Pokémon GO Update brings 'Nearby' System

bobandbill

bobandbill

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    The tracking system is/will be massively changed.

    For most of us, all that appears to have happened is that grass appears behind Pokemon in the 'Sightings' section, which replaces the 'nearby' section. It's somewhat more useful than it used to be, however, as it apparently updates more regularly and has a smaller radius.

    That's nothing like the whole story though. Some accounts, seemingly chosen at random, are having a new tracking feature tested on them. In this new feature, Pokemon that are within a certain radius of a Pokestop have a picture of that stop behind them in the sightings screen, and selecting the stop takes you to a bird's eye map that demonstrates the location of that exact stop. This feature will eventually be rolled out to everyone.

    With this feature, you can literally follow a map to the Pokemon.
     
    Article is updated to show an example of the new Nearby system a few users are currently testing. Thanks to VisualJae for the tip there.
     
    Looking forward to the new system going live if it ever does. Looks like a really useful way to track Pokémon and honestly a very fun one too. I am slightly paranoid about the whole "people using this for muggings" stuff etc but what can you do 8D The only other worry I have is that areas with high PokéStop densities will be so much easier to track Pokémon in than those rural villages with only one or two stops throughout the entire area but a boost is still a boost and god knows we need a tracking system of some description soon haha.
     
    For now, the reddit has found these things:

    The order of appearance on the list has no bearing on proximity.

    Repeats no longer occur. If there a three Weedle in the area, only one will show as an icon.

    Pokemon that have de-spawned or moved out of range will disappear from the list. Yay for accuracy!
    The range seems to be approx. 200 meters.

    Users in San Francisco have been selected to, let's say, beta-test a new Nearby feature that centers around Pokemon spawning near Pokestops.
    Screenshots here

    The grass is still a mystery.

    Anyone with more info please add onto this, this is by no means an exhaustive list, I just collected info from the reddit.

    Found bug:
    Three different times last night, my Sightings listing was totally empty - so I tried closing and opening the app, and not only did Sightings fill up with three new Pokemon, but a Pokemon appeared right beside me that wasn't there before.

    If things seem a little dry for you guys, try closing and opening the app like I did, maybe the new system is bad at spawning Pokemon like it should??

    Edit: Yup, have had to do this restarting several more times today to make sure Pokemon don't stop spawning.
     
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    TheRollinSpheal said:
    It's good to see it back, hopefully they can fix it and bring back the old one though :P
    Click to expand...
    That's pretty much my thinking too haha. It's nice to have something but the original method was a lot better (feels a lot more like a Pokémon tracking experience rather than just randomly being told what buildings are near a Pokémon?). I'd still mostly like to see the method from the beta in which distances were displayed by metres away in various milestones but as it's been said multiple times, any system is better than none.
     
    I'm afraid I can't agree. Using the ring system to triangulate Pokemon takes so long (walk this way, monitor radar, do a 180, monitor radar, double back to start and 90 degrees, etc) that after you've finally found the spawn point, your target has despawned most of the time. That's simply not fair.
     
    Livewire said:
    I mean, it's still a half-assed quick fix since so many people complained about Tracking's removal, but it's better than nothing, for now. I'd like to see the original tracking system back, hopefully bug free this time, haha.
    Click to expand...
    I think Sightings IS the previous tracking system just with a different skin and no footsteps. It seems to tell you what Pokemon are currently at the grass-poof spawn points, which is, as I understand it, exactly what the original Nearby did. Yeah?

    -----------

    Ok I gotta tell you guys this to save some agony later on.

    Tonight I noticed a Geodude silhouette in my Sightings (first slot, if that matters). But nothing was appearing, and it was so late at night I didn't want to go outside.

    So I decided I decided to close and restart the app. Nothing to lose, right? Maybe something will--

    Geodude spawns right next to me when the app boots back up.

    OBVIOUSLY, Pokemon spawns are NOT VERY STABLE right now, and restarting the app CAN help get you Pokemon you would otherwise miss. Good luck trainers!!

    (This combined with my earlier post about restarting the app leads me to believe the spawns are not very stable, that is. It's not an isolated incident)

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    Edit update: Yup, Sightings has definitely improved my experience. Today I caught four Pokemon I didn't have before (on four different walks), all thanks to Sightings and already having some knowledge of where Pokemon spawn in my neighbourhood thanks to Pokevision (memories of it, not current use).
     
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    The name changing should have been is changing more than once should cost actual money.

    And, I have heard that Eevee's evolution method is random. Another should have been of it is "a certain something" that Eevee should evolve into what the player wants if he/she chooses to make Eevee into Vaporeon, Jolteon, or Flareon. Technically, randoming the method is not good for the game. What if for Snorunt and Kirlia will?
     
    There are a number of "Easter eggs" built into the game, the eevee naming trick is the first one that's been found. It's been hinted there will be more surprises just got to wait for people to discover them
     
    Hey all,

    I hope that they improve on the find feature, it worked for me for the first days after release and I enjoyed it a lot.
    I'm looking forward to the improvements that are coming.

    Kind Regards,
    DigitalFlow
     
    It's been about a week since they started testing the new nearby feature, I wonder how long until it reaches everyone. I am hoping they make a slight change and it doesn't show you exactly where the Pokemon is, just as long as it tells you the Pokemon is within 100m of the pokestop that is easily enough information to track it down. I've actually been able to track Pokemon with about 90% success rate now. If you are not sure how to use the tracker then take a friend and when an uncommon Pokemon comes onto the nearby then get one of you to stand still and the other one to run around within 100m of that spot and when they find where the Pokemon is then look at how much distance is between you to give you a guide to how close you will be to a Pokemon if it's on your radar
     
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