Battleship Wherigo Cache
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Difficulty:
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Terrain:
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Size: 
(small)
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This is a
Wherigo geocache. The listed coordinates take you to a soccer
field in a new park, which closes at dark. The
park was highly anticipated by the locals; a large satellite dish
at the nearby gas station used to display the current year and the
park's name. Every year the park hadn't been constructed, someone
would paint the new year on the dish.
You can play the game of Battleship in this Wherigo cartridge.
Instructions are included in the cartridge, but I will go over all
you need to know in this cache description.
Starting the Game
When you arrive, stand in the middle of the soccer field, at the
posted coordinates. Make sure you have a good GPS signal. Run the
cartridge. In your inventory screen, you will see an item called
"Start Game". Select that. From there, you will see a button with
the text "Start Game". Click that and you'll see a message the
cartridge is building the game. On most Players, you will see the
main game screen when it is finished building the cartridge. On
others, you will have to dismiss the dialog.
Game Board Size
Technically, the game board's size is a circle with a radius of 125
feet, respective of where you were standing when you told the game
to start. I equate this to a soccer field because it's easier to
visualize.
Ships
The ships are scattered around the field and hidden from your view.
Each ship is composed of a certain number of zones that must all be
hit for a ship to be sunk (exactly like the traditional game).
Zones in a ship are spaced close to twenty feet from each other.
Ships can be oriented in any direction. While the zones are,
in fact, in a line, your GPS receiver's estimated position error
(EPE) may, at times, make it seem otherwise. I have double-checked
my math and operations in the code, so you may have to trust me on
this.
Ammunition
You have a set amount of ammunition, also called shells. There are
three calibers of shell. The larger the caliber, the wider the
damage radius and the fewer you have. A shell's quantity and damage
radius are displayed in the game. When you fire a shell at an area,
it damages all battleships within its area of effect. Thus,
it's possible to sink a destroyer or submarine with one 155mm
shell.
Firing a Shell
To fire a shell, stand in the area you wish to hit. Select your
inventory screen, then the caliber shell you wish to use. The
quantity you have left and that shell's damage area will be shown
underneath a picture of that shell. At the bottom of the screen
will be a button labeled "Fire!" If you wish to fire at the
location you're standing, click the button. The result of this
action will then be displayed.
Damaged Ships
When a ship's zone is damaged, that zone will be displayed in your
locations screen. Use this information to plan your next
attack.
Task List
The list of ships you have left to destroy is shown in your task
list, the fourth and bottom section of the main screen. This is
just a list; you cannot do anything in that section (this is the
nature of the tasks section).
Difficulty
It took me three tries to beat the cartridge with its current
settings. Even so, I decided to rate this as a 2.5 because you
could either get lucky or have a bad game. For the two games I
lost, though, I always had one ship remaining. Thus, the
cartridge's settings seem just about right.
Play Anywhere!
This is a Play Anywhere Wherigo cartridge. This means you can play
it anywhere in the world. To find the geocache, you must play the
game within twenty miles of the posted coordinates. If you wish to
find the cache, though, it is suggested you play the cartridge at
the posted coordinates as the cache is located within that
park.
Geocache
The geocache is a small Lock-N-Lock hidden in a traditional
fashion. When you complete the game, a geocache zone will be
displayed. Follow it to the cache.
Thank you to Night-Ranger for beta testing the cartridge and
bringing a few other beta testers with you. I have used many of
your suggestions in version 1.5 of the cartridge. As is my
geocaching policy concerning non-tribute, non-prize caches, the FTF
goes to the first people outside the beta tester group to find the
cache after it is published.
Logging Your Find
Don't forget to unlock the cartridge over at wherigo.com. I'm
trying to create fun and entertaining games for everyone, so, when
logging your experience, I'd like to ask you to leave some
constructive feedback: did you have fun, what was the hardest part,
was it what you were expecting, what Player you played with, what
things might be improved in the game, what problems you had
(unfortunately, I can't do anything to solve Player stability), if
you saw any spelling mistakes, etc
The more feedback I receive, the more ideas I'm able to use to
create stuff for you to play and enjoy! If you want, you can
contact me via email with your ideas, reviews, or suggestions if
you'd rather not leave them in a public log. If you have an idea
for a Wherigo cartridge or game you'd like to play, please feel
free to contact me as well.
Additional Hints
(Decrypt)
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