‘Destiny 2’: Don’t Get Hopes Up For Public Test Servers
The extension of Destiny 2 to the PC platform gave some fans hope Bungie would implement public test servers, similar to that of popular games like Overwatch and PlayerUnknown’s Battlegrounds, to test out any changes to the game. Comments by Crucible Design lead Lars Bakken in an interview with the Daily Star appear to make that extremely unlikely.
Overwatch successfully uses its Public Test Region (PTR) servers for the PC to test out any gameplay balance changes or new maps, modes, and characters being introduced to the game. This gives Blizzard time to get a massive amount of player feedback and bug testing in prior to an update going live on the PlayStation 4, Xbox One, and PC.
This seems a natural fit for Destiny 2 after Destiny 1 struggled with gameplay balance changes at times. Weapon updates wildly swung the meta from one class of weapons being powerful in PVP to almost unplayed, such as when auto rifles were nerfed to account for the power of the SUROS Regime exotic rifle.
Bakken explained to the Daily Star that Bungie already has internal test servers. However, the logistics of making a separate version of Destiny 2 available publicly available may be too much.
“There is no way to release a game like Destiny without having played it in a realistic environment and in order for us to be confident in it and all the systems we have to play it in a real space,” Bakken said of the studio’s internal testing before getting to the downsides of spinning up PTR servers.
“It is complex enough to run a game like Destiny just with the team that we have without also running another duplicate version of Destiny that’s in the future. It’s a lot of work,” he pointed out.
“So, it’s like what’s the best thing for the game, I don’t know, I can’t answer that question. It might be that we do something like this, but also it might not be the right thing for Destiny and the extra stress on the team.”
While it seems unlikely that Destiny 2 will ever get PTR servers, gamers should at least be happy to know the days of buffing or nerfing an entire weapon class should be in the past for Bungie. The best the developers could do in the original Destiny was to tweak weapons by certain archetypes, like high impact and low rate of fire. Part of the weapon system redesign for the sequel includes the ability to tune individual weapons, as the Inquisitr previously covered.
The Destiny 2 PC beta is scheduled for Monday, August 28 for those who receive an early access code through pre-orders or through other means. The beta will open to all on Tuesday, August 29 and last until Thursday, August 31.
The PS4 and Xbox One versions of Destiny 2 are scheduled to release on September 6. The PC version is scheduled for some time afterward.
Do you think Bungie should commit to utilizing PTR servers for Destiny 2? Sound off in the comments below.
[Featured Image by Bungie/Activision]
