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Proper Use of Mystery Cache Waypoints


Chipper3

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A. Here is what I want to happen:

1. I have a Bogus set of coords which are the Posted Coords

2. I have a PARKING tagged set of coords

3.  I have the FINAL LOCATION  set of coords

4. I have a Stage One set of coords that are virtual

 

I want the puzzle to offer a solution that is the  stage 1 coords.  The stage 1 coords have associated a bearing and distance that points to the final set of coords.

 

However the solution checker dialog seems to be associated with the final coords as it is posted under the final coords in the edit/set-up dialog.

 

If there are stage 1 coords, will the solution checker default to the stage 1 coords or is meant only for the final coords with no stages?

 

B.  For a Mystery Cache,  is there a restriction on the distance of the bogus coords from the Real coords.  Mine are more than 2 miles to take advantage of a clever use of a town name but are over 2 miles away and that blocks the edit from being completed.

 

 

Edited by Chipper3
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Your design doesn't work because the posted coords are more than 2 miles from the final.  Move your posted coords and the puzzle still needs to be solved in order to find the virtual stage.

 

You can use a third party geochecker instead of the native checker.

 

I am moving this thread to the Geocaching Topics forum because it's an advanced cache design, not a "Getting Started" question.

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4 minutes ago, Chipper3 said:

So, if I use the GC coord checker, only a cache with no stages can actually be constructed.

 

 

 

Well, the built-in coord checker will only provide confirmation of the final stage, and has some other cool features like a correct guess automatically updates the cache coordinates to the final location for that geocacher.  So if you wanted to have checkers for interim stages, you would use a third party geochecker.

 

To be fair, the vast majority of puzzle caches have a puzzle that leads to the final cache with no interim stages.  That's not to say that what you're doing is wrong or anything, it sounds creative, but it just needs a slightly different approach to the geochecker.  Using a third party geochecker is easy.

 

Edit to add:  In reference to the topic title, no you're not doing anything improper with a puzzle, by the sounds of it (aside from what keystone pointed out regarding proximity of published to final, which need to be within 2 miles).

Edited by funkymunkyzone
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@funkymonkeyzone   Thank you for the great advice.  I am inclined to keep the searcher on tje GC site to eliminate a layer of confusion.

 

So option 1 is to solve the puzzle and check the coords and  then navigate.

 

Maybe an option 2 - Could I list as the final coords my stage 1 coords and then use my usual description instruction to shine a bright flashlight along bearing XYZ - 50 feet out (think night cache with cache location marked with reflective tape.)

 

The solution takes the searcher to a spot that would normally be stage one in a multi-cache and they follow the projection from there to find the cache.  Or is that going to violate a rule/protocol?

 

 

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35 minutes ago, Chipper3 said:

aybe an option 2 - Could I list as the final coords my stage 1 coords and then use my usual description instruction to shine a bright flashlight along bearing XYZ - 50 feet out (think night cache with cache location marked with reflective tape.)

 

The solution takes the searcher to a spot that would normally be stage one in a multi-cache and they follow the projection from there to find the cache.  Or is that going to violate a rule/protocol?

 

The final coordinates in your listing must be where the actual physical cache and logbook are. Anything else, physical or virtual, along the way is a waypoint and should be listed as such on your page. That's how the reviewer will want to see it done. If the inbuilt checker doesn't cater for your puzzle, untick its checkbox and use a third-party checker instead.

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15 minutes ago, barefootjeff said:

 

The final coordinates in your listing must be where the actual physical cache and logbook are. Anything else, physical or virtual, along the way is a waypoint and should be listed as such on your page. That's how the reviewer will want to see it done. If the inbuilt checker doesn't cater for your puzzle, untick its checkbox and use a third-party checker instead.

Thank You.  Got it!

 

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5 hours ago, barefootjeff said:
6 hours ago, Chipper3 said:

Please recommend a third party checker...

 

Certitude and Geocheck seem to be the most common ones used. Each has its own pros and cons.


GeoChecker is another.  All three are fine for validating exact coordinates.  (They vary on validation of keywords and ‘fuzzy’ matching.)

 

If you were to use GeoCheck you could even set up two checks for the same cache - the first, an exact match for the calculated stage 1 coords, and a second fuzzy match for the final projected coords.

 

Edited by IceColdUK
Hit save too soon!
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6 hours ago, IceColdUK said:

If you were to use GeoCheck you could even set up two checks for the same cache - the first, an exact match for the calculated stage 1 coords, and a second fuzzy match for the final projected coords.

FWIW, Certitude can handle exact or fuzzy solutions, keyword solutions, and solutions for multiple stages (for multi-stage puzzles like the one the OP described).

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Thank you, Everyone!

 

I just want to be sure and follow all of Groundspeaks Protocols before proceeding.  I know that Multi-Cache and Mystery Caches have very specific requirements and I want to follow the rules!

 

I can unclick the GC coord checker that is part of my  mystery cache and insert the coding for a Certitude checker.

 

The Certitude dialog window indicates that I can Enter a keyword and then leave the exact coord box blank and then use the dialog for if the  keyword is for a stage of a multi-stage multi (not Groundspeak term) and indicate which stage (1).  Then I assume that Certitude is going to return the correct coords for Stage 1 and then I can use my bearing and distance standard scheme  to point the seeker to the final cache location.

 

Or is the reviewer gonna' frown on this approach?

 

Ps  - Does anyone know how to delete or edit a Certitude created solution for a cache or find the html after closing the window?

 

 

Edited by Chipper3
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5 hours ago, Chipper3 said:

Does anyone know how to delete or edit a Certitude created solution for a cache or find the html after closing the window?

 

Log in to Certitudes.org, when you go to your Dashboard it will show you a list of your puzzles/caches.  Clik the GC code, and on the left side is a link to Edit This Solution, or Archive it.

 

Edit, adjust, etc, and then copy the edited html, and the original html should also be there for you to see.

 

PS - I LOVE Certitudes!

Edited by CAVinoGal
Typo corrections
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23 minutes ago, Chipper3 said:

@CAVinoGal   Perfect explanation!  Thank You!

 

If I lost the  html code created for display on a site, how do I get it?  Just Edit and keep the data and hit the generate button and copy again?

 

Yes, that will work.  You may need to re-enter the final coordinates or data, but yes, essentially keep all the same and re-generate.

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22 hours ago, on4bam said:

Yes please. I hate that the GS checker automatically updates the corrected coordinates. I prefer the cachepage "as is" and keep all info in GSAK.

 

 

 

Off topic, but...

 

You can revert them with a couple of clicks.

 

I love that it updates them automatically without me needing to copy/paste anything.

Edited by funkymunkyzone
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Keep in mind you can also combine multiple checkers for various stages. We have plenty of caches like that around here, where it's sort of in the form of:

 

PUZZLE #1

[Checker for stage 1]

 

PUZZLE #2 using solution provided from stage 1 checker

[Checker for stage 2]

 

PUZZLE #3 using information from stage 1 and stage 2

[Checker for the Final coordinates]

 

In addition, checker 1 and 2 could be 3rd party (like Certitudes, which supports multiple stage checkers for one GC listing) and the checker for the final could be the built in native checker.

 

A pet peeve of mine though is that the checker is only available on the website listing. So it could be a nice gesture to include in the description to use the native checker, so if someone is viewing the description in an app or in gsak or whatnot, that they'll know there IS a checker, but they need to use the website.

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