Hey Zwifters, it’s been a while since we’ve posted some release notes - sorry about that! We’ve got quite a few things in the works, and today some of those features are making their way out and we’re excited for everybody to give them a try.
First and foremost - Time Trial events are now a thing (well, in a few days when the events go live). Just like real world time trial events, Zwifters will start one by one and be timed against the clock. When you sign up in Zwift Companion for a Time Trial event you will be assigned a start time - just sign in to the game before your assigned time and you’ll be put into the start area on our new conveyor belt system. Row by row you’ll move closer to the start line until finally it is your turn to go. You’ll get a final countdown, and off you go!
NOTE: Time trial events and the features below will go live once we give all the Zwifters out there 2-3 days to get the update (mobile App stores can sometimes lag behind a day or two).
Secondly, the burrito power-up is back in select events! It’s been 4 years since it last made an appearance, but it’s time to dust it off and give it another go. What is it? If an event (most likely a race) is configured to have the burrito powerup available then it will be randomly awarded just like any other powerup. When a Zwifter uses it, they become undraftable for a period of time. In a large pack this may have little effect, but if you’re ready to break away off the front it could be quite useful if you’re not wanting to tow a line of riders along with you.
Third, we’ve come up with a brand new powerup - Invisibility. Again like the burrito, an event will need to be configured to feature the Invisibility powerup. When a Zwifter activates it they will become invisible for a short period of time. Do you use this to sneak away? Do you start to sprint, go invisible, and then immediately let off the gas leaving everybody else to believe you are invisibly sprinting away? It could be interesting.
NOTE: in a future update the invisibility powerup may auto-disable when there is less than 200m to go in an event.
Fourth and finally, we are going to be slowly allowing more ride leaders to use the ‘Ride Leader Fence’ feature for group rides. This is a feature that can be turned on and off by ride leaders to show Zwifters in the group where the boundaries of the event are. If you want to go off the front and through the boundary, that is fine, but you will be notified you are leaving the event as you do so. With the leader being able to turn it on and off (and set the distance) in realtime, it still allows for a group to be encouraged to stay together for part of the ride, and then have a fun sprint at the end by turning the fence off.
One last note - we haven’t forgot about our older features. One of our goals for 2019 is to look back at features that have already shipped and spend a little time fixing some of the lingering bugs they may have. It’s resulted in a few updates this year that we’ve not talked much about, but rest assured there’s quite a few changes in each update we make even if they aren’t shiny and new items.
As usual we’re all ears when it comes to feedback about changes or a new issue you may have discovered, just respond to this thread. Or if there is something new you’d like to see, head on over to Feature Requests to post your idea.
Ride On.
The Team at Zwift