Yes, to some extent, but Machina doesn't attack existing links or fields, and eventually one gets to the point where one has control fields over everything within an a fifteen-square-kilometre area surrounding one's house and nobody's trying to do anything about it.

Looking on the bright side, it's encouraging me to go on longer bike rides as I have to seek farther afield for something to do -- so Ingress is continuing to motivate me to exercise, which was after all one of the main reasons I started doing it.