Kenora: A Geologic Journey
In this intuitive wherigo cartridge, you play the role of a student volunteer, who opts to visit a dozen different geologic sites, on behalf of a professor who is desperate for a collection of twelve samples. Upon completion of this collection, you must 'call' the professor, who will arrange a swap out of the sample collection for the coordinates to his secret stash. At each site, you are treated to examples of the geologic diversity of the Kenora area. With images and descriptive text, each site highlights Kenora's geological past and present.
The journey will last and hour or two, by car, or bike. You will travel westward from Reddens Campground near the Trans-Can bypass junction, near the coordinates listed for this cache. You will work your way over to the western end of Keewatin, via a tour of Kenora. As you travel, be aware that most zones are 'forgiving' in size, to account for possible erratic singles that may hide zones all together, so they should be easily found.
A fair amount of the images and technical descriptions were extracted from a document published in 2000 by the Ontario Ministry of Northern Development, Mining, and Forestry. A nice high quality pdf of the document can be viewed here . Materials adapted for Wherigo by moonsocket. :)
To play, all you need is an app installed on any smart phone, or a pocket PC device, or a higher end Garmin GPS device.
If you have never tried a wherigo cache before, find details about them at wherigo.com .
IMPORTANT:
If you are planning on doing this cache as a driving tour, you MUST do it with a navigator/narrator. In testing this cartridge, I quickly discovered that there is far too much text and prompts to be done solo. If you are going solo, take your time to park in each zone to read the text at each location. Each zone is large enough to activate in nearby parking areas. Please take the navigator/narrator option.
Have fun, learn a little, and enjoy the scenery on your tour!
Test History and Known Issues:
Build 1.0 Test - April 05, 2011
A. Android and Iphone Apps:“Wheryougo” app for the Android (on Samsung Galaxy S Vibrant) and “PiGo” App for Iphone 4
Issues: GPSr LAG: Both had similar issues. The GPSr device in the phones lag 200+ metres behind the Garmin Colorado as you drive through each location. Sometimes you have to slow right down as you approach zones. When the app says you are 200m away from the zone, you are actually in the zone and the device just has to catch up. Often, even with extended zones in the build, players must slow down or even pull to the shoulder to let the phone catch up. This is an issue with the design of the phone, not the cartridge itself. The cartridge plays as intended, firing all aspects when necessary. The cartridge is fully functional with these apps. Be sure to save often in cache the app crashes. Wherigo apps are still mostly in early development.
B. Garmin Colorado 300
Issues: In build 1.0, there were MAJOR issues. I suspect these issues also will apply to other high-end Garmin devices like the Oregon. The Issue: Items in your inventory are not handled properly when clicked. This affects the ability of the player to reach the final coordinates. One item requires that you contact the professor in the game to get the final coordinates; this step is not working at the moment on this device, but does work on smartphones. I VERSION 1.1 IS NOW AVAILABLE WITH FIXES FOR THESE ISSUES.
