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NEWS: Pokémon Go Developer to Fix Bugs That Make Pokémon Harder to Catch


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crosswithyou



Joined: 15 Dec 2007
Posts: 2892
Location: California
PostPosted: Fri Aug 05, 2016 12:39 am Reply with quote
My guess is that they made the Pokemon harder to catch on purpose and are now calling it a bug to give themselves a chance to roll back the changes after so many people got mad.

I'm glad they plan to "fix" it though since it really has been ridiculously hard to catch even low level Pokemon. I hope the update comes soon.
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Primus



Joined: 01 Mar 2006
Posts: 2758
Location: Toronto
PostPosted: Fri Aug 05, 2016 1:12 am Reply with quote
Since launching on July 6th, Anime News Network has posted 31(!) stories about Pokemon Go. One literally every day.
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leafy sea dragon



Joined: 27 Oct 2009
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Location: Another Kingdom
PostPosted: Fri Aug 05, 2016 1:34 am Reply with quote
crosswithyou wrote:
My guess is that they made the Pokemon harder to catch on purpose and are now calling it a bug to give themselves a chance to roll back the changes after so many people got mad.


How often do people actually do that with games though? More commonly, I see them add an easy mode later on, like the one added to Mega Man 10.

Then again, a lot of video game makers are hardcore players themselves and are targeting other hardcore players, whereas Niantic, being a mobile game developer, is in a realm of gaming that moves in the other direction.
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TrueZangetsu



Joined: 15 Apr 2016
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PostPosted: Fri Aug 05, 2016 1:58 am Reply with quote
My guess is, Niantic isn't such a bad company and actually fixes stuff people complain about. If the tracking system returns, the game can start growing once again and even my interest will rise once again.
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crosswithyou



Joined: 15 Dec 2007
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Location: California
PostPosted: Fri Aug 05, 2016 5:04 am Reply with quote
leafy sea dragon wrote:
How often do people actually do that with games though? More commonly, I see them add an easy mode later on, like the one added to Mega Man 10.

Then again, a lot of video game makers are hardcore players themselves and are targeting other hardcore players, whereas Niantic, being a mobile game developer, is in a realm of gaming that moves in the other direction.

Not often, but then again, not many games become smash hits like Pokemon Go has.

I don't think Niantic imagined the game would take off as much as it has and now they're trying to cash in a bit more by making people waste Poké Balls so they will buy them from the store. As a result (and also due to the tracking issue), the game's ratings plummeted and users are dropping off left and right.

While I'm of course posting my own speculation, I think the issue would have been publicly addressed more quickly were it really a bug. The fact that it took them 2-3 days leads me to believe that they thought they could ignore it at first but then the voices became louder and more abundant.

(Please excuse any typos as I'm typing on my phone.)
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Mr. Oshawott



Joined: 12 Mar 2012
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PostPosted: Fri Aug 05, 2016 7:14 am Reply with quote
If Niantic can at least bring back the Tracking system and fix the outrageous Catch and Fleeing rates, Pokémon GO should be smooth sailing from there. It gets frustrating seeing a Pokémon run after all that time and money spent finding it and throwing multiple Poké Balls.
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meruru



Joined: 16 Jun 2009
Posts: 470
PostPosted: Fri Aug 05, 2016 8:47 am Reply with quote
Any way you look it, Niantic's dropped the ball (Hur.)

Either they made these changes intentionally, realized people hated them, then pretended they were bugs instead, or they released a build with a super obvious bug, which is a big no no in any type of software development.
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Usagi-kun



Joined: 03 Jul 2013
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PostPosted: Fri Aug 05, 2016 9:24 am Reply with quote
Whether intended or not, I'm just glad they are acknowledging a problem. I definitely have noticed a difference this past week. Some of my throws have passed through a portal above the Pokemon's head and actually landed behind them. I'm all for a challenge, but damn. Greatballs are precious.
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Dessa



Joined: 14 Jul 2004
Posts: 4438
PostPosted: Fri Aug 05, 2016 9:30 am Reply with quote
Usagi-kun wrote:
Whether intended or not, I'm just glad they are acknowledging a problem. I definitely have noticed a difference this past week. Some of my throws have passed through a portal above the Pokemon's head and actually landed behind them. I'm all for a challenge, but damn. Greatballs are precious.

If your balls are landing behind the Pokemon, you're throwing too high. And you must either have bad luck, or abuse your great balls, because I have way more of them stocked up than poke balls.


As for the bug, sometimes I have harder times catching, sometimes I don't. I have noticed, that it is much easier to hit the Pokemon now, because the ball goes wild less often. Niantic is a tiny company. If a bug doesn't show up in their limited testing, that doesn't mean it's there on purpose. They've already had, what, 2-3 updates to the app, plus a few server updates, in less than a month, plus getting it ready for release in other countries. That's a lot of work for a small company, especially on only their 2nd game.
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HeeroTX



Joined: 15 Jul 2002
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Location: Austin, TX
PostPosted: Fri Aug 05, 2016 9:30 am Reply with quote
crosswithyou wrote:
I don't think Niantic imagined the game would take off as much as it has and now they're trying to cash in a bit more by making people waste Poké Balls so they will buy them from the store. As a result (and also due to the tracking issue), the game's ratings plummeted and users are dropping off left and right.

I think the tracking system is the biggest issue. Losing balls to fleeing Pokemon is annoying, but wandering around aimlessly without ever finding certain Pokemon that show on the radar (with no idea where they ACTUALLY are) is far, FAR more frustrating.

Also, as I noted on another site, while I think you are correct on the motivation, the fact is that if they make/made moves to drive people to in-app purchases, that would be a monumentally stupid decision for one reason:
Pokemon has BY FAR the best "advertising" system going right now. Google and facebook marketing might get you to "see" a product, but Pokemon Go (with lures) actually get people to go TO many businesses. I've seen several stores/restaurants near me that appear to have lures out all operating hours, and at least ones (since Pokemon Go started) has had lines OUT THE DOOR. As long as PokeGo can maintain a high level of engagement, you'll have businesses spending $20+ every DAY to keep those lures up. But if you drive off players, you better HOPE you got a really good burst of $10 PokeBall purchases, because once that golden goose has been shot, there'll be no more eggs coming.
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crosswithyou



Joined: 15 Dec 2007
Posts: 2892
Location: California
PostPosted: Fri Aug 05, 2016 9:58 am Reply with quote
Mr. Oshawott wrote:
If Niantic can at least bring back the Tracking system and fix the outrageous Catch and Fleeing rates, Pokémon GO should be smooth sailing from there.

I think Niantic shot themselves in the foot. It's not likely Pokemon Go will ever get back to hype levels it was a few weeks ago. Non-gamers who stumbled upon the game and had fun for a little while have probably moved on since all the bugs started appearing, and I don't think these people are likely to come back.

Dessa wrote:
As for the bug, sometimes I have harder times catching, sometimes I don't. I have noticed, that it is much easier to hit the Pokemon now, because the ball goes wild less often.

Definitely curveballs are being registered more properly and it's easier to hit the target when throwing one now, so I'll give Niantic credit for that. Before you could be throwing a curve and not get the bonus. However, I've found it much more difficult to throw curveballs far. They always end up at the Pokemon's feet or curve a bit too far to the side.

HeeroTX wrote:
I think the tracking system is the biggest issue. Losing balls to fleeing Pokemon is annoying, but wandering around aimlessly without ever finding certain Pokemon that show on the radar (with no idea where they ACTUALLY are) is far, FAR more frustrating.

Yeah, but I think there may be more disappointment when you've encountered a Pokemon you really want to catch and you can't, well, catch it.

And just a reminder that Pokemon Go became available in Japan with the tracking broken so we've never been able to experience tracking down Pokemon. T__T
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meruru



Joined: 16 Jun 2009
Posts: 470
PostPosted: Fri Aug 05, 2016 11:26 am Reply with quote
Quote:
Niantic is a tiny company. If a bug doesn't show up in their limited testing, that doesn't mean it's there on purpose.


While I agree that surely it wasn't ACTUALLY intentional, the alternative is their QA process sucks. Being a small company isn't an excuse for that. My company is small, but I'm confident we'd notice an obvious bug like nice/great bonuses no longer working as it's 100 percent repro and really freaking simple to repro.
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vision33r



Joined: 27 Oct 2008
Posts: 90
PostPosted: Fri Aug 05, 2016 11:52 am Reply with quote
The game can be dangerous since many people are playing it while biking or driving that can easily cause an accident. I always pull over when I need to catch a rare one only when I drive by pokestops I simply flick it without looking away.

If they make the game harder to catch people will get into car accidents more.
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walw6pK4Alo



Joined: 12 Mar 2008
Posts: 9322
PostPosted: Fri Aug 05, 2016 12:06 pm Reply with quote
TrueZangetsu wrote:
My guess is, Niantic isn't such a bad company and actually fixes stuff people complain about. If the tracking system returns, the game can start growing once again and even my interest will rise once again.

While my guess is that with Ingress, they could ignore the userbase all they want because it was their game, Pokemon is not theirs. The pressure was too big to stay silent because Ingress doesn't have 100+ million players.
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kushiel



Joined: 07 Jul 2003
Posts: 94
Location: Saskatchewan
PostPosted: Fri Aug 05, 2016 6:56 pm Reply with quote
TrueZangetsu wrote:
My guess is, Niantic isn't such a bad company and actually fixes stuff people complain about. If the tracking system returns, the game can start growing once again and even my interest will rise once again.


The communications has gotten so much better since they hired a community person. At game launch, the one they had went on mat leave and they had no temp lined up.
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