Ingress AMA Archive

Q4: Hi, Andrew. What is your Ingress personality, what do you like to do? Creating fields, destroying, glyphing?

A4: I liked being an Intel operator and planning things the most. But I have been known to turn my volume all the way up when firing XMPs. There is something about that sound breaking resonators make. It pairs well with Wagner's Ride Of The Valkyries.

Q5: Is Niantic going to release the 2.0 update this year ?

A5: That is my understanding.

Q6: Hi! I was assigned "Embedded Reporter" last anomaly Via Noir Seoul. That was great experience for my agent life and I wish to do it again. Don't you plan to recruit it at 13 Magnus Reawakens?

A6: The application will be going live tomorrow actually.

Q7: How do you walk in this game?

A7: Step 1 - put on pants.

Q8: Will you consider a quota or cooldown on portal submissions when they come back?

A8: We have definitely had these conversations. So, yes, it has been considered.

Q9: Will we always get to keep you for ourselves or will there be a grim future where some AMA mondays will be directed at the pokémon GO trainers?

A9: I am the Ingress GCM. You are stuck with me.

Q10: What the heck happened to the Ingress-branded Nex band?

A10: Great question. I don't have an answer. The person I need to ask is on vacation for a couple of weeks. I'll try to find out so keep asking as a way to remind me.

Q11: Why do MUFG capsules no longer drop? When will this be fixed?

A11: The theory that MUFGs are experiencing some kind of change within the Portal network can be confirmed. At this point in time, I've heard rumors of a variant Capsule. Treat those as wildly speculative.

Q12: Any news on plans to release a public API?

A12: I don't think it would be in our best interest to release something for the existing platform since it will be OBE by the end of the year. This is something John Hanke has mentioned several times as wanting to do so I have to imagine it is still on tap to occur at some point with Ingress 2.0.

Q13: Do you plan to add screen rotation with one finger, like in pokemon?

A13: My understanding is that one finger rotation will be a feature of Ingress 2.0.

Q14: When will you release the anomaly ruleset?

A14: Tonight actually. But there is a twist. In a bid to get the community more involved, we'll be letting the POCs review it first before it is public. We'll take their feedback into account and make adjustments based on what we deem is appropriate. Once they provide their feedback and we've made whatever edits we will release it publicly.

Q15: Is there a legal way to obtain permission to publish a translation of "Ingress: origins"? It has been never translated to Russian, literally we can, but it required explicit pwrmission from publisher.

A15: Send me a HO or TG message. I'll try to connect you with the right people.

Q16: There has been talks here in Japan if using 2 scanners with 1 account simultaneously is allowed or not. It does speed up deployments and other actions and the system does not ban such actions. Is using 2 scanners actually allowed? If not, why does the system allow it?

A16: Using two devices at the same time is not allowed. Why does the system allow it? Why do cars allow you to go faster than the posted legal speed limit? They are manufactured that way and the responsibility to abide by the rules is on the operator.

Q17: When will portal appeals start to be reviewed again ?

A17: I had a conversation with NIA OPS about this. They are going to review their processes and ensure things are not going missed.

Q18: What should we do about serial trespassers?

A18: If someone is breaking the law, I would involve local law enforcement.

Q19: Hi Andrew! Thanks for your time! Does item deploying influence hack drop?

A19: In short, no.

Q20: When eating Eggs Benedict, do you like only lemon juice in the sauce or are you more adventurous and like other citrus juices?

A20: Trying a dash of pineapple. I'm a big pineapple fan.

Q21: Coke, Pepsi or RC?

A21: Unsweet tea, Dr. Pepper, Cherry Coke, and Root Beer. In that order. But if forced... Coke.

Q22: To the best of my knowledge, you are the only community manager for Ingress. I'd like to see three managers - one for the Americas, one for EMEA and one for Asia/Oceania. Any chance of this happening?

A22: I am the only Global Community Manager. We do have two part-time regional community managers in Asia/Oceania +Hilda Leung and +Haerang Dong. I have a long term plan muhahahahahahahahaha ahem ... to answer your question - yes. I am actively pushing for this because having local representation is always a good thing. I only speak English fluently and I'm blind to most customs and cultures for the same simple reason why I'm only fluent in English. Plus, the Earth is really really really large.

Q23: Hey! I'm asking seriously. Is #Ingress dying? Why can PokemonGo receive little visible updates and Ingress is stagnating.

A23: Ingress is about to get a MASSIVE update with Ingress 2.0. Lots of good things are coming. 2018 will be a great year for Ingress.

Q24: There are portals available in hard to access locations (having portals in corporate spaces which require gatepass to access is not against the TOS).. Such portals are a great advantage for the faction players who are lucky enough to work there.. The problem is the other faction start complaining and escalating to Nia ops etc seeking for portal removal.. What is your take on this..

A24: My understanding is portals on commercial property are allowed, this includes apartment complexes. Portals on private residential property are not allowed. The issue is one of access. If the player controls the access and can categorically deny everyone, that's not fair. If a hundred people have access but only one is an Ingress player... well... that's an entirely different situation.

Q25: Andrew Krug Is there any plans to release new badges from the Combat section besides the Resonators Destroyed? Thank you!

A25: All I can say to these types of questions is that, I hope so, and there have been conversations about it. I think it is a good idea and will advocate for it.

Q26: My mission application is being rejected due to mission image's rights to use(Use of an image or text that isn't yours or that you don't have rights to use or that consists of a logo). But I have the rights of the approved image and I contacted Support center, but it did not work. How can I prove that I have the right to a mission's image?

A26: Send me a HO or TG message.

Q27: buongiornissimoooo!!11111!! KAFFèèèèèè!??!?!?!?!??!

A27: Coffeve!!!!!!!!1111111!!1!!!!!1111

Q28: Can you give an officiall word on the max number of incoming links to a portal?

A28: I really don't know. I would assume there is some technical limit at some point (imposed or otherwise). But that's just a guess.

Q29: what do you think about a souvenir key capsule, where you can only put keys in (and maybe delete them, but not take them out for linking and recharging any more) that doesn't count towards inventory limit?

A29: I think it is a wonderful idea.

Q30: Is anything planed for new players ? I know there is a tutorial, but Ingress is more about communities, team playing, planning and communicating. Most of the new players quit playing after a few minutes, because they see no point in such a game. The way Ingress is to be played is not obvious at all for newcomers... Anything in the pipeline to address this problem ?

A30: The short answer is yes. I can't give a long answer because I don't know what the final form of the solution will look like.

Q31: Fuck you, fuck your company, fuck your game. I was banned after moving to a different city after taking a break from the game and the appeal did nothing. Hope you step on a Lego.

A31: Well hello Dan! Nice to meet you. Legos really are the bane of parenthood. If you are reaching out for help, there are better ways to ask than an expletive laden post on an AMA. Shoot me a HO or TG message and I'll see what I can do. I know the process can sometimes be frustrating. But if we treat each other with respect we'll accomplish more.

Q32: What inspired your career pivot to Niantic & have you applied any lessons you've learned from your previous employer at Niantic?

A32: Great question! I had a very successful career as a Project Manager (I'm a PMP yo!) that I loved managing cutting edge software development and hardware development programs. I also loved the people development aspect of my job and the people on my team. But I loved Ingress more. I saw the way it impacted peoples lives and the positivity that it brought to others. It's an enabler for so many great things and the community is simply awesome. The players support each other in good times and in bad. That is what inspired me. I wanted to be part of the source that was enabling all these amazing experiences. Don't forget, I was an outspoken critic and very visible player for years before I worked for Niantic. I wrote the essay The Good, Bad, and the Ugly of Ingress as a player and Niantic hired me anyway. That says a lot about the company. It inspired me even more to accept the position when they offered it because of that how objective it shows they are. Have I applied any lessons learned from my old job? Yes. A lot. In a weird alternative universe kind of way it really prepared me for this.

Q33: Good morning, did not see the answer to this question last week, so I would like to repeat: could you explain why there are very few official events on the territory of Russia, for example, anomalies, despite the large number of agents and the incredible, sometimes, activity of players This country.

A33: I don't want you to feel ignored. I simply don't know.

Ingress AMA Archive

July 31st 2017