Hello Niantic. I have been a fan and regular player of your game Pokémon Go since shortly after it came out. I previously wrote an article on the game, where I expressed both wonder and concern over the game's nature as the first big hit Augmented Reality game. (Ingress looks like a perfectly good game, but it's not several million people's childhood.) In the time since, the game has faded from the public eye, although there is still a fairly dedicated player base, myself included. My general enthusiasm over the concept has waned, but I still enjoy playing.

Recently, you released an update for the game that included a new method of tracking Pokémon. In the post on the official website, you said you would "review the feedback submitted to [your] social media accounts. As I cannot fit my critique into 140 characters or format my Facebook wall, I have decided to write this here and share it with your accounts. Here is my feedback on the new "Nearby" tracker.

The Problems

This is a picture of the new tracker in action. For those who do not know, to track a Pokémon, you would tap on the circle, and then on the pawprint icon. A little icon would then appear over the PokéStop pictured in the circle, and you would walk toward it and the Pokémon would be there. Of the 5 stops featured, I can only access 2 as a dedicated college student.

I first heard that the new tracker was released in my area during a nightly check of my internet discussion boards. I had heard of the new tracker before, as it was originally released in San Francisco and later rolled out to larger test communities. I quickly opened up the app, and lo and behold, there it was in the little tab on the corner. I knew of some of the tracker's issues, but I didn't want to judge it until I got a chance to experience how it worked in the field. Now, after a few days, I can honestly say that the tracker just isn't very good. The following points summarize my experience playing with this tracking system.

• The first day I turned on the tracker, it showed me that there were five different Pidgeys available at the stops surrounding me, some of which were farther away than the stops that are on campus. Spawned into the game around me were two Horseas, which I consider far more valuable than Pidgeys. They were not on the tracker at all.

• I was attacking a gym when suddenly a Rhyhorn appeared on the tracker. Given that those have the potential to be good(Thanks for that CP rebalance a few weeks back), I toggled it on. The Pokémon ended up "fleeing" due to the server dropping out(although it may just be my phone), but still spawned at the stop. It was a nice strong Rhyhorn, perfectly worth it.

• Another time, at the same stop, an Abra spawned. Either this instance was too far away from the stop(as another had registered), or the tracker was being irregular.

• There is a regular water-type spawn outside one of the dorm buildings; I've even caught a few Dratinis there. I only see the two water-spawns at a greenbelt across the street, and not what is at that spot. I do not go to that spot anymore, as it is not worth it with my schedule unless I know what is there.

• On my way to class, I saw a Pikachu on the radar. I knew I wasn't going to catch it, but I wanted to see where it was. By the time I clicked on the scanner, it was gone, replaced with other commons at the same stop.

My Response

None of those Pidgeys that are on the screen are in the tracker; Pidgeys are just that common. That purple-spike bunny(called Nidoran) is also not in the tracker.

Before I outright condemn the tracker, I should probably mention Niantic's motives for this tracker. Several legal cases have been made against Niantic concerning this game, claiming that the previous 3-step tracker(I remember it fondly) encouraged trespassing onto private property. In addition to a disclaimer upon starting up the game, this new tracker (presumably) hopes to channel player activity towards PokéStops, which are all in theory public points of interests.

Keeping that in mind, the tracker succeeds somewhat at focusing the game around PokéStops; if you see something interesting at a stop, you can go walk there and get it. However, it completely ignores anything beyond a certain set distance from a PokéStop; for players in rural or suburban areas with next to no stops, this is worse than nothing. Here are a few suggestions on improving the game's tracking system:

•Please for the love of Nintendo bring back some version of the Sightings tracker. While it was basically "This Pokémon is somewhere nearby!" with no guidance, it is currently better than the nothing the new system provides, especially when there are no stops around. No, the "Sightings" you currently get if you are far enough away from stops for the Nearby tracker to not work doesn't count; it's basically only the 'mons already visible on the map, which is doubly pointless.

•Don't show duplicates for the same PokéStop. I don't need to know there are two Rattatas at the theatre if there is also a Machop or Bulbasaur. You managed to implement something like this when you officially disabled the 3-step tracker(rest in comments), so it probably wouldn't be that hard.

•Have some method of prioritizing rarer or more uncommon Pokémon. I really appreciate that the new tracker refreshes often, often showing new/different Pokés at the same stop. However, when doing so, there should be some hierarchy to show a critter that spawns in rarely(like Snorlax, or Charizard) more often over the everyday Pokés that spawn everywhere all the time (Pidgey, Rattata, Spearow...). It might be connected to the biome, as something almost common like Ekans here might be extremely rare elsewhere.

•Expand the "Nearby" radius around PokéStops. If you are going to encourage playing and Pokémon spawns around stops, you should probably expand the radius that connects a Pokémon with the stop. It increases the number of 'mons that players are able to see with the current tracker--although with the current cycling that may be the last thing people want.

I've heard that the current system is a stopgap for another system that is promised to be more effective. Even if that is the case, these are a few simple improvements that would improve quality of life for most suburban/rural players not surrounded by PokéStops at all times.

...You know what would be really cool, though?

You should be able to mark or favorite PokéStops. These stops would show up on the tracker over ones not tagged. This would make the Nearby tab more focused on PokéStops you can visit regularly, whether for social or accessibility reasons. There should probably be a limit (9 seems appropriate) for balancing reasons. Likewise, in the Pokédex, you should be able to "track" species of Pokémon, for lack of a more specific term. These 'mons, after you hit their toggle in their 'dex entry,if they spawn at any stop in whatever the current radius the Nearby tracker works from, the tracker tab would start flashing, and you would have the option of tracking that Pokémon immediately. You can actively set to be notified about 'mons you are looking for or collecting, whether for a new Pokédex entry or pulping transferring to Professor Willow in exchange for candy for evolutions or powering up. Also for balance, you should only be able to do this for Pokémon you have seen before, and probably for a limited number of species, for server load.

I don't know how easy or hard that would be to code up or make work in the game. But, hey, it's just a suggestion.