Using Prime as punishment
In the newly released notice of penalties against agents accused of violating TOS we are told that no matter what the agent is accused of doing and starting with the FIRST WARNING the agent will be unable to use Scanner REDACTED. The agent will also have to acknowledge the warning in Prime.
It appears that even Niantic views the ability to play with Scanner REDACTED as a “premium” and being forced to use Prime as an effective punishment. I suppose that even though they won’t admit it publicly even Niantic feels that Scanner REDACTED is still the better option., something many agents have been screaming since the decidedly unhappy launch of Prime with its multitude of bugs and shortcomings.
If Niantic feels being forced to use Prime is such a penalty why are they continuing to work towards the elimination of Scanner REDACTED and the ultimate goal of forcing us all to use Prime when so many agents have continued to express their displeasure with Prime? Is Niantic intentionality trying to eliminate a large potion of the user base?
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Niantic can not make updates to the redacted scanner anymore, so they're unable to put the code for these warnings into redacted. I would wager that the downtime for redacted last week was to verify that they could make this work without accidentally banning more people.
They aren't throwing the redacted code base away for fun, they really have zero choice. Porting the client to MobiVM isn't great, either, as they would still have the old crusty game client that was slapped together as a tech demo that was supposed to be turned off after a year, but was kept together with figurative bailing wire for years. It's not a conspiracy.
I have no illusions that there is a conspiracy. I merely think Niantic is **** itself in the foot by not accepting how many people dislike Prime for valid reasons. The sheer number of bug fixes and UI changes at each update shows just how poorly Prime was built to begin with. Just because the original version was built on MobiVM and REDACTED is based on that experience is no reason a similar version could not be written for the latest programming. Prime has had numerous problems with crashes, lag, data usage, and battery life. My guess is that much of those problems are related to the extra flash and glitz that was hyped as the new user experience of Prime. The same things that those who don’t like Prime are unhappy about.
If Prime remains constantly less reliable and has fewer features than an obsolete interface perhaps Niantic should be considering a coding a Scanner v3 that is built from the beginning to return to a reliable and stable platform.
One item that was just added to Prime with the latest update was a way to know when recycling items or using power cubes would produce more xm than the xm tank could hold. The indicator is extremely subtle compared to the notice in REDACTED, but it has taken nearly a year to get that indicator, a very basic function. It took months to be able to submit portals in Prime even though Prime is the main version of the scanner.
Prime has proven to be like buying a $200,000 Lamborghini Huracan and finding out the power plant is a ‘65 Volkswagen motor from a scrap yard, the air conditioning wasn’t installed, it has mismatched tires, and only an AM radio. Flashy as a disco ball, but can’t perform as well as a used Ford Crown Victoria
Prime has had numerous problems with crashes, lag, data usage, and battery life. My guess is that much of those problems are related to the extra flash and glitz that was hyped as the new user experience of Prime. The same things that those who don’t like Prime are unhappy about.
I'm not disagreeing with any of that, but none of this justifies the original proposition that Niantic sees using Prime as a punishment. The simple fact is they are unable to develop the Redacted client any more, so they are unable to add the new warning system to it, so if you get a warning you must view the warning in Prime.
I don't know how long you've been playing @GrayWolfen, but the Redacted scanner took at least 6 years to get to the point it's at. It used to be absolutely hideous. Scaling issues, too much info crammed into the screen, etc. As I've said elsewhere, I'm not a big fan of Prime yet, and I think they have a lot of issues that need to be resolved, but it's going to take some time. They'll keep working on it, and we'll be along for it's growing pains. There's absolutely zero options for either us or Niantic at this point, so just sit back and report issues and suggest improvements with the Prime scanner going forward. Being angry about it is just going to get yourself burnt out.
There is a very reasonable option that takes into account the the loss of ability to keep developing on the old platform - skin Prime to look like the clean Redacted scanner. Simpler graphics = less glitchy graphics. The old look of the scanner is far easier on the eyes and for navigation, not to mention seeing how fields layer, roads, resos, etc. At this point, many of us may dislike the changes in the controls, but those are now complete and aren’t a deal breaker. What sucks is not being able to see what the bleep is going on.
Now that all the features are in Prime, do a skin JUST for the scanner map itself, and leave it as a setting. I’d guess that would make about 90%+ of the user base happy.
I hope they do that, but not until after all the other things are resolved with the client
Who says that the Prime scanner is skinnable? Bet you it isn't.
This...
So I Saw a Meme of Andrew and Ethan talking saying that whoever loses Myriad loses redacted, and then just watch the carnage or something like that.
On a more serious note you have to remember that redacted has been tweaked and peaked for YEARS. Prime is still a by in OPEN BETA. It's getting better and at a pretty rapid rate. I am fully confident (translation: very very hopeful) that by the time redacted is closed we will have a much greater level of parity if not superior performance from Prime.
Wrong. Prime is an absolute flip and a punishment to someone used to the redacted scanner. Slow, complicated, aesthetically garbage. It lost all the best parts. And you all know it, ya just say otherwise because you don't wanna give it up. Neither do I . But come September? I will.
Saying that is absolute garbage is just throwing the baby out with the bath water. There's several features which prime has which are not available in Redacted that are actually very good:
1. Easier access to power cubes.
2. Faster upgrades to portal resonators.
3. Mass recycling
4. Real time perspective if links bursters fired by someone other than yourself.
5. More intuitive scoreboard (that came later however).
Yes, there are more than 5 complaints I do have, but remember that prime is still open beta test. Niantic may not officially say it but it's true.
Saying that it's absolute garbage may get some changes added that nobody wants.
Continuing to point out specific fixes we all need is much more constructive.
It's only complicated if your brain insists that things are where they were in the old scanner. Mass recharging and inventory management is unnecessarily convoluted in redacted. The only reason people got around it is because of UI memorization. (three finger technique? LOL come on) That very same muscle memory (and sheer stubbornness) is what is keeping you from accepting the new UI.
Prime is FAR from polished but damn I'm so glad I don't need to use redacted to recharge (among other things) 😝
I've played in classic ingress for years, and tossed it over the guardrail the second Prime became playable.
At the last anomaly in Helsiki I was routinely among the first to identify things like dropped shield and put in new ones so it also seems to work in an anomaly setting now.
I litterally don't get your major issue with Prime.