and fan of videogames. He’s also a big cinephile, which is not surprising. To produce the high quality of action in RWBY, you need to be a fan of action and understand the principles of making good action scenes. I’ve blogged about it before a few times, so I won’t retread too much on this same topic again. Good action fight scenes need to be succinct and easy to follow — the viewer must know who is winning and why they are winning. It also needs to be paced properly to keep the viewer engaged. Having a good soundtrack can help immensely — the original “Red” and “Yellow” pre-series trailers nailed this perfectly.

And all this was done in RWBY without resorting to any cheap bullet-time tricks, which has been overused ever since The Matrix made it popular at the turn of the century. There is one fight scene in Volume 2 involving Ruby Rose where the screen is partitioned into comic-book panels. I’m not sure if this was an intentional homage to Samurai Jack, which popularised this method of animation.

Sadly, Oum died in early 2015 while Volume 3 was still in production, and I’m not sure if this affected the ending of Volume 3. Because I was a bit angry after finishing Volume 3.

The ending of RWBY Volume 3 contains what many people call the Deus ex machina (DEM) plot device, a sudden and abrupt resolution from nowhere that is not explained, not expected, and we the viewers are just simply forced to accept it. I hate DEMs, dammit. But before I get to that, let me just summarise the rest of my thoughts about Volumes 1-3 as a whole. It is very important.

Warning: Spoiler break starts here. Stop reading if you haven’t watched RWBY Volumes 1-3.

Don’t go raiding in WoW before violin practice

Have you ever had one of those bad days where no matter how hard you try to do something, nothing works or comes out right.

I’m having one of those bad moments right now where no matter how hard I try to practice on the violin, nothing sounds right. My right shoulder is also starting to ache for no reason, even though it’s not supposed to do anything (the violin is resting on the left shoulder; bowing with the right hand is done mainly with the wrist — the right shoulder does NOTHING).

I blame World of Warcraft. I tried LFR Tomb of Sargeras for fun earlier on my Shaman alt, and even though the Desolate Host, Maiden of Vigilance, and Fallen Avatar bosses all have one major mechanic removed, it still feels like a nightmare to pug through those bosses. A Warlock named Avra-Ragnaros (if you’re reading this: fuck you) kept pulling the bosses too early before the rest of the raid was ready, and on Desolate Host there was no tank in the spirit realm for one entire pull (of course we wiped).

The people who put in effort to learn mechanics, to do things properly are punished by the lowest-common-denominator idiot who doesn’t even have the basic common sense to let the tanks draw aggro first. This is why my Warrior main has permanently retired from LFR.

Maybe I should just rest today and start watching RWBY Volume 3.

Daffy Duck’s daffiest moments – YouTube

Was randomly browsing YouTube and suddenly ended up on this video, a great compilation of Daffy Duck’s best moments from several decades of Looney Tunes cartoons.

I grew up watching lots of Warner Bros. cartoons, and I really mean LOTS. They are an important, defining period of my childhood. Somehow, Daffy Duck always has the most wackiest moments that will stay forever etched in your mind. From hunting season, to the magic lamp (“HASSAAAAAAAN CHOP!”), to the disintegrating laser pistol, and the immortal Robin Hood parody — they’re all included here.

I just don’t quite understand why Warner Bros. can’t make such cartoons anymore in the 21st century. We should treasure these retro classics and pass them on to future generations.

July 2017: Make it rain (money) in the summer

July has passed by very quickly. Time flies when you’re surrounding yourself with new hobbies and new skills to learn. I totally predicted that I would be quite free from work this July, because it’s the football off-season and there’s no pesky summer tournaments in 2017 like the Euros or World Cup. Which was why I signed up for not one, not two, but THREE sewing classes a week for July.

The first one was a Basic Sewing Class that is held twice a week. We learn how to make simple, basic bags and pouches, while practising essential sewing skills such as making seams, operating the sewing machine, measuring and cutting fabrics, and so on.

I admit that I was quite clueless for the first few lessons. Oh wait, I still feel a bit clueless even at my 9th lesson. The act of sewing itself isn’t difficult — just align the fabric at the right spot and keep it straight (or curved, if you’re sewing curves) while stepping on the pedal. It’s the measuring, marking, folding, and pinning which makes me confused. My brain is wired in such a way that I _need_ to see and know all the detailed steps in advance from start to finish, otherwise my mind gets bogged down and starts to muddle over each step-by-step portion. It’s not my teacher’s fault — of course she’ll break the lesson down into small steps and let us carry them out bit-by-bit, before moving to the next step. It’s Edward’s fault for having a dumbass brain.

The second class is one that I’m really interested in, a Basic Apparel Class where we learn to make simple pants and shirts. There are a couple of reasons for this:

1) I’m constantly annoyed by how difficult it is to find pants / jeans selling in stores that are of my waist-size (27 inches).

I’ve lost a lot of fats in my waist and belly ever since I turned vegetarian, and I predict that I’m going to lose a bit more by the end of the year. I can’t buy smaller ladies sizes for pants because most of them are slim-fit designs — the thigh and calf cuttings are way too small for my legs. The male pants in stores are designed for fatasses, while the female ones are designed for anorexic legs.

So what’s the solution? Make your own pants.

It’s time consuming, and also a bit costly since I have to eventually invest in a sewing machine and sewing tools. But I want to give it a shot. The best way to learn something new is to just practice, practice, practice.

2) Dana Zane is not a real person.

In other news, Rightstuf just had a 30th anniversary sale for July where the majority of their catalogue of anime titles are on heavy discounts. I spent close to S$300 on Rightstuf, and then promptly went to Amazon.JP to purchase four more Amiibos. Combine this with the amount of spending to pay for my sewing classes, and you can understand why July is rainmaker season.