Improvements to the app

[EliSka]

Hi everyone!

First off, I really like the Nexus app. Especially foundry access is very helpful. Admittedly it is a bit clunky, but I assume that is because the app is more of a by-product than a fully fleshed out part of the game. As such, DE had no obligation or promise to make it, but they did anyways and that's just amazing.

Now, slight clunky-nes aside, there is a suggestion I would like to make for features (I have many, but for the scope of this Topic, I'll address one):

What I would love to have, is a follower. Those of you who have played World of Warcraft Legion with the Companion App - the basis is similar to that.

The overarching idea is simple: You can send out follower(s) from the App to do Alerts for you.

Of course, that's the simple premise. Other questions that have to be answered (and can only really be answered by DE) are:

• Type of Alert the Follower CAN do. (Only basic alerts? Potato Alerts? Invasions too?)
• Number of Followers possible (One would be enough in my opinion, but maybe someone has a better idea?)
• Acquisition of the Follower. (I think we haven't gotten a good high level Syndicate reward in a while - maybe there? Plat?)
• Should there be a success chance stat? Can a follower fail?

I'm sure there are many more questions to be answered, and I'm happy to discuss the feasibility / usefulness of the idea.

It will surprise no one, but this idea came together because I was checking running alerts on the App while at work and I saw alertium Nitain Extract in the drops, which I desperately need (Vauban Prime... why? ;_;) but I keep missing out on because I can't play Warframe at work.

What do you guys think? Would you support such a feature? Would you use it?

 

 

Personally, I think it's feasible. I base this guess on being a software developer myself, but a lot of it depends of DE's internal systems, which I have no knowledge of, but since there's a working link from the app to the database of the foundry, it should be possible. (Of course, if DE wants me to give it a shot (Like TennoGen for features instead of skins and art) and is willing to show me some documentation, I'd be happy to try; I don't have a lot to do at the moment)

[(PSN)Ozymandias-13-]

I'd be happy if Set mods actually showed up on the app. I had always assumed it just wasn't updated yet, except Umbral mods show up on there which is far newer so that isn't the case.

[DalekAtak]

Alerts provide resources/blueprints that aren't available elsewhere (or are hard to obtain through other means). The basic premise of Warframe economy is that you can get everything as long as you're willing to do very particular things. Extractors available in the app are reflecting what exists in-game already. Automating alerts through app would e.g. make Nitain Extract less valuable than it is right now. I don't see how this would work w/o major changes to the in-game economy model.

FWIW I'm not a huge fan of something happening automatically. Extractors are a paltry source of resources and aren't really fun at all - they are a tedious side-option. I feel like I'm missing out by not clicking them but I don't get any gratification from getting resources this way.

[EliSka]

26 minutes ago, DalekAtak said:

Alerts provide resources/blueprints that aren't available elsewhere (or are hard to obtain through other means). The basic premise of Warframe economy is that you can get everything as long as you're willing to do very particular things. Extractors available in the app are reflecting what exists in-game already. Automating alerts through app would e.g. make Nitain Extract less valuable than it is right now. I don't see how this would work w/o major changes to the in-game economy model.

FWIW I'm not a huge fan of something happening automatically. Extractors are a paltry source of resources and aren't really fun at all - they are a tedious side-option. I feel like I'm missing out by not clicking them but I don't get any gratification from getting resources this way.

Not saying anything about automatically. You'd still have to

1. realize an alert was up

2. bother enough to send your follower out

IMO the argument that you have to be willing to do particular things is very flawed in this case. I am WILLING to do the alerts. I would love nothing more than to run them. But since I am at work 80% of the time they come on, I would be very happy about an alternative to running the mission myself.

Nitain Extract isn't really "valuable" - it's a time gate. It works to slow down players actions in the game.

For all other items in the "Warframe economy" I know of, there's a faster way to get them. Not so for Nitain Extracts. you can't even buy them with plat, only alerts.

But because of work, it's not as much of a speed bump to me, but rather a sand pit. I am highly lucky if I can get 1 a day. Needing 20 for Vauban Prime alone I feel like I'm glued to the spot. And in most other time Gates, DE at least gives you the option to speed it up - be that farming runs or straight up plat. Not so with Nitain.

I agree that Extractors aren't really fun. But you're much faster just farming resources anyways. You can't put in more work to get more Nitain in the evening, if you can't play while the few alerts are up... the two aren't really similar at all in my opinion

Edited December 6, 2018 by EliSka
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[peterc3]

8 hours ago, EliSka said:

The overarching idea is simple: You can send out follower(s) from the App to do Alerts for you.

Nope, not going to happen. What about those without smartphones or tablets, what then? Why would they completely invalidate the reason Alerts exist, to get you to jump into the game or keep playing once you're in?

[EliSka]

I feel like you're dismissing this without giving it enough thought...

1. To make use of alert rewards you still have to play the game...

2. This would be a high level reward at a point where normal alerts would have lost their appeal mostly anyways - as normal alerts are all I want it to scope for. It's not supposed to do your sorties! 

3. If you want to make less valuable than running the alert yourself, make your followers take a long time to come back (12h) or something. The point is not to make alerts easier, it's to not miss out on rewards you can't physically do the alerts for. 

4. "What about those without smartphones?" that is a valid concern. I have no way around that. But I'd argue they're already missing out on the current features of the app... 

(I wanted to resist making a "do you not have phones?" comment here... But I am weak) 

[(PSN)Ozymandias-13-]

3 hours ago, EliSka said:

I feel like you're dismissing this without giving it enough thought...

1. To make use of alert rewards you still have to play the game...

Giving it enough thought is exactly how we can come to the determination that the point is to make you play the game more, not less. Giving you a way to skip more gameplay and time-sink aspects would be counterproductive from DE's standpoint because they want players in-game for as long as possible. 

Nitain Extracts were designed to create a time-gate on crafts that require it while forcing increased play time to avoid missing out. Allowing something like that, for example, through an app would literally remove any possible purpose for the way it was designed to be obtained. The same applies to Invasions.

This isn't the type of game where those rewards are merely contributing to progress towards an end. The journey for acquisition is literally most of the game. Resource Drones were put in the game largely because of how many you need from across the solar system for all gear in the game (and is never ending since more comes with every update), but acquisition in mission and through the drones is purely random so it's not necessarily going to lessen gameplay by a large amount. Being able to send followers to do content for specific rewards on your behalf would be bad when those specific rewards were designed in a way to limit their accessibility without playing.