Zwift has just rolled out a major change to the game. They’ve also announced a major change in plans! Clearly both bits of news are driven by the unprecedented level of users on the platform. Here are the details…
Three World Options
A game update is now rolling out which enables a third world option, giving Zwifters easy access to Watopia plus two scheduled guest maps each day.
Previously we only had access to Watopia and one guest map, but with traffic levels so high, it makes good sense to open up another world so maps don’t feel crowded.
This is great news. And it’s a positive signal that Zwift is hearing what the community is saying, and trying to act on it quickly. In fact, Zwift says this new feature was “Implemented as a direct result of feedback from the ever-growing community,” That’s nice to see!
The guest worlds will rotate in pairs, which can be seen on the in-game calendar. London + Yorkshire, NYC + Richmond, Richmond + London, Innsbruck + Richmond, and Yorkshire + Innsbruck.
See April’s updated calendar >
Note: the 2 guest worlds update will be available on all platforms in the coming days. IOS and AppleTV will probably take the longest to get the update, as app updates must be approved by Apple before release.
UI Refresh Delayed
Zwift also sent out this bit of news:
First, the good news is that the new UI for AppleTV is finished. However, we have made the tough decision to hold the launch until later in the year.
With the increase in usage we’ve seen on the platform in recent weeks, we know that Zwifters are relying on us more than ever. Our priority is ensuring the platform remains stable and our teams are able to best support the community. Postponing our update ensures we can better manage and help all members enjoy their Zwift experience through WFH and quarantine measures.
The teams are continuing to work as normal on new game features, new roads and of course, more event experiences.
A bit disappointing? Yes. Understandable? Also yes.
We’ve been eagerly anticipating the release of Zwift’s refreshed user interface. But we don’t want it at the cost of a degraded experience for Zwifters during a time when the world needs Zwift more than ever. So it sounds like ZwiftHQ is making a wise choice. And it’s good to hear that things are still moving ahead with new game features and new roads. We all love new roads!
Your Thoughts
What do you think of these two bits of news? Chime in below!
I lost my Stage 1 Haute Route activity this morning presumably because their systems were over-utilized. Anything they can do to keep things stable with so many users online is fine with. The UI definitely needs some improvement, but it can wait.
Check your email to see if you received the “Complete: Haute Route Watopia Stage 1” email. I thought my Apple TV ate the ride… but after about 6 hours i was able to get a .fit file for upload to other places.
Hopefully it is actually there
Same here, i was also not able to save the file. Very disappointing… I was able to upload it to Strava using the fit file.
I didn’t get the chance to ride it, kicked out after 30 seconds and not allowed in.
I think it should have been Watopia and London always available, since those worlds have the most roads. The third world would rotate among the remaining worlds.
Nice news regarding New option… But we realy need New roda.. As clássics events.. Paris roubaix… .. New montains roda.. As stelvio .. We need New stuff… Pls
Very welcome
A fantastic move and good to see Zwift HQ listening and acting quickly! I mostly choose Watopia anyway, but more options are always appreciated. 🙂
Does any about what time of day Zwift has the least usage? Since I’m now working from home, and ordered by the state to ‘stay at home’, I might be willing to adjust my schedule to ride when there are less users.
Pretty sure it’s during the afternoon in Australia. 2pm in Sydney is 3am in London and 11pm in New York. So from about 2 to 6pm in Australia, Europe and and the USA are nicely tucked up in bed. There might only be a couple of thousand on at these times (compared to the 20k+ that Zwift is getting lately) and there’s very few events scheduled for obvious reasons. Keep in mind the 3 major areas using Zwift are Europe, USA and Asia/Australia/Japan. So find a time that works for you and that doesn’t clash with the morning and evening… Read more »
Yep, I’ve found the quietest times have been midnight to 3am CST in the US, with sometimes less than 1000 riders
I’ve noticed that 2 to 4 PM US Central time is much lower on some days, especially since the various Tours only have events starting at 2 and 4 PM.
Zwift online usercount peaks twice a day:
around 11AM CEST (9AM GMT) and about 5PM-7PM CEST (3PM-5PM GMT)
The morning peak is somewhat lower, usually stays under 20k users, but the afternoons are crazy, 22-23k+ usercount during the week, and weekends became the most popular in the past 3 weekends (27-28k+).
The morning hours (like 6-9AM CEST) are the quietest, about 2-4k Zwifters online.
KR,
Andras
Hey Eric,
Thanks for all your hard work in keeping us updated on everything ZWIFT!
I’m confused… are the extra world choices available now… or is it delayed?
Thanks!
They are available with the new update that just went out on PC/Mac/Android. Others coming very soon.
So update your version.
My 65 mile, 25 laps around the volcano wouldn’t save tonight but I did get the badge..
I think all the riders is making things a little touchy… Keep up the good work…
Sounds like today’s update will fix some or all of the file saving issues we’ve been seeing, too.
Great news! That solves the “not-enough-square-km-for-that-many-user” issue, thank you Zwift! Also for keeping us informed Eric.
We were contemplating about the possible solution in Zwift hungary group for two weeks now (not that we can do anything about it, just mulling over), and the conclusion in my head was to have more square km available, so either “stretch the routes” somehow (not viable) or simply introduce a second guest world (sounds imple to me, dunno the math behind 😉 )
Zwift usercount jumped ahead 2-3 years with this years situation, with that step, they’ll mitigate the problem somewhat.
These are great initiatives.
Some more ideas maybe to consider…
An easier way to find a friend that is already riding when you come online.. Once he/she is moving it is difficult to find them… Maybe a possibility to “teleport” to them.
Maybe an idea to allow a rider to ride only with or only see people from a certain country.. Or Geolocation. I like the idea of riding into some local folk. At the moment the possibility is zero.. Just too many people on server..
I got booted from haupt last night. Game reset, probably due too sheer rider volume, and I couldn’t get back in, Competed a 50km on the same route but no badge. Any chance this will be considered or that a makeup day would be reconsidered?
Yesterday. the 11am Central Daylight Savings Time, USA, Haupt Ride had over 7800 participants. There were many strange sights during the first 10k or so until it thinned out a little. Riders floating around, going in all directions. I wonder what the record is for the most participants in one ride?
10,000+ group ride with Andre Greipel. No problems at all.
My results from Stagec1 is in the Zwift history but is 6 miles short and I cannot down load a file to try to get it into Strava .
It’s a shame that UI updates are being delayed. Office 365 has a ‘toggle’ in most of it’s products to use the ‘beta’ or ‘new look’ UI, shame Zwift couldn’t use this method to allow users to opt in and get some feedback/early adopters.
Nice reaction by Zwift… the more people on the platform, the more worlds they can run at the same time without losing the sense of riding together.
However, I do not understand how there’s only 2 days of Innsbruck in a full month. As someone else suggested: London should be a 2nd fixed world because of sheer amount of roads with the other worlds rotating as guest.
Multiple worlds would only work if the load is spread evenly. On top of that they should limit each world to 10,000 cyclists. Because, to be honest, Richmond, I’m not sure I’m gonna ride a lot on it.
Question: Would it be better to add more roads to Richmond? Expand?
Heard rumor that Zwift is going to add Japan as a world! This sounds exciting especially if they can put in a road to the top of Mount Fuji!
Good question.
I think a UCI world would be awesome, so they don’t have to extend each of the world (Yorkshire, Richmond, Innsbruck, etc.).
Or go with continent: Europe (London, Yorkshire, Innsbruck), US (NY, Richmond), Asia (Watopia, Tokyo)
I don’t like this. It was amazing when the roads are packed and you can draft all the way on a free ride. Keep the density.
Any screenshots of what the new UI looks like?
I wondered the same. A little taster.
Stage 1 of Haute Route crashed on me twice – about 20 minutes in each time, along with unusual power readings the whole time, which were fine in pre and post rides. I won’t try the other two stages.
Interesting teaser in the release notes at https://forums.zwift.com/t/game-update-april-3-2020/329067
“We’ve plugged in some core components to light up an upcoming FutureWorks powered event mode. More details about this mode coming soon.”
Glad they delayed the UI update. Stability is all we need now.
Lately , after logging in and finding my sensors , Zwift takes me directly to a ride . The page for choosing the ride is only visible for a second and I’m then transported to a ride not of my choosing . This means I have to cancel out of everything and then try the whole thing over again . Doesn’t happen all the time but a PIA when it does .
*I have the latest update .
What gives ??
That’s weird behavior. I’d report it to support.
I think it’s because the “OK” button and the “Ride” button are in the same position on the screen. If you are a little overzealous pressing the “OK” button, it processes you. 2nd click as a click on the “Ride” button. I’ve found I have to be patient with the “OK” button.
Interesting!
What are the best ideas for places to create worlds to ride on Zwift?
I think it should be places that have both flat and hilly regions.
Hawaii would be cool for 2 reasons:
1) Amazing climb to top of 13,800′ Mauna Kea (4206 M) over 43 miles (69 km) would be challenge!
2) Triathletes would get Kona course of course
but I’d also enjoy Japan as rumored!
Any other great ideas?
Mallorca or tenerife
Is this new?
“If you’re running Zwift on an iOS or Android device, you can switch your world or default route without exiting the app. When you stop riding or running, select “End Ride” or “End Run,” and either save or discard your activity. Tap your name to go back to the starting screen. There, you can choose a different route or a whole new world.
On a PC or Mac computer, ending your ride or run will close Zwift. You’ll need to log back in to choose a different route or world.”
No, that’s how it’s always been. Us poor computer users have to do a Zwift reboot to do a new ride!
Is 26,267 even news any more? Because that’s what it was this morning.
I use Tacx. It’s far more interesting and varied with the video routes. If I want a computer game I’ll go on a playstation.
What’s the point of coming on to this forum to post that? If you don’t like Zwift, then don’t read their fan site. And if you do read it, don’t waste other people’s time with trolling comments.
Gimp
Eric, with all the lag issues this morning, it might be worth doing a repost of your Zwift for the data poor article. I’ve used it on vacation at our cabin and it’s a lot better than not Zwifting. I’m thinking I might need to do it in Watopia unless the server issues get sorted out. I’d bet a lot of newer people don’t know it’s an option.
Too little Innsbruck 🙁
Guess there aren’t flat roads to ride for the masses.
If there are concerns about the stability of the new UI, then it clearly isn’t “ready,” and they shouldn’t deploy it until it is. Sadly, the continuous delivery model of software development has precipitated a complete disregard for quality.
I hope they’re not waiting for veloton to release before bringing out some more good stuff. Because in that case, we might never see any updates 😂
I like seeing that NYC is deemphasized in the rotation of guest worlds, it’s my absolute least favorite with all the cheesy space/future elements! 🙄
Does anyone know what the new UI for AppleTV looks like. Looking forward to the update. Current version not the easiest to use.
I believe Yorkshire is supposed to be a guest world this Tuesday the 7th, but the ZCA doesn’t give me that option for a group meetup. Anyone try this?
hi, i get the two guest worlds showing on my pc but only one my ipad. If it is ready to roll out for the ipad I don’t understand why it would make their system less stable if rolled out on the ipad.
Not sure if it was this update or the one prior – but I love the ability to toggle on and off the power zone tracker that filled the bottom width of the screen.
Great to see these updates! Would really love to see a France-based world with TdF routes or inspired routes (Alpe is such a nice add!), or classic race world routes like Roubaix, Vuelta a Espana, Giro d’Italia, or Tour of California. New roads would be great! Some little changes that may be helpful: Putting the “Ride On” and “Follow Zwifter” icons (thumbs up and plus sign) next to riders names while in game on the Zwifters screen nearby on the list instead of having to go in and out of people’s profiles. Being able to access “Menu” without having to… Read more »
Any ideas when this release is going to be available for iOS?
In these Close the gap times Close the gap of coronavirus Close the gap with many Close the gap people riding Close the gap Zwift, at the Close the gap same time, Close the gap there is Close the gap one update Close the gap that I would really Close the gap like to Close the gap see.
4 months later and my 3 world options never include Watopia. I get duplicate world choices by Watopia is definitely not permanently the left route option.
I run the software on my PC. Do I need to uninstall and reinstall?
Sounds like you’ve got a world tag hack set up. Just delete the prefs.xml file from your My Documents/Zwift folder. Bet that fixes it!