Quality cartridges

[delta123]

It's 8 month's since we were learned about Wherigo and i have made some cartridges. But its impossible to see all cartridges that are published also because some are protected to play with the emulator.

 

Which cartridges do make the best use of the builder's (or else) possibilty's and are created with imagination and a lot of creativity?

 

My problem is a bit that what i create does not pass my own minimum quality requirements.

[Ranger Fox]

I understand people don't want their cartridges played in the emulator because it would give the locations away and people could find their geocaches without physically playing the cartridges. This and the feeling playing in the emulator is cheating has lead most people to lock down their cartridges.

 

You do bring up a good point. You want to see other creative cartridges, learn from them, and use those experiences to help you come up with an even better cartridge idea. However, you can't do that if you can't play the cartridge in the emulator.

 

The only suggestion I have for the community follows a game demo approach. To interest people in buying the game, companies allow people to play a certain level. The same goes for those fast food restaurants in the mall: during peak meal times, you see workers in front of the restaurant offering free samples to draw in patrons. As a community of people making Wherigo cartridges, we want others to get interested in Wherigo and our cartridges. Why don't we follow this approach? We could allow people to play a third or half the cartridge in the emulator, then do the emulator check. This way, people could test the cartridge and see if they'd be interested in playing it in the field? Give them a little taste and draw them in?

[+Delta68]

With our Breuton Park cache (GC1B9MZ) I made it so the game is 90% playable in the emulator and is hack proof as there are no 'right or wrong answer' checks in there.

 

I would have made it totally playable but there is a hint and spoiler photo which would make it obvious to anyone who knows the area where the cache is hidden.

 

But is it a quality Wherigo?

[Ranger Fox]

But is it a quality Wherigo?

Wherigo is in its infancy. We as a community are determining what is quality. Over the years, that definition will change, there will be fads, new tricks, and things will die off.

 

Think of geocaching eight months after that first cache was hidden in Oregon. I've been to the original stash site; the hide is nothing special and it's right by the side of a twisting road. Since then, various cache types have been created and the idea about what makes a great cache has come up again and again with different answers.

 

I consider Wherigo born of this question. I think the idea for Wherigo came from someone wanting an interactive experience. What would be a quality interactive experience? The community will decide over time and, doubtless, change its mind.

 

histryboy and I spent some time a while back defining what makes a quality cache. We came up with what would be, to us, the definitive list:

• Theme
  
• Cache name
  
• The cacher learns something
  
• It seems simple at the end and is easily discovered again
  
• An ah-ha moment
  
• Originality or a cool variation
  
• Not overdone (complexity, number of stages, equipment, etc.)
  
• Word of mouth and logs
  
• Hide placement, both the placement itself and surroundings
  
• Stage variety and creativity
  
• The time invested meets expectations (not too fast a find and not too long to seem boring)
  
• The cacher's unique experience (this cannot be controlled or predicted)
  

List property of Ranger Fox and histryboy

 

Think about one of your favorite caches. Chances are it meets more of this criteria than other caches you have done. Perhaps we can learn from this and use this as a guideline for Wherigo cartridges.

[delta123]

Thankyou Ranger Fox. The demo-game is a good idea. It would be cool if you could see on the listing-page if the cartridge can be played in demo(emulator).

 

Your criteria are very much recognised and they are indeed required to make a quality cache. A Wherigo-geocache should be more then a multi cache on a Wherigo player.

 

I just finished my first Wherigo-geocache and it is almost ready to be published. Earlier versions did not pass my quality test.

I'am looking for a scriptwriter and a cartoonartist. Anyone?

[+Audion64]

I'd be willing to take a look at what you're working on Delta. If it's storyline scripting you're looking for (ie; not the programming type) I'd be willing to help with that.

 

BTW.... there IS a way around the emulator check. Just like any sort of copy protection on software... you'll stop 95% of the casual cheaters but if it can be played, it can be cracked.

[+Delta68]

BTW.... there IS a way around the emulator check. Just like any sort of copy protection on software... you'll stop 95% of the casual cheaters but if it can be played, it can be cracked.

 

Bet you can't crack our Brueton Park one! I've even uploaded the entire source code

(see separate thread)

 

M

[+Audion64]

BTW.... there IS a way around the emulator check. Just like any sort of copy protection on software... you'll stop 95% of the casual cheaters but if it can be played, it can be cracked.

 

Bet you can't crack our Brueton Park one! I've even uploaded the entire source code

(see separate thread)

 

M

 

Took about an hour to crack, didn't need or use the source for the demo version. I'd personally much rather visit the UK (unfortunately I've never been outside the USA ) and actually play your cartridge though... it looks like fun.

Edited August 16, 2008 by Audion

[+Delta68]

 

Took about an hour to crack, didn't need or use the source for the demo version. I'd personally much rather visit the UK (unfortunately I've never been outside the USA ) and actually play your cartridge though... it looks like fun.

 

Hmm.. PM me the final co-ords then!

 

M

[+Audion64]

 

Took about an hour to crack, didn't need or use the source for the demo version. I'd personally much rather visit the UK (unfortunately I've never been outside the USA ) and actually play your cartridge though... it looks like fun.

 

Hmm.. PM me the final co-ords then!

 

M

 

Well of course I've not visited the physical cache, but I've logged a 'Completed' game on the Wherigo site. Your only option to prove otherwise is to verify the written log inside the cache. With enough putzing around I could get the final coords to you but my goal at the time was to get a completion code or uploadable 'completed' cartridge. I succeeded in that goal in relatively short time. I guess my point is just that you are never going to defeat a determined cheater from logging a find ONLINE for a Wherigo.... obviously they'll often not sign the physical log... that'd be too much work and too much like real geocaching.

 

My original comment was just to say that the emulator check is VERY easy to defeat... you're hex encryption etc was definitely a little more difficult to bypass. But from what I learned in the little adventure I'm guessing I could 'Complete' just about any Wherigo in under 10 minutes now. Trust me, I have no desire to do that... I much prefer getting out in nature and enjoy a good hike than pecking away by monitor-light. But the old teenage 'hacker' blood must have never died in me, I enjoy that challenge too.

 

The whole idea of cheat-proofing IMHO is to limit the number of times I have to visit my own cache to verify written logs. I seen people logging Wherigo's all over the place that they obviously haven't physically done, just to get the almighty ICON. And I've had people in my area log one of my high terrain caches but never signed the logbook and could not describe the area of ground zero or the cache container.... just wanted that high terrain smiley I guess.

[+Delta68]

 

With enough putzing around I could get the final coords to you but my goal at the time was to get a completion code or uploadable 'completed' cartridge...

 

Getting a completion code takes seconds.

I do NOT believe that you can get the final co-ordinates. It is simply not possible because they are not there!

 

The best you'd be able to get is 64 possible sets of co-ordinates and then narrow that down by ignoring ones in lakes etc

 

 

Thanks

 

M

[+Audion64]

 

With enough putzing around I could get the final coords to you but my goal at the time was to get a completion code or uploadable 'completed' cartridge...

 

Getting a completion code takes seconds.

I do NOT believe that you can get the final co-ordinates. It is simply not possible because they are not there!

 

The best you'd be able to get is 64 possible sets of co-ordinates and then narrow that down by ignoring ones in lakes etc

 

Thanks

 

M

 

Of course the coordinates are not within the cartridge in plain text or possibly even in encrypted form but if the CARTRIDGE can verify that a player is at the correct final location (be it thru a formula or whatever) then it is completely possible to reverse engineer the proper coordinates back out of the cartridge. Being that there are only 64 possible combinations in that case brute forcing it would be almost more logical rather than spend time decompiling the cartridge. BTW, at least 2 of the answers are available on the internet... so the number of viable combinations drops also.

 

Either way, I'd much rather visit so I can actually DO the cache.