Pokemon Go

For all your general chit chat, caching or not.
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Zalgariath
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Re: Pokemon Go

Post by Zalgariath » 25 July 16 6:46 pm

I was beating the crap out of Dragons with a Clarfable today. I didnt know about Fairy type as it is newer. That tool link showed me Drags are weak to them :twisted: ...in between caches that is. :oops:

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Yurt
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Re: Pokemon Go

Post by Yurt » 29 July 16 9:25 pm

I've had a look at it and am amazed at the amount of data to put it together. I just mean the Poke-stops - all the memorials, sporting fields and churches (are mosques and temples included?) with photos included. Did someone go out and take photos of all the objects? I thought originally it may have been shots taken from Google StreetView but there are a couple out in the bush on the Great North Walk near me. You can see they've been taken with a flash at night.

I wonder who is the oldest player out there...

Laighside Legends
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Re: Pokemon Go

Post by Laighside Legends » 29 July 16 11:24 pm

Yurt wrote:I've had a look at it and am amazed at the amount of data to put it together. I just mean the Poke-stops - all the memorials, sporting fields and churches (are mosques and temples included?) with photos included. Did someone go out and take photos of all the objects? I thought originally it may have been shots taken from Google StreetView but there are a couple out in the bush on the Great North Walk near me. You can see they've been taken with a flash at night.

I wonder who is the oldest player out there...
From what I've been told, the stops are a copy and paste from Ingress. Hence the photos where taken by Ingress players years ago.

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Zalgariath
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Re: Pokemon Go

Post by Zalgariath » 29 July 16 11:45 pm

Yep the game engine, data, playfield and mechanics are all from Ingress. Players contributed all the points and basically Pokemon GO is a skin of Ingress. Im sure the two will diverge in the future. (Much like Munzee started as a clone of caching but now is a very different game).

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CraigRat
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Re: Pokemon Go

Post by CraigRat » 31 July 16 6:07 pm

Played it for a bit today, I'm a little bit miffed about the lack of atribution of portal/pokestop photos.... but I'll get over it I suppose....

Amazing how many people were wandering about in Devonport today playing. If geocaching attracted 1% of these players the game would become quite busy!

GC are saying they are having a record amount of signups, but as we have seen statistically, signups does not equal more active players.

Interestingly this week I was privvy to a conversation re: Pokemon Go/Ingress/Geocaching (the people did not know of my involvement in geocaching)... and sadly the 3 people had all tried it but we of the opinion that is was about finding 'thumb sized'objects hidden around the place and that it gets old quickly :cry: Wife had a similar conversation with a co-worker of hers too... Part of me dies when I hear this, but I cannot refute it based on the caches here in Launnie now.... :cry: :cry:
Does the GC free app only allow certain sizes now or something?


Anyhoo, I'm now level 7 and on the orange team, whatever that means.... Can't say it grabs me like Ingress or caching did, but I can see why it's got that mass appeal!

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Re: Pokemon Go

Post by MavEtJu » 31 July 16 7:52 pm

CraigRat wrote:Interestingly this week I was privvy to a conversation re: Pokemon Go/Ingress/Geocaching (the people did not know of my involvement in geocaching)... and sadly the 3 people had all tried it but we of the opinion that is was about finding 'thumb sized'objects hidden around the place and that it gets old quickly :cry: Wife had a similar conversation with a co-worker of hers too... Part of me dies when I hear this, but I cannot refute it based on the caches here in Launnie now.... :cry: :cry:
Does the GC free app only allow certain sizes now or something?
I've complained about it a lot, this whole new approach from Groundspeak on how to deal with newbies and limiting them to only see certain sizes pissed me off because it will harm the game for newbies. See also: https://www.reddit.com/r/geocaching/com ... _wrong_to/

Even if they allowed you to import the GPX file you downloaded from their website or enter the coordinates yourself, that would already make it a whole lot better but no....

:roll:

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Re: Pokemon Go

Post by MavEtJu » 31 July 16 8:10 pm

CraigRat wrote: GC are saying they are having a record amount of signups, but as we have seen statistically, signups does not equal more active players.
I don't believe for a second that this is the case. The only reason their opinion gets asked if because journalists will go from "Hold on, didn't we already have a GPS based game, wasn't that something like geoscratching?" and figure out that the name was actually geocaching.

The only two things these games have in common is that they use the GPS system to determine the location of you, for the rest they have nothing in common:

- Accuracy: I can catch a pokemon when I'm on the train, I don't see me doing that for a container.
- Problem solving: All you need to do come close to it, you don't need to find something hidden.
- Replay: You have to capture the gym over and over and over and over again. Just like yesterday and the day before, and tomorrow and the day after. (Don't start me on how easy it is to bring down a level 6 gym, and how bloody difficult it is on build one)
- User contribution: It's a different game's database they use and you cannot add anything. I would be so much more happy if some of the "this is a park" signs got replaced by some of the art/building features inside the park.
- Community building: I honestly don't see the need for a PokemonNSW association or a local facebook group on it.

So, tell me, how much do geocaching and pokemon have in common *besides* the GPS system to determine the location of you?

And then Groundspeak going from "We were here first and everybody should give it a try (but we have a crap app so please don't really please please don't)" really makes me go from "You were here first and dropped the ball on non-container based caches, with a crappy app and now you are being taken over left and right by people who can do things better. You lose."

Anyway, dinner time.

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Yurt
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Re: Pokemon Go

Post by Yurt » 31 July 16 9:14 pm

Is it just because 90% of people seem to have Iphones that they gravitate to the sucky (so I'm told) app of Groundspeak vs the very handy c:geo - I assume that's Android only still?

I can never quite get over how many people have the same phone. It's the default 'Nokia' when someone walks into a telecom shop I guess.

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Happy Chappies
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Re: Pokemon Go

Post by Happy Chappies » 01 August 16 10:16 am

MavEtJu wrote:
CraigRat wrote: GC are saying they are having a record amount of signups, but as we have seen statistically, signups does not equal more active players.
I don't believe for a second that this is the case. The only reason their opinion gets asked if because journalists will go from "Hold on, didn't we already have a GPS based game, wasn't that something like geoscratching?" and figure out that the name was actually geocaching.

The only two things these games have in common is that they use the GPS system to determine the location of you, for the rest they have nothing in common:

- Accuracy: I can catch a pokemon when I'm on the train, I don't see me doing that for a container.
- Problem solving: All you need to do come close to it, you don't need to find something hidden.
- Replay: You have to capture the gym over and over and over and over again. Just like yesterday and the day before, and tomorrow and the day after. (Don't start me on how easy it is to bring down a level 6 gym, and how bloody difficult it is on build one)
- User contribution: It's a different game's database they use and you cannot add anything. I would be so much more happy if some of the "this is a park" signs got replaced by some of the art/building features inside the park.
- Community building: I honestly don't see the need for a PokemonNSW association or a local facebook group on it.

So, tell me, how much do geocaching and pokemon have in common *besides* the GPS system to determine the location of you?

And then Groundspeak going from "We were here first and everybody should give it a try (but we have a crap app so please don't really please please don't)" really makes me go from "You were here first and dropped the ball on non-container based caches, with a crappy app and now you are being taken over left and right by people who can do things better. You lose."

Anyway, dinner time.
You've got some fair points there, but we've already seen first hand the crossover affect.

Some friends of ours, becoming aware of GPS-related games through the PokemonGo frenzy, and through that and their kids chatting at school, etc. become aware of 'other' GPS games that exist out there. Results in us taking them out on a bike ride yesterday, 8 of us in total, cherry picking some of the best caches in our local area. They had a great time... and I doubt it would have occured without the PokemonGo hysteria...

They may indeed be quite different games, but there's enough similarity to create some migration. And I have no doubt there'll be a swag of local/team based facebook groups already established to help teams coordinate some gym battles, etc.

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Re: Pokemon Go

Post by caughtatwork » 01 August 16 10:47 am

CraigRat wrote:Anyhoo, I'm now level 7 and on the orange team, whatever that means.... Can't say it grabs me like Ingress or caching did, but I can see why it's got that mass appeal!
Please don't tell me you picked Instinct? You are no longer a friend of mine :-) GO TEAM VALOR!

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caughtatwork
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Re: Pokemon Go

Post by caughtatwork » 01 August 16 11:03 am

On topic (GO TEAM VALOR!) I play both.

I go geocaching with my wife on one day a weekend (after lunch and before dinner, so about 3 or 4 hours), generally trying to find a set of caches that we can walk to rather than find, drive 200m, find, drive 200m, etc, etc. Not saying power trails are great, but they give the opportunity for a stroll / walk provided they're not along a road where it's dangerous to park and walk. Some of the power trails that are along narrow dirt roads are awful to act safely around. Finding too many "mint tins" art the moment http://geocaching.com.au/cacher/caughta ... ze_percent with about 90% of all my cache finds being micro or small. Regular caches are a dying thing and I'm fairly certain that's causing a problem in the game. Who wants to find a rusty tin with a wet log and oversized plastic bag in a ditch near the back of Woolies? I do but don't like it. I really wish we could fix this dump and run mentality and the use of inappropriate containers because they're cheap. I suppose I can dream on.

I go play Pokemon GO! with the youngest (16) a night or two a week (after dinner and before bed) to collect some pokeballs for the remainder of the week and then one day a weekend (provided homework is done). It gives us a chance to be together and talk while either walking around between the half dozen pokestops or sitting in the car when it's wet and windy, farming pokemon. There is no risk of sharps being around that I stick my hands into, or spiders, or trying to find that "really funny needle in a haystack" cache or "work out what I'm thinking style puzzle" or "haha, this sign is confusing so I'll use it in my multi and ask you to guess whether a weed is a plant or not". It's a simpler, more rewarding type of activity in some cases. I can see the pokestop from a long way away, I can stop past and collect my wares and then move on much easier than trying to find what someone thinks is clever (when I've found 100 of them). It's a different game, to put it simply.

We wouldn't go geocaching in the dark or when it's wet and windy, but I can get out and be with the kids in that weather and time of day so I get served by both games in different situations. I find neither better than the other. They both serve me differently and I'm happy at the moment playing both of them. When the kids give up, then I probably will too.

Oh, and GO TEAM VALOR!
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CraigRat
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Re: Pokemon Go

Post by CraigRat » 01 August 16 1:14 pm

caughtatwork wrote:
CraigRat wrote:Anyhoo, I'm now level 7 and on the orange team, whatever that means.... Can't say it grabs me like Ingress or caching did, but I can see why it's got that mass appeal!
Please don't tell me you picked Instinct? You are no longer a friend of mine :-) GO TEAM VALOR!
If that's the orange one, then yep.

Pffffft.

Laighside Legends
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Re: Pokemon Go

Post by Laighside Legends » 01 August 16 1:22 pm

MavEtJu wrote:So, tell me, how much do geocaching and pokemon have in common *besides* the GPS system to determine the location of you?
I think the main similarity is the fact that you have to go outside and explore in order to play - you can't do it at home from your computer.

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Re: Pokemon Go

Post by caughtatwork » 01 August 16 2:09 pm

Laighside Legends wrote:
MavEtJu wrote:So, tell me, how much do geocaching and pokemon have in common *besides* the GPS system to determine the location of you?
I think the main similarity is the fact that you have to go outside and explore in order to play - you can't do it at home from your computer.
To be contrary, of course you can. You can "cheat" at both games and do them both from your computer.

Debugging apps with false lat / lon are not rocket science. Look at Munzees as examples. People ending up everywhere on earth based on a false lat / lon in debug mode. Whether the backend has a catch or not is to be proven. I suspect yes, but I also suspect they use is sparingly as devices are known to gather spurious lat / lon and shoot your all over the place on occasion. I suspect Niantic have a catch but they don't use it unless proven beyond a doubt. There is little incentive in people "cheating" as you don't "win" anything. You only get a few different colour pixels on a screen and possible an enlarged male member (or to your own eyes that what it looks like).

With geocaching, you just log. Most times people will not look at their log book and check your name is in there. If you are careful (like with Pokemon Go) and log a few in the same aream, then move on in a day or so and log a few more in a different area, I'd guiess no-one will catch you. And even if they do, you just start somewhere else in a day or so and they have no way to connect your account to the suspect ones in NZ last week and Canada this week and the USA next week. I know maybe a handful of people who check their log books. With the volume of mush I have come across in the last year, I'd guess 1 in 100 or maybe 1 in 500 get regular maintenance and log book checks. So as long as you're covert, you can "cheat" in geocaching from your computer at home.

What's the point though? That's where the psychology of people comes into play. People want to "win" even at games that have no "winner". There are just, what's the appropriate word ? Oh, yeah, not family friendly :-)

To be honest I don't get the hatred (there's few other words) for one from the other. When the brouhaha happened in one of the facebook groups recently, it was the same players who held (and still hold) such hatred for GCA. It seems that there is a purest view of what you can use a GPS for an it HAS to be geocaching and it HAS to be the geocaching.com game. Anything else is just Holden / Ford, Microsoft / Apple and one / other comparisons. Let people play games as they would like and the whole world would get along a lot better than we do right now.

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Yurt
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Re: Pokemon Go

Post by Yurt » 01 August 16 5:17 pm

On cheating my teen says there's a dodgy app that lets you move around the world by just clicking moves on your screen until you get to where you want to go. It's only on the Apple phones I'm told. That way they can get to Pokemon Central (that's Rhodes in Sydney) and do their worst.

I'm now chasing Pokemon with the teen who is over geocaching (thanks to mint tins and rivets) except for bushwalks or interesting field puzzles. We made the Rhodes pilgrimage on the weekend. We thought we were in a popular spot as we saw about half a dozen players. Then we went up some steps and found ourselves in Peg Paterson Park and at least 200 players! You could walk around naked (if that's your thing) there and no one would notice with their faces buried in their devices.

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