New features in Cycling Manager 2: Game Design Changes: * Career mode CM1 was limited to a two modes: race or season. In the sequel, the player will have the opportunity to take control of a team over many years. This means that he will have to make sure that his team remains financially afloat while always trying to improve its cycling performances each year. At the end of each season, all riders will become older. Some will decide to retire (sometimes in the middle of a contract). The Team Manager will have to look for new talents among the young riders that will be turning pro at the end of the year to fill their rosters. At the end of each season, the riders? attributes (that define their strengths and weaknesses) will evolve. Younger riders will improve based on a hidden potential and their performances while older riders will see their athletic abilities decrease but their mental abilities improve. During the offseason, you will have to set your riders training regimen so that they don?t return too out of form. * More teams The number of teams in will rise from 20 in CM1 to 60 in Cycling Manager 2002. This has a major impact on the gameplay. First, the player will have more choice to choose his team. Since the teams will be divided in two divisions (like in real-life), some players will want to start with a small team and make it climb the standings and reach the top of the first division. Others may want to start with a strong team and try to keep it at the top. The better the team, the higher the expectations so the manager will never be safe. The extension of the database also means more riders to deal for, more possibilities of contracts,?. Finally, since the number of teams per race will be limited to 20, the player will have to be selected by the race organisers (managed by the CPU) to participate in the higher profile races. Just like in real life, some invitations will be extended to the best teams on the circuit, others will be awarded on more subjective criteria such as nationality,?. * More complete calendar CM 2002 will have more races (near 200) which means more variety in profiles, landscapes, etc? It will also be possible to have more than one race per day which will force to player to choose which race he will want to participate in or, if he has a large team, how to spread his riders between each race. * Simulation Engine If a player doesn?t want to play in a race he is enlisted in, he will have the opportunity to sim the race without playing it. The result will then be computed in a couple seconds. The resolution engine will be the normal in-race engine (not a random generator) which allows the player to set his pre-race tactics just as he would do before any race. * National and World Championships National and World championships will take place although the player will not be able to participate in it directly (maybe in an upcoming add-on). If you get player in the national squads, you will be awarded fame points that will facilitate the recruiting of new riders and the search for new sponsors. Having a national or world champion will further improve your chances. The national jerseys will be visible during the races. * Complete financial model A detailed financial model has been implemented for Cycling Manager 2002 based on what happens in real-life. The revenues for the team will come from sponsors, gains for races and eventually the sale of some riders. Costs will arise from cyclists and staff?s salaries and bonuses, enlistment in races and purchases of new equipment. Sponsors will be attracted by your team?s results, the fame of the manager and riders on the team. The nationality of the team and major riders will also have an impact. Offers will depend on these elements and the eventual selection for some high exposure races such as the Tour De France. When negotiating a contract with a rider, you will have to set his salary, bonus on individual and team successes and the duration of the contract. Many elements will be taken into account by the cyclist besides the financial value of the contract such as: greedyness of the rider, possible role on the team (leader, gregario, etc?), profile of riders on the team, exposure, nationality fame of the manager, etc?. * Injuries and medical staff Injuries can happen during races or during training. About 30 different injuries can happen ranging from a small headache with little impact on performances to injuries that can end the career of a rider. The impact of these injuries will be measured in points taken off the abilities of the riders (some temporary, some permanent) and the duration of the injury. A good medical staff can help reduce the recovery time and will help prevent injuries. The medical staff must be recruited by the manager * Training Players will need to set training for their riders during and after each season so that the riders can improve their performance and eventually reach their potential. There is a set of 10 possible exercises, each affecting different abilities. Focusing on some exercises can also have a negative influence on other abilities. You will have to be careful not to overwork or underwork your cyclists in order for them to be at their best at all times. * Cycling equipment You will have the opportunity to select different equipments to improve your riders? performance slightly. Helmets can reduce the chance of injury when falling but will also have a negative impact on performance during climbs. A variety of bike choices will be proposed, each with different impacts on performances. Some will be better for flat riding, some for riding, some for time trailing. No bike will be perfect for everything so the choice will have to be well thought based on the strengths and weaknesses of each rider and the specificities of each race. * Personality traits Cyclists will have hidden personality traits such as loyalty, meteo preference, work ethic, teammate and manager preferences,? Each trait will influence the rider?s behaviour when negotiating contracts, during races and how hard they work in training. Realizing that some of these features may ?scare? some of the casual gamers, the player will have the opportunity to choose what he wants to manage manually and what to leave to the artificial intelligence. Realization changes: * Improved graphics Realizing that Cycling Manager was also appealing to hardcore gamers with high-end computers, Cyanide has decided to offer improved graphics to take advantage of higher-end video cards (while keeping the low video modes available). The number of polygons per rider and the textures definition will be higher. This should also significantly help with reviews from the hardcore pc game press. * Turns Turns will be implemented. Therefore, the wind direction will change during the races which will have a major impact on the strategies applied. For example, with a wind coming from the side, many small groups will create themselves just like in real-life and top riders will have to be extremely careful to stay upfront in such stages. * Meteo Video effects will be implemented for snow, rain and even to display from which side the sun rays come from. These elements will also have an effect on gameplay. For example: rain will result in more falls and riders will tire faster (unless they have a strong preference towards rain in their personality traits) * 3D sounds 3D sounds of cars, spectators, motos, announcers will significantly improve the environment of races * Animated public on the roads, in-race car and motos * In race interface changes Some changes to the in-race interface are being made. Besides a graphical re-design, the player will have the opportunity to place interface elements where they want on the video screen (for example moving them on the left-side of the screen). Elements can also be hidden (like in Baldur?s Gate 2) to leave more room for the video screen. Orders can now be given to a group of riders rather than having to manage each rider individually (but the possibility remains). Two level of detail in orders can be displayed: advanced and beginner (like in Age of Empires 2 for example). The beginner interface will have less buttons and elements and will only focus on key buttons (orders such as move in front, or protect leader). The advanced interface will allow for more precise orders that can really make a difference between expert gamers (such as setting the effort precisely, when to eat,?). Finally, nutrition management will be managed in a more realistic manner in that points where rider can claim some additional haversacks will be set on the race. Riders may miss these points which could have a major impact on their performance. You will have the opportunity to send teammates to get food back to your leader just like in real-life. * Improved artificial intelligence (participation of one the top French teams early in the project) To improve the artificial intelligence, some French professional cyclists are providing some details on when a good rider should attack, what are the best strategies on different races profiles,etc? Tests on the artificial intelligence have already begun and much of the users? feedback from CM1 is being used.