Big Multis

[+zygote2k]

what is the size limit for multis? Is 100 ridiculous?

[+Team GPSaxophone]

Put it this way, tthe harder it is, the fewer visitors you will have.

3 to 4 stages seems to be ideal

[+Seamus]

To the best of my knowledge, there's no actual limit to the size of the chain in a multicache, but you must keep in mind that as the number of stops increases, it becomes more likely that something will go wrong with one of the stages and prevent people from completing the cache.

 

Frustration can set in quickly if you don't tell people how many steps they'll be dealing with at the outset. I've seen several multis with logs to the effect of, "We did the first three steps, but not knowing how many more of these things we were going to have to find, we gave up on it". If it's only a handful of steps, you're probably safe to give a rough estimate of completion time. any more, and I'd suggest stating the numbmer outright, so people know what they're in for.

 

Attention span is another important factor. I've seen people quote a 4-stage multi as being too many stages for them. The amount of interaction at each stage is a factor in this as well; people are probably more likely to do more stages if there's some sort of puzzle or mini-cache at each stage rather than a simple tag with a new set of coordinates.

 

Myself, I might consider completing up to 6 or 7 steps, possibly as many as 10 if there was an interesting progression, puzzle, or story involved with the cache that engaged my interest, which resulted in a clear sense of getting somewhere with it. I can't imagine being the least bit interested in doing a multi with even five stages if all I was doing was running from point to point finding little numbered tags with a new set of coords on them.

 

...and yes, I'd say one hundred is far, far too many stages, unless you're giving away something like a new car to everyone who makes it all the way through the progression.

[+zygote2k]

what if all 100 were in a 50' radius?

[+Team DEMP]

what if all 100 were in a 50' radius?

I think each stage of a multi needs to also adhere to the .10 miles (528 feet) rule.

[+Seamus]

what if all 100 were in a 50' radius?

...then I would really wonder why you're making a multi.

 

Seriously, a 50 foot radius is well within the degree of error on most GPS receivers in real-world usage conditions. It would be extremely difficult to narrow it down to a single point within that radius.

[+IV_Warrior]

what if all 100 were in a 50' radius?

1. It most likely wouldn't get approved. The stages would be too close for people to know they were finding the right stage.

2. I wouldn't even waste my time, it seem kinda pointless to go to 1 spot to look for 100 different stages. I might visit the spot just to see what was there, but wouldn't take the time to do the cache.

[+zygote2k]

I can't give away too many details. the possibility exists to finish the cache within 1 hour and you might only have to visit 15 depending on how well you can find the beginning stage. Not a lot of walking and plenty of frustrations for the ones that give up too quickly.

[+Seamus]

I'm with IV here. I might visit to see how you execute such a cache, but probably wouldn't bother sorting through a bunch of false leads to find the "real" one.

 

To each his own, I guess. I'm sure some people would be thrilled to be faced with the prospect of possibly having to check all 100 points in order to find the actual goal of the cache. Not my particular cup of napalm, though.

[+briansnat]

I think each stage of a multi needs to also adhere to the .10 miles (528 feet) rule.

Not really. Each stage has to be .1 mile from another cache. It doesn't matter within the same cache, but you want the stages far enough apart so you don't accidently find one while looking for another.

 

And there is no limit as to the number of stages and yes, 100 is ridiculious.

[+Team GPSaxophone]

I can't give away too many details. the possibility exists to finish the cache within 1 hour and you might only have to visit 15 depending on how well you can find the beginning stage. Not a lot of walking and plenty of frustrations for the ones that give up too quickly.

Ok, I think I know what you're going for here. Micro Dilemma (GCBFBF) is a 12-step multi where each stage gives you two sets of coords. You can solve it in as little as 5 steps, of find all 12 to get to the end.

[+norbu]

there is a multi in my area, called snakes and ladders. It has a bunch of waypoints. I won't give away how many, as some of the san diego crowd may be reading. If you want to know, IM me. it has less than 50 though, so I doubt that 100 would be realistic.

[+E = Mc2]

We have a 12 stage multi calledGeneral Morgan's Dirty Dozen(GCHCC3) in my area which requires roughly 100 miles of driving to complete. It took me 138 miles and more than six hours to do it, but I really enjoyed myself. I'd have to agree with the majority, though, that 100 stages is just a bit ridiculous.

[+Divine]

Only two stages in this one, but the distance between them is 716 km.

[+brdad]

My You Sank My Battleship! (GCB688) by brdad (4/2) cache is 7-26 stages all within one city and seems to be well received. Larger multis can work if they can be made interesting enough. Variety is key - be different!

[SunshineSnuz]

I guess my question is, how in the world could one maintain a hundred steps in a multi? I mean, you would basically have to make sure that all 100 were operational at the same time so it wouldn't impede the progress of a cacher working on it.

It's quite different, IMHO, than a cacher owning 100 different caches. If one needs to be down for maintenance he doesn't have to the disable the other 99 until the cache in question is repaired.

 

I have started a couple multi-caches, one the cache owner is GREAT about getting out and checking on the stages quite often. He has even commented that he did not realize that it was going to be so much work. That's only a 9 stage multi but most are in high traffic areas. The other, well... I'm not sure. Have seen many people report missing redirectors but no word from the owner.

 

Good luck on whatever you decide but I agree with the others, 100 is just too much.

[+golem3]

There is a cache in my area called Applesauce?? No, not applesauce by Tiwica that has quite a few stages (coords on tags posted throughout the area) along with "teaser tags" that are really annoying to find (instead of a coordinate tag). I had tons of fun on this one though, so it was worth it. So far I believe I have found the most teaser tags - just 2 more to go.

[+Salvelinus]

Earlier this spring I placed This Multi. It is a 9 stages long and covers about 70 miles.

 

When you do this cache you become part of a story I wanted to tell. Each location was researched as being authenic,but I did use a bit of "storytelling" to bring the areas to life. I could think of no better way to make a 70mile long, 9 stage multi interesting enough for cachers to want to do it. So far its been well received.

 

I think some of the discussion here is about multi-caches like This One. The owner did have maintenance issues with it so he decided to archive it.

 

Just wanted to point out two styles of "long" multi-caches. One that seems to be working well and another that really didn't.

 

Salvelinus

[+Lazyboy & Mitey Mite]

This is the biggest multi stage cache container I know of....

 

Oh, you meant biggest by number of stages?

 

More than two is silly

[+Salvelinus]

More than two is silly

Why is more than two silly?

[+strikeforce1]

what is the size limit for multis? Is 100 ridiculous?

Here's my .002 Four to five stages are reasonable, if able to get them right, and about an hour to do. Depending on locations and views, I wouldn't do a multi more than 10 stages as a max. Sf1

[+Lazyboy & Mitey Mite]

More than two is silly

Why is more than two silly?

Because if I'm going to run all over the valley looking for several waypoints I'd like to get credit for several finds. I won't bother with multi stage caches that waste my gas and time.

[+cmpalmer]

I've only done three multi's.

 

My favorite one so far had 8 steps (and math involved) and took me two long lunch breaks to finish. Another had 5 stops and I did it in under and hour. The last only had two, but the first stop was cool -- you drove to a certain location and tuned to a low-power FM station that was broadcasting the coordinates to the cache.

[PyroDave]

Hey do you have a link to the one that had the fm way point?

[+Stuey]

Hey do you have a link to the one that had the fm way point?

Click his name on the forum, click user stats, click the multi icon, you'll see the cache in question at the top.