Relative position/rider list issues

The August patch included this:

Time gaps between riders in the riders nearby list has been improved and should now be significantly more accurate across different terrain types.

Since then, the time gaps in the in-game rider list have been completely out of whack. Times in the rider list sometimes completely out of order. Gaps indicated that don’t exist. Riders in front with times indicating that they behind (+ times) and vice versa (- times for those behind). Riders appearing ahead in the list when they’re actually behind. There’s also differences in the number of riders being reported by the rider list and, possibly by extension, what position people are in, if that’s displayed. This has caused no end of frustration when trying to sweep in group rides, with inaccurate information about the people we’re trying to help. Also, I mention the “in-game rider list” because it doesn’t appear to have the same issue in the companion app. The time gaps listed there don’t appear out of whack.

At the same time, the fence came back, tho now with the voltage turned down, so instead of zapping riders, it just gives them a mild buzz in the form of the “return to group” warning. But you don’t have to be in front of the fence to get that warning. It’s a good thing that the fence isn’t zapping, given its inability to accurately tell when you’re ahead.

Also, I’ve noticed that the distance covered at the end of a group ride can vary quite a bit between riders who started and finished together. For a long time, I’ve noticed that, if I finished next to the ride leader, I was usually 200 or 300 meters short of their total. OK. Whatever. Some minor difference in what each of our games are reporting, I figure. No big deal. Now, however, I’ve been seeing variances of 1km or more, even if we’re riding right next to each other at the end. Near the end of a ride tonight, with an hour at an easy pace around Yorkshire, riders in the group around me were anywhere between 18.2km (myself and a couple others) and 19.4km (one rider), with the leader having covered 19.2km. Most were in the 18.3km-18.5km range.

I don’t know if these are related, but they did come around the same time and I’ve heard other riders talk about it, and I’ve commented on it with other updates since then, but have not seen anything from Zwift about it. I can provide screen shots of most of these issues if they help.

Had one guy 2km’s (but only 12 seconds) behind a few weeks back!

Interesting you picked up on the August update - I too noticed strangeness with drafting and distances since that update and theirs loads of anecdotal evidence around various forums of the same.

I reckon a lot of these are related but possibly totally wrong. One thread of a quite a few that have mentioned, distances, drafting etc and gets occasional updates is this one for your ref.

I’d strongly suggest you log a ticket with support attaching a log file and the screen shots of the evidence to help them troubleshoot, as I have.