They should reinstate Cam Jeffers’ win too.
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Same as the steering launch tbf.. Never thought through in detail, so has to be curtailed in events.
Its almost like they dont use the platform or understand their product.
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pretty much nothing, it does somewhat remove the feeling of achievement when you know so many others riding around on halo bikes got them in a weekend on the sofa.
I’m all for resetting peoples bike levels if they can figure out accurately who gamed the system.
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This stuff is ridiculous. Suddenly see people talking a lot about doing descents to get a bike.
It’s nice that people have carrots to chase. People seemingly care so if it gets them on the bike it’s great.
However, currently it doesn’t actually get people on the bike. Also, Zwift shouldn’t be confused with a game that’s in fashion for two years and people try to find easy wins untill they get bored. It should be about being active first and foremost. So also ensure the benefit is only marginal.
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There are screenshots of discussions in chat and of people using these loopholes, the teleports and descents for instance. And word gets around.
It’s big teams as well - even the leaders of those teams, with their team name at end of their name and riding around in their team kit.
Maybe remove their team kit from Zwift.
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The idea behind it was probably to keep people more active during the summer periode so hopefully less would cancel their subscription for a few months.
But between that meeting where this idea was born and the final product the programmers came up with something went wrong and not really thought through on some parts.
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I think this is correct.
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Easiest would be distance over time check and punish all the evildoers. There are so many bragging about this now on private chats now, its just going to discourage others.
If everyone gets a nerfed bike for races,.. what is even the point,.
Just draft them. The effect of drafting is way bigger than the 0.1% advantage an updated frame gives in a race.
Honestly should any one of us commoners here be surprised that Zwift released a patch, and managed to also ruin the purpose within a 2 week period? lol
Maybe if we new more Halo bikes were on the horizon; none of them really pique my interest (too quirky).
You can even go back to my old posts when this was first announced last year.
So again, ignoring the Halos, as those are the real mission here (for those interested); what’s the whole point of the upgrades?? To win a group ride?
ZHQ is now literally asking people to leave for summer.
ZMonthly Power to the Portal is broken
The huge update for 2024/2025 now is deemed pointless
April Fools at least we get a Scotty in our pocket (who do I have to pay to keep him there forever?, asking for a friend)
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I think I have come to the conclusion, if you cant beat them join them.
If Zwift HQ bury their head in the sand and do nothing post todays update il probably take the p155 and get the upgrades done via nefarious means.
If there is no point in doing it correctly, then its fair game for everyone to do it.
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When I start chopping and changing my weight so I can win every race in a lower pen you know I have hit that dark side.. Though I already weigh 80-odd kilos and not starting at 55kg..
(yes that is a rather specific example)
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Yep, that would make sense. That’s why I suggested, once you are eligible for upgrade. If you don’t have the drops, switch bikes. That way, you are building another bike, while earning drops for the first upgrade
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Throwback!
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The descending loophole isn’t cheating though. It’s a loophole. Tax avoidance vs. tax evasion. It’s fully using Zwift built-in features and gameplay. Same goes for the TT elapsed time loophole.
If you’re taking issue with this, you should also take issue with people who ride with Robo Pacers. The speeds they average and the drops they accumulate mean they can unlock equipment faster than those who don’t ride with Robo pacers.
You would also take issue with people who Everest, but on the way down, they get off their bikes, go to the bathroom, get something to eat, etc. By doing so, they can complete the Everest much quicker than other riders.
What about the people who late join big spin rides so that they can get more chances to unlock bikes. Again, this loophole allows for some people to earn in-game equipment faster than others.
What about people who exploit the short climb portal climbs, which farms XP. Seems unfair for those who don’t do it.
Once you look closely at the numbers, you realize that the Halo bikes aren’t worth the effort. A serious racer will never use them because they all climb like bricks. I’m happy they made the SL8 the go-to bike because getting it to Level 5 can be done within a reasonable amount of time for most semi-serious users.
Thankfully, the failsafe that’s been mentioned already is that most users who are exploiting the Alpe loophole will run out of drops after purchasing/levelling-out a few bikes, and will inevitably have to ride their bikes to earn the drops anyway.
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You missed coffee breaks, I can get an extra mile every 30 minutes without having to pedal.
Honestly, I would still rather see all of those “cheats” versus the 400 watts over all terrain riders or the 20 minute 10k runners
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As much as I don’t like people being tempted to use the loopholes, I don’t consider it as cheating and I don’t see a reason to want an up graded Tron bike.
I am also going to upgrade the SL8 and stop.
I think this may have an adverse affect on TT races.
I hope all other races are not on neutralized bikes.
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Coffee break. Good point. I heard some folks went for the “Guinness 24 hour Zwift word record” a while back, but every 30 minutes they were coffee breaking. How does this sit with those who previously set the record prior to this “loophole” being introduced?
If Zwift doesn’t enable a simple algorithm to stop people from doing 8 w/kg for 20 minutes and other unbelievable metrics, why do we think they’d care about this?
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In gaming there is always a loophole. Then there are sometimes bans for intentionally exploiting it. I don’t really care what people do, and the benefits of it will be short lived with neutralization.
I do however think people should decide if doing it is worth the risk for them… consider that people have already been banned for this or warned that it is considered an exploit (WTRL).
There is a grey line and clearly people have been deemed to step over it when combined with other factors.
- who they are / visibility
- number of times done
- other intentional factors (weight, no power etc)
- public posting about it / promotion of it
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