Niantic Labs has rolled out the first major update for the massively popular augmented reality mobile game Pokémon GO, taking the Android app to version 0.31.0 and the iOS app to version 1.1.0.
Players were looking forward to an update that would fix the so-called "three-step glitch," which is a bug in Pokémon GO's Nearby feature. Ideally, the feature displays Pokémon near the player with between one and three footprint marks, with one footprint signifying that the Pokémon is very close and more footprints meaning that the Pokémon is farther away. The feature, however, went haywire and started displaying all Pokémon in the Nearby feature with three footprints, making it more difficult for gamers to figure out how near or far they are to these Pokémon.
Did the major update finally fix the problem? Here's the changelog that Niantic posted on the official Facebook page of Pokémon GO:
- Avatars can now be re-customized from the Trainer profile screen
- Adjusted battle move damage values for some Pokémon
- Refined certain Gym animations
- Improved memory issues
- Removed footprints of nearby Pokémon
- Modified battle damage calculation
- Various bug fixes during wild Pokémon encounter
- Updates to the Pokémon details screen
- Updated achievement medal images
- Fixed issues with displaying certain map features
- Minor text fixes
As can be seen in the fifth entry, instead of fixing the glitch, Niantic opted to remove the feature entirely, with Nearby Pokémon now all being displayed with no footprint marks at all.
Rumors claim that Niantic decided to deactivate the feature due to the massive strain that it places upon the game's servers, which have been hit with reliability issues ever since the launch of Pokémon GO.
Whatever the reason may be, the developer's decision to disable the feature instead of roll out a fix has frustrated gamers, as one of the most engaging parts of the game in searching for Pokémon to catch has been ruined.
Hopefully, the removal of the Nearby feature is only temporary, with Niantic to turn it back on once servers have caught up in terms of stability. Until then, despite the risks of getting their accounts banned, players may have to resort to accessory apps and tools to be able to figure out where they can catch Pokémon.
Not all is bad about the major Pokémon GO update. Giving gamers the ability to make adjustments to their avatars is a welcome addition, especially for players who prefer to keep changing the looks of their Avatars every now and then, and improvements made to memory issues will give players a better experience when playing Pokémon GO.
One of the suggested changes by gamers has also been included in the update, and that is to move the transfer button from the bottom of a Pokémon's profile to a more accessible place, with the option now shown on a circular menu at the bottom right. Through the menu, players can choose to tag a Pokémon as a favorite or transfer it to get candy in exchange. To avoid accidents, favorite Pokémon are protected from being transferred.
Another major change is the updated damage values for several Pokémon abilities, which is likely a response to the complaints on how powerful or how weak some moves were compared with others. In a compiled list of damage value changes on Reddit, among the abilities that have received the biggest improvements are Blizzard, Earthquake and Fire Blast, which went from 60 damage to 100 damage, and Hyper Beam and Solar Beam, which went from 70 damage to 120 damage. Among the abilities that have received the biggest downgrades, on the other hand, are Lick, which went from 10 damage to 5 damage, Mud Shot, which went from 12 damage to 6 damage, and Psycho Cut, which went from 15 damage to 7 damage.
While the removal of the Nearby feature is frustrating and a big hit to the playability of Pokémon GO, it should not keep determined Pokémon trainers from achieving their goals of becoming true Pokémon masters. The other contents of the major update could prove to be enough to keep players hooked on the game.
