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Topic: Updating the map..... and it takes very long, and does not work automatically (Read 9442 times) previous topic - next topic

Updating the map..... and it takes very long, and does not work automatically

Hello,

Updating the map takes very long. In Zoom 14 in a urban place with ~100 Geocaches, it takes 10 seconds. And it takes 8-9 seconds when there are only 20 caches.... This is much to long, and i m pretty sure, this was faster a few weeks ago....
Another problem is the automatic update when i am moving the map: I have to move the completely out of the area of loaded geocaches till it starts updating.

I only fetch basic information for the caches, and no pictures.
This makes the app nearly unusable, when i try to figure out my next cache on my route.

Sincerely
Kai

Re: Updating the map..... and it takes very long, and does not work automatically

Reply #1 –
Kai,

Speed for map updates is based on network quality and Groundspeak server responses. Nothing has changed recently on map updates. If you turned on auto refresh for the Live map, Geooh waits until the map bounds have changed to new boundaries to know when to load more caches. Instead of panning the map to force an update you can use the refresh button the top bar... two half circle arrows... to refresh the Live map whenever you want.

What's the speed on wifi or with strong network signal?

Re: Updating the map..... and it takes very long, and does not work automatically

Reply #2 –
Hello,

The behaviour is with every map. Googlemaps, OSM-Maps, and also the offline map for Schleswig Holstein (with 70MB size).
Autorefresh is turned on. Sometimes i can leave the boundaries and the next on or two screens before i got an update/the new for caches for the map tile on the screen.

And it always takes something around 8 to 10 seconds.... This is not a map problem, it is a problem with fetching new caches. My Wifi is at full speed, my LTE is at full speed, and all other Geocaching Applications update at normal speed.

Regards,
Lai

 

 

Re: Updating the map..... and it takes very long, and does not work automatically

Reply #4 –
?

I still like the app. I just report a bug, and im willting to give you further information if you ask and tell me what you need to know to find the bug. Therefore, i hope you will fix the bug....

If you dont want investigate and nail down the bug, or if you are not interested in reported bugs, and further versions wont work better, i just cancel the subscription. I dont need a refund.

Its your choice to get bugfree, not mine.

Re: Updating the map..... and it takes very long, and does not work automatically

Reply #5 –
I am unable to replicate what you are describing and no one else has reported something similar. I fix bugs often when they are reported, but unless I can test with the issue I don't know what to "fix".

When you compare Geooh to other geocaching apps, be sure they are API partner apps. The official app uses their own network calls and c:geo uses the website... so to get a valid comparison you need to match it with another app using the API like Geooh to verify Groundspeak servers aren't the issue.

If you can provide a video, that may help. Plus, your settings for the Live map (if that's where you experience it).

Re: Updating the map..... and it takes very long, and does not work automatically

Reply #6 –
I will provide videos till tomorrow evening.

Re: Updating the map..... and it takes very long, and does not work automatically

Reply #7 –
Here the requested video. I am moving the map with my fingers. Nothing happens. I zoom, and first nothing happens, than, a few seconds later, caches are loading. This took from 0:39 to 0:48. And you see, LTE is at full speed. Map source is OSM, but its not much different if i change to google. In the options i´ve choosen lite download.

Re: Updating the map..... and it takes very long, and does not work automatically

Reply #8 –
What are your settings for Live?

Regarding the map not updating every time on a move... that's by design to prevent too frequent updates. Geooh checks to see if the bounds distance from the last refresh is at least 2 miles before allowing the refresh. Something similar occurs for zooms. I'll think about lowering the limit to 1 mile. But if you had zoomed out and then panned the map, the distance limit would have been reached much sooner... try that and let me know.

Regarding the time for caches loading... remember Geooh is an API program dependent on Groundspeak servers to return the caches within the bounds. Plus, the API limits 50 per API call. In the video, there are 100+ caches which meant Geooh had to make 3 rounds of calls to get data before displaying them on the map. The official app doesn't have limits, and they use their own faster network calls. And if you are comparing to c:geo, that is not an authorized API app because it scrapes data directly from the website pretending to be a web browser... and Groundspeak servers have been optimized for web calls too. Geooh also does some extra internal work beyond what other apps do with cache data to provide more features. So, if there are lots of caches in the map bounds, it could take longer than other apps. There is no magic I can do to get the API to work faster.

Re: Updating the map..... and it takes very long, and does not work automatically

Reply #9 –
The settings for live where lite download, and all for automatic download caches when the map ist moving or resizing.

Sorry, but other Apps (not c:geo!) like locus, gcdroid, ARE faster. GSAK is faster in downloading at the same network. Its not just the API, its something that changed in the last months. In September it worked much better. But its ok.

I will test it in a few weeks, and still hope you can fix this. When its not fixable... ok.

Re: Updating the map..... and it takes very long, and does not work automatically

Reply #10 –
I can't replicate the thing you are describing. See the attached video where Geooh loads over 100 caches on the map in 4 seconds (not 8-10). If I knew what to fix, I would. Nothing in the extraction has changed since September other than Groundspeak API server updates.

Again, be careful comparing apples to oranges. Locus and GCDroid do not provide as many features as Geooh related to geocache information which must be parsed and stored. GSAK is a desktop application running on more powerful hardware and is not dealing with Android maps and network limitations.

I'd fix something if I can replicate it to know that it's fixed. I'm also more than happy to provide a refund if Geooh is not performing to your expectations.