Our next update

[emalafeew]

We diverged a bit from our sprint plan this month. We have now released Lotus Pond, and a bunch of smaller requested items for Play and Explorer, but put off message-of-the-day and Explorer POI in order to add cadence and speed sensor support.

For next sprint, we plan to swing back to Explorer with points-of-interest for City Mode, Strava support (!), and streaming music. We also still want to get in message-of-the-day to both games because not everyone reads these forum notes.

We also hear everybody about better goal setting and stat tracking, and will start designing a system for that across Play and Explorer this month!

[pastorjeff]

(all following for explorer)

PLEASE add the "auto steer" option. Hide it if you have to, but don't limit the choices of few for the many. MANY people have asked for this.

Your "tilt to steer" is broken to an extent - If I'm on a recumbent, sure, it works because my head is usually "level" (my eyes are at the horizon.)
It DOESN'T work if I'm on a regular bike and my head is hanging "down" a bit, a glance left or right counts as a tilt and steers the bike.

PLEASE add a difficulty zero that goes faster than 1 and doesn't require any peddling. If I've just humped up a massive hill, my legs deserve a rest as they would on a normal bike, but your software would stop the simulation. This would allow us to continue to free-ride down the hill.

[emalafeew]

We hear everyone, and auto-steer will be added to the current sprint. We'll try to do it in a way that doesn't ruin our motion sickness solution.

The latest build makes the lowest difficulty setting 2.5 times easier than before. There is a separate thread about coasting and its pros and cons.
If we did do it, there would be better ways than making it difficulty zero.

[GoMyFly247]

Just joined VZfit and I also agree that auto-steer should be an option as I am having trouble with re-orienting myself back in the correct direction if I create a custom ride and don't lean enough to make a turn.  Once I'm facing the wrong position with my Oculus Go there's no way to get back on track.  Previously, I read you could switch bike directions in the menu, but it doesn't appear on my latest version of the app that I have on my Go or the Quest.

I also tried Explorer with my Oculus Quest and it worked better by using my head tilt to handle the turns, but in the realm of VR, its useful to simulate real riding, but at the same time, for those of us who just want a work out and have a fun riding experience, I'm ok with auto-pilot / auto-steer so I can just focus on pedaling.  I find myself spending all my time preparing for turns so I don't get off track rather than enjoying my ride.

Currently, I'm using my own Wahoo Cadence sensor and it seems that every time I start up the app on my headset (both Oculus Go or Oculus Quest), I have to re-register my cadence sensor.   Not sure if this is typical behavior, or if it is a glitch, so please advise.   During the handshaking / verification of the account with the sensor, I pedal to connect the cadence sensor but then always have to go to register with code before I can start my session, which is a pain if you have to do this each time.  I decided to use my own cadence sensor because I had read that the original one from VZfit chews through lithium batteries fairly quickly so since this cadence sensor works fine for Zwift and my other apps, I wanted to use this one instead.   Not sure if the sensor connects via ANT+ or bluetooth, but wondering if there's a unique code sent every time I connect up to the app that is causing this issue.

As a new user / member,  I thought it was a bit strange that for the VZFit game section you have the option to stream radio stations, but on the VZfit explorer, there's not the same option.  When you are riding scenic views, most of the time that's where you need music the most, so if you can integrate the radio station option that you have in the VZFit games into the Explorer for regular rides, that would be great.

On the positive note, I am enjoying the riding games as they are turning out to be more fun than the explorer rides so far.   Keep up the great work, and if you could just simply add autosteer to the explorer rides or the custom rides, that would keep me using the app and renewing my subscription.

[Shon_T]

I like the idea of streaming music in Explore.

Personally, I play music or podcasts externally through my phone, computer, etc.

[emalafeew]

Just joined VZfit and I also agree that auto-steer should be an option as I am having trouble with re-orienting myself back in the correct direction if I create a custom ride and don't lean enough to make a turn.  Once I'm facing the wrong position with my Oculus Go there's no way to get back on track.  Previously, I read you could switch bike directions in the menu, but it doesn't appear on my latest version of the app that I have on my Go or the Quest.

I also tried Explorer with my Oculus Quest and it worked better by using my head tilt to handle the turns, but in the realm of VR, its useful to simulate real riding, but at the same time, for those of us who just want a work out and have a fun riding experience, I'm ok with auto-pilot / auto-steer so I can just focus on pedaling.  I find myself spending all my time preparing for turns so I don't get off track rather than enjoying my ride.

Currently, I'm using my own Wahoo Cadence sensor and it seems that every time I start up the app on my headset (both Oculus Go or Oculus Quest), I have to re-register my cadence sensor.   Not sure if this is typical behavior, or if it is a glitch, so please advise.   During the handshaking / verification of the account with the sensor, I pedal to connect the cadence sensor but then always have to go to register with code before I can start my session, which is a pain if you have to do this each time.  I decided to use my own cadence sensor because I had read that the original one from VZfit chews through lithium batteries fairly quickly so since this cadence sensor works fine for Zwift and my other apps, I wanted to use this one instead.   Not sure if the sensor connects via ANT+ or bluetooth, but wondering if there's a unique code sent every time I connect up to the app that is causing this issue.

As a new user / member,  I thought it was a bit strange that for the VZFit game section you have the option to stream radio stations, but on the VZfit explorer, there's not the same option.  When you are riding scenic views, most of the time that's where you need music the most, so if you can integrate the radio station option that you have in the VZFit games into the Explorer for regular rides, that would be great.

On the positive note, I am enjoying the riding games as they are turning out to be more fun than the explorer rides so far.   Keep up the great work, and if you could just simply add autosteer to the explorer rides or the custom rides, that would keep me using the app and renewing my subscription.

Thanks for the feedback!  Everything here should be addressed in next build.

Regarding auto-steer, as noted it will be an option for those only focused on pedaling.  We'll slow you down automatically going into turns but allow extra speed if you look into turns, because that is what reduces sim sickness.

We didn't anticipate people getting backwards on rides with directions, so made our "reverse direction" button available only for "free rides" with an open destination, and even moved it up to the main menu for them.  We think the best solution for rides with directions will be to prevent you from turning more than 90 degrees from the path.

You should definitely not have to reregister your Cadence sensor each time.  Our initial release did have issues if you have a speed sensor as well as a cadence sensor hooked up for Zwift (which is probable since Zwift cannot move without a speed sensor), but that was fixed with an update last weekend.  However if you aren't seeing the "Press A for new sensor" and instead keep seeing the "You must have a VZfit-compatible sensor", you'll be back in the same boat.  We'll be adding further code in new build to prevent accidental cases of that. (EDIT: that hotfix is out now)

We will definitely have the same radio stations in Explorer with this build too.

[emalafeew]

I decided to use my own cadence sensor because I had read that the original one from VZfit chews through lithium batteries fairly quickly so since this cadence sensor works fine for Zwift and my other apps, I wanted to use this one instead.

I also want to specifically address this FUD!

Our VZ Sensor lasts for 45-60 hours of continuous usage with one battery. That's 3-4 months of every day usage for 1/2 hour. If that doesn't sound like a long time compared to cadence sensors, consider that VZ Sensor outputs speed instantaneously while it's in use.

We have telemetry on all battery usage that shows this, and you can see on your own vzfit.com/usage page for your bike. If you track it like we do, note that a fresh battery starts at 3.0 volts, slowly goes from 2.8 to 2.5 over most of its life, then heads down to 2.1 when our game HUD warns of low battery before it becomes insufficient at 1.9 volts.

We believe some customers have associated bluetooth connection delay with our battery life. Bluetooth connections can be maddening sometimes, but we haven't seen justification that anyone's VZ Sensor drains faster than our telemetry shows. We also provide extra batteries for both the sensor and button as a convenience.

[GoMyFly247]

Just joined VZfit and I also agree that auto-steer should be an option as I am having trouble with re-orienting myself back in the correct direction if I create a custom ride and don't lean enough to make a turn.  Once I'm facing the wrong position with my Oculus Go there's no way to get back on track.  Previously, I read you could switch bike directions in the menu, but it doesn't appear on my latest version of the app that I have on my Go or the Quest.

I also tried Explorer with my Oculus Quest and it worked better by using my head tilt to handle the turns, but in the realm of VR, its useful to simulate real riding, but at the same time, for those of us who just want a work out and have a fun riding experience, I'm ok with auto-pilot / auto-steer so I can just focus on pedaling.  I find myself spending all my time preparing for turns so I don't get off track rather than enjoying my ride.

Currently, I'm using my own Wahoo Cadence sensor and it seems that every time I start up the app on my headset (both Oculus Go or Oculus Quest), I have to re-register my cadence sensor.   Not sure if this is typical behavior, or if it is a glitch, so please advise.   During the handshaking / verification of the account with the sensor, I pedal to connect the cadence sensor but then always have to go to register with code before I can start my session, which is a pain if you have to do this each time.  I decided to use my own cadence sensor because I had read that the original one from VZfit chews through lithium batteries fairly quickly so since this cadence sensor works fine for Zwift and my other apps, I wanted to use this one instead.   Not sure if the sensor connects via ANT+ or bluetooth, but wondering if there's a unique code sent every time I connect up to the app that is causing this issue.

As a new user / member,  I thought it was a bit strange that for the VZFit game section you have the option to stream radio stations, but on the VZfit explorer, there's not the same option.  When you are riding scenic views, most of the time that's where you need music the most, so if you can integrate the radio station option that you have in the VZFit games into the Explorer for regular rides, that would be great.

On the positive note, I am enjoying the riding games as they are turning out to be more fun than the explorer rides so far.   Keep up the great work, and if you could just simply add autosteer to the explorer rides or the custom rides, that would keep me using the app and renewing my subscription.

Thanks for the feedback!  Everything here should be addressed in next build.

Regarding auto-steer, as noted it will be an option for those only focused on pedaling.  We'll slow you down automatically going into turns but allow extra speed if you look into turns, because that is what reduces sim sickness.

We didn't anticipate people getting backwards on rides with directions, so made our "reverse direction" button available only for "free rides" with an open destination, and even moved it up to the main menu for them.  We think the best solution for rides with directions will be to prevent you from turning more than 90 degrees from the path.

You should definitely not have to reregister your Cadence sensor each time.  Our initial release did have issues if you have a speed sensor as well as a cadence sensor hooked up for Zwift (which is probable since Zwift cannot move without a speed sensor), but that was fixed with an update last weekend.  However if you aren't seeing the "Press A for new sensor" and instead keep seeing the "You must have a VZfit-compatible sensor", you'll be back in the same boat.  We'll be adding further code in new build to prevent accidental cases of that.  (EDIT: that hotfix is out now)

We will definitely have the same radio stations in Explorer with this build to

Thank you for taking the time to reply.   Yes, indeed, I do have both the Wahoo cadence and speed sensor on my exercise bike, so to make it work with VirZoom perhaps I should disconnect the speed sensor temporarily to see if that solves the problem and report back.    With the hotfix you just released, I hope that solves the problem - will let you know after trying it a few times.

I appreciate all your efforts to keep improving the product, it definitely builds confidence in the subscription.  Thanks for your time and effort!  Looking forward to the update with radio stations.

Do we have to re-install the app in order to get the update, or will it detect that there's a new build and ask us to update?  I found that the app is working better on my Oculus Quest so far vs. the Oculus Go for the turns, but I just appreciate your team has designed something that makes stationary cycling fun again.

---

I decided to use my own cadence sensor because I had read that the original one from VZfit chews through lithium batteries fairly quickly so since this cadence sensor works fine for Zwift and my other apps, I wanted to use this one instead.

I also want to specifically address this FUD!

Our VZ Sensor lasts for 45-60 hours of continuous usage with one battery.  That's 3-4 months of every day usage for 1/2 hour.  If that doesn't sound like a long time compared to cadence sensors, consider that VZ Sensor outputs speed instantaneously while it's in use.

We have telemetry on all battery usage that shows this, and you can see on your own vzfit.com/usage page for your bike.  If you track it like we do, note that a fresh battery starts at 3.0 volts, slowly goes from 2.8 to 2.5 over most of its life, then heads down to 2.1 when our game HUD warns of low battery before it becomes insufficient at 1.9 volts.

We believe some customers have associated bluetooth connection delay with our battery life.  Bluetooth connections can be maddening sometimes, but we haven't seen justification that anyone's VZ Sensor drains faster than our telemetry shows.  We also provide extra batteries for both the sensor and button as a convenience.

This is good to know, and thanks for the info on the fact that the VZ sensor outputs speed instantaneously while in use, that makes sense.  I was also wondering if there were any plans to integrate heart rate sensor compatibility with your app.   I'm using a Keiser stationary bike that has a bluetooth display and it works with my existing heart rate monitor and though that would be cool to integrate that into your VZFit app.

Also, although I also have a Fitbit, I prefer using my Apple watch to track my activity so I wonder if there's any plans for Apple Watch compatibility in the future so that it ties into the Apple Health app.  I realize these are wish list items that take a while to develop and test, but just thought I'd put it out there if there's a way to poll the data from the Apple watch (heart rate info) back into a VzFit app to gather the data if you allow permissions that way.

[emalafeew]

Do we have to re-install the app in order to get the update, or will it detect that there's a new build and ask us to update?  I found that the app is working better on my Oculus Quest so far vs. the Oculus Go for the turns, but I just appreciate your team has designed something that makes stationary cycling fun again.
...
I was also wondering if there were any plans to integrate heart rate sensor compatibility with your app.   I'm using a Keiser stationary bike that has a bluetooth display and it works with my existing heart rate monitor and though that would be cool to integrate that into your VZFit app.

Also, although I also have a Fitbit, I prefer using my Apple watch to track my activity so I wonder if there's any plans for Apple Watch compatibility in the future so that it ties into the Apple Health app.  I realize these are wish list items that take a while to develop and test, but just thought I'd put it out there if there's a way to poll the data from the Apple watch (heart rate info) back into a VzFit app to gather the data if you allow permissions that way.

The update will be automatic like other Oculus apps. If you leave your Oculus headset in standby while charging and not completely off. If an update is released when the headset is on, you will see it in the Updates section of your Library to install manually, and if you run the game the headset will ask if you want to update it first. Let us know if you have any trouble!

One of your sensors (the cadence or the speed) is registered with VZfit. If you find you want the other one, because they have somewhat different behaviors, email support@virzoom.com and we'll be happy to reset it.

It's in our backlog to show bluetooth heartrate. We already do so in our HUD for the VZ Bike, where heartrate is part of the same bluetooth connection, but we don't yet support multiple device connections.

Fitbit and iWatch don't broadcast heartrate, and we can't add workouts to Apple Health directly like with Fitbit. It may be possible to write an iWatch app that reads your heartrate, and could send it to our game display, and also read back from our game to update Apple Health. A little research shows this is how Zwift Companion app does it. A real companion app is on our list and may be worth it, but for now "vzfit.com" is our companion app that works on all devices, that just can't access device-specific behaviors

[GoMyFly247]

Do we have to re-install the app in order to get the update, or will it detect that there's a new build and ask us to update?  I found that the app is working better on my Oculus Quest so far vs. the Oculus Go for the turns, but I just appreciate your team has designed something that makes stationary cycling fun again.
...
I was also wondering if there were any plans to integrate heart rate sensor compatibility with your app.   I'm using a Keiser stationary bike that has a bluetooth display and it works with my existing heart rate monitor and though that would be cool to integrate that into your VZFit app.

Also, although I also have a Fitbit, I prefer using my Apple watch to track my activity so I wonder if there's any plans for Apple Watch compatibility in the future so that it ties into the Apple Health app.  I realize these are wish list items that take a while to develop and test, but just thought I'd put it out there if there's a way to poll the data from the Apple watch (heart rate info) back into a VzFit app to gather the data if you allow permissions that way.

The update will be automatic like other Oculus apps.  If you leave your Oculus headset in standby while charging and not completely off.  If an update is released when the headset is on, you will see it in the Updates section of your Library to install manually, and if you run the game the headset will ask if you want to update it first.   Let us know if you have any trouble!

One of your sensors (the cadence or the speed) is registered with VZfit.  If you find you want the other one, because they have somewhat different behaviors, email support@virzoom.com and we'll be happy to reset it.

It's in our backlog to show bluetooth heartrate.  We already do so in our HUD for the VZ Bike, where heartrate is part of the same bluetooth connection, but we don't yet support multiple device connections.

Fitbit and iWatch don't broadcast heartrate, and we can't add workouts to Apple Health directly like with Fitbit.  It may be possible to write an iWatch app that reads your heartrate, and could send it to our game display, and also read back from our game to update Apple Health.  A little research shows this is how Zwift Companion app does it.  A real companion app is on our list and may be worth it, but for now "vzfit.com" is our companion app that works on all devices, that just can't access device-specific behaviors

======================================================

Hi there,

As feedback, I tried out the updated app and indeed, it works much better now.  Thank you for updating the app.  I was able to link my Wahoo cadence sensor and decided to temporarily disconnect my Wahoo speed sensor so that there wouldn't be a conflict between having two sensors linked at the same time.   The good news is that now when I start up the app on my Oculus Quest, it detects the cadence sensor without me having to always re-register the bike.  After reading your previous replies, now what I am doing is setting a start location and leaving an open ended destination instead and having the reverse direction option is much better.  

Another thing I wish was available would be a mini-map so I could tell where I am while on an open ride, with a pop up window (similar to what they have in the Wander app), and perhaps the ability to have a quick graphical map summary at the end of my ride of so I can see where I've been.

I was also discussing the VZfit app with my other friends with Oculus headsets and they wondered if you would ever make a variant of your app for treadmills.  The idea would be that you could link a pedometer sensor to your app so that so that people could virtually walk around their neighbourhood without having to leave home (which might be perfect during the COVID times).  For safety purposes on the treadmill, you might need to have an auto direction/steer option so that people don't fall off their treadmills if they try to lean to turn however. Anyhow, I think there may be a new for you there for the treadmill enthusiasts.

Another friend wanted to try using a recumbent bike with the Vzfit app, and I think it should work ok, because you would still just attach a cadence or speed sensor to the pedal, and if you lean or tilt your head to steer, it would still give you similar results versus a regular stationary bike.

The latest updates you've provided really improved the user experience for the Explorer rides, and I'm looking forward to the future updates that will have the integrated music panel and radio stations as well.   Keep up the great work, and thanks for letting us use our own 3rd party sensors, that's awesome