It's been a while since I last visited the CyM/PCM series. But a sudden urge drove me to buy the digital download today (which by the way worked flawless, paying with PayPal).
There are still frustrations with the control of riders, I think. But all in all, the game has been much improved, and it's actually enjoyable now, since my last visit.
The most frustrating thing to me, though, is the poor and often downright wrong manual. Hence, I have a couple of questions to the more experienced players:
1) I can't seem to protect a "leader" with more than one rider. Not even as a "chain of protects". Is that right?
2) How do you force two teammates to work together in a break? I had two riders alone in a break on a flat part. Both set to 80% effort, and one set to Infinite Relay, assuming that he would pull his captain as far as he could. Suddenly there was a 30 second gap between them, and both riders were using far more power than they should have. It looked a bit daft...
And the one that has me most curious:
3) Colored boxes often appear in the rider status boxes. Such as +1, +2, +5, -1, Sometimes in a colored box - sometimes not. Sometimes with a symbol, that looks like a stop button in a yellow box. What does all this mean? No mention in the manual, that I can find anyway. My first guess was, that it was some sort of indication of "good" or "bad legs". But I haven't noticed any difference in performance of the riders with these boxes.
I really hope that someone is able to help me with these questions. But all said and done, I'm still having a lot of fun with the game, even though I don't completely understand the mechanics...
/Loke
PS. This was x-posted on the Cyanide forums. If that is against the etiquette here, I apologize!
Loke wrote:
1) I can't seem to protect a "leader" with more than one rider. Not even as a "chain of protects". Is that right?
Yup, that's right, only one.
Loke wrote:
2) How do you force two teammates to work together in a break? I had two riders alone in a break on a flat part. Both set to 80% effort, and one set to Infinite Relay, assuming that he would pull his captain as far as he could. Suddenly there was a 30 second gap between them, and both riders were using far more power than they should have. It looked a bit daft...
If a gap forms between them, the one in front is no longer pulling the one behind. They're separated.
Loke wrote:
3) Colored boxes often appear in the rider status boxes. Such as +1, +2, +5, -1, Sometimes in a colored box - sometimes not. Sometimes with a symbol, that looks like a stop button in a yellow box. What does all this mean? No mention in the manual, that I can find anyway. My first guess was, that it was some sort of indication of "good" or "bad legs". But I haven't noticed any difference in performance of the riders with these boxes.
Every stage, the rider will feel better or worse on the day. This "form of the day" is just one of the several variables that affect his performances (how good he is, his morale, his form, etc.)
When the stage starts, the rider has a "-" symbol. He doesn't know his form of the day. After a few efforts, an arrow appears. It indicates how he THINKS he's feeling (might be wrong). good, bad, average.
After a few more efforts, a number will appear. Again, it's the rider guessing how good a day he's having, but it's just a guess, even though it's far more accurate this time.
Finally, after more efforts, a colored number will appear. That means he knows exactly how well he feels, on a scale from -5 (terrible) to +5 (having a great day).
This is NOT the indicator of how good he is taking into account form, stats, etc. This is just another piece of the puzzle along with the other pieces (form, morale, stats, etc.).
It's intended to simulate the fact that, regardless of your form or how good you are, one day you can feel better than normal and have a great day....and another day you can be having a bad day and your legs can feel like hurting blocks of cement for no reason.
Edited by issoisso on 11-07-2009 11:54
"Stay at the front"? How do you issue that command?
Do you happen to know the effect of good and bad daily form? Do the rider consume energy slower? Or perhaps fill extended effort/attack faster? Or both?
Stay at the front is the command in the bottom left.
If he's having a bad day, his energy, especialy red/yellow, will run out faster. If he's having a good day, he's more likely to have 'green moments', e.g. when he attacks, he'll be able to attack for longer.
The command is explained in the manual, as "Keep position within the group". But of course, that makes sense if he actually is in the front
Still having problems making riders work and stay together. I just had 4 riders finish last, way behind the peloton, on a flat eventless stage. Two of them not managing to come within the time limit! My captain had a flat tire early on, and I had to help him back up to the peloton. The team effort was a disaster with riders spreading out, leaving the captain behind. I had a good laugh though. I imagine the evening meal was unfunny business at the hotel afterward...
