New Tracking
– We’re currently testing a variation of the “Nearby Pokémon” feature with a subset of users. During this period you may see some variation in the nearby Pokémon UI.
Ah yes, the one we’ve all been waiting for. Tracking, or lack there of, has been the biggest “Pokemon Go” complaint since the server issues were resolved. Many players were outraged, some to the point of quitting, when the “nearby” system was removed entirely. Of course, it turned out that Niantic had removed the “nearby” system so they could fix it, and that fix is now being tested with the new update. Apparently there are two different “new” tracking systems with the update. The first is “Sightings”, which isn’t actually much of a change from the system that has been in place since “nearby” was removed. “Sightings” shows Pokemon that are in the general area. It gets rid of the duplicate Pokemon from before, and it has a nice little grass graphic behind the Pokemon, but that’s about it.
The second tracking system could be a game changer (ok, it’s literally a game changer, but you know what I mean). Only a select number of players get to try this out, including Toki767 on Neogaf, who posted these to the site:
Originally Posted by Toki767
Whoa! My Nearby section just changed. It will show the closest Pokestop if a pokemon is near there now.
Originally Posted by Toki767
When you press a pokemon and click view, it zooms out and takes you to this overview map now. The pokemon is in the pink circle I’m guessing?
Originally Posted by Toki767
Pressing on a pokemon under “Sightings” gives a generic message now. Wonder if they’ll provide some sort of tracking for that.
Originally Posted by Toki767
Selecting the pokemon to track will also put an actual marker on your live map.
Originally Posted by Toki767
Thankfully if a pokemon you’re tracking despawns, you get this message.
Originally Posted by Toki767
Pokestops themselves emit a pulse. So I imagine any pokemon you’re currently tracking will be inside that pulse.
Personally, I can’t wait for this to go live for everyone! It looks like a vast improvement over any kind of tracking that was previously available, including through sites like Pokevision. The only catch is that it seems to be tied to Pokestops, which some players are already pointing out is a big problem for rural areas.
What do you think of the latest update? Let us know in the comments below!
