As I mentioned before, I’m fairly new to Pokémon, having managed to avoid it all my life so far. I thought the new Pokémon Go app would be no different.
So how is it, that I spent this last weekend getting angry at the server outages?
There’s a lot to like about the new Pokémon Go app by Niantic. But there’s also a lot to hate.
Of course, as with any new game, there are always issues/snags/areas for improvement. Below are my thoughts so far on these issues.
Server Reliability
Over the last weekend (Opening Weekend in the UK), the servers have been absolutely atrocious. In conflicting reports, it is either down to just the sheer volume of people attempting to play; or the efforts of a DDoS attack by the PoodleCorp hacking group. In either case, the game has been borderline unplayable most of the weekend.
Further contributing to this, is the apparent continued rollout by Niantic to additional countries over the weekend. This just adds to the pressure on the servers. Instead, they should have halted the rollout (and perhaps even have gone so far as to shut it down in certain countries) whilst they got the server issues under control.
Personally, I would prefer a state where I was told I couldn’t play at all this weekend, to one where I might (maybe, possibly) get in to play for a little bit before it crashes. If nothing else, I can plan my weekend around that fact.
Bugs/Crashes
Perhaps fueled by the reliability, or an issue in its own right, there have been numerous bugs reported by almost everyone.
These range from the (relatively) innocuous issue with the “Nearby” tab footprints staying at 3 no matter how close you are, to issues where the game freezes whilst capturing a Pokémon (I’ve lost count of the number of times that it’s done this to me).
Data Allowance/Coverage
My other half has only a small data allowance on her phone (1-2GB). She’s used 80% of that already since the 5th of this month! Whilst not necessarily all related to Go, thats a staggering amount. I’ve heard (unsubstantiated) reports that this might perhaps be downloading information from the server constantly that could perhaps be cached on the device for lower usage.
This is also one of those games that requires a constant connection to the servers, so there’s no chance of playing this if you have no coverage in a given area. Poor coverage is also likely to kill your enjoyment.
Battery Usage
Go is a phone killer. There’s no two ways about this. In order to play the game, you need the app to be constantly open and running (you can’t even lock your screen). This thing is constantly talking to the server, and checking your GPS. The screen is also permanently on when this is happening. If you plan to play, expect to require at least one portable battery charger, or you are going to find it hard to do much after a while.
The game does have a “Battery Saver” mode. When turned on (it’s off by default), this will dim the screen when the phone is turned upside-down. The screen is still on, and its still doing its thing, but it helps to save the power a little.
Locking
As mentioned above, you cannot lock the screen whilst you are playing this game. If you want to get notifications of nearby Pokémon, you are going to need to leave the phone unlocked. This is a bit of a security issue. If I keep it unlocked in my pocket, then it’s ripe for being pick-pocketed. Not to mention the increased chance of “butt dialling”.
The Social Aspect
The social aspect has a negative side too. The news is filled with stories of people being robbed, shot at, etc. As always, you should exercise caution and good judgement about where you go and with whom. If your kids are playing this, make sure they are capable of making these calls – or even just get involved and go out with them.
Battles
For catching wild Pokémon, the battle system is, frankly, pretty dull. It’s also nothing like the other games. To catch one, you just keep throwing Pokéballs at it until you finally capture it.
Equally, gym battles are real-time, frantic tap-a-thons. These are nothing like the original games.
Finally, there are no player-player battles (yet).
Lack of Gyms/Stops
In rural areas, the game is near pointless. Even ignoring the coverage issues, there are very few stops or gyms around in these places. At my work, there are three or four stops on my lunchtime walk, and one or two gyms.
In contrast, in the park at the end of my road at home, there are no less than 3 gyms, and around 10-15 Pokéstops.
I get that rural areas will generally be a bit less populated, but they really need to up their game a bit here.
What Niantic needs to do
In my opinion, there’s a good game here, under the issues. But there’s still a fair amount of work Niantic should be doing to get it up to scratch:
- Get a handle on the server load issues.
- Fix bugs (obviously)
- Optimise the battery performance
- Optimise server communications
- Implement P2P battles
- Modify all battles to a more turn-based affair
- Allow phones to be locked whilst still receiving notifications for Pokémon/Stops
- Add many more stops/gyms.
Read: Pokémon Go: Gotta Catch Em All For my thoughts on the good things about the new Pokémon Go App.
Kept in Tech 