Our next update

[GoMyFly247]

Hey emalafeew,

Just wanted to let you know about a glitch I experienced today while updating VZFit Play on my Oculus Go headset. My current build was 7/8/2020 or so (can't remember for sure) so it prompted me to update. I did the update 3 or 4 times and it installed each time, but each time I launched VZfit Play, it kept asking me to update again. (the update file was about 584 MB each time, so it was constantly updating with the same file). I also cleared out more space on my Go to install the update.

My next step is to uninstall VZfit Play and then install it again on my Go headset (783.1 MB file), and hopefully it works this time. The VZFit explorer updated fine to the latest build 8/4/2020 so that one worked fine.

As an update, after deleting the VZFit Play build 7/8/2020 and then uninstalling it, I installed VZFit play again and it correctly installed the latest version 7/23/2020 so perhaps it was just a glitch in the update module? Just wanted to let you know my workaround for the update problem in case anyone else experiences the same glitch.

Another quick question: how do I upgrade my membership from monthly membership to annual membership from my user menu? Do I have to cancel my existing membership to do so, or is there a way in the settings to upgrade it to annual pre-paid there for the savings? My current monthly subscription doesn't expire until 8/31/2020 and autorenews every month, but now that I've used the service for a while, I'm thinking the annual membership would be a better deal.

Cheers,

Winst

[emalafeew]

Just wanted to let you know my workaround for the update problem in case anyone else experiences the same glitch.

Thanks we'll be on the lookout!

Another quick question:  how do I upgrade my membership from monthly membership to annual membership from my user menu?  Do I have to cancel my existing membership to do so, or is there a way in the settings to upgrade it to annual pre-paid there for the savings?  My current monthly subscription doesn't expire until 8/31/2020 and autorenews every month, but now that I've used the service for a while, I'm thinking the annual membership would be a better deal.

To have a yearly membership start at the end of your expiration period (8/31), cancel your monthly and then signup for a yearly anytime before then. We delay the start of the yearly period to that date automatically. If you have any trouble ask support@virzoom.com!

[GoMyFly247]

Just wanted to let you know my workaround for the update problem in case anyone else experiences the same glitch.

Thanks we'll be on the lookout!

Another quick question:  how do I upgrade my membership from monthly membership to annual membership from my user menu?  Do I have to cancel my existing membership to do so, or is there a way in the settings to upgrade it to annual pre-paid there for the savings?  My current monthly subscription doesn't expire until 8/31/2020 and autorenews every month, but now that I've used the service for a while, I'm thinking the annual membership would be a better deal.

To have a yearly membership start at the end of your expiration period (8/31), cancel your monthly and then signup for a yearly anytime before then.  We delay the start of the yearly period to that date automatically.  If you have any trouble ask support@virzoom.com!


Thanks for your reply and the instructions on how to renew yearly, much appreciated!

The only thing that I would really like to see is an easy ability to skip music tracks or change FM radio stations and see the station/music title now without going back to the menu during a ride, other than that, VZFit both explorer and the Play are awesome now.  I also noticed the ability to lift up the front of the bike while riding by tilting my head up, which was a nice touch I just noticed while riding the other day.

[emalafeew]

We forgot to say what we've been working this past month!

We released a few hotfixes that improved Streetview path handling and also made white dot locations and image transitions more accurate. We were also able to enable POIs in Country Mode and color-coded related Option items.

The big new feature is customizable avatars, to give you variety in your snapshots, and also motivate you to earn coins by riding and finishing new rides.

It's being tested now by our beta test group, you can see the full list of improvements at https://www.virzoom.com/2020/08/04/august-2020/.

The goal is to release it to everyone by Monday! Reminder if you want to join our beta test group, please ask at support@virzoom.com.

[JimHenry57]

We're going to be updating Play and Explorer a lot to deserve your VZfit hardware license!

Our dev team has a history of making ambitious videogames with "agile" methods, which means we plan and execute over short periods of time, then release and repeat based on feedback and new developments.  Typically those periods are 3 weeks, but they have ranged from 2 weeks to 2 months.  

For each release we consider our heading with the project, your usage behavior, and your ideas on this forum. Then we decide the things that can make a cohesive improvement to the game, and pick a target release date. In the past our goals have included chasing VR platforms and adapting our games to different environments and customers, but that has all converged with VZfit so now the focus is keeping you riding!

We want to share our plans for each release so you can anticipate what's coming when.  The next one should be in 3-4 weeks and will give you the tools to provide great new rides to each other, so at the end of your current ride there will always be another great place to go.  That includes

- An expanded definition of rides with navigation to endpoints
- Easier creation of rides, with voice and prep you can do on vzfit.com
- Sharing rides and see how much they are ridden
- Finding rides by newness, popularity, and recommendations
- Tracking and promoting your fitness accomplishments

We also plan smaller improvements like HUD height adjustment, workout goals on the HUD not just trainer, new VO for when the trainer wants you to push, and some tips you've suggested.

We'll be using these tools ourselves to suggest rides continuously, but the world is a huge place and we hope you will share the places that only you know about.  And remember this is only the first release plan of many to come.

EDIT: You can now see all update notes at virzoom.com/updates

I love this product! Any plans for new games? It would be nice to see additions every once in a while.

[Trebor57]

How about a sort or filter of rides by distance?

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How about a sort or filter of rides by distance?

[Trebor57]

How about a sort or filter of rides by distance?

[emalafeew]

How about a sort or filter of rides by distance?

That's coming this month in the form of a "manage rides" page on vzfit.com.  We're planning a bunch of ways to filter and sort there, including via 2d map, that we'll then bring into the game in a later sprint.

[emalafeew]

I was also waiting until we made this announcement (https://www.virzoom.com/2020/09/16/story...re-headed/) to talk about the other half of our next update.

Besides web-based ride management, we'll be releasing the first step of our Oculus Store plan in the next Explorer build. From the moment you download and install the game you'll be able to play it without a bike, using just your head and hands! We're calling it "standup mode" and have more plans to build around it, for instance with a standup-specific trainer. We hope this is a great way for fitness device owners to get a different kind of workout in Explorer, and for non-device owners to enjoy Explorer before they consider getting a device.

Other things we'll be adding for the Oculus Store include a better in-game ride management system (consider the web release a preview of it), better UI to discover all the features in Explorer, more multiplayer riders, an achievement system, support for more fitness equipment, and more! We'll be releasing these incrementally like always so you won't have to wait for them to appear on the Store, but once we're on the Store it will be 10 times easier to find and install and play VZfit. We'll also continue making monthly improvements after we're on the Store.

VZfit Play will remain a separate app, on the Store backend but not frontend like now, but our plan is to merge its virtual levels into the one VZfit app for the Quest, and also make standup control work for them (such as a standup paddleboard instead of sit-down kayak).

[GoMyFly247]

I was also waiting until we made this announcement (https://www.virzoom.com/2020/09/16/story...re-headed/) to talk about the other half of our next update.

Besides web-based ride management, we'll be releasing the first step of our Oculus Store plan in the next Explorer build.  From the moment you download and install the game you'll be able to play it without a bike, using just your head and hands!  We're calling it "standup mode" and have more plans to build around it, for instance with a standup-specific trainer.  We hope this is a great way for fitness device owners to get a different kind of workout in Explorer, and for non-device owners to enjoy Explorer before they consider getting a device.

>> This sounds like a cool idea, so basically would your Oculus Quest hand controllers be sort of a pedometer to track movement and steps?   Would this enable a sort of walking mode, so that users with headsets could go on a virtual walk instead of a ride, or would the hand movement just simulate riding the bike as if the user is pedaling with their hands?  Sounds like a pretty neat idea.    If you're able to enable some sort of walking mode demo for new users before they invest in sensors, you may have a good edge to promote your app as a pretty flexible fitness app.  I could see this working with swimming simulations in standing mode if it was just arm movement as well.


Other things we'll be adding for the Oculus Store include a better in-game ride management system (consider the web release a preview of it), better UI to discover all the features in Explorer, more multiplayer riders, an achievement system, support for more fitness equipment, and more!  We'll be releasing these incrementally like always so you won't have to wait for them to appear on the Store, but once we're on the Store it will be 10 times easier to find and install and play VZfit.  We'll also continue making monthly improvements after we're on the Store.  

VZfit Play will remain a separate app, on the Store backend but not frontend like now, but our plan is to merge its virtual levels into the one VZfit app for the Quest, and also make standup control work for them (such as a standup paddleboard instead of sit-down kayak).

>> As usual, it's impressive how dedicated your team is on bringing new updates to the platform.  Even though I haven't had alot of time to ride on my bike these days, I've kept my subscription going just to support your group, however when I do have time to ride, it's a neat experience to see all the improvements since last ride.  Keep up the great work!