GeekNights Tuesday - Ingress

MrPeriod

Tonight on GeekNights, we review Niantic's Ingress, an ARG (Augmented Reality Game) that, while effectively nothing more than a team-versus Candy Box, is actually pretty fun. We're both playing it, and Scott is rapidly leveling up. The Enlightened are the correct (green) group to join, for together we will usher in a new evolution of mankind. In the news, Tetris Ultimate is coming, complete with a completely meaningless trailer, and Hearthstone updates with Curse of Naxxramas Arachnid Quarter.

• The Matrix: Path Of Neo - Chapter 14
• One Must Fall 2097

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Neito

MrPeriod said:

The Enlightened are the correct (green) group to join,

Bah. You frogs are getting your butts kicked. Resistance4lyfe.

Churba

Neito said:

MrPeriod said:

The Enlightened are the correct (green) group to join,

Bah. You frogs are getting your butts kicked. Resistance4lyfe.

High five, my arbitrarily-selected-team brother!

Victor Frost

I feel like I should re-install this game but then I remember that I don't care about it.

Churba

I poke at it if I remember, but that's not too often. Usually I just tap portals when I'm a passenger in someone else's car, or on public transport.

Victor Frost

Coldguy

Speaking of that game, are you good to continue it tonight?

Matt

This episode has inspired me to re-install Ingress and give it another shot.

As for other things mentioned in this episode:
- I'm tempted to re-install Hearthstone but I am going to resist. I love the ability to compete against real human opponents in short games, with no prep required. I was playing Hearthstone too much for what it is, though. I wound up spending too much time playing lopsided matches when I was home with 10 better things to do. I deleted it as a measure of self control

- Other games that achieved Hearthstone's winning formula of slick-interface cross-platform play include Ticket to Ride. The iPad app for TtR was a HUGE success because they built a free web version of the game right into BoardGameGeek years ago, and a community of players established around it. When they launched the iPad app, they made the lobby system compatible with the web version, so you can always find an open game. The 1910 expansion was also available on day 1, so people like me who grew past the base game long ago are still entertained.

- 3DS already has one Tetris game, Tetris Axis, and it's shit.

SuperPichu

Hell yeah Blue team

Apreche

SuperPichu said:

Hell yeah Blue team

Let me get my Death Note.

S U P E R P I...

George Patches

Whenever I have downtime on mass transit I read books. Games just run down my battery. Though my moto g has way better battery life than my nexus 4 ever did.

Apreche

George Patches said:

Whenever I have downtime on mass transit I read books. Games just run down my battery. Though my moto g has way better battery life than my nexus 4 ever did.

When I rode the Metro North train from Beacon I had no problems storing and watching entire 26 episode anime series on my iPhone 3G. I ripped them myself.

muppet

One or two episodes at a time? Sure. I did that on an iPod Nano for an entire summer while waiting for my kid's camp bus to show up.

pence

I've wanted to do a reverse MtG draft ever since I read about the idea on Wizards's site: http://archive.wizards.com/Magic/magazine/article.aspx?x=mtgcom/daily/aa27

sK0pe

I stopped playing Ingress, a long while back, seemed like such a waste of time when I did play it and wasn't too rewarding even though I captured every train stop from my suburb to the CBD.

Apreche said:

George Patches said:

Whenever I have downtime on mass transit I read books. Games just run down my battery. Though my moto g has way better battery life than my nexus 4 ever did.

When I rode the Metro North train from Beacon I had no problems storing and watching entire 26 episode anime series on my iPhone 3G. I ripped them myself.

I imagine Ingress may be more taxing as it is checking GPS and closest mobile phone towers.

I don't get how people run their batteries down so quick, my phone lasts between an entire day or 1.5 days on one charge and I'm using LTE, GPS and Wifi. I also play games or browse on the phone on commutes or play podcasts / music.

Ikatono

I used to play for a bit while I was at RIT, but that was like all level 8 greens so I just hacked and occasionally recharged things. Now that I'm with my parents for the summer in the suburbs of Boston, the closest cluster of portals is like a mile away.

Dazzle369

Is Ingress Google's way of getting the public populate Google Maps with pictures of POIs/ data enrichment? (gamification)

Neito

Ikatono said:

I used to play for a bit while I was at RIT, but that was like all level 8 greens so I just hacked and occasionally recharged things. Now that I'm with my parents for the summer in the suburbs of Boston, the closest cluster of portals is like a mile away.

Which suburb?

Ikatono

Melrose

SuperPichu

Apreche said:

Let me get my Death Note

Yes just picture my avatar and terrible ms paint pictures everywhere will die

Coldguy

pence

I have joined the ranks of the enlightened... I'll have better luck finding portals while I'm at lunch, I can't reach anything from my office.

Rym

Now, don't get us wrong. This is just a streetpass candy box. It's not a great game. It's just an idle amusement.

An idle amusement in which I'm level 7...

Apreche

Rym said:

Now, don't get us wrong. This is just a streetpass candy box. It's not a great game. It's just an idle amusement.

An idle amusement in which I'm level 7...

Of 8.

Rym

Of 16 as of a couple months ago...

ThatGent

That must be some good candy.

blast flame

Yeah, go team enlightened.

Just don't dig too deep into the lore as it makes the Progressive Enlightened vs the Regressive Resistance narrative a bit more ambiguous (notably the leader of the Enlightened is very much against the development of AI).

pence

I ran into a teammate in town today after he caught me looking at the scanner. Handed off a bunch of L3 items and took out an enemy link so I could farm AP. Not a bad way to waste an hour in town. :P

Jack Draigo

I've installed this game, and I live right across the street from a portal. Now if only my location services weren't lumped in with my Cellular data >_>

ThatGent

Going to be spending the next two weeks at Indiana U, painting the town green.

Jack Draigo

ThatGent said:

Going to be spending the next two weeks at Indiana U, painting the town green.

We just recaptured U of L's School of Business for Enlightened. I snagged a portal, but there's a couple really strong dudes on campus.

In other news there's a connection from Dixie Highway all the way to New Albany intersecting my street such that I can't link up the three churches on my street.