Edit: To clarify, Cyanide have not ruled out it being possible to play online with custom databases, it will just take some time!

Cyanide have responded to criticism over the removal of the old multiplayer mode in favour of the new Armada mode, after they completely rebuilt the online mode.

The good news is that they are working on the possibility to play races with real teams. The bad news is that this will still not allow for the use of custom databases - e.g. ladder databases or PCMdaily's own databases. So the fake names for many riders, and the stats that come with the game, will continue to be the only DB that can be used online for the foreseeable future - and it still won't be possible to conduct the many popular online championships across the PCM community.

In terms of Armada mode, they insist that the new system will eventually bring many more possibilities for online play - although it does not seem to be the case for now - and they will continue to work to improve Armada. They are looking into a system where players can agree on the speed of play (x2, x4 etc) to avoid the current system where races are played at x1 speed throughout.

A second patch is expected soon to fix a major problem found in career mode - where all riders have the same statistics. e.g. Cavendish is as good in mountains as Contador.

This probem has been identified and fixed by Cyanide, and the patch is due asap.

The first patch has been released by Cyanide.

Go straight to the download here.

While many have praised the new Armada mode - PCM's answer to the FIFA's Ultimate Team - it seems there's one "minor" detail that hasn't come up in the pre-release interviews.

Other than track, Armada is the only online mode in the game. Gone is everything you know from the previous game - instead, you can choose to play with your Armada team, and that's it.

Needless to say, this comes as quite a surprise and makes it impossible to play realistic games with real teams and riders. Or alternatively, equal races with equal teams and riders, like you do in the national championships and world championships that's usually held.

As a result, CyM-Italy has launched a petition to bring back the old multiplayer mode - not to replace Armada, but to be another option.

You can sign it on the official forum.

Once again this year, PCM.daily is offering the option to support PCM.daily by buying the upcoming game - Pro Cycling Manager 2012, in this case.

It's quite simple - you press the link, buy the game as you'd do anyway, but instead of Focus getting the entire share of your money, PCM.daily gets a part of it.

This helps keep the site running, so we can continue to support everyone with help, downloads, interesting (and sometimes less interesting ;) discussions und so weiter.

Just click the banner below, and you're good to go. Keep in mind that we also offer an option for those of you who prefer the CD version.

Keep in mind that if you change the region in the upper right corner, the affiliation part will not be considered. So rather than doing that, click the links below.

Automatic
Euro Zone
USA
United Kingdom
France
Germany
Italy
Spain
Portugal
Netherlands

Thanks a lot! Your support is very, very much appreciated.