Re: Need Checker for GC8A0M8 - BadgeGen Gemstone Sapphire Level Challenge

Can I get a checker for this contemplated challenge? GC8A0M8

For this challenge check your BadgeGen tab in your project-gc stats. There are 27 badges (out of 39) whose level can be determined from stats that are available from Geocaching.com stats and also meet the current guidelines for a Challenge cache. [Some of the 39 badges do not meet the new Challenge Cache guidelines, e.g., Caches hidden, Cache Types in a day, and others.] To meet the qualifications for this challenge, you simply need 54 points from the values of the 27 badges added together which is an average of 2.0 Using only these 27 badges, simply assign yourself 1 point for each Ruby level badge (the lowest of the 4 gemstones), 2 points for each Sapphire level badge, 3 points for each Emerald level badge, and 4 points for each Diamond level badge (the highest of the 4 gemstones). 54 points means you averaged 2.0 for these 27 badges which indicates an average level of Sapphire.

These are the 27 badges and the number you need for each Gemstone badge level.

The Geocacher - Total cache finds:
5,000 (Ruby [1]); 8,000 (Sapphire [2]); 12,000 (Emerald [3]); 18,000 (Diamond [4])

The Traditional Cacher - Traditional cache finds:
5,000 (Ruby [1]); 7,000 (Sapphire [2]); 10,000 (Emerald [3]); 15,000 (Diamond [4])

The Multi Cacher - Multi cache finds:
500 (Ruby [1]); 800 (Sapphire [2]); 1,200 (Emerald [3]); 1,800 (Diamond [4])

The Mysterious Cacher - Mystery/Unknown cache finds:
500 (Ruby [1]); 800 (Sapphire [2]); 1,200 (Emerald [3]); 1,800 (Diamond [4])

The Virtual Cacher - Virtual cache finds:
50 (Ruby [1]); 80 (Sapphire [2]); 120 (Emerald [3]); 180 (Diamond [4])

The Earth Cacher - Earthcache finds:
50 (Ruby [1]); 80 (Sapphire [2]); 120 (Emerald [3]); 180 (Diamond [4])

The Letterboxer - Letterbox cache finds:
10 (Ruby [1]); 15 (Sapphire [2]); 25 (Emerald [3]); 50 (Diamond [4])

The Wherigo Cacher - Wherigo cache finds:
15 (Ruby [1]); 25 (Sapphire [2]); 40 (Emerald [3]); 60 (Diamond [4])

The Mega Social Cacher - Mega Events attended:
5 (Ruby [1]); 6 (Sapphire [2]); 7 (Emerald [3]); 8 (Diamond [4])

The Social Cacher - Events attended:
50 (Ruby [1]); 80 (Sapphire [2]); 120 (Emerald [3]); 180 (Diamond [4])

The Environmental Cacher - CITO Events attended:
6 (Ruby [1]); 8 (Sapphire [2]); 10 (Emerald [3]); 12 (Diamond [4])

The Photogenic Cacher - Webcam cache photos taken:
12 (Ruby [1]); 18 (Sapphire [2]); 25 (Emerald [3]); 40 (Diamond [4])

The Micro Cacher - Micro size caches found:
1,200 (Ruby [1]); 1,800 (Sapphire [2]); 3,000 (Emerald [3]); 4,500 (Diamond [4])

The Small Cacher - Small size caches found:
800 (Ruby [1]); 1,200 (Sapphire [2]); 1,800 (Emerald [3]); 3,000 (Diamond [4])

The Regular Cacher - Regular size caches found:
500 (Ruby [1]); 800 (Sapphire [2]); 1,200 (Emerald [3]); 2,000 (Diamond [4])

The Large Cacher - Large size caches found:
50 (Ruby [1]); 80(Sapphire [2]); 120 (Emerald [3]); 180 (Diamond [4])

The Adventurous Cacher - Difficulty/Terrain 5/5 caches found:
8 (Ruby [1]); 12 (Sapphire [2]); 18 (Emerald [3]); 30 (Diamond [4])

The Brainiac - Difficulty 5 caches found:
15 (Ruby [1]); 25 (Sapphire [2]); 40 (Emerald [3]); 60 (Diamond [4])

The Rugged Cacher - Terrain 5 caches found:
50 (Ruby [1]); 80 (Sapphire [2]); 120 (Emerald [3]); 180 (Diamond [4])

The Travelling Cacher - Number of Countries in which a find was made:
12 (Ruby [1]); 18 (Sapphire [2]); 25 (Emerald [3]); 35 (Diamond [4])

The Head-In-The-Clouds Award - Highest elevation in which a cache was found (meters):
5,000 (Ruby [1]); 8,000 (Sapphire [2]); 12,000 (Emerald [3]); 18,000 (Diamond [4])

The Head-In-The-Ground Award - Lowest elevation at which a cache was found (meters):
2,500 (Ruby [1]); 3,000 (Sapphire [2]); 3,500 (Emerald [3]); 4,500 (Diamond [4])

The Daily Cacher - Consecutive days with a find:
122 (Ruby [1]); 183 (Sapphire [2]); 274 (Emerald [3]); 365 (Diamond [4])

The Matrix Cacher - Number of the cache D/T combinations found (81 possible):
50 (Ruby [1]); 60 (Sapphire [2]); 80 (Emerald [3]); 81 (Diamond [4])

The Calendar Cacher - Number of different calendar days on which a cache was found (366 possible):
300 (Ruby [1]); 350 (Sapphire [2]); 365 (Emerald [3]); 366 (Diamond [4])

The Long-Distance Cacher - Find Furthest from Home (Kilometers):
2,900 (Ruby [1]); 4,200 (Sapphire [2]); 6,400 (Emerald [3]); 10,000 (Diamond [4])

The Busy Cacher - Cache Finds in a Day:
120 (Ruby [1]); 180 (Sapphire [2]); 270 (Emerald [3]); 400 (Diamond [4])



Edited 1 time(s). Last edit at 06/27/2019 10:12PM by DrPflug. (view changes)

Quick comments. Not possible:
The Long-Distance Cacher (privacy - home coords not available)
The Busy Cacher (rule 9 - not allowed more than 1 per day)
The Calendar Cacher (rule 9 - leap day find not enforceable, unless you mean days that caches were hidden)



Edited 1 time(s). Last edit at 06/27/2019 10:44PM by pieterix. (view changes)

OK, I will eliminate the Busy Cacher and Long-Distance Cacher. and for the Calendar Cacher, I will make Emerald badge (365 days) for 3 points the maximum. so 50 points total needed to qualify. 50/25 = 2.0 average. Can a Checker be done for that?

Ran out of configuration space right after Brainiac, so will have to rethink this checker...

I thought about this again. Calendar Cacher can probably have 366 days for 4 points, since it's an optional extra point and not a steadfast requirement that makes it a yes/no in terms of qualification. If you don't have 366 days, you can always qualify by any of the other conditions.

This challenge will probably require a new script. I know how I'd want to code it (configs and all), but I have no time right now (work, etc). If you can wait, I can probably implement this by close of next week? Otherwise someone else needs to step in and code a new script.

thanks. and I am not in any rush. So take your time. I will also add back the long-distance cacher badge as badge #26. so 52 points required to average 2.0 and all four gemstone levels will be available for the calendar cacher.

Hi pieterix - are you able now to get back and look at developing this checker now?

question about the Long-Distance cacher badge and being used in Challenges. If I look at someone else's statistics on GC.com, I don't see the Cache Id of the cache that they found that was furthest from their home, but it does show me the distance. Is the reason because the Checker would need to get the Cache id in order to compute the distance itself because the distance from home value I see on GC.com is not available via any API call?

Based on rule 4.1, it should be allowed, since you can verify this information via the GC statistics page. But on a technical side I don't see that information being available on the Project-GC checker API. My new script idea above is to use the Project-GC checker API badge call to get that detail, so this might actually be possible. Using the badge call will also be a lot quicker than to run separate queries for each of the listed conditions. I also don't see this as a transgression of the guidelines since it's basically a summary of the data one would be able to get by using the usual Project-GC API calls. Yes, the badges might take a week to update for some people, but then you will simply qualify a little bit later. But I need time to experiment with the badge call.

It is definitely possible to get the distance of the furthest cache from home. Here is a script that does it:

https://project-gc.com/Tools/Challenges?edit&scriptId=1305&addTag

Though, it may not work for all users (some of them might not have home coordinates set), so that might have to be accounted for somehow.

Haha, that script uses the badges call to get that information, so my idea on using the badges call for the rest will be right on the money.

Here is a checker for you to test:

https://project-gc.com/Challenges/GC8A0M8/43955

Please let us know if you have any feedback/suggestions.

Great! Very Nice! can 2 small changes be made.
1. Could you add this on line 1
"Average Gemstone score = x.x" after the words "required points".
So my results would say:
I have 76 out of 52 required points. Average Gemstone score = 2.92
2. Could the level of each of the 26 badges be shown in all cases? So in my case, in addition to the 23 badges for which I have reached at least Ruby, I'd also see these 3 lines:
The Multi Cacher: Gemstone level not reached
The Head-In-The-Ground Award: Gemstone level not reached
The Daily Cacher: Gemstone level not reached
3. and I notice an error. Your Checker Tag Comment should says "Average 2.0 for 27 badges, which indicates an average level of Sapphire." It should say 26 badges.

I thought you might ask something along the lines of #2. The changes have been made. I made the messages a little more generic in case the script is tagged in the future. Also, just in case you ask, I can't do anything about the order of the badges.

It's perfect! Thanks. I will submit now to the Reviewer and get his feedback. Hopefully he says it's all good.

This is the reply: After much discussion, unfortunately, this challenge cannot be published as it currently exists. The problem is that the checker assigns number values to the different BadgeGen badge levels, then checks the account based on the badge levels, rather than finding counts on geocaching.com. It's possible that you may be able to adjust the challenge so that it checks Geocaching.com data, rather than BadgeGen.

So, I think they want a checker that checks the stats on Geocaching.com - even though the result is the same. Similar to this checker - https://coord.info/GC893BD - I don't need no stinkin' badges Challenge. Can you do that? If you can, I can then change the wording on my challenge page.

Vertighost just put this note in the log. so hold off a bit. "I assumed that more levels would follow this one, but before you ask the developer for your checker to rewrite it, let me look into whether what you mentioned would work. It may take a day or two or a bit more to get a satisfactory answer. Please bear with me on this. "

ok, pietrix, here is the final answer about my challenge:
"Here's where we've ended up. It's a long story with a lot of input and back and forth, but here is a brief summary and the end result:

The concept of the challenge is OK. However, as things currently stand, the checker is a problem. The reason that the checker is problematic is that it is based on data from a source other than geocaching.com, and the reason that raises concerns is that at any time the criteria for a badge could conceivably change and that is completely outside the control of Groundspeak.

If you can have whoever created your checker modify it to use the same data and qualifications that you've specified but obtained from geocaching.com, I will be happy to publish your challenge cache."

---- So - can you re-do the checker? similar to the checker for this one..... https://coord.info/GC8APB9 But obviously a little more complicated since it's not just top level achivements my challenge requires.

P.S. I am going on vacation Saturday for two weeks, so I am not in any hurry.

Oneforfortytwo did the script for your checker with the badges. I actually had a hunch that the HQ will throw it out. The badge calls will have to be replaced by calls to get the number of finds for each category. Not a huge job to do but will probably require a complete script rewrite. Just need to be metiqulous to get the right criteria for each of the badge levels. If nobody else steps in, I can have it done by the time you're back.

Actually, work in progress...

First version:

https://project-gc.com/Challenges/GC8A0M8/44057

1. Remove APE Cacher
2. Remove Lost & Found Cacher
3. Add Long-Distance Cacher
4. Computed value for the Calendar Cacher is wrong. It gives me 0, when in fact I should have 4 (for all 366 days).

1, 2 done and 4 fixed. 3 depends on a badge call, so not sure now if they will accept that. I can try to add it...

as a test - If you run it for me DrPflug, I should have 76 points. The last checker gave me that and I just manually checked my badges.

You have 77 now. All the numbers match your badgegen statistics apart from "The Geocacher" since we don't have access to labcache numbers.

Edit: I added "The Caching Veteran" too, which is where you got an extra point. Disable that one?



Edited 1 time(s). Last edit at 07/26/2019 01:28AM by pieterix. (view changes)

Yes, remove Caching Veteran. that one is not allowed per Challenge rules. Makes sense that you wouldn't allow a challenge based on the number of years you've been caching. that takes my score down to 76.

and don't forget to show on the Score line, the Average which is Score / 26. in my case 76 / 26 = 2.92

and it's unclear to me what you are trying to show with that "limit" column. That should be clarified or eliminated. I don't think it's necessary.

Other than that it looks PERFECT!

Caching Veteran can be verified on GC statistics page but might be seen as time-limited, so unsure whether it's allowed or not. Have disabled that test in your checker. I've added average and removed limit. Limit is the matching boundary to show on which badge you fall, but yes, it might be confusing.

That looks great now. I believe we are done. and that was fast too, thanks. I shall resubmit shortly to the reviewer for my Challenge Cache.

Do I need to wait for you to move the script from testing8 to production?

It will become the production one once I'm done fiddling with it. Also depends on whether the reviewers accept it or not. Your checker link will remain unchanged.

I see it's published. Happy days!

Thanks so much. I shall return one day with a request for a similar challenge but requiring 78 points (Average 3.0). After I qualify myself first, of course!

Any time. You may PM me too.