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Something to keep in mind is that they aren't playing random points on the map, they're playing fixed maps with say 20,000 locations in them. They play them to

Something to keep in mind is that they aren't playing random points on the map, they're playing fixed maps with say 20,000 locations in them. They play them to the point that they recognize many of them. Like magic, but a little less than if it really was just a random point on the globe they could recognize instantaneously.

krick 4y ago
Yeah, it was actually kind of disappointing to understand that after buying the subscription. I mean, Google Maps coverage is far from being complete as it is (and obviously is not going to be in the observable future even for places where it technically could be, like most of the China), and if you are playing the game to learn something, being just more playable in duels is not what you want. New places appear from time to time, so I'm not completely sure if they do that on purpose to make game easier, or there are some real reasons to do so. And if it's ever going to be better.
veggietales 4y ago
This used to be a problem but nowadays there are algorithmically (“AI”) generated maps with so many points that repeats are rare. A new map with 50000 locations can be generated in an afternoon.
aksjdhmkjasdof 4y ago
>Something to keep in mind is that they aren't playing random points on the map, they're playing fixed maps with say 20,000 locations in them. They play them to the point that they recognize many of them. This is only partly true. It's true of ADW, the most popular community map, though it has over 50k locations. But the top players have played this map so much that some people do have some locations memorized (which is insane). Then there are a few countries or territories where the Street View coverage is so limited that you can basically memorize it, like Madagascar and Greenland. There are enough locations & maps out there that the game isn't really about memorizing exact locations, though. But if you play a lot you do get good at "vibes" which is essentially pattern matching against other times you've played.

krick 4y ago

Yeah, it was actually kind of disappointing to understand that after buying the subscription. I mean, Google Maps coverage is far from being complete as it is (and obviously is not going to be in the observable future even for places where it technically could be, like most of the China), and if you are playing the game to learn something, being just more playable in duels is not what you want. New places appear from time to time, so I'm not completely sure if they do that on purpose to make game easier, or there are some real reasons to do so. And if it's ever going to be better.

veggietales 4y ago

This used to be a problem but nowadays there are algorithmically (“AI”) generated maps with so many points that repeats are rare. A new map with 50000 locations can be generated in an afternoon.

aksjdhmkjasdof 4y ago

>Something to keep in mind is that they aren't playing random points on the map, they're playing fixed maps with say 20,000 locations in them. They play them to the point that they recognize many of them. This is only partly true. It's true of ADW, the most popular community map, though it has over 50k locations. But the top players have played this map so much that some people do have some locations memorized (which is insane). Then there are a few countries or territories where the Street View coverage is so limited that you can basically memorize it, like Madagascar and Greenland. There are enough locations & maps out there that the game isn't really about memorizing exact locations, though. But if you play a lot you do get good at "vibes" which is essentially pattern matching against other times you've played.