Originally published at: This guy can look at any Google Map image for 0.1 seconds and immediately figure out where in the world it is | Boing Boing
…
2 Likes
I travel a lot so I’ve become very accustomed to how different countries and states look. I used to play Geoguessr a lot and scored pretty well usually, but around two years ago they started forcing you to create accounts and such so I quit.
I still travel a lot. I like to take pictures out the window of the plane, then try to find the location and match to google maps.
ETA: no spel gud
7 Likes
I think it was around that time that Google introduced major changes to the pricing for Maps. At the time lots of people had to rethink their usage.
3 Likes
The two times GeoGuessr has been played at a Games Done Quick event (at SGDQ 2021 Online and at AGDQ 2022 Online) I was amazed by how quickly the runners were able to narrow down where they were.
2 Likes
I didn’t bother watching either of those vids, but luckily the timings were on the opening screen, something like 35 - 40 minutes. That’s understandable if you have spent 8 hours a day on g-maps.
But 0.1 seconds?
Sorry, calling bullshit on that one.
Just by looking at the dirt?
I’m sure most of streetview will be tarmac, because that’s where the cars go.
ETA: I didn’t mean to aim that at you, Steve_L, I meant it as a general reply.
4 Likes
As far as useless abilities go, I find this both impressive and deeply satisfying for some reason. (Even if it is a wild exaggeration of how long it takes.)
2 Likes
I used to try and guess where I was when I woke up, didn’t do real good until I sobered up, fun though.
4 Likes
I suspect if the runners weren’t also trying to explain to the viewers live what clues they were looking for in each location and didn’t have to narrow down the location to within a few feet (I don’t know how close you have to get to the point to get a perfect score, tens of feet maybe, but the goal of the runs was to get perfect scores 5 times) they probably could have done it much quicker.
2 Likes
Who is he, The Flash?
2 Likes
I got hooked on GeoGuesses for a while a few years ago. I didn’t play for 8 hours a day or even close, but i was getting pretty good at it. Maybe 1 out of 3 times I would guess shockingly close. But i would take my time, look at every clue i could find.
I noticed dirt, too. I also started to see the exact same places chosen, more often than you’d think that would happen. Maybe they didn’t have as many locations back then.
1 Like
Used to play regularly (global version) and dirt was one of my first go-to clues. Always had trouble getting Australian Outback and Brazil dirt colors conflated. One time I figured it out by seeing a satellite dish posted at near straight up, and Brazil was correct!
3 Likes
I can do that. “That photo is of a place directly above the centre of the Earth. I claim my $5!”
1 Like
If he is the Flash; it is all his fault. Barry Allen is to blame for everything!
Edited for context.
1 Like
I’ve not played this game, Steve_L. Does it just involve looking at a series of set photos of places or are the images genuinely randomised? One way would just be a memory game, the other an impossible feat. I admit to being a little fascinated by it, but the fact I have to sign up to some bullshit has put me off.
Welcome!
For the Games Done Quick runs, IIRC someone selected 5 locations from a curated list of about 20k (or more? It’s a big number) possibilities and set up the run to select those locations. The runners had no control or knowledge of those locations (other than the fact they were one of the large number of possibilities.)
1 Like
Okay, fair enough.
20k is a large number, though not insurmountable for someone who claims they play 8 hours a day.
That has answered my question though - it’s not just some random pic from google earth.
It’s a shame about the sign-up thingy, because it does sound fun.
It seems unlikely or impossible, but I found his explanation convincing. He’s been doing it a long time (8 hours a day for years is what Charlie Parker did as a teen to master the sax), and he sees a lot more clues than just dirt (trees, languages on signs, license plates, styles of fence, etc.) Also, it’s not like he’s getting exact matches to a street address, it’s just the general location, within 100km for example. I’m sure there’s a lot of guessing and randomness to where he clicks on the map since speed is also a factor (like on trivia games.)
GeoGuessr is awesome, even if I’ll never have anywhere near this level of skill. High-variance, too, depending on the map. Sometimes you get dropped in the middle of the Australian Outback with no intersections or road signs for tens of miles in either direction or on a random walking trail that doesn’t have any signs or connect to any roads. Sometimes you get dropped right in front of the Notre Dame cathedral or inside St. Peter’s Basilica.
This topic was automatically closed after 5 days. New replies are no longer allowed.
