UK-Wide Multi-cache

March 9, 2007

I don't see Carmarthenshire on the list as yet - I'll volunteer for that location if you like.

March 9, 2007

First attempt, Quck and dirty, but does give a good idea of what has been taken.

Map as at 13:30 9th March 07[/url].

I hope it works! I will try to get it as an on-screen image ASAP.

It does work . Many thanks to Bambography

For some reason "Midlothian" isn't listed but Lothian and Falkirk is. Rutsons list gives Falkirk and Midlotian as separate items. Any offers for which is correct?

Edited to make map visible.

Edited March 9, 2007 by OldGimmer

1.6k · March 9, 2007

'x'? what 'x'?

Next to some of the counties instead of cachers.

2.9k · March 9, 2007

First attempt, Quck and dirty, but does give a good idea of what has been taken.

Map as at 13:30 9th March 07.

I hope it works! I will try to get it as an on-screen image ASAP.

For some reason "Midlothian" isn't listed but Lothian and Falkirk is. Rutsons list gives Falkirk and Midlotian as separate items. Any offers for which is correct?

If you quote this page and preview it you will see the difference at the end of the url

March 9, 2007

First attempt, Quck and dirty, but does give a good idea of what has been taken.

Map as at 13:30 9th March 07.

I hope it works! I will try to get it as an on-screen image ASAP.

For some reason "Midlothian" isn't listed but Lothian and Falkirk is. Rutsons list gives Falkirk and Midlotian as separate items. Any offers for which is correct?

If you quote this page and preview it you will see the difference at the end of the url

In terms of a progress map for the website, we've identified a way of having one base map and filling the counties from a database list. Just got to see if we can find a free base map that covers the whole area we are talking about. No mapping agency has the full map. Here at the AA (I'm a cartographer) i'm asking questions on some of our mapping bases and if it would be possible to use them. Only trouble is whether they cover the "correct" couties we are working to for the BIG Quest. Will keep looking into it but it won't be this week.

Edit to clarify what i'm on about...

Edited March 9, 2007 by Bambography

March 9, 2007

OK, my thoughts...

I like the idea a lot, however, I don't think we want to end up covering every "county" and "unitary authority" necessarily, as this could get extremely unwieldy, so perhaps we should use some discression concerning some of the new small counties in Scotland for example?

Also, I prefer the county map done by G:UK which have on our profile which updates automatically - any chance we could get something done like this so that people could add it to their profile?

B.

March 9, 2007

OK, my thoughts...

I like the idea a lot, however, I don't think we want to end up covering every "county" and "unitary authority" necessarily, as this could get extremely unwieldy, so perhaps we should use some discression concerning some of the new small counties in Scotland for example?

Also, I prefer the county map done by G:UK which have on our profile which updates automatically - any chance we could get something done like this so that people could add it to their profile?

B.

Thats what i'm looking at... Although I think for the website to run overall it will need people to 'stake thier claim' when they complete a qualifying cache. This would simply be visiting the bigquest.co.uk site (once it exists) and saying who, when and which county in a small form. This data would be stored in a database which would then be used to create the map for profiles/website to be used as you wish...

March 9, 2007

Surely bigquest.org.uk would be more representative? This is also available.

March 9, 2007

Surely bigquest.org.uk would be more representative? This is also available.

Whoops! I have already registered BigQuest.co.uk. Just waiting for Nominet to confirm the registration via my ISP.

Hopefully we will have something, for starters, up and available in a day or so.

March 9, 2007

OK, we left a polite breathing space for "Mr Nibbler" or "Nellies knackers" to dive in but... too late guys :laughing: We bagsy cambridgeshire.

Edit: Unless you go for 'traditional' counties, in which case we'll have Huntingdonshire

Edited March 9, 2007 by Boneychest & Catsuey

March 9, 2007

Looking ahead, we will need some sort of system of "codes" or "keys" that people will have to collect, probably as a number contained in the cache itself. These will be "processed" in some way to arrive at a "pointer" to the final location.

I have some ideas myself as to how this may be done, but if you have any ideas of your own let me know. Mainly based around the idea used by MS and similar as a multi-section activation code.

Pretty obviously the system will have to be secure, so if you don't want to give too much away you can drop me a line via my Profile.

March 9, 2007

I would like to offer my help with the web-site, if required. Although my expertise is more in the area of UNIX scripts/C programming rather than Java / databases.

March 9, 2007

Somerset for us please!!!!!

:laughing:

The Morgan Mob

March 9, 2007

I just found this ....

http://rbg-web2.rbge.org.uk/bbs/Recording/vcmappage.htm

Not sure if it will be of use to any who wish to play with mapping possibilities or county listings.

March 9, 2007

My take on this, and several people have mentioned something along these lines already, is that there should be several levels to this multi.

Doing the entire British Isles is going to be out of the question for the vast majority of cachers - but there will be people who will attempt to do it so the idea stands and I fully support it.

However, can I suggest also that we have sub-achievements if you like, where you can still get some reward for completing part of the task, something that a larger collective can take part in and feel a sense of achievement in completing.

For example, a single "region" (for example Wales, Scotland) would be one level of achievement. I don't know how many levels of collections the web site should accomodate but I certainly feel that having these milestones if you like would make the challenge more enjoyable for a larger group of people who (like me) would never be able to have the time to complete the entire caboodle (which presumably will include Ireland, the Isle of Man and the Channel Islands, but perhaps I'm wrong there).

I'd certainly be up for the challenge of completing Wales for example and would even dare considering spending a short holiday up in North Wales :rolleyes:

I have several locations in mind for Carmarthenshire already. I'm not sure yet whether to make it a nice and easy find (transport wise) or to take people into the heart of Carms. to see some of the better sights on offer.

March 9, 2007

I fully agree with Eclectic Penguin above, it would be good to have several goals to aim for on the journey to the final :rolleyes:

How's this for the mappers??

Interactive Flash map of the
United Kingdom and Ireland

The map contains 136 clickable counties. The customizable source file (.fla) also included, so you can add, remove, and edit any of the graphics, text and interactive features. To edit the map, you need to have a Macromedia Flash editor software. On request, we will customize the map for you.

Map size: 550x650 pixels

File Size: 118 KBytes

Layers: buttons, borders, labels

Price: $34.95

... The above found at http://www.maps4.com/united_kingdom_maps.html

I would certainly support making a donation towards getting the job done legally (rather than trying to borrow and make do) and paying some towards cost of getting the equipment/software we need and which is suitable to our needs.

March 9, 2007

I'll stick my hand up and grab Greater London, then. But, I have exams sometime, so may be out of caching for the next few months (not that I've been particularly active in the past few months, anyway).

The county border and centroid data is free from nearby.org.uk if anyone wants to make their own maps, IMO the G:UK map is cleaner than the marmanel one? Could we talk to the G:UK guys to get an automated counties found map? It would be more automated, especially with the existing peering agreement with geocaching.com..

Oops, forgot the link: http://nearby.org.uk/counties/

Edited March 9, 2007 by Edgemaster

March 9, 2007

Thanks for the suggestions towards the Mapping solutions. I'll take a look at the various items shown above and see if we can use them. The Flash maps certainly look helpful but will look to see if they can be set into peoples profiles.

March 9, 2007

Thanks for the suggestions towards the Mapping solutions. I'll take a look at the various items shown above and see if we can use them. The Flash maps certainly look helpful but will look to see if they can be set into peoples profiles.

It is possible to embed flash into profiles. However, this requires a slight HTML hack to bypass the HTML tidier.

A plain <embed will not work, message me for details...

March 9, 2007

Just picking up on the one or two comments about which counties are actually counties. (Wirral not being one :rolleyes: ).

Forgive me if I'm stating the obvious, but the format of the mapping system will ultimately determine the final definition of the county boundaries.

So, if the mapping system is the primary concern, the definition of county boundaries will have to follow whatever system of boundaries the mapping system has.

If the definition of county boundaries is more important and the chosen mapping system doesn't follow whatever agreed set of boundaries we end up with, the mapping system may need to be custom built ??

Or have I missed something

March 9, 2007

I'll take the City and County of Bristol if it's still available!

Cracking good idea I reckon! Be interesting to see how it all works out!

1.8k · March 9, 2007

I am glad the suggestion has been made that there should be stages or levels of achievement as I too feel that a very limited number of us will be able to cover the whole country/countries and might be put off starting at all.

I don't know how it might be done but did wonder if there was any possibility of Alan linking the statistics into COTM?

March 9, 2007

I'll stick my hand up and grab Greater London, then. But, I have exams sometime, so may be out of caching for the next few months (not that I've been particularly active in the past few months, anyway).

The county border and centroid data is free from nearby.org.uk if anyone wants to make their own maps, IMO the G:UK map is cleaner than the marmanel one? Could we talk to the G:UK guys to get an automated counties found map? It would be more automated, especially with the existing peering agreement with geocaching.com..

Oops, forgot the link: http://nearby.org.uk/counties/

This data gives the Welsh county of Dyfed, which existed for a short while and joined up the three Counties of Carmarthenshire, Pembrokeshire and Ceredigion.

So not good.

March 9, 2007

I have not read all replies yet, but I would like to help with Staffordshire or West Midlands if nobody has beaten me to it :rolleyes:

Edited March 9, 2007 by The Mighty Shark

March 9, 2007

I could do West Lothian if nobody else volunteers.

Edited March 10, 2007 by Blue Magician

March 9, 2007

I'll do Wiltshire if I can remember how to hide a cache :rolleyes:

March 10, 2007

The counties map on geocacheuk does not show Irish counties (not that i've seen, anyway).

I have emailed the people at itsnotabouthenumbers.com as they have interactive mapping for the British Isles. I'll wait to hear back from them.

I am happy to adjust mapping to suit our needs if I have sound (and legal) base to work on. I'm a cartographer by trade and have all the tools. Just need the data to start with.

March 10, 2007

I'd certainly be up for the challenge of completing Wales for example and would even dare considering spending a short holiday up in North Wales

We'll let you become an honorary Gog for the week! :rolleyes:

March 10, 2007

For some reason "Midlothian" isn't listed but Lothian and Falkirk is. Rutsons list gives Falkirk and Midlotian as separate items. Any offers for which is correct?

Don't want to get all territorial here but Falkirk isn't in the Lothians, unless someone has moved it over night and not told us :sad: Used to be part of the old Central region, totally seperate from the Lothains.

March 10, 2007

As time goes on, if certain counties in the central and southern parts of Scotland aren't taken, then I would be willing to put out a couple more caches. I'll leave them for now, though, to give others a chance at it.

I, too, really like the idea of setting sub-challenges, such as Wales, England, Scotland, etc. That would give us bite sized pieces to chew on, rather than one huge meal! :sad:

1.8k · March 10, 2007

I, too, really like the idea of setting sub-challenges, such as Wales, England, Scotland, etc. That would give us bite sized pieces to chew on, rather than one huge meal!

I still wonder if it would be even better to break the challenges down even further and have a third stage, perhaps by ITV regions.

1.6k · March 10, 2007

Thanks for the suggestions towards the Mapping solutions. I'll take a look at the various items shown above and see if we can use them. The Flash maps certainly look helpful but will look to see if they can be set into peoples profiles.

It is possible to embed flash into profiles. However, this requires a slight HTML hack to bypass the HTML tidier.

A plain <embed will not work, message me for details...

This is one route not to try. If it comes to the attention of TPTB, as your messing with the site it's self, you risk having the account Banned for abuse of the system. This is something that they are strict about if it comes to their attention.

March 10, 2007

I still wonder if it would be even better to break the challenges down even further and have a third stage, perhaps by ITV regions.

A fair idea, but this may suffer from the problem that ITV regions may not strictly adhere to county boundaries. Wales, Scotland and Northern Ireland would be easily defined by ITV region as they have their own!

March 10, 2007

We'll take East Yorkshire if it is still available.

March 10, 2007

Put me down for A Swansea cache :sad:

8.6k · March 10, 2007

Ummmmmm :sad:

Somewhere back near the beginning of this thread we asked for Monmouthshire and our name is against that county on the list... but it hasn't gone yellow yet on the map... Shall I get out my crayons?

(It's that one in the SE corner of Wales :sad: )

MrsB

March 10, 2007

Ummmmmm

Somewhere back near the beginning of this thread we asked for Monmouthshire and our name is against that county on the list... but it hasn't gone yellow yet on the map... Shall I get out my crayons?

(It's that one in the SE corner of Wales )

MrsB

Sorry. I must have missed it on the map, but it is there in Rutson's List, which is really the definitive list at the moment. I haven't had chance to update the map since yesterday. I've been rather tied up today. Hopefully tomorrow.

The BigQuest website now exists............ just.

I hope for rapid developments on that next week.

Edited March 10, 2007 by OldGimmer

March 10, 2007

England filling up nicely, looking a bit quiet across the Irish sea tho :-(

Co Down for me.

1.8k · March 10, 2007

If noone over there is willing to adopt East Yorkshire, I could as my daughter lives there and we visit from time to time. I do have a few caches there as well.

1.6k · March 10, 2007

Ummmmmm

Somewhere back near the beginning of this thread we asked for Monmouthshire and our name is against that county on the list... but it hasn't gone yellow yet on the map... Shall I get out my crayons?

(It's that one in the SE corner of Wales )

MrsB

Where's 'the map'?

March 10, 2007

Put me down for the cache desert of Blaenau Gwent and the other half Pezzini for Neath and Port Talbot if not already taken.Fingers crossed. :sad:

March 10, 2007

Ummmmmm

Somewhere back near the beginning of this thread we asked for Monmouthshire and our name is against that county on the list... but it hasn't gone yellow yet on the map... Shall I get out my crayons?

(It's that one in the SE corner of Wales )

MrsB

Sorry. I must have missed it on the map, but it is there in Rutson's List, which is really the definitive list at the moment. I haven't had chance to update the map since yesterday. I've been rather tied up today. Hopefully tomorrow.

The BigQuest website now exists............ just.

I hope for rapid developments on that next week.

Small request, can you put a link to the county list and the map on the very fine temporay page please - only need one favorite then :huh:

I think the idea of several quests within the BIG Quest is a good one, giving a chance to those who can't get to all countries or islands.

Going to be interesting to work out how to tot up scores etc... towards the final.

There's now a piggy bank on my desk with Cash For Quest Travel written on it :sad: :sad:

This could open up a whole new series of targets and records

Fantastic idea. "Cacher of the Year Award" for thinking of it.

Some of the blanks could be filled by some quite prolific cachers who haven't yet ventured onto the forum. Maybe a few strategic emails ? Without encouraging anything that could be considered spam

March 11, 2007

Small request, can you put a link to the county list and the map on the very fine temporay page please - only need one favorite then

Links added. See warnings on webpage though.

I think the idea of several quests within the BIG Quest is a good one, giving a chance to those who can't get to all countries or islands.

I would like feedback on this. I personally thing regionalising would be good idea, whilst still keeping the big target as the major item.

Going to be interesting to work out how to tot up scores etc... towards the final.

Again, any ideas on systems to do this are welcome. I have a few of my own, but yours may well be better!

There's now a piggy bank on my desk with Cash For Quest Travel written on it

This could open up a whole new series of targets and records

Fantastic idea. "Cacher of the Year Award" for thinking of it.

Flatterer!. But this wasn't really my idea, see the link to the US project in my original post.

Some of the blanks could be filled by some quite prolific cachers who haven't yet ventured onto the forum. Maybe a few strategic emails ? Without encouraging anything that could be considered spam

Who are they? can you give them a nudge?

March 11, 2007

List as I THINK it should be now...

Also not on the list are those that've offered to do more than one county.

England filling up nicely, looking a bit quiet across the Irish sea tho :-(

I'll step in for "Windsockerland" :laughing:

which covers Co Dublin, Co Louth, Co Meath

1.7k · March 11, 2007

Sorry. I must have missed it on the map, but it is there in Rutson's List, which is really the definitive list at the moment.

Hey! How come my alter ego doesn't have a link? :laughing:

March 11, 2007

Small request, can you put a link to the county list and the map on the very fine temporay page please - only need one favorite then

Links added. See warnings on webpage though.

The map needs to include Ireland .

I think the idea of several quests within the BIG Quest is a good one, giving a chance to those who can't get to all countries or islands.

I would like feedback on this. I personally thing regionalising would be good idea, whilst still keeping the big target as the major item.

I think a straight forward 4 countries England, Scotland, Wales, Ireland.

Final on I.O.M. ?

If anyone is going to go for the entire quest, then the cost of a trip to the I.O.M. will be insignificant compared to the time, money and effort put into getting to the final stage.

Each country final coud be at a roughly geographical centre of that country, allowing for reasonable terrain.

Going to be interesting to work out how to tot up scores etc... towards the final.

Again, any ideas on systems to do this are welcome. I have a few of my own, but yours may well be better!

A points or percentage marking system, prefixed or suffixed by a country identifier.

eg EN, SC, WA, IR, NI.

As folk mark off the individual caches, the database tots up their score, either marks out of the total number, or as a percentage.

The hardest bit is placing some information in each cache that has to collected along the way, so that all caches need to be found to gain sufficient infor for the final.

Or, once a cacher has reaches 100% then a check is made, somehow, to make sure the score is truly 100% and the "Master" of the Quest sends them some info allowing finding of the final. Depending on how the marking off system on the website is built, this could be automated and an email sent to the registered email address of each successful cacher.

This could be done for countries as well as counties in a country.

There's now a piggy bank on my desk with Cash For Quest Travel written on it

This could open up a whole new series of targets and records

Fantastic idea. "Cacher of the Year Award" for thinking of it.

Flatterer!. But this wasn't really my idea, see the link to the US project in my original post.

Just my way of saying thanks for a great idea

Some of the blanks could be filled by some quite prolific cachers who haven't yet ventured onto the forum. Maybe a few strategic emails ? Without encouraging anything that could be considered spam

Who are they? can you give them a nudge?

I'll send an email to one or two I know, maybe others could do the same in other areas.

edit:typo - bet there's more though !!

Edited March 11, 2007 by CrazyL200

3.8k · March 11, 2007

I could do West Lothian if nobody else volunteers.

This isn't on the list yet.

We also need to decide what counties we are using, for example the list has Edinburgh, East/West/Mid Lothian and yet the map covers it all as Lothian?? Which is the original region.

March 11, 2007

As many of us use OS mapping for cache plotting, navigating etc... etc... would it not be reasonable to use counties as defined by OS (both UK and Irish versions). ??

March 11, 2007

If you are still looking for a place to host the site, I have a huge hosting account with servage net with tons of bandwidth available, just let me know. :laughing:

March 11, 2007

[snip]

Going to be interesting to work out how to tot up scores etc... towards the final.

Again, any ideas on systems to do this are welcome. I have a few of my own, but yours may well be better!

A points or percentage marking system, prefixed or suffixed by a country identifier.

eg EN, SC, WA, IR, NI.

As folk mark off the individual caches, the database tots up their score, either marks out of the total number, or as a percentage.

The hardest bit is placing some information in each cache that has to collected along the way, so that all caches need to be found to gain sufficient infor for the final.

Or, once a cacher has reaches 100% then a check is made, somehow, to make sure the score is truly 100% and the "Master" of the Quest sends them some info allowing finding of the final. Depending on how the marking off system on the website is built, this could be automated and an email sent to the registered email address of each successful cacher.

This could be done for countries as well as counties in a country.

Each cache can be given a logging password by the owner. The cache is then logged on the BIG Quest site with the code, and it updates the profile? At the time when they have all the codes for a region, it gives them the coordinates to the final for that region? Logging on GC.com would be unrestricted (since we can't limit that). Link to the individual cache logging page on the BIG site from the cache pages?

[more snip]

Edited March 11, 2007 by Edgemaster

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