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General Career Discussion
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| cunego59 |
Posted on 15-07-2018 14:38
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Team Manager
Posts: 6508
Joined: 14-09-2008
PCM$: 1090.00
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Since I just finished season 1 of my career (something I didn't achieve in PCM17 ...), and it was really fun, so I thought I'd bring this thread back and talk about it a little 
I started with Team Virtu Cycling, a Danish team, with the long term goal of establishing a Scandinavian World Tour Team. I want to focus on riders from Denmark, Norway and Sweden, and later maybe add some German/BeNeLux or US/GB/Australian riders in the vein of old CSC days. I started out with this:
The first season went really well, I ended up with 23 wins, 21 of them shared between Guldhammer, Kragh Andersen and Kamp. Most of them in .2-races of course, but some in more prestigeous races as well. Guldhammer won the Danish NC in what has been the most fun race I've played in years after duelling Fuglsang and Valgren for a long time, and then went on to win the Post Danmark Rund.
I ended up 40th in this new index, and thus was promoted to PCT. Got a nice budget increase as well. I signed a few veterans to help with immediate results to establish myself as a PCT team, and then signed a few really promising youngsters. This is my team now:
I will spend this and next year trying to build a sturdy roster with as many decent riders as possible, and hopefully I'll be able to go for promotion in my third PCT year. Depends a lot on the budgets I'll get, I will need Fuglsang/EBH-calibre riders for that I think.
Anyway, wanted to share this, and I'm really interested in what you guys are doing! I especially would like to know how often it happens that a PCT team actually promotes to WT. Seems tough with how this index works.
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| Tamijo |
Posted on 15-07-2018 15:33
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Team Leader
Posts: 7406
Joined: 14-07-2015
PCM$: 599.00
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Thanks for sharing, a nice read. Hansen likely to be a great climber within a few years. Hope you will post more updates as a mini story.
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| Croatia14 |
Posted on 15-07-2018 15:36
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Directeur Sportif
Posts: 9104
Joined: 13-03-2013
PCM$: 2100.00
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I also loved the short read, thanks a lot
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| CDrake |
Posted on 15-07-2018 19:59
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Junior Rider
Posts: 45
Joined: 15-07-2018
PCM$: 200.00
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That is nice, I started with Sunweb and can't win anything on normal difficulty. I'm fairly new to PCM, but I watched youtube and tried to do the sprint train setup around 15km from the finish with Matthews, without any success so far. Well, I won the australian championship (very first race) with Matthews, but that's it.
So I think the last PCM I played was the 2009 one, so it's been quite a while for me, I guess I'm still doing something wrong, but I'll keep trying. Maybe I'll post my results here after the first season, so everybody can have a good laugh |
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| cio93 |
Posted on 15-07-2018 20:20
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World Champion
Posts: 10845
Joined: 29-10-2007
PCM$: 500.00
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The regen xml files are ridiculous yet again. 
I refuse to play along and sign any talents until Kentaurus comes to the rescue.
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| quadsas |
Posted on 15-07-2018 20:53
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Small Tour Specialist
Posts: 2523
Joined: 18-01-2013
PCM$: 300.00
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cio93 wrote:
The regen xml files are ridiculous yet again.
I refuse to play along and sign any talents until Kentaurus comes to the rescue.
I find them better than last year |
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| cio93 |
Posted on 15-07-2018 21:12
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World Champion
Posts: 10845
Joined: 29-10-2007
PCM$: 500.00
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quadsas wrote:
cio93 wrote:
The regen xml files are ridiculous yet again.
I refuse to play along and sign any talents until Kentaurus comes to the rescue.
I find them better than last year
I never played last year's edition with the original xml files, but they're still awful. Several 20 year olds each year with the lowest stat at 68 or so, 19 year olds with 72MO 72TT, every puncheur has at least 68COB and 68SP....
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| quadsas |
Posted on 15-07-2018 22:00
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Small Tour Specialist
Posts: 2523
Joined: 18-01-2013
PCM$: 300.00
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cio93 wrote:
quadsas wrote:
cio93 wrote:
The regen xml files are ridiculous yet again.
I refuse to play along and sign any talents until Kentaurus comes to the rescue.
I find them better than last year
I never played last year's edition with the original xml files, but they're still awful. Several 20 year olds each year with the lowest stat at 68 or so, 19 year olds with 72MO 72TT, every puncheur has at least 68COB and 68SP....
Well yeah, they are too good and unbalanced, I am not taking a career to seriously until better xml myself, but its playable unlike previous years |
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| Ad Bot |
Posted on 23-12-2024 09:12
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Bot Agent
Posts: Countless
Joined: 23.11.09
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| SSJ2Luigi |
Posted on 15-07-2018 22:02
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World Champion
Posts: 11971
Joined: 21-07-2012
PCM$: 400.00
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it couldn't have been anybody else winning my first race in PCM18 
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| Ollie23 |
Posted on 16-07-2018 11:03
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Stagiare
Posts: 226
Joined: 26-07-2014
PCM$: 200.00
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I'm struggling to get a good career going in PCM2017. Wondering if there has been any improvements to season planning?
@cunego You say you couldn't get through one season on PCM2017. What are some of the differences this year that made you complete a full season (and enjoy it by the sound of it)?
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| Infernoss |
Posted on 16-07-2018 14:06
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Junior Rider
Posts: 45
Joined: 12-06-2013
PCM$: 200.00
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CDrake wrote:
That is nice, I started with Sunweb and can't win anything on normal difficulty. I'm fairly new to PCM, but I watched youtube and tried to do the sprint train setup around 15km from the finish with Matthews, without any success so far. Well, I won the australian championship (very first race) with Matthews, but that's it.
So I think the last PCM I played was the 2009 one, so it's been quite a while for me, I guess I'm still doing something wrong, but I'll keep trying. Maybe I'll post my results here after the first season, so everybody can have a good laugh
Setting up a sprint train still works for me (from around 16km). However its much harder to decide when to start sprinting with your main spriter. I did it around 0.5km once and was to late, but sometimes also to earlier. Which ofc makes it a lot of fun. |
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| cunego59 |
Posted on 16-07-2018 18:49
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Team Manager
Posts: 6508
Joined: 14-09-2008
PCM$: 1090.00
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CDrake wrote:
That is nice, I started with Sunweb and can't win anything on normal difficulty. I'm fairly new to PCM, but I watched youtube and tried to do the sprint train setup around 15km from the finish with Matthews, without any success so far. Well, I won the australian championship (very first race) with Matthews, but that's it.
So I think the last PCM I played was the 2009 one, so it's been quite a while for me, I guess I'm still doing something wrong, but I'll keep trying. Maybe I'll post my results here after the first season, so everybody can have a good laugh
I find it mostly comes down to timing. Especially compared to a few years back, the final sprint has to be launched much later. If I have a capable sprint train, I usually bring the 4th-to-last man to the front at ~5-6km to go. Third man goes with dot 99 effort until ideally some 2.5-2kms to go. If someone else starts sprinting by earlier, my leadout tries to catch that wheel. What's proven very handy for me is to monitor the speed of the rider my sprinter or lead-out is currently following. As soon as that drops by only one or two km/h, it's time to overtake him.
Ollie23 wrote:
I'm struggling to get a good career going in PCM2017. Wondering if there has been any improvements to season planning?
@cunego You say you couldn't get through one season on PCM2017. What are some of the differences this year that made you complete a full season (and enjoy it by the sound of it)?
Most of it comes down to general motivation and interest in cycling. Also, in 2017, the first career I did was for story purposes. And I didn't have enough time to sustain the story, which left me less motivated to play another career for fun.
As for improvements: scouting and transfers are really solid this year compared to before. The gameplay is nice, it's been too long since I've played PCM2017 for me to really be able to compare those two, though. The fitness planning is not the best system possible, but I've always been a bit maniacal when it comes to micromanaging those things, so I don't mind.
cio93 wrote:
quadsas wrote:
cio93 wrote:
The regen xml files are ridiculous yet again.
I refuse to play along and sign any talents until Kentaurus comes to the rescue.
I find them better than last year
I never played last year's edition with the original xml files, but they're still awful. Several 20 year olds each year with the lowest stat at 68 or so, 19 year olds with 72MO 72TT, every puncheur has at least 68COB and 68SP....
I don't know, considering riders like Bernal or Omen or Gaudu, 72 doesn't seem that far-fetched. I mean, sure, there's a 20 year old with 79 climbing, 73 hill and less than 69 in everything else, and there's a 22 year old with 71+ in literally everything, but those are freak exceptions that don't ruin the game for me.
Got back into my career after a short break and a long session of planning (see above  ). The sponsor goals will be a lot tougher to achieve this year, but I've already got a really nice stage win in San Juan with Kragh Andersen perfectly timed outsprinting Coquard and Felline, which was really nice. I'll keep you updated!
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| CDrake |
Posted on 16-07-2018 19:57
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Junior Rider
Posts: 45
Joined: 15-07-2018
PCM$: 200.00
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Indeed, it is a matter of getting used to with the sprints and climb finishes. I've had a little more success lately with starting my lead off sprinter (Bauhaus / Arndt) much later and then passing him by with Matthews on the last few hundred meters. Sometimes you also have to switch and get to someone else's wheel in the right moment.
I also enjoy this much more because it is more challenging than getting those guaranteed wins if your sprinter is like 1-2 better in SPR like it was in the old game.
Also managed to win my first mountain finish with Dumoulin (Trophy Abu Dhabi, last stage) now which also ensured the overall tour win, so I think I'm slowly getting somewhere.
Now at the end of February, my Sunweb team is 1st in the World Tour and 1st in superprestige while Matthews is 2nd and Dumoulin is 3rd in the Word Tour ranking behind Alaphilipi.
I'm pretty sure it won't stay like that - once the Giro / TdF are in the books, but I'll be happy with a final result somewhere in the middle of the pack.
What I absolutely don't get are the sponsors so far. My sponsor started in the green area and wanted me to win a stage at tour down under, which I failed (a 2nd with Mathews was the best I could get). So it went down to the "normal / yellowish" area. Next they wanted me to finish top 5 in "Omloop Last News", which I managed to do (5th with Theuns). It says the goal is accomplished on the sponsor page and the sponsor bar went back to green (budget raise). But only one day later it dropped back to the yellowish area without any apparent reason.
Another thing I think is weird is that the sponsor keeps complaining about Dumoulin. They say they want better dutch riders and Dumoulin isn't good enough as team leader. Really? I mean, he has an AVG of 80 - how many better dutch riders are there in the game?
Not sure how this will end at the end of the season, hopefully I'll have enough budget to at least resign my best riders... At least they have no expectations for the Giro, the Tdf or the Vuelta, so that is something.. |
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| cunego59 |
Posted on 16-07-2018 23:06
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Team Manager
Posts: 6508
Joined: 14-09-2008
PCM$: 1090.00
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CDrake wrote:
Another thing I think is weird is that the sponsor keeps complaining about Dumoulin. They say they want better dutch riders and Dumoulin isn't good enough as team leader. Really? I mean, he has an AVG of 80 - how many better dutch riders are there in the game?
As far as I know, it's not about his stats but about his reputation, with is displayed on the rider info screen (top right). Dumoulin's reputation is international, so they probably want a star or superstar rider. Win some big races with Dumoulin and he might get there.
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| Infernoss |
Posted on 18-07-2018 08:57
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Junior Rider
Posts: 45
Joined: 12-06-2013
PCM$: 200.00
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Question, how are you guys doing the sprinting thing? I am currently in Paric-Nice with Ewan. Who developed himself to 84spr and 83 acc in just 2 months (insane I know). He is not in topform and I am sprinting against the likes of Gaviria/Greipel/Cavendish/Kittel/Kristoff/Groenwegen. So far I am a bit struggling with when to start sprint.
I do set up a train and always manage to bring Ewan to the front in full Energy. But then I still fail when it comes to timing the start of the sprint. First time I was too late, having to much energy. The other 2 times I started to soon. Gaviria won them all....
I watched the replay and saw that probably my leadout sprinter is one of the reasons that the sprint is not going well. Should I therefore just stick to the wheel of Gaviria and sprint when he starts? Did anyone tried this instead of setting up a sprint train?
I really like it that its harder now to win a sprint, but find it very hard to time the sprint. It seems that being the firs to sprint is the worst choice.... |
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| gargatouf |
Posted on 18-07-2018 09:57
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Neo-Pro
Posts: 320
Joined: 28-07-2013
PCM$: 200.00
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How is the riders objectives in this version of the game? Is it like the last few years where you base it on leaders and then choose domestiques or is it like it was in the versions before that where you set individual objectives for every riders in your team? |
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| purepasd |
Posted on 18-07-2018 10:28
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Domestique
Posts: 541
Joined: 23-01-2010
PCM$: 200.00
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Kind of both. You can either assign a rider to follow a leaders' goal or to go for his own. So you can actually define all the domestiques' goals individually if you want to. |
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| CDrake |
Posted on 18-07-2018 12:58
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Junior Rider
Posts: 45
Joined: 15-07-2018
PCM$: 200.00
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@Infernoss
I found the only reliable way to have a chance at sprinting against about equal opposition is to have a really good leadoff sprinter as a helper. That's why I always send 2 sprinters to a tour with many flat stages.
Following somebody else's wheel is very unreliable because sometimes they will just not start sprinting (or way too late) once you're at their wheel. I don't know if it is a bug or some weird mechanic to screw you up, but I've seen top sprinters who preferred to lose their green jersey by refusing to sprint over offering me a rear wheel.
I also think the AI got better at sprinting / attacking in general, so it's not easy at all to beat better sprinters. I generally use Mathews and either Bauhaus or Arndt as a leadoff in my Sunweb team, which works against slightly worse or equal opposition most of the time, but I almost always lose sprints to the likes of Gaviria or Ewan (which is okay I think). |
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| Infernoss |
Posted on 18-07-2018 15:17
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Junior Rider
Posts: 45
Joined: 12-06-2013
PCM$: 200.00
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@CDrake.
Thanks, I allready though the same. Since my leadout sprinter now is edmonsson (spr 71...). And gaviria has viviani (spr 82)... So that gives him a way better lead. Still its hard to time when to start sprinting, which makes it much more fun aswell. Will use the combo Mezgec / ewan or trentin / ewan soon. See if that works. Maybe also will try to just let a hardrider do the last 1km on 95-99 dot to stay in front and only sprint with ewan.
The only silly thing is, that whenever I simulate a sprint with Ewan being one of the favorites it seems there is a bigger chance to win then doing it by myself..... And I am sure I am doing it pretty decent with a leadout train (almost always in the front at 2 km). |
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| quadsas |
Posted on 18-07-2018 16:49
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Small Tour Specialist
Posts: 2523
Joined: 18-01-2013
PCM$: 300.00
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Yes sprints are a lot different that they were last year. I think leadouts are extremely important this year, way more than 2017. The best results I've had is having a leadout that's maybe 3-4 points lower in sprint, so your main sprinter doesn't lose much red bar during the leadout, and then launching somewhere between 1-1.2km to go depending on position, terrain, and remaining red bar. But it's definitely harder, sprints were a piece of cake last year |
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