I bet you didn't know your neighbor's backyard had a mountain range in it.
It does now, at least according to OpenStreetMap, the open-source map system that the Pokémon Go game uses to spawn digital creatures in augmented reality.
The game uses a biome system in concert with the maps program, so that water Pokémon spawn on real life beaches, grass Pokémon spawn in parks, mountain Pokémon spawn in the mountains.
You get the picture.
OpenStreetMap is used by a few different GPS systems like Garmin and way more up-to-date than other Big Tech choices because people are editing it daily.
But so are Pokémon players.
They can just change OpenStreetMap to have the environment they need rather than traveling thousands of miles to the nearest biome.
OpenStreetMap contributors have discovered 'beaches' that were actually located in residential backyards, golf courses, and sports fields.
Posts in various Pokémon Go communities show the height of the problem.
All they have to do is change the tag of a feature to something that will spawn a Pokémon character.
One user wrote,
Wiglett should spawn in areas tagged as "natural=beach' or 'natural=coastline' on OpenStreetMap (OSM). To quickly highlight any locations tagged with this we can use Overpass Turbo to query OSM and display any locations tagged this way ...
Keep in mind Wiglett is not a common spawn from what I gather, so I suspect some luck will be involved in their been an active spawn when you visit an area that can spawn them …
As /u/MatDragonx has mentioned in the comments it appears 'natural=coastline' can also spawn Wiglett. Wiglett have been noted spawning here in Hull, UKwhich is tagged as natural=coastline.
The OpenStreetMap community is exasperated with the Pokémon community altering the maps.
While some are trying to catch and fix the new fictional geographic phenomenon that keep popping up, others are trolling the Pokémon players by adding their own fictional features near possible spawning points - namely schools, railways, and interstates, because Pokémon are suppressed from spawning near these areas.
Your next quick trip to the grocery store might involve your GPS navigating through forests, coastlines, plains, schools, railway stations, and maybe a mountain or two, all while you're trying to avoid running down people walking around waving their phones like a tomahawk trying to catch digital creatures that don't exist!
Welcome to the future!
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