Several questions: is Wherigo worth trying out?

[Darwin473]

Hello everyone, I know this tends to be a quiet part of the forum.

 

Currently in Darwin, there is one Wherigo cache, which I'd like to have a crack at prior to trying out making a WIG. From what I've read so far, the WIG sensibility appeals to me - having a bit of virtual mixed with a bit of real world. Having looked around Australia, a quick glance at the map shows that most of the capitals have a bunch of WIG caches, with Adelaide being the most densely populated.

 

However, a quick sampling showed that most were placed years ago (the Darwin one was placed in 2013). Having sampled around these forums and other places, there are many people who complain about buggy systems, lack of support, outdated software, incompatible cartridges and so on - an a general lack of support / response from Groundspeak (apparently due to ongoing legal restrictions?) I wasn't able to find definitive answers, hopefully this isn't one of those "he who must not be named" subjects that everyone knows are taboo but since nobody talks about it none of the new people like me know it's taboo (there really should be a "don't mention these things" sticky somewhere...)

 

Anyway, I have a few questions or things I'd like clarified please:

 

Q1 - the initial WP for a WIG is marked on the map, and that's where a person needs to go to "launch" their cartridge. But can the last (and other) WP's including the final physical cache be within the magical 528ft / 161m of a GC cache?

 

Q2 - does the system / server / compiler "automagically" convert for different platforms (pc / gps, Android, iPhone) or does the person making the cartridge need to code / convert for different players?

 

Q3 - is the only way to de-bug and check to make sure that everything is working on all platforms to go out there with those devices? I know there is a virtual tester, but will that work if the cartridge contains location based elements?

 

Thank you for reading, fingers crossed some people see this.   

[+on4bam]

34 minutes ago, Unit473L said:

Q1 - the initial WP for a WIG is marked on the map, and that's where a person needs to go to "launch" their cartridge. But can the last (and other) WP's including the final physical cache be within the magical 528ft / 161m of a GC cache?

 

Q3 - is the only way to de-bug and check to make sure that everything is working on all platforms to go out there with those devices? I know there is a virtual tester, but will that work if the cartridge contains location based elements?

 

 

A1. The same rules apply for WiG as for other caches. Virtual WPs can be anywhere, physical WPs and cache can't be closer than 161m from another physical point of any cache.

A3.  Try the virtual tester and test yourself with what's available to you. You can also ask others with different setups to do a test run. Even then some problems might arise with some setups. We've done WiG's where we didn't get a completion code at the end, we've had cartridges crash on us, some could be restarted from a saved point others couldn't and had to be re-done from the start. The fact that GS doesn't seem to care about WiG doesn't help either.

 

Many of the WiG's we did where fun and interesting. We did one in Lisbon that made a tour of interesting tourist spots. It took us hours to complete while walking our own planned itinerary through the city but unfortunately ended finding a destroyed cachebox. No action by the CO after several NM logs and eventually  the WiG was archived by a reviewer.

 

It looks like you only have 1 WiG near you. Try it, it seems to be a simple one taking less than an hour. Many we did took a lot longer and steered us around cities.

 

[+coachstahly]

2 hours ago, Unit473L said:

Q1 - the initial WP for a WIG is marked on the map, and that's where a person needs to go to "launch" their cartridge. But can the last (and other) WP's including the final physical cache be within the magical 528ft / 161m of a GC cache?

 

In most typical Wherigos, the posted coordinates are the starting point to launch the cartridge.  However, there are a couple types, ogirehW (reverse Wherigos) and play anywhere Wherigos, where the starting coordinates don't really matter.  That's more FYI than anything else though.  As per your question, the final MUST still abide by the saturation guidelines.  However, the waypoints within the cartridge have no such restrictions because they're virtual rather than physical stages.

 

2 hours ago, Unit473L said:

Q2 - does the system / server / compiler "automagically" convert for different platforms (pc / gps, Android, iPhone) or does the person making the cartridge need to code / convert for different players?

 

As I understand it, you, the creator, do NOT need to do anything other than create the cartridge.  Despite its flaws, the site allows for various platforms to download the cartridge so it works as its supposed to, on the selected platform.  Three are specifically related to Garmin units - Colorado, Oregon (older ones), and Nuvi 500 - while one works with smart phones - Pocket PC Device.

 

2 hours ago, Unit473L said:

Q3 - is the only way to de-bug and check to make sure that everything is working on all platforms to go out there with those devices? I know there is a virtual tester, but will that work if the cartridge contains location based elements?

 

Seeing as how I only have a smart phone (and that appears to be what most of my fellow local cachers use for Wherigos), I feel comfortable going out in the field and testing it with my phone to make sure there aren't any bugs.  I know I have one particular bug that's specific to a single cacher that uses a Nuvi (IIRC).  It only happens on one of my Wherigos (as they've done most of them) but it stops at the same zone each and every time.  However, no one else has had an issue like this so I'm not sure if it can even be resolved.

 

I made my first couple of Wherigos using Urwigo but since I wanted most of mine to be more simple in nature, I swapped them out for Wherigo//Kit created Wherigos.  They're walks and Q&A zones along the way.  I've only used one of the two formats available from Kit and except for that single issue, I've had very few problems associated with people playing them that apply to the cartridge.  Removal or changes to the item at a zone are different though, but with Kit, it's a simple fix that I can actually do from my phone, although I prefer to compile the GWZ at home on the desktop rather than on the phone and upload it to Wherigo.com from there.

[Darwin473]

Thank you for all that information @on4bam and @coachstahly the bits about physical locations makes sense.

 

I'm of two minds about it at the moment - I can see a lot of potential for it, but it seems like it's a lot of work for a system that isn't well supported.

 

I'll have to give my local one a go and see how it goes.

[+coachstahly]

16 hours ago, Unit473L said:

I'm of two minds about it at the moment - I can see a lot of potential for it, but it seems like it's a lot of work for a system that isn't well supported.

 

Using Urwigo or Earwigo to build a cartridge is a lot of work as there's a learning curve involved, especially the more creative you want to be.  If you just want a walking tour with questions (apparently similar to Adventure Labs), then Kit is easy with very little learning curve.  You provide the coordinates, the pictures, the questions, and the answers and it's all pretty much plug and create.  The hardest part, at least for me, is finding an area I'd like to bring people and then a hiding area for the final that's close to where they'll be walking.