- Pronouns
- He/They
i haven't really been catching up with Warframe at all (the last time i even played it was back when it launched on PS4) but hearing that the developers are openly stating it's based off it's precursor Dark Sector piqued my interest.
for those unaware of the direct connection between the two games. it was originally revealed in 2000 as a sci-fi shooter with a focus on multiplayer.
it shuffled into a fully single-player adventure by 2004, and the trailer the developers provided contains plenty of elements that would later go on to be used in Warframe.
however, despite the promising showing (it was being pitched as one of the first proper "next-gen" games designed for the then upcoming and unnamed 360/PS3) publishers of the time had zero interest in making a Sci-Fi game. and the "Dark Sector" that eventually released in 2008 shifted over to a more modernish military setting, mostly.
while the setting was shifted over to earth. elements of the Sci-Fi pitch still appear in the final game. most relevant being the inclusion of a futuristic suit of armor the game's protagonist, Hayden Tenno, acquires midway through the story.
the resemblence to the armor featured in the 2004 trailer is notable, and it would only become more relevant in the future.
as it turns out, Digital Extremes was still actively interested in pursuing their Sci-Fi concept. and when they noticed the industry was gradually moving with the idea of producing Free to Play games. they had the idea of self-publishing it themselves using that format, and a very popular game was born.
the original armor design that made it's way into Dark Sector would go on to be slightly redesigned as one of the default Warframe options, under the name "Excalibur". (while a design closer to the original exists as the Proto-Armor skin)
so is this expansion the end-all moment that officially soldifies the two games as taking place in the same universe? i'm not fully aware of both game's lore, but it seems rather mixed. i was able to find an interview where the developers openly stated Dark Sector isn't "canon" to Warframe. but this was all the way back in 2014. at the very least they are explicit in stating it's based off the earlier game, seemingly a mix of the modern setting from Dark Sector 2008 with more of the Sci-Fi elements Warframe and the original Dark Sector pitch have.
but that's not really why this thread was made, no. i'm here to discuss the currently lacking state playing Dark Sector nowadays is in.
so the game is on Steam and has been since 2009, problem solved. right?
well, no. the port was extremely barebones even back when it first came out, but it's only gotten worse over time.
no online multiplayer, no proper support for widescreen resolutions without hacking, and it uses an ancient version of PhysX you have to manually install to even get the game to run (this was before Nvidia bought the company, and when PC makers were considering components solely designed for physics calculations. but that's a story for another day.)
more concerningly, the publisher. a branch of the Russian company "Новый Диск". went bankrupt around 2015, leaving the listing to exist in a state of purgatory. never updated or acknowledged in any form.
the console versions fair better despite currently lacking a digital release. being handled by the Japanese D3 Publisher, who still naturally exist today and are actively releasing things.
though it's worth noting the publishers aren't really an issue here, despite it being a common misconception currently.
evidence has shown Digital Extremes always fully owned the Dark Sector IP since it's initial release, including the game's official site and disk label.
even the simplest (and most likely unfortnately, i doubt they want to a full remaster.) scenario of making it backwards compatible on Xbox One won't require much wrangling at D3, as devs have gotten away with self-publishing backwards compatible titles that were originally done by larger publishers before. (both Unreal Championship 2 and Munch's Odyssey, initally published by Midway and Infogrames respectively. went through this. even keeping their Mortal Kombat content and original logo videos without issue.)
the matter is of particular importance considering one of their other major works, co-development on the original Unreal Tournament and 2003. recently vanished off digital stores a while back.
