If you're one of the stalwart fans of Destiny 2 still plugging away on ageing PC hardware, July might have been a month you were eagerly awaiting. The launch of AMD's Ryzen 3000-series represented a major generational shift in CPU design, one which MMO gamers and streamers in particular would be keen to get on board with from day one. Plenty of different SKUs would be available to suit many different budgets, and so new builds would have been planned for and invested in. Sadly, not all went well for this sub-set of the loyal fans who had stood by the game through thick and thin.
Quite bizarrely, it was discovered post-release that Destiny 2 simply refused to launch on the new platform. Despite confusing symptoms - other titles on the Activision-Blizzard launcher didn't have this difficulty, just Destiny 2 - a partial fix was swiftly formulated and rolled out in the form of an updated AGESA to be incorporated into a BIOS update fast-tracked by motherboard vendors. So far, so good?
Well, not quite. Both ASUS and GIGABYTE reported flaws in the new AGESA which had probably not been caught because of a lack of testing, and refused to roll it out. The AGESA was subsequently pulled, and Destiny 2 players were left without a viable fix.
However, there is now hope on the horizon. In a wide-ranging post on Reddit AMD Senior Technical Marketing Manager Robert Hallock addressed the Destiny 2 problems (amongst other concerns) and linked a tentative beta chipset driver designed to deal with them specifically.
In what could be interpreted as something of a mea culpa, Hallock apologises and explains that Destiny 2 fell through the cracks because it's not a part of AMD's regular testing suite, nor is it commonly used by the press. When the problem was discovered (via post-launch consumer feedback) AMD were quick to collaborate with Bungie to find the cause and tease out a fix, either in-game or on AMD's side.
But AMD are going further:
Going back to the topic of Destiny 2, I'm hoping you can help me test a workaround driver that should get you into the game. This is a beta chipset driver, and it may give you an installer warning or two if you're upgrading an existing driver, but I believe this should work around the D2 launch issue. Can you let me know if it works?
It's very rare for beta chipset drivers to be released, and underscores how seriously AMD are treating the issue. They neither wish to make Destiny 2 players wait on a new AGESA likely 2-4 weeks away, nor put pressure on Bungie to develop, test and patch a work around given the understandable pressure the studio is currently under. The turn-around time of this driver is pretty astonishing for AMD.
Early reports are that the the driver has been successful in fixing the issue for a number of players. However its beta status should be stressed; it's a short-term test that isn't yet a long-term solution.
Hallock's parent topic to the post also serves as a placeholder for comprehensive statements AMD are planning to make on Ryzen 3000-series user concerns surrounding high idle voltage levels and a more permanent Destiny 2 fix. The statements are due on July 30th, and will hopefully prove to be the actual final word on the problems.
SOURCE: /u/AMD_Robert on Reddit
