They're using new lighting techniques, too. Real-time lighting can be updated on the fly, but while it's faster it loses some of the subtle lighting effects of the alternative global illumination method. So they combined features of the two to get some of those effects back. More details, shadows and depths popped up on screen as senior graphics artist Hao Chen compared the visual output of these techniques on some in-engine shots.

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They refer to it as large scale ambient occlusion, and their world-building tool as Grognok. It's their nexus of art and world design, and with it comes the most highly requested new feature: an undo action. I bet that one was a long time overdue. And yes, they built Halo without an undo feature.

Bungie.Net, But For Destiny And On Your Mobile Device

Not many details were gone into on this front (much like everything else), but it's obvious that Bungie is leaning more towards a story focus than a stats focus. Your profile will show, visually, where you've been throughout your legends. It'll notify you when there's new stuff to do in the game. It can connect you with friends and your social groups. You'll be able to share stories through the app, too.

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Despite my lengthy post on Destiny here, a lot of these details feel empty to me. I didn't see a single shot fired in the game. I didn't see enemies in motion. I saw a few seconds of some Guardians running up to some sort of time warp-looking gate. But there are still so many questions left unanswered.

Will there be a voice chat system? Are the ships we get mostly cosmetic, or are we going to fight in space battles as we travel from Earth to Mars? Are there any sort of allegiances, guilds, groups that aren't merely for social purposes? Are there more than three character classes? What does it mean when Bungie says that players will affect the world, or that the ending won't unravel itself until we as players do something? Is there even a proper ending? A proper, single storyline, or is it just mini stories that you build into your own world? Is it going to be available on next gen consoles, or just Xbox 360 and PS3 like they keep insisting?

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This was the first official reveal for Destiny, so Bungie and Activision wouldn't answer a lot of our questions. For now, they've certainly got some interesting ideas, but I'll have to reserve judgment until I see some guns.

I leave you with some more of that concept art:

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The Fallen

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Hellmouth (enemy base)

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Exclusion Zone (where the Dust Palace is located)

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Ocean of Storms

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Fire Team of Guardians

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Citadel (another enemy zone)