Best Of
Feature Request: New command glyphs
In response to the latest glyph challenge (Aurora), I'd LOVE to see two new command glyphs on the scanner.
"Hack no items" - possible assigned glyph 'Contract' (to register a hack but deliver no output)
"Hack only keys" - possible assigned glyph 'Key' (to discard/exclude all items barring keys from current output)
Azhreia
Re: Ingress Insights: Lighting Dynamics
I never really had an issue with the visibility of things, but it seems like the issue people were having is that the portal flame animation and the map background combined made it hard to see.
Making a slider to reduce the width of the portal doesn't really help, the animation itself should be simplified to a static object with some sparkle effects as it was in redacted. It's too big and there's no 'central' point to select it, so some of the tike you'll not even be able to select it.
I played with the slider and just left it where it was. Thus making the change useless as it didn't alleviate anything. Maybe it helped others, will have to await their feedback.
oscarc1
Re: Random banhammers everywhere!
I'm glad at least one person at Niantic recognizes the need for a balance between transparency and effective enforcement. Indeed, some balance is needed, because the current system seems to be fueling FUD (Fear, Uncertainty, and Doubt) in the player community.
It would probably be impractical to offer full transparency or to protect the rights of the accused to the same standard we expect of a criminal justice system. OK, so we players don't have any right to confront our accusers, review or challenge the evidence against us, retain legal representation, or receive a speedy trial by peers. We can live that way, but could we at least be given some hint about what we allegedly did wrong and maybe when or where or how or with whom we did it?
Look up the definition of a "police state". Think about what it's like to live in one. Your friends, neighbors, and coworkers sometimes disappear without explanation. Occasionally, they reappear with stories about being taken in for questioning and suddenly released, with no explanation or apology, only a stern warning not to do it again. In such an atmosphere, you live in fear, wondering who's next and what you can do to protect your family from being among the next citizens to disappear.
Consider this hypothetical situation: A certain dirty rotten spammer creates 100 shady accounts and has them all played by location-spoofing bots. Niantic undertakes an enforcement action that bans 95 of those accounts, along with another 5 users who did nothing wrong. Following the bans, the spammer still has 5 active accounts, but the player community has lost 5 people. Niantic, however, says their ban campaign was 95% accurate and 95% effective. Do you agree with that statistic?
My whole family plays Ingress -- has for years. Last year for my birthday, we all went to an anomaly together. We don't cheat or spoof or even share phones. Recently, for undisclosed reasons, my wife and son got banned. After 6 weeks and several appeals, the wife was reinstated, still at Level 16 with her inventory intact. Now that we're back to playing sometimes, the unexplained ban and the forced sabbatical have lowered our enthusiasm for the game. Our teenage son shrugged off his ban and decided to stop playing rather than bothering with appeals.
The expansion of the Vanguard program sounds like a positive step, as Niantic does need to be in better touch with its player community. However, I was disappointed to read in the requirements that any player who has ever been banned is disqualified from being a Vanguard. Including a player or two that had been wrongfully banned would strengthen the Vanguards and send a clear signal that Niantic is committed to addressing the harm caused by unjust accusations and arbitrary enforcement.
Aurora Challenge should be a the Recycle challenge - humour
As we near the end of the Aurora challenge, I look back on the past couple of weeks of glyphing, and come to the stark reality that, the challenge wasn't about glyph points, but how many items can be recycled.
Perhaps the challenge should have been to recycle 10,000 items?
Grogyan
Re: Upcoming Changes to Policy Enforcement
We're happy to share that the Three-Strike Discipline Policy is now live. Learn more here.
OP Prabal sitrep, Mumbai, India.
While having a casual chat w @Arshadk786, @Aerodyne7899, Mumbai Resistance, realised that @Arshadk786 hasn't been part of any major op, and his recruit @Faizanbeast still hasn't unlocked his onyx illuminator. In a couple of days, @Aerodyne7899 designed a plan having two distant anchors and layering into the east of Mumbai city. The plan was made due on the day prior to the Independence day (14th August). Key exchanges between @Akki0794 (Northern Anchor at Ulhasnagar), @Aerodyne7899 (Southern Anchor at Prabalgad/Kalavantindurg trek path) and @TheLichKing7 (intermediary layering at Navi Mumbai) took place in quick succession w/ the day of fielding coming closer. However, the plan was further deferred to five days later, on 19th August, as the base link couldn't be established due to time constraints. The plan was then split into three parts, with the base link been established on the evening of 18th by @Akki0794, layering by @TheLichKing7 at the middle of the night, and further layering by @Arshadk786 @Faizanbeast @Aerodyne7899 the morning of 19th.
Field night came in and the cross links to the base were taken down. Base was soon established and the field was set. A bit of cross clearing by @abhinahi10 at Vashi and boom! @TheLichKing7's fields flooded Navi Mumbai under the sea (weather report suggested strong rains).
A strange activity by a new resistance agent was spotted in Panvel. We later realised that the agent had made cross links for the morning layering [agent ign "aadvee", Marathi for "cross" :), just a co-incidence, I guess]. However agent @TheLichKing7 affirmed that he could take down the links next morning. Meanwhile @Arshadk786 and @Faizanbeast checked out of the plan due to some reasons. Morning came, so did another 8 layers of around 500,000 mu each by @Aerodyne7899. The fields crossed two checkpoints, after which @Akki0794, @ReDust01 and @VIKAS1122 added 8 more layers of 675000 MUs on an average in the north.
The fields lasted for a couple more checkpoints until the western parts were taken down by an ENL agent the next day. Agent @Aerodyne7899, alongwith @Positive38 repeated the western layering the following day (the 21st of August) capturing additional MUs. Agent @ReDust01 added a last minute layer before the western fields were taken down again.
Thus, OP Prabal gained 11,407,288 MUs for the RES on the first try, and 5,347,523 MUs from the Re-layering. It was also @Aerodyne7899's first succesful (planned as well as carried out) OP. Sadly, none of the agents to whom the OP was targeted at, ie. @Arshadk786 and @Faizanbeast made it to the field. Will be on a look out for newer opportunities and more bigger BAF plans soon. #VivaLaResistance #PratirodhKiJeetHo
Total MUs : 11,407,288 + 5,347,523
Phase I - 18th-19th August
Navi Mumbai
1,548,385 MUs (by @TheLichKing7)
Chembur
4,462,698 MUs (by @Aerodyne7899)
Ulhasnagar
5,396,205 MUs (by @Akki0794 @VIKAS1122 @ReDust01)
PHASE II - 21st August (Re-layering)
Navii Mumbai
287,413 MUs(by @TheLichKing7)
Chembur
1,909,394 MUs(@Positive38)
2,498,854 MUs (@Aerodyne7899)
Ulhasnagar
651,862 MUs (@ReDust01)
Planning and Intel :
@TheLichKing7 @Aerodyne7899
Cross clearing :
@abhinahi10 @Akki0794 @TheLichKing7 @Positive38 @Arshadk786
Keys farming :
Ulhasnagar: @Akki0794, @ReDust01, @VIKAS1122
Prabalgad/Kalavantindurg Trek: @Aerodyne7899
Chembur: @Akki0794