Pokémon Go Update Includes Avatar Customization

[Maura]

MacRumors reports that the massively popular Pokémon Go app has just had a big update that has introduced some new features as well as removing a couple of other features. Probably the biggest, and most welcome, of the changes is the ability to customize your avatar, which until the update was only possible when you started the game. This means that you can tinker much more with how your avatar looks whenever you feel like it, rather than being stuck with your first avatar.

Another annoying glitch has also been addressed with the update, i.e., the way in which the “Nearby” Pokémon screen showed all Pokémon as being within three steps of your location, which basically rendered it useless as a tracking tool. The three-steps feature was originally designed to point you in the direction of a particular nearby Pokémon that you were hunting, with three steps reducing to two and then one to signify that your quarry was in your immediate vicinity. However, Niantic hasn’t managed to make this work yet, and so has just removed the footstep counter from the Nearby menu altogether, possibly to return when it is in full working order.

Niantic has also responded to fan criticism and re-sited the Transfer button from the bottom of a Pokémon’s profile to a circular menu at the bottom right of the screen, which also now includes the option to favourite the Pokémon in question. Favouriting a Pokémon also now means that you can’t accidentally transfer it.

Other more minor tweaks to the app include a font change in some of the menus, so that character combat power (CP) and names are easier to read. Some of the medals have also been tweaked, as has the battle damage of some Pokémon. The app should also now load quicker thanks to improved memory.

One somewhat controversial change brought in by the update, as reported on by the Daily Mirror, is the removal of the “Battery Saver” option. Some people liked using this option, but others found that it caused their screen to freeze when activated, or simply didn’t prevent the game from excessively draining their battery.

Sources: 'Pokémon Go' Updates With Avatar Customization, Removal of Footstep Counter, and More

Two key features removed from latest update of Pokémon Go