Halloween 2021 - it is that time of year. :)

Halloween pace partners just went live a few hours ago(3 of them). I think the usual pace partners will be running too. I put together a post with more details and some images. Feel free to check it out: It’s Halloween on Zwift! - ZRace Central

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Thanks for the write up. Do these costumes stay unlocked in the garage until the 31st, or only for one session?

@Gerrie_Delport_ODZ this should be split into a new thread this year, as long as the pacer bots aren’t doing crazy u turns again… that’s still broken anyway so I hope they aren’t!

Cheers mate!

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In past years it was just for the session, they were not in the garage with other kits.

Did a short ride with them last night, didn’t notice any crazy u turns!

@Oliver_ZRace_Central
Thanks for the heads-up about this. Good effort. I’m surprised that there aren’t any announcements about this from ZHQ itself (unless I’ve missed them).

I remember last year’s Pace Partners with costumes, but do you recall them also applying perpetual night? (I don’t, but wasn’t riding as often around the end of Oct 2020.)

As someone who usually isn’t a fan of the quirky changes that Zwift imposes for April 1st, etc. (yes, I’m a grumpy old man), I find this version pretty innocuous. Those who like it can participate all they want; those not interested can get on with other stuff.

(I just experienced a bit of extra stress while riding up the Alpe today with the thunder and lightning going off, as I have — very stupidly — been up a mountain in a heavy thunderstorm before and don’t feel like like recreating that experience any time soon. :sweat_smile:)

Now, if only Zwift could repurpose some of these bots after Halloween to ride at 2w/kg to fill that gap between D. Diesel (1.5w/kg) and C. Cadence (2.5w/kg) they’d have an easy win and could tick off a common user request. If only…

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In addition to the different steps, they could even do some bots that permanently stay on flat routes for those who don’t feel like riding hills and don’t want to use “techniques” for riding recovery in the hills of titans grove.

That would free up the existing C and B grade bots to do some different routes. C,Cadence could venture up the radio tower climb and Epic KOM for instance.

This might also make the bot groups smaller. Those people who struggle to stay on might have a better chance of doing so.

Saw this little Halloween treat in Makuri on Suki’s Playground during a group ride tonight. Glad to see other worlds besides Watopia getting some holiday spirit.

Left side of the photo

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I think that’s always there, but might be wrong.

Maybe I’ve just never noticed the red eyes and ghost outline :man_shrugging:

I may well be wrong but I thought it was like the yeti on the Alpe; always there but randomly/rarely seen.

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I must say, I really preferred the scavenger type costume hunt from a few years ago over the pace partners (PP). The huge group around the PP, especially in the jungle with the dust, huge costume heads, and tons of thumberstorms dropping made it very difficult to see. I switched to the adjustable camera angle (0 on the keyboard) but then you lose all indications if you are in front or behind the PP and if you are getting too far away so that wasn’t ideal either.

Then for some reason my avatar turned left to stay in the jungle when everyone else went right to climb back out towards the Epic KOM. Probably because I was using the adjustable camera and constantly having to move it around using the arrow keys because it doesn’t stay centered on you as the road twists and turns. I then lost the costume after riding for 30 minutes and getting two parts.

So I switched to the slower PP, the Mech one, which is a cool costume, kudos to the designers. But I find it so hard to stay with the slow ones once the road goes uphill, I basically have to stop pedaling and then sprint to catch back on. I got tired of that and abandoned that ride too.

Wish I could just ride at my own pace and find the hidden spots on the map to get the costume. Also, it is kind of a drag that as soon as you leave the PP you lose all the parts that you have accumulated. Riding with them for 30 plus minutes and as soon as you turn off course you lose it, bummer!

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I agree @Mike_Rowe1

I did not enjoy this format. The scavenger hunt or even the times where we just got the costume and could ride anywhere was a lot better. With this format you cant even get a good picture because there are so many with the same costume on the screen and if you stop the costume disappear.

But It seem like the few that do not like fun got their whish.

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On the other hand, this format proves that there can be more than 4 PP’s at a time and at many different w/kg on many different courses… so why haven’t we seen more of them to accommodate all the different abilities? This is a very popular request that we see on the forums all the time.

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yeah. No chance of getting pics like that with the pace partners.

I was delighted to ride the Mecha masher pace partner kit, not able to reach 2,5x tough, for some unknown reasons :jack_o_lantern:
Also a terrifying ride during Alpe du zwift climbing session, not being able to leave the Jungle nor making u turns. Only realised that after 2 missed intersections :jack_o_lantern::jack_o_lantern:
Very funny :see_no_evil::ok_hand::ok_hand::stuck_out_tongue_closed_eyes: