Maps in player

[+Amberel]

I've done three Wherigos recently, and felt that they were so basic as to be not worth making into a Wherigo at all. It was just a case of wandering round urban streets from one location to the next, with nothing of interest in the cartridge or the ground we covered, and where the "locations" had nothing to differentiate them from any other nondescript part of the street.

 

Which led me to think maybe I should look at doing one myself, in a more attractive location, with a proper story line and making slightly better use of the platform.

 

So this evening I started to look at what was involved. I rather assumed that the first thing to do after choosing the location would be to map the playing area. One of the things we didn't like when playing was that there was no map - just a mostly blank screen with a small, hard to read compass in the corner. I had expected a "real life" map for a tour, or a more imaginative interpretation of the ground for a game. But nowhere have I seen anything in the tutorials about creating such a map.

 

Can I just confirm that it is possible to create a map as part of the cartridge, over which the player's position is superimposed?

 

A supplementary question - can the Oregon make sounds other than beeps?

 

Rgds, Andy

[Ranger Fox]

The maps are handled by the Wherigo Player you are using. Aside from static images you add to your cartridge, you do not have any way to create a map. I know the iPhone Wherigo Player does have the ability to show the player's current location on a map. All Garmin Wherigo Players do not have such functionality. As for the other two Players, I am uncertain as I do not have a device on which to run them.

 

As for your other question, no, the Garmin Players cannot do anything other than make various beeps. You cannot play anything close to an mp3 on them, and even something MIDI-like would be stretching it.

[+Amberel]

The maps are handled by the Wherigo Player you are using. Aside from static images you add to your cartridge, you do not have any way to create a map. I know the iPhone Wherigo Player does have the ability to show the player's current location on a map. All Garmin Wherigo Players do not have such functionality. As for the other two Players, I am uncertain as I do not have a device on which to run them.

 

As for your other question, no, the Garmin Players cannot do anything other than make various beeps. You cannot play anything close to an mp3 on them, and even something MIDI-like would be stretching it.

Thanks for your very clear reply.

 

It's a real shame about the maps - if I was designing a location based game system I would have put that very high on my list of priorities. We were using the Oregon, and having nothing more on the screen than a (small and very hard to see) pointer was such a low quality user experience.

 

Having a standard map provided by the platform is probably better than nothing, but it doesn't achieve any of the things I would like to do. If on a tour I would want a fairly normal map except I would want to highlight the focal points of the tour. And for a game, I would want to use an imaginatve map to set the scene, the whole framework, for the game. And if it appears on some platforms and not on others that surely leaves you with an awkward decision about allowing for all platforms but limiting the features, or going for a better experience but only running on certain players. Same goes for the sound, I guess.

 

Rgds, Andy

[+duncanhoyle]

I played my first Wherigo in Edinburgh recently. First attempt was on a pda but I quickly gave in and started again playing on my Android phone using WhereYouGo. The experience was much more enjoyable.

You could choose to navigate with various maps of the area with the zones overlayed over the top. I used both standard Google maps and satellite view. This is a feature of the app and not the cartridge.

[+redsox_mark]

As others have said - the maps are a function of the Player/Device; on the iPhone you have an overview map showing visible waypoints.

 

You could make some custom maps as part of the Wherigo - showing the route to the next stage (or a pirate treasure or whatever)... but just as an image they could look at. E.g. as an item. But not a map where you can see you moving.

 

The Oregon only beeps, but using This you can make tunes out of the beeps. I can't hear the tool play so haven't been able to create new tunes, but I've used the "Indiana Jones" tune which is one of those supplied.

Edited April 11, 2012 by redsox_mark