[funkylogik]

Any1 got a link to how it actualy works? is it A.R. when u find something?

Unbranded international s3 with Official JB. Paisley, Slotland, Western Europe :beer:

[EvilMonkey]

Any1 got a link to how it actualy works? is it A.R. when u find something?

I'll find out at lunch. Going to go find my first portal and see how it actually works and if I think it's actually going to be fun.

Take this all with a grain of salt, but after a cursory glance at how it works, it looks like a king-of-the-hill type game. You build portals, and 3 portals connected together form a triangle that your team owns. More XP means you can build bigger portals that can connect to portals further away (thus claiming bigger areas). Then you try to steal portals/areas from the other team. There's probably more to it, but after a quick look, that appears to be how it's played. I was hoping more for a storyline game (where you could find clues that would advance the story) but I'm not sure if there's any of that. Also not sure how to actually steal a portal.

Again, I only looked at it for a couple of minutes since I'm at work and didn't have time for more than a cursory glance at it. Will explore more later to see if that's indeed the case.

[EvilMonkey]

I went out and collected some stuff. Didn't go to a portal though. Seems to be ok. The app really needs to be tied more into Google Navigation though....like there's no way to navigate to a portal or anything that I can tell.

And yes, of course it's a "fun" way for Google to gather data. You can submit new portals by submitting a geo-tagged photo of:

• Statues
• Unique architecture
• Outdoor murals
• Historic buildings
• Special outdoor buildings
• Unique local businesses

Doesn't bother me at all. Just makes their services better, so I have no issues contributing. I'm just not sure I'll be into the "game".....would prefer more of a global treasure hunt type thing, I think. But that's just me. Anyways, you can read more about the game here:


And a map can be found here:


I can already tell quite a few people have put up portals around our area, so people are playing. Mostly at statues, historical markers, etc.

[GrooveRite]

I went out and collected some stuff. Didn't go to a portal though. Seems to be ok. The app really needs to be tied more into Google Navigation though....like there's no way to navigate to a portal or anything that I can tell.

And yes, of course it's a "fun" way for Google to gather data. You can submit new portals by submitting a geo-tagged photo of:

• Statues
• Unique architecture
• Outdoor murals
• Historic buildings
• Special outdoor buildings
• Unique local businesses

Doesn't bother me at all. Just makes their services better, so I have no issues contributing. I'm just not sure I'll be into the "game".....would prefer more of a global treasure hunt type thing, I think. But that's just me. Anyways, you can read more about the game here:


And a map can be found here:


I can already tell quite a few people have put up portals around our area, so people are playing. Mostly at statues, historical markers, etc.

This sounds more like work to me than a FUN game, sorry to say.

[funkylogik]

I went out and collected some stuff. Didn't go to a portal though. Seems to be ok. The app really needs to be tied more into Google Navigation though....like there's no way to navigate to a portal or anything that I can tell.

And yes, of course it's a "fun" way for Google to gather data. You can submit new portals by submitting a geo-tagged photo of:

• Statues
• Unique architecture
• Outdoor murals
• Historic buildings
• Special outdoor buildings
• Unique local businesses

Doesn't bother me at all. Just makes their services better, so I have no issues contributing. I'm just not sure I'll be into the "game".....would prefer more of a global treasure hunt type thing, I think. But that's just me. Anyways, you can read more about the game here:


And a map can be found here:


I can already tell quite a few people have put up portals around our area, so people are playing. Mostly at statues, historical markers, etc.

So is everything you gota find, user generated or have google put these virtual things all over the place.
Doubt id ever get into it unless i had a dog lol

As for google collecting data.... i have no qualms at all about that. I kinda like it.
It makes them money but helps us too

Unbranded international s3 with Official JB. Paisley, Slotland, Western Europe :beer:

[EvilMonkey]

So is everything you gota find, user generated or have google put these virtual things all over the place.
Doubt id ever get into it unless i had a dog lol

I'm guessing they started it off with several things, but it looks like most of it will be user generated. There's a submittal process for new portals, but from reading it, it sounds like they want publicly accessible places that are easy to get to (so I'm guessing my ideas of hiking out to scenic places or cool abandoned things in the middle of the woods wouldn't get approved).

I read some more about it today, and hacked a couple portals on the way home (did one at a red light...barely slowed down). Not to go into all the game specifics (you can read through the links I posted above), but you hack a portal, which gives you items, which you can then use later. I got a couple keys (not sure what to use those for yet) and some resonators. It takes 8 resonators to "claim" a portal, and they are varying levels. So I can deploy 8 level-1 resonators to claim a portal, but can't deploy 8 level-2 ones to level the portal up, so you need to coordinate with other people in order to get enough higher-level resonators deployed. Seems once you hack a portal, it's inactive for 5 minutes (at least for me...maybe someone else could hack it in the meantime). So unless you want to sit there for 5 minutes to hack it again, you might as well move on.

Then it goes on into weapons and stuff you can use to destroy areas and reclaim a portal owned by the other team. Then there's the XP you can get by just driving around, which seems to be in clusters where Android phones are or have been in use. Which is kind of disturbing because when I drove into my neighborhood, I can tell which houses have Android phones (there's a big cluster right at my house, but not at my neighbor who has an iPhone). But all restaurants and gathering places I passed had clusters in them to collect, which you get just by driving by.

All-in-all, as it stands (unless I'm missing something), it's not overly exciting. I'm sure it will take you to some places you haven't been, assuming people put portals in interesting places. But since I've geocached for years, I've probably seen any exciting things around me.

I can think of a lot of ways they could make this more exciting, including, but not limited to:

1. They need to integrate this into Google Maps (as a layer maybe) so you can use Navigation with it. The default app is kindof bad....it doesn't really follow you very well and seems to jump (like it has no idea which way I'm traveling).
2. They should really take more advantage of augmented reality. Like you should be able to use your phone's camera to look at a portal location and see the portal above it (more on that below). Or players could pick an avatar and dress it up other players could use their phone's camera to spot other players (like if someone playing looked at me through their camera's viewfinder, I could be decked out like Master Chief or a chicken or something).
3. There should be more variety to the gameplay. Like some portals could spew monsters out (that your team has to destroy), or have additional messages or items or other things...I was picturing using augmented reality with my phone's camera to see a portal with tentacles coming out of it, or a swirling portal in the sky, or a giant monster or UFO hovering over my hometown, or only having so long to close a portal before a wave of zombies is unleashed (which might deplete your health if you got too close, and your team would then have to track down and destroy with weapons). Just some thoughts that would add more of an incentive than "capture the portal which will be captured by the other team within an hour" gameplay mechanic.

Oh well....it could just be better. I'll probably play it for a few days just to see if there's more to it than my initial impression.

[Tkbredx]

Could make a cool game show

[funkylogik]

I'm guessing they started it off with several things, but it looks like most of it will be user generated. There's a submittal process for new portals, but from reading it, it sounds like they want publicly accessible places that are easy to get to (so I'm guessing my ideas of hiking out to scenic places or cool abandoned things in the middle of the woods wouldn't get approved).

I read some more about it today, and hacked a couple portals on the way home (did one at a red light...barely slowed down). Not to go into all the game specifics (you can read through the links I posted above), but you hack a portal, which gives you items, which you can then use later. I got a couple keys (not sure what to use those for yet) and some resonators. It takes 8 resonators to "claim" a portal, and they are varying levels. So I can deploy 8 level-1 resonators to claim a portal, but can't deploy 8 level-2 ones to level the portal up, so you need to coordinate with other people in order to get enough higher-level resonators deployed. Seems once you hack a portal, it's inactive for 5 minutes (at least for me...maybe someone else could hack it in the meantime). So unless you want to sit there for 5 minutes to hack it again, you might as well move on.

Then it goes on into weapons and stuff you can use to destroy areas and reclaim a portal owned by the other team. Then there's the XP you can get by just driving around, which seems to be in clusters where Android phones are or have been in use. Which is kind of disturbing because when I drove into my neighborhood, I can tell which houses have Android phones (there's a big cluster right at my house, but not at my neighbor who has an iPhone). But all restaurants and gathering places I passed had clusters in them to collect, which you get just by driving by.

All-in-all, as it stands (unless I'm missing something), it's not overly exciting. I'm sure it will take you to some places you haven't been, assuming people put portals in interesting places. But since I've geocached for years, I've probably seen any exciting things around me.

I can think of a lot of ways they could make this more exciting, including, but not limited to:

1. They need to integrate this into Google Maps (as a layer maybe) so you can use Navigation with it. The default app is kindof bad....it doesn't really follow you very well and seems to jump (like it has no idea which way I'm traveling).
2. They should really take more advantage of augmented reality. Like you should be able to use your phone's camera to look at a portal location and see the portal above it (more on that below). Or players could pick an avatar and dress it up other players could use their phone's camera to spot other players (like if someone playing looked at me through their camera's viewfinder, I could be decked out like Master Chief or a chicken or something).
3. There should be more variety to the gameplay. Like some portals could spew monsters out (that your team has to destroy), or have additional messages or items or other things...I was picturing using augmented reality with my phone's camera to see a portal with tentacles coming out of it, or a swirling portal in the sky, or a giant monster or UFO hovering over my hometown, or only having so long to close a portal before a wave of zombies is unleashed (which might deplete your health if you got too close, and your team would then have to track down and destroy with weapons). Just some thoughts that would add more of an incentive than "capture the portal which will be captured by the other team within an hour" gameplay mechanic.

Oh well....it could just be better. I'll probably play it for a few days just to see if there's more to it than my initial impression.

Ur ideas sound so cool.... then id play it. Im sure itl evolve if it gets enough hits
Genius idea by google though eh
Next they sould give us free data

PS i can guarantee noone in my town will be playing this, we're too self concious to talk on hands free so were not gona walk around usin our phones like a tricorder lol

Unbranded international s3 with Official JB. Paisley, Slotland, Western Europe :beer:

[kkapoorr]

This is INGRESS. There are two factions the Enlightened, who want to control the portals, and the Resistance, who well...want to resist.. I've joined the Enlightened, and right now we're getting beat.


This is the main screen with my current location. See those blue dots? Those are the XM Energy that I can go into range and collect, usually 7-10 metres... Plus I can only see the energy within a certain range, i.e. in DLF Phase 1 H Block, but not G Block.


This is the chat screen. Green is your team, blue is other.


New portals can be added. This is how:

[damo]

Funky - there are lots of people from Glasgow playing it, I saw an option somewhere that shows you names off people locally and what they are doing in the game


Sent from my Samsung Galaxy S3 LTE using Android Central Forums

[ultravisitor]

I don't suppose anyone has an invite they can share with me, do they?

Sent from my Galaxy Nexus

[kkapoorr]

I don't have any invites left...:o

Sent from my HTC One X using Tapatalk 2

[funkylogik]

Funky - there are lots of people from Glasgow playing it, I saw an option somewhere that shows you names off people locally and what they are doing in the game


Sent from my Samsung Galaxy S3 LTE using Android Central Forums

But i live on a huge town joined onto the city... its somehow different. Il giv it a try though once amazon deliver that handcuff case :P

Unbranded international s3 with Official JB. Paisley, Slotland, Western Europe :beer:

[sledge007]

Just spent the last hour and a half on this site catching up with the daily clues. They certainly know how to reel you in. Keep checking Twitter, there are several "contests" to get invites. Still haven't got mine yet, but there are ways to expediate the process....various contests, retweets, submissions etc. As far as I know, the only people that can invite at this time are the admins to the game. Battery life, sure it will suck ...but that's what extra batteries, portable chargers, and 12V car chargers are for!

[gaijin82]

Just got my invite. Any tips?

Sent from my SCH-I535 using Android Central Forums

[Jerry Hildenbrand]

Just got my invite. Any tips?

Sent from my SCH-I535 using Android Central Forums

Play through the tutorial. It's fun and easy to figure out.

Sent from my HTC One X using Android Central Forums

[kkapoorr]

Play through the tutorial. It's fun and easy to figure out.

Sent from my HTC One X using Android Central Forums

It's easy yeah, but the lack of portals here is disappointing :/.
I've submitted around 5-6 suggestions, waiting...
I see you have the same-ish opinion(AC article about the G+ integration in the PS)

Sent from my HTC One X using Tapatalk 2

[Nazzak]

I would love to join in if anyone gets an available invite. Thanks!

[Ivanamanation#IM]

Got my invite

Sent from my Nexus 7 using Android Central Forums

[MangoPowah]

Just got my invite! Yay!

Sent from the cockpit of Gurren Lagann

[Ivanamanation#IM]

What movement did you join?

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[bassmig]

I've had my invite since day one however I am still trying to get through the tutorial. It's getting cold up here, they should have started the game in May instead of November! lol It's currently -14 Celsius with the wind chill.

[Ricky Babalu]

For anyone interested AC has started an "Ingress" forum: Ingress forum

[Mert Elser]

Hi. How can I send a candidate portal? I found a video but , I can not find NIA Super Ops options om my share options.

[bakeri666]

Hi. How can I send a candidate portal? I found a video but , I can not find NIA Super Ops options om my share options.

If NIA super ops is not in your share list than my something has for wrong... or ingress isn't on your device.