Planning a PIE - Player Ingress Event

Last March I attended my first anomaly in Lake Geneva, Wisconsin.  After the event I felt an overwhelming need to host my own event.  On May 4th, 2012 the Seattle Ingress community hosted the #seattleconvergence.  After event a lot of people asked about hosting their own anomaly.  There's lots that goes into planning an anomaly but ultimately it comes down to a few key things Location, Date/Time, Rules & Swag.  

Really an event can be anything you choose it too be as long as you're having fun.  But here are some suggestions for getting started. 

Rules
So you want to do an event, what's the first step? Start talking to members of the opposite faction about what type of event you want to have.  When you work together you find out all kinds of ideas that other people have and they help you make an event 10 times better then you ever could on your own.

If you're stuck on the rules here's a starting point that many campus agents are using:

Have all agents check in where you record their codename, faction and current AP.  All Agents are given 90 minutes to gain as much AP as possible any way possible. AP gained by L1, L2, and L3 Agents are given a 2X multiplier in their final AP gain calculation. 

That's just a starting point you can add or change anything you want to the rules as long as both sides agree on what the win condition is.  But with these rules you only need a few people to have a really cool event. The biggest thing going into an event is remember that the goal is for everyone to have as much fun as possible.

Location
It's best to have an event where people don't need to drive.

Cooperation
If your factions aren't getting along then start with a small event with the people that do get along and start posting pictures of how much fun you had and eventually people will come around and want to join in the fun. 

Swag
Working with both factions you'll also find out that there are very creative people on both sides who have great ideas for swag that don't cost a bunch of money.  It cost $15 on Amazon to order 12 blue & 12 green bandannas and that gave everyone a way to show off their faction pride.  Ask your community for help, people want to show off their skills and they'll probably be willing to help. 

There's always an acronym
PIE - Player Initiated Event

Remember
The goal is to have fun!

If you need help
Please feel free to ask me +Kira Kroger 
(Send me a post on G+ and I'll approve a hangout request)

Another good resource is +Linda Besh who is helping with College anomalies.

Top Picture by +Steve Groves 
I'm not sure who took the bottom picture

Portal ALL the Things! (No not really)

Some of this might sound like I'm being a bit harsh, because I am. I really love this community and I hate to see people in this community upset because other people are careless.  Ingress is our playground to play in and it's up to us to make sure that the portals are high quality and interesting.  +NIA Ops shouldn't have to police this, it should be something we police ourselves.  And have some respect for the agents who put a lot of time and effort into cultivating great portals only to have someone who's being a bit selfish come along and ruin it.

If you haven't read the Ingress Candidate Portal criteria and you submit portals then I recommend you take a look.  But here some things that you shouldn't be submitting.

• Don't submit fake couch portals.  I know we all want one but really unless you live in a historic neighborhood or you live near fountain or sculpture then anything you come up with is probably not a very good idea.  Unless of course it's something like the pictures below.  If you're willing to paint your house in polka dots or get permission to cover a tree accessible to the public in clocks in order to have a couch portal then go for it!

• Don't submit building from multiple angels.   I've seen several instances of multiple portals for the same church pointed at different sides of the building.  That's just lazy. I know you want more portals but the more junk that clutters up the works the longer it takes for valid portals.   

Butthurt is not a reason to mark a portal for removal

This seems fairly straightforward but I also hear numerous complaints about it.  Just because the other side owns a portal constantly or has a portal in a somewhat restricted location does not necessarily mean it should be removed.  If it is a junk portal then by all means submit it for removal but if there is a chance a brand new player would accidentally submit it then I wouldn't do it.

• DO ask yourself before adding or rejecting a portal "If I were a brand new agent would I submit this as a portal?"

You really should at least take a look at  Ingress Candidate Portal criteria.  If you're not sure if a portal is valid then check out the Unofficial Ingress Portal Submissions community.  If you're still not sure you can take a picture of the potential portal then post it to the UIPS community and then submit the portal later. Just don't forget to include the potential name of the portal so you don't forget it later on (I'm always doing that).

If you have questions about the portal submission process you can ask in UIPS and one of the agents who's submitted 100s some probably thousands of portals can help you out.  

Remember Wheaton's Law

HappyStick

The first Saturday after I got my Ingress invite I hosted my first meetup.  The event itself I consider a miracle.  For years I had been dealing with depression and Anxiety and this was the first time in years that I was taking a risk and putting myself out there.  What made me so brave?  Throughout the year I thought it must be the XM that was changing me.  But in hindsight I now realize that it was the community that accepted me exactly as I was that changed me.

I have a lot of memories from that first meetup.  In fact I seem to recall every detail of that whole day, but there is one piece that stands out more then all the others.  +Bryan Kroger and I arrived at the Designated Starbucks and I pulled out my sign that read "We are the Resistance" and waited nervously for someone to show up.  After about 5 minutes someone tentatively looked at my sign and then looked me in the eye, I asked if they were Resistance they nodded and quickly found a place to sit and we chatted a little.

A few more people came and went but no one interested in my sign.  Then the door opened and in walked what I can still only describe as a human stick figure with attitude.  He was 6'9" but slouched a little to hide his height, very thin and a presence that clearly communicated his confidence.  He came right up to me and introduce himself as HappyStick.  I shook his hand and I remember thinking well this is going to be interesting.

That encounter stands out so vividly because without that encounter nothing that transpired after that day would have been possible.  The Seattle Resistance probably would not have been such a dominant force in the early days of Ingress, I would not have found my voice as a community leader, I would not have found confidence to share the Seattle Resistance stories and gain visibility on G+.  I called him my partner in crime.

I got a lot of credit in the early days for things that would not have happened without HappyStick.

We were total opposites.  While he was fast passed with a go go attitude, I'm generally reserved and want to collect information before making a move.  But we were both opinionated and knew we were right.  Between 1 AM AP runs, marathon 20 hour road trips and lots of socializing I often felt myself being swept along the HappyStick train.  But truth be told I absolutely loved it.   Having someone that I trusted show up to or invite me to every event gave me a confidence I had never know.  

HappyStick is a constant Beta tester.  I'm sure we've all known guys like this.  They dive into something new and exciting with gusto, devoting all their time and energy to it.  Eventually they solve all the puzzles or the game looses it's appeal and they are off to something new.  Although his time as an agent was short HappyStick was a force of nature who's presence is still evident throughout the Ingress Universe.

HappyStick was a great friend, one I will never forget.  I hope I get a chance to run into him some day and tell him thank you for helping me find my voice.

My first "fire fight"

The day after I got my invite I spent the whole day at work scouring for information on Ingress.  I found the spreadsheet of passcodes +Bryan Kroger was using and quickly typed them all in to my scanner, when I was done I had what I thought was a nice little cache of gear.  I was so naive.

Unfortunately I had plans on Monday night so we didn't get to capture the post office near the house but it was constantly on my mind.  

Tuesday night I came home after work after I fed the dogs checked G+.  OMG! I had a PM from +Brian Rose!   He wanted to give me an invite about a post I had shared a few days earlier about an Ingress Group Meetup in Chicago.  I told him I had an invite already but I was really interested in doing a meetup and what was the best way to go about it?  He suggested I use a G+ event, so I created an event and sent it to everyone on G+.  I thanked Brian for the help and he responded by saying he would give me 10 invites for the event! I was stunned, invites coveted and I had 10 of them to give away.  I remember feeling a sense of pride and honor, I wanted everyone to be part of this adventure.

By the time Bryan got home I was buzzing with excitement.  Between the conversation with Brian Rose and wanting to go claim the post office I was talking a mile a minute.   We rushed through dinner and then headed out the door to claim the post office.  

Ya know, in hindsight I'm realizing that those first few days we were very conservative in our playing.  In the weeks to come we'd get drive through and stay out late to play.

On the way to the post office I was telling Bryan that I wanted to take down this portal by myself because he was already level 2 and I was still 1000 or so away from 2.  When I told him I was getting out of the car to blow up the resonators he asked why.  This shocked me, it isn't very often that I know something Bryan doesn't and I expected Ingress to be no different.   I explained that the damage was centered around where you were standing so if you wanted to do the most damage to a resonator you had to stand right on top of it.

So here I was at the closed Kent Post Office in the dark with my warm coat and scanner in hand I ventured away from the car in my first solo mission.   I walked in what I thought was the general direction of one of the resonators turned out I was going the opposite direction, this was the first hint that I am very directionally challenged at times.  Once I reached the resonator I fired off my first XMP and did 1% damage, YES! I was on a roll! Seriously though firing that first XMP felt totally awesome.

I continued to fire off XMP, slowly making progress.  As I chewed through bursters and moved around the Portal I learned the lesson that sometimes you can't reach resonators, 2 of the resonators were behind the post office fence.  120 L1 XMP later I destroy the last resonator! Then the portal was grey. 

I felt like a badass

Okay well as badass as any early cheering 30s engineer geek girl can feel.  

My adrenaline really was pumping as hoped in the car Bryan said "Congrats Honey!!....Are you gonna capture the portal?".  Sheepishly I looked down down at my scanner and realized I forgot that part and quickly started deploying as Bryan started the car to drive home.  

As I deployed those resonators I felt pride that m name was on it, and then I realized I had leveled!  I squealed with excitement.  As my adrenaline came down I realized I had made a mistake.  I hadn't deployed at max distance the way the guides said to.  That was the start of my love hate relationship with resonator placement.

I had seen posts about peoples Ingress adventures and I realized as we drove home this really was going to be an adventure.  As an software engineer I didn't really have a lot of opportunity to think creatively outside of code.  But that first adventure had my mind spinning and I was already thinking of writing my adventure.  The next day when I got to work I wrote my very first first Situation Report (be warned it's terrible).

My Ingress Anniversary

I remember November 25th, 2012 was a cold but sunny, which is rare in Seattle.  The night before my dad and his girlfriend got on a plane to go home after Thanksgiving and I was ready to get going with Ingress.

I still didn't have an invite so when I woke up I quickly checked my G+ stream and my email for the 900th time that week hoping for an invite but no such luck.  +Bryan Kroger and I went to lunch at a bakery down the hill in Kent.

At breakfast we decided that we were going to drive to Issaquah aka Issy because it had the highest concentration of portals outside of Seattle and levels were low enough that Bryan thought he actually had the gear to take some of 'em down.  In hindsight 6 portals over 4 blocks wasn't particularly dense but at the time it was the mother load.

Off we went to Issy.  We found a place to park closest to all the portals and started our journey.  It wasn't long before Bryan was out of XMP.  Bryan had heard about passcodes that would give you gear, so he got a hold of a google spreadsheet that had 20-30 of these passcodes on it.  He had me pull it up on the iPad and as he ran out of gear I was reading off the passcodes to him.

We walked together while neutralized and claimed all the portals.  Since I didn't have a scanner I got bored and wondered off while he continue to run between the portals waiting for the cool down so he could re-hack and link.  When we finally met up back at the car an hour later I found out that he had encountered his first enemy in person!  I was so bummed I missed it.  Turns out a member of the Enlightened ruled Issy in those days, and he quickly dismantled all of Bryan's work.

I asked Bryan all kinda of questions about the encounter. I quickly realized that my nemesis who owned the Post Office was probably just as human as the guy Bryan met and this was a game and I had no reason to be mad at him.  Suddenly I really wanted to meet an Enlightened enemy out in the field.

As we headed home I checked my g+ and email and still no passcode.

I spent most of the afternoon and evening scouring all the G+ Ingress information I could find.  I was just about to plug in my devices and start getting ready for bed when I got a PM from +Joe Philley with an Invite passcode!  I was so scared that somehow it would expire like all the others I'd tried so I turned on the app and typed in the code right away and OMG my scanner was active!!!!  And I was able to claim the agent name that I wanted, mistyayn.

I was bouncing off the walls excited because I wanted to go claim the Post Office. Being the level headed one that he is Bryan suggests I go outside and do the training.  Wait there's training? Oh yea Bryan had done the training a week before I grabbed my coat and ran outside.  I remember following ADAs instructions very carefully and making sure I paid careful attention because I wanted to be a good agent and I didn't want to look dumb the first time I used my scanner.   When it was time to pick my faction I was so scared of picking the wrong faction that I re-read everything three times just to make sure.

After securing my status as an Agent of the Resistance I wanted to do something!  A check of the scanner revealed that I was a block away from a clump of XM.  I was completely transfixed as the map in my hand moved me closer to the glimmering specs of XM as I walked.  That first time that ADA talked to me after training when I picked up my first clump of XM I knew this was something special and I wanted to be a part of it.

In that moment I realized two things.  First, I was totally hooked.  Second, I was really cold! I was only wearing pajamas and a coat so I needed to get home where it was warm.  On that short walk home I decided my first priority tomorrow night after work was taking down that Post Office and my second priority was figuring out how I was going to keep Bryan and I warm so we could play any time we wanted.

The Early Days of Ingress

Invite Day - 5 : #IngressInvites and First Enemies

In those early days access to Ingress Invite codes was very limited.  There were several ways that you could get an invite the first was to put your email into Ingress.com which I had done but the rumors were swirling that it would take months to get an invite.  So I was doing my homework I found out there were other ways to get invites so I was going to get one as soon as I could.

It turned out I wasn't so could at Option 2 for an invite code, which was to follow +Johnathan Chung and decode his posts to get an invite code.  This was when I quickly realized that decoding was not my strong suit and I'd leave that to people with different skill set then mine.  Option 3 was to follow +Joe Philley non-stop and hope you could type faster then the 30-50 or more people that were trying to type in the same passcode at the same time.   The last option was something I hear was started by +Brandon Badger, post creative ingress related to #ingressinvite and you might be rewarded with an invite code from one of the known Niantic Project people.

I didn't feel particularly creative so I just kept watching +Joe Philley's stream and the #ingrressinvites to see if I could find any inspiration.  Finally I started posting pictures of my dogs with signs saying they needed to be rescued from the Enlightened.  Every day that week I would go to bed disappointed that I hadn't gotten an invite yet.

Well I went to bed disappointed every night except 1.  That was the night +Bryan Kroger came home and announced that the Post Office he had claimed the day before had been taken over by the Enlightened and it was a Level 3! And there was a MASSIVE control field that went from Kent to Tacoma!  In hindsight we were probably a little over dramatic about the scope of the CF or the portal level.  But it didn't matter that was our portal and we were gonna take it back!

In those early days even I succumbed to attachment to portals, but that attachment didn't last very long.  I become more attached to the people then portals.

When we got to the Post Office it took some trial and error to figure out how to fire off XMP Bursters.  At the time there were very few sources of information especially help on how to do things, so you just had to do a bit of trial and error.  After Bryan fired off all of his L1 XMP we realized that a level 3 portal was tough and we needed to find lower level portals to take and more resonators.

At the time I didn't know who that Enlightened player was but he was a high level (At least 4) and I wondered how we'd ever be able to compete with him.  There's been a lot of names over the last year but I think the name on that very first portal was @dessyx (I might be wrong though).  Either way after that night I had an enemy I didn't know who @dessyx was but I wanted that portal back and I was going to get that portal back as soon as I had my scanner.

 Luckily it was the week of Thanksgiving so there were other distractions.  It was time to stop thinking about Ingress and spend time with family.

Here's one of the weird things +Bryan Kroger and I tried to get an #ingressinvite

A year of Ingress - Invite Day - 7

I've heard a lot of talk about Ingress Anniversaries or Ingresaries.  That got me thinking about the early days and how far things have come.  I actually think I have two Ingresaries   Of course there's the day I got my scanner which was November 25th, 2012 but 7 days before that +Bryan Kroger got his scanner.  That was my first glimpse down the rabbit hole.

For about the first hour he had the app installed I was a little bit dismissive of it asking him why would people ever want to play that.  Truth be told I was jealous he found out about it before me and I I've never really handled jealousy well.

After he went through the tutorial he said he was going down the street to collect some "XM" I had no idea what that was or why he was doing it but all of a sudden I was curious and I wanted to know more.  When he got back he told me he was Resistance whatever that meant.

Bryan checked something called "Intel" and he said he thinks there were "portals" down in Kent Station then small movie shopping complex down the hill from our house.  I was still a bit annoyed at this point that I didn't get to play but I begrudgingly agreed to go to Panera Bread for lunch and maybe we could go look for these portal things afterward.

On the ride down I could hear ADAs voice telling us how much XM Bryan had and I was even more curious.

Through lunch we talked about the game and other stuff and I was getting antsy to see how this worked.  After lunch we walked around the building and across the street to the King County Law Library.  This is actually part of the courthouse that was attached to the Regional Justice Center but I had no idea there was a law library in there.  The first of many things I've learned over the next year.

I tried to watch over Bryan's shoulder while he deployed resonators because I wanted to see what was happening.  It was a grey portal so he was the first one to claim that portal and I was so excited.  Then he noticed on the scanner that there was another portal off in the distance, he looked at me and asked what I wanted to do did I want to go with him or go back to the car while he went and claimed the portal.  

It was typical Northwest winter day, cold and drizzly.  But I had a warm coat on and my husband was asking me to go for a walk outside so I was like Hell Yes! Let's Go!  We trekked across this gravel parking lot and and as we got closer he discovered it was the Kent Library.  As he was capturing the portal I realized connected that libraries must be in their default database of portals.  At the same time Bryan realized there was another portal 2 blocks away that was a post office, another possible database to look up!  I was totally on it!  At the time I carried around my large iPad so while he captured the post office I pulled out the iPad and tried looking up library's and post offices.  That was the first version of intel I ever did and I was absolutely giddy!

When Bryan got back to me he said said "I got the keys I think if we go back to the courthouse I can make a control field, do you want to go home or do you want to make a control field?"  I responded the only way I could "Let's go back to the courthouse!".  We made our way back over the gravel driveway and I remember feeling almost a euphoric feeling to being out on an adventure with my husband.  As he created his first control field and we heard ADA say "Good Work" something shifted and I knew I was hooked I would do anything to be a part of this new experience.

I remember on the way home I wanted to go claim the post office closest to our house but Bryan was tired and ready to go home.  I was so incredibly excited the first thing I did when I got home was sign up on Ingress.com for an invite and then came the wait!

Best Practices for Submitting Ingress Portals

The instructions for submitting new portals for Ingress are a pretty sparse.  But through conversations in many communities I've come up with some best practices that might get you more accepted portals.

Verify GPS coordinates before submitting

It wasn't until I had my first batch of portals come online that I realize that my GPS was way off when I submitted the pictures.  Here is the best way to make sure that you're portals submissions are in the right place.

Step 1 - Make sure Share Picture Location is On
I'll admit that some of the portals I submitted didn't have GPS because I forgot to turn it on when I got a new phone.  In order to make sure your GPS on camera app is enabled (Open Camera > Settings > Store location > ON; you may also need to turn on Settings > Location services >Share Picture Location, if available).

Step 2 - Update GPS
Make sure your GPS is updated before you take the picture.  GPS on most phones will not automatically update unless you are actively using an application that requires it.  So before you take the picture use one of these steps to make sure your GPS is up to date.

• Bring up Ingress - There is a reason it takes time for Ingress to update when you bring it up, it's figuring out your latest GPS coordinates and making the appropriate updates.  So bringing up Ingress will actually show you exactly where your portal will appear if it is accepted.
• Bring up Google Maps - This does the same thing as bringing up Ingress, although it has less to do especially if there happen to be a lot of portals around so it can be a much faster option.
• Run an app that continuously updates GPS - I have not utilized this option personally but I've been told it works quite well.  CardioTrainer will continuously poll your GPS location in order to keep track of distance traveled so if you have that running it should have you in the correct location to take the picture.

Step 3- Take the Picture

Should be self explanatory

Step 4 - Verify Picture GPS Settings

Depending on your phone if you have correctly enabled your Share Picture Location then there should be an option on your image to "Show on Map" which will bring up Google Maps with a pointer to the location of the photo.  Another useful tool for this step is GeoTag which will allow you to update the GPS location of a photo and view the location on a map if your phone will not allow that natively.

Include a description - UPDATED

+Ingress has confirmed:
The emails you send us should be in English, but the portals and portal names don't need to be in English. We're looking for good descriptive titles, good geodata or location info, and if it isn't clear from the photo, some explanation of the cultural significance, public artwork, unique architecture, etc. For example, a photo of the Eiffel Tower is straightforward. A photo of a residential area could depict a historical home or historical site, or it could also just be a random photo. Providing some context is helpful.

Name the Portal Well

If possible use the real name of the object you're submitting.  Obviously this isn't always possible, because sometimes art is not labeled.  But do you're best because often the real name can be found when Googled, which makes it easier on the person verifying.

Portal Suggestions

Here is a site that might help you find interesting things in your area (US only I think):

http://www.waymarking.com/

The L8 Ladies of Seattle

Sabarte, primecircuit, AoD7, thermburgler, Salia, IndustrialPink, MechAngel, thermburgler, NorthwestMel, Korbster, evod, silurian,

At first these were just names in All Comms or G+, sometimes I knew it was woman and sometimes I didn't. I've met most of them but not all and I've learned that these women are intelligent, opinionated, tenacious, friendly, beautiful and overall amazing. Whether they are Resistance or Enlightened they have each reached the status of L8 and I feel absolutely privileged to be counted among them and to count many of them as my friends.

Many have said that there should be no distinction about the fact that we are women and have reached this status, they say it shouldn't matter. But when you're playing a game that is 94% male (by one survey) I say it is 10x more amazing when a woman rises to the top. This game requires a major time commitment and it is often up to us ladies to take care of others in our lives so when we are able to compete with the guys in this game it is more often than not with a lot more obligations than most of those we play with.

All that being said I was incredibly proud to participate in the first Seattle Resistance Ladies 8 Portal. We had 18 people out on a dock to celebrate the moment, with lots of pictures, teasing and fun, all the things that make this game so much fun.

Because of pictures, GPS issues, needing to be in one corner of a dock to deploy it took us an hour to put up 1 L8 Ladies portal. 3 hours later the first (I think) Lady Enlightened L8 took down our Portal in 10 minutes. I don't know about everyone else but if anyone was going to take it down, I'm glad it was her.

I am so thankful that I was able to participate in this event. It was truly a special moment for me and a memory I will cherish. But I also hope this will become a footnote in the Ladies of Ingress history. Let's recruit more ladies and give the boys a run for their money.

To the L8 Ladies of Seatte:

+D Reed +Gia T. Nguyen +Nicole Hoffman +Eri Comparri +Amie Harte +Ind Pink +Megan Perry +Melanie Johnson +Melissa Korb +Dove Pollard +Christie Shavey
(sorry if I missed any Enlightened)

Thank you for being amazing and adding an so much dimension to the community here in Seattle.

#ingress  #nianticproject

Lessons for a Level 1

Yesterday was the first time in a long time that I got to help a brand new Level 1 make their first field and get to Level 2.  As you spend more time playing a game you tend to take for granted the things that you learn as you level and forget that these things may not be obvious to a brand new player, so I'm going to go over a few things I helped our newest Level 2 out with yesterday.

Hacking is Agent specific and limited by time - Irregardless of how many other people hack a portal you can hack a portal every 5 minutes up to 4 times in 4 hours.  So if you hacked a single portal it would take you 15 minutes to burn it out.  I recommend burning out a portal as often as possible.

Portal Keys are Consumable - when you create a link to a particular portal you will loose the key for the portal you are linking to.  In the early days you couldn't get a 2nd key for a portal if you already had one in your inventory so you had to do some juggling to get more than one key. Luckily that was changed and now you can hold as many keys as you want for any portal.

You need a Portal Key to Remotely Recharge - If a portal is attacked and you have a key for that portal in your inventory then you can pull up the key and remotely recharge the portal.  This will still drain your XM but you will also get 10 AP per recharge.

Portal key drops are "random" - Meaning you can't predict when you'll get a key.  That being said the more often you hack a portal the more likely you are to get a key, so areas that you spend a lot of time in will most likely generate you a lot of keys for that area.

Stick with Smallest Fields to Start - Whether you create a huge field that covers miles or a tiny field that covers a couple of hundred feet you still only get 1250 AP for the field.  And once you make a large field you are very limited in what you can create underneath that field.  If you are under a field the only links you can make are to the points of the covering field.

In the image below portals under the large field can not be linked to each other they can only be linked to one of the triangle points that cover them.  When you start your best source of AP is linking and creating fields so the example below is a missed opportunity for AP.

That's not to say that as you get higher in levels it won't make sense to build fields that cover areas, in fact it can be quite a useful tool when utilized correctly.  But as a low level maximize your AP opportunity by building as many fields as you can.

Hacking enemy portals drains your energy - but it will also give you 100 AP, hacking friendly portals drains some energy but it also gives you some energy so it ends up being about a wash unless you're hacking really high friendly portals then you have to be careful about running out of XM.  In the beginning those 100 AP can help you level quite quickly.  When you hack enemy portals you may not get much if any gear but the AP really is worth it at that point in the game.

XM is NOT Agent Specific but does regenerate - Almost all portals should have a large XM pool around them (some exceptions for newly added portals).  If there is no XM around a portal you have arrived at then most likely someone from your team or the other team has been through recently and taken all the XM.  XM will repopulate, I'm not 100% sure on the time I think it's 15 minutes,  XM will also start to re-appear soon after a portal is brought back online.

Becoming a Blue Heron

After 8 players made it to L8 in Seattle +Emmanuel Goldstien was trying to figure out what to name an operation for creating a large number of L8 portals when someone suggested the idea of Blue Heron.  Not only are they pretty birds but they also eat small amphibious creatures, which seems very fitting.

Well the name Blue Heron's stuck and when you reach L8 you are now a member of the Blue Herons.

In what is quickly becoming a very fun tradition a new L8 will meet up with as many Blue Heron's as possible at the Top of the Hill at Gas Works park (GW) for a shot of bourbon from +Emmanuel Goldstien, a handshake and your first deployment on one of the GW L8 Portals that are being rebuilt after being stolen by the enemy.

Although I made L8 about a week ago last night was the first time I was able to make it up to the park and it was an amazing experience for me.  There were 11 of us there last night 3 of us were new Heron's and the joking and fun and camaraderie is what makes +Ingress such a life changing experience for me.

After we were done burning out Gas Works park most of us made our way to the University of Washington (UW) another favorite farming spot.  I am actually still over inventory cap because of the gear drop last weekend and so I deployed my 8s and enjoyed watching my team mates joke around and play.  There really is nothing more entertaining than half a dozen or more geeks walking around in what appears to be aimless directions staring at their phone.  All these people wandering around red square, the main quad of the UW, at 11 o'clock at night really is a fun site to see.

While at the UW we got report that the toads were tearing down Gas Works Park and due to a minor slip by a lower level toad in All Comm we found out they were headed towards us.  My husband is still L7 so we wanted to stay and battle so he could get the AP but with no word on the location of the toads we decided we really needed to get home and couldn't wait.

As we pulled out of the parking garage I spotted a large group of people off to one side of the exit.  There really is no mistaking a group of +Ingress players about to make an attack  A large group of people all staring at their phones intently some with cables hanging off their phones, most budled up warm with gloves on, it was obvious the toads had arrived.  I also spotted a member of the toads I recognized which confirmed what I was seeing (+Benjamin Krueger your motorcyle outfit was just to easy to pick out).

Wouldn't you know my phone signal didn't want to come back after leaving the parking garage so I couldn't sound the alarm fast enough.  Once I got my connection back I frantically types "there's a whole bunch of 'em right outside the garage" then I flipped through my keys to find out what I could recharge as my husband drove home.  I spammed my little heart out re-charing and it appears I was able to save 6 of the L8 resonators on 1 portal, not much but helps in the battle.

The last thing I see on Comm's before I log off for the night is "We're still BSing in red square" and I smiled.  That means all is good in the world, battle was done, friends were made and fun was had by all.

Seattle Ingress I am truly grateful to be among your company, you have had more impact on my life than you'll ever know and I love battling with you and against you.

Mistyayn

L8 Blue Heron

Seattle Resistance

"Leader" of "Kira's Army" (rumor run amok)

Thanks to +Scott Manley for the use of the pictures

Code Drop

I don't know if ADA, Edward Faulle or +Hubert Farlowe is responsible for the massive passcode release on Saturday.  At this point I don't really care, I'm just thankful it was done.

Although there is significantly more green in my city than there was before Saturday, we have produced 3x as many L8s in the last 4 days then we did in each of the last 4 weeks.  Having a well equipped opponent means more battles more AP and a whole lot more fun.

I've repeatedly heard people say that they want to wipe their enemy off the map.  However I question the wisdom in this.  There are some who interpret the Niantic story line as a war where you must eliminate the enemy and cover the world in your factions fields.  However as the story has progressed there have been so many twists and turns it's hard to tell who is what anymore and who's fighting for what.

What if ADA actually released the codes in order to re-balance?  That could mean that neither team is ever intended to dominate.  Everything is open for interpretation but if your interpretation of the story involves completely eliminating your enemy, what will you do then?

I guess it all comes down to the type of game you want to play.  Do you want to farm close to home and then take road trips to get AP? If that's the case then I hope everyone in your area is okay with it.  If not, consider letting your opponent have a farm let them build up a little bit and see what kind of fun happens when you actually have to fight for your farm.  If you're really as good as you say you are then you shouldn't have a problem.  For those that dominate your area, I dare you to prove you're really that good.

Only time will tell if my team is as good as we think we are.  And right now is our chance to prove it.

#ingress #fieldreport

Ingress New Player FAQ

• I can't find any portals in my area
• Try going to Ingress Intel
• Create Portals: Instructions for Creating a Portal
• I found a portal on private property
• http://support.google.com/ingress click contact us then Report an Issue with a Portal and then select the appropriate action.
• Is anyone in my area?
• To find out announce yourself in Faction COMMs.  This will let other players in your area know you're there and if there is a presence in your area they can tell you how to get involved in that community.  And often these groups will help you understand how to play.
  
  To announce yourself: In the lower right hand corner of your client there is a tab that says COMM.  When you first open this chat you are in All COMM which means both toads and smurfs can see what you post.  Up at the top of the tab you'll see the words All and Faction click on Faction and type your message.  You will probably screw up more than once and say something intended for Faction in All, it's okay everyone does it and the COMM can be a little glitchy sometimes.
  
  This is usually a better way to find people in your area than announcing yourself in the Ingress Community because not everyone watches that.
• I got an extra invite what should I do with it?
• Anything you want except sell it.
• How often can I hack a portal?
• 4 times in 4 hours
• I'm surrounded by the enemy and there are no friendly portals near by, what do I do?
• First, there is currently a problem with faction balance in the game.  Remember, Ingress is still in beta so the awesome creators over at Niantic are still trying things out.  With that being said....
• Hack enemy portals.  You get 100 AP for each enemy portal you hack, it can be a little slow but while you're finding a community (see next bullet) it's a way to make progress.
• Find out if there is a community in your area and join.  This is a social game and most high level players are more than willing to help new players when we know you're there.  Warning if you don't want to be social then this game probably won't be a whole lot of fun.  See Is anyone in my Area above.
• If there is no one in your area then see if you can recruit more people to play in your area (See next question about Invites).
• I'm surrounded by friendly portals how do I get AP?
• Hack portals until you get keys and then make links.  Links are the best way to generate AP in a friendly heavy area.
• Soon you will get AP for recharging your resonators remotely and from upgrading resonators, this is new so I will update once I know more.
• How can I get extra invites for my friends?
• +Niantic Project loves creativity and stories about playing +Ingress. Report to the Ingress Community on what you've been doing in your area and that you need additional help to fight Resistance/Enlightened.
• My GPS bounces around while I'm playing Ingress, what should I do?
• If you are near tall buildings there isn't a whole lot you can do because you might not have a direct line of site to the GPS satellite.
• Install GPS Status & Toolbox it will help some.

So you think you want to be an Ingress Agent?

Personally I think Niantic is too generous with their invites.  Becoming a +Ingress agent is more than just joining a game and you should truly be tested before you're allowed to participate in this global battle.  But then again maybe some would call me over zealous (I prefer passionate).

Why do I think you should be tested first??

Ingress is more than a game, it's a lifestyle.  If you're truly an Ingress agent you will find yourself driving out of your way to go to portals, staying out really late to farm, running around meeting new people at all hours of the day and night, spending way too much money on backup batteries and gas and food because you never go home.  Playing Ingress also means you need to be willing to be part of a team, it's not a requirement in all areas but it ads so much to the game that if you don't think you want to participate in that way then maybe this game isn't for you.

I've been playing since November 25th, so I guess you could call me a veteran.  I'm also one of the leaders of the Seattle Resistance.  During that time I've seen a lot of people come and go because they realize just what type of commitment it takes.   They'll play for an afternoon and then never open the client again.

So consider very carefully, do you truly want to be an Ingress Agent?

Let Your Geek Flag Fly

If you want to display your +Ingress handle in G+ there is a way to do it  without changing your name through the rest of the Google Products.  Here are the steps to do it:

1. Go to your profile
2. Click Edit Profile
3. Click on your Name above your cover photo
4. Click more options
5. Add your nickname (Ingress handle)
6. Change Display my Name to one of the options that includes your nickname. 

As a community leader I hope everyone does this because it's so much easier for everyone to keep names straight.

Cross Faction Beer Night

Otherwise known as CFBN.  Friday night was our 4th such event here in Seattle in the last 4 weeks and again it was a blast.  This one was planned and coordinated by +Michael Watson and it was awesome.  Over the course of the 4 hours I was there 30-35 people came and went from both Resistance and Enlightened.

I strongly encourage making friends with your +Ingress enemy.  A beer (or maybe a hot toddy) while discussing battle inside where it's warm is a whole lot of fun.
If you can schedule it near one or two portals where there are lots of power outlets the ensuing shenanigans can also be great entertainment. 

CFBN may also go by CFBF (Cross Faction Beer Friday) depending on who's had how many drinks. 

No matter what Be Safe and Have Fun.

What is the point of Ingress?

This is a question I've been asked when trying to explain it to civilians and its one I've seen posed often in the +Ingress community by those looking to play and those just starting out.

Some think the objective is to create large fields and add to the MU count, others think it's getting to level 8.

I've given this question a lot of thought and here is my answer:

The beauty of what +Niantic Project has created is that the point can be whatever you choose to make it. There are different roles and specialization for everyone and if you want you can take a little bit of each one or stick to one and that's okay.

Do you like to tear down what the other team has built? Then you're probably a destroyer.

Do you like to coordinate and help people in the field from your desk? Then you are probably an operator.

If you like to build pretty designs with fields then you're an builder. Are you willing to jump out of bed in the middle of the night to recharge a field then you're a defender.

There might even be a role for those who envision themselves a spy.

(These are the terms my area has used, if you use different terms I would love to hear them.) 

The magic of this game for me as that the rules haven't yet been set in stone, you can help shape the direction it goes by playing the game in the way that makes you happiest.

What am I? I guess my role would be leader. More importantly for me I am a community builder, or community mom as someone from the opposite team called me the other night. 

Figure out what you enjoy doing in this game. And if you haven't already find people who like to do the other jobs, because you probably won't get much out of it if you're not willing to work in a team.

No matter what you like to do or where you want to go with it Be Safe and Have Fun.

@lantis Media

Agent Kira here.

I received information yesterday that lead me to believe that maybe there was something more going on at the largest tower here in Seattle.  Some of the information seemed outdated but it was from a credible source so I at least wanted to check it out. I needed to investigate a company named @lantis that may or may not be on the 42nd floor of the Columbia Tower.

As a resourceful woman I will use every advantage I have at my disposal to get what I want in this war.  So, before I set out on my first reconnaissance mission I made sure that I was prepared to use  my most prominent assets.

At dusk I headed back into the city I had left only hours earlier after a day of battle. I made my way to the jet black building at the heart of the city and hid my car close buy so I could get away quickly if necessary.

The building was intimidating, but I made my way to the lobby and found myself facing a fresh faced civilian security guard.  Not wanting to scare him with the reality of the world he lives in I leaned forward on the counter with my finger pointed at my phone, gave him my sweetest smile and told him "I'm playing this scavenger hunt game thing and I was wondering if could tell me if this company is here on the 42nd floor".  

He told me to hang on and picked up the phone.  He explained into the phone what I was doing and then started to snicker.  Immediately I was on guard, why would it be funny I was looking for this company.  After hanging  up the phone he turned to me and said with a smile "Yea, they don't tell us what's on the 42nd floor, but you're welcome to come back during the week and check it out for yourself.  And you can check through the directory to see if you find he company name".  I looked through the directory and found nothing.

Discouraged I headed home to re-examine the intel I was given and discussed it with a confidant who has proven helpful in deciphering these clues.  Upon further investigation I realized that maybe I was wrong about where I should be looking.  The intel references "unmarked top floor of the tower".  I went back to the tower today and investigated the highest point I could get to without suspicion and again nothing.

I guess I'll just have to do the one thing I'm terrible at, wait.  Maybe the mystery informant will pass on some additional information and help me understand what that tower in the heart of my city has to do with this global ware we find ourselves in.

Restarting the Battle in Seattle

Agent Kira here.

I can't believe it worked! Okay, maybe it didn't work out exactly how I planned. But either way with a little help I managed to restart the war here in Seattle.
 
Why did I want to restart the war when my side (The Resistance) won you ask? Well, it turns out if the sky remains one color for too long there are unfortunate consequences.  Even if the sky is the beautiful blue that makes me feel so at home, both factions start to experience distress, get very restless and agents start to disappear!
 
The reality is that neither faction can survive if one completely defeats the other.The relationship, as horrible as it sounds truly is symbiotic.

Pulling this off was no easy feat.  It took weeks of planning, lots of negotiations with both sides and a little (okay maybe a lot) of blind luck.
 
The plan had two parts:

Part 1:
Operation Snow Ball - Securing an area for the Enlightened for a period of time in order to generate resources.  They've been starving for weeks and it's killing them and unbeknownst to us it starts to damage us as well.  This Operation required a lot of time and energy to convince my fellow Resistance that this truly was in our best interest.  They couldn't see the damage that was being done to us because the Enlightened were starving.  It took pleading my case several times and finally respectfully requesting they show some restraint in order to get them to hold on to their XMPs in one area for 48 hours.

Part 2:
Operation Mad Maru - which was conceived and executed perfectly by Agent+Happy Stick Person .  We sent three strike teams of our finest agets to Portland, OR.  There were many objectives but the most important for the bigger picture was to get our AP hungry level 7s out of town so they wouldn't attack the vulnerable Enlightened while they had created so much valuable AP.  For more details on operation Mad Maru please see amazing account here:http://goo.gl/gx3F6

The operations have been over for several days now and I think they can be called a success. I can already see the difference it's making.  Although there is more of that repugnant green on my scanner, there is more activity from my team in response to the increased activity from the Enlightened.  The ebb and flow of the blue and green seems to be increasing which seems to give everyone more energy and drive.  I know this is going to be a long battle and I don't know what's coming next in this +Ingress war but I know that my team is ready for it and that as a team we're capable of taking on whatever Challenge comes next.