Suggestions for Explorer app

[Keith]

Background: I am a fairly new user, but I do a fair amount of non-professional biking in real-life and wanted to give some feedback and thoughts on the app.

• The transition from one scene to the next is strange to me,(though I did get used to it) and it would be great to have an option of alternative transition types. Example: Using a crossfade etc. 
  
• Allow users to download routes before playing, in case of slow wifi.
  
• Enable hand tracking on the quest;  I do think it would be cool to see your hands on the bike, but if nothing else just enabling the hand tracking will allow us to enter the app without using our controllers considering we have the button provided in the kit.
  
• Instead of the hud up top, add a speedometer type device on the handlebars, while keeping the menu button up top. 
  
• Adjustable handle-bars
  

• Google maps, have info cards pertaining to the area, it would be cool to have the info cards, to popup periodically of your location, and showing you nearby attractions and such.
  
• Auto Follow route mode aka no head tilting or leaning. The tilting feature is cool but sometimes I just want to think less.
  
• When I stop peddling I don't glide very far, I like incorporating sort rests in my riding, but also don't like stoping. 
  
• When navigating downhill it would be nice to either go faster or have the ability to glide, without peddling, my suggestion is to use google elevation data, or if not possible, allow the user to hold down the "b" button to glide down a hill. 
  

• Use Google Earth to play Fly mode, to fly around the earth, specifically the 3d mapped areas.
  

[jqnatividad]

+1 on all of Keith’s suggestions.  In addition:

• have you looked at Apple Map’s Look Around feature (their Street View).  The quality is much better than Street View.  Hopefully, when Apple exposes it on their API, Explorer can dynamically switch between Street View and Look Around.
  
• +100 on Google Earth fly mode 
  
• spy hunter style game, but with BMX bikes
  

[emalafeew]

All of your feedback goes into our backlog and how we weight them, we truly appreciate it.

Since you made a list, my undiagnosed OCD requires me to respond to each point. 

• We've tried crossfades and they break the sense of continuity that our dithered fade tries to preserve.  It was like a dream sequence every second.  If there's a better fade that can keep the world looking solid while covering discontinuities we'll use it
  
• Without going into more detail we cannot download routes before playing.
  
• Oculus isn't accepting 3rd party games with hand-tracking support yet (though you can see dev builds with it through SideQuest).  We're ready to go when they do.
  
• Our HUD is for common feedback you want to see in all games, and players have asked for even more info and options on it, so what we're planning is a fully customizable HUD that you can place where you want.  Note we have a speedometer type device on the handlebars in VZfit Play's cycling games.  
  
• Adjustable handlebars would be cool, I presume to try to match the actual bike you are using.
  
• Using 2D google maps to show and pick routes is high on our backlog.  We're adding 3D popups about interesting stuff this month!
  
• We're also adding auto-steering this month, but has to be done in a way that doesn't make you sick (https://www.virzoom.com/2019/01/03/vr-that-moves-you/)
  
• There have been discussions about coasting.  We don't want a "no pedaling" option but coasting may work if we can add braking with the B button.
  
• We already use elevation data and you go faster downhill and go slower uphill, but it's not as dramatic as real life.  It was more tuned to just make players pedal more going up and less going down, and we still limit your max speed out of concern for sickness in some players.  Maybe we could offer user tuning. 
  
• Google Earth isn't publicly available to 3rd parties and also costs too much for mobile VR.  Trust us, we know how awesome it can be.  We're looking to see if projecting satellite photos onto our City Mode geometry could be similar.
  

• Apple's new Look Around is awesome, but they're unlikely to make available to any non-Apple device.  They seem to be planning VR/AR glasses for 2022.
  
• Spy Hunter on BMX bikes would be great!
  

[dansavatar]

It'd be great to be able to post a ride out to twitter or facebook.
Or even a photo of a ride location to instagram.

Could be a good advertising stream for vzfit.  
As well as a bit of fun for us.

[emalafeew]

We had hoped it would be easy to post to Facebook because they own Oculus. But last year Facebook prevented all apps from posting pictures to newsfeeds. At least you can hit the Oculus home button and take-a-picture then share that yourself to Facebook.

To do better than that, we could probably add a screenshot button with our logo, interesting camera angle, and your current stats, then sends that to vzfit.com for you to share to difference services from your phone or PC. Thanks for bringing up the idea!

[Snowpelt]

It'd be great to be able to post a ride out to twitter or facebook.
Or even a photo of a ride location to instagram.

Could be a good advertising stream for vzfit.  
As well as a bit of fun for us.

Love this idea