2020-2021 Changes Discussion Thread
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MacC |
Posted on 15-05-2021 17:39
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Sprinter
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One thing I find a little unrealistic is the top riders of yesteryear ending up in continental team.
It's perfectly in line with the logic of the game but I don't think it matches up with real life. I wonder if allowing training to continue right through the career would be a positive change? Maybe there could be a surcharge as the rider got older...and obviously the decline would still work as normal only it could be delayed or slowed down at a cost
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jph27 |
Posted on 16-05-2021 11:53
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Team Leader
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The new rider suggestions thread will be going up today or tomorrow once I finish with the initial list of suggestions based on Daily DB stats. It's quite a weak group of talents compared to previous years, in part as it's the first real year of the riders who turned pro at 19/20 coming into the ManGame at 22 and therefore in theory having less room to grow. That will in part help with inflation (unless loads of 1999 riders kick on between now and July when the season ends), but it doesn't solve the other outstanding problem - the amount of free agents in the DB with too high stats or potential to have them when maxed.
I made the suggestion before that we edit down riders who have spent the whole season as free agents (and could be persuaded to make it those who have gone without a team for two seasons) and I think that would have a sizable effect, combined with the fact that more riders at 75+ in their main stats will decline than those added, to bring inflation back down. It's particularly a problem with sprinters, where we have random riders set to max at higher stats (78/79) than the best sprint talents likely to be added this season.
I'm happy to create an example of how this would look in the DB if it would be helpful, but I'd welcome thoughts from everyone on what they think about the idea? Conscious that in the past we've not wanted to undo rider history in the ManGame, but it'd mainly target riders who don't have any, and talents who were added to be too strong (so would get signed over new additions). |
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baseballlover312 |
Posted on 16-05-2021 13:52
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Tour de France Champion
Posts: 16451
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At this point I think reducing free agents with little MG history is pretty much fine, though I question the impact it would actually have on inflation. Those guys are the one's who by definition haven't been signed, which means there's more than enough inflated riders already signed to teams. Unless we're expanding the team pool, which seems unlikely at this point, I'm not sure that's gonna make a real difference. Again, I'm still for it though.
I think adding new riders should be done a lot more in accordance with what we discussed a few months ago to limit the inflation in the 76-79 range. There can't be more solid 76-77 main stat guys than can even be signed as stagiares. It leads to a DB that when combined with reducing inflation at the top is actually worse than a few years ago, because everyone maxes within 5 stats of each other. That mid-upper 70's area needs to be drastically reduced so guys added with 70-75 main stats can fill those spots and increase the stats spread again over time. It also would give leeway for adding more interesting stuff in terms of versatility and backups.
And side note, but very important one imo: I'm again reaffirming my belief in needing that updated, more balanced Fighter XP pathway. It's a shame that we've kept putting it off for two years now and just let another season go by without it. It should be implemented yesterday imo. It has no risk of unbalancing anything drastically and would just give another option for domestiques to be useful without needing to be 76+ in a main stat.
RIP Exxon Duke, David Veilleux, Double Feature, and Monster Energy
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Ulrich Ulriksen |
Posted on 16-05-2021 14:30
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Directeur Sportif
Posts: 3301
Joined: 02-11-2010
PCM$: 300.00
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Definitely support JPH's suggestion. Maybe don't do it for very small countries who don't have new riders coming in, in the current year.
Man Game: McCormick Pro Cycling
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jph27 |
Posted on 16-05-2021 17:49
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Team Leader
Posts: 7340
Joined: 20-03-2010
PCM$: 900.00
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baseballlover312 wrote:
At this point I think reducing free agents with little MG history is pretty much fine, though I question the impact it would actually have on inflation. Those guys are the one's who by definition haven't been signed, which means there's more than enough inflated riders already signed to teams. Unless we're expanding the team pool, which seems unlikely at this point, I'm not sure that's gonna make a real difference. Again, I'm still for it though.
I think adding new riders should be done a lot more in accordance with what we discussed a few months ago to limit the inflation in the 76-79 range. There can't be more solid 76-77 main stat guys than can even be signed as stagiares. It leads to a DB that when combined with reducing inflation at the top is actually worse than a few years ago, because everyone maxes within 5 stats of each other. That mid-upper 70's area needs to be drastically reduced so guys added with 70-75 main stats can fill those spots and increase the stats spread again over time. It also would give leeway for adding more interesting stuff in terms of versatility and backups.
And side note, but very important one imo: I'm again reaffirming my belief in needing that updated, more balanced Fighter XP pathway. It's a shame that we've kept putting it off for two years now and just let another season go by without it. It should be implemented yesterday imo. It has no risk of unbalancing anything drastically and would just give another option for domestiques to be useful without needing to be 76+ in a main stat.
I think to achieve what you're suggesting then it's a necessary step, as otherwise those riders will be preferred to developing or signing any sub 75 main stat riders. Just for context, at each level we have the following numbers of riders who will reach 75+ in their main stat (first number is those that are FA this season, second is the number FA for this season and last):
4.100 - 147, 78
4.xx - 70, 48
3.xx - 128, 82
2.xx - 136, 94
1.xx - 302, 280
A lot of them would be suitable for editing to turn them into solid 70-75 main stat riders, but as long as they're in the DB in their current form you wouldn't choose to develop a weaker rider in their place - some of them will reach 78/79 (and not just sprinters), so even with poor backups they're a better gamble if you've a spare 50k. |
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Posted on 22-12-2024 07:16
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baseballlover312 |
Posted on 16-05-2021 18:04
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Tour de France Champion
Posts: 16451
Joined: 27-07-2011
PCM$: 10538.70
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jph27 wrote:
baseballlover312 wrote:
At this point I think reducing free agents with little MG history is pretty much fine, though I question the impact it would actually have on inflation. Those guys are the one's who by definition haven't been signed, which means there's more than enough inflated riders already signed to teams. Unless we're expanding the team pool, which seems unlikely at this point, I'm not sure that's gonna make a real difference. Again, I'm still for it though.
I think adding new riders should be done a lot more in accordance with what we discussed a few months ago to limit the inflation in the 76-79 range. There can't be more solid 76-77 main stat guys than can even be signed as stagiares. It leads to a DB that when combined with reducing inflation at the top is actually worse than a few years ago, because everyone maxes within 5 stats of each other. That mid-upper 70's area needs to be drastically reduced so guys added with 70-75 main stats can fill those spots and increase the stats spread again over time. It also would give leeway for adding more interesting stuff in terms of versatility and backups.
And side note, but very important one imo: I'm again reaffirming my belief in needing that updated, more balanced Fighter XP pathway. It's a shame that we've kept putting it off for two years now and just let another season go by without it. It should be implemented yesterday imo. It has no risk of unbalancing anything drastically and would just give another option for domestiques to be useful without needing to be 76+ in a main stat.
I think to achieve what you're suggesting then it's a necessary step, as otherwise those riders will be preferred to developing or signing any sub 75 main stat riders. Just for context, at each level we have the following numbers of riders who will reach 75+ in their main stat (first number is those that are FA this season, second is the number FA for this season and last):
4.100 - 147, 78
4.xx - 70, 48
3.xx - 128, 82
2.xx - 136, 94
1.xx - 302, 280
A lot of them would be suitable for editing to turn them into solid 70-75 main stat riders, but as long as they're in the DB in their current form you wouldn't choose to develop a weaker rider in their place - some of them will reach 78/79 (and not just sprinters), so even with poor backups they're a better gamble if you've a spare 50k.
Fair point, totally on board.
RIP Exxon Duke, David Veilleux, Double Feature, and Monster Energy
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valverde321 |
Posted on 21-05-2021 15:49
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World Champion
Posts: 12986
Joined: 20-05-2009
PCM$: 530.00
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Ulrich Ulriksen wrote:
This sounds consistent with what I have seen. A top rouleur will not work for a top sprinter. In a classics this means the rouleur will attack even as the sprinter on his team sets himself up for a sprint. This is probably logical for a race like MSR where you play multiple cards but not so much in a less selective classic.
In a stage race the rouler becomes useless because the won't attack. This happens to AKA a lot.
Then I agree that whether a rouleur is treated as a sprinter or rouleur will depend on his stats and the startlist. But would add that if you have another sprinter he is likely to get the rouleur role. I believe it can also change stage-to-stage maybe because of recovery or other dynamics (see Holloway in the TDF). I think AKA suffers because his weak ACC undermines him being treated as a sprinter.
Finally stamina matters in selecting a rouleur no matter how long the race. This is why Vanbilsen gets the role ahead of Bonifazio.
I started to test whether any of that changes in 20 but hadn't done enough to be conclusive - but I am not optimistic.
I feel like this would be affected by race day condition. So AKA almost might want a negative day to be competitive. I also wonder if when he gets a good RDC, his stats are affected as a rouleur and not a sprinter, so he gets a larger bonus to FL, Fighter etc, and not ACC and SPR.
I came across a conversation with DavyDepuydt, who has been working with PCM developers behind the scenes, on PCMWorld that pretty much confirms our testing about ridertypes, and the displayed "ridertype" has no actual bearing in-game.
So some riders are just always going to be drawing the short straw in races for whatever reason.
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baseballlover312 |
Posted on 21-05-2021 16:06
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Tour de France Champion
Posts: 16451
Joined: 27-07-2011
PCM$: 10538.70
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valverde321 wrote:
Ulrich Ulriksen wrote:
This sounds consistent with what I have seen. A top rouleur will not work for a top sprinter. In a classics this means the rouleur will attack even as the sprinter on his team sets himself up for a sprint. This is probably logical for a race like MSR where you play multiple cards but not so much in a less selective classic.
In a stage race the rouler becomes useless because the won't attack. This happens to AKA a lot.
Then I agree that whether a rouleur is treated as a sprinter or rouleur will depend on his stats and the startlist. But would add that if you have another sprinter he is likely to get the rouleur role. I believe it can also change stage-to-stage maybe because of recovery or other dynamics (see Holloway in the TDF). I think AKA suffers because his weak ACC undermines him being treated as a sprinter.
Finally stamina matters in selecting a rouleur no matter how long the race. This is why Vanbilsen gets the role ahead of Bonifazio.
I started to test whether any of that changes in 20 but hadn't done enough to be conclusive - but I am not optimistic.
I feel like this would be affected by race day condition. So AKA almost might want a negative day to be competitive. I also wonder if when he gets a good RDC, his stats are affected as a rouleur and not a sprinter, so he gets a larger bonus to FL, Fighter etc, and not ACC and SPR.
I came across a conversation with DavyDepuydt, who has been working with PCM developers behind the scenes, on PCMWorld that pretty much confirms our testing about ridertypes, and the displayed "ridertype" has no actual bearing in-game.
So some riders are just always going to be drawing the short straw in races for whatever reason.
God, that really sucks. That's just really bad for the purposes of our game and having riders do what we want in an observable way. Thank you for bringing that to our attention.
RIP Exxon Duke, David Veilleux, Double Feature, and Monster Energy
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Nemolito |
Posted on 13-06-2021 19:34
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Classics Specialist
Posts: 3386
Joined: 20-04-2020
PCM$: 425.00
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PT has got 8 ranking updates so far, as much as PCT and CT combined. I think it should be equal, or at least not that big of a difference. I have the feeling other (P)CT manager think alike.
I don't wan't to be negative or blame anyone (in this case roturn, as he's the one doing these updates), but wanted to write a quick post here to find a solution for next season to make it more equal, while at the same time lowering the effort roturn has to put into everything.
I think the code itself is quite 'easy' to learn, and some people will be eager to learn it as well. The process itself isn't that hard, but of course time consuming. So my solution is to have some people learn it and let them be responsible for a monthly update (for example). If you have another 4/5/... that know the code and who just agree between themselves who takes what month of whatever division, it's definitely possible to have the same amount of updates for every division, while also freeing roturn of a bit of extra work
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whitejersey |
Posted on 13-06-2021 19:56
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Classics Specialist
Posts: 2919
Joined: 07-08-2011
PCM$: 300.00
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Nemolito wrote:
PT has got 8 ranking updates so far, as much as PCT and CT combined. I think it should be equal, or at least not that big of a difference. I have the feeling other (P)CT manager think alike.
I don't wan't to be negative or blame anyone (in this case roturn, as he's the one doing these updates), but wanted to write a quick post here to find a solution for next season to make it more equal, while at the same time lowering the effort roturn has to put into everything.
I think the code itself is quite 'easy' to learn, and some people will be eager to learn it as well. The process itself isn't that hard, but of course time consuming. So my solution is to have some people learn it and let them be responsible for a monthly update (for example). If you have another 4/5/... that know the code and who just agree between themselves who takes what month of whatever division, it's definitely possible to have the same amount of updates for every division, while also freeing roturn of a bit of extra work
I think it's mainly because of the fact that PT has much clearer breaks in the calendar compared to the other divisions which intertvines pretty much every race, which makes the timing a bit more difficult.
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roturn |
Posted on 13-06-2021 20:01
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Team Manager
Posts: 22247
Joined: 24-11-2007
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I absolutely agree with you.
Even though the PT got 1-2 smaller updates pre/post GTs, this year I struggled to deliver updates for the other divisions and I am sorry about this.
Will try to do those asap and try to find a way how to share work. |
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baseballlover312 |
Posted on 13-06-2021 20:34
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Tour de France Champion
Posts: 16451
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I understand the feeling Nemo, and I'd probably be more concerned by it if my promotion fight this year was as tight as my relegation fight the last couple.
I think your solution would be best too. Roturn does an insane amount for this game, and it's understandable if he doesn't have time for every division to get 10 updates a year. But if some kind of work sharing could be sorted and arranged, that would be best. Depending on the complexity of formulas and such, I'd be happy to help.
RIP Exxon Duke, David Veilleux, Double Feature, and Monster Energy
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jph27 |
Posted on 13-06-2021 20:42
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Team Leader
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PCM$: 900.00
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I've been doing it manually after each race for PCT this season to track my chances of promotion (because I have too much free time/really don't want to work on my thesis ) and it doesn't take too long.
I think there's a new rankings tool Fabianski created to speed things up, so in theory it could be done as often as every race if someone was willing to take responsibility for it, or if reporters were to post it as an end of race round-up. I'd be happy to take up the role for a division if needed |
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aidanvn13 |
Posted on 14-06-2021 08:50
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Classics Specialist
Posts: 2797
Joined: 06-11-2010
PCM$: 200.00
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Regarding ranking updates, Roturn will probably be able to answer this: how is it currently updated?
Is it a manual process? Or semi manual?
It shouldn’t be hard to make an excel sheet that updates it automatically. I assume there’s something like that anyway, but could spend a couple hours on it to make it faster.
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roturn |
Posted on 14-06-2021 15:57
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Team Manager
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It`s already quite a lot automatic. But still needs some manual steps. Looking into it to make it easier to support for others. |
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SotD |
Posted on 14-06-2021 20:24
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World Champion
Posts: 12201
Joined: 29-11-2006
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Maybe we should look at the NC route decider. I would like to suggest that a route can’t be used 3/5 seasons.
So if we have a nation that always goes between Hill and mountain, the 5th year had to shuffle:
1. Hill
2. Mountain
3. Hill
4. Mountain
5. Flat
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TheManxMissile |
Posted on 14-06-2021 22:47
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Tour de France Champion
Posts: 18187
Joined: 12-05-2012
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SotD wrote:
Maybe we should look at the NC route decider. I would like to suggest that a route can’t be used 3/5 seasons.
So if we have a nation that always goes between Hill and mountain, the 5th year had to shuffle:
1. Hill
2. Mountain
3. Hill
4. Mountain
5. Flat
As a manager with interest in several small nations and limited rider pools, this is something i would not like!
Having the ability to keep NC's relevant to the available riders is a good thing, even if that means only using two on repeat.
There is the self-interest element, but that's hand-in-hand with having a democratic vote. And if 51% of managers from a bigger nation agree over 5 years to repeat the NC's then i'm happy with that.
If we were to fiddle with the democratic voting system, i'd rather see a simple 5-year rotation brought in instead. Top of the alphabet gets flat, next hill etc all the way down. Next season we just rotate. This would have a more effective way to open up NC's to most possible winners over a riders time under contract. (not saying we do this, i much prefer the current system, but if we want to force variety we might as well go all in)
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SotD |
Posted on 15-06-2021 07:25
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World Champion
Posts: 12201
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TheManxMissile wrote:
SotD wrote:
Maybe we should look at the NC route decider. I would like to suggest that a route can’t be used 3/5 seasons.
So if we have a nation that always goes between Hill and mountain, the 5th year had to shuffle:
1. Hill
2. Mountain
3. Hill
4. Mountain
5. Flat
As a manager with interest in several small nations and limited rider pools, this is something i would not like!
Having the ability to keep NC's relevant to the available riders is a good thing, even if that means only using two on repeat.
There is the self-interest element, but that's hand-in-hand with having a democratic vote. And if 51% of managers from a bigger nation agree over 5 years to repeat the NC's then i'm happy with that.
If we were to fiddle with the democratic voting system, i'd rather see a simple 5-year rotation brought in instead. Top of the alphabet gets flat, next hill etc all the way down. Next season we just rotate. This would have a more effective way to open up NC's to most possible winners over a riders time under contract. (not saying we do this, i much prefer the current system, but if we want to force variety we might as well go all in)
Your points are basically why I want to implement the rule. To avoid a manager having monopoly on which rider is going to be NC.
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AbhishekLFC |
Posted on 15-06-2021 08:43
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Directeur Sportif
Posts: 11709
Joined: 27-07-2015
PCM$: 1861.50
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It would be hard to keep track of 5 years as well and factor that in while tallying the voting. NCs matter little anyway, it's just for fun
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valverde321 |
Posted on 15-06-2021 15:20
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World Champion
Posts: 12986
Joined: 20-05-2009
PCM$: 530.00
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SotD wrote:
TheManxMissile wrote:
SotD wrote:
Maybe we should look at the NC route decider. I would like to suggest that a route can’t be used 3/5 seasons.
So if we have a nation that always goes between Hill and mountain, the 5th year had to shuffle:
1. Hill
2. Mountain
3. Hill
4. Mountain
5. Flat
As a manager with interest in several small nations and limited rider pools, this is something i would not like!
Having the ability to keep NC's relevant to the available riders is a good thing, even if that means only using two on repeat.
There is the self-interest element, but that's hand-in-hand with having a democratic vote. And if 51% of managers from a bigger nation agree over 5 years to repeat the NC's then i'm happy with that.
If we were to fiddle with the democratic voting system, i'd rather see a simple 5-year rotation brought in instead. Top of the alphabet gets flat, next hill etc all the way down. Next season we just rotate. This would have a more effective way to open up NC's to most possible winners over a riders time under contract. (not saying we do this, i much prefer the current system, but if we want to force variety we might as well go all in)
Your points are basically why I want to implement the rule. To avoid a manager having monopoly on which rider is going to be NC.
I get what both sides are saying here, but everyone is welcome to vote for every country in the game, which erases any monopoly (when one entity has complete or near total control of the market). If even two people vote for one country that by definition stops it from being a monopoly.
Since most people only care enough to vote for countries they have riders from, you shouldn't really blame the managers with less populated nations for having a monopoly, but for everyone else that doesn't vote for that country, if its an issue. If no one cares enough to vote for the Barbados NC route f.e. apart from one manager, then I think its fair.
Plus, before PCM 18, NCs were so random anyway, with the breakaway winning them like 85% of the time. So the odds on "favourite" hardly won anyways.
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