Ingress AMA Archive

Q1: what do you think about tech merchandise like the pokemon go plus? Is it possible / has it been discussed for Ingress? Could you share some thoughts / conclusions?

A1: I think it would be fantastic. There are a lot of applications that I could think of for Ingress. It has been discussed. There was a wearable slated to happen. I don't know the status of it. That's still on my "to figure out" list.

Q2: is there a chat/site/poc for creative visions (regarding new features for the game - like what Level 17 to 32 might be like)? What do you do when you stumble over a great idea?

A2: There isn't a dedicated chat for creative visions. My Hangouts are open to receive any feedback - good or bad. I write things down and usually pass them on to someone. Most of the time our product team has already thought about and explored the ideas though. But it still doesn't hurt to pass things on.

Q3: Will Ingress have a UPV map just like the gym badge map in Pokemon GO? I think it will promote more outdoor exploration.

A3: I hope so.

Q4: There are quite a few urban legends in Ingress community, most of them appeared for the lack of any information on how things work internally. Some of them sound plausible, some are outright ridiculous, but people believe in weird things, y'know.. Could you confirm or disprove some of them? It would help to end a lot of old disputes.

A4: Ask me again next week. I think part of the fun of Ingress is trying to find information and figuring things out. So let me sleep on it for a bit.

Q5: Hi Andrew, When will be announced the Q4 TBD anomaly location? (12/2 Taiwan and 11/4 Japan) Will you come to APAC in Q4 anomaly?

A5: We are still working on the Q4 Taiwan and Japan locations. I would love to come to APAC for an Anomaly. I've never been to Japan before.

Q6: Will niantic print and handout their new mods as biocards?

A6: These already exist.

Q7: Pssst! What "face badges" will appear at which sites for Q3 and Q4?

A7: I believe this was answered by the Ingress account today :)

Q8: Did you unplug your dog already or is he still leaking on both ends?

A8: She's on two medicines for some sort of GI infection. She is a lot better today compared to last week. Thanks for asking.

Q9: In OPR, should we accept restaurants, cafes, restaurants or bars as portal or are rate them 1 star?

A9: That is really really subjective and hard to answer using broad categories.

Q10: Hi Andrew! Nice meeting you in Deventer! Last week I finally became lvl 12 and I can use Recon... but the roumers are that the backlog for The Netherlands, the United Kingdom, Germany and so on are empty, is this true?

A10: I do not know.

Q11: Some agents experience a lot of issues with getting missions approved. This is especially a problem with banners/mosaics. OPR brought us more clarity on the reason for refusing a portal submit. Do you think we could get the same amount of clarity about rejected missions?

A11: That's a great suggestion. I'll pass it along.

Q12: Will bio.ingress.com - Ingress | Player Cards be updated with new designs? Any plans on integrating PRISMA-like filters to achieve an orig biocard design?

A12: We've talked about it. I think other priorities are taking precedent at the moment.

Q13: How much wood would a woodchuck chuck if a woodchuck could chuck wood?

A13: About 700 pounds of wood on a good day with the wind at its back.

Q14: On anomaly weekend, would NIA consider releasing the Mission Day missions on Friday?

A14: I'm not sure. But it doesn't hurt to ask. I'll pass this along.

Q15: A lot of players have reached out to the OPR team to get their (bonus) locations changed so they can continue reviewing. What is your opinion? Is it oké to add a bonus location to continue on OPR even tough you have zero knowledge of the location?

A15: This is tough because it depends on the person in my opinion. If a person wants to spend the time it takes to verify something exists, they don't necessarily have to be familiar with a location but will become familiar with it by doing due diligence. If you are referring to people just changing their location to continue to review and not doing due diligence, I would be against that.

Q16: Online trolling and harassment represent a segment of the unsavory side of all aspects of online gaming. In Ingress there is the additional concern with regards to the person on the other side of the screen also having the ability to find you, identify where you work or go to school, and approach you in the real world. In the past Niantic's position appears to have been that should any harassment occur within the game, either via COMMs or in person, that if someone felt threatened they should contact the local authorities. Niantic's Community Guidelines and TOS are clear that harassment and trolling will not be tolerated. We have had many new Agents quit due to the harassment from a few incredibly offensive Agents. Although documentation in the form of COMM logs have been provided, the issue continues unabated. My question is, does Niantic take any action with regards to habitual harassment in-game and what can we as part of the global community expect from Niantic to assist in the future?

A16: First we have to define harassment. I'm not qualified to do that though. It is also very situational. So commenting on a broad topic with a specific answer is probably not wise. If habitual harassment is occurring, being reported, and nothing is happening, just ping me the information. But I need to be clear. One message a year ago and one message last month is not habitual. Also, engaging the harasser is really not a smart thing to do. Just block and move on. Lastly, don't claim harassment if you use the same language and tone as the person you are reporting. It is hypocritical. People like to use NIA OPS as a weapon between factions. But again, if habitual things are occurring with no resolution let me know. I'll see what I can do.

Q17: Hello, what do you think about pickup packs of other players and trading profile badges?

A17: I don't personally have an issue with trading character badges. I do have an issue with trading Anomaly badges. I view them as rewards for participating in an event. Likewise, for things like NL-PRIME. I fully understand there is a collectible market for these things. Buying or trading badges for events you didn't is a hollow accomplishment. You didn't have the experience the badge is intended to reward. You didn't travel and sacrifice time that could have been spent doing other things. That's just my opinion though.

Q18: Pizza or pasta ?

A18: Pizza

Q19: Hey there. Soo... mufgs. Can we expect them to return considering the mufg drought we have been having or are there something new to look forward to?

A19: There are rumors of something new. But those are only rumors at this point. Wild speculation.

Q20: Any chance in the future they might allow the innovater,vanguard and luminary badges to upgrade when people get to hire levels instead of them being stuck

A20: This is very doubtful. They were awarded for a your player level at the time of receiving it. A snapshot of what level you were during each year.

Q21: Hello, I shall continue on my #old topics with this question : Last weekend, like it has been going on for a while now, Ingress First Saturdays have been organized around the globe by players from both factions. Some agents are still uncomfortable with it and refuse to host them as they believe it infringes upon the ToS, specifically by promoting wintrading. What's your opinion on this topic?

A21: Even though these are organized by the player community, they are officially sanctioned events. You don't have to worry about win trading at Ingress First Saturday events. The whole point of them is to come together as a cross-faction group and show new players how to play.

Q22: I recently started playing Ingress, I'm level 8. My Pokémon Go level is 36. I'm disappointed that I can't participate in OPR, since I have been visiting portals/Pokéstops for quite a while. Do you know why there isn't a minimum Pokémon Go level to participate in OPR?

A22: They are two different products.

Q23: What are your thoughts about a medal for this kind of challenge? I could see it reigniting some interest in regional scoring...we might see agents travelling to throw fields in/over unique cells to meet some new goals?

A23: I like it!

Q24: Hello! I hope this morning has gone well again. I was wondering what you think of the Essex Remote Participation Events that have been going on ?

A24: I have enjoyed reading about them unfolding. Keep it up.

Q25: So how official is +Verum Inveniri? Opinions appear to be divided on whether everything they do is considered canon in the Ingress lore or if they're just heavily-involved agents.

A25: That information is classified.

Q26: Do you think the new Ingress 2.0 game UI will show what may or may not be a unique Capture/Visit.?

A26: I hope so.

Q27: In a follow-up question to +Brent Hollett's question above regarding Ultra Strikes, why is portal network currently so stingy with "very common" Power Cubes? As an example, obviously a single hack can yield multiple quantities of very common Resonators and XMP, but not only are Power Cubes and Ultra Strikes not given in the same multiples, one can go through 1-4 hacks without even receiving a single one of these. Glyphing Bonus doesn't really make a difference. Maybe you can turn the Power Cube and Ultra Strike knobs back up to 10 for us.

A27: I'm afraid they keep those knobs out of my reach. Otherwise, I might be tempted to turn it up to 11.

Ingress AMA Archive

August 7th 2017