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Pokémon Go players are altering public map data to catch rare Pokémon

arstechnica.com

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Re: Pokémon Go players are altering public map data to catch rare Pokémon

#21

Post by bombcar »

erdaniels wrote: post #5
jedberg wrote: post #2

I gotta give props to the players for their clever hacks. But also this brings up a good point -- the game is inherently unfair to people who don't have the means to travel. Someone in the middle of the country can't legitimately travel to a beach area. And there are some Pokemon that are restricted to a particular continent. Which means you either have to be rich or have a rich friend who can go to those places and…

Should the game be inherently fair? Part of the fun is rewarding exploration over time as a life-long pokemon trainer trying to catch them all. You gotta go to all the regions to accomplish that. Maybe it'll take a long time!

It depends on how the game is setup. If it's "almost possible" to get them all, then it kind of feels like you have to get them all, even if that involves some serious work. This can be compounded if certain "best of breed" types can only be obtained in certain areas, or at certain times.

However, if it's setup so that it's basically impossible to get them all, but you can get many or any, then it doesn't feel as bad, especially if trading is an actual option that works. If the special and/or limited ones are more cosmetic, it becomes less of a chore and more of a "look what I have".

Re: Pokémon Go players are altering public map data to catch rare Pokémon

#22

Post by itishappy »

ninth_ant wrote: post #9
wnevets wrote: post #3

There are devices that you can buy that you can connect to your phone and will auto catch pokemon for you. Between auto catchers and changing map data, what is the point of "playing" the game?

It's very nakedly a skinner box game. The participants are not gamers, they are addicts and victims.

> The participants are not gamers, they are addicts and victims.

Where does that line get drawn?

Re: Pokémon Go players are altering public map data to catch rare Pokémon

#23

Post by esnard »

jedberg wrote: post #2

I gotta give props to the players for their clever hacks. But also this brings up a good point -- the game is inherently unfair to people who don't have the means to travel. Someone in the middle of the country can't legitimately travel to a beach area. And there are some Pokemon that are restricted to a particular continent. Which means you either have to be rich or have a rich friend who can go to those places and…

I don't think it's unfair in any way, as the regional Pokémon are mostly irrelevant for anything but the Pokédex (your collection tracker). They're just as easy to ignore as any unreleased Pokémon.

And if you really want to "catch them all", regional Pokémon have been repeatedly featured in various global events since the game launch back in 2016.

Re: Pokémon Go players are altering public map data to catch rare Pokémon

#24

Post by IncreasePosts »

rm_-rf_slash wrote: post #6
jedberg wrote: post #2

I gotta give props to the players for their clever hacks. But also this brings up a good point -- the game is inherently unfair to people who don't have the means to travel. Someone in the middle of the country can't legitimately travel to a beach area. And there are some Pokemon that are restricted to a particular continent. Which means you either have to be rich or have a rich friend who can go to those places and…

I know people who meet up on discord groups and mail their phones to each other to catch rares and the like.

You can't just give your username/password to someone else? The pokemen are tied to your actual device?

Re: Pokémon Go players are altering public map data to catch rare Pokémon

#25

Post by esnard »

Pokémon GO uses an old snapshot of the OSM data to prevent this type of abuse.

I don't know exactly how old the current map is, but it used to be like 3+ year old back in 2022. They have been minors update since, but those abuses won't most likely ever be featured in-game unless they go unnoticed for years.

Re: Pokémon Go players are altering public map data to catch rare Pokémon

#26

Post by zemo »

jedberg wrote: post #8
erdaniels wrote: post #5

Earlier quoted context omitted.

Should the game be inherently fair? Part of the fun is rewarding exploration over time as a life-long pokemon trainer trying to catch them all. You gotta go to all the regions to accomplish that. Maybe it'll take a long time!

> Should the game be inherently fair? No, but the fairness should be based on skills and engagement, not the size of your wallet.

arguing that "you should be able to get the whole experience regardless of your location" is basically arguing against the entire category of location-based entertainment products. The experience is related to your location. That is literally the product.

Re: Pokémon Go players are altering public map data to catch rare Pokémon

#27

Post by somerandomqaguy »

jedberg wrote: post #2

I gotta give props to the players for their clever hacks. But also this brings up a good point -- the game is inherently unfair to people who don't have the means to travel. Someone in the middle of the country can't legitimately travel to a beach area. And there are some Pokemon that are restricted to a particular continent. Which means you either have to be rich or have a rich friend who can go to those places and…

Hasn't that always been the way with Pokemon though? With the original Pokemon Red and Blue in North American release on Gameboy, you couldn't get all the Pokemon independently. You needed someone the opposite color cartridge to trade with. Same problem except then you needed to be face to face friends with someone and at least one of you needed to own the link cable.

Re: Pokémon Go players are altering public map data to catch rare Pokémon

#28

Post by hu3 »

jedberg wrote: post #2

I gotta give props to the players for their clever hacks. But also this brings up a good point -- the game is inherently unfair to people who don't have the means to travel. Someone in the middle of the country can't legitimately travel to a beach area. And there are some Pokemon that are restricted to a particular continent. Which means you either have to be rich or have a rich friend who can go to those places and…

Players use fake GPS apps to pretend they are in a location to catch rare pokemon.

I saw my brother's phone "travel" from London to Seoul in South Korea in front of my eyes and catch some rare pokemon there.

Pokemon Go bans them when detected, but not all get caught.

They don't even bother simulating a proper travel. They just teleport which I find hilarious.

Re: Pokémon Go players are altering public map data to catch rare Pokémon

#29

Post by patmorgan23 »

jedberg wrote: post #2

I gotta give props to the players for their clever hacks. But also this brings up a good point -- the game is inherently unfair to people who don't have the means to travel. Someone in the middle of the country can't legitimately travel to a beach area. And there are some Pokemon that are restricted to a particular continent. Which means you either have to be rich or have a rich friend who can go to those places and…

Not every game is for every person and that's ok.

If you are so introverted that you're not willing to join a discord to get the Pokemon you really want then maybe that's something you need to work on. There are discords that are pretty transactional for this that don't involve a whole lot of socialization.

Re: Pokémon Go players are altering public map data to catch rare Pokémon

#30

Post by hu3 »

wnevets wrote: post #14
ninth_ant wrote: post #9

Earlier quoted context omitted.

It's very nakedly a skinner box game. The participants are not gamers, they are addicts and victims.

What are they addicted to, controlling a gym near their home?

I'd guess min-maxing their pokemon stats and completing the collection.
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