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Awards, Achievments, leaderboards & badges (The future of Geocaching?)


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But with the advent of the iphone 4 app with social network tethering it would be nice to have an award system since, like yelp, software could be written to only be able to check in or log a cache if you are within 10 feet of it or so.

 

Here is where bringing a new idea to an existing hobby/game is not a good idea. The basic tenet of geocaching is Find the Cache, sign the log. Not just get close to the cache. After you have found a few dozen more perhaps you may learn just how close you can be to some caches and still not be able to find them. :lol: I have one that is out in plain sight, yet on more than one occasion I have had to steer someone's hand to it with their feet planted firmly on the ground. I have had trouble finding it myself at times.

 

If you want credit for merely getting close, try wherigos or Waymarking.

Edited by wimseyguy
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The basic tenet of geocaching is Find the Cache, sign the log. Not just get close to the cache. After you have found a few dozen more perhaps you may learn just how close you can be to some caches and still not be able to find them.

 

So true I was out caching with some inexperienced cachers this week. They'd mainly just walk around trying to hit zero and not move 2 feet from that spot. I tried to explain that once you hit 30-20 anything is fair game.

 

I'm not in favor of a badge system. They work well in a video game system because everyone is playing the same exact game (minus online play). Every local has a very different group of caches. This is a worldwide game and what may work in Cali may not work well in many other places.

 

Plus it puts a lot more responsibility on Groundspeak's part to then go through and add (for all current) and verify (for all new) every 'achievement' each cache will go towards.

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HI, I am relatively new to the community but thought I would start off by creating a topic about a feature I am suprised is missing from the community as a whole. I use the iphone 4 geocache app. Maybe iv just been consumed by geotagging and GPS based social networking apps but I think achievments and awards based on caches found, finding cache in a certain state, all states, etc will add a great deal of depth to this already amazing game. Using forumlas similar to "checking in" from yelp where you have to be within a certain range of a cache in order to log it or "check in" and getting achievments based on that. It will not only encourage people to go out and cache hard but to be more involved in the community. Awards and badges for creating and hiding your own caches etc. It will add another level to the expirience. Some of you will say, "this was not meant to be a competition etc" but if you dont want to strive for awards/leaderboards you dont have to. You arent forced to, but you can. I hope and wish this becomes a feature. If anything for the Iphone app. Please post your ideas and opinions. (post some badges/awards you can think off)

 

Some award Ideas -

 

Find a cache in California - 10 Pts

Find 10 Caches in California - 10ts

Find a Cache in all 50 states - 50 Pts

Place your own cache - 20Pts

Although I like the idea, geocaching is not a competition and I feel that found numbers and placed numbers are good enough for me.

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If the badge system was completely voluntary and I could opt out of it that would be super for me. At this point I have all I can handle with the earth cache master's thing and I'm only passively going to participate in that.

 

I don't get into the competitive aspects of the game. My find number is simply a number for me to keep track of my stuff. With the low cache saturation here the numbers don't mean a whole lot.

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But with the advent of the iphone 4 app with social network tethering it would be nice to have an award system since, like yelp, software could be written to only be able to check in or log a cache if you are within 10 feet of it or so.

 

Here is where bringing a new idea to an existing hobby/game is not a good idea. The basic tenet of geocaching is Find the Cache, sign the log. Not just get close to the cache. After you have found a few dozen more perhaps you may learn just how close you can be to some caches and still not be able to find them. :lol: I have one that is out in plain sight, yet on more than one occasion I have had to steer someone's hand to it with their feet planted firmly on the ground. I have had trouble finding it myself at times.

 

If you want credit for merely getting close, try wherigos or Waymarking.

 

Whoa wism guy, I may be new to geocaching but I know that you can log any geocache even if you havent even gone anywhere NEAR it. You may not have signed the log but you can log it on the website right? So you cant say that would change anything. But I see your concern. Instead maybe implement a code that is on the logbook. Input the code into your iphone 4 and than wala you are aloud to log it and not aloud to log it UNLESS you have seen the code on the log sheet. Its solves the issue of logging something u didnt find, if that is an issue.

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HI, I am relatively new to the community but thought I would start off by creating a topic about a feature I am suprised is missing from the community as a whole. I use the iphone 4 geocache app. Maybe iv just been consumed by geotagging anding apps but I think achievments and awards based on caches found, finding cache in a certain state, all states, etc will add a great deal of depth to this already amazing game. Using forumlas similar to "checking in" from yelp where you have to be within a certain range of a cache in order to log it or "check in" and getting achievments based on that. It will not only encourage people to go out and cache hard but to be more involved in the community. Awards and badges for creating and hiding your own caches etc. It will add another level to the expirience. Some of you will say, "this was not meant to be a competition etc" but if you dont want to strive for awards/leaderboards you dont have to. You arent forced to, but you can. I hope and wish this becomes a feature. If anything for the Iphone app. Please post your ideas and opinions. (post some badges/awards you can think off)

 

Some award Ideas -

 

Find a cache in California - 10 Pts

Find 10 Caches in California - 10ts

Find a Cache in all 50 states - 50 Pts

Place your own cache - 20Pts

 

It sounds like a fun idea. Have you thought of suggesting this to GoWalla or which ever GPS based social network you use? Maybe they could add geocaching badges there.

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I like this idea. I love these types of things and would love better integration of stuff like this.

 

I use foursquare and although there is no competition or point tabulating for that, I still enjoy using it.

 

I would love to have more geo-achievements. Right now all I have is a few challenges in the back of my mind.

 

Geo-grid (check my profile if you are not familiar)

Cache in every county in N. Florida and then find the cache for that

Cache in every county in S. Florida and then find the cache for it.

Find the Final Florida Cache.

edit: Oh and the "Busy Day" challenge.

Also I might do some of the A-Z challenges in near-by counties or start my own here in Orlando

 

Eventual goals:

Cache in every state.

 

Hard Mode goals:

Cache in every county of the US.

 

Maybe I'll expand out my personal challenges to include certain numbers of mystery caches in certain areas.

 

Basically for me, "find 5 caches near barns" type stuff would be a lot of fun if there was a way to implement it.

 

Realistically, I see no reason for GS to ever do this. It would require a lot of back end programming, development, and time they do not need to do to keep us playing.

Edited by TABjuggler
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But with the advent of the iphone 4 app with social network tethering it would be nice to have an award system since, like yelp, software could be written to only be able to check in or log a cache if you are within 10 feet of it or so.

 

Here is where bringing a new idea to an existing hobby/game is not a good idea. The basic tenet of geocaching is Find the Cache, sign the log. Not just get close to the cache. After you have found a few dozen more perhaps you may learn just how close you can be to some caches and still not be able to find them. :lol: I have one that is out in plain sight, yet on more than one occasion I have had to steer someone's hand to it with their feet planted firmly on the ground. I have had trouble finding it myself at times.

 

If you want credit for merely getting close, try wherigos or Waymarking.

 

Whoa wism guy, I may be new to geocaching but I know that you can log any geocache even if you havent even gone anywhere NEAR it. You may not have signed the log but you can log it on the website right? So you cant say that would change anything. But I see your concern. Instead maybe implement a code that is on the logbook. Input the code into your iphone 4 and than wala you are aloud to log it and not aloud to log it UNLESS you have seen the code on the log sheet. Its solves the issue of logging something u didnt find, if that is an issue.

 

Well, at least you recognize his wisdom. That is a start at least - well done, young grasshopper! :P

 

And sure you can log any cache on the website without signing the log or even gone near it, and then watch your log get deleted by the cache owner if they realize it. That's called cheating.

 

And special codes are generally not allowed for caches. Ref. ALR.

 

But keep thinking, seriously! :D I'm not trying to shut you down, just point out what Groundspeak and/or cache owners generally won't allow.

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Wow this is preatty frustrating. I didnt attack those who didnt agree with me. IF you actulley read the thread and see where it all went sour, it was when high and mighty geocacher bain came thru and bashed me for being a "sock".

I didn't bash you. I simply stated that your idea might be taken seriously if you posted it under your real account.

 

"Keeping score" is a hot topic issue around here. Your posts indicate that you are well aware of more than just a fleeting knowledge of this site and these forums. I am more than open to newbies with ideas, if they are genuine newbies. But when the posts contain several key hot topic words that appear to be geared to the type of discussion that this one has turned into, then I'm sorry, but I get suspicious.

 

Your rant against Toz is where it actually went sour when you bashed him because you thought he disagreed with your idea. That reinforced my suspicions. In that same bashing, you stated that you've been caching longer than the rest of us. If this is true, then you are clearly not a newbie.

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I'm not sure why topics like this even draw debate.

 

Log it, don't log it, get a smilie or don't, get a badge or don't... none of this affects my (or your) game.

 

Because some people dont like changes. :lol:

 

The idea of picking up a soccer ball and running with it probably created rugby and American football. Once the ball was picked up with the hands, it became a different sport. Not that it was a bad idea, but it wasn't soccer.

 

Change can alter a sport to the point where it becomes unrecognizable.

Edited by briansnat
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Because some people dont like changes. :(
Change is great if it is genuine.
Like a Blue Bandanna!

You're not digging the new look?

 

It is not genuine! :P

 

Well, not THIS look. But I've been using Just For Men on my beard. You like it?

 

I'm indifferent, but I'm sure the boys down in San Francisco love the fact that you're a "Just for Men" user....

 

Oh dude, I couldn't resist....

:unsure::grin::(;)B)

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I'm not sure why topics like this even draw debate.

 

Log it, don't log it, get a smilie or don't, get a badge or don't... none of this affects my (or your) game.

 

Because some people dont like changes. :unsure:

 

The idea of picking up a soccer ball and running with it probably created rugby and American football. Once the ball was picked up with the hands, it became a different sport. Not that it was a bad idea, but it wasn't soccer.

 

Change can alter a sport to the point where it becomes unrecognizable.

 

Change can alter anything. As long as it is a change for the better then change is good.

 

For example: the Guidelines that Groundspeak presents do change as time goes by. Like many things, guidelines and rules change with the times. And for a good reason.

 

Change for the sake of change is silly. I don't see that here.

 

The only way to tell if change is good or bad is to think about it and make wise choices.

 

It may not be good or it may be great.

 

Just never give an exwife a second chance... just sayin...

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Because some people dont like changes. :unsure:
Change is great if it is genuine.
Like a Blue Bandanna!

You're not digging the new look?

 

It is not genuine! :(

 

Well, not THIS look. But I've been using Just For Men on my beard. You like it?

 

I had no idea that you preferred men exclusively. :(

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Because some people dont like changes. :(
Change is great if it is genuine.
Like a Blue Bandanna!

You're not digging the new look?

 

It is not genuine! :P

 

Well, not THIS look. But I've been using Just For Men on my beard. You like it?

 

I'm indifferent, but I'm sure the boys down in San Francisco love the fact that you're a "Just for Men" user....

 

Oh dude, I couldn't resist....

:unsure::grin::(;)B)

 

They probably prefer me in my rainbow buff. (or just plain in the buff)

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My generation is obsessed with social networking and interfaces like foursquare and such. It will help to bring people into the community.

I am over 30 and I foursquare more than most 20 year olds. So I think your your observation that 30-50 year olds don't care for these type of games is really quite obtuse and actually offensive. You will get more heat for that.

 

IMO, trophies and merit badges are NOT going to enhance this game. There are enough challenges to go around and I do not participate in any of them.

 

That said, you can create your own thing and see if Groundspeak bites. But I think you will be hard pressed with stirring that much interest. Its already enough that I linked my geocaching iphone app to my twitter account which is linked to my FB account. Having that linked to more? Telling people more about the where and when and another cheesy badge and another race to unseat another geocacher. Ugh. Too much, too cluttered, and IMO really uninteresting. Esp to my non geocaching friends and family.

 

And, who says we want the whole world to join the community? What I like(d) about geocaching was the secrets lurking in plain site. IMO, the more popular the game becomes, the more diluted it will become. (This is strictly my opinion solely and not of the others on this forum.)

 

Lastly, as I said before if you are obsessed with a merit badge there is a site for that that links your "my finds" PQ with merit badges.

 

Good luck and and FYI you may want to re-read things before you post, because from what I am reading you are the one bringing the ire unto yourself

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That said, you can create your own thing and see if Groundspeak bites. But I think you will be hard pressed with stirring that much interest. Its already enough that I linked my geocaching iphone app to my twitter account which is linked to my FB account. Having that linked to more?

 

Jeremy has indicated that groundpeak is very much aware of the social aspect of other location based games:

 

"Admittedly we're late to the “social” aspect of location, since our origins come from the standalone, non-networked GPS. But our first application on the iPhone (and soon Android) has definitely made us aware how powerful the network can be. Expect some interesting things from Geocaching.com this year."

Edited by mulvaney
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That said, you can create your own thing and see if Groundspeak bites. But I think you will be hard pressed with stirring that much interest. Its already enough that I linked my geocaching iphone app to my twitter account which is linked to my FB account. Having that linked to more?

 

Jeremy has indicated that groundpeak is very much aware of the social aspect of other location based games:

 

"Admittedly we're late to the “social” aspect of location, since our origins come from the standalone, non-networked GPS. But our first application on the iPhone (and soon Android) has definitely made us aware how powerful the network can be. Expect some interesting things from Geocaching.com this year."

 

Very good to hear. I guess we will all just have to wait and see what the powers that be do.

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The title of this thread made me think about Gowalla where icons for certain achievements are a major part of the game. I wouldn't want this model to be adopted by Groundspeak but we have seen new icons of late. . . .

 

I use Gowalla somewhat frequently (and I'm over 50 years old) and could care less about the icons/awards for certain achievements. I just find it one of the easiest ways to update my location status for those that follow me on twitter/facebook.

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I just wish people dont jump in conclusion like they did in this thread. I assume the OP is not a sock puppet. I do feel that sometime a newbie can bring in new idea and excitement into the sport. Why shutout people that are trying to open up our closed minds?

 

 

I agree with you that folks should not just jump to conclusions. Some people are just new and excited, and not sock puppets of ashnikes.

 

As for the OP's suggestion. I do know that some folks might find your suggestion fun. I probably wouldn't do it, but I do know that others may enjoy it.

 

I too would be concerned about the competetiveness that this would inspire in some people. I think that there's already enough envy, competition, and bad blood in geocaching, a sport where the numbers don't really mean anything, and that there aren't 'points.'

 

Achievement badges are fun because they don't show that one is "better" or has "more" than anyone else, they are something for the cacher him/herself. To me, this is a game where we get out of it what we put into it. If we cheat, we are only cheating ourselves. If we want to find only 1/1 micros, then that's fabulous. If we want to find 5/5 challenging caches, that's great! If we want to only cache on the weekends and get a few a year; cool. If we want to go to power trails and get hundreds in a day, right on!

 

I think that starting competition would take away from the individuality of game play, personally.

 

Although... I suppose just like everything else, it would be a choice, and I don't have to choose to do it should a points system come into play.

 

Hope that helps! Welcome to geocaching to the OP, hope you have a great time!

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Its people like you that I cant stand. The nose in the air, hippy, niche type, iv been geocaching longer than you brats. You think I cant have my own ideas cuz im new here? The fact that you think I have the time or the desire to make a nother profile to post this thread already speaks of the quality of person you are. I know this game is too family friendly for me to say what I really want but if you want to flame soemone for an idea than go ahead. Your probably some fat ugly nerd whos opinion I could care less about. The kind that flame someone for the slightest grammatical error. But Im going to defend my thread here. I like some of ya'lls opinions and ideas. Sure I could keep a pen and paper score sheet of my caches for myself. But I guess groing up with interfaces and mediums to show off and and compete for awards (xbox 360) (yelp) etc I would like to see an actual interface for this. At least among iphone 4 uesers. Oh and Bain, u really are retarded, albeit creative.

 

Hold up... I just saw this. Wow. That was really really rude. If you want to make friends on the forum, this is NOT the way to do it. I think that you're reading into these folks' posts wayyyy too much. Just because someone disagrees with you doesn't mean that they are any of the disgusting things that you are calling them. If you wanted the opinion of others, don't bash them for doing just that.

 

Toz did NOT flame you. Toz posts extremely well thought out answers that may not be what you like to hear, but from what I see, he only does it to help, and spends a lot of time thinking about what he's going to say. It might do you better to actually read it and think about it rather than just assuming that folks are flaming you.

 

And even if they were... this is NOT the way to handle it.

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I'm not sure why topics like this even draw debate.

 

Log it, don't log it, get a smiley or don't, get a badge or don't... none of this affects my (or your) game.

 

I tried to come up with a more complicated answer than this, but I think you said it better. What I put on my profile page doesn't have any affect on your game.

 

If the website were to start putting up some "official" badge/reward icon system I really wouldn't be moved in one direction or the other. Some would see it as The End of Caching as We Know It, but those same people see that with every change.

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As any good game Geocaching needs an achievement system. It is a great motivator to go out in search of those special caches. Not just the plain traditional.

 

Time to move 50 Find all caches within a 12 miles radius of your home

Child of darkness 10 Find 10 Night caches

Box Set 10 Find a Geocache set of 5 or more caches

Sequels 10 Find a Geocache series of 4 or more caches

Thrillseeker 20 Find 10 caches marked with any "Hazards"

Challenge accepted! 10 Find a cache that "may require wading" without getting your feet wet

You feel the need! 25 Be the FTF 10 times

Im on a boat! 10 Find a cache that requires a boat

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HI, I am relatively new to the community but thought I would start off by creating a topic about a feature I am suprised is missing from the community as a whole. I use the iphone 4 geocache app. Maybe iv just been consumed by geotagging and GPS based social networking apps but I think achievments and awards based on caches found, finding cache in a certain state, all states, etc will add a great deal of depth to this already amazing game. Using forumlas similar to "checking in" from yelp where you have to be within a certain range of a cache in order to log it or "check in" and getting achievments based on that. It will not only encourage people to go out and cache hard but to be more involved in the community. Awards and badges for creating and hiding your own caches etc. It will add another level to the expirience. Some of you will say, "this was not meant to be a competition etc" but if you dont want to strive for awards/leaderboards you dont have to. You arent forced to, but you can. I hope and wish this becomes a feature. If anything for the Iphone app. Please post your ideas and opinions. (post some badges/awards you can think off)

 

Some award Ideas -

 

Find a cache in California - 10 Pts

Find 10 Caches in California - 10ts

Find a Cache in all 50 states - 50 Pts

Place your own cache - 20Pts

 

I do support this suggestion! Like in Videogames an Achievementsystem is always motivating to go on!

 

There are lots of possible Achievements one can think of!

Like:

 

Get a few Favourites on your own cache

Find caches which are more than 100, 200, 500... and so km away from each other

Make from every kind of cache a certain number

Make a certain number of caches at one day

Make a D5/T5

Participate in a cacherevent (and than add some new friends at your profile)

Get your Travelbug moving for a certain distance

Get your Travelbug crossing a few boarders

 

And so on...

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"this was not meant to be a competition"

I'll risk taking a segment of your post out of context, so I'll have at least one thing I can agree with. :lol:

 

Seriously though, I hope this never comes to pass. I can't see that increasing the already excessively competitive mindset present in some cachers, by giving them more brass rings to reach for, will have any positive impact on the game, overall. Perhaps this attitude is just my wholly acknowledged bias raising its ugly head, but my area has recently been inundated with micro spew created by folks who can't think very far past the FTF. The thoughtless placement of dozens and dozens of caches, which, if history is any indicator, won't be properly maintained, is not getting us in the good graces of land managers.

 

I'm not sure that "If you don't like it, don't do it" would solve the issue which I perceive.

 

Maybe this numbers craze really is the future of geocaching. :huh:

 

If so, then I should probably adapt lest I get left behind... :unsure:

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While I personally don't like either challenge caches or souvenirs I suppose they serve this purpose.

 

I've recently done some reading on game mechanics and definitely setting goals and awarding achievements is one way to make a game more engaging. The difference between a successful game and a failure often comes down to how players can measure their success or progress. Perhaps this is part of the reasons the "numbers" game has become so important to some. The find count is one of the few measures people can use to chart their own progress. Providing other types of achievements gives different measures people will use to drive their motivation to cache. :mmraspberry:

Edited by tozainamboku
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We now have challenge caches. Cachers can place a cache for those that meet a specific geocaching related challenge. If you want to foolishly look at find count as points, they are essentially giving you a point for meeting the challenge (and then finding the cache).

 

It would make more sense to me to get rid of challenge caches and instead organize a system of challenges that give awards or badges (instead of the "privilege" of logging one more cache). I'd find it much more easy to ignore some challenge if it only meant not getting an icon on my profile than I do when there is a a mystery cache half a mile from my house that requires I find some ridiculous combination of caches in order to log it. However, cachers who are motivated by challenges could still find ones to do and when they complete the challenge will have an additional icon on their profile to show for it.

 

Its people like you that I cant stand. The nose in the air, hippy, niche type, iv been geocaching longer than you brats. You think I cant have my own ideas cuz im new here? The fact that you think I have the time or the desire to make a nother profile to post this thread already speaks of the quality of person you are. I know this game is too family friendly for me to say what I really want but if you want to flame soemone for an idea than go ahead. Your probably some fat ugly nerd whos opinion I could care less about. The kind that flame someone for the slightest grammatical error. But Im going to defend my thread here. I like some of ya'lls opinions and ideas. Sure I could keep a pen and paper score sheet of my caches for myself. But I guess groing up with interfaces and mediums to show off and and compete for awards (xbox 360) (yelp) etc I would like to see an actual interface for this. At least among iphone 4 uesers. Oh and Bain, u really are retarded, albeit creative.

I had genuine interest in your idea. I am, however, completely turned off by your use of the word "retarded". You are new here, & they should not be accusing you of having a sock puppet account when all you are doing is pitching an idea, true. VERY true.

However, maybe you need to be reminded that respect flows both ways in these forums, & your use of the word "retarded" is highly offensive to many. To some of us, it is ESPECIALLY offensive because we have close family members with mental handicaps. So please choose your words more carefully in the future.

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That said, you can create your own thing and see if Groundspeak bites. But I think you will be hard pressed with stirring that much interest. Its already enough that I linked my geocaching iphone app to my twitter account which is linked to my FB account. Having that linked to more?

 

Jeremy has indicated that groundpeak is very much aware of the social aspect of other location based games:

 

"Admittedly we're late to the “social” aspect of location, since our origins come from the standalone, non-networked GPS. But our first application on the iPhone (and soon Android) has definitely made us aware how powerful the network can be. Expect some interesting things from Geocaching.com this year."

 

Very good to hear. I guess we will all just have to wait and see what the powers that be do.

 

Actually, I think that's a pretty old quote (maybe almost 2 years), and Souvenirs are what did come out of it.

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Hi, I am not new at geocaching (2004), but I have noticed on some of the cacher’s sites that they proudly display certain badges that they have been able to achieve over the years of caching. I have tried to find where these badges are within the main geocaching web site, but I have been unable to locate the page. I was hoping someone could direct me to the specific page that would mainly give the badges and their qualifications for achieving this honor. One particular badge that got my attention on a cache’s page was the “BRONZE EARTHCACHE MASTER BADGE”. I believe I would quality for this badge. Many thanks for your help in this matter.

Granpa&GranmaEstero

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I have noticed on some of the cacher’s sites that they proudly display certain badges that they have been able to achieve over the years of caching. I have tried to find where these badges are within the main geocaching web site, but I have been unable to locate the page.

 

The badges you see are not official and not on the website. They are generated by some random statistics program out there and were basically just made up.

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I have noticed on some of the cacher’s sites that they proudly display certain badges that they have been able to achieve over the years of caching. I have tried to find where these badges are within the main geocaching web site, but I have been unable to locate the page.

 

The badges you see are not official and not on the website. They are generated by some random statistics program out there and were basically just made up.

 

The earthcache award levesl (bronze, silver, gold, and platinum) mentioned by the prior poster are perhaps the exception to this since they are administered through the GSA as part of the earthcache program.

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Thanks for your replies. They all were very helpful!!!

 

I have noticed on some of the cacher’s sites that they proudly display certain badges that they have been able to achieve over the years of caching. I have tried to find where these badges are within the main geocaching web site, but I have been unable to locate the page.

 

The badges you see are not official and not on the website. They are generated by some random statistics program out there and were basically just made up.

 

The earthcache award levesl (bronze, silver, gold, and platinum) mentioned by the prior poster are perhaps the exception to this since they are administered through the GSA as part of the earthcache program.

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To the OP,

If you use GSAK there is a macro for badges similar to what you suggest except the badges follow the basic rules of finds per Geocaching guidelines such as sign the paper logs, complete the Earth Caches tasks etc. The macro is tied in to badge gen which will generate those badges.

 

For me, I view badges as a way to focus my next cache run goals. We live in a rural area where there are not hundreds of caches nearby. We will look at the list and go, "Hey look, we only need x more large caches for the next level." So off we go.

 

Badges are for us...if people want to compete...ok...no skin off our backs! Have fun!

 

Point being, it is already out there to some degree and those that choose to can and those who prefer to not pursue those types of achievements do not have to.

 

In the end, we are still finding caches, signing logs, hiding caches, and hopefully having fun!

 

Happy Caching!

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Encouraging people to hide caches for points could be bad for the game. If they're not willing to maintain the caches they place and they just throw out some garbage container in some garbage location and leave it there, it becomes garbage.
I was thinking the same thing. I can see many unoriginal, poor caches being placed simply to up a stat count or "earn" a badge of some sort.

 

I've been playing video games since I was a child (31 now). With the advent of Xbox Live came achievements and gamerscore. Achievements are earned for things like "defeat X number of enemies with X weapon" or "complete the game on X difficulty" and come with their own gamerscore value. It was really cool at first, and offered incentive to play games in a different manner to unlock achievements on your profile.

 

After a while the bad side reared its head - hacks to increase score, players cheating for score, players offering to increase other's score for money...you get the drift. The love of the game disappeared and many players become obsessed with solely upping their score. I can see the same sort of pattern evolving from the OP's idea. I'm not bashing your idea, just offering another side of the same coin.

 

I'm relatively new to this game so my opinion on geocaching may not be worth much to some of you vets but the real joy of this game is getting out there and enjoying the hunt. Sometimes the location and container are great, sometimes not so great, but for me the joy of the hunt is always there. Getting out from in front of a TV screen (to be in front of a much smaller one ;)), enjoying nature, enjoying exercise are all the achievements I could ask for.

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I just wish people dont jump in conclusion like they did in this thread. I assume the OP is not a sock puppet. I do feel that sometime a newbie can bring in new idea and excitement into the sport. Why shutout people that are trying to open up our closed minds?

Too many people here have put a negative connotation on "newbies" and disregard what they come here to contribute. But newcomers can, in fact, bring great new ideas and excitement to the game. We were all newbies once.

 

Wow this is preatty frustrating. I didnt attack those who didnt agree with me. IF you actulley read the thread and see where it all went sour, it was when high and mighty geocacher bain came thru and bashed me for being a "sock". Thats all. I havent been anything but accepting of everyone opinions on the awards and badges. Thats what this thread was started for. Based on the general opinions here I can say its probably not a feature thats going to be coming soon, if Groundspeak takes the communities opinion as a whole into consideration. Which I PERSONALLY, would love to have. Will it ruin the fun for me? No, not in the slightest. Just being able to log caches is a cool feature. But with the advent of the iphone 4 app with social network tethering it would be nice to have an award system since, like yelp, software could be written to only be able to check in or log a cache if you are within 10 feet of it or so. So again, read the thread again and see that I attacked nobody untill I was attacked. Not the best welcoming to the community. I wont lose sleep over it though.

 

And boku, deff did not mean to attack you. I may have accidentally put your name in a post but edited it when I saw it was bain who posted the attack. And yes to everyone who is actulley participating legtiamately, even if its not about numbers, detailed stats about where you've found caches is great idea. That would already add to the depth. How many near farms, how many on hills, how many submerged caches. For example, you find 5 submerged caches and you get a badge called "1000 leagues under the sea" its simple and fun and shouldent hurt the game at all. Besdies remember that, while many geocachers may be in there 30s-50s that if the sport is to continue on into fture generations it will have to evolve, even if slightly. My generation is obsessed with social networking and interfaces like foursquare and such. It will help to bring people into the community.

It's unfortunate that you had to experience the ugly side of the Geo forums right out of the gate. There are plenty of times when this forum can be a very harsh place to interact with other cachers and sometimes it takes a thick skin to deal with it. Yes, there are those with a "holier than thou" attitude, those who feel they're better because they've been doing this longer, and those who seem to think newcomers can't contribute quality content to this forum and hobby. Some of them have forgotten that, once upon a time, they were new too. I understand your frustration and even agree with some of your sentiment, but might I suggest that you don't sink to their level. I get it, you felt attacked and went on the defensive, but to be perfectly honest, you could've handled it a little better.

Enough about that, on to the subject at hand... as far as a "check-in" type feature, I think it'd be difficult to integrate considering the accuracy that is needed when it comes to locating a cache. If someone checks in at Walmart, there's quite a bit of leeway as far as accuracy goes. But if you're going to reward someone for finding a cache using a check-in system, accuracy is fairly important. Let's face it, regardless of whether you're using a handheld GPS or smartphone, there are times when the accuracy just isn't there. But that's the beauty of hunting a cache, you don't need 100% accuracy to find one because you use your acquired skills as a Geocacher to find the container. But if you want someone to get a reward by checking in, how do we know they found the cache from a check-in alone? You may get to the general location and your GPS device says you're there, but inaccuracy is a part of the game. So a person gets to check in and receive the reward even though they may not have found the cache. You end up rewarding people who learn how to cheat the system. We already have enough of that, we don't need to encourage more.

 

Alas, as someone who doesn't appreciate online social networking being integrated into every little aspect of my life, oftentimes having it shoved in our faces whether we like it or not, I'd much rather not see such "features" brought to Geocaching. I could possibly stand behind "badges" given for certain achievements, sort of like what Souvenirs do now only on a much wider, larger scale. But what I don't want to see is a point system or a check-in system. One of the major draws to Geocaching, and something I greatly appreciate since I hold somewhat of an "old school" mindset, is that it gets people out of the house and off their computers, video games & having their noses buried in mobile devices (aside from the obvious necessity of these devices needed to participate). I can't stand going out with friends or family who refuse to socialize with the group because they're too busy "socializing" online. I feel bringing in the social networking aspect will somewhat defeat the purpose of getting you out into the real world to enjoy what's around you. Cachers will become too worried about racking up points thinking it proves how good they are or will become obsessed with checking in, telling everyone "look at me, I am here," instead of enjoying what this hobby is all about. I don't think Geocaching.com should conform to the obsessions of today's young generation. You want them to "evolve" to better suit your wants & needs, you want it to be more like foursquare, facebook, and Yelp. If you ask me, people should play because they enjoy what it already is.

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Encouraging people to hide caches for points could be bad for the game. If they're not willing to maintain the caches they place and they just throw out some garbage container in some garbage location and leave it there, it becomes garbage.
I was thinking the same thing. I can see many unoriginal, poor caches being placed simply to up a stat count or "earn" a badge of some sort.

 

That's a pet peeve of mine when it comes to letterbox hybrids. Many people hide them to get the "badge" (the letterbox icon), without any thought to the all-important stamp.

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