I know it’s been a while since our last big update.  We’ve been hard at work on something that will be familiar to some of you but brand new to many of you.  Our next update is going to include what we’re calling Virtual Rides. The first of these to launch will be a ride through the French Countryside.

People familiar with VZplay will recognize it as Le Tour, but we’ve made a number of visual updates to this ride for Quest 2 users. Originally brought to the Oculus Go, we’re now taking advantage of the increased power of the Quest 2 to liven up the surroundings (on the Quest 1 there are memory limitations that will prevent us from making many of these improvements). But the other important change we have made is that we’re treating it exactly like our Google Street View rides.  You can ride it in standing mode.  You can turn the trainer on.  And you’ll receive coin bonuses and ride completion credit (we’re treating it as a 15km route) the same way you would any other ride.  And you can most certainly ride it with others as well.  We think this will be a great option for those who want a smooth motion ride or just the occasional break from the real world.  And there will be more of these rides to come in the future.

We love seeing how many people are taking on the Challenge rides.  The participation has been great and we love that it’s driving conversation and social posting in our Facebook group.  We have more of these planned, including new outfits and badges to unlock.  Eventually, we’d like to offer more types of unlocks as well, such as additional Snapshot frames and poses.  If people keep taking on the Challenges then we’ll keep trying to make them better.

We’re introducing Tips to VZfit.  These will mostly be important to newcomers, but will also occasionally inform even veteran riders of some features that they may not be aware of.  And of course we’ll include an option to make them go away.

Lastly, we’re changing our Free mode in VZfit.  Instead of a couple of routes that can be used for unlimited time, we’re going to limit the free mode to 10 minutes per day.  However, everything in the game will be accessible.  Every feature and every route.  Free users will be able to create custom rides and purchase new customization options for their avatar.  And there will also be ways to purchase additional ride time.  Monthly subscription will no longer be your only option.  More details on that to come soon.

The team is very excited to get this update out to you in a few weeks.  They’ve been working hard all summer on it and we’re really proud of the work.  Thanks as always for your feedback and support.

Jason Warburg
Chief Product Officer
VirZOOM, Inc.