Warframe

Warframe
Original title	Warframe
Studio	Digital extremes
Publisher	Digital extremes
Senior Developer	Steve Sinclair; Scott McGregor; Dave Kudirka; Pat Kurdika; Ben Edney; Mitxh Gladney; Joey Adey; Jonathan Gogul; James Silvia-Rogers; Michael Brennam; Ron Davey; Mat Tremblay
composer	Keith Power; George Spanos
Erstveröffent- lichung	Windows: March 25, 2013 PlayStation 4: November 15, 2013 November 29, 2013 Xbox One: September 2, 2014 Nintendo Switch: November 20, 2018
platform	Windows , PlayStation 4 , Xbox One , Nintendo Switch
Game engine	Evolution engine
genre	Third person shooter
Subject	Military science fiction
Game mode	Single player , multiplayer
control	Mouse , keyboard , gamepad
system advantages preconditions	CPU : Intel Core 2 Duo e6400 / AMD Athlon x64 4000+ RAM : 2 GB of RAM HDD : <34 GB free space Graphics : Nvidia GeForce 8600 GT / ATI Radeon HD 3600
medium	Download
language	English, German (and 12 other languages)
Current version	Open Beta 25
Age rating	USK PEGI

Warframe is a free-to-play cooperative action role-playing game and a third-person shooter multiplayer online game developed and published by Digital Extremes . Originally released for Windows PC, it was later ported to the PlayStation 4 , Xbox One, and Nintendo Switch . In Warframe, players control members of the Tenno, a race of ancient warriors who have awakened from centuries of deep sleep and are at war in a planetary system with different factions. The Tenno use their Warframes along with powerful weapons and skills to complete missions. While many of the game's missions use procedurally generated levels, recent updates include large open areas that are similar to other massively multiplayer online role-playing games , as well as some story-specific missions that do not use procedural generation. The game includes elements from third-person shooters, parkour, and role-playing (game) so players can equip their Tenno characters with improved equipment.

The concepts for Warframe existed at Digital Extremes since 2000 under the name Dark Sector. The company reintroduced Dark Sector in 2004 to prepare for release on the upcoming Seventh Generation consoles , but couldn't find a publisher due to its theme. Ultimately, Digital Extremes released a game called Dark Sector in 2008 that deviated far from their original plan. In 2012, the developers used their earlier ideas and art objects from the Dark Sector to present the successful free-to-play games as Warframe.

Warframe's growth was slow initially, hampered by moderate critical ratings and low player counts. However, since its release, the game has seen positive growth through the development of Digital Extremes over the years. The game was played by nearly 50 million players in 2019 and is now one of Digital Extremes' most successful titles. It has received a lot of attention from developers with the introduction of new game content and modes. The game is powered by Micro Transactions , which allow players to purchase in-game items for real money that would otherwise normally be obtained through grinding.

Backstory

In a distant future, several centuries before the action began, the Orokin and their empire ruled the solar system. Their scientific achievements and monumental structures represented the pinnacle of technological and cultural advancement. However, since they had reached a dead point in their development, they sent drones into the Tau star system to terraform it and prepare it for colonization. For reasons unknown, these drones, now called Sentients, returned to the Sol system after a while and waged a war of annihilation against their creators. Since the Orokin had equipped the Sentients with almost perfect adaptability to survive in the Tau system, all war efforts against the Sentients were soon ineffective. On the verge of destruction, the Orokin created the Tenno warrior caste, which in turn promptly succeeded in driving the Sentients back into the Tau system. Shortly after the victory over the Sentients, the kingdom of the Orokin suddenly fell under unexplained circumstances and the Tenno fell into a centuries-long cryo - sleep .

The previously oppressed servant peoples of the Grineer and Corpus took advantage of the power vacuum and gradually spread over the entire Sol system, full of conflict. After both the Grineer and the Corpus increasingly searched for Orokin relics in order to use their technology to gain advantages over each other and repeatedly destroy sleeping Warframes, a mysterious figure named Lotus tries to locate and close the remaining Tenno awaken before they can be destroyed. In particular, the Grineer Admiral Vor represents a deadly danger. Finally, Vor can locate the player's Warframe, but not before Lotus can activate that Warframe. This is where the Warframe story begins .

Gameplay

Warframe is an online action game that includes elements of shooters, role-playing games and stealth games. The player creates their Tenno character, which includes a basic armor unit called "Warframe", which provides the player with special skills, basic weapons (a melee weapon, primary weapon and secondary weapons) and a ship. You can select one of the available missions via the ship's console. For a series of missions in the main story, players must complete specific missions across planets and moons in the solar system in order to access relays that will allow them to get to other planets or locations. Other missions spin over time as part of the game's living universe. This includes missions with special rewards and challenges for the community so that all players can benefit from being successfully completed. On board the ship, the player can also manage all other functions for his Tenno, including managing his arsenal of equipment, customizing his Warframe and weapons, making new equipment and accessing the in-game shop.

Missions can be played alone or with up to four players in a cooperative way against the environment. Each mission is given a ranking that indicates how difficult the mission is. Missions are generally played on randomly generated maps made up of "tiles" of map sections. Missions have different goals, such as defeating a certain number of enemies, collecting data from terminals without triggering an alarm, rescuing prisoners or defending points on the map for set periods of time. Recent updates have added space-based combat with Archwings and a large open-air environment where numerous bounties can be carried out. Players can use their weapons, special abilities, and a range of parkour moves to navigate and overwhelm the armed forces in these missions. Downed players can revive themselves up to six times or be revived an infinite number of times by other players. Once the process is complete, players will be rewarded with in-game items, as well as currency and items that they have collected while exploring the map. If a mission is not completed, these rewards will be lost. In addition to cooperative missions, the game contains player-versus-player (PvP) content via the multiplayer mode "Conclave", with which the player is also rewarded for achieving a high rank in such matches.

Players and their equipment also gain experience and level up through successful missions. Devices with higher levels can do more damage and support more "mods". These are special cards that can be inserted into the device to change its attributes or to provide passive bonuses and skills. Modifications are dropped by enemies during missions and can be part of the rewards. They are generally issued on a rarity basis, with more powerful modifications being harder to acquire. In addition to mods, players have other options to upgrade their gear, including conditional upgrades known as Arcane Enhancements and Riven Mods, which are weapon-exclusive mods whose weapons, buffs, and stats are set when unlocked. Another type of reward is equipment plans that can be used to build new Warframe parts or weapons. Blueprints and the resulting equipment can also be bought directly with Platinum play money. Players will need certain amounts of building materials (derived from missions and their rewards) to build these items.

Warframe is designed to be played for free. All warframes, weapons, and other pieces of equipment can be purchased in-game through grinding over time, although monetization can make the process easier. New weapons, warframes, pieces of equipment, and blueprints for building such pieces of equipment can be purchased in the market, either with credits earned in-game or with platinum, a premium currency that can be purchased through microtransaction or traded with other in-game players. Platinum is also required to purchase additional enhancements such as: B. Arsenal slots for warframes and weapons as well as items that improve the mod capacity of the equipment. However, there are cosmetic items that can only be obtained in-game by paying Platinum.

Factions

Tenno

The Tenno are human descendants of an ancient and mystical civilization of long-forgotten warriors from Earth's golden orokin age. The Tenno now awakening after centuries in cold sleep chambers (called Orokin-Kryopod) to compete for a new battle against the warring factions and are the sole support one created by the Orokin Warframes . They fought mostly with swords and rifles and are the masters of Warframe armor. For interstellar missions they use so-called "Archwings", mechanical propulsion units in the shape of wings, which are mounted on the Warframe. The Tenno gained their powers when the research vessel Zariman Ten-Zero ("Ten-O") was struck by its energies in the Void during the Orokin Age. While all adults on board gradually lost their minds, the children manifested enormous "superpowers", which after their rescue by the Orokin represented a danger to themselves and everyone around them due to their destructive power. The orokin researcher Margulis finally took her on and put her into a trance, the Second Dream. However, since she opposed the order to kill the Orokin, who saw the Tenno as a threat to their rule, Margulis was sentenced to death. When the Sentiens finally invaded the Sol system and brought the Orokin to the brink of defeat, Margulis' lover Ballas, despite his dislike of the Tenno, created the Warframes, which were the only instrument that withstood the void energies of the Tenno and could even channel them.

Grineer

The Grineers , originally created as workers by the Orokin, freed themselves from their bondage when the empire fell and expanded their fascist empire to every corner of the solar system. They are led by the twin queens, which were introduced with the update "The War within". When the Grineers rediscovered cloning technology, they usurped power over earth through numerical superiority. The leaders of the Grineers are the ominous twin queens, to whom the absolute, genetically programmed loyalty of all Grineers applies. While at the height of their power, the Grineer army is in a state of physical disintegration due to cloning technology. As a result, the Grineers are forced to use cyborg technology to counter their ongoing genetic decline. The Grineer scientist Dr. Tengus with the creation of the ghouls, which, due to their short life expectancy, first have to be "hatched" on the battlefield. Even by Grineer standards, these misshapen creatures are extremely primitive, but not to be underestimated because of their ferocity and lust for murder. Although they disfigured him horribly, the Grineer city councilor Vay Hek appreciates their effectiveness and prefers to use them on earth as a means of terrorism and even calls them his "children".

Corpus

The Corpus represent a dominant human trade guild society that maintains and operates its trade routes. Originally also a creation of the Orokin, they continued to develop independently after the fall of the empire. In contrast to the grineers, the cloning technology they use does not show any malformations. You can always see them accompanied by their robots and drones serving and fighting for them. They control all trade in the solar system and, militarily, are balanced with the Grineers with whom they are enemies. The Corpus does not have such a clear hierarchy as the Grineer, only the Board of Directors is a kind of authority. The individual trading groups are often enemies with one another and even meet militarily.

Afflicted

Most of the infected , known as the Infested , were grineer and corpus soldiers before they were infected by the Technocite virus . This plague turns people into monstrous creatures who gather in huge swarms and tear their opponents apart in close combat. An Orokin ship is also populated by infested people and has since been called the “Orokin Wreck”. Curiously, there are also infested grineers, corpus, and non-infested corrupted people who have the same characteristics as the infested and corrupted outside the wreck. However, one will never find infected orokins, as they, like the Tenno, have a natural immunity to the Technocite virus . Interestingly, little information is available about the Orokin, although they play an important role in the backstory of 'Warframe'.

Corrupted

The "corrupted" are a colorful mixture of modified grineer, corpus and (more rarely) infested units, which can only be found in Orokin buildings. With the help of a previously unknown process, the automatic defense AI of the Orokin Towers, the "Neural Sentry", transforms all intruders into mindless drones, which then take over the unconditional defense of the facility. Only the Tenno in their Warframes seem to be immune to this process. They are nevertheless attacked by the drones if they have visual contact. The Neural Sentry also has a variety of deadly automatic defense systems such as rotating lasers, shield amplifiers, and self-firing systems.

Orokin

The Orokin descended from humans and formed a powerful empire that ruled the solar system. It was they who discovered the void and built the towers there (which is why it is often referred to as the "Orokin-Void"). The Orokin were also the creators of the Technocite virus, which was intended as a weapon against the Sentiens. The first Warframe was created by humans (Excalibur Proto) who pioneered the development and research of this technology. The Orokin only improved these (Excalibur Prime), which the Tenno used in the fight against the 'Sentients'. Recreations of these are marked in the game with the affix 'Prime'. Interestingly, little information is available about the Orokin, although they play an important role in the backstory of 'Warframe'.

Sentients

The Sentients are a race that was responsible for the "old war" that led to the overthrow of the Orokin. Once also a creation of the Orokin to establish a colony in a distant solar system, the Sentients became conscious. Combined with their ability to adapt almost indefinitely, they became very dangerous and attacked the Orokin. With game update 18, "Tombs of the Sentients", they had their own story episode called: The Second Dream. dedicated. Their leader is Hunhow. His daughter Natah infiltrated the Orokin in order to destroy their most dangerous adversary, the Tenno, from within. Since the Tenno got their power through the Void, and these energies are extremely harmful to the Sentiens and even rendered them sterile, they could not adapt to the Tenno. When Natah discovered the true nature of the Tenno, she did not have the heart to kill the children of the Zariman and turned on her father to protect them. She now appears under the name Lotus as a consultant and advocate for the Tenno.

Syndicates

Various allies settled in the Tenno relay stations after they awoke. The six main syndicates Steel Meridian, Red Veil, Arbiters of Hexis, New Loka, Cephalon Suda and The Perrin Sequence serve as guilds that players may not join, but which they can gain in reputation. Each of the six syndicates is allied with another, is neutral towards one and is enemies with one. If you increase your reputation with a syndicate, you also increase your ally, but you decrease your reputation with your enemy. In addition, there are other smaller syndicates, whose reputation can also be increased, but which have no relationship with others.

development

As a dark sector

The origins of Warframe sprang from the original vision of the Canadian studio Digital Extremes for the first original game, Dark Sector . Prior to this point, Digital Extremes was known as a work-for-hire studio that worked with other studios to complete the development. This included working with Epic Games for Unreal Tournament (1999) and its sequels Unreal Tournament 2003 and Unreal Tournament 2004 . Epic had attempted to acquire Digital Extremes but realized there would be issues with the Canadian government that would disrupt the merger and the studios agreed to part ways.

To establish itself as the lead studio, Digital Extremes came up with the idea of Dark Sector , which they first announced in February 2000, and described the game as combining “the intense action elements of Unreal Tournament with the scope and the Character development of a persistent online universe ". In early interviews, Digital Extremes said that for Dark Sector players the gameplay would have been as a bounty hunter and assassin in a dark sci-fi setting, with each player having a bounty on their head and making them targets for other players.

The studio used their vision of Dark Sector to attract a publisher, but this only resulted in more subcontracting offers. The company remained about four years with Dark Sector and announced in early 2004 a revised Dark Sector to which a stylish sci-fi single player experience with stealth elements that now from the Metal Gear Solid - Series are inspired and a story that it as a mix of Metal Gear Solid and considered the Dark Crystal, which plays in space, in a larger environment such as that of Dune - universe of Frank Herbert . Much of the game's art style was influenced by French artist Jean Giraud , aka Moebius. The player character, who belongs to a race called Tenno, and the enemies, would wear high-tech suits that would give them unique abilities. This re-announcement included a scripted demo to show their vision of the game's gameplay and graphics. The game was announced when both the first seventh generation consoles, the Xbox 360 and PlayStation 3 , were announced and Digital Extremes was looking for a publisher to publish the games on those platforms. The game received a lot of attention from its video, including coverage from CNN about the upcoming generation of consoles.

Steve Sinclair, Creative Director of Digital Extreme, spent about a year looking for a publisher after Dark Sector was re-announced . Most, however, rejected the idea. Sinclair said most publishers were unimpressed with the science fiction setting and instead encouraged them to use the setting within World War II (popular at the time due to the Call of Duty franchise) and even the American Civil War . When Sinclair returned to the studio, they tried to rework the setting and even tried a superhero genre to no avail. Things got complicated as they also tried to develop their own engine, the Evolution engine, to support the game and the new consoles, and turned away from the well-known Unreal Engine . Ultimately, Digital Extremes dropped most of the science fiction elements and moved the gameplay towards a Resident Evil - survivor horror approach. Digital Extremes kept one element of the original concept for the released game, namely the protagonist named "Tenno". The Dark Sector, released in 2008, was very different from their original vision. Dark Sector received average ratings and wasn't a huge financial win for the studio, leading them to return to working for rent for the next four years, including BioShock , BioShock 2 , Homefront, and The Darkness 2 .

Around 2011, Digital Extremes were fighting over temporary employment contracts. Although the studio was forced to make some layoffs, they were still around 250 people at the time. In order to develop its own IP again and to take advantage of the growth in free-to-play games, Digital Extremes used the original dark sector concept from 2004 and tried to make it a free-to-play game develop. That decision was made in early 2012, and the team had to create a prototype within a month or two as Sinclair and Digital Extreme CEO James Schmalz wanted to show the game to publishers at what was then the Game Developers Conference in March 2012. They took several assets from the abandoned concept from 2004 and developed it as a Warframe . At GDC, Sinclair and Schmalz found publishers still opposed to the idea: Western publishers were not keen on the science fiction environment, while a large, unnamed Korean publisher warned them that they would "fail" because Western publishers were Developers don't know how to properly support free-to-play games with quality content. Another concern of the publishers was that Warframe was based on player-versus-environment gameplay, which at the time was vastly different from other free-to-play titles, which were mostly player-versus-player games. Discouraged, they returned to the studio and decided to self-release Warframe . They built a playable version of the game, known at the time as "Lotus", in about nine months. In addition, the studio developed the server architecture required to support the game and the micro-transaction system intended for it.

Released as Warframe

Warframe was announced publicly in June 2012 with the closed beta launched in October 2012. Player feedback helped refine the structure of the game. An early change in the beta in early 2013 was the monetization scheme to avoid pay-to-win scenarios. For example, every Warframe initially had a skill tree that the player could fully unlock through missions and gaining experience. An expanded version of the tree was available when the player expanded the Warframe with an in-game item, which can then only be obtained through microtransactions. When players complained about this feature, they removed monetization to win items and adopted the mantra of keeping the game free, which assumed that players didn't have to spend money to get an in-game item. To support the game, they borrowed the idea of ​​offering "Founder's Packs" for sale that can be used to grant in-game items and currency. This idea has already been used successfully in Kickstarter.com projects.

Digital Extremes found it difficult to grab press attention as free games were generally shunned by game journalists from 2012 to 2013. Unfavorable comparisons were made with Destiny , a highly anticipated title due to be released in 2014 that also hurt Warframe's presence . Given the small number of players, Digital Extremes wasn't sure how long they could continue to support the game. However, Digital Extremes noted that there was a small but dedicated group of players who focused on the title, bought into the game via Founder's Packs, told their friends about the game, and interacted with the developers to provide feedback that the was integrated into the game design. They also found that popular streamers like TotalBiscuit were covering the beta and drawing more players to the game.

The Open Beta for Warframe started in March 2013 for the Windows platform. The game is available on its own server systems. Warframe was released at the same time the studio was finishing development for the Star Trek game in April 2013 to follow up on the release of the movie Star Trek Into Darkness . The Star Trek game was heavily criticized, causing financial difficulties in the studio and forcing them to lay off developers. Warframe itself wasn't a critical hit with game publications and received average ratings. As IGN verified in 2013, the game was "fun but a little boring". Digital Extremes planned to release Warframe for PlayStation 4 as well, but that console wasn't available until November 2013. In order to attract more players, it was decided to offer the game on Steam , which continued to grow the player base. A few days after the Steam launch, Digital Extremes had managed to raise sufficient funds to keep the studio viable.

When the game became profitable, Digital Extremes were able to generate content for the game in order to keep the audience. Since 250 people were employed during this process, the content could be expanded quickly and another 250 developers were soon hired for Warframe . Community contributions have been vital to Digital Extremes for new content and improvements. A major change after its release was an update to the game's motion system called "Parkour 2.0", which was released in 2015. They had previously found that a trick known as "coptering" allowed players to use certain weapons to find ways to traverse levels quickly. Warframes and upgrades. Although Digital Extremes viewed these movements as game breaking and considered removing these abilities, they found that gamers were fond of such exotic movements and thus created the Parkour 2.0 system, which limited the possibilities of those movements, and the use of the ninja -like movements that the players wanted fully supported. Another example was a short-lived feature that allowed players to spend a small amount of the premium currency, Platinum, to get a random color that they could use to customize. Players reacted negatively to this as some felt that a large amount of platinum would be needed to get the desired color. Digital Extremes has removed this random factor and instead added funds to purchase such customization options directly. The company has also avoided the use of loot boxes , which other free games are often criticized for.

The studio had found it important to keep releasing new content on a regular basis in order to keep the revenue from the game. They also faced the problem that understanding all of the Warframe systems required some commitment on the part of the player, and players who thought it was too much would move on to something else after a few hours. This led them to invest more in the gaming community to keep up to date and help players understand what the game's systems were on. This included launching a weekly developer video game "Devstream" on YouTube, that of Community Manager Rebecca Ford (which includes the in-game character Lotus voiced) was hosted, starting a fan convention called TennoCon and cooperation with Twitch as a partner to promote specific streamers and offer Warframe rewards in-game.

In 2016, Digital Extremes was acquired by the Chinese investment company Leyou. Since then, Leyou has provided the funds necessary to grow Digital Extremes, but has little influence on the direction in which the developers choose for Warframe .

"The Second Dream" extension

In December 2015, Digital Extremes released Warframe's first cinematic story quest, "The Second Dream". This quest includes well-known characters from the game and introduces a new faction, the dreaded Sentients. And above all, the Second Dream serves as an "awakening" to the true nature of the Tenno, as more than a mere Warframe, "more than human, but once a child like any other". Completion of this quest grants access to a new game mechanic called Focus and allows the player to temporarily enter the game as himself via broadcast. During the broadcast, the Warframe is temporarily disabled (assuming the player is not using Excalibur Umbra) and a spectral form of the Tenno himself comes into play, channeling one of five focus skills, depending on which of the five focus schools the player chose during the quest's events .

"The Inner War" expansion

In November 2016, Warframe's second cinematic quest entitled "The War Within" was released. This quest sends the player on the hunt for Teshin, the master and overseer of the Conclave, when he suspiciously collects Kuva from the pods of the newly awakened Tenno. The pursuit of Teshin through the solar system leads to the discovery of the Kuva Fortress, a massive asteroid under the control of the Grineers that houses the Twin Grineer Queens (previously known only as legend). The queens are shown to have their origins as early as the Old Kingdom, and Teshin is exposed as a Dax soldier, meaning that he was under their command as they were of Orokin origin and thus acquired the ability to hold the Kuva scepter to lead. The queens cause the connection between Tenno and Warframe to be overloaded, forcing the Tenno to seek them out on their own and slowly discover their void powers. At the height of the mission, the Tenno unlocks the Transmission (which replaces the Transcendence), an ability that allows them to wander at will regardless of their Warframe. He weakens the Grineer Queen and has the option of killing her or rotting her. Grineer bodies decay over time from excessive cloning. This quest also introduces an alignment system into the game, with the possible options Sun, Neutral, and Moon. This alignment has so far had no gameplay consequences and left its purpose unknown.

"Plains of Eidolon" expansion

A November 2017 update to the game, titled Plains of Eidolon, added an open world area to the game. The levels are a semi-open world, initially accessible via a "hub" called Cetus, a settlement on Earth that is home to a people called the Ostrons, and directly via the player's ship. As the game describes them, the Ostrons are "a close knit band of traders". This expansion added Warframe's first open world experience to the game, the player's ability to make a name for themselves with the Ostrons, fishing and mining side activities, a bounty system made up of five missions of increasing difficulty in which the player you can play any mission you want regardless of whether the previous ones have been completed. A new quest called Saya's Vigil that rewarded the blueprint for the Warframe Gara, as well as other customization options for the Tenno's fighting animals, Kubrows (dogs) and Kavats (cats). And the Tenno's ability to use their own modular weapon called an amplifier, or amp for short. And another modular blade called the "Zaw". Finally, the "Plains of Eidolon" offer a new series of boss fights, the eponymous Eidolons. These Sentient Titans require extremely powerful equipment and, in most cases, teamwork to earn unique rewards.

"The victim" extension

A June 2018 update to the game titled "The Sacrifice" added the third cinematic story to the game. Following the events of Warframe's previous cinematic story quests, The Second Dream and The Inner War, The Sacrifice sends the Tenno on a hunt across the solar system for a Warframe called Umbra. This quest provides insight into Umbra's past, the ability to get Umbra into the arsenal after the quest's climax, and information about the origins of the Warframes themselves, answering several questions but creating more. The victim also contains the alignment system introduced in "The Inner War".

"Fortuna" extension

The expansion "Fortuna" was released on November 8, 2018 on the PC. The update focuses on the Fortuna Solaris Debt Internment Colony, which serves as the hub for the game's second open world map, Orbis Valley. The residents of Fortuna (known as Solaris) were enslaved by a corpus called Nef Anyo who used ancient Orokin devices that produce gallons of coolant for the workstation and trading center on Venus. The area expands the concepts introduced in Plains of Eidolon along with new activities and the ability to obtain a hoverboard- type vehicle known as a K-Drive. This update also adds more modular elements such as a plasma pistol called the "Kitgun" and a robotic companion called the "MOA".

"Empyrean" extension

The "Empyrean" update was revealed during Tennocon 2019 in July of that year. With the update, every player will receive a Railjack, an upgradeable spaceship inspired by FTL: Faster Than Light . Players can recruit non-playable characters to populate the ship, customize it, and add upgrades. The Railjack can then be used in larger space-based missions, including space battles with enemy forces. In addition, the game gets a system that is similar to the Nemesis system in Middle-earth: Shadow of Mordor , and has boss characters that the player will fight multiple times, with the boss changing his armor and tactics based on the battles with the player in the past changes.

Different content

During the Tennocon 2019 in July 2019, Digital Extremes presented the new CGI intro film of the game. It was directed by Dan Trachtenberg , who is a fan of the game and asked Digital Extreme to help with the CGI project. The trailer was produced by Digic Pictures using a combination of motion capture and CGI.

publication

Digital Extremes launched the Warframe Closed Beta for Microsoft Windows on October 24, 2012. There have been various versions and hotfix versions since then, and the Open Beta started on March 25, 2013. A PlayStation 4 version was also developed and released when the console launched in November 2013, while the Xbox One version of the game was released on September 2, 2014. The PS4 version was ported to Japan on February 22nd, 2014. followed by the Xbox One version on September 2, 2014. A Nintendo Switch version was announced in July 2018 and ported by Panic Button and released on November 20, 2018. The different versions of Warframe do not support cross-platform play as Digital Extremes stated that it is not currently able to keep all platforms up to date at the same time. However, with each console version, Digital Extremes offers a temporary window in which players on Windows can copy their accounts and transfer them to the console version. These are separate accounts that run separately on Windows and the console.

Business model

Warframe is free-to-play and is financed through so-called microtransactions . These include erwerbliche game content such as weapons, Warframes etc. that may be in store for real money, the platinum currency purchased. However, almost all game content can be acquired without real money, through earned in-game currency, the credits and different materials. The time to be invested is relatively small compared to other free-to-play titles. The only exception to this is cosmetic customization items such as B. Armor (arm / shoulder / shin protection plates), Syandanas (a kind of cape), or Sugatras (Syandana-like decorations for melee weapons) as well as color palettes to be able to color Warframes, weapons and all cosmetic items. At the same time, however, the platinum currency is also the trading currency; The rare items or blueprints obtained from playing can be exchanged for one another or bought and sold for platinum. This means that all premium content can also be earned indirectly. Thus, the microtransactions only offer convenience extras and customization options, which does not make it a so-called pay-to-win game, in which paying players can acquire significant gaming advantages compared to non-paying users.

An exception are the "Tennogen Items", cosmetic items created by the community, which Digital Extremes regularly implements in the game after prior voting, and which can only be purchased with real money (not platinum currency). (A certain percentage of the turnover goes to the creator of the item.)

Receptions

Warframe received "mixed or average ratings" on all platforms according to the rating aggregation website Metacritic . Commenting on the PlayStation 4 version, Mike Splechta of GameZone said: "If you already like games like Monster Hunter where you have to craft items to make better ones, Warframe follows exactly this formula, with the exception of much more satisfying and faster combat." As of 2018, however , PC Gamer said, "Warframe's growth doesn't look like a well-tended plant - it's more of a mutated science experiment. Game systems are arbitrarily linked in ways that are sometimes incoherent - but oddly charming nonetheless."

The game is one of the most played games available on Steam . Digital Extremes attributes the success of the title to the frequent updates they make for the game and the game's fan base. Digital Extremes describes the game as a "Rogue Success" in that the game can secure and sustain a large number of players without attracting the attention of others. More than 26 million players had played the game from its launch to April 2016, and by March 2018, five years after the release of its open beta, had reached 38 million players. The game had nearly 50 million players at the time of its sixth anniversary. In July 2016, Digital Extremes launched its first Warframe-dedicated "Tennocon" event in London, Ontario , attended by 1,000 players to announce news about upcoming features and updates to the game. and has held the event annually since then.

The game was nominated for "Best Ongoing Game" at the Game Awards 2017 and won the People's Voice Award for "Action" at the Webby Awards 2018. It was also nominated for the "Still Playing Award" at the 2018 Golden Joystick Awards , and for "Fan Favorite Shooter Game" and "Fan Favorite Fall Release" with Fortuna at the Gamers' Choice Awards At the Webby Awards 2019 the game again won the People's Voice Awards for "Action Game" and "Best Sound Design". It was nominated for "Best Game Expansion" with Empyrean and for the "Still Playing" award at the 2019 Golden Joystick Awards.

Web links

• Official website

Individual evidence

1. ↑ Digital Extremes: Story. In: Warframe. Retrieved October 6, 2019 . 
2. ↑ ^{a b c d} Ben Kuchera: How Warframe built an ethical free-to-play economy. In: polygon. Polygon, January 2, 2018, accessed October 6, 2019 . 
3. ↑ ^{a b c d e f g h i} The Story of Digital Extremes (Warframe Doc Part 1). In: YouTube. March 19, 2018, accessed October 6, 2019 . 
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