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forum
Suggestions for the 2013 season
It's early, I know, but with the revival of the old suggestion thread it seems people are full of ideas on how they'd like the game to be "improved" next year!
Obviously, this is all stuff that we'd like to see, wishful thinking really, but road.cc and Dave have always listened to what people think and have implemented good suggestions in the past (regional leagues, premium membership, the removal of the varying player values etc) so if you've got an idea post it below. Think of this as the place to make your request/suggestion so that Dave can see it easily. Also, tell everyone what you think works too rather than just complaining!
Firstly off, I'd like to thank Dave for the game and strides they've made over the last few years to improve it into what is an excellent competition. I think that this years game is the best yet, the 4/5 split is a massive improvement over the old 1 GC, 1 AR ,1 KM, 1 PC and 5 DS split and allows for much more interesting team selections, likewise I think the constant rider values is something that should be kept next year as I haven't missed the old system at all.
My suggestions? Nothing major...
1) Remove the 4/5 split altogether - I'd be happy if the current system was kept but would like to see complete flexibility, the limited budgets will restrict players from having a particularly unbalanced team and it will allow for even more creative team selections, especially where there are lots of cheap stars in a race (like this years classics). For example, pretty much all the top Vuelta teams will still have 3 of Contador, Rodriguez, Froome and Valverde so the 150 credit cap will restrict the makeup of the rest of their team. However, I guess the 4/5 split does give structure and makes the game easier to get your head around when starting out (my dad really struggled when he joined for the TdF but the 4/5 split made things easier).
2) Expand on the premium membership with extra features such as combined purist team on the same account and stuff like that. I will probably pay for premium membership next year but I'd like to see some extra features being included for my money, not just extra races (which have been a bit shambolic this year and are very hard to follow).
3) Teams of teams - another possible premium feature, 9 players band together into one team of players, their scores are combined in some way (straight sum of scores, average of all 9 or maybe lose the highest and lowest and sum/average what's left) and they compete against other teams for a prize (Grand tours only maybe?). Should be fun and unpredictable, also, good for getting people to get involved on the forum.
4) Fantasy jersey competitions - another thing to aim for when playing the grand tours, a selection of jerseys awarded to winners of particular comps:
- a GC jersey awarded for whoever finishes 1st overall along with the bike, a black jersey possibly something road.cc themed.
- a points jersey based on sprint stages or combined sprint points, either whichever teams gets the most intermediate sprint and flat finish line points over a race or maybe whoever scores highest just on flat stages, based on intermediate sprints would keep it interesting throughout though as you have to keep up with breaks in the mountains.
- a mountains jersey like the points but for KoM points/mountain stages
ideally these would be biased to make it very difficult to win them whilst still playing for overall placing, ie base it heavily on breakaway points (the KoM in particular) so that you need to pick the breaks and possibly suffer in the overall as a result, that'd make it something entirely separate to aim for like the riders aim for the KoM comp sacrificing their overall standings. Moreover, these aren't big cost prizes and are just for fun/pride.
5) Reduce the penalty for making additional transfers. I like the fact that there is a penalty but 20 points is very heavy, you basically need to place in the top 4 to overcome that. 10 points might bring in more tactical use of this facility and not be so penal if someone cocks up their team and needs to sort it out.
That's mine, just to be going on with. Also, a booby prize for whoever first mentions the 'reset button'.
If you're new please join in and if you have questions pop them below and the forum regulars will answer as best we can.
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198 comments
Can I start of by saying thanks to all those that run this, over the years this has increased my enjoyment( and knowledge) of pro cycling no end.
My only suggestion is a visual one, when races overlap could we see both on the screen at the same time? I think I missed a couple of starts due to forgetting the race had kicked off. Or maybe an improvement in navigation, could the races be on a tabbed header, with live races green or amber if they are about to start?
I liked the sound of a nominated captain per race or even having to choose a single purist rider for the whole season.
the races won't be open one at a time, but they will have a defined opening date, probably a few weeks from the start of the race. at the point they open we'll just have the full roster of every participating team in the start list, then it'll get narrowed down as the start nears.
yes, we'll look into that
From reading the posts in this topic,my personal conclusion is this.....Some people have really sad lives...
This is a game that we all enjoy playing,so lets just play it....Its a work in progress game that doesnt have much wrong with it...Some people seem to want to make it easier all the time by changing the number of star riders etc....That will not change anything as the players who do their homework more thoroughly will still be at the top more often than not...Lady luck will always play its part in the game as the riders have to stay upright and have legs on the day...
Dave and co invented the game,so in my opinion its their right to tweek it how they want...It seems that some people want Dave and co to forget everything else in their working lives and just spend 24/7 on updating and changing the game...Personally I dont think this year has been any better than last year,if Im honest I think technical hitches mid-season have made it much worse...That said I will still be here next season,whatever the changes...After all we all play by the same rules,whatever they may be...Just enjoy it people and be thankful that we have it....
I think someone needs to go make their own game rather than trying to shape this one....to lets face it....their own ideas, which very few have agreed with
enrique - i think your slightly missing the point, its the same for everyone regardless of + 3 or - 3. We all have to pick our teams from the 150 points so you just have to do your maths and a little bit of homework on who is riding to get your best team, its as simple as that and if your relying on .3 or .4 for your team then you go back to the drawing board and start again.
Enrique, its simple though.
Say all 16 riders from the Giro were bumped to values of 3.
There will also be cheaper stars. There will be the few high stars at 40, but more lower priced stars and higher DS's. So if you can pick 5 x 3 it still leaves you an average of 33.75 for each star.
Take the top star at 40, still leaves you with 31.6 for each of the remaining 3 spots.
Plenty of room for all your riders within the 150 budget and to get the team you want. If you want the top guys, you have to sacrifice your DS chances
yeah, more or less like that i think
Another question will the value be based on who else is in the race?
For example if Degenkolb was in the TdF this year facing Cav, Goss, Griepel, Sagan etc his value of 25 was fair
But in the Vuelta were the 2nd best sprinter was Bennati his value should of been close to 35, even given the sprint unfriendly parcours.
The palmares idea would be a great addition....Not sure how much work that it would involve though....
No, you won't have a month to decide who to pick for your team.
The races wont open until near the race and once startlists have been confirmed, save changing around all the time.
You know when you quote someone, Its just rude to change what they wrote
I'm sure Dave will clear it up, but they way I read it, we wont see any riders until that race has been opened to the players. So you won't be able to look at anything or pick a team until the race is opened. Maybe a few days before the race
Yeah thats the race hosts fault. But most large tours/races in "civilised" countries have them sorted far sooner
the races will open when we know which teams are participating and we have the stage information.
we'll aim to get them open four weeks or so before they start. that'll be with the full roster of participating teams, then we'll narrow it down. it won't always be possible to open them that early.
the values will be generated automatically based on a year's worth of historical data.
certainly andy and thor aren't going to be super expensive...
On a different note Dave, when is a race calender likely to be released, on which races will be standard and which will be premium? leading to when will premium membership be due for the first premium race.
On another note also, has anything happened regarding the possibility of integrating having a standard team and a purist team under the same account, or was that ruled out?
Dave, does that mean that a riders value will change, or can change, for every competition? I think you may have addressed this before, but, for the Classics competition, for example, can rider values change between races, or will they stay the same throughout the whole Classics competition?
A very interesting read if I've missed it. I apologise, but remove the right to pick a greyed out rider for any reason tactical or otherwise.
I lost the plot and the ability to win when the need to guess the breakaway became more important than the stage winner, I think a ,modicum of this should be retained, but the game should be refocussed to reflect the stage win. This would mean less strict following of the real race rules.
But.. I probably won't play next year, at least the season long at any rate, so I guess no say in this really.
Merry seasonal greetings all.
Oh and anybody who admits to or is found to have taken advantage of a programming blip, closing time error or any other shady move should be eliminated forthwith.
I'm not sure if anyone else picked this up, but I'd definitely second the notion of Premium members being able to run a purist team AND a day-by-day team in the stage races. This last year I've often wished that I could do both.
It would certainly encourage me to go Premium.
Hear hear
I said this not long ago "if it aint broke dont try and fix it".
I wish I had the skills to do it!
I get it, Stumpy, I do... I realize it'll be the same for everyone... It's just that having those riders below 3 points was something I really liked about last season... We had, if I counted right, 16 riders in the Giro below below 3 points, 8 in the Tour and 18 in the Vuelta, and I think it was fun having a bunch of no-namers, obscure riders that might get you breakaway points but also let you fit in bigger stars... I might miss it next year... But I can see your point...
no. the values will be set for all riders. we'll be setting the values a month or so out, and we won't know who's riding. so it'll be the full roster of all the teams. do it any other way and you end up with changing values and that's a nightmare.
should mean there's a few bargains across the season for those in the know though, eh
Yeah, you're right... I guess I'm maikng a fuss over 2.5 points... I used to think of 5 X 2.5 (12.5) when I wanted a lot of space for my Stars, but I guess the difference between 12.5 and 15 isn't all that much...
Or a few hours if the Tour Of Beijing was anything to go by
Only joking Dave, we know it wasn't your fault.
that'll be happening for sure
That's pretty cool, Dave...
That's pretty cool, too... Dave, so come December, we can take a peek at the rider values for the TDU? Is the formula(s?) you'll be using for the values something we can take a look at, too?...
there's a lot of i's to be dotted and t's to be crossed in terms of calendar and premium
we're looking into the standard/purist thing but the main sticking point is not making the game overly complicated for people who just want to play one team. a work in progress.
Agree although from memory I think htat is coming in anyway as you'll only be able to pick riders who are competing in that actual race (as part of the change in the pricing system).
I agree that the focus has moved away from stage winners to breakaways although it has to be said that the really really high scorers in the Tour were the people who won from a breakaway and actually, the riders who were in failed breaks didn't score as highly as you might expect. The names that come to mind as massive scorers were Voeckler and Rabottini in the Tour/Giro but actually, both of those won their respective stages and that pushed their scorers up into the 80s/90s.
I disagree, if the transfer window is set at a certain time beforehand then that's the deadline. If it then turns out that this is after the stage start then it's an error on road.cc's part and not on the players and it'd be unfair to penalise someone for making transfers before the deadline. There were occassions (last stage of the Tour of California) when the time was way way way out but others stages were few and far between. Other than punishing players Dave et al just need to keep a closer eye on changes to start times next year.
Good question!
Ok, so the values will be set about a month out and, once they're posted, they won't change?... That's pretty cool!... We'll have a month to decide who to pick for a race with set values? That's pretty nice!...
Out of curiousity, will values be set by a computer? Meaning you'll have a database of last year's points and the points a rider gets next year and have a formula set up to spit out a number or will you guys be assigning rider values one by one each month?... Just curious...
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