Several of the Ingress bonuses and tweaks due to COVID are ceasing from October 1st. How do you feel about it? Hoped they’d carry on? Happy they’re ending?
I have preferences for the double deploy that have nothing to do with Covid, but if the norm is still going to be 1 R8, I'm happy to get back to it sooner rather than later.
Ingress can be played without having to **** other passersby, so there needs to be more focus on actually playing, so that we can rebuild the activity levels of the game and get people back into it.
The sojourner recharge removal is a good change though it doesn't get people out more because of drones, but it does simplify things.
I don't think the mission limit should ever be reduced. There's no real logic behind the limit, and people just either use friend's accounts or keep deleting old missions to make new ones.
And L10s reviewing in Wayfarer should be default too.
I can understand leaving FS virtual format for a while, but why not restore the Double AP? Right now the only incentive to participate is medal progress, and agents looking to actually progress in the game in other areas would rather be out playing than home recharging or decoding on a group chat.
I've missed actual events. Field challenges, hack challenges, deploy challenges. Event medals with levels. The other Niantic games have basically offered back-to-back events while we have none. It is possible to participate in the challenges I listed without compromising safety.
This is a poorly thought through decision. Here in Europe, many countries are experiencing a second wave with more cases than the first wave. Surely now is not the time to be encouraging 8 agents to make a P8?
I also don't like the mission limit. I'm getting pretty close myself to the limit and I have ideas for more banners. But I'd have to make some hard decisions about which banners might have to be pulled down, or see if another agent would be willing to make it for me. I think the only way it would make sense to have a limit is if Niantic plans to monetize it. "Pay 5,000 CMU to expand your limit by 20" or something.
I knew that these temporary bonus would be, as the name suggests, temporary - but I’m really not happy with this for a couple of reasons.
Cases of Covid-19 are on the rise pretty much everywhere, the UK, where I’m from, is on the cusp of a second wave and local lockdowns are already in place in certain parts. We are not through this pandemic, yet.
I can understand Recharging no longer counting for Sojourner, we have the drone, this temporary fix was presumably a hot patch until the drone was ready. People can now continue their streaks without leaving home, that’s fine.
Losing the ability to double deploy two L8 Resonators seems silly, this means that there needs to be eight agents to make a P8. In the UK, groups of greater than 6 have been made illegal. This means we can’t have a social without two agents predeploying and not being in attendance.
What I was most upset was the loss of double credit for Recon - reviewing on OPR / Wayfarer. Reviewing has been a fun way to pass the time when in lockdown and we are in the quiet period where things are taking a lot longer to reach a decision, this will only disincentive reviewing and further add to the backlog.
65 AP per a recharge is great. I hope that is a permanent addition, as it makes an otherwise rote task, semi productive for gaining AP.
The 90 Second Cooldown is also fantastic, it means I can microfield without having to stand in one place for too long. I understand that this would be very game breaking outside of these circumstances, but it’s very appreciated at the moment.
I also didn’t appreciate the lack of notice that was given, less than two days before these drastic changes to gameplay go live isn’t great for my anxiety, not everyone is able to go out and deploy R8s on all their teammates portals in a day, people have jobs, school, responsibilities.
As I said, I understand that these changes were intended to be temporary, but A.) This Pandemic is far from over, and B.) The changes have not been communicated well and given agents time to prepare.
Niantic. I really hope you are able to reconsider these changes, or at least defer when the otherwise fantastic perks are removed.
I'd like to echo the sentiment around Wayfarer. The users are doing Niantic a favour here; the review community is organised and we hold each other to a high standard in ensuring we don't end up with games full of trash portals. This is free labour for Niantic, at least recompense us well in-game for such endeavors.
Covid is still here. Several large cities in the US are going through case spikes. The UK is going through a second wave. Boulder, CO just passed an ordinance prohibiting 18-22 year olds from gathering at all, because of spiking Covid cases in that demographic.
And here's Niantic going, "Oh you want L8 gear? Get 8 people together."
This is beyond stupid. No one wants to farm together, and no one should. Encouraging people to get together at this point is just downright irresponsible.
These changes just reflect how oblivious and incompetent Niantic management are. It's obvious nobody actually plays Ingress or understands the game, let alone listens to the community.
We are in the MIDDLE of a global health pandemic where over 1 million people have died due to coronavirus. Does this graph look like we are anywhere near the end of it? No, so why the f*** would Niantic encourage people to go outside, gather with people and explore areas, when governments all around the world are all saying NOT to do any of these things?!
Many players share the sentiment that Niantic is killing the game, but it now looks like Niantic want to **** its players.
Just saying "As always, we encourage players to follow local health and safety guidelines (such as wearing masks and keeping at least six feet of distance from other people)." doesn't mean anything. Actions speak louder than words. Niantic's actions are to encourage people to go outside and explore and mingle with others. Simply saying to play safe doesn't mean anything when you're encouraging the exact opposite in the first place.
I know lots of players complained about the bonuses and wanted a return to normal gameplay, but as discussed in my previous post about this, most of those players have the freedom to play in their own local area. That doesn't mean that the pandemic is over, that doesn't mean that people aren't still dieing every day due to the virus. That sentiment is pure selfishness.
Niantic are in a difficult position where their games require exploration and real-world movement, that's what makes them so unique. However, at the same time, safety must be the top priority. If Niantic wants to pretend that coronavirus doesn't exist and that the world is in a normal place, it just shows how blind they are to the real world. It is pitiful.
Honestly, I can play Ingress without coming into contact with people in a way that generates transmission. America, as the 'example of what not to do' still has plenty of opportunities to play Ingress in without causing transmission.
I also didn’t appreciate the lack of notice that was given, less than two days before these drastic changes to gameplay go live isn’t great for my anxiety
I agree with you about the lack of notice given; however, these changes are hardly drastic. You said so yourself that the bonuses were temporary.
Ingress, and other PvP games, may not be the best form of entertainment for you if you have anxiety problems.
Niantic isnt forcing People to play together of 8 building p8, thats under ideal conditions just because u can only deploy 1 r8 doesnt say u must play with 7 other agents at the same time. Events are still on hold FS is still being held virtual and they keep the 90s hack cooldowns so u still dont have to wait long between hacks. The double r8 lasted too long if it would last through the entire year ut would have started to feel like this is a perm thing and blink of an eye u can build p8 they started to lose its value a little, not like end of world if u cant get a portal to p8 its just ideal to get it.
What we do need is some Virtual global challenge to take off minds of the normal gameplay and not force ppl out but still play from home safely.
While I understand the thought process behind the bonuses being cut back, the logic for it doesn't make sense, for example, yes, during gonfest, we walked a lot, buuuut, that was when the virus was under control in the middle of summer, we are moving towards winter, with he second wave already hitting or about to hit many countries while others haven't even left the first, surely it would have been better to leave the bonuses intact for the rest of the year, till the virus is either back under control or a vaccine/treatment is ready?
Get 8 players together to create a lvl8 portal? They don't have to go together, even if they go with 2-3 hours or even days in between it's still no problem...
I am for the changes. Whilst I will miss the extra 8 it's no big deal and an interesting change.
Please remember, in some areas it's going into winter, and some are coming out of it. Some are under COVID restrictions and some regions are COVID free.
A lot of players were asking for the extra 8s to go. Niantic have done it. No big deal.
Ideal from the start should have been 8 7 7 6 6 etc..... whats the point double r8 if u are stuck home? people seem to forget how special P8s are and double r8 lowered the value of them since get got built so easy out of nowhere....
Nintendo Life now has an article up about the Pokémon GO (yes boo, I know) bonuses being stopped & the outcry on social media. I know Ingress doesn’t have as much pull these days but if Niantic are pushed to rethink their decision on Pokémon GO, they may have to do it everywhere.
The game doesn't work with people sitting at home. Neither does Ingress. The whole point is to get out. This is just people demanding things be easier.
Comments
Only 1 i would really care about is the 90s cooldown. That is the most important QOL in a social,distancing civilization.
Niantic giveth, Niantic taketh away.
Hold on, they giveth...?
I appreciate the change. Back to normal life and normal item economy.
Yes, the 90-second cooldown remains in effect, and we've updated the Ingress Forums with the specific changes coming on Thurs, Oct 1 here: https://community.ingress.com/en/discussion/12276/updates-to-temporary-in-game-changes-on-thurs-oct-1
65Ap/portal recharge to stay. I'm fine with it.
I have preferences for the double deploy that have nothing to do with Covid, but if the norm is still going to be 1 R8, I'm happy to get back to it sooner rather than later.
Ingress can be played without having to **** other passersby, so there needs to be more focus on actually playing, so that we can rebuild the activity levels of the game and get people back into it.
I can understand leaving FS virtual format for a while, but why not restore the Double AP? Right now the only incentive to participate is medal progress, and agents looking to actually progress in the game in other areas would rather be out playing than home recharging or decoding on a group chat.
I've missed actual events. Field challenges, hack challenges, deploy challenges. Event medals with levels. The other Niantic games have basically offered back-to-back events while we have none. It is possible to participate in the challenges I listed without compromising safety.
This is a poorly thought through decision. Here in Europe, many countries are experiencing a second wave with more cases than the first wave. Surely now is not the time to be encouraging 8 agents to make a P8?
I also don't like the mission limit. I'm getting pretty close myself to the limit and I have ideas for more banners. But I'd have to make some hard decisions about which banners might have to be pulled down, or see if another agent would be willing to make it for me. I think the only way it would make sense to have a limit is if Niantic plans to monetize it. "Pay 5,000 CMU to expand your limit by 20" or something.
Here's the UK Government graph of Covid cases.
Encouraging people to 're-embrace the real world' to boost your profits is at best dangerous, and at worst, murderous.
I knew that these temporary bonus would be, as the name suggests, temporary - but I’m really not happy with this for a couple of reasons.
Cases of Covid-19 are on the rise pretty much everywhere, the UK, where I’m from, is on the cusp of a second wave and local lockdowns are already in place in certain parts. We are not through this pandemic, yet.
I can understand Recharging no longer counting for Sojourner, we have the drone, this temporary fix was presumably a hot patch until the drone was ready. People can now continue their streaks without leaving home, that’s fine.
Losing the ability to double deploy two L8 Resonators seems silly, this means that there needs to be eight agents to make a P8. In the UK, groups of greater than 6 have been made illegal. This means we can’t have a social without two agents predeploying and not being in attendance.
What I was most upset was the loss of double credit for Recon - reviewing on OPR / Wayfarer. Reviewing has been a fun way to pass the time when in lockdown and we are in the quiet period where things are taking a lot longer to reach a decision, this will only disincentive reviewing and further add to the backlog.
65 AP per a recharge is great. I hope that is a permanent addition, as it makes an otherwise rote task, semi productive for gaining AP.
The 90 Second Cooldown is also fantastic, it means I can microfield without having to stand in one place for too long. I understand that this would be very game breaking outside of these circumstances, but it’s very appreciated at the moment.
I also didn’t appreciate the lack of notice that was given, less than two days before these drastic changes to gameplay go live isn’t great for my anxiety, not everyone is able to go out and deploy R8s on all their teammates portals in a day, people have jobs, school, responsibilities.
As I said, I understand that these changes were intended to be temporary, but A.) This Pandemic is far from over, and B.) The changes have not been communicated well and given agents time to prepare.
Niantic. I really hope you are able to reconsider these changes, or at least defer when the otherwise fantastic perks are removed.
I'd like to echo the sentiment around Wayfarer. The users are doing Niantic a favour here; the review community is organised and we hold each other to a high standard in ensuring we don't end up with games full of trash portals. This is free labour for Niantic, at least recompense us well in-game for such endeavors.
Covid is still here. Several large cities in the US are going through case spikes. The UK is going through a second wave. Boulder, CO just passed an ordinance prohibiting 18-22 year olds from gathering at all, because of spiking Covid cases in that demographic.
And here's Niantic going, "Oh you want L8 gear? Get 8 people together."
This is beyond stupid. No one wants to farm together, and no one should. Encouraging people to get together at this point is just downright irresponsible.
No one needs 8 agents to make a L8 portal to get L8 stuff, two agents can make a L7 portal with Ito- or Ito+ and get it all.
These changes just reflect how oblivious and incompetent Niantic management are. It's obvious nobody actually plays Ingress or understands the game, let alone listens to the community.
@Rostwold stole the words from my mouth.
We are in the MIDDLE of a global health pandemic where over 1 million people have died due to coronavirus. Does this graph look like we are anywhere near the end of it? No, so why the f*** would Niantic encourage people to go outside, gather with people and explore areas, when governments all around the world are all saying NOT to do any of these things?!
Many players share the sentiment that Niantic is killing the game, but it now looks like Niantic want to **** its players.
Just saying "As always, we encourage players to follow local health and safety guidelines (such as wearing masks and keeping at least six feet of distance from other people)." doesn't mean anything. Actions speak louder than words. Niantic's actions are to encourage people to go outside and explore and mingle with others. Simply saying to play safe doesn't mean anything when you're encouraging the exact opposite in the first place.
I know lots of players complained about the bonuses and wanted a return to normal gameplay, but as discussed in my previous post about this, most of those players have the freedom to play in their own local area. That doesn't mean that the pandemic is over, that doesn't mean that people aren't still dieing every day due to the virus. That sentiment is pure selfishness.
Niantic are in a difficult position where their games require exploration and real-world movement, that's what makes them so unique. However, at the same time, safety must be the top priority. If Niantic wants to pretend that coronavirus doesn't exist and that the world is in a normal place, it just shows how blind they are to the real world. It is pitiful.
Honestly, I can play Ingress without coming into contact with people in a way that generates transmission. America, as the 'example of what not to do' still has plenty of opportunities to play Ingress in without causing transmission.
Walking around and buffing portals as you go as a solo player still yields usable gear from P7s, while still being safe
I also didn’t appreciate the lack of notice that was given, less than two days before these drastic changes to gameplay go live isn’t great for my anxiety
I agree with you about the lack of notice given; however, these changes are hardly drastic. You said so yourself that the bonuses were temporary.
Ingress, and other PvP games, may not be the best form of entertainment for you if you have anxiety problems.
Niantic isnt forcing People to play together of 8 building p8, thats under ideal conditions just because u can only deploy 1 r8 doesnt say u must play with 7 other agents at the same time. Events are still on hold FS is still being held virtual and they keep the 90s hack cooldowns so u still dont have to wait long between hacks. The double r8 lasted too long if it would last through the entire year ut would have started to feel like this is a perm thing and blink of an eye u can build p8 they started to lose its value a little, not like end of world if u cant get a portal to p8 its just ideal to get it.
What we do need is some Virtual global challenge to take off minds of the normal gameplay and not force ppl out but still play from home safely.
Niantic is doing what the playerbase want. They would not do it if they weren't complaining about it all day long.
While I understand the thought process behind the bonuses being cut back, the logic for it doesn't make sense, for example, yes, during gonfest, we walked a lot, buuuut, that was when the virus was under control in the middle of summer, we are moving towards winter, with he second wave already hitting or about to hit many countries while others haven't even left the first, surely it would have been better to leave the bonuses intact for the rest of the year, till the virus is either back under control or a vaccine/treatment is ready?
Get 8 players together to create a lvl8 portal? They don't have to go together, even if they go with 2-3 hours or even days in between it's still no problem...
I am for the changes. Whilst I will miss the extra 8 it's no big deal and an interesting change.
Please remember, in some areas it's going into winter, and some are coming out of it. Some are under COVID restrictions and some regions are COVID free.
A lot of players were asking for the extra 8s to go. Niantic have done it. No big deal.
Better solution was:
8, 8, 7, 6, 5, 5, 4, 4
So one player can only build L5, 2 already L7 and 4 players L8
Ideal from the start should have been 8 7 7 6 6 etc..... whats the point double r8 if u are stuck home? people seem to forget how special P8s are and double r8 lowered the value of them since get got built so easy out of nowhere....
Nintendo Life now has an article up about the Pokémon GO (yes boo, I know) bonuses being stopped & the outcry on social media. I know Ingress doesn’t have as much pull these days but if Niantic are pushed to rethink their decision on Pokémon GO, they may have to do it everywhere.
I very much doubt they will reverse it.
The game doesn't work with people sitting at home. Neither does Ingress. The whole point is to get out. This is just people demanding things be easier.
The people complaining about the temporary changes going away in that Pokemon go arrival are really just acting like entitled brats.
D*ath toll worldwide hit 1mio ppl, infection numbers are as high as never.
And Niantic decides the measures introduced to keep players save need to end. How stupid is this?