The latest indieVelo update V0.2.32 released January 15, 2024, ensures expectations are met by clearly defining events into three categories-Group Rides, Unranked Events, and Competitive Races.
Generally speaking, there’s a time and place for everything. What really matters is whether your expectations are met or not.
For example, in online cycling, an event that’s presented as being a high-level competitive race but has a significant number of people cheating in it will cause disappointment, but if you present precisely the same event as being just a training ride with no results, it matters far less what anyone else is doing.
Equally, it’s reasonable to expect everyone to prepare in advance for entering a competitive race (for example, ensuring that they calibrate their trainer correctly and their equipment is working properly). Still, if you only want to do a training ride, then you expect to hop on your bike and go with no expectations from anyone else on the accuracy of your equipment. Either way, expectations matter and significantly impact everyone’s enjoyment of online cycling.
Therefore, this week’s release (see below for full details) focuses on ensuring event expectations.
Events on indieVelo are now clearly split into three different types, so you know what you are getting in advance and that you get it.
Group Rides: These rides (and group workouts) are strictly non-competitive, with all riders held together by rubber banding. There are no results stored, and only very light automated Performance Verification checks to ensure basic decency.
Unranked Events: These events will be hard and fast, but ultimately, you’re just riding for bragging rights with nothing else on the line. There are some automated Performance Verification checks by default, and organizers can add further checks if they wish to ensure their event results are credible.
Competitive Races: These races matter, with results counting towards your in-game ranking. A full suite of Performance Verification checks is made live during racing, with flagged riders being automatically removed in real time before they can impact the results for everyone else. Organizers can also add additional restrictions on the types of equipment used to ensure a level playing field for all riders.
In practice, some event combinations are no longer permitted (for example, you can’t organize a ranked event without performance verification). Default settings are automatically applied to existing events, but event organizers should explicitly check their events and update them if needed.
Note for Mac Bluetooth users: If you find that the Bluetooth icon on the pairing screen has turned red, please follow the instructions linked from https://wiki.indievelo.com/docs/apple-mac-ble-permissions/ to first completely remove, and then re-add, permission for indieVelo to use the Mac Bluetooth connection.
Do you want to steepen your indieVelo learning curve? Check out our How-to-Guides page for details!
If all has gone well, you shouldn’t have to do anything to get the new version, as indieVelo will self-update the next time you start it up. If you find any problems, however, instructions on how to manually update are on the website: https://wiki.indievelo.com/docs/updates
Please note that, depending on when you installed indieVelo, you may see a warning message recommending that you update the installer/launcher to the latest version. If you see this, download it again from https://indievelo.com/downloads, and the update will automatically apply. The entire process typically takes a minute or two, often much less.
The full patch notes are below!
On top of these changes, there are several other additions, improvements, and fixes to indieVelo, including new routes, better handling of workouts, graphics tweaks, and continuing to get all the infrastructure ready and in place to scale up over the coming year.
“Thank you all again for your continued support, and please do keep sharing your ideas and suggestions for what you would like to see next.”
George Gilbert
Patch Notes – V0.2.32 – Key changes from the last version:
- Added event type filters when selecting events to enter.
- Added full real-time Performance Verification checks for all ranked events.
- Added basic real-time Performance Verification checks for all events.
- Added two new routes: “Three Peaks” and “Base Camps”.
- Added 5m to the height of the mountain to avoid it being rounded down on Strava.
- Added more teams.
- Improved use of FIT file lap markers when doing a workout.
- Improved handling of workout elements with non-integer seconds duration.
- Improved rider graphics when cadence sensor isn’t paired.
- Improved visibility of route profile marker against snowy terrain.
- Improved infrastructure for adding more in-game bikes etc.
- Improved resilience of server when doing upgrades.
- Improved build & download size.
- Fixed bug with displayed sprint position in team points races.
- Fixed bug with position of stars in the sky at night.
- Fixed bug with imposter tiles showing when they shouldn’t.
- Fixed bug with a phantom road spur on the mountain.
- Fixed bug with terrain covering the edges of some roads.
- Fixed bug with the ice mountain direction indicators being reversed.
- Fixed bug with clouds intersecting the mountain when in the distance.
Semi-retired after more than 20 years as the owner and director of a private Orthopedic Physical Therapy practice, Chris now enjoys the freedom to dedicate himself to his passions—virtual cycling and writing.
Driven to give back to the sport that has enriched his life with countless experiences and relationships, he founded a non-profit organization, TheDIRTDadFund. In the summer of 2022, he rode 3,900 miles from San Francisco to his “Gain Cave” on Long Island, New York, raising support for his charity.
His passion for cycling shines through in his writing, which has been featured in prominent publications like Cycling Weekly, Cycling News, road.cc, Zwift Insider, Endurance.biz, and Bicycling. In 2024, he was on-site in Abu Dhabi, covering the first live, in-person UCI Cycling Esports World Championship.
His contributions to cycling esports have not gone unnoticed, with his work cited in multiple research papers exploring this evolving discipline. He sits alongside esteemed esports scientists as a member of the Virtual Sports Research Network and contributes to groundbreaking research exploring the new frontier of virtual physical sport. Chris co-hosts The Virtual Velo Podcast, too.
