• Hey Guest. Check out your NeoGAF Wrapped 2025 results here!

Pokemon GO update removes footprints from nearby tracker

I don't know what everyone is moaning about...

The black screen of death and frozen pokeballs seem to have gone, they got rid of a feature that wasn't operational ( I know it was bloody fun to use, but you can still stumble upon mons) and they balanced the movesets and rotated nests.

I prefer the new version.

If and when they stick footprints back in, I'll be happier, but for the time being it's still great.

If you don't like the update, you can ease the server load and leave, as many seem to be threatening to do. Not sure many outside of forums/reddit are going to care much for the changes; your average Joe will think it's smoother and be able to logon more consistently.

E: Yeah the GPS cheaters suck though...
 
F2P isn't free. Plenty of people have paid plenty of money in this game.
Optionally. It's not Free to Start, it's Free to Play.

Unless you need Pokeballs desperately, you can just sit at a Pokestop. They refresh every 5 minutes
 
Agreed. I'm going to keep on keeping on. The appeal to me was discovering random Pokemon all around various parks and what not. Exploring an area and getting a feel for what Pokemon spawn there is fun. Using the poke vision stuff killed that aspect so I'm glad it's gone. They do need to make a working in game tracker again. The first week the game was out I was using it just fine.
 
Considering that the footprint tracking never worked its all the same to me. Would I like a working tracking system?

HELL YES

Without it it isn't really like hunting Pokemons. Its just catching those that you come across.
 
I think it was pretty obvious from the start as the game is really stingy with healing items and doesn't even offer free healing from a Pokémon Center.

Which is why I haven't really taken on gyms as I have zero desire to pour money into the app.

My experience is the exact opposite of this. I have an abundance of healing items to the point where I can comfortably delete 50+ regularly to free space for more balls.
 
What piss me off it's that they prefered to block pokeradars instead of banning gps cheaters!! So the legit player is now blind while cheaters are still runnng wild with bots too.
/gg!

But the GPS spoofing is now a fruitless effort because you can't warp directly to a Pokemon's location. Now they have to sit there and tap around the screen endlessly hoping they stumble upon a Pokemon like everyone else.
 
The way some people are reacting here you'd think everyone paid $50 and this wasn't a worldwide phenomena and the most successful game app ever.

Guys. It's a free Pokemon game that's going to get biweekly updates.

Chill. I'm sure they hear you. I'm almost certain actually. Just some context. Free game. Super popular. It'll be okay.

Going by speculation on the awkward tracking being deliberate and not a bug, and disliking the PokeVision website, I'd say this is more intentional than "Whoops, sorry, we'll get this back on soon!"
 
Agreed. I'm going to keep on keeping on. The appeal to me was discovering random Pokemon all around various parks and what not. Exploring an area and getting a feel for what Pokemon spawn there is fun. Using the poke vision stuff killed that aspect so I'm glad it's gone. They do need to make a working in game tracker again. The first week the game was out I was using it just fine.

Mind telling us how it "killed the aspect" for you? You weren't forced to use it, and other people using it would not affect your game at all. Someone else using a tracker will not hinder your fun of exploring an area at all.

Seems to me that it's people like you that are killing the fun for others by whining about it.
 
The way some people are reacting here you'd think everyone paid $50 and this wasn't a worldwide phenomena and the most successful game app ever.

Guys. It's a free Pokemon game that's going to get biweekly updates.

Chill. I'm sure they hear you. I'm almost certain actually. Just some context. Free game. Super popular. It'll be okay.
OK, cool, then I will shut up, sorry.
 
My experience is the exact opposite of this. I have an abundance of healing items to the point where I can comfortably delete 50+ regularly to free space for more balls.
Same. I get so many healing items I can freely battle and train up gyms every time I go on a walk, and I still have tons:

1wJSeqi.jpg
 
Mind telling us how it "killed the aspect" for you? You weren't forced to use it, and other people using it would not affect your game at all. Someone else using a tracker will not hinder your fun of exploring an area at all.

Seems to me that it's people like you that are killing the fun for others by whining about it.

No I think it was cheating the system. I know some players who caught for example, tons of rare Snorlax by using it. And gyms are flooded with them because of it. It definitely was affecting the pokemon economy. The damage was done, but now that it's gone hopefully the rare Pokemon stay hard to come across and will be a real treat when you find one.

Also, the first week of the game the tracker was working fine. If they figure out the server probs it'll be nice to have it back. It's just like playing a " hot and cold" hide and seek game. The third party eye in the sky trackers like pokevison were definitely not the intended way the devs want us to play.
 
Optionally. It's not Free to Start, it's Free to Play.

Unless you need Pokeballs desperately, you can just sit at a Pokestop. They refresh every 5 minutes

Whether it makes sense to buy IAPs is of no relevance. Fact of the matter is: Pokemon Go offers IAPs and is making an enormous amount of money with it, being the top grossing app in pretty much every country it launched.

So, saying "you didn't pay money, so you can't complain" doesn't make sense when people pay money each and every day, generating millions upon millions of dollars in daily revenue.
 
Why do so many people have no patience when it comes to Niantic? They could not have anticipated this level of popularity and they must be under immense pressure. The game hasn't even been out for so long.

I'm sure the tracking will be back as will they fix all the other little issues. Just give them some time.

Lack of communication
 
You can still hatch eggs and stumble upon Pokémon. You know, the core gameplay.

The core gamplay is bad. really really bad. it's the social aspect of this and why it got this big but I see Niantic "and probably Nintendo because the mention in Pokevision tweet" trying their best to push people away.
 
Whether it makes sense to buy IAPs is of no relevance. Fact of the matter is: Pokemon Go offers IAPs and is making an enormous amount of money with it, being the top grossing app in pretty much every country it launched.

So, saying "you didn't pay money, so you can't complain" doesn't make sense when people pay money each and every day, generating millions upon millions of dollars in daily revenue.

Yeah, and they paid it of their own accord and are not forced to do it. It's not even items locked behind a paywall, it's purely just additional items you can obtain for free with patience and walking.

The core gamplay is bad. really really bad. it's the social aspect of this and why it got this big but I see Niantic "and probably Nintendo because the mention in Pokevision tweet" trying their best to push people away.

This is some conspiracy stuff right here.
 
But the GPS spoofing is now a fruitless effort because you can't warp directly to a Pokemon's location. Now they have to sit there and tap around the screen endlessly hoping they stumble upon a Pokemon like everyone else.

Do you want me to explain what is the difference between a lazy couch jerk and a guy that make the effort to go out ?
Do you want me to explain how a guy from Russia can come screw you without even being here ?

Do you want me to go on or do you've enough comon sense to understand the difference between cheaters and legit players ???!
If you can't then you should quit gaming.
 
No I think it was cheating the system. I know some players who caught for example, tons of rare Snorlax by using it. And gyms are flooded with them because of it. It definitely was affecting the pokemon economy. The damage was done, but now that it's gone hopefully the rare Pokemon stay hard to come across and will be a real treat when you find one.
Yeah, 2500+ cp Dragonites are vacating the gyms. It's totally fine bro! It doesn't affect your enjoyability at all!
 
Yeah, and they paid it of their own accord and are not forced to do it. It's not even items locked behind a paywall, it's purely just additional items you can obtain for free with patience and walking.

Well, duh, when are you forced to pay anything ever? If you don't want to, you don't have to pay your rent either. Sure, you'll be homeless then, but whatever. You don't even have to pay your taxes if you like prisons.

Fact is, people are paying for the game and they absolutely are entitled to complain. This is a product to make money, which can only exist for as long as people pay for it.
 
No I think it was cheating the system. I know some players who caught for example, tons of rare Snorlax by using it. And gyms are flooded with them because of it. It definitely was effecting the pokemon economy. The damage was done, but now that it's gone hopefully the rare Pokemon stay hard to come across and will be a real treat when you find one.

Don't think the trackers really had anything to do with that. The place I work at is a pokemon spawn point, and over two days a Snorlax popped right in front of me like 3 different times. I just leave the app open while I work and things pop, no using trackers.

And anyway, I was disputing what you said about how it ruins your ability to explore. It was already a treat to see a rare Pokemon that doesn't usually spawn in your neighborhood.

Using the trackers still gets people walking around and playing the game. The gym problems are caused by other hacks not the trackers.

EDIT: Also, apparently the game already peaked and is on the decline. This will probably speed up that decline.
 
Do you want me to explain what is the difference between a lazy couch jerk and a guy that make the effort to go out ?
Do you want me to explain how a guy from Russia can come screw you without even being here ?

Do you want me to go on or do you've enough comon sense to understand the difference between cheaters and legit players ???!
If you can't then you should quit gaming.
Don't you understand that people who do GPS spoofing have no advantage now other than not having to get off their butt?

GPS spoofers can no longer home in on rare high CP Pokemon. They can't just check a site and go where the good stuff is. Some guy from Russia can't come to where I live and screw me because he's only able to find the same Rattata and Pidgey's I find now.
 
Yeah, 2500+ cp Dragonites are vacating the gyms. It's totally fine bro! It doesn't affect your enjoyability at all!

That's why they took out the dratini farms. Which I absolutely agree they should of , seeing how dragonite is the highest CP gaining Mon in the game. Dratinis should be treated as rare. Not mass farmable. I believe the devs had little clue what they were doing when they made this game to begin with. The completely untested attacks that were all nerfed is proof of that. But this game hasn't even been out a month so I'm expecting it to be drastically different as time goes on.
 
The core gamplay is bad. really really bad. it's the social aspect of this and why it got this big but I see Niantic "and probably Nintendo because the mention in Pokevision tweet" trying their best to push people away.

So the game wasn't social before Pokevision popped up? Come on.

I'm sure the footprints will come back.
 
But it might be too late by then.

Sure. For the general player base that could be the case. Will you stop playing now because of the missing footprints and Pokevision shutdown?

To be clear, I don't mind this Pokevision stuff. Some people like it and they should have the chance to use it. But I personally don't care at all about it.
 
Don't think the trackers really had anything to do with that. The place I work at is a pokemon spawn point, and over two days a Snorlax popped right in front of me like 3 different times. I just leave the app open while I work and things pop, no using trackers.

And anyway, I was disputing what you said about how it ruins your ability to explore. It was already a treat to see a rare Pokemon that doesn't usually spawn in your neighborhood.

Using the trackers still gets people walking around and playing the game. The gym problems are caused by other hacks not the trackers.

EDIT: Also, apparently the game already peaked and is on the decline. This will probably speed up that decline.

Being a pretty social game, i would constantly be around people using Pokevision and instantly knowing where everything was in an area. They'd call it out, lead groups specially to spots, ect. It definitely hampered my own personal enjoyment because I thought of it as cheating. For example, everyone on the pier one day suddenly knew exactly where a gyarados spawned a couple miles up the beach. People went running. I couldn't NOT go get it as well. It's quite an advantage to know where everything is at the push of a button. I may be treating this game competitivly prematurely, but for whatever reason I want to be the best. It's nice that everyone's on an even playing ground again.
 
Well, duh, when are you forced to pay anything ever? If you don't want to, you don't have to pay your rent either. Sure, you'll be homeless then, but whatever. You don't even have to pay your taxes if you like prisons.

Fact is, people are paying for the game and they absolutely are entitled to complain. This is a product to make money, which can only exist for as long as people pay for it.

Dude, that poster was making a statement that this is not a product you had to pay for first. There's no monetary wall stopping you from starting to play. It's not a $50 game or anything like that.

It's a free game that doesn't even have a proper paywall. You still need to hit Pokestops to get good items. 100 Pokeballs won't net you a Charizard like a Great Ball or Ultra Ball will.

Everyone is entitled to complain about the game, money or not. Spending money does not make those people special. At the same time everyone is free to say when someone might be going a bit overboard about a free game with optional payments.

Want to know what? I went to the park today and the groups of people gathered around lured Pokestops was even greater than last week. Maybe the attitude here in Australia is different to the UK or USA. So the update isn't screwing the game experience up like people in this thread say. Maybe, just maybe, the people here are overreacting.
 
Don't you understand that people who do GPS spoofing have no advantage now other than not having to get off their butt?

The python script is still working, isn't it?

Pokevision was cool because it allowed people on the go to see where Pokemon are located, while solutions like the python script really only work when you are at home.
 
This may be anecdotal, but the vast majority of casual players I notice wouldn't care either way if there's a working tracker or not. They just cruise around poke stops and seem to catch anything and everything. And then there's the gamers like us who will play regardless. Working tracker or not. So sadly I don't think niantic even feels pressure to fix the thing. They better though, because they'll be looked at as a joke of a company by the hard core player base if they don't. But maybe they've already made their millions and just don't care.
 
The python script is still working, isn't it?

Pokevision was cool because it allowed people on the go to see where Pokemon are located, while solutions like the python script really only work when you are at home.
The python script no longer works as well as it did before (very slow), so anyone who did use it has been seriously cut down.
 
I really liked the compass direction but not exact location system a gaffer here made. That was perfection.

Hope they integrate that
 
"Oh hey, this feature isn't working."
"Should we fix it? I mean, it's a pretty fundamental aspect for people who actually want to explore for Pokemon and not just randomly stumble upon them."
"Nah, just get rid of it completely."

This and shutting down Pokevision (which wasn't hurting anyone, if people didn't want to use it they didn't have to) just removed most of the fun for me (since around here there's the same 2-3 Pokemon and that's it).

Coupled with the fact Niantic are one of the least communicative game companies I can remember, for me there's not much reason to continue playing. The novelty was already wearing off and this just sped that up considerably.
 
But it might be too late by then.

Why do you care?
You've made it clear in the past that you don't give a shit about the community aspects, the gym aspects or the social aspects of the game. Just ticking off pokémon off the list.
Or did I just imagine all that? When you flipped out to that poster that dared to report the Pokeradar apps to Niantic because it was hampering his/her enjoyment?

I agree that the current situation in the app sucks. But getting turn by turn navigation to the exact location of that rare pokemon is a very poor long-term solution and undermines everything the app sought to achieve. Because the consequence is that that 'rare' Pokemon simply won't be rare anymore when people get pop-up notifications whenever any of them spawns near. Trivializing the finding and collection aspect is not the way to cultivate long-term interest and i'm glad Niantic is cracking down on it.
 
Why do you care?
You've made it clear in the past that you don't give a shit about the community aspects, the gym aspects or the social aspects of the game. Just ticking off pokémon off the list.
Or did I just imagine all that? When you flipped out to that poster that dared to report the Pokeradar apps to Niantic because it was hampering his/her enjoyment?

I agree that the current situation in the app sucks. But getting turn by turn navigation to the exact location of that rare pokemon is a very poor long-term solution and undermines everything the app sought to achieve. Because the consequence is that that 'rare' Pokemon simply won't be rare anymore when people get pop-up notifications whenever any of them spawns near. Trivializing the finding and collection aspect is not the way to cultivate long-term interest and i'm glad Niantic is cracking down on it.

And do you really think they're cultivating long-term interest by refusing to communicate with their players?
 
Why do you care?
You've made it clear in the past that you don't give a shit about the community aspects, the gym aspects or the social aspects of the game. Just ticking off pokémon off the list.
Or did I just imagine all that? When you flipped out to that poster that dared to report the Pokeradar apps to Niantic because it was hampering his/her enjoyment?

I agree that the current situation in the app sucks. But getting turn by turn navigation to the exact location of that rare pokemon is a very poor long-term solution and undermines everything the app sought to achieve. Because the consequence is that that 'rare' Pokemon simply won't be rare anymore when people get pop-up notifications whenever any of them spawns near. Trivializing the finding and collection aspect is not the way to cultivate long-term interest and i'm glad Niantic is cracking down on it.
I didn't see the original posts on this, but how is the bolded the case? Pokevision was a website, so if people didn't want to use it, they didn't have to visit it.

It still required people to go to the location of the Pokemon, and there were only maximum 15 minute windows (I think) where those Pokemon were available, so it was still limited somewhat to the local area, and required going out to catch them. It's hardly like the GPS spoofing apps where people could change their location while sitting at home and catch Pokemon that way (which ironically, still seem to be working if reports are to be believed, while Pokevision is not).
 
So instead of fixing a feature, Niantic just straight up removed it? That doesn't bode well for the future of the app.

Also, this app needs big updates, and soon. People are going to get bored of it.
 
And do you really think they're cultivating long-term interest by refusing to communicate with their players?
Most of the millions of people playing thought Nintendo made the game. They literally didn't know Niantic existed despite their logo when you launch the app.
 
A compass with the app would be great. Better than the footstep hot/cold system I think.

Yeah found a vulpix this morning only slightly out of the way of my normal walking route this morning thanks to it before they pushed the update that broke the compass :(
 
Why do you care?
You've made it clear in the past that you don't give a shit about the community aspects, the gym aspects or the social aspects of the game. Just ticking off pokémon off the list.
Or did I just imagine all that? When you flipped out to that poster that dared to report the Pokeradar apps to Niantic because it was hampering his/her enjoyment?

I agree that the current situation in the app sucks. But getting turn by turn navigation to the exact location of that rare pokemon is a very poor long-term solution and undermines everything the app sought to achieve. Because the consequence is that that 'rare' Pokemon simply won't be rare anymore when people get pop-up notifications whenever any of them spawns near. Trivializing the finding and collection aspect is not the way to cultivate long-term interest and i'm glad Niantic is cracking down on it.

I never said I didn't care about the community or social aspects of the game. Just the gyms really. So you are imaging things. I even backed off on it and tried to move on but I guess you are still holding a grudge.

And there still will be plenty of rare Pokemon out there. There's a good many I've never seen spawn at all around my neighborhood and city. Not to mention there's still 700+ Pokemon to be added to the game, so there will still be tons of rare pokemon to be found.

So do you feel that the way to cultivate long-term interest is to have the same 4 or 5 pokemon spawn 90% of the time, whether you are walking or using lures or incense? Because that's what I see happening, and it really makes the game very boring and kills the motivation to play.
 
So do you feel that the way to cultivate long-term interest is to have the same 4 or 5 pokemon spawn 90% of the time, whether you are walking or using lures or incense? Because that's what I see happening, and it really makes the game very boring and kills the motivation to play.

They're common Pokemon. They're common. Rares are only rare by virtue of the rats you gotta step on.

Go walk somewhere else. Explore a little.
 
Yeah found a vulpix this morning only slightly out of the way of my normal walking route this morning thanks to it before they pushed the update that broke the compass :(
Sounds like you play similarly to me. I take the game on walking routes and it motivates me to exercise. A compass to take me slightly off route sounds better than arbitrary footstep icons.
 
They're common Pokemon. They're common. Rares are only rare by virtue of the rats you gotta step on.

Go walk somewhere else. Explore a little.

OK, but the purpose of the tracker was to let you know that something unique was nearby. It gave you an incentive to walk around and hunt for the goods.

Whilst Pokevision took away from the mystique, it at least let you know that your time investment was worth it.

Now we're walking around with a very intensive app with no user feedback whatsoever.
 
Why do so many people have no patience when it comes to Niantic? They could not have anticipated this level of popularity and they must be under immense pressure. The game hasn't even been out for so long.

I'm sure the tracking will be back as will they fix all the other little issues. Just give them some time.

Because this isn't their first game.
How the CEO reacted when asked about the tracker bug at Comiccon.
The game was released full of bugs that should have been caught during beta. I don't mean the server issues either.
Because of Niantic's lack of communication.

I don't understand why people are being apologetic on Niantic's behalf. Maybe because TPCi/Nintendo blessed them with creating a game using their IP? Or maybe it's because the generation that grew up with Pokemon defend it since its a game we've been wanting?
I really don't know.

I just hope TPCi or Nintendo puts their foot down with Niantic. I really wanted to like this game, but so far Niantic has shown nothing but incompetence and ignorance. And unless something changes, I refuse to support Niantic or their game.

I'm going back to playing Pokemon on my 3DS to bide my time until Sun/Moon come out.
 
They're common Pokemon. They're common. Rares are only rare by virtue of the rats you gotta step on.

Go walk somewhere else. Explore a little.

I do. I drive 20-30 miles to work every day and I usually keep the app open while I'm driving just to see what spawns, and it's still those same pokemon most of the time. I also go to different areas around my city and neighborhood. They are TOO common and it's turning a lot of people that I know from the game.

Please stop assuming you know how I play the game.
 
They're common Pokemon. They're common. Rares are only rare by virtue of the rats you gotta step on.

Go walk somewhere else. Explore a little.
You clearly live in an area where different Pokemon actually spawn.

I used the map scripts to map out my area and as I have previously commented on there is just not the spawn levels in rural areas to wander about.

I can walk for a mile and only encounter 4 Pokemon. Rattatas, Pidgeys.

I've found one uncommon Pokemon just exploring. In rural areas the maps are a requirement. The list of Pokemon on your tracker isn't a wide enough radius for these locations.

I'm sure in built up areas with lots of spawns it's good because otherwise you'd have 200 Pokemon in it.

People don't seem to understand how shit this game is for those not living with spawns or Pokestops and gyms nearby and the lifeline these maps and apps give to the game.
 
Wasn't there an update planned that would allow you to battle other Pokemon trainers? Anyone know when this is planned? And any other big plans alrady known?
 
Top Bottom