This Week At Bungie – 03/02/2017

Mar 2, 2017 - DeeJ

This week at Bungie we’re looking toward the future.

Last time this weekly ritual hit the blog, Cozmo led the way. He promised that we’d detail out what you could expect from Destiny in March. A promise is a promise, and March is here, so we’re absolutely going to plot some waypoints on the road ahead…

…Tomorrow!

We’re putting the finishing touches on an announcement about the next content update for Destiny. For weeks now, we've been teasing relentlessly that you haven’t heard the last from the Live Team. We do that not to be cruel, but to give our team the breathing room they need to finalize the details — and bring you along on the journey as best we can.

Tomorrow, we’ll begin the conversation about what’s next, including some fresh challenges for you to tackle and the sandbox changes that were previewed last week. This article will hit the blog at 9AM Pacific. You should expect an announcement and a reveal schedule. You’ll be able to update your calendars. The countdown is about to begin.

If that’s the only sort of news you’re craving, just hit the snooze button on your web browser and check back with us after a good, hard sleep. If you enjoy taking the pulse of our housekeeping and player celebrations, please read on.

Gather Ye Data While Ye May

Not to sound creepy or anything, but when you play Destiny, we’re always watching.

If you’re a Guardian, we know everything about you – in the game, at least. We know which activity you’re playing, which gear you have equipped, and who you bring along with you on your missions. Knowing the full scope of our audience helps us make better games. It’s one of the reasons why we always wanted to make a connected game like Destiny.

Right now, our Engineering Team is making plans to improve our data gathering. As soon as next week, we’ll be deploying invisible tech that won’t change the game experience. You will have to take a download so we can make this happen. We’re sorry in advance for the inconvenience, but what’s good for the engineers is good for all of us. This will give us better intel for what happens when you play Destiny.

We’ll let you know when the time comes to install the new bits. When it comes to a new deployment, you can always find helpful tips from this team…

In Support of the Players

Your finest allies at Bungie are the people on the Destiny Player Support team. Their sole focus is the stability of your experience. Their shared mission is keeping you on yours.

This is their report.

Iron Banner Network Connections
Lady Efrideet has once again opened the door to the celebration of the Iron Banner. At this very moment, Guardians are engaging in combat and earning the spoils of war. In the spirit of a fair fight, it is the responsibility of all players to ensure that their network connection is optimized for online play. If you believe that you are encountering issues establishing a reliable connection to Destiny, please visit our Network Troubleshooting Guide. If you believe you have encountered a cheater in any Crucible arena, please report them using the in-game Report Tool, or this Contact Form.

Rest assured, it takes more than a handful of reports for players to receive a Restriction or Ban. All reports are investigated and thoroughly verified before the Banhammer punts anyone to Orbit.

Update Inbound
Next week, we will be pushing an update to all players on PlayStation 4 and Xbox One. This update will make no changes to the player experience, and players may immediately resume gameplay once it is installed.

When it comes to Destiny Updates, here is some information that players should take special note of:
Interrupting Downloads: Some consoles will attempt to verify all previously downloaded content before downloading a Destiny Update. If any issues are found, or the verification process is interrupted, all previous content will be deleted and downloaded once more. For more information, please see our Updating Destiny Guide.
Destiny Companion: Sign-in functionality and Destiny Companion services on the Mobile App and Bungie.net may be restricted during maintenance windows. Additionally, the Vendor pages in the Destiny Companion on Bungie.net and the Mobile App may be temporarily unavailable on days when Destiny receives an update.
BungieHelp Twitter: On days in which Destiny is receiving an update or undergoing Server Maintenance, players can follow @BungieHelp on Twitter to receive the latest information. Enabling notifications on Twitter will ensure that this information is delivered to your mobile device as soon as it is available.

Lastly, please watch our Destiny Server and Update Status page for information to be added about this update.

As always, players who encounter issues in Destiny are encouraged to search help.bungie.net and the #Help forums for answers. Players who continue to encounter issues should write a report to the #Help forums.

The Hunt Is On!

Our new weekly tradition of offering up a community volunteer for you to chase down in hopes of scoring a rare Emblem continues on. This week you will be hunting our brave friends at IGN’s Fireteam Chat.

Bungie Bounty: IGN Fireteam Chat
Region: California
When: 8 PM Pacific 3/07/2017
Console: PS4
Playlist: Clash

Here's where you can watch:

If you are unfamiliar with how the Bounties work, listen up. Between the hours of 8 PM and 10PM Pacific on 3/7/17 you will attempt to match with the IGN Fireteam. If you successfully match into their game and win, you will earn your Emblem. It will be delivered to your Emblem Collection later in the week. For more information you can read our Bungie Bounty FAQ.

MOTW™

Serving this community is a team effort. Here's another word from my teammate.

Cozmo: It’s Movie time. Please turn off your phones and take your seats. We have three more servings of hot Movie stew for you this week, all sourced from our Creations page. The video’s creators will all receive Emblems as a reward for their accomplishment. Send your submissions in to the Creations page and you could have a chance to be one our next winners. Ok, envelope please. No, the other one.

Movie of the Week: Abomination Heist Speedrun

Honorable Mention: Shadow

Honorable Mention: Catch

Today, we’re light on news. Tomorrow, we won’t be. Sometimes we can pull the trigger. Other times, we can only call the shot.

I know what you’re thinking: “If Cozmo were here, he would have given us the straight talk about awesome stuff!”

Well he’s not here. He broke his toe chasing his dog, so you’re stuck with me. We’ll have to wait and see if this hinders his ability to move among the masses at PAX East.

Thank you for reading! Please come back and hang with us again tomorrow. It should be an interesting moment for the community.

DeeJ, out. (for today)