The Mongolian Meta(docs.google.com)
docs.google.com
The Mongolian Meta
https://docs.google.com/document/d/1W_QK69BXMHUZXI5VdNH93_aLhTd9SQzNYhRLrh_-ZVA/edit?usp=sharing&ref=thebrowser.com
40 comments
There are some really cool geoguessr metas that aren't as much about memorizing the street view cars that I love. (Although, a few car metas are interesting such as the handful of African countries that required a security follow car to tail the Google car, or the “Kenya snorkel” on the more off road capable street view vehicle for Kenya.) One of these is that there is a geostationary satellite just south of Texas that most US satellite dishes will point to, so if you can find a house with a satellite dish on it then you can combine its angle with your compass and get a rough sense of the US region you are in.
Is this whole thing just a strategy guide for playing Geoguessr in one country?
If you never did look up videos of competitive geoguessr pros (yes, that's a thing)
yes
People go very deep into various “metas” for all of the countries
My god, and my wife says that I am nerdy about geography
I got nothing on the hardcore geoguessers
I got nothing on the hardcore geoguessers
Mirror as PDF: https://gwern.net/doc/cs/security/2021-kommu-themongoliangeo... (it doesn't appear to have been updated since 2021 and Google Docs are bad for longevity/discoverability/archiving).
If author is reading, they can also export the docs to a html document, which google will host. This is much better for sharing, as it loads faster, doesn't get added to users google docs and doesn't have a limit on concurrent viewers.
This stuff must get outdated very quickly. Google could very well upload an entire new set of photos for Mongolian roads tomorrow. How do Geoguessers keep on top of that? Is there a central repo/db where they store the dates that each country, or even potentially province or town, get updated by google.
Im imagining some kind of RSS feed that Geoguessers all subscribe to which alerts them of a country update and they all scramble to catalog the new meta.
Im imagining some kind of RSS feed that Geoguessers all subscribe to which alerts them of a country update and they all scramble to catalog the new meta.
It's like a metaphor for life: you tend your garden, then the storms come and level everything, and then you tend a new garden from scratch. No human labor is everlasting—it's why the nomads invented yurts.
Ah, yes. The Mongolian Meta meta.
> This stuff must get outdated very quickly. Google could very well upload an entire new set of photos for Mongolian roads tomorrow. How do Geoguessers keep on top of that?
Refer to the Meta meta document.
Refer to the Meta meta document.
The Mongolian photos are from 2015/2016, so not too quickly.
Ah is that how Geoguessers work? process of elimination through elements within a LIMITED dataset. Still impressive nonetheless, but I was wondering if I took a picture from my rooftop is Kenya how they would be able to guess
Only street view is used in Geoguesser (thus a slightly more limited dataset). AFAIK Individual photos (even ones that can make up a janky sort of street view) aren't included
It took me a while to realize that first section was about how to guess based off the Google Street View car's characteristics (tire, roof rack). I didn't know people were even allowed to use that as part of the game. I guess I'm only watching some specific people like rainbolt, who seems to use the terrain and other city landmarks (stop signs, poles along highways, etc) for his guesses.
I'm guessing for Google Street View Car stuff that's probably a differentiator if you're super competitive at this.
I'm guessing for Google Street View Car stuff that's probably a differentiator if you're super competitive at this.
Rainbolt also uses car meta in specific scénarios (Kenya is obviously a big one), it's just that it's obviously less impressive so it doesn't make it into viral videos. If you watch streams it's quite evident he's very aware of car meta.
This is amazing, but surely analyzing the Google car itself would be against the spirit of the game for the hardcore players? Is it a standard tactic?
Once you know, you can't exactly go back, can you?
As far as I know, in most countries there is no such variety in what you can see on the Google car. But meta are used by expert players.
Hardcore players play to win.
Looking at the car, the picture quality or other image artifacts is a very useful tactic that everyone uses.
Looking at the car, the picture quality or other image artifacts is a very useful tactic that everyone uses.
Related reading:
https://www.sirlin.net/ptw
"David Airline's Playing to Win has been the competitive gamer's bible since the year 2000."
https://www.sirlin.net/ptw
"David Airline's Playing to Win has been the competitive gamer's bible since the year 2000."
I'm a regular GeoGuessr player and I use the meta stuff mainly for getting quickly out of boring locations without losing too much points.
For example South America and Africa are huge and it's really no fun getting dumped somewhere far from any civilization and having to drive hours to get any real life geographical hints.
For example South America and Africa are huge and it's really no fun getting dumped somewhere far from any civilization and having to drive hours to get any real life geographical hints.
People have varying opinions on this, and there are browser extensions which will block the car out
It’s a bit like asking if intentionally fouling to force free-throws and a possible turnover late in a basketball game is against the spirit of the rules. Maybe yes as they were originally conceived when it was a recreational activity years ago, but at the modern competitive elite level it’s very much part of the game.
Is being born tall against the spirit of basketball?
We can only hope that someday someone at Google takes the time to improve the car segmenter.
I was low key hoping for something Age of Empires II related... but GeoGuesser is fine, too.
Is there an index of resources that lists metas that people have put together for each country?
This site looks like a good start https://www.plonkit.net/guide
A quite complete and not so much focus on meta Geoguessor's guide can be found here if someone interested: https://somerandomstuff1.wordpress.com/2019/02/08/geoguessr-.... This single document is fantastic!
I'm mongolian and thanks for reminding me I don't know anything about mongolia.
Please pass my thanks to your ancestors for inventing hip-hop: https://www.imdb.com/title/tt1634808/
Saina uu? Mongloor nadtai yarilgui yu?
Good to see some Geoguessr content on HN!
i have new-found respect for geoguessers.
This is really distasteful to me.
All the time and effort spent optimizing a corner of the rules of a specific dataset of a game.
It strikes me as wasteful in the same vein as Bitcoin mining, but more than that, as running contrary to what learning is supposed to be.
Signifier replacing the signified, metrics standing in for reality.
It's interesting though, we hear so much about AI, this is a sport that could have been invented for AIs to do - judgement tasks with quantifiable results and quick repetition.
All the time and effort spent optimizing a corner of the rules of a specific dataset of a game.
It strikes me as wasteful in the same vein as Bitcoin mining, but more than that, as running contrary to what learning is supposed to be.
Signifier replacing the signified, metrics standing in for reality.
It's interesting though, we hear so much about AI, this is a sport that could have been invented for AIs to do - judgement tasks with quantifiable results and quick repetition.