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The biggest jewel heist in history!


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1 hour ago, HiddenGnome said:

 

All new caches will have a clue. Sometime today the system will begin picking up new caches automatically. If your cache is published before then it might not have a clue for up to an hour, but I am regularly running a script to add clues to new caches. I am also keeping an eye on this thread in case there is a cache that doesn't have a clue.

 

Thank you. I can confirm that the cache in my situation now has the Detective clue :)

 

My backup plan was to delete and re-log an event I attended a few days ago - my last "find" so it wouldn't have messed up my logging order. The delicious irony was that it was an event hosted by a Lackey (gearguru).  :)

 

Thank you for your efforts - you've said this is the most complex promotion and I'm sure your stress levels are through the roof.

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19 hours ago, The A-Team said:

It isn't enough to simply have a mobile phone, you also need to log from the field or you won't be able to search for the currently-hidden clues. As someone who doesn't cache this way, I'm going to have to change my processes quite a bit in order to participate in this promotion. Either that or just go out and find a bunch of caches, hoping that I happened to find ones I needed in the right order.

 

Does anyone happen to know whether logging caches via API and website can still result in cache finds being ordered incorrectly? I've avoided doing so for a long time because it used to be that logging via both methods on one day resulted in wacky timestamps that changed the order of finds. If this is still an issue, I'd have to log all of my finds via API rather than log via the website from home like I normally do.

 

Personally, I'm not thrilled about how this has been designed to specifically-target smartphone users to the detriment of "traditional" cachers, nor how this has been executed (especially the confusing/lack of information in the lead-up and lack of sufficient testing, both of which seem to be recurring issues that never get fixed).

 

I am with you A-Team. I rarely if never log in the field. However, my plan later today is to find the detective from my phone and just log it. Then when I get to my hotel and decide to do my proper log, I simply delete that quick log, then start logging in the order I normally would. Then for the next level I am just going to let it ride and see what I need to get to level three and then do that. I have enough caching planned for the next two weeks outside of this promotion that fitting in the promotion shouldn't be a problem even if I don't log them as I go. 

Just remember, most likely a quick app log as found it can easily be deleted later, but for the promotion they usually do not revert your progress. It is like stealing souvenirs. You can go log a find, then delete your find but the souvenir is forever. I have never done that, but I know some who have. 

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12 minutes ago, elrojo14 said:

my plan later today is to find the detective from my phone and just log it. Then when I get to my hotel and decide to do my proper log, I simply delete that quick log, then start logging in the order I normally would.

 

Yep. You can postpone your logs, but if you want to see the next level clues, you'll need to log the required caches to register the current level clues and move on to the next. You can delete those logs again to re-log them later in whatever order you desire. If I had a backlog of caches I haven't yet logged, I'd do that if I went out to find the caches now, before logging those.

I've had to do similar actions with a backlog of drafts and going to grab an FTF. I want to log the FTF found for other people to know, but dont' have time to catch up all the drafts first. I have no qualms about logging the FTF, then 'fixing' my log history.  So it's pretty much the same strategy.

Edited by thebruce0
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56 minutes ago, HiddenGnome said:

I am not going to make excuses for releasing code that has bugs, but we also cannot always cover every single permutation that might arise. What I will promise is that we will try to catch as many bugs as possible before a release and then fix the bugs that do make it to the community quickly. We are a small team and are moving quickly to address issues. I apologize for inconveniences that anyone has experienced and I thank you for your patience.

As a developer myself, I know it is close to impossible to not release code that has bugs - unless you don't release at all. That is not any better. But the really great developers monitor and fix those bugs, just like you have done now - including keeping us updated here. That is very much appreciated!

The speed in which you fixed the bugs this time (which also was fewer than we have seen with other promotions) at least felt a lot faster than before. If that was simply because you kept us informed, or if it was because you actually did it faster doesn't matter. I felt a lot better than it has done before.

Thank you!

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6 minutes ago, thebruce0 said:

 

...but if you want to see the next level clues, you'll need to log the required caches to register the current level clues and move on to the next.

That is not quite true. Try looking at the end of the query string on the map after you've added the clue filter ;)

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4 minutes ago, thomfre said:
13 minutes ago, thebruce0 said:

 

...but if you want to see the next level clues, you'll need to log the required caches to register the current level clues and move on to the next.

That is not quite true. Try looking at the end of the query string on the map after you've added the clue filter ;)

 

lol, ok, general audience :)  unless you're a curious coder, heh

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1 hour ago, thebruce0 said:

HiddenGnome, you're my favourite. :bad:

 

I also applaud HiddenGnome for demonstrating more transparency than we typically see for these promotions.  However, the suggestion about building a group of volunteers that not only have technical expertise but also a good understanding of the game and how the the site and apps work as volunteers for beta testing wasn't answered.   If there was a group of volunteers that could do some testing that would free up those 20 people that were banging on the site for two days to do other things.

 

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34 minutes ago, thomfre said:

That is not quite true. Try looking at the end of the query string on the map after you've added the clue filter ;)

Good catch.  Now I can see caches with each clue level.  I have to use the app to look at caches on the map after I've changed the &tr attribute in the URL to see which clue is shown though.

 

It would of been a lot easier if the cache listings on the web site had the name of the clue instead of "hidden".   The clue is only hidden when one is viewing a cache listing from the website but is clearly displayed when viewing the cache listing in the app.   I'm curious why GS decided to "hide" the clue type on the web site.  The only explanation that I can come up with is that it was intentionally done to encourage users to use the app instead of the web site. 

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I am going to jump in here knowing that I am solidly in the minority and say I am loving the promotion.  I found the detective on my lunch hour yesterday and then found 2 footprints and a fingerprint with my kids last night.  I have scoped out several possibilities for the other fingerprint and 2 shadows for this evening and hope to snag some jewels starting tomorrow.

For the record, I am not in an extraordinarily populated area, but we are pretty cache-rich, I think.

 

I have used the web page to locate clues and then my iPhone to find and log the caches - but that is pretty much my MO for geocaching, particularly if I am going to make a quick grab or 2 over my lunch break.  So far I haven't had any issues with getting credit for the clues I have found.

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34 minutes ago, NYPaddleCacher said:

The clue is only hidden when one is viewing a cache listing from the website but is clearly displayed when viewing the cache listing in the app.   I'm curious why GS decided to "hide" the clue type on the web site.  The only explanation that I can come up with is that it was intentionally done to encourage users to use the app instead of the web site.

 

Huh. Well in and of itself that's not a Bad Thing, but it does seem inconsistent, especially if that wasn't the intent...

 

 

8 minutes ago, RobinsonClan56 said:

I am going to jump in here knowing that I am solidly in the minority and say I am loving the promotion

 

Awesome! Always great to hear some positive experiences :)

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4 hours ago, HiddenGnome said:

 

 

We are working on a small update to automatically add a Clue whenever a geocache is published which should be ready soon. Until then I am running a script that will retroactively add the Clue to recently published geocaches.

 

Both of my friend's geocaches gained a clue. Thank you HiddenGnome!

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1 hour ago, NYPaddleCacher said:

If there was a group of volunteers that could do some testing that would free up those 20 people that were banging on the site for two days to do other things.

FWIW, there are multiple groups of beta-testers/play-testers. I'm in a couple of those groups myself. But it's been a while since I've been offered anything to test.

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Web-based map is broken.  Shows the filtered caches on the left-hand list but they do not all appear on the map.

 

How about a "small update" to fix this rather large problem?

 

Sorry about the snark.  It's just that I have lived through so many years of Groundspeak not implementing features that we begged for that it is particularly galling to see so much wasted effort on a promotion that doesn't even work properly.

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3 minutes ago, fizzymagic said:

Web-based map is broken.  Shows the filtered caches on the left-hand list but they do not all appear on the map.

 

How about a "small update" to fix this rather large problem?

 

Sorry about the snark.  It's just that I have lived through so many years of Groundspeak not implementing features that we begged for that it is particularly galling to see so much wasted effort on a promotion that doesn't even work properly.

 

Works fine for me - Safari, OSX.

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On the contrary, it works fine for many people; dare I say, most. And as bugs are noticed (and sufficiently and constructively explained), they're being addressed as possible. It's always easier to say what could have been done better in hindsight. But what's done is done. How they're handling the state of things NOW is what's most important, and they are dealing with stuff. And since many people are progressing exactly as intended in the promo, I'd say it's working properly, save for a few bugs to work out.

That's a very different attitude towards this than some prior comments made in this thread.

How about working towards improving and fixing what can be improved and fixed, since that's better for everyone, yeah?

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16 minutes ago, fizzymagic said:

Web-based map is broken.  Shows the filtered caches on the left-hand list but they do not all appear on the map.

 

How about a "small update" to fix this rather large problem?

 

Sorry about the snark.  It's just that I have lived through so many years of Groundspeak not implementing features that we begged for that it is particularly galling to see so much wasted effort on a promotion that doesn't even work properly.

 

I am sorry that you are missing data on your map. Can you provide more details about what you are seeing? What filters are you using to search and what area are you searching in?

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23 hours ago, thebruce0 said:

Do they? NEED to be considered? They have been considered - everyone is able to play the game, just at varying levels of convenience (no one has a right to play the game optimally), and I'd guess the majority of users have very little inconvenience (save for bugs and kinks to work out) with the game mechanics (not counting for clue distribution and density for some cachers in sparse geocaching areas).

 

Yes, all user groups need to be considered. Accommodated? No, of course not. It's impossible to accommodate every user group. However, there needs to be at least consideration of how any given change might affect the users. If HQ sat down, looked at everything, considered the impact of their chosen course of action on GPSr users and decided this was still the route they wanted to take, then I can live with that. If they decided to target this promotion toward smartphone users and never even considered how this decision might affect GPSr users, then I consider that a failure.

 

21 hours ago, dprovan said:

You make it sound like a hundred people were allocated to this project. My guess is that it was closer to one. And, personally, I can't really question their judgement. It's a little embarrassing to have customers find problems for you, but it sure cuts down on development costs. It's not as if anyone's going to die if they run into a bug that keeps them from getting the first clue for a couple days while the engineer figures out what went wrong.

 

It's all about optics. The issues with past promotions have undermined their members' confidence in the company, and dissatisfied customers can become ex-customers. If they're fine with having unhappy users, then so be it. However, if they want to make sure their users have a good experience and are more likely to stick around, they either need to throw more resources at the problem in order to develop this more-complex system, or scale back the complexity of the system such that the available level of resources can successfully build it.

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1 hour ago, HiddenGnome said:

 

I am sorry that you are missing data on your map. Can you provide more details about what you are seeing? What filters are you using to search and what area are you searching in?

I am searching near Greenwich UK. The waypoints that seem to be missing are all challenge caches for which I have entered solved coords at the posted coords. The map on the phone app is unaffected. The map for both Firefox and Chrome with filters: all clues, not owned or found, both do not show the challenge caches that contain clues, although the caches are included in the list on the left of the map.

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5 hours ago, thebruce0 said:

HiddenGnome, you're my favourite. :bad:

 

I've been pretty critical of many things on this site, but I do agree that HiddenGnome's transparency is great to see. It gives us a much better idea of how much effort is happening behind-the-scenes and when issues will get fixed. Thanks for your updates, HiddenGnome.

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4 hours ago, NYPaddleCacher said:

Good catch.  Now I can see caches with each clue level.  I have to use the app to look at caches on the map after I've changed the &tr attribute in the URL to see which clue is shown though.

 

I think this must have been "fixed", because it doesn't work for me. I haven't gotten the Detective clue yet, and I get no filtering if I try changing the &tr attribute to a different number (ie. all caches are returned). Likewise, when I look at various random caches in the app, all I see is "Clue: hidden" and "This clue is still hidden. Find more clues to reveal it."

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9 hours ago, thebruce0 said:

As expected, people have completed the entire series in one day. We now know that the 4th level, the final souvenir - "unlocking the vault" - is merely finding an additional 35 caches, any 35 caches.  Honestly by the way it was being described pre-launch I thought there would be some other type of requirement or activity to complete, decrypting the code.  This seems kind of anti-climactic. =/  I suppose it fits with prior promo goals of finding geocaches, but in this one changing up how the 'tiers' are excuted, level 1-3 made thematic sense, but the instructions and goal of that last level don't seem to 'flow' with the plot. What's special about "35 caches"?

On the bright side, it's not a filter of reduced caches to find - the map opens up again so you can find any 35 caches. :P

 

 

I'd always assumed that finding the changed combination to put the jewels back in the safe would be a puzzle to solve, perhaps something like the one in the final step of Mary Hyde. 35 caches on top of the 22 already needed to get to that point? According to my statistics page, my "best" month is 36 caches in September 2017 and that was bolstered by taking my bike up to Newcastle to do Colleda's Fernleigh Track series. My average find rate is just 0.4429 finds per day and, with new caches in this region having all but dried up, pretty much all my finds now involve considerable travelling. The nearest power trail is 100km away as the crow flies, so about 2 hours driving just to get to the start, but I guess my only hope of getting through this promotion would be to bite the bullet and spend a day up there going through the motions of finding monotonous caches. Nup, that'd put me totally off caching for the rest of the year.

 

I used to enjoy these promotions a few years back, like the Road Trip in 2015 and the Mission GC in 2016 and Mary Hyde in 2017, where there was something different needed in each week of the promotion and the emphasis was more on finding particular types of caches rather than just a numbers run. Oh well, maybe next year...

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I've seen some plans for logging - and therefore advancing -  then deleting those logs and adding a proper log.  It was my plan to start out the same (logging the cache and advancing), but simply editing the already posted log. 

 

Any reason for deleting and re-posting, rather than just editing?

 

Edit: Well, I'm just gonna do what I'd planned (just edit). I got jewels to find!

Edited by VAVAPAM
moving right along
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1 hour ago, barefootjeff said:

 

I'd always assumed that finding the changed combination to put the jewels back in the safe would be a puzzle to solve, perhaps something like the one in the final step of Mary Hyde. 35 caches on top of the 22 already needed to get to that point? According to my statistics page, my "best" month is 36 caches in September 2017 and that was bolstered by taking my bike up to Newcastle to do Colleda's Fernleigh Track series. My average find rate is just 0.4429 finds per day and, with new caches in this region having all but dried up, pretty much all my finds now involve considerable travelling. The nearest power trail is 100km away as the crow flies, so about 2 hours driving just to get to the start, but I guess my only hope of getting through this promotion would be to bite the bullet and spend a day up there going through the motions of finding monotonous caches. Nup, that'd put me totally off caching for the rest of the year.

 

I used to enjoy these promotions a few years back, like the Road Trip in 2015 and the Mission GC in 2016 and Mary Hyde in 2017, where there was something different needed in each week of the promotion and the emphasis was more on finding particular types of caches rather than just a numbers run. Oh well, maybe next year...

 

Yeah.  The numbers run aspect is disappointing.  Since I retired, I'm trying for three caches a day, with two to three miles of hiking,  (This is my hobby/exercise.)  Find the detective took a twenty minute drive to a soggy cache.  Then I had to come home to check for the evidence.  Did three yesterday on P&Gs.  That's the tricky stage.  Didn't want to hike a trail for the evidence with jewels intermingled.  Found a biking/walking trail with the three remaining evidences.  Then four jewels.  Forty minute drive in an urban area.  I'll be back on that trail Monday for more jewels.  (Probably not a great place for geocaching on weekends...)  Then I need thirty-five more caches?  But I have three weeks for that.  I can go off on my hiking trails for three a day!  Stag two was the trickiest.

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1 hour ago, barefootjeff said:

I'd always assumed that finding the changed combination to put the jewels back in the safe would be a puzzle to solve

Yeah, I was thinking along those lines, too.

 

1 hour ago, barefootjeff said:

35 caches on top of the 22 already needed to get to that point?

I do get where you're coming from (and this is the first I heard about that).  On the other hand, at least it's not *500*!  I might could try for 35 ... and I'll be okay if I don't get that last one.  Heck, as soon as I saw the 500 finds requirement (or something like that) for a previous promo, I made peace right then and there that was never going to happen for me.  I chose not to let it affect my future caching options.

 

Gotta be a tough balancing act, to keep it interesting for the cachers with lots of options and yet keep it do-able for those who don't.  Again, I understand your plight.  I just appreciate that they've at least made it more interesting ... and taken into account (at least, in my mind) the folks in areas not so rich in caches.

Edited by VAVAPAM
effect shmeffect
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4 minutes ago, Harry Dolphin said:

 

Yeah.  The numbers run aspect is disappointing.  Since I retired, I'm trying for three caches a day, with two to three miles of hiking,  (This is my hobby/exercise.)  Find the detective took a twenty minute drive to a soggy cache.  Then I had to come home to check for the evidence.  Did three yesterday on P&Gs.  That's the tricky stage.  Didn't want to hike a trail for the evidence with jewels intermingled.  Found a biking/walking trail with the three remaining evidences.  Then four jewels.  Forty minute drive in an urban area.  I'll be back on that trail Monday for more jewels.  (Probably not a great place for geocaching on weekends...)  Then I need thirty-five more caches?  But I have three weeks for that.  I can go off on my hiking trails for three a day!  Stag two was the trickiest.

Yes, there is a little strategic planning involved, and I like that aspect.  (Unfortunate that strategy was hindered by glitches, but it appears they're on it.)

And yes, good point: 3 weeks seems to me to be a generous amount of time to plot and plan for logging 35 caches.

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Our geocache, GC88A9B, published today.  After 12 hours the Detective Clue finally showed up on the cache's description page.  Unfortunately, twelve hours later (24 since being published) the cache's icon still does not show up on any maps (online or in the app) when using the Detective Clue filter.  Any help with this would be appreciated. PYC

 

16 hours later (7/13/19 noon PDST) and still our cache, GC88A9B, with the detective clue attached won't show up on the maps.  Any help on who to turn to to fix this problem would be appreciated

3 hours later (7/13/19 3 pm PDST) finally figured out what to do to get the map to show the cache using detective filter... disabled and then enabled.  Thanks to all who helped.

Edited by PYC
Adding new information
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2 hours ago, VAVAPAM said:

I do get where you're coming from (and this is the first I heard about that).  On the other hand, at least it's not *500*!  I might could try for 35 ... and I'll be okay if I don't get that last one.  Heck, as soon as I saw the 500 finds requirement (or something like that) for a previous promo, I made peace right then and there that was never going to happen for me.  I chose not to let it affect my future caching options.

 

That one was 500 points, not necessarily 500 finds as the points per find increased depending on each cache's FP count. Caches with 50+ FPs scored 50 points each, so with a couple of train trips down to Sydney harbour (this state's highest concentration of 50+ FP caches), a few on a trip north to Newcastle and a last ditch scramble when I found myself a few points short, I managed to just scrape in at the death with sixteen finds giving me the required total. After 6 years of caching I've only just passed 1000 finds, with my monthly average about 13, so getting 500 in a month is way over the top. With a low cache density here, very few new caches and the nearest power trail 100km away, getting big tallies quickly is never going to happen.

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1 hour ago, PYC said:

Our geocache, GC88A9B, published today.  After 12 hours the Detective Clue finally showed up on the cache's description page.  Unfortunately, twelve hours later (24 since being published) the cache's icon still does not show up on any maps (online or in the app) when using the Detective Clue filter.  Any help with this would be appreciated. PYC

It sure doesnt! 

My two new caches that published today do show in searches. They are both puzzles, in case that helps solve this mystery.

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5 hours ago, The A-Team said:

Yes, all user groups need to be considered. Accommodated? No, of course not. It's impossible to accommodate every user group. However, there needs to be at least consideration of how any given change might affect the users. If HQ sat down, looked at everything, considered the impact of their chosen course of action on GPSr users and decided this was still the route they wanted to take, then I can live with that. If they decided to target this promotion toward smartphone users and never even considered how this decision might affect GPSr users, then I consider that a failure.

 

I think you answered exactly what I said earlier. And now you've expounded on 'considered' by extending to 'accomodated'. And yes, I believe they "accomodated" GPSr-exclusive geocachers who do not have a smartphone at all (rare), do not have a smartphone data plan (rare), do not want to use their data plan while geocaching (rare), or have a plan and use it but don't plan for places that have no data reception (rare) by providing alternative methods of playing the game, that while inconvenient, allow them to play; and greater convenience is not an impossible step away.

I'm 99.9% sure hq does not want to .. effectively give the finger to such a demographic. They're all customers, especially if they're paying members. But they also have a product that's geared towards smartphones. So it's completely understandable, I would say, that they focus the mechanics on compelling people to use their product(s). And as already said, it's a side-game, an optional experience, so not playing isn't a loss as if something is being taken away. Convenient play is not behind some arbitrary paywall implemented just for this. It's accessible to everyone; based on the growing cultural 'norm' of people having a smartphone. With a data plan.

 

5 hours ago, The A-Team said:

It's all about optics. The issues with past promotions have undermined their members' confidence in the company, and dissatisfied customers can become ex-customers. If they're fine with having unhappy users, then so be it. However, if they want to make sure their users have a good experience and are more likely to stick around, they either need to throw more resources at the problem in order to develop this more-complex system, or scale back the complexity of the system such that the available level of resources can successfully build it.

 

Yup.

And we dont have access to Groundspeaks numbers, demographic analysis, target goals, etc. So, it ends up bad if you're not in their future target demographic. But obviously as a private entity they want to be successful. So they are going to focus on their largest, most relevant and active demographic.  I am thankful they are not cutting out everyone BUT that target demographic (or in other words they are still "considering" and "accomodating" such people).  "Geocaching will always be free," it just may be more convenient to the most people who directly contribute to the company's success.  A PM who falls in that 'inconvenienced' group would be left with a choice to make - live with inconvenience if participating in optional side-games not geared to them, or give up being a paying customer. And I would be shocked if Groundspeak didn't take that side effect into consideration when moving forward with their plans.

 

 

 

It really is unfortunate that last level is just a find count and nothing at all to do with cracking the vault code. Ironically, on twitter ShopGeocaching posted an update saying "The hunt has begun! Can you solve the Mystery at the Museum before the gem exhibition on 8/11?  Once you have found the jewels, return them to the vault using the hidden code changed by the thieves."  I mean I get keeping things in-plot, but the instruction has absolutely nothing to do with the actual activity. "Find evidence" and "recover jewels" at least parallels finding geocaches. How does "return them to the vault using the hidden code" have anything to do with "find 35 geocaches"? :(

 

I'm still going to make the effort to earn all 4 souvenirs, and be creative and have fun doing it, but I think that level 4 was a BIG missed opportunity.

 

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1 hour ago, PYC said:

Our geocache, GC88A9B, published today.  After 12 hours the Detective Clue finally showed up on the cache's description page.  Unfortunately, twelve hours later (24 since being published) the cache's icon still does not show up on any maps (online or in the app) when using the Detective Clue filter.  Any help with this would be appreciated. PYC

I just tested the Search on a new traditional cache published in my area, and it also showed on the Search. Weird that yours isn't showing.

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5 minutes ago, thebruce0 said:

 

I think you answered exactly what I said earlier. And now you've expounded on 'considered' by extending to 'accomodated'. And yes, I believe they "accomodated" GPSr-exclusive geocachers who do not have a smartphone at all (rare), do not have a smartphone data plan (rare), do not want to use their data plan while geocaching (rare), or have a plan and use it but don't plan for places that have no data reception (rare) by providing alternative methods of playing the game, that while inconvenient, allow them to play; and greater convenience is not an impossible step away.

I'm 99.9% sure hq does not want to .. effectively give the finger to such a demographic. They're all customers, especially if they're paying members. But they also have a product that's geared towards smartphones. So it's completely understandable, I would say, that they focus the mechanics on compelling people to use their product(s). And as already said, it's a side-game, an optional experience, so not playing isn't a loss as if something is being taken away. Convenient play is not behind some arbitrary paywall implemented just for this. It's accessible to everyone; based on the growing cultural 'norm' of people having a smartphone. With a data plan.

 

 

Yup.

And we dont have access to Groundspeaks numbers, demographic analysis, target goals, etc. So, it ends up bad if you're not in their future target demographic. But obviously as a private entity they want to be successful. So they are going to focus on their largest, most relevant and active demographic.  I am thankful they are not cutting out everyone BUT that target demographic (or in other words they are still "considering" and "accomodating" such people).  "Geocaching will always be free," it just may be more convenient to the most people who directly contribute to the company's success.  A PM who falls in that 'inconvenienced' group would be left with a choice to make - live with inconvenience if participating in optional side-games not geared to them, or give up being a paying customer. And I would be shocked if Groundspeak didn't take that side effect into consideration when moving forward with their plans.

 

 

 

It really is unfortunate that last level is just a find count and nothing at all to do with cracking the vault code. Ironically, on twitter ShopGeocaching posted an update saying "The hunt has begun! Can you solve the Mystery at the Museum before the gem exhibition on 8/11?  Once you have found the jewels, return them to the vault using the hidden code changed by the thieves."  I mean I get keeping things in-plot, but the instruction has absolutely nothing to do with the actual activity. "Find evidence" and "recover jewels" at least parallels finding geocaches. How does "return them to the vault using the hidden code" have anything to do with "find 35 geocaches"? :(

 

I'm still going to make the effort to earn all 4 souvenirs, and be creative and have fun doing it, but I think that level 4 was a BIG missed opportunity.

 

Are you saying that after I find the jewels, there's still 35 more caches to find? I haven't progressed that far or haven't been paying attention. There's a .05% chance of me reaching that goal. 

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21 minutes ago, Max and 99 said:

Are you saying that after I find the jewels, there's still 35 more caches to find? I haven't progressed that far or haven't been paying attention. There's a .05% chance of me reaching that goal. 

 

Yep. That's what others have reported. 1 cache, 6 caches, 22 caches, then 35 caches. If you can't get the 35 though, at least you get the other 3 souvenirs /:)

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5 minutes ago, thebruce0 said:

 

Yep. That's what others have reported. 1 cache, 6 caches, 22 caches, then 35 caches. If you can't get the 35 though, at least you get the other 3 souvenirs /:)

Pffffftttttt. Fuhgettaboutit! 

 

Wait, it's 1, 6, then 15. Right? That's a total of 22 

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2 hours ago, thebruce0 said:

Yup.

And we dont have access to Groundspeaks numbers, demographic analysis, target goals, etc. So, it ends up bad if you're not in their future target demographic. But obviously as a private entity they want to be successful. So they are going to focus on their largest, most relevant and active demographic.  I am thankful they are not cutting out everyone BUT that target demographic (or in other words they are still "considering" and "accomodating" such people).  "Geocaching will always be free," it just may be more convenient to the most people who directly contribute to the company's success.  A PM who falls in that 'inconvenienced' group would be left with a choice to make - live with inconvenience if participating in optional side-games not geared to them, or give up being a paying customer. And I would be shocked if Groundspeak didn't take that side effect into consideration when moving forward with their plans.

 

Just to be clear, the part of my post that this was quoting was focused on the technical issues and seeming lack of testing. It had nothing to do with demographics. The bad optics were the issues that became immediately apparent when real-world users started using the system, happening yet again.

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18 hours ago, Max and 99 said:

It sure doesnt! 

My two new caches that published today do show in searches. They are both puzzles, in case that helps solve this mystery.

FYI Our cache finally showed with the detective filter after we disabled and then enabled.  PYC

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