I came here to ask whether others are maybe experiencing the same miscalculated results as I do, or is it just me that the distance counting is generally incorrect lately? I’m asking because I haven’t been experiencing this issue before but as of lately I am getting much and by much I do mean MUCH less kilometres walked in Pokémon go than I’d truly walked. I’ve confirmed it for both adventure sync and normal counting while having the game on. For example, last week I have walked total of around 60km but the game showed only 31.5 - which was mostly my test for adventure sync(yes it was enabled). Today however I have walked over 7km but the game is showing me my overall km walked for this weekend are only 4.5(started on 1.4today). The game was practically on during the whole walking period that’s why I am very confused with the numbers and curious whether other people are experiencing odd numbers, with pretty big differences.
Hi there!
I am not an expert on this but I believe I have my own explanation based on what I understand about some of the technology involve on this matter.
First, if you have known it already, one of the requirements of Pokemon Go is the Enabling of GPS on your mobile while playing the game. The reason behind is that the technology is being use to “approximately” (I won’t argue is someone will say it is 100% accurate) pinpoint your “real world” location in comparison with the “world map” in-game. With that, the “pokemon go game server” will know your location in comparison to "assigned resources in-game like pokestops, gyms, pokemon spawn points, etc. As a location reference, the GPS receiver in your mobile phone “receives” “coordinates” that the game access and use, again to “approximate” your location “per unit of time” (I don’t know the exact formula used by the game developer) but for the sake of simple calculations, let’s just say per minute.
With these, if the GPS coordinate is accurate by say “1 meter from your actual location on Earth”, and if you are travelling in a straight line in an open space area like parks, etc. Then I believe that the “Distance Traveled” will be more or less accurate to what you have actually walked.
But since in reality, these are not actually “pin point accuracy” 100% accurate, that where the discrepancy starts, with relation to what you have actually walked.
Another issue with that for my belief is the “Not Really Continuous and Timely Delivery of GPS Coordinates Data” either to the “receiver” or to the “Pokemon Go Game App”. If some of you have “observed”, the recorded walked or traveled distance with regards to “Finding Candy” is not “really” updated by the seconds, but probably by “a few minutes”. Though I am not so sure if the delay is cause by GPS, specially if you have walked inside some building or it is a delay by the mobile phone network.
I do not also know if some form of calibration is needed for that “Adventure Sync” thing, since I am not using it myself for privacy concern (I do not want Big Brother Google profiling my travel as I was astounded after Google reminded me years ago about my travel itinerary even if I don’t activated any location base app that time. I concluded that probably, Google have been browsing my emails and have squeezed enough info to know where I am going to days before my travel and it sounds not convenient to me but rather creepy).
The game uses gps when you are using it, and adventure sync when you arent, because of this, when you arent playing, you tend to get a more realistic km count as long as you are going under 15kmh (this might be wrong, someone can correct me), and this should track your distance better. The best way to get the distance to track as well as possible in-game, is to be travelling in straight lines for extended periods of time…for example, when I was in chicago, I was walking the magnificent mile back and forth for a few hours playing, and got a fairly accurate km count.(this was pre-adventure sync). But when I play around my school and home, where the roads arent all direct and straight, I tend to get a little less than what I actually walk
That is right!
Because if I remember it right, the calculation is rather from point to point within a specified amount of time, so if you are walking in a straight line then you have a great chance of getting a longer travel time than walking for example in a “U” pattern when the measurement was taken, then the measurement “could” be taken from the “end” of the “U” to the other “end”, instead of measuring the whole “U” distance, thereby resulting to a much lesser “distance travelled”.
Oh I see. Thank you all for replies and enlightening me on the system. It would make sense since I walked around city center taking various turns so maybe that’s how the lower distances keep showing instead of the real ones, I guess.