|
Custom team advice
|
| Ollie23 |
Posted on 04-07-2015 15:32
|
Stagiare
Posts: 226
Joined: 26-07-2014
PCM$: 200.00
|
Hi!
I'm a newbie when it comes to PCM2014 so go easy on me 
I want to start a career with a custom team consisting of only U23 riders and I was hoping someone who has some experience with this could give me some advice.
I have two possible setups of my team, but as far as I know they could both be terrible
1) 18 riders divided into three teams of 6 riders. Two teams will be focused around a stage racer while the third team will be built around a sprinter.
2) 16 riders divided into two teams of 8 riders. Either both teams will have a sprinter, a stage racer, a climber and helpers or I'll have one team built around a stage racer and one team built around a sprinter.
The trouble I have is mainly with the sponsor objectives and keeping my riders fit for the important objectives. There are just too many objectives and my riders need 2-3 peaks. From about June-July and for the rest of the season they are therefore struggling with tired legs.
A few questions:
1) How would you build a custom team?
2) How do you deal with the objectives and keeping your riders fit?
3) Should I divide my riders into 1 group each or should each rider be part of several groups?
4) Is it better to have 10 or 18 riders considering the number of objectives is the same?
Hope anyone can help |
| |
|
|
| Ripley |
Posted on 05-07-2015 09:16
|
Classics Specialist
Posts: 3341
Joined: 25-11-2014
PCM$: 300.00
|
I don't think there are easy answers for that. I've started two careers with teams rated just 1 star - first Tirol Cycling Team, where I actually replaced everybody with U23 riders, I wrote at length about it (just one post, not a story), maybe it'll help you in some way. But before I post the link, I'm currently in my second season with the Leopard Development Team, got promoted to the Continental Pro division after just one season (and might well make it to the WT after this second season with just 12 riders rated 70 on average).
Basically, I didn't even bother with the season planning in the second season since my meticulous planning didn't really help in the first season. With just 12 riders, you'd basically want everybody to be on form the whole season and that's impossible.
If I had to start over I'd seriously consider splitting the team into two groups of 6 and have them on form for half a season each. That is, group 1 on form asap, then wind down arond May/June and after a break up the training again for Sept/Oct. Group 2 could also be on form around March, then reduce the training, then up it so the riders will be in form starting around June/July till the end of the season. Seems like the best chance to have up to 6 riders in form for most races and thus also objectives. It's pretty much how I do things in the WT, I'll add a link to what I wrote about that.
If instead you try to have all 12 riders in form all the time like I did... well, it's not going to be very satisfying. Rhythm alone will often be miserable, freshness will be bad most of the time for most riders, fitness inconsistent, some riders become tired... of course, even in the worst form your best riders can still manage some results. As I said, I might well get promoted to the WT despite having a small and weak team and terrible season planning. But only because I 3D mode every race this time round, if I just simulated I'd still be at the bottom of the continental division.
Anyway, here's my report on the first few seasons with Tirol Cycling: https://pcmdaily.c...=95#c56776
And if you make it to the WT, here's my tried and trusted season planning for that, in use since PCM 2009: https://pcmdaily.c...=95#c56776
Edited by Ripley on 05-07-2015 09:21
|
| |
|
|
| Ollie23 |
Posted on 05-07-2015 12:24
|
Stagiare
Posts: 226
Joined: 26-07-2014
PCM$: 200.00
|
Thanks for the reply! I've read through your threads already but since I'm very new to the game (this is the first and only PCM I've played) it didn't help me much. I'm probably overthinking this but would you rather have a large squad of 18 riders or a small one with 10 and why? My logic says that if I have 18 riders it's easier to cover all objectives, but maybe a small squad of only 10 is easier to manage. I see some of the other continental teams only have 10-12 riders.
(Sorry if these are very dumb questions. I'm trying to learn! ) |
| |
|
|
| Ripley |
Posted on 05-07-2015 14:48
|
Classics Specialist
Posts: 3341
Joined: 25-11-2014
PCM$: 300.00
|
I was going to say personal preference, but since you're new to the game I suggest you start with 10 riders. I believe the sponsor won't lower the budget from that level (300k/year) no matter how badly you do. And your goal will be to please the sponsor so he increases the budget and you can then expand your squad and move up the divisions.
With 18 riders you're under a bit of pressure. If the sponsor is unhappy, he'll lower the budget in the second season but you've still got 18 riders on the payroll and you can go bankrupt. Though it's easy enough to add money via the editor, but what's the fun in that?
Also, 10 riders will mean a leaner race calendar. The game takes into account the squad size when generating the race calendar. So that's personal preference.
As for the objectives, 18 riders instead of 10 won't give you much of an advantage, if any. They'll all be pretty similar, have no outstanding speciality (yet). So it's just as well that you won't find many mountains or large hills in the continental division. The objective will usually be a top 10 result in some pretty flat stage and all your riders can compete for that. And don't worry about fulfilling them all, half will be fine, less even, especially if you produce some other good results. |
| |
|
|
| Ollie23 |
Posted on 05-07-2015 16:41
|
Stagiare
Posts: 226
Joined: 26-07-2014
PCM$: 200.00
|
Decided to take your advice and start a Spanish team (Telefonica Pro Cycling) with 10 young riders, 8 Spaniards and two dutch sprinters. Found a brilliant young talent with 78 in the Mountain category so I'll build my team around him. I was also lucky with the sponsor; our season will basically only run from February to August because we don't have any sponsor objectives later in the fall, so that makes it easier to keep my riders in form and (hopefully) perform when we need to The negative is our sponsor wants us to perform well in our very first race of the season, in the beginning of February, so I had to send the group to a training camp since we'll go in without any rhythm at all.
Thank you so much for all the help. I'll keep this thread open for future stupid quesions  (and future updates if anyone's interested) |
| |
|
|
| Ad Bot |
Posted on 06-12-2025 19:35
|
Bot Agent
Posts: Countless
Joined: 23.11.09
|
|
| IP: None |
|
|
| Ripley |
Posted on 05-07-2015 21:26
|
Classics Specialist
Posts: 3341
Joined: 25-11-2014
PCM$: 300.00
|
Good luck! Are you sure you can afford a training camp? Watch your finances. |
| |
|
|
| Ollie23 |
Posted on 05-07-2015 21:41
|
Stagiare
Posts: 226
Joined: 26-07-2014
PCM$: 200.00
|
If I've understood the finances correctly, we should be fine The monthly income from the sponsor covers the riders' wages and the money I have in our account will be used on staff salaries?
The only problem I have now is that in a moment of madness I thought to myself that it would be a good idea to increase the sponsors objectives to earn me more money per month which I could then use on better coaches for my young riders. I'm now really afraid of what will happen when I can't meet any of the objectives. It says on the sponsor screen: "Contract till 2015". Does that mean just this season or 2015 as well? And how screwed am I after my moment of insanity?? |
| |
|
|
| pricey |
Posted on 05-07-2015 23:43
|
Amateur
Posts: 3
Joined: 02-10-2014
PCM$: 200.00
|
Hi im new to the forum but have been playing PCM for a few years and ive finally decided on a challenge of starting up a custom team of young U21 riders plus the Yates brothers to build my team around.
The only problem I have is on the confidence page the sponsor confidence in registered riders is absolutely zero. in fact the only bar that has anything filled in is the results bar with the other 2 empty.
I have chosen a British sponsor and over half of my riders are British so not sure why. I also had the choice of managing the French national team so does the fact I have no French riders effect this?
|
| |
|
|
| Ollie23 |
Posted on 06-07-2015 01:04
|
Stagiare
Posts: 226
Joined: 26-07-2014
PCM$: 200.00
|
First stage race done and man, this game can be a lot of fun!
Herald Sun Tour – Sponsor objective top 5 – 5 stages – mainly hill and mountain climbs, but nothing steeper than category 2.
Started with an individual time trial and after 4 out of 5 stages my captain, Gaspar, who we were riding for, was 21st, 25 seconds behind Daryl Impey who was leading. On the final stage we rode over a Category 2 mountain early on, then had a long hilly stretch before another Cat. 2 pass waited. After passing that and riding down hill, the final ascent up to the finish line waited.
My plan was to keep Gaspar at the front of the peloton, have my team protect him over the first Cat 2 and then reel in the breakaway before the final Cat 2 mountain. It almost worked as ten guys were still in a breakaway up the final climb, but they weren't a threat in the overall standings. More importantly, Gaspar was sitting right next to Impey as we started the final climb to the finish line. Gaspar still looked fresh and halfway up the hill he launched an attack on Impey and got away. Adam Yates ran off and finished almost 30 seconds ahead of Gaspar, and won the Tour, but Gaspar's last hill heroics saw him sneak by Impey in 2nd by 4 seconds. What a thrill!! |
| |
|
|
| Ripley |
Posted on 06-07-2015 08:02
|
Classics Specialist
Posts: 3341
Joined: 25-11-2014
PCM$: 300.00
|
@pricey: Don't worry about the subcategories of sponsor confidence. It's very diffcult - and totally unnecessary - to raise them. Especially with U23 riders. It depends on the reputation of the riders and U23s are still blank slates.
@Ollie: On one hand raising the objectives seems a bit risky, on the other it can even be considered a cheat. You could raise them all to the max, make a lot of money per month, but even if you fail them all and the sponsor reduces the wage budget for next season (or, in your case, it can't go any lower than 300k/year) you can again raise everything to the max... you'd probably be able to afford a squad with a much higher wage budget than you start out with. So don't worry, in fact, don't abuse the system. |
| |
|
|
| Ollie23 |
Posted on 06-07-2015 11:35
|
Stagiare
Posts: 226
Joined: 26-07-2014
PCM$: 200.00
|
@Ripley: I didn't realize it could be considered cheating. I never cheat in any game so trust me, if I had known that I would never even touched the objectives. Would it be ok though to raise a few and lower a few objectives as long as it doesn't give you any significant amount of extra cash every month? Sometimes the objectives seem a bit too high.. I didn't raise all the objectives and I even lowered a few that seemed too difficult to achieve, but I am making about €14K more per month than the original sponsor revenue. Nothing of that extra cash goes towards riders' salaries and I don't even know how the contract extensions work yet. Or how much money the sponsor will give me next year. When do I find that out? At the end of the season? And when can I offer extensions to my riders?
Anyway, I think this first career will be more of an experiment because, as you can see, there's a lot I need to learn and figure out still. I would've started a new career right away but I don't wanna lose Gaspar the Magnificent |
| |
|
|
| Ripley |
Posted on 06-07-2015 13:12
|
Classics Specialist
Posts: 3341
Joined: 25-11-2014
PCM$: 300.00
|
No, you're not cheating, I should have phrased it a bit differently, I only think the system has potential for abuse.
You won't find out for sure how much the sponsor will pay you next season until this one has ended, because it depends on how well the season goes. Which is a problem, because you'll want to contract new riders much sooner. Luckily, you get a first estimate on the 21st of June, that's the first day to contact other riders. Click on a free rider or one whose contract is ending this year and you get an info box. Ignore the first figure, the second one will tell you the estimate for next season, use that.
As you surely have figured out, unless you do extremely well you won't be able to extend many contracts when the time comes. I assume everybody in your team is earning the minimum wage (2.5k/month), if their average rating is higher than 69 they'll want more and the more they improve, the worse it gets. Somebody rated 70 might already demand twice as much, a 72 average can already mean 8k/month, a 75 average will set you back at least 20k/month.
So, be prepared to say goodbye to all your current riders when their contracts run out. |
| |
|
|
| Ollie23 |
Posted on 06-07-2015 14:37
|
Stagiare
Posts: 226
Joined: 26-07-2014
PCM$: 200.00
|
Here's the contract situation for my 10 riders.
7 riders make €2,500 each.
Snoeren - AVR 73 - €12,500
Pim Roks - AVR 73 - €12,500
Gaspar - AVR 76 - €37,500
The sponsor is very happy so far after finishing 2nd in Herald Sun Tour (1 star importance) and finishing 1st in Vuelta a Mallorca (5 star importance). Should be able to get a top 5 finish in Vuelta a Andalusia (4 star importance) as well.
9 of 10 riders are contracted to my team next year (or to Telefonica) but I need to extend Gaspar. Is there no chance that he'll sign with me? Also, I think Normal is too easy so when I start a new career I'll bump it up to hard at least. I'm winning way too much right now. |
| |
|
|
| Ripley |
Posted on 06-07-2015 20:28
|
Classics Specialist
Posts: 3341
Joined: 25-11-2014
PCM$: 300.00
|
I see, well, those riders are too good for the continental division. 37k for one rider, I can run a whole squad for less. In fact, I had to go into the World Tour in my current career with exactly the same wage budget, 80k/month - but for 24 riders. Highest earner is getting 6k.
If Gaspar's AVR rating increases before the 21st of June, you might not be able to re-hire him, every point is costly. But even if you can afford him, you should probably look to deepen your squad and hire several other, slightly weaker riders. An AVR 75 can be had for as little as 20k, for example. Or get half a dozen 73s with potential. |
| |
|
|
| Ollie23 |
Posted on 06-07-2015 21:11
|
Stagiare
Posts: 226
Joined: 26-07-2014
PCM$: 200.00
|
Yeah Gaspar is the most amazing talent I've seen among randomly generated young riders If I start a new career with a custom team, what do you consider the maximum AVR for a 19-21 year old in the Continental division? I want it to be as realistic as possible although I understand I won't reach any of my sponsors objectives.. |
| |
|
|
| pricey |
Posted on 06-07-2015 22:38
|
Amateur
Posts: 3
Joined: 02-10-2014
PCM$: 200.00
|
@Ripley Thanks for the advice, so as long as I keep the results ok and keep the money above 0 im not going to get the sack? |
| |
|
|
| Ollie23 |
Posted on 06-07-2015 23:00
|
Stagiare
Posts: 226
Joined: 26-07-2014
PCM$: 200.00
|
I simmed ahead to June 21st to have a look at what you were talking about. Gaspar wants 51,000 euro/month compared to the 37,500 he earns this season. There are several numbers here and I'm a bit confused (not surprisingly). It says:
Your wage bill of next year is estimated to be: 42,000 euro/month
The maximum authorized wage bill will be 137,300 euro/month.
...
The budget allocated by your sponsor for next year will allow you a total wage bill for your riders of about 128,300 euro
Care to explain what the different numbers mean? I can't tell if I can afford Gaspar or not.
Edit: use of euro sign deleted pretty much the whole post..
Edited by Ollie23 on 06-07-2015 23:02
|
| |
|
|
| pricey |
Posted on 06-07-2015 23:35
|
Amateur
Posts: 3
Joined: 02-10-2014
PCM$: 200.00
|
Ollie23 wrote:
I simmed ahead to June 21st to have a look at what you were talking about. Gaspar wants 51,000 euro/month compared to the 37,500 he earns this season. There are several numbers here and I'm a bit confused (not surprisingly). It says:
Your wage bill of next year is estimated to be: 42,000 euro/month
The maximum authorized wage bill will be 137,300 euro/month.
...
The budget allocated by your sponsor for next year will allow you a total wage bill for your riders of about 128,300 euro
Care to explain what the different numbers mean? I can't tell if I can afford Gaspar or not.
Edit: use of euro sign deleted pretty much the whole post..
Im sure someone else will explain better but the estimate is based on results from this season isn't it? ie if you perform well the sponsor is more likely to increase the budget. If you perform poorly it could shrink a little.
If it says you can only spend 42k per month then you wont be able to afford Gaspar on 51k. |
| |
|
|
| Ripley |
Posted on 07-07-2015 09:17
|
Classics Specialist
Posts: 3341
Joined: 25-11-2014
PCM$: 300.00
|
Ok, that's easy...
"Your wage bill of next year is estimated to be" - the wage bill of your current riders whose contracts are not running out this year. In your case, everybody except Gaspar adds up to 42k.
"The budget allocated by your sponsor for next year" - this is the figure you are interested in. Your current budget is 80k/month, because of your good results so far the sponsor will increase the budget to 128k. If you continue to outperform this figure will keep on rising during the season, so you can even expect up to 150k, doubling your budget. Generally better be safe than sorry and not expect the further rise.
"The maximum authorized wage bill" - this is a figure I'd simply ignore, I'm not sure why the game even uses it. I had warned about this with my experience with Tirol - I was underperforming, the estimate for next season's budget was lower than the current budget and yet the game allowed me to spend more than I currently do on new riders and I nearly went bankrupt.
What makes this thing even worse: I was in the Continental Pro division with a good chance of promotion and got myself a new sponsor for next year paying me twice as much as the current one. But my authorized wage bill was well below that and the game would not allow me to spend my 80k, only 55k or so.
It's a question that has cropped up in the forum again and again over the years, what to do about this problem? The answer is, you need an editor but it won't help to change anything regarding the sponsor, you have to temporarily raise the wage of a rider. I raised one wage from 3k to 70k and - for whatever reason - that gave me the right amount.
So, pricey, I'm afraid you got that wrong - Ollie can easily afford to re-sign Gaspar.
As for a new career, Ollie. I'd say AVR of all riders below 70 for a decent challenge. Or why don't you just take one of those really weak teams like I did? That will give you the greatest sense of progression. Leopard Development Team starts with 12 riders rated between 61 and 68 (at least in my DB, might be a bit different for you). If you were to sim the whole season, you can definitely expect no results. If you play everything in 3D mode, as it turned out for me (on normal difficulty), you can fulfil a surprising number of the goals and even gain enough points for promotion, but that's rushing it.
Generally, the idea is to replace all those riders - no matter how bad they are, they all get the minimum wage - with better riders. As I explained with Tirol Cycling, U23 riders are the best value for money, no matter how good they are, they'll demand only those 2.5k and take a 3 year contract. For a real challenge ignore them entirely and only hire riders on the "open market". Up to an AVR of 69 they'll still only demand 2.5, so you can replace your 61 to 68 riders with others rated 69, with potential to progress, that'll make you competitive. However, there will be competition to hire those riders, even from teams like Sky in some cases. So offer contracts to at least two riders per open spot in your squad and hope at least one accepts.
|
| |
|
|
| Ollie23 |
Posted on 07-07-2015 10:47
|
Stagiare
Posts: 226
Joined: 26-07-2014
PCM$: 200.00
|
Thank you for clearing that up, Ripley! I'm gonna start my career right away following some of your advice here. I think I'm gonna put it on Extreme (because I like the challenge), pick young riders between 61 and 69 and not change any objectives.
Was thinking I might turn this new career into a story, but if I do it will be a story of a team that doesn't win much and probably never makes it to the top division. Based on all the winning in current story threads maybe that would be "an original" story
Truly appreciate you taking the time to answer all my stupid questions! |
| |
|
