The Giant Global game of Ingress ALL THE GAMES! If you're into the sportsball and moving the thing into the place, talk about it here. Or maybe you'd rather just lob some rockets and tally some headshots - in that case, I'll show you to your white room after you put on this white long-sleeve coat.

[Punix-GT]

I play it, I play it a LOT! And there are obviously ingress agents on here as well. So this thread is dedicated to anything ingress related.

So I'm gonna start it off with this article I just came across:

http://globalnews.ca/news/1946941/homic ... naby-case/

while I obviously can't be of any help in that case, a month and a half ago, I could have easily been a key witness if I was only a block closer. I was farming some particular portals, and there was a break-in at the pharmacy just down the road. So there is the opportunity to be of some assistance to local law officials, and I've got some ideas to bridge the two, and if it's successful, may even bring the idea all the way to the top!

[Pam]

I get frustrated with Ingress sometimes because of how addicting it can be, and how time consuming it can be. There was a time when my hubby was CONSTANTLY playing. It was so annoying. And so I started driving him around so he could play just so I could spend time with him. And then he was like "you are here, you might as well be playing and help me, and then we can get home sooner." Yeah...so I joined...and yet we still ended up playing ALL the time and so late at night. It was fun, yet boring and frustrating. I like when we get together with other people that are playing. That part is fun. And when we all get together to destroy some toads, that can be a lot of fun too. I just hate how much time out of my life it has taken.

However, I will say that I really like that Ingress has helped me see more of my town. And more of a lot of places. And since it is usually special or unique things and places that are portals, it makes it fun to go and find those things and check them out. Just make sure you take the time to check them out and not just stare at your phone the whole time.

[Punix-GT]

Ingress has allowed me to see things that most people usually just walk by or never see. Sometimes I'd like to see myself as a new "Texas Reporter" going to all these small towns and seeing the sights often overlooked.

I've also determined that downtown Rusk at night is creepier than most cemeteries I've walked into.

Since I'm single, and nothing really holding me down, I like the adventure of going to new places and exploring, and I hope to find someone who would want to join me and see everything that I see.

[Neo]

I got frustrated with the time too. I would be in a Hangout with the Ingress people, they'd want to coordinate some *thing* out some *where* and I'd have to leave home at night, when I'm usually with my wife or something, and go do the thing with them. It's definitely a single person's game...or a couple's game...it's not a game for a person in a relationship, that's for sure.

I also got frustrated with the time and money (mostly in gas, but also in equipment like battery packs) I put into the game, only to discover how unbalanced the whole thing was - there was no long-term win, or even end game really. I had just come off World of Warcraft where I was tired of the grind and continuous gameplay that took all of my evenings, and realized I was right back into the same type of game - grinding for resources and spending them to capture a portal I couldn't hold on to.

Now I just load the game every now and then while i'm at work, since I have two desk portals, and just make sure they stay green that day. I'm disenfranchised with the game to the point I just smurf with people who take those two portals seriously.

[Punix-GT]

Yeah, I can understand that. I'm not particularly down with last minute coordination. I don't want people having to leave their personal lives on hold to go do something that's just going to cause a rift later on. I've seen it happen before, and it's not pretty, and I certainly don't want to get stuck in the middle of it.

But I also know quite a few people who's wives play the game, and it doesn't bother the husband at all, and vice versa. I'm sure there are limits and regulations placed upon them, like no playing after a particular time, or foreknowledge of coordinated events, and location. Stuff like that.

I know real life happens, and it's not in my position to stand in the way. And burn-out happens way too frequently. I almost got burned out until I started looking at it from a different perspective. I play with the intent of meeting new people and making new friends, train new players, and every once in a while, do an ops. I've made countless friends playing Ingress, and I'm sure I'm going to make plenty more ^___^

[Pam]

Hmmm. I do have a portal right at my desk, I just tend to forget about it! LOL.

And, I know there are a ton of people that play Ingress that have families. It is cute when some of them bring their whole families out with them when they are playing. And some of them just play during work, or commutes. And then there are some who take some time from family time and go play, and that does get kind of sad to see. But playing it as a couple can be fun. Definitely more fun that just waiting for him to be done with the game.

Oh...the gas. Yes, that is something that has DEFINITELY bugged me about it. We have driven sooo much for this game, so far, and then just going around and around and around building up from farms. There should be a special Ingress gas discount. Geez.

Another thing that really bugs me about this game is that there is really no defensive abilities. Sure, you can play mods like shields, turrets, whatever, and you can recharge...but, by the time you get a message that someone is attacking your portal, there just isn't enough time to really recharge it. Last night someone attacked one of my portals, and I kept recharging as it told me it needed recharging, and my hubby was recharging it also, but sometimes it would tell me it was fully charged, and then all of a sudden some of my resonators were gone!!! WTF???! Yes...so annoying.

Benji, you totally have to come and meet our Greenville and Rockwall peeps. We have some good ones, and some restaurants/bars that we like to meet up at! The first time we met up with anyone, it was at the Flying Saucer in Garland. Lots of fun, and met some crazy peeps!

[Punix-GT]

To reduce the amount of gas I would use, in a downtown area, especially if there's a mission there, I'd just park the car and walk. Surprisingly, I'm almost at my platinum trekker badge.

I would love to go up there and visit that area. I've already gotten pretty acquainted with the Garland and Allen area.

Out of curiosity, have you played with Kilderkin? I know he's somewhere in that vicinity.

[Pam]

No, Kilderkin does not sound familiar. I am familiar with several of the smurfs and toads that play in those areas. The Firewheel mall has a nice little farm area that is fun.

The problem is that our farms are usually too big to get out and walk them, or we are in a hurry. It is fun to get out and walk some places though.

[Punix-GT]

When I went up there to visit, there were a few missions that I enjoyed that involved walking, including the Watters Creek Shopping area, and the Allen Historical Heritage Village. The Haggard Park in Plano was another fun one that both Neo and I did.

Whenever I make missions, I try to make them where you can actually do them walking, which is the case for the ones around here

[Pam]

I haven't tried any of the missions yet. What are the missions like?

There is a really nice cemetery a couple of streets from my house that has *counts on her fingers real quick* 5 portals in it, and it is a really nice place to walk to and to walk the dogs.

[Punix-GT]

The best way to describe missions, it's basically the same as playing ingress, but in order to progress through the mission, you'd have to either hack, or capture the portal. There are a few missions that would tell you to throw a link or make a field from said portal.

There's even waypoints in the mission, that if you click on the waypoint, you get to read a short historical story of where ever you're standing. I kinda like the ones that give you a pop quiz, meaning you'd have to read the plaque or sign, then answer the question to finish the mission. When it's done, you'll get a badge. Missions are a great way of getting your stats up, especially with unique portals. And a lot of them are close by each other.

I prefer to do missions where the portals are all green, that way I can claim the unique, or do one with a fellow enlightened player, that way we both can claim the portals, we'll alternate on who gets the portal first.

[Pam]

That does sound interesting. And really, one of my favorite things about this game is seeing all the historical places and seeing places that have a background and learning about it! I'm definitely going to have to look around for some Missions. I think there are a couple in my area.

[DMoney]

I haven't tried any of the missions yet. What are the missions like?

There is a really nice cemetery a couple of streets from my house that has *counts on her fingers real quick* 5 portals in it, and it is a really nice place to walk to and to walk the dogs.

There's a mission in Laurelland cemetary. I haven't done it yet, but I'm planning on doing it after our vacation. There are TONS of portals in that cemetary now, it's crazy how many they were able to get in there.

[Neo]

The McKinney cemetery has a bunch of portals as well...I'm not sure if there are missions in it, but I'm sure there's got to be at least one.

[Pam]

Our cemetery only has 5 portals, and I think there is still a mission about it.