Interpretation / Translation of Guidelines for Wherigo

[+TravelingViking]

It looks like there are different viewpoints/translations in regards to the Guideline interpretation, pls. share your local experiences or can someone "with authority clearify"?

 

For Wherigo it says "Cache saturation applies only to physical containers, and not virtual elements."

 

A Wherigo consists of

1) Start location (as published)

2) Multiple "on-the-way" zones

3) Final, physical container and log book

 

Assume there is a multi-cache in the vicinity, with

A) Start location

Virtual elements (question to answer)

C) Stages of a multi (which can be anything)

D) Final

 

May the Wherigo (1) start location be anywhere? If not, to which A-D does it need to keep a distance?

 

I assume (which I have learned is bad) that for (2) there are no limits, could be anywhere near to A-D as it is a virtual element.

 

For the Wherigo final (3) the distance needs to be kept to D, but how about A-C? Can be near any of those?

 

Thanks,

 

Olaf

[+FoxFireX]

For what it's worth, I actually did place a Wherigo in the same general vicinity as a multi. My starting point was within range of the first stage of the multi, and that was acceptable. However, my final (physical) location was too close to one of the multi stages. I coordinated with that owner to have the conflict between his stage and my final resolved, and the cache was approved.

 

Based on that, I'd say that your start location, (1), may be anywhere, no restrictions based on other caches. Likewise, my interpretation (and that of the reviewer) is that (2) is also a free-for-all. Part of the reason for that is that the reviewers explicitly DO NOT check the zones. They won't even make sure the cartridge runs. All they care about are the starting point, and the final. The starting point can be anywhere, the final seems to be treated like a regular cache. So, for (3), if you could place a regular, you should be okay to place your final.

 

I'm sure if I'm wrong, someone will come along and bap me upside the head shortly.

[+twolpert]

I agree. The major point of the saturation rules is to avoid possible confusion among physical containers for different caches. I would say (my opinion only) that you need not worry at all about virtual elements. You do need to worry about the proximity of any one your containers (final or any intermediate containers if it's a multi) and any one of anybody else's containers (final or any intermediate container in a multi). Just my two cents.

[+Touchstone]

 

May the Wherigo (1) start location be anywhere? If not, to which A-D does it need to keep a distance?

 

Yes, the Start of the Cartridge (and I assume the coordinates at the top of the Listing) can be anywhere and should not be considered for Proximity to other caches. Although I haven't encountered it, there could concievably be restrictions on the distance between the Start and the Final Cache location like what is imposed on Puzzle Caches, in order to keep the trackable mileages relatively accurate.

 

I also think that common sense dictates that you not put the Start of your Cartridge directly on top of the Final cache location of a nearby Puzzle or Multi, therefore allowing an unintended shortcut to the solution. I think that most in the Community would consider that bad form.

 

I assume (which I have learned is bad) that for (2) there are no limits, could be anywhere near to A-D as it is a virtual element.

 

Zones within the Cartridge are not checked by the Volunteer Reviewers and you are not obligated to enter them as Additional Waypoints. However, if you include some physical element in your Cartridge Play (e.g. a micro container with clues etc.), then you must include coordinates of any physical elements (that you yourself placed...not virtual objects like signs and so forth) as Additional Waypoints and labeled as a Stage. Stages are, of course, checked for Proximity.

 

For the Wherigo final (3) the distance needs to be kept to D, but how about A-C? Can be near any of those?

 

Your Final Cache location will be checked for Proximity to other nearby physical containers or elements that are in the system as Additional Waypoints. The waters get a bit muddier if nearby Additional Waypoints are mislabeled, and that is where it might be helpful to the Reviewer if you include additional information of the nearby caches and waypoints that you are aware of, as a Note to the Reviewer. If a nearby Additional Waypoint is mislabeled, you may still have to track down the nearby cache owner and see if the Additional Waypoint can be relabeled. The Reviewer is obligated to take the Additional Waypoints at face value and not make the judgment of whether it is incorrectly labeled or not.

[+TravelingViking]

Thank you very much for the clarification. So my interpretation was close - and of course as always there are additonal common sense rules that apply - making the start coordinates of one cache the exact final of another would indeed be weird, but not needing to keep the saturation distance either surly makes things easier.

 

Thanks again,

 

Olaf

[+CacheDrone]

A local player has asked me similar questions and asked me to read this so that I understand what they are asking.

 

As a reviewer, here's how I would approach this and this may or may not be the exact same as other reviewers.

 

I only care about physical placements for the most part. However it is not a great idea to use the exact same coordinates as an existing physical placement because this can cause "cache confusion" unless you document well what people should expect when they approach the coordinates. Typically I 'suggest' that if there is a physical item at the coordinates already (traditional cache or stage of a multi/mystery) that any 'virtual style point' should be offset enough to not cause confusion.

 

The last think you want after going through all of the work to create your Wherigo cache is for someone to think that the micro at the base of the plaque at the posted coordinates is your cache, when you really just wanted to give offset data.

 

Basically, think of a Wherigo Cache as a MultiCache/Mystery Cache + Cartridge Component. Your reviewer might require a slight offset from any existing items, and some may not.

 

Again, this is just my approach and I would always discuss options with the cache owner. Other reviewers may work differently.