Answers to questions at AL stage

[+Deepdiggingmole]

Can someone clarify - re. answers to questions asked at each stage of an ad lab do they have to be findable at that stage, i.e. there is something there that will give that answer

Or can they be something you have to research on the internet. ( Though obviously you have to get to that stage to unlock the question.) 

Edited June 27, 2022 by Deepdiggingmole

[+Hügh]

The Builder guide says that

 

The answer(s) is a code that is found or deciphered at the Location to prove that the player was there. The player will enter the Location answer directly into the app to verify the find. Choose Location answers that are unique and discreet to prevent players from finding the answer online.

 

This is because, this...

 

6 hours ago, Deepdiggingmole said:

Though obviously you have to get to that stage to unlock the question.

 

...is not necessarily the case. People have their magical ways of teleporting through the geofence despite sitting on their couch.

Edited June 27, 2022 by Hügh

[+baer2006]

The AL Guidelines don't say anything about the type of questions at the locations. It only says "Make sure all Locations ... Require players to physically visit Adventure Locations", but this is true anyway because of the geofencing - at least if we ignore the "teleporting" options mentioned by @Hügh.

 

Personally, I much prefer not having to do internet research on site. In fact I would say that almost every worthwhile location offers something, which can be used as answer for an AL question. Exceptions may exist, but then this location is IMHO simply not suitable for a Lab Cache - just as some locations are not suitable for a physical cache.

[+baer2006]

17 minutes ago, Hügh said:

This is because, this...

 

7 hours ago, Deepdiggingmole said:

Though obviously you have to get to that stage to unlock the question.

 

...is not necessarily the case. People have their magical ways of teleporting through the geofence despite sitting on their couch.

Yes, indeed. In fact, I have seen two Lab Adventures lately, which were obviously designed to be played from the couch. The locations were very hard to reach and/or distributed all over the globe, and the answers could either be found on the internet, or were simply quoted explicitly in the location description.

[+Mausebiber]

I have seen ALs where a sign is at the location with a link to a web-page.  The page is a virtual guide and is talking and showing pictures about the monument in front of you.  The question to answer can be found by listening and viewing the guide.

[+CAVinoGal]

12 hours ago, Deepdiggingmole said:

can they be something you have to research on the internet.

 Guidelines:
 

5 hours ago, Hügh said:

 

The answer(s) is a code that is found or deciphered at the Location to prove that the player was there....Choose Location answers that are unique and discreet to prevent players from finding the answer online.

 

The geofencing doesn't guarantee someone has visited your lab location(s).  Andif the question is one that needs internet research to answer, then you don't need to visit the lab location once you know the question...

 

Part of the "adventure" in adventure labs, for me, is exploring wherever the lab takes me to, and looking for the answers to the questions makes me explore the area, and look a bit closer at the location.  I need to read a plaque, or find a date on a cornerstone, or look for someone's name carved into a stone.  I'd rather do that than stand there on my phone doing research! (That's just my initial reaction, and the guidelines seem to back it up)  The idea is to physically visit the location to SEE what is there!

[+barefootjeff]

6 hours ago, baer2006 said:

In fact I would say that almost every worthwhile location offers something, which can be used as answer for an AL question. Exceptions may exist, but then this location is IMHO simply not suitable for a Lab Cache - just as some locations are not suitable for a physical cache.

 

I received another credit a couple of months ago but I'm struggling to come up with a good place to deploy it. There are plenty of interesting places to visit, such as this lookout above the village of Pearl Beach, but there's no signage there or even names carved in the rock and I haven't been able to come up with a satisfactory question to ask.

 

 

I'd thought of maybe something like "Which of these local landmarks can't be seen from here?" with a multi-choice answer, but that assumes a level of local knowledge that visitors to the area (who'll probably make up the bulk of finders) won't have.

 

The same is true of many of the other interesting places in the national parks around here. These would be ideal places for an AL since getting permission for physical cache placement can be difficult, but there's almost no signage or structures except at the car parks and a few track junctions so coming up with something to ask an unambiguous question about is problematic.

[+Goldenwattle]

Just now, barefootjeff said:

with a multi-choice answer, but that assumes a level of local knowledge that visitors to the area (who'll probably make up the bulk of finders) won't have.

That doesn't matter, as if the first answer doesn't work, they can go through the list until one does work.

 

I was given an AL too, but I've never, and at this time, have no intention of using it. I like caches I can check and keep control of; ie. delete armchair loggers.

[+barefootjeff]

3 minutes ago, Goldenwattle said:

That doesn't matter, as if the first answer doesn't work, they can go through the list until one does work.

 

It would matter to me. If I was doing an AL and had to just guess a multi-choice answer because there was no way to deduce the answer from what's at the location, I'd find it a pretty unrewarding experience and would likely give it a one-star rating.

[+Goldenwattle]

3 minutes ago, barefootjeff said:

 

It would matter to me. If I was doing an AL and had to just guess a multi-choice answer because there was no way to deduce the answer from what's at the location, I'd find it a pretty unrewarding experience and would likely give it a one-star rating.

Well that's what ALs can be.

[+barefootjeff]

1 hour ago, Goldenwattle said:

Well that's what ALs can be.

 

But not mine. If it goes ahead, I want it to be an enjoyable experience that's a bit off the beaten track, with unambiguous questions that at least involve taking in something of the location. Even a "count the fenceposts" question would have to be a last resort for me, but most of the locations I've thought about don't even have those.

[+HHL]

8 hours ago, barefootjeff said:

but there's no signage there or even names carved in the rock and I haven't been able to come up with a satisfactory question to ask.

 

You could ask which elevation the searcher is located on top of the rocks. (rounded to the next round 10 m value).

[+Deepdiggingmole]

Thanks for the responses - the one with the reference to the guideline in the builder page does answer my Q - though I guess it isn't set in stone
I have done around 280 stages from the 50+ ALs that I have completed and came across one where the answer was not found at the location of the relevant stage - we thought we had missed it and so googled the answer resulting in that stage being completed. When we asked the ALO they responded by saying googling was fine but the answer could be found in many places around the town - just not at stage location !!!

This is the only stage where we have had to seek the answer from somewhere else and that does seem to go against the guideline and almost does make you wonder why you were taken to that place if you couldn't find the answer to the Q there.

[+Deepdiggingmole]

On 6/27/2022 at 4:48 PM, Hügh said:

...is not necessarily the case. People have their magical ways of teleporting through the geofence despite sitting on their couch.

Yes, very aware of this - I was using the analogy that the game was being done correctly :-) 

[+barefootjeff]

On 6/28/2022 at 4:40 PM, HHL said:

You could ask which elevation the searcher is located on top of the rocks. (rounded to the next round 10 m value).

 

Hmm, I'm not sure how well that would go. I was just out visiting the "Relics" location on my "Wreck of the Maitland" AL. Standing at that location, the app was showing my elevation to be 30.4 metres even though the sea, right on low tide, was lapping on the rocks just a couple of metres below me.

 

 

It could be there's a local anomaly between the zero metres elevation in the WGS84 spheroid and the actual sea level, as I've noticed a similar error with the altitude displayed on my car's satnav, but 30 metres seems a pretty big anomaly.

[+barefootjeff]

On 6/30/2022 at 2:37 PM, barefootjeff said:

It could be there's a local anomaly between the zero metres elevation in the WGS84 spheroid and the actual sea level, as I've noticed a similar error with the altitude displayed on my car's satnav, but 30 metres seems a pretty big anomaly.

 

Doing a bit more research on this, it appears there are quite big discrepancies between the WGS84 spheroid's elevation datum and the actual sea level, due to variations in the density of the Earth in different regions of the planet causing gravitational hills and valleys. The rotation of the Earth and movement of ocean currents also cause further variations. Topographic maps are generally referenced to the local sea level which may be quite different to what a GPSr shows for the elevation. To further complicate things, some more sophisticated GPSrs include lookup tables by location to compensate for the variations. In short, then, asking for the elevation at a location would likely be a problematic AL question unless it's at a location where the spheroid's elevation datum and the actual sea level coincide.