Our next update

[emalafeew]

Just wanted to say that I really love High Res mode, and I now find myself frequently stopping just to enjoy the view on the more scenic rides.

With that said, High Res does expose the jarring effect of the 3d treatment done by Explorer to make it bikeable.  Hopefully, the StreetView preprocessing the dev team is planning will help maintain the visual fidelity of the rides, and really make the 3d maps higher quality.

To set expectations, we're first looking into minimizing the image error on transitions.  We don't know yet if it's possible to improve the 3D depth mapping, but have some ideas to improve how our 3D spaces are made.

[emalafeew]

Something I would really like, is a map on my profile that shows the routes I have ridden in Explorer. And I was a bit dissapointed to find that miles in Explorer don't count for goals and unlocks. I really like goals and unlocks, and lik Explorer better. I want to plow at about the same speed for 50 minutes or so, and not be forced to go faster or slower as in the games it is often the case.

This sprint we're adding unlockable avatar upgrades to Explorer.  We should be able to combine Play and Explorer goals (that aren't game specific) at the same time.  But note those will remain on vzfit.com rather than have in-game representation in Explorer.  We're thinking of a way to show them in both games in a future sprint.

[Shon_T]

Some ideas from my wish-list for Explore (In addition to others that have been discussed) Some are obviously a stretch with current tech:
-Expand FM Radio Options- I got bored with the limited options fairly quickly, but love the idea of being able to access music from the same device. Would something like Spotify or Pandora Radio work?
- Way to remove HUD all together. Maybe settings menu could be accessed by looking down near the recenter button. Maybe there could be a "handle bar device" to read, similar to if you were actually riding. Obviously this would work better on Quest if you could use 6DoF...it would be easier to look at handle bar mounted devices. 
- Add GPS map showing location on route...again..maybe this could be a floating map in the corner of the HUD, a "device" mounted on the handlebar... Tap for transparent overlay on Hud, etc...
- Way to remove third person avatar in "comfort mode" just a clean ride. 
- Add avatar skin on bike. so it isn't just an empty bike with empty bike shadow.
- Add pedal kayak avatar for water routes. I think there is missed potential there.
- Add other types of First Person and Third Person avatars. Road bike updates, mountain bikes, E-bikes, fat bikes, unicycles, tandem bikes, motorcycles, Pedal car, recumbent bikes (with customizable  aerodynamic shells) , pedal boats,  horses, unicorns, flying saucers, etc. I'm not a fan of micro transactions (using cash to purchase upgrades), but if folks had to put in a significant number of spins in order to earn these upgrades, or folks had to win certain events to earn certain upgrades (#1 in spins for the week earns "Golden Jersey") I think it would encourage more use. Beyond cosmetic upgrades, something like an E-Bike, might offer performance upgrades... for example, the ability to throttle forward for a short time (No spins if they aren't pedaling) allowing folks the opportunity to rest a bit. Maybe a "tank avatar would allow you to shoot things and see animated explosions. 
-Add custom POI information for routes. Folks could create "tours" using GPS Coordinates for text based or audio cues. For example, "On the left is inspiration point"... "The Grey building on the right is Ford Theater. U.S. President Abraham Lincoln was assassinated there on April 14th, 1865". Imagine schools using this tech both to promote exercise and to teach students!
-Add ways to gamify Explore- Remember Spy Hunter? what if we were able to add similar game dynamics to real world locations? VR Cars show up (maybe on city mode) and you have to shoot them or evade. What about an Atari Missile Command  type game? you have limited ammo (but can pick up Ammo drops). You can speed up...slow down...tilt to steer/dodge, maybe shoot their missiles down with your own shots...but don't get hit!
-Window in headset option- I would love to be able to run other apps concurrently with Explore. For example, run Pandora Radio through the headset while I am riding, or Watch a Netflix movie on longer stretches. Oculus Rift offers this option natively.

[kemscm]

Really like these ideas:
- Add GPS map showing location on route...again..maybe this could be a floating map in the corner of the HUD, a "device" mounted on the handlebar... Tap for transparent overlay on Hud, etc...
-Add custom POI information for routes. Folks could create "tours" using GPS Coordinates for text based or audio cues. For example, "On the left is inspiration point"... "The Grey building on the right is Ford Theater.

[emalafeew]

Thanks for the new and upvoted ideas guys!

Our mini-sprint release is now out for Explorer and Play, see notes at https://www.virzoom.com/2020/07/08/july-2020/

[GoMyFly247]

Great work so far on the updates.  

Now that the radio stations are integrated into the Explorer mode, can you please make it easier to skip song tracks (forward / skip track with one button) and also display the name of the song playing at the bottom of the screen?   It would be handy for those longer rides, when you just want to jump to other tracks with one click.

Another cool feature would be if you could integrate heart rate monitors, and then show a pounding heart icon on the HUD with the Heart rate displayed - again just a wish list item.

Also, with the recent announcement by Oculus that they're discontinuing the Oculus Go, I'm wondering how new releases will be pushed out to the Go headsets after December 2020, as I read that they won't be accepting providing app updates the Go app store after December 4, 2020.    If you already have the VZfit app installed on the Go can we still get updates another way?   Here's a link to the news release below that I'm referring to:

https://www.oculus.com/blog/an-update-on...platform-/

Fortunately, I also have a Oculus Quest headset that I could use to continue on with VzFit, but just wondering if one option is to release future updates for the Go headset through SideQuest if you have a developer account, or have download links available at your own website.

The thing that made me prefer using my Go headset over the Quest headset for VZFit was the simplicity of using one controller (two controllers seems like more than needed for stationary cycling), and not having to set a playing boundary (so you can walk away without having be restricted by the play boundary you set as it doesn't apply for the Go), and I didn't actually notice that much improvement in the display resolution while riding with the Quest, so I always defaulted to using my Go headset.

Also, when I create a custom ride on Explorer, I'd like to be able to custom name the ride so that if I decide to upload and share it with others, the ride is more descriptive.  Currently, it kind of makes up its own name for the ride based on the destination which often isn't descriptive enough.

On another note, I just tested the VZPlay app for the live event competitions (either live, current, or past) and it didn't show any on the list and once I got to that page, I couldn't go back, so I'm not sure if this is a glitch or if the option isn't available yet.

Hope this feedback is useful, and thanks again for all your efforts on the updates.  Your team always impresses me with the dedication to improving this app.

[apLundell]

I really appreciate the recent improvements to Explorer.

I love the ability to turn the dots off.   I think that was recently added?   It somehow makes it feel a lot more real.

... of course, now I wish I had some sort of hint when I reached an intersection.  (A handle-bar mounted GPS map would be fantastic, but I'd be satisfied with an easy way to toggle the dots back on when I get confused.  Maybe with one of the physical buttons?)

Add ways to gamify Explore

You could make a Sim Bike Courier.  How many packages can you deliver on time before you're exhausted?

We don't know yet if it's possible to improve the 3D depth mapping

I'm probably just stating the obvious here, but I've noticed that, in the mostly-wooded back roads I've been biking through,  the depth-mapping is noticeably better in areas where the streetview imagery is lower resolution and a bit blurry.  In those low-rez areas, Explorer does a good job treating trees as a lumpy canopy of leaves, but in areas where the streetview imagery is really sharp and clear, the trees come out kinda ... spiky.

motorcycles, Pedal car, recumbent bikes (with customizable  aerodynamic shells) , pedal boats,  horses, unicorns

I'm holding out for the Gossamer Condor.

[Superlith]

Eric,
I didn’t pedal for about three months. COVID-19 messed up everything.
Glad to be back and see VZfit play weekly leaderboard on the spins across all games.
That is definitely very helpful and motivating, but what is missing so far, is weekly Score Board for each particular game. Not spins, but score for each game, each week. That would be huge stimulus to work hard every week from scratch on every particular game.
Would be nice to activate the option on your settings to see the game score board immediately after you finish your game exercise. Right on oculus. So you don’t have to go to the phone and keep checking the leaderboard.
It was awesome feature on old Virzoom and I used to play game after game just to get better score not even getting off the bicycle.
It is important to keep all us involved and motivated!
Good part of these motivational tools missing now on new Virzoom.
Arches/Superlith

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What we have now are these all time historic scores for each game.
I think to have all time historic scores for each game is not really important and sometimes may be discouraging. They may seem impossible to achieve. Much more realistic to achieve these goals on the weekly basis. When it resets to zero every week. It creates real adrenaline!
Then everyone has a chance to be a leader every week.
I believe that trying to achieve the goal every week is much more important.

[Shon_T]

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What we have now are these all time historic scores for each game.
I think to have all time historic scores for each game is not really important and sometimes may be discouraging. They may seem impossible to achieve. Much more realistic to achieve these goals on the weekly basis. When it resets to zero every week. It creates real adrenaline!
Then everyone has a chance to be a leader every week.
I believe that trying to achieve the goal every week is much more important.

I think there is room for both... I mean "all-time" high scores vs. weekly scores. 

If we ever move to a new metric... like wattage... it might be a good idea to archive the old leader-boards too...

[Superlith]

I think nothing wrong to keep the historic data.
I just would like to tell the most important I think is to keep refreshing every week to give a chance for everyone to be a leader.
It should be as simple as possible.
Too many tables now, it gets confusing
Simple weekly scoreboard for each game that you can see in the game itself as soon as you finish.
It keeps you focused and gives you adrenaline boost to see if you are beating others or not.
It could be some type of check box in my settings to click in order to see that scoreboard in the oculus, people who do not want to see that scoreboard they may choose to not click.

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I track my activity on my Fitbit. I noticed that data from Virzoom is not synchronizing properly. Sunday I did 45 minutes One block of exercise on Virzoom and it transferred 45 minutes to Fitbit.
Today I did 20 minutes, then 10 and 10 and 10 minutes, on Fitbit I see only 20 minutes total.
All of this was in tank games