Ingress and COVID: Niantic got a lot right!

Mernie9Mernie9 ✭✭✭

For me, in a state with a high COVID vaccination rate, and with the light at the end of the tunnel with sight ... I've been reflecting about Ingress during this period. As much as it pains me to actually say something nice, me thinks Niantic got a lot right. Some random thoughts:

  • Drones were brilliant, as I'd often go a week without leaving the house. Since there's now a badge for drone hacks, I'm assuming they will stick around post-COVID. I'm so glad that they allowed drones to keep Sojourner going. For those of us in snow country, it also allows us to maintain the streak without (in many cases) long walks in deep snow. I guess you could say the same about hurricanes, or going out when you are really sick or hospitalized. We don't want people doing stupid stuff to keep a streak going. The introduction of Epoch/Hack Streaks likewise friendlier to "stuff happens" situations. If you miss a day, you're only out a week and don't have to start from scratch.
  • I'm so glad that the First Saturday tradition continues (as well as my FS badge ticks), however less satisfying. I simply can't wait for the in person IFS to start back up. I miss the missions, the crazy double AP, sitting across a table and sharing a laugh or story with my opponent. Of course I'd prefer a restockiing portal, but the passcodes for cubes are a nice consolation prize. During COVID the check-in/check-out process has been greatly improved, and that's a lasting change. Over the past year I bounced around geographically (no repeats), which has been fun! Ingress people everywhere are great. I've also witnessed a progression of how virtual IFS'es have been run over the past year. At first they were very social, with lots of folks on Zoom. These days, it's post your photo and stats somewhere. If there's a Zoom, it's generally just to do the puzzle, and only a small number of folks actually seem to participate for that. Some areas are now starting to meet in person, either for a service project or to grab some food. Some people just do their own Ingress thing for a few hours to see how much AP they can gain, even without double AP.
  • Slower portal decay rate (now gone) was needed when it started, when we weren't going out as much. I think it was wise to retire it when they did.
  • Double 7s don't seem have a COVID tie in that I can figure out, but I'm glad they are here and I hope they stay. Now 1 person can make a 6 portal, and 2 people make a 7. For more rural areas, it allows people a better chance of getting 8 gear from lower level portals. And no one should be denied 8 gear.
  • Quicker portal cooldowns. This is another COVID feature that I wish would stay around longer. As a person who cargresses most of the time, this seems to be more eco-friendly. You can't believe how much gas I've saved by not having to idle the car for 5 minutes between hacks.
  • Niantic tried it's best to keep it interesting with the Global Challenges. If there were one area to be critical of, it would be the challenges. Without a badge and knowing that the rewards for meeting a global challenge were not all that, I found them uninspiring. I believe we only got one personal challenge (Kinetic Capsule) this past year where you could earn a badge. I think they could have offered more personal challenges with badges, and hope that starts back soon. I can understand not quickly jumping back into the more social aspects of Ingress quite yet (Anomalies, Mission Days, In person First Saturday, Hexathlon) but I think the individual challenges should be fair game.

I'm curious to see what others think. And did I miss anything?

Tagged:

Comments

  • grendelwulfgrendelwulf ✭✭✭✭✭

    I don't think I changed my playing habits at all during Covid. I just played faster because of cooldown and gained ton more AP recharging.

  • MirthmakerMirthmaker ✭✭✭✭
    edited June 2021

    Took a while to get to play. But for the most part since a year ago except for the blip around the Holidays. Cautiously hoping that we can get F2F first Saturdays back for Q4. Yes it may be limited to certain countries that have their immunizations in order at first. There is a limit to what to zoom etc. can do.

  • Next month Southern California will be hosting a Live event for IFS. It will be a Hybrid of both Live/Virtual. But we'll be going live from an actual location yet to be determined. As for Mission Days, from what @NianticBrian told me that they might be the first Ingress Event to start up since its all Automated now. There is no more check-in/out with a POC. It is possible that within the next month or 2 that they will be going live with those. I've already had my hometown submitted for a Mission Day before the pandemic hit. Brian mentioned my town by name at the Battle Beacons event yesterday. I just hope that the MD for my town starts in either August or September. My calendar is busy for July and October/November. So much going on with family and a wedding.

  • mortuusmortuus ✭✭✭✭✭

    Standalone mission days would be fun, since u say fully automated in those cities where its safe to go out ppl should be able to host them along with FS:

  • Especially if they begin counting all missions completed instead of just the purpose-built ones. Many people I've met at mission days do the bare minimum official missions, then go off to do all of the cool local banners.

Sign In or Register to comment.