There aren't any. Ignore that. It's a common strategy of German people to bring up some unrelated laws that something they don't like allegedly violates... 🙄
@MunchWillbeBlue can you be a little more specific so I can follow up with our lawyer? What EU privacy laws (plural), and how does an optional supporter medal violate multiple EU laws?
Seeing as there was another comment on it I'll say it clearly.
I dont know if it does.
But essentially such a medal makes it public that someone paid, when they did this and how often they bought it for everyone to see.
This is because upon paying the CMU the medal would assumably be given right away. Additionally, the counter / tiers show how often someone bought it. Simply check the profiles often and you can see the exact dates they are bought.
This then gives insight on the spending habits of individual people as well as overall revenue generation for Niantic on this.
I am not German, but I take my online privacy seriously.
Not sure if that is an actual part of GDPR, but couldn't that theoretically circumvented by giving agents the option to hide the badge on the profile, like the private stats trigger in the settings?
Hiding badges and missions completed would be awsome. If GDPR does apply then yes this could work I think.
Also, that topic might over shadow my main concern with the idea of a Tiered Supporter medal that you pay for. Achievement medals are multiple levels (Tiers). You need to actually go out, play and achieve something in order to get rewarded. Simply pushing 7000 CMU to NIA to increment the medal by one is not really an achievement. Granted that you dont really have to do a lot during FS for the FS medal, your atleast still playing in order to get the rewards.
Forget $5. I'd pay in gold bullion for a way to search my keys that didn't involve checking every.single,capsule individually. Plus asking other players to check theirs. And then realising that the portal name has a "The" at the front of it and doing the entire search again.
And don't get me started on Prime crashing like crazy if you dare dump all your keys into your inventory.
However, because I am an eternal optimist I put together a list of suggestions for Niantic to monetize ingress without sending the userbase into our usual frothing mass of hatred.
I was thinking of these as stand alone items in the store, but I think that some of these ideas could be tied into a subscription. I will post them in this topic as @NianticBrian is already hanging out here.
I see two base rules for the In-game monetization.
A) We need to have a way to earn the in-game currency in the game itself. So paying cash is not the only option. This makes players more comfortable with paying for gear overall, as we are already earning and using our CMU.
B) Nothing that we purchase can dramatically unbalance the playing field. This is a PvP game. Therefore being able to pay directly for the key gear on a regular basis is just a non starter. No aegis shields, no level 8 bursters etc..
So here are my list of items that I believe can modify the game. They are helpful. They are fun. They don't unbalance the game.
1) A mod that will decrease the decay rate of a portal. [useful for remote portals and standing high level farms]
2) A mod that will increase the interaction radius of a portal (I stole this idea from @NinthAnt in another post) to allow farming at a greater radius. This should be tied to existing mods so you can still use all the farming hacks. So a multihack that increases the interaction radius.
3) Very Rare Link Amps [If you are using a VRLA, there is a really decent chance you are paying for gas already]
4) Key Capsules-In my opinion significantly increased inventory is close to paying for gear, but keys are different. Why not let us buy as many key capsules as we want?
5) Key Capsules that are also quantum caps. Would I pay for a way to keep my keys from chocking up my inventory and still let them duplicate? Yes, yes I would. See above comment about gold bullion.
6) Frackers that are comm silent so farms can be stealth farms.
7) Minor increases to inventory [e.g. upon recursion, 100 extra inventory and the ability to buy 100 more]
#1) This isn't the place to bring false accusations against someone. Nor is your local bar, the truth is the truth. If there is any question, error on the side of innocence.
#2) I'm not spoofing, nor have I ever. I hope that NIA, can find and ban every single spoofer, gear seller, multiple accountor, or other cheaters. They try their best, but even some known broker's guild users/members have gone without anything happening to them.
#3) I have never had my account banned, it's sad that we have to take proof no spoof to protect our reputation that people try and smash in public forums.
#4) If you have an issue with someone, take it up with them directly. Not post some falsehood on a public forum, or comms. That's the kinda things that bullies and trolls do.
Pay for players automatically get TRUSTED REPORTER status. Eg, we care enough this game to put money into it. Do us the common courtesy of treating our reports with upmost seriousness and due diligence.
I want people to have adventures in weird places. Badges, mu, etc.. all kinda irrelevant.
Incorrect. What they are suggesting wouldn’t change the game play. This is basically about donating a little bit of money, and maybe getting a badge on your profile for it.
No, a subscription would be/should be optional and not give any intrinsic advantage so that someone who can't afford to support the game doesn't have to worry about not supporting it
Media becomes ads. You have to watch it to recycle.
Or buy a subscription to avoid media files.
This way, it's a non intrusive way to add advertising. Agents can watch ads at their convenience and chosen time to be able to clean up the inventory space.
Also it would be a good way to monetize your agent profiles, GPS tracks . Obviously this data is worth gold for advertising.
Do not like the subscription idea. I will not pay for a stupid badge. Niantic needs to give us a stable game before they start asking us to "support" the game with a subscription fee. Prime still freezes frequently, I have not been able to submit portals since Redacted went offline.
Just to address the Portal submission problem. One member of our community could not submit portals at all. However, once the pictures were resized to be smaller, all the submissions went through easily. It seems there is a max file size for the photos.
This obviously isn't the only problem. I submitted 6 portals this weekend. I only received a confirmation email for 1 of the 6 and when I checked wayfarer only 4 of the submissions went through.
Just because I enjoy a game doesn't mean I'm willing to pay a subscription fee. I play many games and don't pay a subscription fee to play. The other games I play actually work without bugs, unlike Prime.
For what it's worth, (and I am not a lawyer) as a veteran privacy campaigner and lecturer that teaches ethics in computing, I've put a lot of time into understanding GDPR compliance and I can't see a problem with a subscription badge, provided the way it works is clearly communicated to purchasers. Here's my reasoning:
Does the GDPR apply to Ingress? Yes.
From the UK Govt's GDPR advice: "What information does the GDPR apply to? Personal data The GDPR applies to ‘personal data’ meaning any information relating to an identifiable person who can be directly or indirectly identified in particular by reference to an identifier" - An agent name is an identifier (and the fact that we often keep our real identities secret doesn't help here, because we are potentially "identifiable" by our agent names, even if we haven't actually been identified).
Is there a Lawful basis for processing? Yes.
At least two apply, Provided the purchasing system makes it clear that the buyer consents to the badge being visible, then consent applies. The act of paying for the badge forms a contract, and supplying a badge that works as described means the contract is a lawful basis.
But it reveals information! True, but playing a multi player game necessarily gives consent for this.
Potentially you could make a case that not displaying a badge reveals personal data, namely that an identifiable individual has not chosen to buy a badge, and in this case the consent and contractual exemptions don't apply... however if this argument works here, it also works on every badge and statistic that players can see about each other - for example anniversary badges reveal personal data about when an identifiable individual started playing. Here, we loop back to consent, and also legitimate interest. Multi player games inherently have to reveal information about players to each other, by playing a multi-player game you inherently consent to other players seeing your actions in game. If this wasn't the case then every multi player game constantly violates the GDPR, which would be absurd.
I really don't feel that's accurate. Most people if they choose could afford $5-$10 a month. Ask most smokers if they could afford to by 1 more pack of cigarettes a month. Or a Starbucks fanatic if they could afford 1 more coffee a week. Or most players if they could afford 2 more gallons of gas a month. If someone truely can't afford $5 for something they CHOOSE to spend their money on perhaps they should look at something that doesn't involve them driving/flying all over the map.
I'd be alright with a subscription model for a couple of extra cosmetics/medals, as long as it doesn't effect the game too much (bounties of better gear just because you paid, etc.) and it's not crazy expensive. Those ideas for a better version of the Intel map sound cool, but I'm worried that locking it behind a subscription may put off some people eventually.
Comments
There aren't any. Ignore that. It's a common strategy of German people to bring up some unrelated laws that something they don't like allegedly violates... 🙄
@NianticBrian To keep it short, EU privacy laws.
@MunchWillbeBlue can you be a little more specific so I can follow up with our lawyer? What EU privacy laws (plural), and how does an optional supporter medal violate multiple EU laws?
Seeing as there was another comment on it I'll say it clearly.
I dont know if it does.
But essentially such a medal makes it public that someone paid, when they did this and how often they bought it for everyone to see.
This is because upon paying the CMU the medal would assumably be given right away. Additionally, the counter / tiers show how often someone bought it. Simply check the profiles often and you can see the exact dates they are bought.
This then gives insight on the spending habits of individual people as well as overall revenue generation for Niantic on this.
I am not German, but I take my online privacy seriously.
Not sure if that is an actual part of GDPR, but couldn't that theoretically circumvented by giving agents the option to hide the badge on the profile, like the private stats trigger in the settings?
Hiding badges and missions completed would be awsome. If GDPR does apply then yes this could work I think.
Also, that topic might over shadow my main concern with the idea of a Tiered Supporter medal that you pay for. Achievement medals are multiple levels (Tiers). You need to actually go out, play and achieve something in order to get rewarded. Simply pushing 7000 CMU to NIA to increment the medal by one is not really an achievement. Granted that you dont really have to do a lot during FS for the FS medal, your atleast still playing in order to get the rewards.
Forget $5. I'd pay in gold bullion for a way to search my keys that didn't involve checking every.single,capsule individually. Plus asking other players to check theirs. And then realising that the portal name has a "The" at the front of it and doing the entire search again.
And don't get me started on Prime crashing like crazy if you dare dump all your keys into your inventory.
However, because I am an eternal optimist I put together a list of suggestions for Niantic to monetize ingress without sending the userbase into our usual frothing mass of hatred.
I was thinking of these as stand alone items in the store, but I think that some of these ideas could be tied into a subscription. I will post them in this topic as @NianticBrian is already hanging out here.
I see two base rules for the In-game monetization.
A) We need to have a way to earn the in-game currency in the game itself. So paying cash is not the only option. This makes players more comfortable with paying for gear overall, as we are already earning and using our CMU.
B) Nothing that we purchase can dramatically unbalance the playing field. This is a PvP game. Therefore being able to pay directly for the key gear on a regular basis is just a non starter. No aegis shields, no level 8 bursters etc..
So here are my list of items that I believe can modify the game. They are helpful. They are fun. They don't unbalance the game.
1) A mod that will decrease the decay rate of a portal. [useful for remote portals and standing high level farms]
2) A mod that will increase the interaction radius of a portal (I stole this idea from @NinthAnt in another post) to allow farming at a greater radius. This should be tied to existing mods so you can still use all the farming hacks. So a multihack that increases the interaction radius.
3) Very Rare Link Amps [If you are using a VRLA, there is a really decent chance you are paying for gas already]
4) Key Capsules-In my opinion significantly increased inventory is close to paying for gear, but keys are different. Why not let us buy as many key capsules as we want?
5) Key Capsules that are also quantum caps. Would I pay for a way to keep my keys from chocking up my inventory and still let them duplicate? Yes, yes I would. See above comment about gold bullion.
6) Frackers that are comm silent so farms can be stealth farms.
7) Minor increases to inventory [e.g. upon recursion, 100 extra inventory and the ability to buy 100 more]
I also have medals I would love to pay for to have them removed from my profile 😂
Not joking: Ticket #4470442
For $10 please remove the bronze suffocation dude badge from my portfolio. Please.
#1) This isn't the place to bring false accusations against someone. Nor is your local bar, the truth is the truth. If there is any question, error on the side of innocence.
#2) I'm not spoofing, nor have I ever. I hope that NIA, can find and ban every single spoofer, gear seller, multiple accountor, or other cheaters. They try their best, but even some known broker's guild users/members have gone without anything happening to them.
#3) I have never had my account banned, it's sad that we have to take proof no spoof to protect our reputation that people try and smash in public forums.
#4) If you have an issue with someone, take it up with them directly. Not post some falsehood on a public forum, or comms. That's the kinda things that bullies and trolls do.
The short term idea seems fine. A purchasable Supporter November, Supporter December to make the badge tick up would be a start
Shouldn't there be subscription models built into the Play Store and App Store models that automatically charge every [X] amount of days?
Surely it's not super hard to develop?
My 2c
Any subscription model would prevent players who are on a strict financial budget, or those without access to a credit card, from enjoying the game.
Off the wall suggestion.
Pay for players automatically get TRUSTED REPORTER status. Eg, we care enough this game to put money into it. Do us the common courtesy of treating our reports with upmost seriousness and due diligence.
I want people to have adventures in weird places. Badges, mu, etc.. all kinda irrelevant.
Thanks.
Incorrect. What they are suggesting wouldn’t change the game play. This is basically about donating a little bit of money, and maybe getting a badge on your profile for it.
Alright, then by that logic all the badges on your profile, all your mission medals, and all your activity in comm violate gdpr. Shut the game down.
No, a subscription would be/should be optional and not give any intrinsic advantage so that someone who can't afford to support the game doesn't have to worry about not supporting it
@NianticBrian hear this;
Media becomes ads. You have to watch it to recycle.
Or buy a subscription to avoid media files.
This way, it's a non intrusive way to add advertising. Agents can watch ads at their convenience and chosen time to be able to clean up the inventory space.
Also it would be a good way to monetize your agent profiles, GPS tracks . Obviously this data is worth gold for advertising.
Cheers,
Merijn
Do not like the subscription idea. I will not pay for a stupid badge. Niantic needs to give us a stable game before they start asking us to "support" the game with a subscription fee. Prime still freezes frequently, I have not been able to submit portals since Redacted went offline.
Just to address the Portal submission problem. One member of our community could not submit portals at all. However, once the pictures were resized to be smaller, all the submissions went through easily. It seems there is a max file size for the photos.
This obviously isn't the only problem. I submitted 6 portals this weekend. I only received a confirmation email for 1 of the 6 and when I checked wayfarer only 4 of the submissions went through.
The app crashes, that is why I haven't been able to submit portals. I'm using a Moto G6. I have not tried submitting remotely yet.
You don't have to. Do consider how many hours of joy this game gives you when you say it's not worth paying for, though.
Just because I enjoy a game doesn't mean I'm willing to pay a subscription fee. I play many games and don't pay a subscription fee to play. The other games I play actually work without bugs, unlike Prime.
I'm willing to spend money on something I enjoy enough to do over other alternative uses of my time, personally.
For what it's worth, (and I am not a lawyer) as a veteran privacy campaigner and lecturer that teaches ethics in computing, I've put a lot of time into understanding GDPR compliance and I can't see a problem with a subscription badge, provided the way it works is clearly communicated to purchasers. Here's my reasoning:
Does the GDPR apply to Ingress? Yes.
From the UK Govt's GDPR advice: "What information does the GDPR apply to? Personal data The GDPR applies to ‘personal data’ meaning any information relating to an identifiable person who can be directly or indirectly identified in particular by reference to an identifier" - An agent name is an identifier (and the fact that we often keep our real identities secret doesn't help here, because we are potentially "identifiable" by our agent names, even if we haven't actually been identified).
Is there a Lawful basis for processing? Yes.
At least two apply, Provided the purchasing system makes it clear that the buyer consents to the badge being visible, then consent applies. The act of paying for the badge forms a contract, and supplying a badge that works as described means the contract is a lawful basis.
But it reveals information! True, but playing a multi player game necessarily gives consent for this.
Potentially you could make a case that not displaying a badge reveals personal data, namely that an identifiable individual has not chosen to buy a badge, and in this case the consent and contractual exemptions don't apply... however if this argument works here, it also works on every badge and statistic that players can see about each other - for example anniversary badges reveal personal data about when an identifiable individual started playing. Here, we loop back to consent, and also legitimate interest. Multi player games inherently have to reveal information about players to each other, by playing a multi-player game you inherently consent to other players seeing your actions in game. If this wasn't the case then every multi player game constantly violates the GDPR, which would be absurd.
You don't have to. It would be optional.
I really don't feel that's accurate. Most people if they choose could afford $5-$10 a month. Ask most smokers if they could afford to by 1 more pack of cigarettes a month. Or a Starbucks fanatic if they could afford 1 more coffee a week. Or most players if they could afford 2 more gallons of gas a month. If someone truely can't afford $5 for something they CHOOSE to spend their money on perhaps they should look at something that doesn't involve them driving/flying all over the map.
Violates GDRP laws? are you making that up?
I disagree tho
It doesn't affect gameplay, and also if you don't like it, don't pay for it, problem solved
I'd be alright with a subscription model for a couple of extra cosmetics/medals, as long as it doesn't effect the game too much (bounties of better gear just because you paid, etc.) and it's not crazy expensive. Those ideas for a better version of the Intel map sound cool, but I'm worried that locking it behind a subscription may put off some people eventually.