Ingress AMA Archive

A1: Dante Hicks

A2: This has been asked and answered before but since it received a lot of +1s I'm happy to answer it again. I personally think an option to sort, hide, and a reorganization of the badge screen in general is warranted. I will continue to advocate for this.

A3: In talking to the Game Masters I think they are pretty happy with the way things played out. They are reading all the feedback and there will be some tweaks for Q4. But by and large I think we are getting close to a format that I feel could be very competitive and leverage the best of Ingress.

A4: 1. Personally, I don't like this idea. I believe key lockers should be key lockers. Not capsules on steroids. I'd be ok with being able to link from capsules. But as I understand it, key lockers were born out of the request that players wanted something to memorialize locations and keys without it costing against inventory. Essentially making it a non-playable item. 2. I like this idea. I'm sure the folks in charge of Ingress have considered this. There may be some things that need to be researched though. If anyone remembers the early days when you had unlimited inventory, bad things like app crashes, could occur if you had a lot of inventory or too many keys for example. 3. Inventory management is a game mechanic I like. I think if the inventory cap was kept in place but there was a way to create guilds and therefore a shared bank then it would be an interesting idea. I don't think personal banks would be a good idea though because it takes the inventory management aspect out of the game. Even if the "bank" was limited itself. But a shared bank with limited inventory would mitigate a lot of fears I have that a personal bank brings.

A5: We have, on several occasions, done things because the players showed the initiative and desire. If someone were to identify a location, rally participation, and basically create a plan that shows it is feasible - I don't think we would say no and we would try to figure out how to make is happen. We haven't done anything to date for a number of reasons. One of them being the perceived interest not being high enough in Europe.

A6: Because yesterday was a Holiday and people are still not back in the office yet, I am unable to provide an update this week.

A7: It wouldn't be a special dish if everyone was able to make it.

A8: We recently held an event in Japan and worked very closely with the telecom providers there who provided COWs (Cell On Wheels) which are mobile cell towers. By all reports, there were little to no issues that I am aware of. Camp Navarro is a bit of a different situation. It was a location with no cell signal so we worked with the Camp to expand their wifi capabilities. I'm sure the next Camp Navarro will be a better experience.

A9: Yes. This method has proved to be very successful. It allowed us to push out On-Site participation badges faster than we have every before after an Anomaly event. There were zero typos and errors as well.

A10: My guardian on Tranquility base was discovered this weekend via eagle eyed posters on http://Reddit.com/r/...

A11: Not this week. There is one final step in the release process we are trying to work through at the moment. But once that is complete, submissions will be back.

A12: No.

A13: I don't know. One of the issues is that South America is huge. It is pretty simple to drive around Europe and cross borders. The same cannot be said about South America when hauling commercial items for sale. There are also some governmental and stability concerns in specific regions. We'd really have to think through the logistics a lot to have a successful South America tour.

A14: Please don't.

A15: Soon (tm).

A16: I think once things are stable and there is feature parity with 1.0. That could happen very quickly. It could take a few months. I believe there will be some new features at launch. Previously, I didn't think this was the case... it might also be too ambitious and not occur. But what I've seen is very cool and should come shortly on the heels of stability and parity if not before.

A17: Ohhhh good question. Hrmm... My MAGNUS would be 1. John Hanke 2. Dwayne "The Rock" Johnson 3. Bob Ross 4. Elon Musk 4. Benjamin Franklin 5. Jason Perkins (the head brewmaster of Allagash Brewery) 6. Aristotle 7. Leonardo da Vinci 8. Galileo Galilei 9. Mark Twain 10. Chris Cornell 11. Dave Grohl 12. Stevie Ray Vaughan 13. Myself

A18: Yes. Anything is possible.

A19: I have no idea.

A20: I haven't heard that there won't be Anomalies in Q1 2018. Let's be realistic, always bet on the Patriots. Even if they aren't my favorite team.

A21: Audioslave: I Am The Highway - Clutch: Electric Worry - Spiderbait: Black Betty - Marty Casey: Trees - AWOLNATION: Sail - Travis Tritt: It's A Great Day To Believe Alive - Bubbles: Bidibodi Bidbu - DJ Kaled: All I Do Is Win - Trampled By Turtles: Wait So Long - Metallica: Whiskey In The Jar - Maren Morris: My Church. Anything by Stevie Ray Vaugh, P!nk, The Beatles, RUN DMC, Louis Armstrong... I dunno I just love all music. Making a list is hard.

A22: Shouldn't have been possible.

A23: Part one: It's largely done by a committee of the events/marketing team weighing a bunch of inputs. Their recommendations are reviewed by multiple people outside the team. Feedback is taken, given, and changes implemented. Part two: There really isn't a way to propose a city officially. But as the global community manager, I will gladly advocate for a city if there is enough interest that warrants it.

A24: Yes. Yes it would.

A25: I've only heard rumors around the tech being acquired

A26: I'll talk to NIA OPS again about this.

A27: I like this idea.

A28: Sounds like a great test for someone to perform.

A29: I can't make any promises but I'll bring it up and see what can be done.

A30: These sort of questions are very very subjective and a general answer is always dangerous to give because of that. With that said, in general, this doesn't seem like a violation of the portal guidelines or TOS so I support them.

A31: I know lots of people that play using Xiaomi phones. False positives can happen regardless of a specific device. However, they happen very very infrequent. Especially compared to the amount of bans. Anecdotally, it seems to be a faction of one percent.

A32: I have no idea. I'll try to ask around and see what I can find out.

A33: Excellent!!! Thanks for asking!

A34: Depends on the tea.

A35: We can't give away all our secrets.

A36: To answer this question we have to define what beergress is. In my area, it is getting a group together (cross-faction or not) to attend a bar/pub/restaurant and to play Ingress as a group either before, during, or after. Nothing is coordinated in terms of game play and there are zero expectations... that's a key point in defining wintrading. If I use a Fracker on a portal that is a P8, an Agent from the opposite team can knock it down. If they choose to not do so, that is their choice. There is no rule mandating the capture of portals. However, if a treaty was all arranged in advance to prohibit people from taking certain actions that are not prohibited by the official rules - yes that would be wintrading. Bottom line: Just let things happen organically and have fun. Also, don't be upset if someone does something that is within the rules and game mechanics.

A37: No I do not.

A38: To be fair, the only points in contention regarding Szczecin was the scoring of a single shard on a single target portal. All of the other actions of the day were valid. The entire day is not voided because of what happened. The actions of the day enabled a tie to occur because of how Agents played throughout the entire day. If anyone were to be reimbursed, it would be people who used resources to score or defend the Schrodinger portal during P2 only. No other actions would be eligible as their actions were valid and did impact the outcome of the game. How does one determine who would be eligible? I have no idea.

A39: These AMA's have become quite popular internally. So yes, what is said is read and evaluated by a number of people.

A40: Yes. I was one of the early beta testers for the mission creator tool and have some of the oldest missions in the game.

A41: We don't provide numbers publicly. But I can say that 82% of those who registered showed up and checked in.

A42: I'll talk with NIA OPS and see if maybe we can add this to the help center forms somewhere.

A43: No. But we are unsure if he is human do to the amount of caffeine he consumes.

A44: That's a really good idea. Let me see what I can do.

A45: Great question. I'll bring this up.

A46: Great question! We are in touch with the Houston POCs for Q4 and are monitoring the cleanup efforts. Any decision will definitely not be without the POCs input. When? I don't know that we can provide an exact date because things change every day there.

A47: There are already portals under the sea.

A48: Stay tuned for news on #1 this week.

A49: I'm not sure that a group of players dedicated to cheating is really the answer.

A50: Fantastic question. I had to go back and read it to identify some of the specific issues. Let's focus on the bad and the ugly since the good was good to begin with. 1. I think amount of complaining has largely decreased. There is definitely a different tone today compared to four years ago among the player base. 2. The software is no longer tagged as beta. 3. There hasn't been a rollback in a very very long time. 4. The storyline is more organized via tools like http://investigate.i... and we also have regained trust in the narrator. Things are also more plausible but no longer illogical. 5. The game's mechanics have really improved. Mainly I'm referring to quality of life improvements like mass deletion, capsules, not being so dependant on the carousel, long press interactions, etc. 6. The UI will be blown away with 2.0 so... 7. Enforcement of the TOS and community guidelines has greatly improved. I don't even think we are in the same universe as how things were in 2013. 8. Spoofing is still an issue but no where near the levels of the past years. The most recent Anomaly was a telling example of the progress with us having no reported issues the day of the events. 9. Portal submissions... Well we have OPR. That's a huuuuge step forward. 10. Although the ENL claim Niantic favors the RES and the RES claim that Niantic favors the ENL - largely, the issues of years gone by are no longer present. In conclusion, a LOT has improved.

A51: Pork. It gave us the candy bar of meats - bacon!

A52: I currently have no plans to visit the Ukraine. However, that doesn't mean I won't. I would love to. I just don't know when.

A53: Too many Agents think they need to have evidence and 100% proof before they report someone. That isn't needed. Think of the ticketing system as you, raising your hand, and saying, "I think there is something worth researching with this account."

A54: For the near future, yes. Once the amount or quality of the questions starts to degrade I might change things up.

A55: Have them contact their POC. We have a process to research and fix things like this.

A56: According to the Brand and Community Guidelines the only key listed is the one with the diamond.

A57: Yes I like sushi. Anything that isn't eel or urchin I think I am ok with. I'm a medium roast coffee lover and enjoy many different beans and blends. I don't have a single favorite.

A58: Approximately after or at the end of the Q3 events.

A59: Ooh, Mini-trucker magazine!

A60: It is certainly an interesting idea. I'd need to give it more thought before I weigh in on it more though.

A61: Another interesting idea.

A62: I'm more of a Flat White kind of guy. I don't want all that sugar and stuff in my coffee.

A63: I've tried to get an answer but have not been successful. I wouldn't hold out hope.

A64: Too many colors. White, brown, blonde, reddish, and black.

A65: 1) If it was designed correctly, I think geodata hud could be interesting. 2) I think we need to split out alerts into their own tab. 3) Love it.

A66: I love the idea. Even destroying higher level items to create low level ones. This has been talked about. I'm not sure where it lands on the feature priority list. But hopefully it is on it.

A67: I wish I could provide an answer. I don't know how many there are though.

A68: When are you going to invite me?

A69: Ingress is about more than the application on your phone. Ingress enables all sorts of experiences to be had. It is one of those rare things that will provide you with however much you want to get out of it. Not knowing how you play and socialize it is hard for me to give you one or two answers that might get you excited personally.

A70: We had Philly cheesesteaks, corn on the cob, salad and chocolate cake.

A71: I suppose it depends on what the first Agent did with that device.