Tech

Has Destiny 2 Really Become ‘Microtransaction Hell’?

Published

1 year ago

June 20, 2023

Destiny 2 streamer and YouTuber Aztecross published a video yesterday that’s really resonating with the community, racking up nearly half a million views in under a day.

It’s called “Destiny 2 has become a Microtransaction Hell” and is actually ascending the trending list for gaming. 7,500 comments, thousands of likes and retweets. It’s made a splash. I spent some time livetweeeting my thoughts on the 35 minute video yesterday, but I wanted to give it a feature, and expand on my tweets I made along the way.

First, you can watch the video here, and follow along with my thoughts underneath, as they’re in rough order of what gets covered in the video:

Confusing Bundles – This is what I would consider the biggest problem Destiny has right now. The game is shattered into a million, sold-separately pieces to the point where it’s practically impossible to know what to recommend to new players, even as an avid player yourself. Content vaulting erasing the base campaign created a weird “where do you start” situation, and instead of slowly making very old expansions free, they have kept them paid, or done weird stuff like vaulting half of Forsaken and still selling a “pack” of old weapons and the endgame activities.

This extends to things like seasons as well. The new dungeon key system, where two yearly dungeons are sold separately compared to everything else, felt bad to being with, but now feels very bad when the dungeons are often the best part of every new seasons, yet not included with it, despite being very, very clearly linked thematically and being almost essential to the seasonal storyline. It’s a poor practice, and yet another way to fracture the playerbase.

Destiny 2

Bungie

Seasonal Pricing – I do think that Destiny seasons raising the price from $10 to $12 is fine at baseline. It’s been years of $10, and for the amount of content, $12 is just fine. What is not fine is that this seems to be a mobile games-like concept of then forcing people to overspend on Silver to buy individual seasons. While you could buy $10 of Silver, you cannot buy $12, so you have to buy $15 instead, and have some left over. And on some platforms you can’t even get a $15 bundle. It’s a cheap trick and should be adjusted to reflect the new seasonal pricing.

Events and Event Cards – I sort of just shrug at this one. Event Cards are a bad microtransaction not because it’s gouging, but because they’re just…bad, barely including anything worth getting and mostly able to be ignored. Yes, events themselves are mostly about cosmetics (though you can buy the armor with Bright Dust all at once), but I think they’ve improved a bit in time in terms of gameplay. They mostly exist to fill dead space at the end of seasons, and I don’t really expect them to be too elaborate.

Destiny 2

Bungie

Armor Pricing – Here, Aztecross employs an argument I’m not really a fan of, the idea that with a recent price increase, collab armor sets at $20 now cost as much a Destiny 1 being on sale. That’s just…microtransactions in general. You can point to any game and go “4-6 of these cosmetics cost as much as a whole AAA game??” These things are never going to be sold for $2-3 in 2023. If the prices are too high, people will not buy them. Diablo’s $25 armor sets are priced idiotically high and not worth it, therefore I am not buying them. Not sure it’s much more complicated than that.

Ornament Purchases – Not really on board with this one either. Ornaments being purchasable from the Ornament application screen may be “reducing friction” to buy them, but it’s logical, and process of unlocking ornaments after buying them from Eververse has like eight steps and is super goofy. I also don’t think Bungie not allowing you to preview shaders on armor ornaments is a scam, I think it’s just a technical thing. If anything I think it would sell more ornaments if you could see that they shade in a cool way, which most of the modern ones do.

Bright Engrams – Just 100% useless. I think in six years I’ve gotten maybe 4-5 exotic ornaments for these and maybe one that’s actually cool. Just no point in these existing at all as it’s just constant disappointment. Just give out Dust alone or something that could be moderately useful like an exotic.

Shaw Han

Bungie

Shaw Han Quest – Had no idea this existed until this video because it only appears for New Lights. Shaw Han, the New Light guide, has an exotic quest for a weapon that you can only do if you buy the most recent expansion. This time around, he’s hiding Arbalest, one of the best PvE exotics in the game, behind that wall, when it should be in the general loot pool. That sucks.

Battle Pass Progression – You can now buy the full 100 ranks of the battle pass from day one. While sure, you get some exotics and materials I…don’t care about this. If you buy a full battle pass for $100 you are stupid and throwing away money. The benefit here is just paltry.

Deepsight Activation – Ohhhkay now this is one battle pass thing that I am declaring bad. As of this season, Deepsight Activation currency is only found in the battle pass, 3 in the free track, 3 in the paid track. No, absolutely not. This is actually one of the few locations where Destiny is literally selling power, and this should be something that is purely earnable outside of the battle pass itself.

Paid Transmog – When you’re selling ornaments, transmog for in-game armor sets should be free. I’m also sick of the transmog grind where you feel “behind” if you don’t max 10 of them per character every season. Just end this nonsense already.

Marathon

Bungie

Bungie Focus – Splitting the difference here. It is not true Bungie now has less resources on Destiny overall compared to how things used to be. Bungie has increased in size over the years has hugely staffed up their PvE team since the split from Activision now that they no longer have support studios. Compare current seasons to ones 2-3 years ago, post-Activision. It’s not close. However, yes, absolutely, Bungie is almost completely abandoned Destiny PvP, which hundreds of thousands of people still play daily, sinking most of that talent directly into Marathon instead, and if Marathon is a hit, it will likely only get worse. This is probably one of Destiny’s biggest problems at this point. One new PvP map a year is insane.

Those are the main points. It’s a great, well-produced video, even if I don’t agree with every point. But no, I do not like the way things are trending on the microtransaction side of Destiny at this point.

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Tech

Ottawa orders TikTok’s Canadian arm to be dissolved

Published

3 days ago

November 6, 2024

Anne Joseph

The federal government is ordering the dissolution of TikTok’s Canadian business after a national security review of the Chinese company behind the social media platform, but stopped short of ordering people to stay off the app.

Industry Minister François-Philippe Champagne announced the government’s “wind up” demand Wednesday, saying it is meant to address “risks” related to ByteDance Ltd.’s establishment of TikTok Technology Canada Inc.

“The decision was based on the information and evidence collected over the course of the review and on the advice of Canada’s security and intelligence community and other government partners,” he said in a statement.

The announcement added that the government is not blocking Canadians’ access to the TikTok application or their ability to create content.

However, it urged people to “adopt good cybersecurity practices and assess the possible risks of using social media platforms and applications, including how their information is likely to be protected, managed, used and shared by foreign actors, as well as to be aware of which country’s laws apply.”

Champagne’s office did not immediately respond to a request for comment seeking details about what evidence led to the government’s dissolution demand, how long ByteDance has to comply and why the app is not being banned.

A TikTok spokesperson said in a statement that the shutdown of its Canadian offices will mean the loss of hundreds of well-paying local jobs.

“We will challenge this order in court,” the spokesperson said.

“The TikTok platform will remain available for creators to find an audience, explore new interests and for businesses to thrive.”

The federal Liberals ordered a national security review of TikTok in September 2023, but it was not public knowledge until The Canadian Press reported in March that it was investigating the company.

At the time, it said the review was based on the expansion of a business, which it said constituted the establishment of a new Canadian entity. It declined to provide any further details about what expansion it was reviewing.

A government database showed a notification of new business from TikTok in June 2023. It said Network Sense Ventures Ltd. in Toronto and Vancouver would engage in “marketing, advertising, and content/creator development activities in relation to the use of the TikTok app in Canada.”

Even before the review, ByteDance and TikTok were lightning rod for privacy and safety concerns because Chinese national security laws compel organizations in the country to assist with intelligence gathering.

Such concerns led the U.S. House of Representatives to pass a bill in March designed to ban TikTok unless its China-based owner sells its stake in the business.

Champagne’s office has maintained Canada’s review was not related to the U.S. bill, which has yet to pass.

Canada’s review was carried out through the Investment Canada Act, which allows the government to investigate any foreign investment with potential to might harm national security.

While cabinet can make investors sell parts of the business or shares, Champagne has said the act doesn’t allow him to disclose details of the review.

Wednesday’s dissolution order was made in accordance with the act.

The federal government banned TikTok from its mobile devices in February 2023 following the launch of an investigation into the company by federal and provincial privacy commissioners.

— With files from Anja Karadeglija in Ottawa

This report by The Canadian Press was first published Nov. 6, 2024.

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Health

Here is how to prepare your online accounts for when you die

Published

2 weeks ago

October 24, 2024

Anne Joseph

LONDON (AP) — Most people have accumulated a pile of data — selfies, emails, videos and more — on their social media and digital accounts over their lifetimes. What happens to it when we die?

It’s wise to draft a will spelling out who inherits your physical assets after you’re gone, but don’t forget to take care of your digital estate too. Friends and family might treasure files and posts you’ve left behind, but they could get lost in digital purgatory after you pass away unless you take some simple steps.

Here’s how you can prepare your digital life for your survivors:

Apple

The iPhone maker lets you nominate a “ legacy contact ” who can access your Apple account’s data after you die. The company says it’s a secure way to give trusted people access to photos, files and messages. To set it up you’ll need an Apple device with a fairly recent operating system — iPhones and iPads need iOS or iPadOS 15.2 and MacBooks needs macOS Monterey 12.1.

For iPhones, go to settings, tap Sign-in & Security and then Legacy Contact. You can name one or more people, and they don’t need an Apple ID or device.

You’ll have to share an access key with your contact. It can be a digital version sent electronically, or you can print a copy or save it as a screenshot or PDF.

Take note that there are some types of files you won’t be able to pass on — including digital rights-protected music, movies and passwords stored in Apple’s password manager. Legacy contacts can only access a deceased user’s account for three years before Apple deletes the account.

Google

Google takes a different approach with its Inactive Account Manager, which allows you to share your data with someone if it notices that you’ve stopped using your account.

When setting it up, you need to decide how long Google should wait — from three to 18 months — before considering your account inactive. Once that time is up, Google can notify up to 10 people.

You can write a message informing them you’ve stopped using the account, and, optionally, include a link to download your data. You can choose what types of data they can access — including emails, photos, calendar entries and YouTube videos.

There’s also an option to automatically delete your account after three months of inactivity, so your contacts will have to download any data before that deadline.

Facebook and Instagram

Some social media platforms can preserve accounts for people who have died so that friends and family can honor their memories.

When users of Facebook or Instagram die, parent company Meta says it can memorialize the account if it gets a “valid request” from a friend or family member. Requests can be submitted through an online form.

The social media company strongly recommends Facebook users add a legacy contact to look after their memorial accounts. Legacy contacts can do things like respond to new friend requests and update pinned posts, but they can’t read private messages or remove or alter previous posts. You can only choose one person, who also has to have a Facebook account.

You can also ask Facebook or Instagram to delete a deceased user’s account if you’re a close family member or an executor. You’ll need to send in documents like a death certificate.

TikTok

The video-sharing platform says that if a user has died, people can submit a request to memorialize the account through the settings menu. Go to the Report a Problem section, then Account and profile, then Manage account, where you can report a deceased user.

Once an account has been memorialized, it will be labeled “Remembering.” No one will be able to log into the account, which prevents anyone from editing the profile or using the account to post new content or send messages.

It’s not possible to nominate a legacy contact on Elon Musk’s social media site. But family members or an authorized person can submit a request to deactivate a deceased user’s account.

Passwords

Besides the major online services, you’ll probably have dozens if not hundreds of other digital accounts that your survivors might need to access. You could just write all your login credentials down in a notebook and put it somewhere safe. But making a physical copy presents its own vulnerabilities. What if you lose track of it? What if someone finds it?

Instead, consider a password manager that has an emergency access feature. Password managers are digital vaults that you can use to store all your credentials. Some, like Keeper,Bitwarden and NordPass, allow users to nominate one or more trusted contacts who can access their keys in case of an emergency such as a death.

But there are a few catches: Those contacts also need to use the same password manager and you might have to pay for the service.

___

Is there a tech challenge you need help figuring out? Write to us at onetechtip@ap.org with your questions.

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Tech

Google’s partnership with AI startup Anthropic faces a UK competition investigation

Published

2 weeks ago

October 24, 2024

Anne Joseph

LONDON (AP) — Britain’s competition watchdog said Thursday it’s opening a formal investigation into Google’s partnership with artificial intelligence startup Anthropic.

The Competition and Markets Authority said it has “sufficient information” to launch an initial probe after it sought input earlier this year on whether the deal would stifle competition.

The CMA has until Dec. 19 to decide whether to approve the deal or escalate its investigation.

“Google is committed to building the most open and innovative AI ecosystem in the world,” the company said. “Anthropic is free to use multiple cloud providers and does, and we don’t demand exclusive tech rights.”

San Francisco-based Anthropic was founded in 2021 by siblings Dario and Daniela Amodei, who previously worked at ChatGPT maker OpenAI. The company has focused on increasing the safety and reliability of AI models. Google reportedly agreed last year to make a multibillion-dollar investment in Anthropic, which has a popular chatbot named Claude.

Anthropic said it’s cooperating with the regulator and will provide “the complete picture about Google’s investment and our commercial collaboration.”

“We are an independent company and none of our strategic partnerships or investor relationships diminish the independence of our corporate governance or our freedom to partner with others,” it said in a statement.

The U.K. regulator has been scrutinizing a raft of AI deals as investment money floods into the industry to capitalize on the artificial intelligence boom. Last month it cleared Anthropic’s $4 billion deal with Amazon and it has also signed off on Microsoft’s deals with two other AI startups, Inflection and Mistral.

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