Aside from all the major additions in recent times to Pokémon Go, mostly in the form of new Pokémon (forms), there have been other additions, mostly small ones that don't really deserve an entire fully focused discussion as a post on this blog. What they do, however, is that they add to the experience in various ways, and that may become significant indeed. I've selected a few of those additions to discuss how they might be so.
For those who like opening Gifts, now they can open them even when the item bag is full, which will reward Stardust instead of items. This takes prior consent and is completely optional, being able to be turned off in the game options, but more than a few Trainers will certainly make the choice. Even so, the amount of earned Stardust is small (50, 100, or 200), often more so than when the bag isn't full, so there is still the incentive to clear out bag space and earn items or possibly more Stardust instead. The feature was beta tested for some Trainers before rolling out to others, and it has proven to be a workable solution for many.
Those who like to share tidbits of what they've been up to might enjoy that they are now able to share their captures in the form of a Catch Card. The Catch Card, accessed through the menu for each Pokémon, looks a little like a TCG card without the moves, containing info on its main features including the date and location of capture. The appearance of the Pokémon can even be personalized by taking a photo of it as one does especially for other purposes. Of the most recent additions, this may be one that is rather underutilized, but its uniqueness in showing off Pokémon is something to be said and even promoted.
Even the Pokédex has been improved slightly, and that is with the addition of a search feature. The things that one can expect to search for are there - name, type, region - and can be used to narrow down the Pokédex by certain criteria. This is certainly a boon for those who like to keep their collections complete in any Pokémon game (even this one) and to wade through them as needed for certain purposes, as I actually have done for a recent endeavor involving them. It's certainly an expected minor feature and very much usable at that, though it does come at a very late but needed time.
Overall, one will also have noticed that things in the game have gotten much smoother and much faster in many ways, particularly during Pokémon capture. The animations that lead into and out of a Pokémon capture have been accelerated, and thus encounters take much less time to process. This is especially helpful for the bonus capture challenge after raids, which has always taken a lot of time in the past (and still some today), and capturing Pokémon under the duress of the Daily Adventure Incense, which does benefit from going through encounters quickly. It's definitely a huge change for the get-up-and-go.
Pokémon Go is a game that benefits from frequent updating, and this is very much true for the tidbit updates for the listed features above. They have the potential (and have proven as such) to provide lots of benefits for Trainers. I'd say that's significant, even if they just constitute little parts that are updated only in certain ways, and that's as major as the Pokémon that are present, then and now.
One year ago: The State of Nominations, Part 14
Two years ago: I Need Great Pokémon Friends
Three years ago: Pokémon Go Event Rollup, 1/25/2020
Four years ago: Keep Calm and Carry On Researching
Five years ago: Performance Critique: ACC 2018 Single Performance
Six years ago: Keychains!
No comments:
Post a Comment
Hi folks! Feel free to comment, but know that I'll be selecting only the most appropriate and relevant comments to appear. Think before you post.