Dan Q

Tag: geocaching

Roomscale VR Still Rocks

Over the Christmas break I dug out my old HTC Vive VR gear, which I got way back in the Spring of 2016. Graphics card technology having come a long way1, it was now relatively simple to set up a fully-working “holodeck” in our living room with only a slight risk to the baubles on the Christmas tree.

For our younger child, this was his first experience of “roomscale VR”, which I maintain is the most magical thing about this specific kind of augmented reality. Six degrees of freedom for your head and each of your hands provides the critical level of immersion, for me.

And you know what: this ten-year-old hardware of mine still holds up and is still awesome!2

The kids and I have spent a few days dipping in and out of classics like theBlu, Beat Saber, Job Simulator, Vacation Simulator, Raw Data, and (in my case3) Half-Life: Alyx.

A tweenage girl in a black 'Hazbin Hotel' hoodie wears a VR headset; the screen behind her shows that she's drawn a picture featuring a rainbow background and the word 'CAR', while playing Job Simulator.
It doesn’t feel too heavy, but this first edition Vive sure is a big beast, isn’t it?

I’m moderately excited by the upcoming Steam Frame with its skinny headset, balanced weight, high-bandwidth wireless connectivity, foveated streaming, and built-in PC for basic gaming… but what’s with those controllers? Using AA batteries instead of a built-in rechargeable one feels like a step backwards, and the lack of a thumb “trackpad” seems a little limiting too. I’ll be waiting to see the reviews, thanks.

When I looked back at my blog to double-check that my Vive really is a decade old, I was reminded that I got it in the same month at Three Rings‘ 2016 hackathon, then called “DevCamp”, near Tintern4. This amused me, because I’m returning to Tintern this year, too, although on family holiday rather than Three Rings business. Maybe I’ll visit on a third occasion in another decade’s time, following another round of VR gaming?

Footnotes

1 The then-high-end graphics card I used to use to drive this rig got replaced many years ago… and then that replacement card in turn got replaced recently, at which point it became a hand-me-down for our media centre PC in the living room.

2 I’ve had the Vive hooked-up in the office since our house move in 2020, but there’s rarely been space for roomscale play there: just an occasional bit of Elite: Dangerous at my desk… which is still a good application of VR, but not remotely the same thing as being able to stand up and move around!

3 I figure Alyx be a little scary/intense for the kids, but I could be wrong. I think the biggest demonstration of how immersive the game can be in VR is the moment when you see how somebody can watch it played on the big screen and be fine but as soon as they’re in the headset and a combine zombie has you pinned-down in a railway carriage and it’s suddenly way too much!

4 Where, while doing a little geocaching, I messed-up a bonus cache’s coordinate calculation, realised my mistake, brute-forced the possible answers, narrowed it down to two… and then picked the wrong one and fell off a cliff.

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Dan Q found GC2BJTQ Noah’s Cache

This checkin to GC2BJTQ Noah's Cache reflects a geocaching.com log entry. See more of Dan's cache logs.

Came out for a walk with my Ruth and the kids. While Ruth sat on a rock and the kids went with their uncle up to explore a small cave above, I broke from the path to find this cache. QEF in the second host I looked at.

Annotated photo of Dan, a white man with blue hair, on a brackeney Lake District hillside, with arrows in the background identifying the location of 'fleeblewidget' and 'the kids'.

Took travel bug to move along, signed log, then went to retrieve the kids. TFTC.

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Dan Q wrote note for GC88ZY9 The Devil’s Quoits

This checkin to GC88ZY9 The Devil's Quoits reflects a geocaching.com log entry. See more of Dan's cache logs.

A local landowner has (controversially) decided to start enforcing their ownership of the land surrounding the lake at Dix Pit, and has erected new fences and private property signs to deter trespassers. So this evening, the geopup and I took a walk to the GZ to check that it’s still an achievable find.

Good news! It’s certainly still possible (though sometimes boggy, in the winter!) to get to The Devil’s Quoits and log this virtual while using only the permitted footpaths, whether coming from either the North or the South.

Dan in front of some standing stones at dusk.

You might find that your map hasn’t yet been updated to reflect the approved routes, but you shouldn’t struggle to get here. Just stick to the path and you’ll find the GZ. (And once I’ve seen how the local controversy resolves itself I’ll be sure to submit updates to OpenStreetMap to accurately reflect the eventual state of the paths around here!)

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Dan Q found GC76AG3 Hauta – Tomb

This checkin to GC76AG3 Hauta - Tomb reflects a geocaching.com log entry. See more of Dan's cache logs.

Found after an embarrassingly long hunt! After reading the hint I quickly spotted the correct hiding spot, but said to myself “no, it surely can’t be there” and moved on. Only on my third time walking past it did I think to actually try it, and sure enough, there it was! SL, TFTC, and greetings from Oxfordshire, UK!

Dan throws a thumbs up outside a sea fort gateway.

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Dan Q found GC6TJ54 63# Levin kierros aka CITOn muistopurkki

This checkin to GC6TJ54 63# Levin kierros aka CITOn muistopurkki reflects a geocaching.com log entry. See more of Dan's cache logs.

Third of three finds on this, my final morning here before my flight to Helsinki. Taking a brisk walk/slow jog up to Hotel Levi Panorama, but first, a QEF. TFTC, and greetings from Oxfordshire, UK!

Dan prepares to jog up a wooden hillside staircase, marked with a sign reading: 'Hip Hop, Up We Go! 766 steps to Hotel Levi Panorama and Levi Summit'

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Dan Q found GCBBVQN Magic of Lapland

This checkin to GCBBVQN Magic of Lapland reflects a geocaching.com log entry. See more of Dan's cache logs.

It’s the final morning of my short visit to Sirkka. Having 90 minutes until I need to set off for the airport, I decided to come out for a quick geocaching expedition first.

Dan points to an adorable Lapland scene installed in a wooden box attached to a tree.

This was the first cache on my list, and I was so glad to choose it. A truly beautiful and well-maintained cache in a wonderful spot. FP awarded. TFTC!

[09:55 local time]

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Dan Q found GCBC09Z A Riverside Walk

This checkin to GCBC09Z A Riverside Walk reflects a geocaching.com log entry. See more of Dan's cache logs.

FTF after a delightful walk and a surprisingly challenging hunt!

When I woke this morning and saw a new semi-local cache, about when I ought to be getting myself and the geopup up anyway, I was intrigued. Bed called me back for a Sunday morning lie-in, but eventually I escaped its clutches and the geohound and I set out on our adventure.

Parking in Bladon was a challenge but we were fortune enough to find a residential road with a few spots up towards St. Martin’s Church. After that, and working out how to open the gate to the Community Footpath, we were on our way.

On a lead, a French Bulldog walks along a path towards a gate, which exists without a fence and even the path goes around both sides of it.
World’s most-pointless gate?

Passing the world’s most pointless gate and a heron finding his breakfast (both pictured), the doggo and I enjoyed our riverside stroll in relative peace and quiet, excepting the occasional jogger or dog walker that would come the other way. Eventually we found the bridge, stopped to enjoy the view a little, and then began the hunt.

On a reedy riverbank, a heron perches on a log.
The long, patient wait for breakfast to swim by.

Even with the hint and a strong idea of what I was looking for, this was a challenging search. I’ll bet my kids would’ve found the cache much faster than my ~15-20 minute search, but eventually I caught a glimpse of it, worked my way to it, and retrieved the log. Seeing it still blank, I claimed my FTF, and then had a brief panic when I discovered that I could no longer see it’s hiding place! A brief re-search and I’d found it again, but for a while there I was kicking myself for taking the time to return to the wall of the bridge to write my log!

Dan, a white man with blue hair tied in a ponytail and a goatee beard, crouches alongside and pets a champagne-coloured French Bulldog by a gate on a path through a managed forest. There are bits of plant on his clothes, especially his shoulders.
The dog was effectively zero help for this one.

Returned as found. TFTC, and for the lovely walk!

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