Practicality and Sensibility with an Offline/Wiki Warframe App

Good apps are all-encompassing, meaning all players, regardless of level, can find a use for it. Such was the vision that drove Max, a young hotshot in the app development game, to create the WF Codex, a handy Warframe App for offline researches. Whether you’re an absolute noob to Warframe, or a seasoned, old-school veteran, you’re sure to have a practical use for it.

Let’s get to know more about Max and his creation.

(1) Tell us about yourself (name/nickname, hometown, age, occupation, favorite games that you play and what platform(s) you play)?

My name is Max, friends also call me MaxiMax (and Tom for some reason). I currently live in Hannover (Germany). I am 18 years old and enjoy playing badminton and listening to EDM music in my spare time. I don’t own any console besides my PC, on which I like to play Warframe (of course) and a lot of other games, depending on my mood, such as Anno 1404, Apex Legends, LoL, Divinity Original Sin 2, Cuphead, and more.

(2) Do you work independently or in a team? If in a team, how big is it?

I work independently.

(3) What inspired you to create an app specifically for this game? When did it cross your mind to create your app?

I like to play Warframe and I feel that it still has a lot of potential for the future. I also think it’s great that the game is available for free and would like to support this decision of the developers through my contribution to the community.

When I started playing Warframe, I wanted an app that would work without an internet connection and provide an overview of all the mods, so that I would be able to theoretically craft my own builds and learn more about the game while I wasn’t playing. I didn’t find such an app, so I created one myself.

(4) What programming language or tool did you use to create this app? Do you have any favorite PLs or tools in particular?

For my app, I used Javascript, Typescript, and SASS together with some powerful frameworks like Ionic, Cordova, and Angular. For me, a programming language is more of a tool than something to develop preferences for, but Javascript would probably be my favorite programming language.

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(5) When it comes to designing the user experience/UX of the app, what motivated you or what influences did you have?

As for the UI, the new user interface introduced in Warframe was a big influence for me. I liked the new theme and therefore adopted some of the colors. I want my user interface to look as modern as possible while still being clear at the same time. I also chose a darker theme from the beginning, as I find it much more pleasant for the eyes.

(6) From the developer’s and gamer’s perspective, how do you think the app affects the overall experience of the game?

I think my app might be a good source for beginners to learn more about the game, but also for veterans to help find the best farming locations for certain mods. The world state trackers are also useful for tracking events without having to log into the game.

(7) Is there any margin of error when it comes to the app’s performance and provided information?

Yes, there is. Currently, all data for weapons, mods, and so on are entered by hand. Considering the huge number of items in Warframe, you may find a careless mistake. But so far, the feedback from my app users has always helped me to correct such errors. In addition, the loading time for low-end devices could suffer from the fact that I add more information with each update, although I constantly update the loading algorithms.

(8) What were your biggest challenges for this project? How did you overcome them?

Originally, the app was just a website loaded into an invisible version of the browser of your OS, so performance was suboptimal. Consequently, the app was pretty much just a huge HTML file, which was also terrible to read for me as a developer. As I’ve already mentioned, efficient search and data loading functions are the most challenging part of the app. The development of the user interface, on the other hand, is the most time-consuming.

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(9) Are you expecting the game’s expansions to change your app’s dynamics and performance? Is it something that you’ve already prepared to tackle?

Of course I do! Each expansion means I have to add all the new weapons and items. Moreover, I need to think about what features my wiki might need in view of the new state of the game. During this time, I also receive many requests from my users, so that all of them are hard to fulfill—being the only developer. In order to make such times less stressful for me in the future, I am currently working on a script for the automatic collection and evaluation of game contents, so that I no longer have to copy and paste every piece of information.

(10) Are there any exciting new developments for your app that you would care to share?

In the distant future, a builder tool is planned with which one can create and test own builds, e. g. for Warframes, on the way.

(11) Could you share a few quick tips to new players of the game?

Know how bullet jumps work (Ctrl + Space) and use them. Also, understand the effectiveness of elemental combos against the three factions. It is beneficial to create 3 loadouts, where one is for Grineer, one for Corpus, and one for Infested.

(12) Any advice you’d like to share to aspiring game app or web developers?

Understand the basic concepts of programming and you will understand pretty much every programming language. Web development programming languages (HTML, CSS, JS) are a good starting point because they can be used for both desktop and mobile application development. Don’t try to learn programming to develop the most efficient programs in the world all by yourself. Instead, use already available libraries and create something useful for our world.

A Continued Formula for Success

They say that necessity is the mother of invention. In the case of the Warframe App, it certainly rings true. But it doesn’t stop there for Max. Not content being a mere app developer, you can think of him also as a nurturer who continually strives to keep his creation relevant to the game and its users.

Now that’s a recipe for success if we’ve ever seen one. Go check out the WF Codex today to see what you’ve been missing!

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