I’ve never used robopacers before. It’s great that people enjoy using these. However, I don’t really have a personal use for them. I am in the midst of recovering from injury right now and just want to get on my bike and complete routes of a certain length.
Yesterday, when I was halfway done with my route, a saw someone chat something about robopacers and then a huge group of them flew by me. When this happened, the focus of my ride changed from following the route I was on to telling me how far I was away from one of the robopacers. It switched back and forth a few times and then finally I thought it was locked back on my route but it switched and veered off course of my route so it no longer gave me the elevation I was expecting and I didn’t complete the route I had ridden for over an hour.
This is annoying behavior that I wish could be disabled.
I’ve been overtaken by RP groups many times and it has never affected the route I had originally chosen. If I’m in that group at a junction I need to consciously choose the direction to stay with the RP, otherwise Zwift will direct me onto my original route.
It is annoying that it overrides the course distance to be the drops multiplier but never had it change my route. Everything goes back to how they were when they go past or your route takes you in a different direction.
I’ve never experienced that. Sure they have gone past me, or I went past them - but aside from drops multiplier I remained in my intended route unless I navigated to follow the others.
I really think it’s a coincidence and you got the going -off-route bug (assuming you didn’t accidentally hit a turn or u-turn button) shortly after the RP bunch went by.
I hadn’t heard of the going-off-route bug before as I don’t spend much time in these forums unless I’m having problems. I have no way of proving this wasn’t the case but the coincidence of the group passing and the tracking in the top bar changing from how much of my route was left to how far I was behind the robopacer feels like too much of a coincidence for it not to be related.
I use an AppleTV for my output and don’t touch the remote or use companion while I ride so there’s really no way for me to have hit a turn or U-turn button.
Anyway, I am glad to hear that this isn’t expected behavior and possibly just some strange glitch that happened to me the other day and hopefully won’t continue to happen in the future.
Same as ppl above here–have been swamped by a PP group and had the HUD change–even got changed into a costume during Halloween when I was passing through a PP group up Volcano Climb, lost the costume when I left them behind But even though I’ve wished I could choose to join a PP group and have it override my route selection so I could follow them, I’ve never had that happen. As I understand it, joining a PP group doesn’t tie you to the Bot, it ties you to the route and places you next to the bot–putting you on a selected route by way of a ‘Ride With’ the bot. But the bot and you are not connected in any way in terms of following or route otherwise.
I’ve experienced it, shortly after I read about another user encountering it. I’m a D class rider (think yellow RP speeds) but got swept up in to blue and green RP groups. First time I had to halt my avatar and resume pedalling after the ‘drops’ counter vanished and the route counter returned. Second time I carried on cycling (without halting), but seems I lost my route badge effort. Can’t say I understand it. Just hope it’s not a lasting feature or error in the game.
I have seen this as well, it’s when the robot groups catch you and you cannot get away from them you lose your original route distance indicator and it’s automatically presumed you want to ride with the robot group, when you often don’t.
If they rode in their own separate worlds away from the rest of the people who just want to ride alone or normally this wouldn’t occur.
Otherwise the only way is to hit A on the keyboard to stop and then continue when they’ve gone far away.
Normally the route will only change temporarily when you are riding with the group, and it will stay like this until you and the group split. This can be a while if you are heading the same direction. I haven’t had a route not complete before like is described. There used to be a bug where if you were riding with a pace partner you could get seperated from the group though. This could be a new bug or one I haven’t encountered. I have completed all of the Zwifts routes, except the new reverse routes.
I know there was a glitch on the Epic 2024 route (the 80km route) where at one point in the jungle you lose the route-progress indicator and have to trust that you’ll still remain on the route (which fortunately is the case).
I’ve done all the routes in Makuri, all of them in France, Richmond, NY and Innsbruck, I just have the very longest routes remaining in Watopia and one in London.
It could be that the robopacer groups coming along is a coincidence masking another issue.
I’ve had this a couple of times where you choose a lengthy route to complete as a free ride or workout, and just before the end, you randomly join a RP with no option to decline. It’s a major panic because all route status info disappears, and it feels like you will now be taken off course by the RP. In both cases for me, I have managed to accelerate away ferociously because it was a v low RP, or hold back and be dropped quickly enough. So I’ve completed the routes and never found out whether I would have been diverted by the RP.
It’s not something I want to test, but I’d highly appreciate confirmation from Zwift that you can ignore the RP messages and your intended route will be maintained. Or: you would be diverted, but they will create an option to decline the RP joining messages and continue on your existing route. Perhaps a bit like when you see the pop-up turn options. {Although on a workout, not sure how feasible this would be…}
I’ve met up with pacers while free riding many times and ridden with the group for free speed, then when our paths diverge I continue on my route and they all go on their way as I would expect. I wish I could dismiss the robo pacer HUD element and see my route completion progress normally but I’ve never experienced unwanted diversion.
The most common way people accidentally go off-route while free riding is by selecting a turn using a Sterzo. You’re not using one of those right?
But even though I’ve wished I could choose to join a PP group and have it override my route selection so I could follow them, I’ve never had that happen. As I understand it, joining a PP group doesn’t tie you to the Bot, it ties you to the route and places you next to the bot–putting you on a selected route by way of a ‘Ride With’ the bot. But the bot and you are not connected in any way in terms of following or route otherwise.