Hyde Park Quest Of The Avatar Wherigo Cache

This is a geocache that requires 2 Wherigo cartridges to be played to get the northings and westings coordinates for the final geocache.

This is a tribute to the 1985 role playing fantasy game Ultima IV: Quest Of The Avatar. Each Wherigo cartridge comprises one part of the adventure. The game takes place in Kensington Gardens and Hyde Park.

Ultima IV: Quest of the Avatar was the 4th game in a series of Ultima fantasy role-playing computer games made by Lord British (also a geocacher incidentally!) and released in 1985 with 8-bit graphics which I have tried to reproduce here using free tilesets. Ultima IV was different from the previous Ultimas in the sense that it no longer had the standard storyline of good player versus evil wizard, since the evil wizard Mondain had been vanquished in Ultima III. The rather unique goal of Ultima IV was actually for the player to defeat evil within themselves and become an Avatar, i.e to achieve enlightenment in all eight virtues and then proceed to discover the Codex of Ultimate Wisdom, which was hidden in a dangerous dungeon packed with nefarious demons and monsters to do battle with.

Translating a computer game into a Wherigo of course, presented many intriguing challenges and part of the problem was the sheer grind and repetition in the original computer game (that one of us remembers well!). So instead of mastering eight virtues, in this Wherigo, we only need to master three virtues to become an Avatar. Much of the original game's storyline has also been shortened considerably or condensed, and while some interactions follow the original computer game closely, we have used our creative license on most of the cartridge content. I have tried to recreate the atmosphere of the original Ultima including some of the tileset and retro dungeon graphics (for Ultima geeks) but the main aim is to give geocachers an enjoyable and engaging adventure.

For those interested in the original game, you can play it for free on emulator software, feel free to contact us for further information.

Part I (the first cartridge) should be played first and takes place entirely within Kensington Gardens. It gives the latitudinal coordinates (northings) and makes references to Part II which you may need. The aim of Part I is to become an Avatar. You start off travelling to the land of Britannia where you can visit castles and towns, in no particular order, to discover more about your quest. Basically, you need to master these THREE virtues to become an Avatar:

• Compassion
• Humility
• Valour

Your decisions in the game may increase or decrease each virtue. You need to seek the Rune for each virtue in order to travel to the Shrine whereupon you meditate upon the virtue in order to master it completely. As there are three virtues, you need to do this three times, while visiting different towns in Britannia and encountering numerous situations. If you get killed in the game, you can be resurrected but if you make some bad decisions, you may find that sometimes you will not be able to proceed - alas, you will have failed and need to try again. Saving the game often is recommended, but in general, in part I, only save the game when you are in a town or castle. Saving the game while you are travelling between towns or towards a shrine may result in unexpected consequences if you quit and return another day to resume gameplay. Give yourself at least 2-3 hours to complete the first cartridge. Good common sense should guide you through!

Part II (the second cartridge) will give you the longitudinal coordinates as well as the hint for the final physical geocache. You will need to play Part I first to appreciate most aspects of Part II so please play them in the correct order. Part II takes place almost entirely in Hyde Park. You are now an Avatar and you need to continue your quest to search for the Codex of Ultimate Wisdom, which is rumoured to be hidden in a really scary dungeon called the Abyss. You will have to search first for three stones (representing each virtue you possess) - red (for valour), yellow (for compassion) and black (for humility) and they are to be found inside dungeons scattered throughout Britannia. Once you have all the stones, and the necessary kit to survive (you will find out what this is in due course) then you have to make your way to the Abyss where you will have to fight your way to the Codex itself. You can complete this cartridge in 2-3 hours but it may also take considerably longer.

Of course you MUST find the final physical geocache and sign the logbook in order to log your find on geocaching.com.

However, you can mark each Wherigo as 'complete' once you finish each cartridge and obtain the completion codes.

Make sure you have sufficient storage space in your devices. Find out more about Wherigos at Wherigo.com

Part I: Download Hyde Park Ultima I

Part II: Download Hyde Park Ultima II

This game is more suited for experienced Wherigo users.

You start off in Britannia with a leather pouch containing some gold coins and a health orb. Keep track of your gold coins (money) with the pouch, and your health by looking at the orb. There is no upper limit to your health points, but if they fall to 0 or below, you die. You will have to seek Lord British for resurrection. Remember, death isn't the end of everything but bad decisions can doom you to failure!

These cartridges are not 'linear' so sometimes multiple zones may appear (especially in villages and castles) and they can be visited in any order. However, make sure you visit every one and converse with all the characters, you don't want to miss a thing! There are also invisible zones so if someone tells you to look under a rock that you can also actually see in physical reality, don't assume that just because there isn't a zone visible in your Wherigo app, that you shouldn't walk there and have a look.

Items can be picked up and examined, food can be eaten, armour can (or must!) be worn, weapons must always be wielded or you will end up fighting merely with your fists. Dropped items will always vanish, so be careful not to drop anything important! When it is suggested that you wait at a place, do it... it's always good to stop and take some time off to smell the roses....

I have tried to follow a RPG-style turn-based battle system here with the Wherigo. When you confront an aggressive opponent, you have a choice to Attack (and sometimes also to Flee). Hitting "Attack" once wounds your opponent but may not kill him/her outright. You will have to hit "Attack" repeatedly until you defeat your opponent, you are killed or you decide to flee or walk away. Each time you hit "Attack", remember that your opponent has the opportunity to strike you back as well. Every time you are attacked and wounded by an opponent, your health points go down. Keep track of your health points using the health orb.

Also for Part I, while you are striving for Avatarhood, remember that fleeing monsters may decrease your Valour but declining to fight with some others will also increase your Compassion.

• Make sure you visit every zone and interact with every character you see, as well as examine every item you come across. Take careful note of what some of them tell you.
• Bring a notebook and pen to jot down the things you learn about along the way!
• Walking in/out of a zone will cause an Input screen to come up again, if you happen to type in the wrong answer the first time.
• When answering questions that require typing, use capitals (you will be reminded) and digits (if the answers are numbers).
• Always remember to wear your armour and wield your weapon!
• Don't try to cheat the game! You have been warned....

• It is very, very important that you CHECK your GPS/smartphone device every 30-60 seconds when you are walking outside a town or castle. You do not have to do this while you are wandering between zones in a town or castle, but when you're walking in between towns or visiting shrines, you MUST always check your device because you may be alerted about unexpected monster attacks. It will affect your gameplay adversely if you ignore all these messages.
• Make sure you save your game only when you're inside a town or castle. Saving while you're walking to or away from a shrine may have unexpected effects if you intend to return the next day to resume gameplay. However, you CAN save at any point if you intend to continue playing the cartridge.
• Buy just ONE of any item. If you buy the same item twice, it will take your money but you will still only end up with the one item.
• In conversations, your responses are important, think carefully before you answer. Your answers may often affect your virtues so be alert!
• The goal of the cartridge is to master the three virtues and thus become an Avatar. Always keep this goal in mind.

• Unlike the first cartridge, you do not have to keep checking your GPS/smartphone device periodically for unexpected zones. You will not get ambushed unexpectedly in this game.
• Try and increase your health points whenever you are presented with the opportunity.
• You can save your game frequently at any stage. Part II can be played in a single session or over several sessions.
• The goal of the cartridge is to obtain all 3 stones (corresponding to the 3 virtues) and then journey to the Abyss, where you will reach your ultimate goal, the Codex.

Part I requires 1.2MB of free space and Part II just under 1MB. Ensure that your GPSr or smartphone batteries are fully charged when starting off and have spares if necessary. Many devices can be slow and unresponsive occasionally so please avoid pressing any buttons more than once unless you are absolutely SURE you need to (especially those Yes/No answers). Wait for at least 10-15 seconds for a response from the device.

Both cartridges have been tested successfully on the Oregon 200 and two popular smartphone flavours. (iPhone users may potentially experience some cosmetic glitches that do not affect gameplay, please contact us for details). Because of the multiplicity of devices (as well as the software that run on them), we cannot predict or prevent all glitches, so your mileage may vary! Save frequently at the appropriate stages. Play at your own risk! But most importantly, we hope you have as much fun playing it as we did while creating it!

All Wherigo gameplay takes place in Hyde Park and Kensington Gardens and will be subject to Royal Parks opening times. The final cache location is available 24 hours. Care has been taken to avoid areas generally used for longer term events (i.e Winter Wonderland) although some areas of the park may be occasionally closed off because of one-day events, please check the relevant parks website for information. For the most part, Wherigo gameplay should be unaffected. For Part I, the nearest tube station is High Street Kensington. For Part II, the nearest tube is Lancaster Gate.

The original creator of the Ultima computer games, Lord British. All text, code and graphics in the cartridge were created by, and belong to Artemisworks. The only graphics from the original game are the starting images for both cartridges. Many thanks also go to Nick (sTeamTraen) for the indispensable Earwigo web tool. And cheers to our friends Qeams and TitanRex who blindtested part I for us.

Congratulations to -KROP- for a speedy FTF (in the dark!)