Some of you may have heard of this phone app. I contributed to the funding of this game on kickstarter about a year ago, and in the past few weeks they opened a beta release - initially only to those near London while they test their programming.
the tl;dr is:
By running through territory on the map, you capture it.If you run in a closed loop, you capture all territory enclosed by the loop.The game map is the real world.
So as a game mechanic it rewards consistency of running, but also variation of routes. By contrast strava rewards going fast. I think that this is a more useful way to gamify training.
It’s probably a little while before it opens to general release, but as one of the lucky ones with early access it has rejuvenated my running. I’m exploring my city like I’m in it for the first time - but all I’m doing is following my training plan.
This makes me think of grand theft auto…
But the thing that would keep me from doing this is the lack of GPS compatibility. I don’t run with my phone, and I definitely don’t use it to track runs and just eat away at my data usage.
interesting. do you have to run with the app running or can you import your workouts into an account on the website after? I don’t really like running with something that is almost big enough to be a tablet.
So, if someone else runs through your captured territory, are you legally obligated to find them and kick their @$$? Bust out the trebuchets and other siege equipment and go medieval on their house.
I think (but am not sure) that it only connects to the server at the start and end of each run. it saves the gps track in the meantime and uploads it at the end. You can’t see the map screen while running (it can run in the background).
I used to not run with a phone either, but I’m not finding it to be a hardship in one of those waist belts and in any case it’s a good practice in re safety and emergencies.
can you import your workouts into an account on the website after?
I would love to have this feature, even better if they had the garmin API and it could be synced automatically.
At the moment (in beta) they don’t have it yet. They have some anti-cheating algorithm that I presume detects footsteps via the accelerometer to stop people logging runs via car or bike or whatever. it doesn’t work that well so far - there are various trails on the map that are clearly the result of someone taking the tube (the metro).
So, if someone else runs through your captured territory, are you legally obligated to find them and kick their @$$? Bust out the trebuchets and other siege equipment and go medieval on their house.
my experience so far is that I am the only serious runner out of the beta testers. So generally it is me capturing vast fields that are marred by tiny imperfections in the middle where someone has jogged 15mins round their block or walked from the train station to their office (walking counts in this game).
But seige warfare is apposite. if you are in battle with someone you have to take your time, the game is played over days and weeks not hours. I discovered that if you do laps round one area it doesn’t count for any more points than if you ran just one lap. Although if you wanted to game the system you could break it into separate “runs”.
But seige warfare is apposite. if you are in battle with someone you have to take your time, the game is played over days and weeks not hours.
How do you do siege warfare? If I’m imagining this game, its “it take it from you, you take it from me.” Siege warfare implies that there can be strong points that you might be able to hold for longer than 1 run.
Sounds like a cool game. Sign me up when you get garmin sync functionality (and hopefully a critical mass of runners in my neighbourhood). Though I think for most people here, it won’t affect how long / how often you run, but where you run.
or are the tiles “sticky”? - as in if this is a route that I run regularly, it will take more than one run to snatch that away from me. But with enough time (I assume a decay) or repeated runs, you can take other’s strongholds away from them.
I do occasionally run with a phone, but it’s my work phone when I’m on call. Last week I was traveling for work so brought my iPhone 6 running for the first time since upgrading, in case I got lost. It was just too obnoxiously large to bother running with.
But seige warfare is apposite. if you are in battle with someone you have to take your time, the game is played over days and weeks not hours.
How do you do siege warfare? If I’m imagining this game, its “it take it from you, you take it from me.” Siege warfare implies that there can be strong points that you might be able to hold for longer than 1 run.
the exact mechanic seems to be that you gain points on a tile. the person with the most points owns the tile. I expect that there is some kind of a decay over time, so that new players can enter.
Sounds like a cool game. Sign me up when you get garmin sync functionality (and hopefully a critical mass of runners in my neighbourhood). Though I think for most people here, it won’t affect how long / how often you run, but where you run.
that’s exactly my experience - I’m running just as much as I ever would have done, but in many new places and new routes and it is making it very interesting.
the exact mechanic seems to be that you gain points on a tile. the person with the most points owns the tile. I expect that there is some kind of a decay over time, so that new players can enter.
Good to know. I’m glad it can take multiple runs to capture strategic points (otherwise not much of a game). Based on the Strava runners in my neighbourhood, I can see how this would play out already… Initial invasion/fight for territory by proximity, followed by a detente / expansion into others’ zones, followed by slow and purposeful encroachments into your zone.
very interesting. I signed up for updates and if it becomes compatible with Garmin, I’m in. Very cool thinking and innovative way to re-invigorate training. I’ve hit a plateau and could use something to get me out of the house.