Just as the french can't make reliable cars, it seems that they can't make reliable computer gamer either. I can at max play 2 - 3 stages before it crashes on maximum graphics, which is quite annoying. If I play on a lower graphics level, it looks just like 09, and I can play 10 - 15 stages before it crashes. And that is just not good enough, whoever is making the game...
OK, giving up the game to someone else is perhaps to over do it.
And I do agree that this is perhaps the beste PCM to date, if you look away from the most damaging bugs.
But I just feel that this game is more or less like a patch for last years game, with better graphics.
When I play a manager game I like the manager part to feel real, to the best effort. And I don't feel like that when I play this game. Therefor I was hoping the manager part of the game would take a step forward this year, but they have spent most off time with the graphic. Don't get me wrong, I love the new graphics. But that should not be the focus point on a manager game.
But as i said before, I might be a bit damage from playing, and watching the progress of Championship Manager /Football Manager over the last 10- 15 years. I also hope that the game will continue to come out, and that it keeps moving forward.
Now these are just some of my ideas, I am sure that there are plenty of other people that have many more ideas and better ones.
I am going to use Saxo Bank in my examples, as I have done many times when I have posted ideas on the forums, because they have a very good website where info is easy to find.
First of all, I want the game to be more like the real leaders of the teams; maybe I am getting the wrong idea of what this game is trying to be. And perhaps not every team is built like Saxo Bank. I want the role of Bjarne Riis as team manager of Saxo Bank, which is run by his company, Professional Cycling Denmark.
Staff:
Saxo Bank has 12 in the administration alone, and 5 in the board, 3 sport directors, 15 doctors and soigneurs and 7 mechanics. Ok, the 12 in admin and 5 on the board are not all that important. But people like rider development manager, Bobby Julich. Surly he would be nice to have in the game. He has the task of technical development, test of and time trail training; also he is largely responsible in the training and development of youth riders. Perhaps the sponsor relations manager Michael Elgaard would be nice to have in the game, to comment on what the sponsor think, the goals and so on. The sponsor interaction is a bit poor now I think. There are plenty more people on the site, with their job title. So you can go see who you would like to have in the game. The mechanics I would say is a very important part of the game, who other than them would take care of the equipment. I also would love it if there were sporting directors in the team. After a while they would be former riders. Would need skills like tactics, man management, and whatever makes a good director.
Equipment:
Why do you get the choice of equipment to buy, if there are no effects of what gear you have. And why is the equipment not sponsored, like in almost all of the dbs that come out later. And when you have picked your equipment, bikes, wheels and helmets, you should not be able to choose any other for perhaps a year or two. You would sign a sponsor deal with the fake brand, perhaps getting some money from the deal to, bonus if you win this and that. This would be switched with the real brands when the aftermarket db comes out.
Scouting:
Now I am not sure how the scouting in cycling works in real life, but I am guessing that you have to go see some races. Watching the results from the region you are in, who is always winning the races? Talk to the teams, what are the riders like, is he a champion, what is he like. Does he party all the time, is he a model professional. This would probably be hard to do, but I think that it would be great if you could see the race results of the young riders you are scouting. But this would make it so it would be A LOT of small races in the background that you would not be able to race in with your team. But they would be simmed. And you would be able to go to a table where these races are ranked, hilly, mountainous or flat. That way you could follow the riders more. You looking for the next young sprinter, go look at the results of the flat races, climber look at the mountainous. Well you get where I am going. A rider that is miles ahead of the others, a rider is how is pro tour material should stick out a bit. Now sign him as stagiaire. Take him to some smaller races that will be harder then the “youth races” he has dominated in before, see how he does. Still looking good, offer him a contract. Surly there are some people that has some fantastic ideas to make the scouting part of the game better.
Training:
What teams have trainers?? Ok the sporting directors and perhaps some help for the doctors, but in real life most of the riders have personal trainers. Why are they connected to the team in the game?
Tactics:
Setting up the tactics before a race, train in the sprint should be pre determined. Who will drop down to get a fallen captain, and this could work automatically even when you are not simming the race. Now I want some changes in the roles in the team, I want the road captain back. How good some of the tactics work, how fast the leader gets help will depend on how good a road captain is. He is the extended arm of the sport director and it is not always the intercom communication works that good.
Skills:
Perhaps we could have some more skills in the game? Like positioning, important I think. Perhaps bikehandling Fränk Schleck, 55. Good tactical skills for the road captain which come with age. All I can think of right now.
Roles:
I want to have a more defined role setup. If you can have three leaders, like the game starts out now. I want to define the three leaders, Contador: Absolute leader, Cancellara: Cobbles leader: Cavendish: Sprint leader. Or Vinokourov, Contador is our absolute leader, you will get to be the leader when he is not racing with you. Or something like that. Now the second leader if you can call him that can get a bit cross if you set him as a team mate. And if the absolute leder is below perhaps 80 I fitness you could say to him that Navarro will be our leader today as you are still getting into shape for the TDF. And he would not get crossed.
Like I said I want the road captain back. He would be my long arm into the peloton, and if one of my leaders fall or puncture and you have it set up so that three guys go down to get him up. The reaction from the team mates would depend on how good the road captain was.
Riders:
The riders need some personality, surly this can be fixed. The real riders are not that hard to tell how they are. This could affect who you pick for your team in the TDF, not just the skills. This would also make the interaction better, between the riders, myself and the sponsor.
Goals:
Need more defined goals to. Main goals are ok. But I want more. If you have “Win TDF” as a main goal, I would perhaps like to have some smaller goals there to. “Take the prologue in the TDF”, “take the team GC”, “and Win one stage”.
Season:
If you are overly in to the manager part you should be able to plan the whole year with racing, which rider will go to what race, and setting up some goals with the riders. “Contador, you are going to win TDF this year. I want you to race this, this and this race, training camp here.” You would be able to plan the fitness peaks based on the race program. Basically you could sim the year after you have planed it. Taking out 13-15 riders and telling them that you are in the pot for the last nine in TDF.
Well that’s all I can think of right now.
I forgot the sponsors
Sponsors:
MORE sponsors. Bike sponsors, like in equipment, clothing. Saxo Bank has:
Saxo Bank (of course)
Sungarden
Specialized (equipment)
Playitas
Skoda
Sportful
Lululemon athletic
Luxair
Bell (equipment)
Oakley (equipment)
Science in Sport (nutrition)
Sram (equipment)
Zipp (equipment)
Tack (equipment)
Speedplay (equipment)
Vangsgaard
SRM (equipment)
FSA (equipment)
Training peaks (training)
Blackburn
Morgan Blue
Wannafind
Sportsbalm
Nilfisk ALTO
Deco plant
Now this is going to be hard to get into the game just because of the massive amounts of licenses that would be required. But even fake names in the sponsor part of the game would be ok there (real names comes from the fans). But what I would really like is to have the chance to get a list as long as this with a custom team, and to be able to build a new top team from the start of the game. Like Shack did or Sky. But the team would take the name of the sponsor, and since it is a fake name (later real when the db start coming out) you would need to find new sponsors if the one you have get crossed because you can’t get the results they want. Or you want a bigger budget, get another sponsor in and the team name would change with it.
Edited by titi on 12-07-2010 11:34
I received my CDROM on Saturday morning.
It was instantly updated with the patch when I re-started my computer.
No problems playing the game and, the new "Custom Team" option is briliant! I've got to March with the top individual and, second in the 2nd Division tournament.
Love it!
