Ingress AMA Archive

A1: Not currently.

A2: Not at this time.

A3: Our engineering lead confirmed that, “you don't get a metric for it (the count doesn’t increase), but you can complete a mission waypoint of capturing a portal that way.”

A4: All I can say at this point is that we are aware of the issue.

A5: Sometimes releases get delayed due to issues found during Quality Assurance (QA) testing. Other times a release will get delayed due to an issue found during the initial 10% rollout. It could also be delayed due to a feature or bug fix not being ready that we deem critical. This doesn’t mean work is not progressing. The development sprints continue even if the release cycle has a delay. The two are not mutually exclusive.

A6: Brian believes this is fixed. But wants to highlight that there are specific portals that have unexpected portal titles (for example, space before title, emoji in title, etc.) and these inconsistencies will sometimes make the sorting look funny. If that's not what's happening, let us know and we can take a look.

A7: Our engineering team informs me that this is presently being looked into.

A8: I wasn’t able to get an answer to this in time for publishing the AMA. Please keep asking (I will continue to ask internally as well).

A9: As it stands, this is not a high priority for the development team.

A10: The team agrees that this could be a useful idea and should be relatively simple to add. However, there are higher priorities at the moment. But thank you for the suggestion.

A11: I am told that there is no timeline presently for this to be implemented. As a reminder, you copy the lat/long of the Portal from the Portal details screen and use it in third party navigation apps. I realize this isn’t the same thing as doing it in app. But that is the current state of things at the moment.

A12: Not for the profile icons at this time, but we’re working on updates to enable agents to personalize their map avatars.

A13: I wasn’t able to get a response to this question in time for publishing the responses. Keep asking and I’ll try to get an answer next time.

A14: This is something under consideration but not a high priority at the moment. I understand that many people want to use English as it tends to be the default language Agents communicate in and makes sharing screenshots and information easier.

A15: I am not aware of any plans at this time to implement this.

A16: Thank you for bringing this up. With devices capable of 120 fps we’ll look into this. As you note, it is a delicate balance between battery consumption and a less than ideal experience.

A17: Brian Rose says, “We want to encourage agents to walk more, so this specific mod isn’t on our roadmap. “It’s time to move.” XM was designed to be one limiting factor but we’ll continue to review game metrics and consider fine-tuning this.”

A18: This was actually discussed at a recent team meeting with the idea of it maybe being a power feature in a subscription service.

A19: This is another good idea and thank you for bringing it up. We started basic discussions based on your question and it should not be too hard to implement. It’s not something a lot of people have asked for to date though so I don’t know where it would land on the list of priorities.

A20: This isn’t possible currently.

A21: The reply from Brian on this is, “This is a good idea in the future, and we first want to implement Adventure Sync in order to more accurately account for agents’ movements.”

A22: Almost like a digital guest book? I really like that idea. Maybe not exactly how it was described. But in some way to leave a mark that, “RedSoloCup wuz here!”.

A23: I was unable to get an update on this. I know it is troubling for those whose native language is RTL.

A24: Yes. This is currently being worked on in fact.

A25: In the most recent livestream by Osiris Hank Johnson, we learned that the Jahanites and the Azmati clan have temporarily put aside their differences to fight Nemesis. Hulong, Visur and IQTech have been running dark since Nemesis popped up, but the NIA has put out feelers to get updates, which we hope will bear fruit in the coming months. Despite our uneasy relations with those corporations in the past, right now we need ever ally we can get.

A26: There is no hard requirements or criteria. The medal is simply for aiding “Operation Essex founder Edgar Allen Wright.”

A27: A Tessera for the Skeptic archetype recently surfaced, which leads us to believe that Tesserae for the rest of the archetypes will be released over time. We believe that an Archetype Tessera’s color, location on the board, and neighboring Tesserae will eventually provide us insight into Courier’s archetype. But, for the time being, we have no reason to doubt that Courier is Hank Johnson from the 1218 Node, the Explorer archetype.

A28: We cannot comment on the overall process. However, while that Portal was not specifically targeted beforehand during the planning phase, once discovered, the irony was not lost on us. So, no, it was not a coincidence.

A29: As you may be aware, currently, the application process is closed. We have not determined yet what support will be available for standalone Mission Days in 2020, if any. We are currently reviewing with our team restrictions relating to Mission Days that may limit or alter how they are planned and executed.

A30: NIA OPS just checked and tells me the issue appears to have been fixed between the time the question was asked and when I typed the response. If you test it and confirm it has not, please let us know.

A31: I am told that,” We have every attention to release a schedule of upcoming events with an acceptable lead time to avoid last minute travel plans. As to when the schedule will be published I do not have a date to provide at this time.”

A32: Brian replied that, “Due to the high cost of these events, we aren’t able to host Camp Navarro in 2020. We’re looking at ways we can scale the kinds of activity at these events to more cities across more dates, but don’t have a definitive plan to share right now.”

A33: You bring up a good point and it kicked off a conversation on how we can do these things in a more scalable way to give people the opportunity to earn the medals at the tiers we published.

A34: Given all the changes that have occurred in the last year, I think you are right and that the tiers should be modified if we can’t find a way to hold them more frequently. I’ll advocate for finding a solution for this.

A35: Nothing definitive that I’ve heard at this time from the Agent that organized it. Remember this wasn’t a Niantic organized event. But we did support the creation of the Missions. Selfishly I would love to have another so I could attend. I couldn’t go on the one that just happened.

A36: The social media field art glyph challenge has ended for the time being. With less resources, it became too time consuming to continue to execute.

A37: Not that I’m aware of.

A38: The best course of action is to open a ticket with support so they can investigate the missing medals. You should also confirm with the Mission Day POCs tha they have sent in the correct information for your Agent name. Please check with the POCs you checked-in with at the event to make sure they included your codename in the error list. Here’s more info on the eligibility criteria for medals and who you can reach out to if you have issues: https://niantic.help...

A39: The reasons you see under the Report Invalid Portal category are the ones that will be considered while reviewing the report. Property owners can reach out to us using the form on the help center.

A40: Not at this time.

A41: I’ll share the feedback with the team.

A42: Nothing is currently planned.

A43: The guide has been renamed as Potentially Confusing Candidates (https://niantic.help...). There’s also an Acceptance Criteria log which lists when and what was added/updated: https://niantic.help...

A44: With the information provided, it is hard to provide any guidance. Much like with emergency personnel (fire and police stations), you wouldn’t want a Portal that prevents anyone from doing their job. Providing the Portal is not an impediment, I could see this being a very subjective topic. From my own personal experience with elderly relatives living in assisted living homes, they would probably welcome any sort of visitors and activity. But I could also see the other side of the conversation as well. So without additional details, a blanket statement is not something we can provide on this topic at this time.

A45: I am told that at this time there will not be one and that Ingress Agents can use the Intel Map to view accepted Wayspots.

A46: The Wayfarer Team says, “There has been no change. Being upgraded does not guarantee an immediate decision as there are other factors that could affect the upgrade behind the scenes. It is however still prioritized.”

A47: NIA OPS says, “As a general rule, don’t submit photos that include people if you can avoid it. If you can’t (like at a temple), you may submit a photo with people in the frame, so long as they aren't the focus or posing for the camera.”

A48: I am told that the short answer is, yes -- we have thought about it. I wasn’t able to get any further details beyond that.

A49: NIA OPS informs me that, “Playgrounds are eligible, as long as they are not located on primary and secondary school grounds, child care centers, day care centers, or private residential property. For these indoor playgrounds, if they’re publicly accessible play areas (like a generic playground in a mall), yes. If it's part of a commercial business (like McDonalds), no.”

A50: I have been informed that, at this time, there are no plans to separate the edits by type. In general, choose the best option (location/title/description) for the candidate. If you come across an inappropriate description (either offensive, or one that tries to influence the reviewers), you can report these via the help center for now.

A51: Yes.

A52: NIA OPS says, “This would fall under the category of Local Businesses and can be considered ‘Generic’ if there is no historical or cultural significance: https://niantic.help...

A53: The policy page says “Regardless of any other criteria, if a nomination doesn’t have pedestrian access it is not eligible.” Height is not something that is explicitly considered. If you can safely reach the wall a mural is painted on, but the mural is 20 feet off the ground, that is fine.

A54: I am told that this would fall under the category of Local Businesses and can be considered ‘Generic’ if there is no historical or cultural significance: https://niantic.help...

A55: NIA OPS clarified this for me and says, “That’s correct, because sale of marijuana isn’t legal globally, and where it is legal there is an age gate, these would be considered “Adult Services” under the criteria and therefore ineligible.”

A56: I am told that if they’re full-time Cadet or Scout buildings where the primary purpose is gathering of people in the K-12 age range with a membership component, it would be considered similar to a private daycare center and ineligible. However, if it’s a public gathering place that’s occasionally used for Scout or Guide meetings, then yes it would be eligible.

A57: I’ve been informed that we aren’t planning to release or re-use claimed usernames at this time.

A58: Some of these submissions could be from before the launch of Wayfarer. Please follow the guidelines in the Wayfarer site to review these nominations.

A59: That is literally the policy. “PLEASE DON’T SUBMIT Candidates on the grounds of PRIMARY/SECONDARY SCHOOLS”. Source: https://niantic.help... Note: Uppercase is not mine. That is how it reads on the website. I am not trying to shout over text.

A60: Edits to Historical markers from partner sources (for eg. hmdb.org) need to be approved by the partner. We recommend reaching out to them if you notice any discrepancies. If a Portal needs a change of both the name and photo, it sounds like the original Portal may no longer exist at that location. In that case, please submit an invalid Portal report from the Scanner. If the new candidate is eligible on it’s own, you can submit a new nomination for the location.

A61: NIA OPS says, “Don’t engage with trolls. Block them in COMM and continue with your mission.”

A62: No this isn’t something that is possible at this time. The AMA’s shouldn’t be used for anything time sensitive. If there are time sensitive questions about the product I would simply post in the forums and tag someone.

A63: I’ll ask the moderators to look into this.

A64: Soon.

A65: Go back far enough and you’ll find that we are all related, cousin.

A66: This is a very subjective question. There are people that don’t have access to hundreds of L8 XMPs or their opponents have access to a lot of AXA shields which in both cases makes things more difficult. You are also making a generalization that making fields is the same level of skill for all fields. This is false. I’ve YOLO’d a lot of fields in my day. There was no skill and took less time then attacking. Also, only one person can make a field or link. Groups of people can attack and weaken a Portal. If I wait and only use a few XMPs and let my Factionmates do all the work to weaken a Portal, why should I get all the AP that went into building it? I don’t think it should be a 1:1 ratio. I think things are pretty balanced for this specific set of actions.

A67: Plot twist. Wendy is his daughter… I kid. I kid. I didn’t see the Courier thing coming either.

A68: It did not have this.

A69: I cannot. But did you know there was a Battle Toads/Double Dragon crossover event? Watch out for the dynamite!

A70: Only one of those is real. So it would naturally win.

A71: Anything related to Deadpool or Bob Ross. I already have the Deadpool/Bob Ross Funko POP. Yes, that really exists.