A quick feedback on Zwift especially on the user interface which it is really bad.
I have used Zwift for a long time and if the activity per se is fun, the user interface has to be reviewed from scratch.
You need to connect to the home trainer at the very beginning. Why? Sometimes you will connect it later
The way to choose the workout and the map is very confusing now, even worse than the 1st version of Zwift. You cannot browse quickly through the map with an overview of the planned track. You can chose workout first or map first, very confusing
You cannot change the map during an activity
Sometime Zwift crashes. Over the past 12 months it has happens at least 5 times. Very painful.
The heart rate chart at the bottom of the screen has the wrong y-axis set up. It makes almost all the time a flat line, not very interesting
You don’t have to connect at the start, you can skip it there and do it later. But youll have to at some point so why not do it at the start?
You could pick your route, start a ride then select a workout but I agree this isn’t ideal a could easily be better
Do you mean change the world you’re riding or the map in the top corner? If the latter you can click on the map (or tap on it depending on the platform you use) to change the map view.
Zwift crashing is almost always a problem with your setup. I e only had it crash once in a few years and that was due to a power cut which I can’t really blame zwift for.
If your heart rate graph is flat it is probably because your ride is at a similar wattage. Try taking it easy then putting some power down to see the changes.
For most users, the sensors you’ll pair will be the same as the last time maybe 99% of the time (unless you’re GPLama or something), there’s really no need to go through the pairing screen at all unless you want to change something. At least RGT does the pairing in the background, but it isn’t exactly perfect either, as it also displays a missing sensor just as a zero for that variable in the HUD.
Unless you use bluetooth and have separate power source.
you have to go through and connect the trainer as power source, then as controllable, then unselect it as power and select the power meter. every time! The trainer won’t show up otherwise.
Most of your points are well known to all. The UI is long overdue for some love. I’m not going to tell anyone the UI makes sense. HOWEVER…
@Chris_Holton is right on that point - this comes down to individual systems.
Unlike Netflix, Zwift isn’t just a “point, click, watch” app - there’s a lot of two-way communication going on, and every system is different. (OS, ANT+/BLE drivers, video cards and drivers etc)
AppleTV or iPad are your solutions - they rarely to NEVER crash…because Apple controls everything about the hardware and OS. You trade off graphic detail for reliability.
I know that solution gets a lot of hate in some quarters (“because Apple”) but as a PC+Android guy, I eventually went iPad/ATV as my Zwift devices because I wanted to work-out in peace without pulling my hair out every time Microsoft or nvidia updated a driver.
To counter this, I have used zwift on countless windows PCs, laptops and tablets (also android phones and tablets) and can count on one hand the number of times Zwift has crashed in the last 5 years.
But doesn’t “every time” mean that you too would be happy with the actual sensor configuration from the previous session, it’s just that the system is extra dumb making you jump through additional hoops in your case…
No, it doesn’t auto pair the controllable trainer without doing those steps everytime.
unless the trainer is paired as power source it won’t find it.
So it will remember your pedals as power source, pair those and then never pair the trainer as controllable.
If I want to use a PM as a power source and my Kickr as controllable I tend to leave the Kickr switched off, connect to the PM and then switch on the Kickr and pair the controllable as otherwise it seems to refuse to see the PM (admittedly I haven’t checked it in the latest version yet). When restarting after using this configuration it does reconnect to the PM automatically but only if the Kikr is only switched on after the auto pairing.
Are you riding or running? If riding - the chart at the bottom of the screen is power, afaik? You can toggle it on / off with G on the keyboard (when using PC, I have no idea about iOS, ATV, etc.).
That is not entirely true. Zwift for ATV has had numerous bugs that has resulted in hangs and crashes.
I use PC version, ATV as a backup, data recorded by Garmin head unit as minimum (it serves other functions like cycling dynamics), workouts in Golden Cheetah (because I started with ATV and workouts are diabolical). Zwift is really only used to relieve the boredom… with the sound muted so it doesn’t drive me nuts. Oh, and Netflix, Prime or Disney on another screen to relieve the boredom of Zwift! lol Now I am working my way through 218 episodes of The X-Files.
Uh, no. I was on iPad for a year and experienced plenty of crashes. I’m not completely without them ever on PC either (although can’t recall one mid-ride, last one was when the app was minimised and I was fiddling with wifi) but the idea that iPad would eradicate them is false. It seems even (and both rare) to me.
So long as I pair my trainer directly to ATV (not via the Companion app), I can’t remember it ever hanging or crashing since I started Zwifting ~2 years ago.
I’m currently having ongoing issues at the log-in stage, but once everything’s paired it has been pretty bulletproof.
Hard to tell who the fanbois are now… that is not always been the case with ATV. “Pretty” is not absolute and by your own admission you have “ongoing issues”.
I can count on one hand the number of times any of my PCs have crashed in Zwift, that wasn’t my fault due to messing about with overclocking and stuff. They’ve typically been issues that affect everyone, such as Haute Route 2020.
Zwift on PC is just as stable and reliable as any other platform, so long as people appreciate that this is a 3D video game and don’t expect it to run well on underpowered, unsuitable hardware. Unfortunately there are lot of people that have a bad experience without understanding why, and exaggerate the benefit of other platforms.