So I've been some years away from the PCM community and games.
I have been playing PCM a lot for years since Cym 3 way back in the days..
I quit playing after PCM 2013 i think..
So after all these years I would really like to know what PCM game is the best and the most realistic regarding GT results, and more importantly the gameplay in mountain stages..
I'm looking for aggressive and dynamic mountain stage gameplay!
As far as I can remember Cym3 and PCM12 had pretty entertaining mountain stages.. So looking at all the games, Cym1 until PCM18, what was the absolute best and most realistic game to play regarding actual gameplay, especially mountain stages??
Hopefully there are still some guys from the old school days around here!
Im looking forward to all your suggestions
Thanks,
Jay
"The only thing that stand between you and your dream, is the will to try and the belief that it is actually possible." - Joel Brown
Welcome back! I just returned as well after a few years off.
I played 2006 and then 2012 which was my favorite. I bought 2014 but never played it as I enjoyed 2012 so much.
Having said that I really like 2017 that I bought last week. Setting up training plans is still a bit of a pain and could EASILY be improved, but it is a lot better than 2012's extreme clunky interface, and it is slowly moving in the right direction.
I don't know why they can't just set up some templates, let you assign your riders to a group for each trimester of the season - Cobble group, Hilly classics group, short tours for spring, Giro group, TDF group, Vuelta group etc. and then lay out a plan for you that you can tweak based on some of the other races etc.
Anyway enough on that - on to your question: I prefer 2017 in the mountain stages as well. Maybe it's just I had a well oiled machine in my 2012 career, and this is my first season with 2017 and have yet to build my team up, but the mountain stages are very fun and hard, and yes Froome and Sky are kicking my butt a lot, but with good team work I am right there until the final sprint most times.
It just feels a little more realistic. The AI still gangs up on you though and that can be frustrating, but lots of racing and not like in 2012 where if I didn't kick the show off early we would just cruise to the final climb and do all the battles there.
Dudes are attacking on downhills right when you send your Lt. to fetch some bottles, attacking on 2nd of 4 climbs etc.
In general the AI elite riders seem to be more aggressive, which imo is a good thing. I got tired of having to either attack or set the pace to get any action in 2012 mountain show downs, just to keep the peloton from just cruising along up the climbs before the final one.
It has been fun!
tarikkisija wrote:
This PCM is so hard for me.I cant event win mountain stage on easy
At a grand tour you need to have at LEAST a 78 Mon, preferably 80 or above. You need a helper or 2 75-77 to protect him on lower slopes. Going into base of final climb (use other riders to protect your climbers, and drop them when the real action starts. Don't waste time managing them up final climb, once they are done or about done set them from anywhere from 65-75 position effort and forget about them (except maybe water) get your main rider to the front somewhere around 4th-10th in group. Don't rely on "take position" for this, but use the DOT and maybe effort of 75 or so. Not too much where you are burning yourself out, but enough to get you there. (You HAVE to get to the front before the climb starts. It is imperative, otherwise dudes will be blocking you and you will have to fight through the trash that is being dropped.)
Plan in advance so you have time to do it, and not have to go too hard to do it at last second. Have your 2nd best of his 2 helpers "protect" him, and have another climber 70 or above protecting your best helper.
Also get your 2nd best helper up there at same time using same method.
Also you should have water taken care of before this starts.
When they are up there switch to maintain position on an elite leader (you know who they are). Set it about 85 effort.
When the attacks and fighting starts don't play around. Just go to the DOT again and ride smoothly up. Try 75-77 at first and see if that keeps you close, if not you might have to go to 80-84, but you will be burning matches at that level.
Don't rush to re-join if you still have time to go slower and rejoin with less effort. You are trying to save energy for the final few KM's which is where the stage is decided.
When the guy protecting your leader is done or about done, just release him at 65-75 maintain effort and forget about him (until after the win when you thank ALL your teammates for their effort and sacrifices and give them credit for your win!). Have your best helper (release his protector if you haven't already done so) protect your leader, or you can have him pull and your leader follow.
Never burn yourself out too early, just keep climbing at a level you can maintain. Usually if you stay close you can rejoin the elite guys when they get tired of fighting.
At that point you are at least in the game for the finish, and should get some wins, but you won't win them all (well maybe on easy you might).
Good luck!
ETA - Know who you are competing against, really. If you are in the elite group with Tom D, Froome and Pinot, and Winner Anaconda bolts from the group. Don't do a thing. You aren't racing him. Until you get elite level just let the big boys deal with that and you stay with them as best you can.
Also OP let us know what you do and what game you buy. If you get 2018 fill me in on what you think.
Edited by Morgan63 on 27-07-2018 20:08
Morgan, thanks for your feedback!
For now I'm not buying PCM18, but I have PCM12 and PCM17 right now.
I'm going to do a TdF on both and see what gameplay I like the most.
It's really a combination of entertaining gameplay and realistic results what I'm looking for, so I curious which of those two games will provide the gameplay that I'm looking for.
I will let you know when I finish both TdF's and give a little analysis.
Another question: Are breakaways realistic nowadays? I can remember from some PCM's that they would never get more than 5 minutes or so and were almost never succesfull. I mean, in the 2nd or 3rd week of the TdF you will have breakaways that will get like 20 minutes on the peleton IRL. Which PCM does it best at that part of the game?
"The only thing that stand between you and your dream, is the will to try and the belief that it is actually possible." - Joel Brown
JayJunior072 wrote:
Morgan, thanks for your feedback!
For now I'm not buying PCM18, but I have PCM12 and PCM17 right now.
I'm going to do a TdF on both and see what gameplay I like the most.
It's really a combination of entertaining gameplay and realistic results what I'm looking for, so I curious which of those two games will provide the gameplay that I'm looking for.
I will let you know when I finish both TdF's and give a little analysis.
Another question: Are breakaways realistic nowadays? I can remember from some PCM's that they would never get more than 5 minutes or so and were almost never succesfull. I mean, in the 2nd or 3rd week of the TdF you will have breakaways that will get like 20 minutes on the peleton IRL. Which PCM does it best at that part of the game?
This year's breakaways are pretty good. Even in smaller tours (like Vuelta a Burgos), peloton lets breakaway with no GC contenders win
JayJunior072 wrote:
Morgan, thanks for your feedback!
For now I'm not buying PCM18, but I have PCM12 and PCM17 right now.
I'm going to do a TdF on both and see what gameplay I like the most.
It's really a combination of entertaining gameplay and realistic results what I'm looking for, so I curious which of those two games will provide the gameplay that I'm looking for.
I will let you know when I finish both TdF's and give a little analysis.
Another question: Are breakaways realistic nowadays? I can remember from some PCM's that they would never get more than 5 minutes or so and were almost never succesfull. I mean, in the 2nd or 3rd week of the TdF you will have breakaways that will get like 20 minutes on the peleton IRL. Which PCM does it best at that part of the game?
Jay Jr.
No problem. I have not bought 2018 so I am looking forward to your thoughts on it compared with 2012 and 2017. (ETA: Oops I misread that. Yeah, I am not buying it yet either, but I probably will when it goes on sale and bugs are worked out. I really want to support cyanide, but they cannot keep releasing broken and bugged games.)
Breakaways in 2017 - So I saw a lot of complaints that the peloton let's them stay away for the win, which is sort of true. I say sort of because as long as I send a rider up to pull, the other teams join and take over pretty much. I don't even have to have my go work that hard - maybe 60-65, and they come up almost right away.
If you don't do that, the breakaways will win a lot more than is realistic imo.
SO if you are looking for a stage win, you need to send a throwaway domestique up front at some point to chase a bit.
The other thing is - the AI doesn't like to let ANY of my guys go on breakaways. They will let an AI rider go who is in 19th, but fight like hell if my rider who is 76th and over an hour down goes, so he can get some mountain points. It is kind of frustrating, but nothing I can't deal with in the big picture.
I still like the race feel the best in 2017 of all the version I have played.
Looking forward to hearing more of your experience.
Edited by Morgan63 on 27-07-2018 20:10
@JayJunior072, hey man! You're right. The PCM12 is much better than its predecessors, and that makes sense. Games and platforms are moving forward, and that's an excellent thing. I used to play a lot of one of the first PCMs, can't remember exactly which one. I'm playing more of Minecraft now; I think you've heard of it; you can check out the new servers here https://minecraft... My brother recently downloaded PCM18, and let me tell you he was pleased, and it will surprise you compared to past versions of this game. I'm thinking of going back to the memories, too, lol. Peace everyone!
Edited by zasderasd on 16-02-2022 13:24
