Hey everyone and welcome back to another Pokémon GO teardown. Like previously we are going to look into some of the changes found inside the application for version 0.69.0 (Android).
Chicago Event (Badge, Check In)
We saw the badges, which were previously hidden in a sprite (Collection of images in one) split into individual images. This matches the Ingress style of badge development where each badge is a separate image which allows badges to be rolled out server side (not requiring application update).
Additionally we found strings leading to believe that check in for the Go Fest Event in Chicago would have a component in game as well, probably based by QRCode based on all the bar-code development. There is probably a good sense of development to keep the badges for those who actually went to the event.
BADGE_CHICAGO_FEST_JULY_2017 EventCheckInSuccess() CompleteEventCheckIn() BarcodeFormat
Legendaries & Legendary Events
Hidden with this application and the previous, lots of mentions toward Legendaries were found. We can infer from the provided strings and Legendaries that an exclusive event/raid will happen which will contain a Legendary Pokemon. It seems from the image of the legendary marker that you will be able to catch/obtain these Legendaries. The Master Ball item has been hiding in the application since the day this game launched, so at any moment it could be launched in the game.
However, once obtained there are lots of related error messages in which legendary Pokemon are disabled so I don’t think you will be allowed to use Legendaries in gyms (only a guess)
strings congratulations_exclusive_raid_ticket disabled_legendary exclusive_raid_invite exclusive_ticket_indicator raid_exclusive_description gym_closed_exclusive_raid_not_invited pokemon_info_multi_transfer_legendary_pokemon_error pokemon_legendary_info_transfer_to_professor_confirmation DISABLED_LEGENDARY_KEY functions IsLegendaryOrMythic() isEventLegendary() IsRaidHidden()
Quests?
While the other two “quest” references were the daily streak of catch/spin, this may be a development shift into a feature that can support more quests. They may have started a feature convert for existing streak bonuses. We will watch this development for the next version to see if anything comes of it.
action.quest.catch.streak action.quest.spin.streak
Remote Recharging
A feature very familiar with Ingress player is the ability to remotely recharge portals as they decay. This idea has been brought to Pokémon in terms of the motivation of Pokémon at gyms. Now instead of getting in range of the gym you can remotely send berries to Pokémon defending a gym.
New Sponsor
Getting back to our favorite kitchen items, a new item was added
- Whisk
What this stands for, I have no idea. Some of the previous include Plancha, Muffin Tin and the full list can be found in the 0.61.0 teardown here.
Hardcoded Gym/Stop list
We saw in version 0.67.1, a list of 1,001 gym/stops. These were included in the application in the form of GUIDs and images. This time all 1,001 have been removed in favor of two new GUIDs and text of location/name. We can find these two locations as the following:
- Cupid’s Span – The Embarcadero, San Francisco, CA (Ingress link)
- Union Square – Barbary Coast Trail, San Francisco, CA (Ingress link)
Conclusion
This version is obviously the last build for those attending Go Fest Chicago (Yes I’ll be there), but seems to lay the ground work (badge rework, quests, gyms) for additional features. Each version packs a punch of changes and we will see you guys at the next one!