Yesterday, Niantic Labs released another update for the popular AR game, “Pokemon Go”. This is the third major update to “Pokemon Go” since it’s release in July. Despite it’s massive success, Niantic has received a lot of complaints due to the numerous issues that have plagued “Pokemon Go”. Most recently they’ve been under fire for removing the nearby system, and shutting down popular third party tracking sites lie Pokevision. According to the “Pokemon Go” Facebook Page, the developers “have been working crazy hours to keep the game running”. So, what have they been working on?
Added Features
-Added a dialog to remind Trainers that they should not play while traveling above a certain speed. Trainers must confirm they are not driving in order to continue playing.
From the beginning, “Pokemon Go” was meant to get players active. And from the release, there have been stories of players getting into car accidents while playing. Niantic has included a few features that seem intended to cut down on playing while driving, including a max speed for hatching eggs, and messages reminding players not to play while driving. This new update takes it one step further, by creating a pop-up message when the player reaches a certain speed. The message requires players to confirm that they are a passenger before they can continue playing.
-Made improvements to the accuracy of a curveball throw.
It’s hard to say whether this is an addition or a bug fix. After the last update, many players complained that the throw accuracy had been affected, and it was now harder to throw Pokeballs. Whether this was true or not, Niantic decided to improve the accuracy of the curveball. Smart move, Niantic.
-Enabled the ability for Trainers to change their nickname one time. Please choose your new nickname wisely.
This one is interesting. I honestly have no idea how many players were wanting to change their name, but apparently there were enough of them. What would be really interesting would be the ability to change your team once. I love my team (#TeamInstinct) but I’m sure there are plenty of players who picked a team without knowing what they were doing.
-Added visuals of Team Leaders Candela, Blanche, and Spark.
The Team Leaders were revealed last month at SDCC, but we haven’t seen them since. Well, apparently the update is fixing that. However, I have yet to see where they show up in the game. If you find them, let us know in the comments below!
