For the MMO shooter Destiny, a PDF file has now surfaced that thoroughly documents the work that went into the hair in Destiny. Meanwhile, players are still missing beards and some researchers as well: They would have liked to examine them in Destiny to draw conclusions about trends in the real world.

One thing is the sum of its parts. We players often find it difficult to take out individual elements from the overall mix. Of course, we pay attention to the main things in a game: Someone designed the mobs, the raids, the weapons, the Cryptarch in Destiny – we unconsciously know this, it all stands out to us. But someone has spent their career in recent years making sure that the hair in Destiny is as well done as it is in the finished game. And the amount of work and brainpower that went into it is impressive.

61 pages, this PDF file, in which technical artist Natalie Burke discusses the exact process of hair design in Destiny. And those who now think, “61 pages, who writes so much about hair?” There are pictures with short captions.
They show the journey of the hair from initial sketches through “Bungie’s Hair Salon” to the finished game. For the future, Burke aims to make the hair sway when a Guardian jumps and to add even more design options.

Researchers want to study beards in Destiny

However, the document does not address the most frequently asked demand: Guardians wish for beards in Destiny.

A few weeks ago, there was even an article in Forbes describing that some researchers wished for beards in Destiny. Due to the game’s massive success, one could then examine what kind of beards players create to draw conclusions about culturally different forms and trends.

After the release, the biggest demand from players to the design team was actually to introduce the possibility of giving the Guardian a beard. And how that would happen, some researchers would have liked to investigate.

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Why can guardians not stop playing Destiny? In an article a few years ago, the current head of the research department at Bungie describes methods to engage players into the game and provides examples from laboratory experiments with rats and chimpanzees.

In 2001, an article by John Hopson was published on Gamasutra, a site mainly aimed at developers, discussing what goes on in players’ minds regarding rewards and the absence of rewards. Today, Hopson is the “Head of user research at Bungie Studios” and is probably the person who knows exactly how users tick in Destiny and how to keep them engaged with the game. The article is particularly special as it offers an open view into the thought processes on the “other” side of the screen.

The article demonstrates how much research and effort are put into ensuring that players cannot stop playing the game – and what science is utilized for this. And as recent numbers show, it seems that Destiny has perfected this formula. A common phrase in the reviews is: Destiny has problems, but still, people play it every day. The foundation for this might perhaps be found in the article from over ten years ago.

The article is based on a form of behavioral psychology that was developed primarily on animals such as rats, chimpanzees, and pigeons. It emerged when the experimenter ran out of food pellets and decided to reward the rats only every tenth time they pressed the switch to save the trip to the city. This resulted in some interesting outcomes. Sound familiar?

Here are some more excerpts from the article:
In an experiment, there were two pigeons in a cage, one was tied up while the other could move freely. Every 30 seconds, food was dropped into the cage. The free pigeon could reach it, while the tied one could not. The free pigeon happily ate all the food every 30 seconds. After an hour, the food stopped, and the free pigeon checked the food exit every 30 seconds. When it realized that no food was coming, it attacked the other pigeon.

The interesting thing is: The tied-up pigeon does not even know what the food tastes like. The free pigeon has no reason to assume that the other pigeon is responsible for the food stopping. The frustration is irrational, but present.

A chimpanzee presses a switch and receives some salad, which it then eats and enjoys. With a random press of the switch, grapes come out, which he really likes. The next time he presses, he gets another leaf of salad. This annoys the chimpanzee, and he throws the salad at the experimenter.

A rat receives a small electric shock at irregular intervals. It can avoid it for 30 seconds by pressing a lever. The rat quickly learns to press the lever at regular intervals to prevent the shock.

It seems that Bungie has found a good formula to balance reward, the pause between rewards, and the absence of rewards into a functioning equilibrium.

Just to clarify: There are 13 years between the article and today. And surely other MMOs also utilize insights from behavioral psychology, which is studied primarily on animals, to design their MMOs and reward systems. However, it seems Destiny has managed to do it even better than elsewhere.

In not entirely unrelated news… here is a player decoding 50 engrams:

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In the MMO shooter Destiny, impressive numbers are available. Almost 2 million players have attempted the only raid so far, “The Vault of Glass,” with about one in four managing to complete it on normal mode. 3.2 million players log in daily to Destiny.

Every 4th player can defeat Atheon on normal, but not even 2 out of 100 in Atheon Hard-Mode

Numbers are always nice. Kotaku has received statistics from raid designer Luke Smith regarding raid participation. He still feels connected to the site from earlier.

Since Destiny is immensely successful, the numbers are also impressive.

So, 1,970,087 players have stepped foot in “The Vault of Glass.” 472,082 players have defeated the boss Atheon and cleared the raid. That’s quite a hefty number, considering Destiny’s launch was only about a month ago. That’s nearly 24% of those who started raiding.

The raid also has a harder version, in the “hard” mode. That’s where the wheat is separated from the chaff: only 202,729 players have attempted a dance in the Vault when Heavy Metal is playing (10% of all raiders). Only the cream of the crop has defeated the final boss Atheon on Hard. Just 36,181 players, which is 1.8% of all those who have tried the raids.

Those are numbers that many other MMOs can only dream of. And one would have thought that shooter players would struggle with the MMO raids of Destiny.

3.2 million guardians play Destiny every day for quite a while

The Weekly Update from Bungie.net also focuses on numbers this time. The average Destiny player has played Destiny 21 times so far. The average is 1.8 sessions per day. And the game is still as dangerous for time management as it was on day one: players still log in for 3 hours daily. This applies even for weekdays.

And one number that might make many competitors envious: 3.2 million players play Destiny every single day on average.

Trying something new is always a challenge. The “Raw Numbers,” the mere digits, as the community manager stated in the post, are proof that the journey has been worthwhile so far. They have enjoyed watching players evolve into legends.

To conclude, we have two videos for you. Here you can see Atheon in action, who is so important for the raiders:

And here is an unusual commercial for Taco Bell, which has just launched a partnership with Destiny in the USA, where there is a PlayStation 4 bundle to win, which might surprise some:

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The MMO shooter Destiny is currently facing criticism from fans regarding the Iron Banner tournament. It doesn’t work as announced, the Guardians’ power doesn’t really come into play, and gear doesn’t play the crucial role. These issues have been recognized, and they plan to change the rules for next time.

Iron Banner was marketed incorrectly

It seems to be a “communication problem” that plagues the Iron Banner. In the latest “Weekly Update,” a weekly blog to the community, Bungie addresses the fans of Destiny. The blog’s writer, Community Manager DeeJ, also struggled to prepare for the Iron Banner event, gathering items intensively for two weeks, and fought through a raid until he reached level 26 for the event. Then he was taken out by a level 6 Warlock.

They had specifically advertised that gear actually matters in Iron Banner. “Power matters!” “Your power matters.”

Clearly, Bungie misrepresented the Iron Banner and placed too much emphasis on the power advantage, even though it makes little difference in practice.

80% skill, 20% gear in Destiny’s Iron Banner

In a conversation with Senior Designer Derek Caroll, he makes it clear that armor is only slightly more important in the Iron Banner than in the normal Crucible. Skill still accounts for 80% of success. The last 20% are significantly easier with the right gear.

But anyone who expected to rampage with their top gear will be disappointed. Essentially, better armor only provides a small buffer; you can take a few more shots. The level advantage can only be a maximum of 7 anyway. Whether a level 4 player or a level 23 player faces off against a level 30 player makes no difference.
Perhaps Bungie set the Iron Banner too conservatively this time to allow as many players as possible to participate, ensuring everyone could enjoy the event.

Iron Banner will work differently next time

They also address the issue of players simply leaving matches when they feel disadvantaged in the Weekly Update. As always, they review the data, analyze it, and will come up with a solution to address the problem in the future.

One could expect, Bungie says, that Lord Saladin plays by different rules when he calls for the Iron Banner event in Destiny next time.

This video, in which a level 4 Guardian takes down higher-level players in the Iron Banner with a level 1 automatic rifle, has gone global:

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In the MMO shooter Destiny, the Black Market dealer Xur appeared in the Tower on Friday at 11 AM. He also has exotic items this time that he only exchanges for Strange Coins.

In Germany, it is 11 AM when Xur, the Agent of the Nine, appears. He is considered the “safe” alternative for players looking for exotic items. He has at least four every week: an exotic weapon and exotic armor pieces for the three classes in Destiny: Warlock, Hunter, and Titan.

However, a kind of love-hate relationship has developed with the Warlocks, as he has only given them the Sunbreakers in consecutive weeks. Therefore, he is considered reliable, because although his selection is random every week, the exotic items can be obtained safely. No one has to rely on their drop luck.

Especially the question of which weapon he offers is always exciting. All classes in Destiny use the same weapons. When he offered the auto rifle “Suros Regime” for 23 Strange Coins two weeks ago, it heavily disrupted the balance in Destiny, especially in the Crucible. 

Xur is paid with Strange Coins. This is an endgame currency that can be obtained, for example, by completing weekly missions and is highly sought after because of Xur. Additionally, he carries an exotic engram every week that he exchanges for Motes of Light. Here players can try their luck if they dare: The item received can also be for other classes. Armor pieces are class-bound in Destiny.

As in previous weeks, we will answer the key questions about Xur for you at mein-mmo again this time.

All about Xur’s visit from October 10 to October 12 in Destiny

When does Xur appear and how long does he stay?
Xur, the Agent of the Nine, spawns at exactly 11 AM German time and remains until Sunday at 11 AM.

Where is Xur this week?

Xur is right next to the Speaker in the northern part of the Tower. You can see it excellently in this video:

What items does Xur have this time?

For Titans and for 13 Strange Coins, he parts with this Helm of Inmost Light:

For Hunters, there is a chest piece Lucky Raspberry on the menu this week – also for 13 Strange Coins.

For Warlocks, he has Voidfang Vestments for 13 Strange Coins.

And as a weapon for 17 Strange Coins, this week there is the Sniper Rifle Ice Breaker – surely some ice in there.

And for those who want to test their luck: He also has an exotic helmet engram on offer again this week, for which he wants 23 Motes of Light.

Guides, current news, farming spots, nonsense, and sensible things about Destiny can be found on our well-organized theme page.

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In just a few hours, the mysterious black market vendor Xur will appear again in the Tower in Destiny. He has drawn the ire of the Warlocks in recent weeks.

At 11 AM it will be time again. Then Xur, the Agent of the Nine, will appear in the Tower of Destiny (Yes, we will report on it again). A highlight of the week, as he sells exotic items, and there are often treasures among them. Titans and Hunters love this nice guy. And his appearance affects millions of gamers: When he sold the auto rifle Suros Regime two weeks ago, he changed the balance in the current PvP event “The Iron Banner”, as the Suros Regime is considered the best auto rifle in the game and the auto rifles are currently seen as overpowered.

However, Xur has drawn the ire of a group of players in Destiny: the Warlocks. He has only brought the exotic gloves “Sunbreakers” for them the whole time. While he occasionally has a chest piece for Titans and a helmet for Hunters. Last week, when the Sunbreakers appeared again, the Warlocks on reddit called for a way to get rid of him. Let’s kill Xur!, echoed through the halls of the internet forums. The rather spoiled Titans and Hunters grouped protectively around him and started their own forum call: Protect Xur!

Today, ahead of his next appearance, a screen has surfaced on reddit showing the “likely” loot table of Warlock loot for Xur.  A “leak” *wink, wink*. But of course: it’s all just satire, before anyone gets upset. Someone was active with Photoshop. You can admire the result in the cover image of this article.

What do you think, dear Warlocks, do you think he will have your favorite item with him again this week?

Update 11 AM: What he has with him this week, you can read in this article.

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