Would you sacrifice all new features since Prime release for playing on new servers now?
Once Ingress Prime was released, the team began refocusing on fixing bugs and server updates. However, the new server still appeared to be roughly a year away from completion...
-- @ofer2 , February 2020
Considering that Ingress Prime was "fully" released in September 2019, if the abovementioned deadline of one year was met, we might've been playing on the new servers for a few months this moment.
On the other hand, we would not have (most of) the features which were added since then:
- Apex
- Battle beacons
- Drones
- Portal scanning
- Kinetic capsules (though the already existing functionality in Pogo would allow them to be implemented way faster)
- (was there anything else?)
And at the same time, things we could get right away from new servers, hypothetically, are:
- unique hack and capture display - one of the most requested features of this time!
- adventure sync
- faster, more stable server response to your actions, in solo play as well as in big events such as anomalies and first saturdays: lightning fast reso deploy, linking, burster explosions.
- lifting of server performance restrictions for huge link stars (beyond ~8400 links)
- removal of possibility for crossed links - with all its cons (for field arts) and pros (for day to day gameplay)
- probably the app with fewer bugs and some client-side only features (no new features to add would mean more time to fix bugs in the app - like the annoying COMM bug, crashes, and so on, and add teh 60 FPS mode!)
Unfortunately there's no option to add a poll in there so this is my question to you:
Would you sacrifice all features from list 1 for playing on new servers right now (and probably since a few months ago)?
Comments
Reply to myself (lol): definitely, yes.
I don't use apex, I have only used BB once as an AP engine, I don't use Kinetic capsules at all (because I better install the mods to feed my Engineer), and I would happily live without drones because there's no Unique Portals Drone Hacked badge, and I don't need the stuff from drone hacks. I consider Portal scanning an exploitation of us agents for nothing, so I'd live without it too.
I'd be really happy to have unique hack and capture display, however - that would drive me outside to new places to get those juicy onyx Pioneer and Explorer (no words on covid here please). Speed up of server responses and client with fewer bugs would be a huge bonus too.
"We could be on new servers"
Or the game could have folded due to no bug-fixing, no new features, no attention, for more than a year, during a global pandemic, leaving even fewer players, and removing the need to complete new servers.
While I agree that battle beacons so far are a flop and kinetics feel underwhelming, I think rest of the new features are still somewhat good. Portal scanning helps to keep the game running and the medals look nice, drones help to keep sojourner up when you can't go outside and apexes are just a nice motivator to go outside for me. What I'm saying is that many people do like the new features.
Though I would have liked the unique indicators and adventure sync.
For myself? Honestly, not really.
I really like some of the new additions, like Apex, Kcaps, and god beware, scanning. Battle Beacons I could only try once since I'm not L16, so I cant really form an opinion about it, but I still like the idea. Drones I'm also happy about, but that's just due to the current pandemic. Outside of it, I think it's still a bit too bare bones.
Of course, I'd love to see unique markers and stuff like that, but waiting a whole year without any new features I wouldn't like.
Also how dare you forget the most important thing that was added, Fireworks ;)
I used all my apex during double ap dont have anymore and dont plan buy anymore really... BB i havent seen a single used in my region as of yet so idk.... drones and kinetics i use daily so this feature im happy for but if sacrifice for new servers i would gladly do so.. portal scanning uff dont get me started on that... no interest in that really....
Yes
Beacons are used in my box liberally,
Drones have been extremely helpful,
Capsules actually in the right circumstances is a garbage disposal unit.
Portal Scanning needs a middle to top end phone to use.
So the answer is no. New servers would be nice but it will be better when we out from under the Bug.
With how Niantic operates, I think waiting a year in total silence for the servers would have likely killed the game. If Niantic would actually listen to their communities cries for communication and give us a monthly update or something, I would have gladly waited a year for the servers knowing something was actually being done.
Sadly, as it sits we get no communication, a mediocre (at best) set of new features, and a dwindling playerbase that is growing increasingly frustrated.
*You forgot the cool feature we got of Halloween and New Year's badges /s
To sacrifice those things you listed to be on better servers? Yes, absolutely. None of those features are draw cards for the game and apart from Apex and Battle Beacons that are used for AP engines, none of them matter. I enjoy scanning, but it's extremely exhausting and one of the worst aspects of Ingress, but if that were to be sacrificed for a better server, then good riddance.
In hindsight, Niantic probably should have started fresh and shifted over with the release of Prime. Prime was a terrible failure that caused the game to receive lots of 1 star ratings on the app stores and forced players to quit in droves. So in hindsight, what does it matter, damned if you do, damned if you don't - at least they would have been in a better position now than where we are today - even if there were no real new features for the last year and silence from Niantic (but what else is new? lol)
Using your list:
Apex: Zero interest from me. I got free ones from whatever it was that gave them out. I got rid of them by using them and not playing until they expired.
Battle beacons: Have never used one, can maybe see their value but I don't find them particularly interesting.
Drones: Eh, I make mine wander around and made a mini game oof trying to see how far away I could make it go, and it's mildly useful, but overall it isn't very valuable to me.
Portal scanning: Zero interest, it adds nothing to the game.
Kinetic capsules: I used mine once and then completely forgot about it. The ROI seems off to me-- Does one VR shield have more value than three rare shields? I can't make a case for that, so no. The same is true for HS and MH. I recycle or give away SBULs. On net, zero value to me.
So would I trade all of that for a new back end that was higher performance and allowed development of more useful features? In a freaking heartbeat. Do I think my opinion could have any impact on Niantic's business decisions? It seems unlikely.
Yep, to have something like that happen (1 year of essential wait), Niantic would need a drastically different approach to handling Ingress community. They would need to give us periodical developer updates on the state of new servers, news and so on, and without that - the outcome you describe is indeed possible.
At the same time, as mentioned by people above, all new features since the Prime release are... non-essential. While a move to new servers would, with some probability, allow for something different and bigger.
Frankly, I like the stuff they implemented because I use them, more or less on a daily basis time. From more to less usage, drones are a good way to keep the sojourner active, I can't go out as I would because of the COVID19 pandemic, however, when I go out, I use the kinetic capsules to keep my inventory lower, to get juicy stuff whenever I get some ADAs (VRLA) and improve my trekker medal (I drop resonators to make it count km). The least I use would be APEX because I'm not planning to do microfields because I haven't any ADAs available, but they make good offers, though.
I know scanning is just for their profit and sustainability, but I think is cheap change if we compare all we got from a single year of development (even with the pandemic going on, I shall remind you they planned A LOT OF EVENTS but COVID19 destroyed everything. Even when we got Eos Protocol, people complained because many agents could go outside, so let's talk later about the toxicity of the playerbase towards Niantic employees).
I would buy Battle beacons just for fielding because they change the color of the portal and combined with ADAs would be a great tool for powerlevel. Anyways, these improvements are nice, if you don't like it, nobody is forcing you to use them.
Are you implying that being on new servers will take Niantic work differently and with more frequency?
We would probably be on the exactly same spot f general development and equal level of (not) transparency.
They need release the subscription, then if it will sell well we will see things going better.
Other than apex and drone, I dont use anythi g else, and even them I dont use much. I'd give up everything else and maybe the drone, apex id keep just cause its helpful when you know your going to be doing things that would get a lot of ap
Having a normal staff of productive programmers, all these innovations could be added in one update, and not stretched over several years, passing off as great achievements.
So, to be clear, "a year away" wasnt a deadline. It was a rough estimate. The scary thing about that is when your estimate is on the order of year+ the error is also on the order of maybe another year+. I would also like you to revisit this thought after our next few features release. We've gotten blocked recently on some issues causing them to take a little (....or a lot xD) longer, but this often happens where there is a lot of unreleased work due to various reasons (most usually because of bugs :( )
Explain why many companies manage to make a full-fledged game of the level of the assassin's creed in several years, but niantic can't come up with a graphic concept of the game, and fix the error with at least a jumping comm?
and yes, why do pokemon go and other games from your brand evolve and ingress is still marking time?
the once-beautiful ingress battlefield is overgrown with weeds and bugs ... like this...
As you mentioned in another thread, your team is afraid of discussing new features because the community sets odd expectations and if/when bugs come up you have to backpedal on your 'promises' and the community gets mad. Could your team reveal (either via news statement or lore or vanguard or something) that one of these features (the feature closest to release) is coming "SoonTM" when it's a few weeks/months out? This would build HUGE hype, we can all lul at "SoonTM" (just like the new servers :P), and we can give the Ingress team credit for actually communicating with their playerbase, all while you have many other features in development that you're not comfortable sharing. Please! We're trying to throw you some underhanded pitches to rebuild faith with your playerbase.
The difference you ask is about a hundred more programers and designers at 40h/week and whole bunch of investors.
The point is that ingress isn't the main focus (and if heard correctly, never was). Assassin's creed make a million of profit at each game, and I doubt that ingress alone ever hited that yet, in 8 years. They're working with what they can, with what ingress's revenue can pay. Even though the company is multimillionaire, they can't just freely use the money where they want.
I would go back to the carousel scanner if I had to if it meant I could play for even just a day on redacted. I HATE prime. I can list all the ways it is bad, but in summation redacted was a view into an augmented reality and prime is a videogame. I don't want to have a menu that I go into, I want to be able to talk, deploy and walk at the same time. Ingress is community walking and prime took that away. Please please bring it back at some point. I miss my game.
I don't know tbh ... IF it was a guaranteed succesfull transfer that gave us all the things we had to miss out on for that year + all those new stuff like sync and uniques it would be an overwhelming YES. But waiting a year to see it fail would be .....
There were 2 main reasons to implement the solutions they did: harassment and scrappers (you cannot see clearly the amount of MUs you do and the record)
Even with that, Prime got better improvements than Redacted, beside recharging, resonator deploying and so on. We need a way to cut off the animations, that's it but you can access to the portals without access through the menu.
Wait, not showing MU on com is design choice? I doubt it.
at the moment what is there to wait for ? exactly we dont even know for sure what is coming or if we will even like it... thats not good really....
Well, it was done on purpose, but now that I went outside I wanted to do what @thecatspaws said and I couldn't. I don't know how I completely forgot it! How it felt to be deploying in redacted and hacking without getting close to the portal, we can hack outside the portal but it's not definetely the same. So I apologize for my comment.
I understand what you're saying, but to give you an example: Subscriptions SoonTM....half a year later...here we are :( although I will admit that subscriptions is probably one of the hardest features we've had to test because of the way payments works we can only have 1 payment environment and so iteration time fixing bugs is REALLY slow. I'll ask about some other features though.
At least one Vanguard has the Subscription icon showing next to their name now, according to IUENG, so hopefully Soon™ is becoming More Soon™.
https://t.me/IUENG/5469
@ArtilectZed Also one local player who works for Niantic. I spotted it a few weeks ago.
The MU is being show at the scanner's comm, but it's off screen most is the time because th length of portal name and agent name. It is really doubtful that this is design choice but actually the lack care about this. I know there's other priorities, so I don't mind this, but is definitely a mistake and not a design choice.
Depends on the language, making easier or harder to see it. The "U" you can spot in the picture is from UM/MU.