Wishlist: Future Updates/fixes Part 1

[Auroan]

Before getting into the main topic of this thread, I'd like to congratulate Digital Extremes for the development Warframe. I've always been a Sci-Fi fan and this game does a great job at bringing an imaginative and interesting twist to the genre. The concept of the Tenno warriors is easily one of my favorites, if not favorite in Sci-Fi to date. The game itself is astonishing; possessing diverse Warframes and weapons, as well as having great graphics, art, level design and the most fluent gameplay in a third person shooter I've ever played. There are many great things that I love about Warframe, but like all other games, it does have it's fair share of flaws that I believe is holding it back from true excellence. 

 

Having said this, I'll now start onto the main topic of my current wishlist for future updates/fixes. I will list a number of things within the game, what I like about them, what I dislike about them, and I what I think could be done to change/improve upon them to create a overall better experience for players. 

Note: There may be key things in the game that I forget to mention. Also, some things I mention are strictly formed from my own opinion, and other players may disagree with what I have to say, so please bare with me.

 

 

 

 

Let's start with Planets/Level Design. There are 14 planets to date. In addition to the 14 planets, there are two "sub-areas" as I'd call them. One being The Void, the other being The Dojo. As I've expressed already, I love the design of each level. Or, well, should I say "tile". I say tile because this is what Administrator DE_Sheldon referred them to be in his most recent topic within the "Developer Workshop" forum found here:

 

https://forums.warframe.com/index.php?/topic/166937-a-peek-at-the-horizon-january-22-present-future/

 

He stated that Earth is getting a new Forest tile set. This further confirms my assumption on the designs of each level. When I first played this game, I introduced my buddies to it and we all played together through the first two planets. Though we caught on a tad sooner, those two planets were all we needed to play to realize that each level within a planet is recycled "tiles" that are randomized together to generate the level. Though each level within the planet is recycled tiles randomly put together, the planets themselves are different. Well, so I hoped. Often times, you'll find yourself on either a ship, or a snowy planet. If not there, than you're likely in the mining-type area. There are exceptions to this, however, as planets like Phobos and Saturn do have their own layouts. Now, there's some good things and some bad things about this technique. Here's what I have to say:

 

 

What I like:

-I originally was against how you could enter the same level again and again and it'll be different each time, however, I actually believe this to be a better method than developing a specific, guaranteed-to-be-the-same type of level. Most games suffer from this type of design because it eventually comes to the point where it requires no thought (though I am aware that most other games want the area to be the same because that's part of the story they're trying to tell and so on). The player will know "as soon as I enter this area, go here, than here, than there, and than finally here and I'm done". With the tile generating method, the player is never left knowing exactly where to go. Instead of always knowing they have to open the left door, or to take the blue pill, they have to resort to looking at their mini map and following the way point, sometimes having to question whether they have to be on the floor above, or below them. Though the player will always sprint-slide through the whole map within 30 seconds, with the randomized tile method, it makes it more difficult for the player to beat rush through it than it would be for the level to be the same each time you enter it.

 

-Not only do I like how the tiles are randomly generate to try and give it a different feel each time you enter a level, whether it be the same level, or a different one, but I like the fact that there are different versions of each tile that changes the feel of the atmosphere. Sometimes the tiles will have fire and destroyed parts to them, or the tiles will be frozen, or even infected. It's cool being able to see the tile you thought you knew distorted in some sort of way.

 

 

What I don't like:

-I have no problem with the randomized tile method, as I even support it. However, what I highly dislike is the fact that these tiles aren't just repeated on one planet, but multiple planets. The fact that the new planet you just unlocked looks exactly the same to one you've already played makes it a less rewarding experience because it doesn't add diversity to each planet, nor emits the feel of progression and adventure as though you were truly traveling to a planet different than the other.

 

 

What I think should change:

-Luckily, this is something that's currently being addressed already, hence, the new Earth tiles coming out. I, as I'm sure with many other players, would love to see diversity within each planet. I liked how when I entered Phobos, it was completely different than the previous planets I've encountered. It gave it that new feeling as though I was truly progressing and traveling the solar system and landing upon a new planet. Saturn is my favorite planet and is considered a "gas-giant" since it has no definite surface. I love how this fact was implemented into the game by having floating chambers within the planet that allowed you to now only view, but to go outside and actually experience the gaseous glory of Saturn. I believe all planets should be like this. I believe that each planet should have it's own unique set of tiles to give players a different, new experience with each planet they enter. This goes for The Void as well. Though Dojo's came out after The Void, I think The Void should resemble more of an actual black, void type area than a replica of the Dojo. When someone utters the word "Void", and when you're brought to a dark, rippling part of the universe when you use a Void Key that is full of "corrupted", one would hope the area would be just as corrupt as it's implementing.

 

 

 

Let's move on to Gameplay. The gameplay of this game is excellent. It's the most fast paced, fluent third person shooter I've played. Such gameplay should be expected when playing as space ninja's, right? There are so many things to like about this games gameplay as it has a lot of things to offer, but I will admit that it does fall off in a few aspects. Here's what I have to say:

 

 

What I like:

-The game is super fast-paced. Whether you're shooting, or using melee, it's always fast and it always feels like there's an epic battle going on. Being able to wall-run, dodge roll, shoot while jumping, as well as sliding only helps intensify each moment of action.

 

-Though the game focuses on co-op and loading bullets into hordes of enemies, the fact that there is an alert mechanic and stealth killing shows that even this fast paced shooter can be played with stealth when in the right hands. On top of that, you not only can battle AI's in all the major game type modes, such as elimination and survival/horde mode, but you can battle other players to the death as well. 

 

-I love what damage 2.0 brought to the table in addition to the elemental damage. It adds strategy and preparation against your opponents instead of having it as a one bullet kills all deal.

 

-The game offers a large library of mods to use in order to customize your weapon and Warframe of choice to the play style you like to use them as.

 

 

What I don't like:

-Though each moment of action is fast paced and intense, even the moments without action are fast paced. Players abuse the sliding mechanic far too often because it provides the fastest, most effective way of traveling from one spot to another. This negates the use of sprinting since it's slower and uses up stamina, while sliding is faster and you recover the small amount of stamina you use in order to get that good slide in. This ultimately means you'll never run out of stamina, while also going faster than you would be if sprinting. 

 

-PvP is a great feature that I'm glad this game has, and is currently being balanced with the Conclave system. Though this makes sense, it makes it unfortunate to us players that like to play private games with friends. I think I speak for many players when I say I'd like to be able to play against my buddies at any point we feel like and not be held back by Conclave. The Dojo offers dueling, but I feel that's better used for melee fights and training than actual fights. A gimmick to me more than anything. I'd like to be able to play dynamic, actual stages with my buddies and out ninja them. 

 

-In the same regards to PvP, an issue that I know others have is that some Warframe abilities become completely useless. I don't just mean useless because it's obvious that the figure in front of you is clearly a clone, but useless to the point where your ability literally does nothing. Though I can't personally confirm it to be true, I have read them on the wiki that abilities such as Oberon's Ultimate, Volt's Ultimate, and all of Nekros' abilities (except his 1) don't work in PvP. This not only provides a clear disadvantage, but it also makes playing the Warframe you love less enjoyable since you can't use the abilities it has that distinguishes it from other frames. 

 

-The last thing I didn't like about PvP was the lack of option/game modes to be played. All there is currently available is a 2v2 TDM.

 

-The stealth mechanic of the game is a excellent addition to the gameplay. However, it's also extremely unviable.Unless the player is playing as Loki, has a Ghost mod, or no sentinel at all, and can insta-kill all enemies before triggering the alarm, playing the game stealthy is incredibly tough and tedious. This is truly a shame considering they're suppose to be considered Ninja's but fight more like Pirates. 

 

-In regards to stealth and alert, I also disliked that once you were spotted by one enemy, you were spotted by all enemies. Also, once the alarm was triggered, there was no way of getting out of alert statues and enemies would forever know where you are and swarm you from every angle until the completion, or failure of the mission. 

 

-Even though it's small, and perhaps a problem that only I experience, I sometimes experience a "stick" when using melee on an opponent. I have both my aid options turned off so it should solely relay on skill, however, I still will experience a stick here and there if my camera is right on them and I'm trying to bash them. This becomes an annoyance because I'm unable to sprint towards them, or increase my movement speed in anyway, so if I'm sitting there swinging and they're moving away from me, I can't continue to hit them even if I move with them. Perhaps this is a mechanic that cannot be turned off and why the melee range mod exists?

 

-Though there's a fair portion of enemies, I feel like there isn't enough and that they appear to often. Right from start, you begin your first mission against, the Grineer, or Corpus and in that one level alone, though some appear less often than others, you're likely to see every type of enemy from that faction. That not only takes away from any surprises from potential new enemies in the future, but it begins to become repetitive killing the same enemy over and over. 

 

 

What I think should change: 

-The sliding will have to receive a small nerf. Nothing significant, as it would take away from the epic, ninja gameplay, but perhaps making it so you lose some stamina from doing slides instead of not losing any, and actually gaining stamina during the duration of the slide. This will make it so it's spammed much less as a method of travel, but also still viable in combat if they decide to use it to get out of a sticky situation, or make a grand entrance into the heat of battle. This not only helps balance the gameplay a little, but also makes the player experience the atmosphere of the level as well. Often times I find myself rushing to catch up to my comrades at such a fast pace, there's not much time to explore, or even appreciate the level to which I'm playing on since I slide from one side of the map to the other. If players had to sprint through the map, or even their default jog, they'd be given more time to think about exploring and open lockers/destroy crates, as well as soak in and appreciate the atmosphere of the planet they're currently on. 

 

-Whether it be a new menu, or a separate planet of some sort altogether, players should have the option to host open, or private matches and choose what stage they want to play on without being limited to what their conclave is. If me and my buddies want to have a DM, or TDM, we shouldn't be told we can't because one of my buddies is to low and could potentially get stomped by us. That goes for random players as well. If I want to join another players game, or a player wants to join my game and get in on the fun, they shouldn't be denied because they're not on our conclave level. This is where ranked and unranked should truly come into play. Similar to League of Legends, custom and/or unranked matches should be able to be played between players of all levels, while ranked matches can be where players are matched up and can only play with people of similar conclave. This is so people will always have the option to challenge themselves, but also have the option to let go and have some stupid old fun.

 

-All Warframes should be able to use all their abilities in PvP matches. In many games, such as World of Warcraft, the math and mechanics in multiplayer is often different than that of single player. Whether all damage is decreased by 75%, or cooldowns/cast times are different, things change that way people are able to enjoy the character they knew in single player in multiplayer as well, but still maintain in a sort of balance. I understand and am completely fine with this. I'd like to see such changes continue to be made in PvP. For example, in campaign mode, sure, Loki's clone can look all digital and still fool AI's. However, that's not going to fool anyone in PvP. Instead, make it so Loki is an exact copy of himself to enemy players. Whether there is an indication to Loki's comrades showing that it's his clone, not actually him, is something of choice. However, I do believe this change should be made to make the ability have some use to it. Instead of having his pistol out all the time, if the player switches to, or has his rifle out when he uses the clone, than the clone will also have it's rifle out, or switch to it's pistol when the actual player does. What DE decides to do, as long as it's made in a balanced way, I'd love to see all Warframes be able to use their all abilities and actually have use for them.

 

-PvP should have more than one game type. For starters, instead of limiting the battlefield to only four players per map, limit it to only four players per team. A 4v4 match. This will make things that much more intense, but also make it less one sided if one team picks a silly duo combo and picks off all their challengers each match. In addition to having the ability to make matches a fair 4v4, I think having more game types would add an amazing new feel to PvP. Instead of just TDM, give us objective game types like the ones we play in single player. One team of 4 has to defend the Orokin artifact from the opposing 4 other players. Perhaps one team of 4 has to survive and collect life support while the other team has to try and stop them. Stretching it even further, perhaps one team of 4 has to defend their computers while the other has to try and hack the Lotus into it, and than defend it from the opposing players. Not only can there be players, but enemies can be on the map too. Perhaps in certain game types, the players have the option to choose either to side with the Grineer, or the Corpus. Grineer can be attacking, while Corpus defending, or it switches if the game type has alternating rounds. Of course, during certain times periods while in-game, the infected will spawn and try to ruin everyone's day.

 

-The Stealth mechanic should be emphasized more. I believe it should be played out similar to Metal Gear Solid. Remember, we're ninja's, not pirates. Whether to implement a sound/noise system into the game, or not, is obviously a big question since that'll probably take some time. However, I believe the AI's should act as their own individual instead of an all knowing barrage of ants. You can already sneak up on enemies and stealth kill them without alerting other enemies, so long as they don't see you. That's cool, and I like that. If you're spotted by an, obviously, you'll want to kill him fast before he alarms others. However, I don't see how it's fair, or makes any sense that if one person sees you, they all see you. It's not like they all have a Rinnegan mod equipped. If the player wants to play solo, or as a 4 man crew of crazy ninjas/pirates, let them. However, if a player wants to play solo, or as a 4 man crew of true ninjas of stealth, they should be able too as well. Make it so if one enemy sees you, than that single enemy is the only one who sees you. Only when he alerts other enemies will they know you're around and hunt you down. However, don't let the hunt last forever. If the players kill every mob in the area and head into the new area some time after, or if they find a good spot to hide, the enemies should turn cautious, not remain alert and know where you are 24/7 until you win, or die. Let things cool down. Let the AI's think the enemy is dead, or still around and proceed to stealth kill if you so choose to until alerted once again. Obviously, if the enemy does alert others, than yeah, let hell break loose and face the swarm, but if you defeat the swarm and remain stealth, I see no reason why the enemies should continue to know where you are and continue the endless barrage until the mission ends. Exploit the stealth mechanics and give people two ways to play the game, not one.

 

-Gunplay is very important, but is backed up by melee. Obviously, like I said, even though my options are disabled, maybe it's just me that experiences the sticky camera option when toe to toe with another enemy. If I'm facing an enemy and using melee and he tries to run, or just jogs away, I should be able to continue jogging at my normal jog speed instead of matching that of the enemy. This makes it more challenging for melee players and requires more precision and timing. In the common situation with Loki, I enter stealth mode to get the preemptive strike bonus damage my melee weapon. However, often time I find that when I enter stealth, they don't realize I'm there and just continue to walk around like nothing's happening. However, when they do this and I'm toe to toe with them trying to slash their guts out, I can't even touch them because I'm sticking to them am unable to run at my usual jogging speed. This is where the range mod probably comes into play though. If the developers wanted it to be like this, than I understand now that's why the range mod is there, but if this is just something that wasn't thought about to much, I think it'd be a nice change to remove the sticky camera when toe to toe with someone that way I can continue to move at my own speed and hit them if I'm accurate enough.

 

-More enemies should be created for each faction, and less enemies should be introduced per planet. Like I said, even though there's a fair amount of enemies per faction, and even though some enemies appear less than others, chances are, you'll see every enemy in the game from that type of faction in your first level against them. No new surprises on new planets, and no need to change gunplay style according to what type of enemy you're up against. They'll be the same each level. Instead of throwing every enemy ever created into every level designed, stretch it out so certain enemies appear on certain planets, while new enemies are introduced per planet according to the appropriate faction. I don't mind seeing your usual Space Marines, as well as Corpus/MGS Gekko's on each planet, but if they're the only thing I see, and don't even have a new skin design according to the environment/planet, than yeah, it's a bit bland. Even if the enemies are the same, new designs for them that correspond to the planet would be nice to see. Even if that doesn't happen, it'd be great to see new enemies introduced with each new planet the player enters upon. This makes it so you're not only discovering a whole new planet with it's own unique atmosphere, but you're discovering a whole new set of enemies that have adapted and planned their equipment accordingly to their environment.

On top of just your basic enemies, the introduction of new, more diverse boss battles would be an astonishing addition to the game. Most bosses consist of Jackal's, or Grineer enemies that are no more than your typical enemy, just super powered with a Warframe ability here and there, or a different weapon. Nothing quite as epic as hoped for. The addition of new boss battles per planet would be great, especially ones with different scale. What I mean by this is perhaps a giant worm type boss on Phobos, while having a giant space ship boss in Saturn, or something. Mix it up and throw options at us, and always remember to have your enemies synergize with the theme of the planet.

 

 

 

 

And lastly for Part 1, Player interactions. So, what exactly does this mean? Well, it's quite simple: What the player does and how the player interacts with the enemies and environment around him. The scale of Warframe can be quite big at times and leave you with lots of exploration. Not only is the player able to explore Warframe, but also interact with it during missions when enemies lock you out and take away life support. On top of this, some enemies require a little more thought to kill than just ADS and left click. Here's what I have to say:

 

Things I like:

 

-Warframe offers some huge levels that aren't just nice to look at, but nice to explore for additional supplies.

 

-Whether it be cutting off life support, or locking you out from your goal, enemies try to stop you without always using the typical gun-em-down method. This results in hacking, or rather "connect the lines". Simple, yet entertaining.

 

-Some bosses in the game aren't as simple as ADS and left click anywhere you please. Some bosses require you to actually pin point a specific spot upon their body to attack before you can even do damage to them. 

 

-You'll sometimes find that you won't be able to slide across every tile you see in the blink of an eye. Sometimes you'll not only need to hack something, but you may need to actually use your wall running abilities to get there.

 

 

Things I don't like:

-Warframe offers some huge levels to explore, but unfortunately falls off when you realize you're only getting about 100 credits per locker you can actually open. Occasionally, you'll get an energy, or health ball here and there with a small amount of ammo. Though it's not exactly rare, you won't necessarily find a material within a locker common either, nor will it usually be anything special. Other than lockers/crates and killing enemies, you won't find another method of physically collecting materials, even if you went to the edge of the planet.

 

-Hacking is fun, but it's truly a shame that the typical connect-the-lines game is recycled for every hacking event.

 

-Though some bosses require that you actually shoot a specific part on their body before being able to damage them, if being able to do damage on any other point of their body at all, it doesn't really make it more challenging since they don't do new things when getting lower on health. It just makes it more tedious.

 

-Wall-running is an awesome feature that you'll not only find yourself using at time during combat, but sometimes find yourself having to use it out of combat as well. However, this cool feature falls off because there is a very minute amount of places where you actually have to wall-run to get to your destination. Even then, it's only one quick, brainless wall-run here, or there.

 

 

Things I think should change:

-DE should take advantage of their huge landscapes and provide satisfaction to the explorer-type player for taking the time to adventure through and experience their levels to the fullest. Similar to Resident Evil, or Metal Gear Solid, throwing in some Lotus symbols around the map that the player has to find and shoot/collect to receive an award of some sort, whether it be art, a blueprint, or even credits, would be a treat. Being able to discover a new planet and than discover secrets within the planet makes the over all experience of playing the game that much more fun and in-depth. Could you imagine finding a secret cave, traveling to the bottom of it and finding a Prometheus-type area with a giant statue you could activate to find a special blueprint for an item, or something? Yeah, that'd be pretty darn awesome to experience.

 

-Instead of having connecting the lines as the only form of hacking, make there be other types of little mini games. Dead Space: Extraction has it's own version of connect the lines, but there are obstacles in the way, so you'll have to connect them when the time is right, or start over. Resident Evil 4 has it's own type of connect the lines, just they have colors/arrows you have to match up, and even when you move one, the others around it move as well, so you'll have to plan out what you're spinning more thoroughly. Remember that it doesn't have to be just hacking either. The player can interact with other things as well. The cameras are a good example of this. Often times, a camera will spot you and lasers will block the gate you want to get through. The only way around this is either destroy the cameras, or just do an OP sprint-slide and go right through it. Warframe could implement more interactive things into their game similar to the camera method. Maybe when being caught, or perhaps even falling into a trap, the player has to find a way to escape the room before certain doom. Kind of like in the old Star Wars movie when R2-D2 bailed his team out from being crushed in the trash pit. Sure, you could probably have someone on the outside save his team by hacking the console, or, you all would have to find another way to escape by, say, wall-running? That brings me to the next thing to change.

 

-Wall-running. It's a great feature. I love it. However, it's not implemented as much as it could, or should be. People only use it when they absolutely have to, and the only times they absolutely have to use it is just about never. Create more dynamic, platforming stages where the player has to actually time their jumps accordingly and wall run on not just one, but multiple walls. Even then, maybe some proper timing would be required since there could potentially be objects in their way. Think of the scenario where you're trapped in a pit. How you get out if the only way out was the way you came in? However, that's all the way at the ceiling? You'll have to wall run on one wall, hop to the other, and ascend yourself to the top. Maybe there's enemies in there too that you'll have to shoot while wall-running? Tough, but sounds like a pretty epic gun fight to me. It's just a really nice feature that I feel isn't getting enough attention/use to actually have it considered in the game. A gimmick, I guess you could call it, but a pretty damn good one that I think should be implemented more.

 

-Boss battles are always known in video games to be the most challenging and epic of all battles. I like how Warframe implemented the idea of boss battles, but I feel that it's very shallow and doesn't currently have much to offer. As I've expressed, I feel like the bosses are no more than super-powered enemies with an occasional Warframe ability, or different weapon. I believe bosses should be more diverse. I stress greatly about diversity and new experiences because we as humans are very curious individuals and for the most part, naturally enjoy discovering and learning. Repetition does have it's ups, yes, I can agree to that to a degree depending on what it is, but repetition in video games isn't always a good thing. As I've already expressed, the theme of enemies should match the theme of the planet, and each new planet should have a new them exclusive to that type of planet. In the example I gave above regarding bosses in the "Things I think should change" section of "Gameplay", I mentioned a giant worm and space ship boss for Phobos and Saturn. The experience one would get from battling new, epic bosses on each planet would alone make it a great one. However, a new, interesting way to defeat each boss would be an even better experience. Perhaps the giant worms skin is so hard only puncture ammo can effect it. Even then, it doesn't do much damage, so the only way to actually hurt it is to attack it when it opens it's mouth. How to get it to open it's mouth is another question in itself. Perhaps there will be objects surrounding the boss that you'd have to interact with. Maybe you'll have to wall run up this tall crane-like device and activate it to drop something upon it to temporarily paralyze it and attack it's mouth before it throws the object off itself and you'll have to do it again, or find a different way to get it down. For the space ship battle, maybe it's weak against electric attacks, so you'll need to use electric ammo and having Volt on your team might make it a tad easier and fun? Maybe you do very little, to any damage to this space ship and the only way to harm it is to shoot it with the giant cannons provided on the base your in. However, you'll miss if you don't weaken it first, so you'll need to find a way to get it vulnerable. Maybe disrupt it's transmission somehow, you wait for it to reload? Who knows? The point I'm getting at though is that boss battles are just too easy and not as interesting as one would hope. I honestly look forward to Stalker invading me more than anything simply because he's cool and is actually challenging to battle and uses many different techniques to attack the player. If boss battles were made to be more epic and interactive, goodness me, I'd have a great time.

 

 

 

So, what did you guys think about my list? Is there anything you agree, or disagree with? Anything I didn't mention that would be notable to state in the future? Let me know all your opinions in the comments below!