So... Sparrow Racing League (SRL).
Honestly, It's great. It has some flaws, but otherwise a very positive experience. This is probably my favorite competitive mode. Due largly to the fact that it's fun, free (mostly) from the regular destiny lag-vantage. There aren't really any bullshit deaths, and best of all when I'm actually beaten, it's because the other player was [b]actually[/b] better than me. When I'm in 2nd or 3rd place i follow the leader everywhere he goes, it has revealed interesting shortcuts thus far. I like the racing.
Good stuff
1. This is the most balanced competitive mode in destiny.
2. Getting slammed into a wall actually gives me a little chuckle
3. There's nothing more fun than pushing another sparrow off a cliff
4. It's fun, and sold to you that way, 0 frustration
5. You can use a 3oC in this mode. Not kidding already scored a 310 Truth and a 310 No Backup Plans
6. It's been rewarding for the most part. I haven't scored anything [legendary] above 290 light yet, but i imagine it may come at higher rep.
7. You get crucible rep! This is nice for people that don't enjoy crucible, but still want some of the gear from the quartermaster.
Bad stuff,
1. The usual destiny PvP lag causes some....interesting... things.
(a) The players around you are teleporting all over the place
(b) Lag causes race position to update very slowly
(c) had a race where there was a tie for 3rd AND 4th place. due to lag
2. The way the sparrow handles is a little strange, slides a lot through turns, tighten up physics a little bit (i understand this may not be a small task)
3. some of the gates are oriented at odd angles, sometimes forcing you to point your sparrow at a wall to get it.
4. Brakes are pointless, I've had better luck letting off the throttle for a split second to get through a tight turn.
5. Fuel display is very very small, and located in an unfriendly position on the screen. Making it much larger and leaving it in the corner will really help out.
The in between good and bad stuff
1. Only 2 tracks. I don't believe this is a bad thing, it makes the mode easier to learn due to not having to memorize a bunch of tracks, but there's nothing wrong with wanting more places to race. (us wanting more destiny stuff is a good problem for bungie to have)
2. No interesting perks/buffs/incentive on hitting high amounts of gates consecutively. Not really a big deal, but sometimes i get the "oh screw it who cares attitude" and will intentionally skip a gate if it forces me to go out of my way. This would definitely provide a more competitive race environment. Some of my first place finishes were 20sec+ lead. The people at the back of the pack would benefit most from a mechanic like this, because their gates are huge, it also punishes the leader of the race more for missing a gate.
3. I've noticed some people in my fireteam during the races get a little irritated when they are in 6th place and a mile away from the pack. Providing a catch up bonus for people in last place that are that far behind will keep the pack tighter, and provide a better experience for people that are struggling to get those top 4 finishes.
Overall
This is a blast, and i recommend it to everyone. The normal destiny PvP lag BS is there, but there's no shooting, so it's effect is minimal. I'm having lots of fun, and i'll be chasing the 320 drops for the next few weeks. Hope everyone finds this helpful.
(side note)
I've finished 1st 8 times in my 15 races so far.
-
The only reason I can see a Destiny player playing Sparrow Raceing is because they have no other way to reach 320. It's not a raceing game and it's a far cry from comeing close to anything resembling raceing......just another place for kids to F around, Bungie should have put the time and effort into something more game oriented. If I wanted to play a raceing game I'd play a raceing game, I want to play a first person shooter and expect resources to be focused on that.