Yellow is more the actual trainers in the games (and what Ash CLAIMS to be in an attempt to sound superior...) than anything else.
13. PAY ATTENTION TO WHERE YOU ARE GOING. Don't walk into traffic or wander into a gated community. Stay out of private property, poke stops should only be on public property. If there is one that is on private property, report it with the bug link in the app. Alsp be as alert as you normally would going out into the world. If going out at night make reasonable judgement calls about safety. Traveling in groups is not only fun, its also a good idea to avoid issues that can pop up when traveling through parks and other secluded locations at night.My work has 8 pokestops and 3 gyms on private property. No way I'm reporting it.
Private property you are permitted access to is fine. For instance there are a series of poke stops in fort hood. If you are allowed in fort hood go for it. If you are not, but but pokemon is not an excuse whne you are arrested :P
RPG Superstar 2015 Top 32, RPG Superstar 2012 Top 32
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So, all in all, it's sounding like I need to be really aggressive in catching as many pokemon as I can, rather than being "picky" like I was back when I was playing Red/Blue twenty years ago. Seems that evolving any given pokemon is going to require catching and "selling" one or two dozen of the exact same kind, so I need to grind like crazy if I ever want, say, a Pidgeot or a Hypno. Plus, catching more pokemon (even if I already have duplicates) is the fastest way to level up, which seems to be important.
So basically, catchCATCH is the name of the game. Am I understanding this right?
Private property you are permitted access to is fine. For instance there are a series of poke stops in fort hood. If you are allowed in fort hood go for it. If you are not, but but pokemon is not an excuse whne you are arrested :P13. PAY ATTENTION TO WHERE YOU ARE GOING. Don't walk into traffic or wander into a gated community. Stay out of private property, poke stops should only be on public property. If there is one that is on private property, report it with the bug link in the app. Alsp be as alert as you normally would going out into the world. If going out at night make reasonable judgement calls about safety. Traveling in groups is not only fun, its also a good idea to avoid issues that can pop up when traveling through parks and other secluded locations at night.My work has 8 pokestops and 3 gyms on private property. No way I'm reporting it.
They are a 1/4 mile past a security gate that you need an onsite sponsor to get through. You can barely see the pokestops from the nearest public access property. There are a few thousand people onsite, so the gyms have been changing hands pretty frequently
So, all in all, it's sounding like I need to be really aggressive in catching as many pokemon as I can, rather than being "picky" like I was back when I was playing Red/Blue twenty years ago. Seems that evolving any given pokemon is going to require catching and "selling" one or two dozen of the exact same kind, so I need to grind like crazy if I ever want, say, a Pidgeot or a Hypno. Plus, catching more pokemon (even if I already have duplicates) is the fastest way to level up, which seems to be important.
So basically, catchCATCH is the name of the game. Am I understanding this right?
yes, except for the fact that since pidgeys are one of the biggest trash pokemon you can get a pidgeot day 2 easy. Evolve pidgeys and weedles all day long for the XP, even if you don't plan on keeping the higher level ones at all. I've sold a couple pidgeots already.
So, all in all, it's sounding like I need to be really aggressive in catching as many pokemon as I can, rather than being "picky" like I was back when I was playing Red/Blue twenty years ago. Seems that evolving any given pokemon is going to require catching and "selling" one or two dozen of the exact same kind, so I need to grind like crazy if I ever want, say, a Pidgeot or a Hypno. Plus, catching more pokemon (even if I already have duplicates) is the fastest way to level up, which seems to be important.
So basically, catchCATCH is the name of the game. Am I understanding this right?
You are correct, catch everything you can. No one should be picky unless they are almost out of pokeballs and then they should be moving heaven and earth (well mostly themselves) to get more. Weak pokemon give you candy to evolve/power up better pokemon. And they are easier to catch. I am grinding out magikarps at the moment (you need 400 candy). I get excited when I see a 10cp magikarp.
Plus, there are the achievements that rely on numbers.
So, all in all, it's sounding like I need to be really aggressive in catching as many pokemon as I can, rather than being "picky" like I was back when I was playing Red/Blue twenty years ago. Seems that evolving any given pokemon is going to require catching and "selling" one or two dozen of the exact same kind, so I need to grind like crazy if I ever want, say, a Pidgeot or a Hypno. Plus, catching more pokemon (even if I already have duplicates) is the fastest way to level up, which seems to be important.
So basically, catchCATCH is the name of the game. Am I understanding this right?
You are correct, catch everything you can. No one should be picky unless they are almost out of pokeballs and then they should be moving heaven and earth (well mostly themselves) to get more. Weak pokemon give you candy to evolve/power up better pokemon. And they are easier to catch. I am grinding out magikarps at the moment (you need 400 candy). I get excited when I see a 10cp magikarp.
Plus, there are the achievements that rely on numbers.
I have yet to find a good place to reliably find magikarp. Walking along the riverfront so far hasn't been that great for them. I've gotten quite a few out of eggs though.
Question: I use an Android device, and my GPS locator always seems to be off by a block or so. Is there a way to correct this?
So I had to go to BWI to pick up someone, and while sitting there I finally had time to catch some good stuff. Two Pokestops right there I could hit from my car, and I got a Growlithe, and Oddish, and a Nidoran (Female)! Plus some lesser stuff, and three eggs.
Just missed a Clefairy though.
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Today I learned to put my shoes on before hunting, even if it looks like the zubat is right outside the door. Because another one will pop up down the road...
Okay, so Red Gryffindor, Blue Ravenclaw, Yellow Elves. Got it.
Hufflepuffs are not elves!
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Question: I use an Android device, and my GPS locator always seems to be off by a block or so. Is there a way to correct this?
No idea. I'm also on Android, and most of the time it's pretty good, except that if I'm standing in front of my workplace I will sometimes teleport across the street and back. *shrug*
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Okay, let's talk moves.
So I figured the only use of duplicate pokemon is to trade in all but one to get candy to evolve that one. So at first I was going to start just looking at which one had the highest CP and trade in all the rest. But then I noticed that some of them had different moves, and I wondered if I should be accounting for that. Does it matter what moves a pokemon has prior to being evolved, or will the moves just get started fresh upon evolution anyway? How much should I care?
Also, how do I read the moves? There's a number on the right for each of them, and some of them have 2-4 blue bars next to them. What does all that mean?
Okay, let's talk moves.
So I figured the only use of duplicate pokemon is to trade in all but one to get candy to evolve that one. So at first I was going to start just looking at which one had the highest CP and trade in all the rest. But then I noticed that some of them had different moves, and I wondered if I should be accounting for that. Does it matter what moves a pokemon has prior to being evolved, or will the moves just get started fresh upon evolution anyway? How much should I care?
Also, how do I read the moves? There's a number on the right for each of them, and some of them have 2-4 blue bars next to them. What does all that mean?
From what I can tell, a pokemon gets completely different moves when evolved and I have found no connection yet between what they had in prior forms and what they get. I am by no means crunching numbers on this though. Personally, I don't care at all yet.
The blue bars indicate how often they can be used. The more bars, the less time it takes to power 1 charge up and the more charges you can have. More bars also tends to be less powerful.
Having more than 1 powerful pokemon of a single type allows you to put 1 in a gym and still have a backup for battle. Your not likely to have many of the rare guys that soon, but pigeons and rats are common and effective.
From what I've been told, the moves known DO have one effect: If you evolve an Eeevee, the moves determine what Eeveelution it randomly turns into.
Okay, let's talk moves.
So I figured the only use of duplicate pokemon is to trade in all but one to get candy to evolve that one. So at first I was going to start just looking at which one had the highest CP and trade in all the rest. But then I noticed that some of them had different moves, and I wondered if I should be accounting for that. Does it matter what moves a pokemon has prior to being evolved, or will the moves just get started fresh upon evolution anyway? How much should I care?
Also, how do I read the moves? There's a number on the right for each of them, and some of them have 2-4 blue bars next to them. What does all that mean?
From what I can tell, a pokemon gets completely different moves when evolved and I have found no connection yet between what they had in prior forms and what they get. I am by no means crunching numbers on this though. Personally, I don't care at all yet.
The blue bars indicate how often they can be used. The more bars, the less time it takes to power 1 charge up and the more charges you can have. More bars also tends to be less powerful.
Having more than 1 powerful pokemon of a single type allows you to put 1 in a gym and still have a backup for battle. Your not likely to have many of the rare guys that soon, but pigeons and rats are common and effective.
So moves definitely matter. Different move types will hit different pokemon types differentely. You pokemons type matters defensively but offensively its the move type. So a water pokemon with a poison attack
In terms of moves sticking around for evolutions, it depends on the pokemon. Psyduck/golduck for instance maintain their moves between evolutions. And they have a wide range of attack types.
But even when it changes there is a correlation with the moves of the evolved pokemon.
There are lots of reasons to have multiple high level pokemon that are duplicates when dealing with gyms. In addition to having extras for defending, when attacking, if say there are a bunch of water pokemon defending a gym by a river, I can go in with 6 top level electrics and rip through them even if I lose my first pokemon cutting through the early opponents..
Out of curiosity, does anyone know why they decided to change how pokémon battles work? I understand why catching pokémon doesn't involve a battle due to the nature of the game. But why did they make gym battles into a swiping game instead of the standard Gameboy style gameplay?
If I had to guess, because the events will be real time, and classic turn based pokemon combat wouldn't work for that. If you look at that first commercial, everyone collected in times square to fight mewtwo, they had 30 minutes to take him down. Frantic swipe and screen presses fits that way better.
Out of curiosity, does anyone know why they decided to change how pokémon battles work? I understand why catching pokémon doesn't involve a battle due to the nature of the game. But why did they make gym battles into a swiping game instead of the standard Gameboy style gameplay?
I wish I knew. I wish they just ported the gameboy mechanics over entirely.
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RPG Superstar 2015 Top 32, RPG Superstar 2012 Top 32
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The blue bars indicate how often they can be used. The more bars, the less time it takes to power 1 charge up and the more charges you can have. More bars also tends to be less powerful.
How does this relate to moves that have no blue bars at all?
Also, what does the number to the right of each move mean?
The blue bars indicate how often they can be used. The more bars, the less time it takes to power 1 charge up and the more charges you can have. More bars also tends to be less powerful.How does this relate to moves that have no blue bars at all?
Also, what does the number to the right of each move mean?
If it has no bar it can be done over and over (usually the first attack)
I believe the number is related to the attacks power but I am not certain yet.
With luck, and lack of server issues, I should be able to reach level 20 by the end of today. Muahahaha.
I'd like to think that the all three teams near my house had an uneasy truce going until I toppled a rather well defended blue gym last night.
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Out of curiosity, does anyone know why they decided to change how pokémon battles work? I understand why catching pokémon doesn't involve a battle due to the nature of the game. But why did they make gym battles into a swiping game instead of the standard Gameboy style gameplay?If I had to guess, because the events will be real time, and classic turn based pokemon combat wouldn't work for that. If you look at that first commercial, everyone collected in times square to fight mewtwo, they had 30 minutes to take him down. Frantic swipe and screen presses fits that way better.
While I can see your point about a true turn-based system, it wouldn't have been hard to shoehorn in the rather standard old-school JRPG style ATB (Active Time Battle) into a standard Pokémon battle system. (When the bar fills that character goes again.)
The only things which would be changed much are the moves which change the priority order, but those are a rather small % of them, and some of them wouldn't be hard to tweak to work with ATB.
Just went from 17 to 19 popping a lucky egg and evolving trash pokemon to their middle stage
Question: I use an Android device, and my GPS locator always seems to be off by a block or so. Is there a way to correct this?
I find that an android gps can often be fixed by turning it off in the system pulldown menu, letting the game complain that there is no gps, and then turning it back on. This forces the game to update your position.
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RPG Superstar 2015 Top 32, RPG Superstar 2012 Top 32
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Question: I use an Android device, and my GPS locator always seems to be off by a block or so. Is there a way to correct this?I find that an android gps can often be fixed by turning it off in the system pulldown menu, letting the game complain that there is no gps, and then turning it back on. This forces the game to update your position.
Interesting, I'll have to keep that in mind.
On the other hand, my most common GPS glitch is keeping me from having to cross the street from my workplace's front door to the nearest PokeStop, so maybe I don't want to fix it...?
Out of curiosity, does anyone know why they decided to change how pokémon battles work? I understand why catching pokémon doesn't involve a battle due to the nature of the game. But why did they make gym battles into a swiping game instead of the standard Gameboy style gameplay?If I had to guess, because the events will be real time, and classic turn based pokemon combat wouldn't work for that. If you look at that first commercial, everyone collected in times square to fight mewtwo, they had 30 minutes to take him down. Frantic swipe and screen presses fits that way better.While I can see your point about a true turn-based system, it wouldn't have been hard to shoehorn in the rather standard old-school JRPG style ATB (Active Time Battle) into a standard Pokémon battle system. (When the bar fills that character goes again.)
The only things which would be changed much are the moves which change the priority order, but those are a rather small % of them, and some of them wouldn't be hard to tweak to work with ATB.
That works well for solo games, but when you have a plan for literally thousands of people to be involved in a battle during events, and potentially dozens attacking a gym at once, I expect it could be harder to code then you think and I expect they just wanted to keep that part as simple as possible. That and I Niantic doesn't make JRPGs. That was never their goal here. Why would they put so much effort into something that is secondary to their game? The primary focus, and the thing that has made this the best grossing and most use mobile app in existence in less than a week is the act of going out into the world, finding stops, pokemon and meeting up with people doing the same thing. If that behavior was netting you literally millions of dollars a day and is a runaway success, why would you put time and energy into a more intricate battle system?
Its quite clear Niantic doesn't make JRPGs from this game. I question if they even have actual game designers on their teams, or just a bunch of tech people, based off of some of the terrible mechanics in this.
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That works well for solo games, but when you have a plan for literally thousands of people to be involved in a battle during events, and potentially dozens attacking a gym at once, I expect it could be harder to code then you think and I expect they just wanted to keep that part as simple as possible. That and I Niantic doesn't make JRPGs. That was never their goal here. Why would they put so much effort into something that is secondary to their game? The primary focus, and the thing that has made this the best grossing and most use mobile app in existence in less than a week is the act of going out into the world, finding stops, pokemon and meeting up with people doing the same thing. If that behavior was netting you literally millions of dollars a day and is a runaway success, why would you put time and energy into a more intricate battle system?
1. No one knew that it would be nearly as successful as it has been. You can tell by how Nintendo's stock spiked after release, and not slowly going up beforehand.
2. I think it would add lifespan to the game. As it is, it seems like an interesting fad, but I think it needs a bit of depth to keep people interested. That simplistic base play but rabbit-hole depth is what has kept Pokémon popular for the last 20yrs.
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...some of the terrible mechanics in this.
Like what? I'm not too far into the game yet (only just hit 6th level, haven't tried a gym), but so far I haven't run into anything and thought "Wow, that's dumb". My only complaints so far have been the bugginess (the app freezes sometimes, etc) and that there's a lot of the game that you have to figure out for yourself because they don't tell you how it works. But for the actual mechanics themselves, I haven't noticed anything really bad. What parts are you not liking?
...some of the terrible mechanics in this.Like what? I'm not too far into the game yet (only just hit 6th level, haven't tried a gym), but so far I haven't run into anything and thought "Wow, that's dumb". My only complaints so far have been the bugginess (the app freezes sometimes, etc) and that there's a lot of the game that you have to figure out for yourself because they don't tell you how it works. But for the actual mechanics themselves, I haven't noticed anything really bad. What parts are you not liking?
They thought really hard about tactical level decisions but not enough about strategic level ones.
The game didn't know what it wants to be or how players would interact with it. It is set up as a territory control game like Ingress, but instead people want it to be an exploration game. The 2 aspects of the game only interact in 1 direction, with the exploration feeding into the territory control. But...
There is literally 0 point in controlling a gym besides bragging rights. Sure, you can collect the daily bonus for having a gym, but that amounts to 10 cents per gym and less incense than if you spent that time getting pokemon. If you try to get more than 3 gyms, by the time you get to the 4th you are probably going to be kicked of at least 1 of the previous ones, because it is fairly trivial for 1 person to take down a gym in less time than it takes you to travel to a new gym and take it. Instead, you can pay $1 and get about the same reward as you would get for a week of controlling gyms. They seem to consider gyms to be the end goal, but the rewards for it is lackluster and once people realize it that aspect will greatly fade to only a small group of people who particularly like that aspect of the game.
This could have trivially fix it by giving rewards relevant to the exploration and collection game for controlling territory. For instance, get 10 candy of the type of monster you have in the gym, and when you train a gym get 1 or 2 of the monster you use. Perhaps have some generic candy that you can use to evolve any monster.
The basic mechanics cause you to treat all your pokemon as disposable. In the JRPGs, you could level up your early pokemon and they would be relevant for you throughout the game. Your starter could realistically be in your end game team. Here, you starter is more or less worthless, since in order to level him up you need to find dozens of identical ones that will be innately better because they will have a higher starting level. This game encourages you to treat all of your pokemon as completely disposable, since you will always find better ones later.
The rural-urban disparity makes me think that no one involved in making or beta-testing actually lived in suburbia, let alone a rural area. There are all kinds of simple metrics that they could have set up if their beta group was large enough: how far do you travel to find a pokemon, how long between player interaction with the game (pokemon, gym, pokestop), how quickly you leveled based on region. All trivial metrics for them to measure that they clearly didn't pay attention to before launch.
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Missus Turin is a lifelong fan of Pokemon. It has single-handedly given her the motivation to get out of the house for non-work/non-entertainment purposes since we met. We're in suburbia and there's no lack of poke-stops and gyms within 10 km of our home. Time of day seems to have at least some influence on what is available.
It is amusing to see that it took an app game to get her motivated to exercise. To the point that we clocked 5.5 km on Day 1. For someone that's about twice the weight she should be by her own admission, it was a pleasant surprise.
I suspect that they will be moving very quickly to capitalize on the exploding popularity of the game. This is my only mobile phone app game of consequence. We've discussed whether or not to spend real money on it, especially if they make more of the Go buttons.
My point to her: "Hon, a console game costs about $60 new per device. If you get a Go button and spend about $20 on poke-cash, you're still coming out a bit cheaper than if you had bought another game for the Game Boy. Unlike the Game Boy games, this one is getting you - and me by way of spousal dragooning - out of the house for exercise. I don't see a problem with spending a modest amount of cash on something that provides a badly-needed long-term benefit."
I'm going to the Outer Banks for about a week come Friday. The combination of light houses, terrain, the Kitty Hawk Memorial and whatever else is down there should add some badly needed variety to the mostly rat-and-bird roster of Pokecritters I currently have stored. In the interim, on high humidity days (like today - heat advisory for 105 heat index until 8 pm) a local mall has at least 3 poke-stops in it. People were firing lures like crazy yesterday afternoon, so gathering copious quantities of mooks is going to be stupidly easy.
We're probably going to have to fire up the upgrade expenditures just to have enough storage capacity for Pokemon and items.
Too funny. :)
Wow, when you hit level 20 you get a lot of really nice items. I was expecting the ultra balls, but all the lucky eggs, incense, and incubators are nice too.
I'm guessing Master Balls come up at level 30?
20th? 30th? Damn, Missus Turin and I have just hit 7th level.
20th? 30th? Damn, Missus Turin and I have just hit 7th level.
Keep it up you will get there.
...some of the terrible mechanics in this.Like what? I'm not too far into the game yet (only just hit 6th level, haven't tried a gym), but so far I haven't run into anything and thought "Wow, that's dumb". My only complaints so far have been the bugginess (the app freezes sometimes, etc) and that there's a lot of the game that you have to figure out for yourself because they don't tell you how it works. But for the actual mechanics themselves, I haven't noticed anything really bad. What parts are you not liking?They thought really hard about tactical level decisions but not enough about strategic level ones.
The game didn't know what it wants to be or how players would interact with it. It is set up as a territory control game like Ingress, but instead people want it to be an exploration game. The 2 aspects of the game only interact in 1 direction, with the exploration feeding into the territory control. But...
There is literally 0 point in controlling a gym besides bragging rights. Sure, you can collect the daily bonus for having a gym, but that amounts to 10 cents per gym and less incense than if you spent that time getting pokemon. If you try to get more than 3 gyms, by the time you get to the 4th you are probably going to be kicked of at least 1 of the previous ones, because it is fairly trivial for 1 person to take down a gym in less time than it takes you to travel to a new gym and take it. Instead, you can pay $1 and get about the same reward as you would get for a week of controlling gyms. They seem to consider gyms to be the end goal, but the rewards for it is lackluster and once people realize it that aspect will greatly fade to only a small group of people who particularly like that aspect of the game.
You are missing the part where fighting over gyms is fun. Its likely gyms will have bigger impact in time, in particular controlling a gym will allow you to trade with fellow members within a certain radius, and also it will likely matter for events. But the fact remains people are having fun crowding around monuments and other public locations shouting and generally having fun fighting over gyms. Is there more Niantic should add? Absolutely. But you don't need massive in game rewards if the activity itself is fun. Granted I wouldn't be unhappy if the rewards were improved, and I am sure they will be. For now Niantic is just figuring out their business model as it is a strong diversion from typical freemium games.
The basic mechanics cause you to treat all your pokemon as disposable. In the JRPGs, you could level up your early pokemon and they would be relevant for you throughout the game. Your starter could realistically be in your end game team. Here, you starter is more or less worthless, since in order to level him up you need to find dozens of identical ones that will be innately better because they will have a higher starting level. This game encourages you to treat all of your pokemon as completely disposable, since you will always find better ones later.
This is certainly a big departure from the source material, but once you get used to it, why is this an issue? It makes new catches exciting, and in and of itself keeps the game fresh. Catching your 30th pidgey can yield a far better pidgey/pidgeot then you already had. If you only needed one of each pokemon the base mechanic of the game (wandering around catching pokemon) would lose its value almost immediately.
The rural-urban disparity makes me think that no one involved in making or beta-testing actually lived in suburbia, let alone a rural area. There are all kinds of simple metrics that they could have set up if their beta group was large enough: how far do you travel to find a pokemon, how long between player interaction with the game (pokemon, gym, pokestop), how quickly you leveled based on region. All trivial metrics for them to measure that they clearly didn't pay attention to before launch.
They are already working on the rural urban issue, and many rural areas have had added pokestops and better spawns. Its very likely you are right and few of their beta testers are in urban areas. But I don't see how this is a mechanics problem. Its maybe leaving a part of their market under served. But since the game is literally all about collecting lots of people into public spaces playing a cell phone game, its not crazy that they focused on places with lots of people and lots of cell phones (Read:Cities).
In terms of strategic decisions, they focused their testing on the areas that were most conducive to the games success and popularity that would bring in a massive user base almost instantly and create a lot of publicity (Thousands of people playing together in Manhattan or in Melbourne Australia make for attention grabbing headlines).
Again, I certainly am glad they are putting effort into improving the game for rural players, but focusing on cities (where communities of players have already formed and have the best critical mass for the base game mechanics) is hardly a bad strategic choice.
Obviously its possible this could end up a fad. But I personally don't think it will take a ton of work to keep it going. All they have to do is have events periodically, add in trading, add more pokemon over time and eventually allow direct player battles(all of which are in the plan).
You are missing the part where fighting over gyms is fun. Its likely gyms will have bigger impact in time, in particular controlling a gym will allow you to trade with fellow members within a certain radius, and also it will likely matter for events. But the fact remains people are having fun crowding around monuments and other public locations shouting and generally having fun fighting over gyms. Is there more Niantic should add? Absolutely. But you don't need massive in game rewards if the activity itself is fun. Granted I wouldn't be unhappy if the rewards were improved, and I am sure they will be. For now Niantic is just figuring out their business model as it is a strong diversion from typical freemium games.
No I'm not, and I think you and I have a different idea of fun. I don't particularly find button mashing 1 button fun. This social aspect is only happening in notable places and extreme population centers. I have yet to see more than 3 people ever "crowded around a gym", even in the metropolitan areas near me (where I see dozens of people walking finding pokemon). Not to mention, that will fade when people start asking the question "what's the point" and looking for an answer besides bragging rights. This game basically has everything needed for a fad, with none of the things needed to sustain the community. Lets hope that it will last long enough for them to bring the game out of the effectively beta state it is in now while they still have a community.
This is certainly a big departure from the source material, but once you get used to it, why is this an issue? It makes new catches exciting, and in and of itself keeps the game fresh. Catching your 30th pidgey can yield a far better pidgey/pidgeot then you already had. If you only needed one of each pokemon the base mechanic of the game (wandering around catching pokemon) would lose its value almost immediately.
You and I have very different ideas of exciting. I think this makes it repetitive and boring. There is no excitement in the 300 pidgey, and when I catch a nidoran, instead of getting excited, I think "great, only 20 more to go", or "eh, I need so many I can skip this one and it wont really matter". I have already lost all the attachment I had to that first Jolteon I evolved, since within 2 days she is now obsolete. In the base game you wander around with a team and level up that team. The repetitive trash gave you a reward for your existing pokemon, allowing you to build an investment in those pokemon. They have basically managed to kill any emotional attachment you have to your pokemon. I mean, we are talking about source material that encourage people to transfer their pokemon through generations. My buddy recently traded some pokemon to our friends kid that were half again as old as the kid, and he was telling stories about them. So far, aside from bragging rights about how much playtime you get to have, this game doesn't have any real meat to invest you in anything. Its playing off group nostalgia to get people together, but without the social interaction there is no meat to the game.
They are already working on the rural urban issue, and many rural areas have had added pokestops and better spawns. Its very likely you are right and few of their beta testers are in urban areas. But I don't see how this is a mechanics problem. Its maybe leaving a part of their market under served. But since the game is literally all about collecting lots of people into public spaces playing a cell phone game, its not crazy that they focused on places with lots of people and lots of cell phones (Read:Cities).
In terms of strategic decisions, they focused their testing on the areas that were most conducive to the games success and popularity that would bring in a massive user base almost instantly and create a lot of publicity (Thousands of people playing together in Manhattan or in Melbourne Australia make for attention grabbing headlines).
Again, I certainly am glad they are putting effort into improving the game for rural players, but focusing on cities (where communities of players have already formed and have the best critical mass for the base game mechanics) is hardly a bad strategic choice.
My point here was that if they actually had a compotent game designer these questions would have been asked early and the problems identified early in the design stage. Asking how players interact with your game is question 1 in formal game design. The fact that so many simple questions seem to have been missed makes me wonder if anyone involved has actually studied the art of fun. There is a reason game design is now a college major at major schools.
Obviously its possible this could end up a fad. But I personally don't think it will take a ton of work to keep it going. All they have to do is have events periodically, add in trading, add more pokemon over time and eventually allow direct player battles(all of which are in the plan).
They better do it soon. I don't see this game really lasting more than a few weeks before sharp declines in user base.
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Initially I had thought I would just ignore gyms. However, I found as an item hoarder who cannot just trash/delete items, I quickly reached the point where my inventory was full of healing potions and I had to use some in order to store more pokeballs. The only reason to use healing potions is if you've been doing gym battles and so I started. I find it quite fun learning all the strategy involved. Looking at the team you're going to fight, figuring out which of your pokemon will do best against it and seeing if you can win. I also enjoy the animations of the special powers.
And its got me going out for walks and runs again which in turn makes me feel less stressed and happier. Win/Win!
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Initially I had thought I would just ignore gyms. However, I found as an item hoarder who cannot just trash/delete items, I quickly reached the point where my inventory was full of healing potions and I had to use some in order to store more pokeballs. The only reason to use healing potions is if you've been doing gym battles and so I started. I find it quite fun learning all the strategy involved. Looking at the team you're going to fight, figuring out which of your pokemon will do best against it and seeing if you can win. I also enjoy the animations of the special powers.
And its got me going out for walks and runs again which in turn makes me feel less stressed and happier. Win/Win!
This is probably the biggest positive effect, people are actually getting out and moving around. I have been literally stunned with how my mood has changed, I am excited to get up for work in the morning. I cant remember the last time I got ready and out the door so quickly happy to be on my way to work.
No I'm not, and I think you and I have a different idea of fun. I don't particularly find button mashing 1 button fun. This social aspect is only happening in notable places and extreme population centers. I have yet to see more than 3 people ever "crowded around a gym", even in the metropolitan areas near me (where I see dozens of people walking finding pokemon). Not to mention, that will fade when people start asking the question "what's the point" and looking for an answer besides bragging rights. This game basically has everything needed for a fad, with none of the things needed to sustain the community. Lets hope that it will last long enough for them to bring the game out of the effectively beta state it is in now while they still have a community.
The gym outside my office has literally been fought over for days. I have seen dozens of gyms with multiple people crowding around to fight for it. I have also seen multiple meetups with hundreds of attendees for this weekend to get together and play the game around my city. Including 2 focused on taking gyms in a given area. I think you underestimate the value of bragging rights for some. No one is asking whats the point. They are just having fun doing the thing the game gives them.
And I do certainly hope they continue to add features, perhaps it is just a thing that works in certain areas, but getting out and doing a joint activity out in the world with other people is shockingly appealing to new Yorkers, and from the looks of it quite a few other cities around the world.
You and I have very different ideas of exciting. I think this makes it repetitive and boring. There is no excitement in the 300 pidgey, and when I catch a nidoran, instead of getting excited, I think "great, only 20 more to go", or "eh, I need so many I can skip this one and it wont really matter". I have already lost all the attachment I had to that first Jolteon I evolved, since within 2 days she is now obsolete. In the base game you wander around with a team and level up that team. The repetitive trash gave you a reward for your existing pokemon, allowing you to build an investment in those pokemon. They have basically managed to kill any emotional attachment you have to your pokemon. I mean, we are talking about source material that encourage people to transfer their pokemon through generations. My buddy recently traded some pokemon to our friends kid that were half again as old as the kid, and he was telling stories about them. So far, aside from bragging rights about how much playtime you get to have, this game doesn't have any real meat to invest you in anything. Its playing off group nostalgia to get people together, but without the social interaction there is no meat to the game.
Just because it is different then your expectation doesn't make it bad. You may say it doesn't matter, however I just caught my 101st magikarp to evolve my Gyarados and I was deliriously excited. Its a matter of perspective. Yes its a departure from the games source material, that doesn't make it bad. Just different.
And the social interaction IS the meet of the game. You cant just dismiss the thing that is the core of the experience and say, well without that there isn't anything there.
My point here was that if they actually had a compotent game designer these questions would have been asked early and the problems identified early in the design stage. Asking how players interact with your game is question 1 in formal game design. The fact that so many simple questions seem to have been missed makes me wonder if anyone involved has actually studied the art of fun. There is a reason game design is now a college major at major schools.
They do have competent designers, just in a different kind of game then you apparently like. They have had ingress running for years with millions of active users worldwide. It was no where as successful as go has been so far but it has lasted the test of time on very similar mechanics. It currently has more depth but that comes over time.
They better do it soon. I don't see this game really lasting more than a few weeks before sharp declines in user base.
Certainly time will tell. I don't think it will stay the most used application in existence forever, but I think it has legs to go for a long time with just a few relatively minor tweaks.
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RPG Superstar 2015 Top 32, RPG Superstar 2012 Top 32
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For years I've had the thought of taking walks on my lunch break for exercise. Never actually did it until it offered me a high density of PokeStops (half of which are often running a Lure).
A couple of weeks ago, my wife and I talked about how we hadn't really taken walks together in a while. Got the app on Monday night, and we've taken a walk every night this week.
I have never exercised so much in such a short period in my life.
And now I'm running low on pokeballs, so I'm wracking my brain trying to think of a place likely to have a high density of PokeStops (but unlike downtown, also have free parking) so I can just walk in a circle for an hour or more. On purpose.
It may change my mind if I ever see a gym with more than 3 pokemon, but right now I find gyms to be incredibly dull. Mash 1 button as fast as you can, then hold it down. Hope the servers allow you to resolve the fight (well over than half the time the 1HP bug happens to me) and the GPS doesn't randomly move you out of the radius (particularly bad for the nearest gym to me at work. I beginning to think they may intentionally screw up location services on campus).
It may change my mind if I ever see a gym with more than 3 pokemon, but right now I find gyms to be incredibly dull. Mash 1 button as fast as you can, then hold it down. Hope the servers allow you to resolve the fight (well over than half the time the 1HP bug happens to me) and the GPS doesn't randomly move you out of the radius (particularly bad for the nearest gym to me at work. I beginning to think they may intentionally screw up location services on campus).
The gym outside my office was held by my snorlax and 6 other valor pokemon yesterday, was under siege for more then 6 hours until around 7pm when I guess most people went home. We kept it until about 6am the next morning. Went up and down between level 10 and as low as level 3 for a while until I went home around 7.
I think we are just going to have to agree to disagree Kolokotroni. I think the lack of meat and emotional attachment will give this game a very short lifespan in the general public and then a significantly smaller dedicated fanbase limited to specific types of players. The only places that will maintain critical mass will be major metro areas and tourist locations, with small pockets of players in mostly an equilibrium outside of that. I think you will start to lose critical mass as early as the end the month in the majority of the country.
It may change my mind if I ever see a gym with more than 3 pokemon, but right now I find gyms to be incredibly dull. Mash 1 button as fast as you can, then hold it down. Hope the servers allow you to resolve the fight (well over than half the time the 1HP bug happens to me) and the GPS doesn't randomly move you out of the radius (particularly bad for the nearest gym to me at work. I beginning to think they may intentionally screw up location services on campus).The gym outside my office was held by my snorlax and 6 other valor pokemon yesterday, was under siege for more then 6 hours until around 7pm when I guess most people went home. We kept it until about 6am the next morning. Went up and down between level 10 and as low as level 3 for a while until I went home around 7.
You're in NYC.
I think we are just going to have to agree to disagree Kolokotroni. I think the lack of meat and emotional attachment will give this game a very short lifespan in the general public and then a significantly smaller dedicated fanbase limited to specific types of players. The only places that will maintain critical mass will be major metro areas and tourist locations, with small pockets of players in mostly an equilibrium outside of that. I think you will start to lose critical mass as early as the end the month in the majority of the country.
Do you somehow think the game will be a failure if it only maintains critical mass in major cities, and tourist locations? (I have heard tell of similar events happening at for instance Disney from a friend in Orlando)
How many players are required to stick around in order for this to be a success in your eyes? And do you not think there is a sufficient pool of potential players in said locations?
I dunno, I live in a fairly small town (though admittedly a town with a lot of apartments due to being nearby Fort Meade and rail stations), and the gym change hands constantly as people war over them, and there's quite a few nearby.
I do agree the gym battles are very, very boring however.
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I think we are just going to have to agree to disagree Kolokotroni. I think the lack of meat and emotional attachment will give this game a very short lifespan in the general public and then a significantly smaller dedicated fanbase limited to specific types of players. The only places that will maintain critical mass will be major metro areas and tourist locations, with small pockets of players in mostly an equilibrium outside of that. I think you will start to lose critical mass as early as the end the month in the majority of the country.Do you somehow think the game will be a failure if it only maintains critical mass in major cities, and tourist locations? (I have heard tell of similar events happening at for instance Disney from a friend in Orlando)
How many players are required to stick around in order for this to be a success in your eyes?
Success is relative.
Will it make $ as is? I don't know what their license agreement with Nintendo is, but considering how it has taken off I'd guess they're already in the green.
Would it make more $ in the long-term if it had a more robust battle system for fighting at gyms and battling your friends?
There's no way to prove it, but I certainly think so. Standard Pokémon combat is simple enough that even with an ATB version it would probably use less bandwidth than the current swiping.
And do you not think there is a sufficient poop of potential players in said locations?
you've got quite the potty mouth