As we all know, PPDB has always been toying around with the database to see what's possible and what's not possible. Until now, it's been said that there's an implented data limit in the database, making it possible only to add a predefined number of teams and riders. However -- somehow, Plakker and the rest of the PPDB team has managed to go beyond that limit, meaning that the next version of PPDB for PCM 06 will 220 teams, and they are aiming to include 300 teams in the 2008 DB which will be released later this year. So, apart from that, it also means that 100 % realistic starting fields will be possible along with a lot of other minor things. This is a breakthrough, especially considering the fact that if it's possible for PCM06, it's probably also possible for PCM07 -- we just need someone to figure out how ;)
Click "Read More" to read the full announcement by PlakkerNL.
Well, hello! ;) I know that it's been almost 3 weeks since the last Weekly News were posted, but since I've had exams and since I've been moving into a new apartment I actually feel that it's okay. However, I finished my exams Wednesday, meaning that I can now enjoy my holiday until the 4th of February. Also, everything seems settled in the new apartment, and I'm even getting used to be cooking every day ;)
A new article available So, what do we have for you this time? First of all, a member of the site, Ruben, has submitted an article about his thoughts of the upcoming season, in which he mentions all the problems there has been with the grand tours, who we should look out for this season, etc.. It's a pretty interesting read - read it and give your comments here. Don't forget that everyone are welcome to submit their articles. That can be done through this link.
New shirts for your game The well-known Ultimate Shirts Package has been released in a 2nd version. Both versions have now in total been downloaded 1000+ times which indicates that it's a really popular download. So, what does it have? Basically, it has all the jerseys for everything, that being team jerseys, national jerseys, etc.. On the plus side, it's made by some of the greatest jersey makers in the community, so you're ensured fantastic quality when downloading and using this package. You can become one of the 1000 - download it here.
Are you a woman? Weird question, you might ask. However, after having installed the Womanbase 1.0, you might ask the question to your riders - because, yes, the package does actually transform the game into a Women's Cycling Game. With the package, you get a completely new database with a lot of Women riders who actually look like women, thanks to Miya's body changes. You also get pretty much everything else you would have asked from a "normal" DB - including a totally new calendar, real names, jerseys, free agents, a whole new set of graphics, etc., etc. So much work has been put into this to bring you the "atmosphere" from the women's cycling. Read all the details about the DB here - and download it if you dare ;)
Carlsberg almost secures the win in the Management Game In one of PCM.daily's main features, the Management Game, the Vuelta a España has just ended with an easy overall victory for Alexandre Vinokourov who rides for the Danish team Carlsberg. This means that Zutcorp's Carlsberg team now almost has secured the Pro Tour win since they now have 840 points - they're followed by Mrlol's Gazetta dello Sport which has 671 points. In the Individual Rider Rankings, it's still Alejandro Valverde who's leading the score board, followed by Danilo Di Luca.
Cyanide searching for a game designer I've been told by Cyanide that they are searching for a new Game Designer for their office in Paris, France. The applicants can be English speakers (and non-French speakers), which is why the news are posted here. I haven't been told the exact specifications about the job yet, but I'll get them during the next week where I'll write a short news article about it -- but now you can begin to plan to move to France ;)
One of the very first rumours about the next edition of PCM was that it would turn into an arcade button-bashing-like game which we reported about in October in the Weekly News #41. This rumour has now moved rapidly, especially after the release of the PCM Viewer for PCM08. At Portuguese forums, they have digged even more into the news and has found another set of bars which, of course, can be interpreted in many ways.
The bars we are talking about are these:
The theory is that you need to push the arrow keys to fill up the right-hand bar which is supposedly a speed bar. The bottom bar is supposed to be some kind of energy / tiredness bar. If it's a tiredness bar you will have to make sure it doesn't get filled up too quickly, if it's an energy bar, fill it up as fast as possible by pressing the buttons as fast as possible ;) As said, it's all just rumours, but we will hopefully soon learn more about the game from the "officials" ;)
The impossible is possible - and it's, of course, made possible by our Japanese friend, Miya. Until now, everyone thought that editing the DB in the PSP-version of Pro Cycling Manager (named Pro Cycling) was impossible. However, it's actually quite simple. Connect your PSP to your computer, open the disc through Windows Explorer and copy the DB located in the Database-folder to your computer and edit it with PCM Kicker. It's as simple as that. Unfortunately, it also seems like it's impossible to change the jerseys which is a real shame since there's quite a lot "wrong" jerseys. This is because Cyanide decided to change the image files tu some weird .VPI-files which are uneditable. But let's see if the magician will figure out something in the end ;)
By clicking "Read More" you can see some documentation (screenshots), taken and made by Miya.
The name "Weekly News" might be quite misleading in this edition since we've not had any Weekly News-update for over a month. As some of you might know I was very busy during Christmas time (1st of December to the 26th) due to an important school project, and since then I've been working on my new apartment, which I in fact have had since the 1st of December - I just haven't had time to move in, and no, I've still not moved ;) So, basically, it's about time to relax a little - but for some reason, I can't relax before I've written this, so here we go! Enjoy the Weekly News which are now back for good :)
Save Games are now a part of our DL-section Our member, mrlol, initiated a new initiative - "post your save game". It's as simple as it sounds. You describe what you've managed to do throughout your career and upload the save game which is then added to our download database. At this point, we have 4 save games available for you: Rabobank Continental in 2008, Quick Step in 2009, CSC in 2009 and Skil Shimano in 2008. The most downloaded at this point is the Quick Step-one which is submitted by Panaflex. He has managed to keep the best cobble-riders and enhance the team with further stars such as Valverde and Gilbert. So, go ahead! :)
You are of course also very welcome to submit your save game. You can read more about how to do that by reading mrlol's thread right here.
Cyclocross Manager returns Yes, it happens - or, actually it did already happen. The Cyclocross Manager Pack was released for Pro Cycling Manager 2006 back when this site opened one year ago, and now they have managed to port it to PCM 2007 and update it with new teams and riders, so they're up to date (2007-wise). For those who don't know what it is: It's a pack which basically transforms your Pro Cycling Manager into a Cyclocross Manager. The pack includes new road textures which make the road look (and "act") like cyclocrossing, a completely updated database with all the right cyclocross teams and riders, a whole new race calendar with no road races and lots of cyclocross races -- a revamped Pro Cycling Manager! :) Unfortunately, there's a few known issues with this 1st version: The Rider Photos are not working properly, the World Championship is not playable, and the race logos are not working - but everything else than that seems to work to perfection, so career playing is definitely possible. You can download the 1st version right here.
If you want to get a feel of the pack before downloading it you can take a look at our member's, t-baum, Cyclocross Manager-story, "I See Orange". It's available in our forum.
Speaking of "up to date" As we reported one month ago, the 2008 databases are getting released one by one. We have already mentioned the SL DB a few times, and now they have decided to update it to version 4. The previous version had a bug which put an end to career playing at some point in 2008 (or 2009 - I don't remember). The new version also has bugs, but from what I know they will not make your career crash ;) You can download the new version here. You won't need any of the previous versions.
A French guy, ELeCTr0CuTioNisT, released his 2008 DB a few days ago. He has only released a database, not a pack, meaning that it doesn't include any extra stuff such as jerseys. I haven't heard about any bugs, but the stats are - from what I've heard - quite questionable. Then again, it's made by a French guy, so that was somewhat expected. You can try it out here.
1996 DB - now in V2 The 1996 database has also been released in a 2nd version. The first version had some minor bugs which have been worked out in this 2nd version. It's still not finished, according to the maker, but it should be more than playable. It's been reported by several people that at least the 1st season is fully playable - so, if you want to get back to the success year of Danish cycling and the rising of a young German rider (Jan Ullrich), this is a must-have. Download it here. The previous version is not needed.
Doping problems "stay the same" In our annual vote, "How many percent of the professional cyclists do you think are doped?" we got pretty much the same result as last year, except for the fact that we had a lot more voters this year than last year. This year, 24 % voted that they think that between 6 and 20 % of the pro cyclists are doped. Last year, the same option gave 33 % of the votes, but fewer people voted. 5 % voted that they think all pro cyclists are doped ;) You can view the full results here.
PCM.daily is searching for database reviewers Some may remember that we, as the first PCM-site, introduced Database Reviews. We'd like to continue that project, but this, of course, requires some people who have actually tried a lot of different databases. Earlier on, we had Panaflex who basically tried a new database every week - he's gone now and is enjoying the sun in Colombia. Therefore, we're searching for a guy like him - someone who loves to try out new databases and review them ;)
If you're interested, write me a Private Message :)
