Half Life 2: Episode 2 Geocaching Reference (Spoilers)

[+oldnumber7]

Has anybody picked up the Geocaching Reference in Half Life 2: Episode 2?

 

Spoilers:

 

You have to drive around with a vehicle mounted GPS like display which shows the location of "beacons" from health and ammo caches which are hidden in the environment. When you find one of them Alyx actually says "We would have never known about this place if it wasn't for the beacon!" I know that I have said this countless times except replace beacon with cache.

 

If you check the caches in the game you get a "Cache Checker Achievement".

 

Valve Software, TFTC!!

[+Team Crime Scene]

No time for Video games anymore. I spend all my free time caching.

[+The Geocache Hunter]

This may not be a reference to Geocaching at all. Cache is a common military term for a prepositioned stock of supplies or ammunition. As a tanker, on a training exercise, we have used ammunition caches when preparing defensive positions. If we were to run low on main gun rounds and small arms we could temporarily fall back to the cache rather than coordinate for an ammo truck to meet us somewhere. The only way most of us knew its location was with coordinates and or placing it on our maps and gps receivers. It would appear that this game is only referring to this use of the term "cache" unless there is more to the reference.

[QuigleyJones]

This may not be a reference to Geocaching at all.

But given the stereotypical ""We would have never known about this place if..." quote from a character I would say it is.

[+DavidMac]

TFTB?

 

 

This may not be a reference to Geocaching at all. Cache is a common military term for a prepositioned stock of supplies or ammunition. As a tanker, on a training exercise, we have used ammunition caches when preparing defensive positions. If we were to run low on main gun rounds and small arms we could temporarily fall back to the cache rather than coordinate for an ammo truck to meet us somewhere. The only way most of us knew its location was with coordinates and or placing it on our maps and gps receivers. It would appear that this game is only referring to this use of the term "cache" unless there is more to the reference.

 

I haven't played it myself, but based on the OP's description, it doesn't sound like the term "cache" is used at all- it's just the striking similarity of the whole concept, plus the quote.

 

Now, what they should have done is put the health stash under a lamp post cover...

Edited October 15, 2007 by DavidMac

[+StarDoc]

Just finished it yesterday, and I think the correct line for that part should be TFTZ (Thanks For The Zombies)!

 

I guess I didn't take it as a geocaching reference either, since it was using radar, or at least radio direction-finding gear. Although, come to think of it, I have seen that line in many cache logs...

[+Anonymous']

Yah I don't think it's directed at geocaching. Valve is located in Seattle too, but chances are they haven't heard of it.

[Dinoprophet]

I just got to this point in the game last night. I found it to be *very* caching-like. And they do use the term "cache" in referring to them. They're pretty awesome hides, too. I've always thought a geocaching computer game was a silly idea; this made me reconsider. It would just have to involve hides you couldn't do in real life.

 

Edit: found a YouTube video showing the HL caches.

Warning: contains video game zombie violence.

Video

Edited April 20, 2008 by Dinoprophet