Pro cycling manager

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Pro cycling manager
developer Cyanide
Publisher various
First title Erik Zabels Cycling Manager (2001)
Last title Pro Cycling Manager 2019 (2019)
Platform (s) Windows , PSP
Genre (s) Business simulation , sports simulation

Pro Cycling Manager (also Pro Cycling Manager , formerly Cycling Manager and Pro Cycling Manager ) is a series of cycling - computer games , by Cyanide is developed.

The series has its origins in Cycling Manager from 2001, which, like the second part in Germany, bears the title Erik Zabel's Cycling Manager . Since then, sequels have followed annually. Parts 3 and 4 were called Radsport Manager in Germany and since 2005 the series has been marketed under the title Pro Cycling Manager and in Germany partly as Radsport Manager Pro . In addition to the PC versions, there are console offshoots that carry the title Tour de France .

In games of Pro Cycling Manager series it takes control of a professional cycling team of UCI . You train the drivers, negotiate contracts and have to oversee the finances. In addition, goals are set that you have to meet in order to stay under contract with your racing team . However, the main focus of the game is on the 3D mode. In the races you control the drivers of your team yourself by giving them commands, changing their stakes, letting them attack / sprint or getting them to do chase work.

In order to make the races as realistic as possible, the cyclists differ in their attributes (climbing, time trial, sprinting, cobblestones, endurance, hills, etc.).

Erik Zabel's Cycling Manager

  • Publisher: Singularity Software
  • Release: October 10, 2001
  • Original title: Cycling Manager
  • Cover athlete: Erik Zabel

With the first manager, only the most necessary things of road cycling were implemented. Overall, many things were missing that are essential for a manager. A manager mode was next to nonexistent, so the only way to interact with other teams was to swap drivers with one another, unrealistic. There was no training mode, but there was already a fatigue mode. The graphics in 3D mode were out of date, and curves were missing. There were only 20 teams (all GS I teams from 2001, with the exception of Liquigas and Tacconi Sport), 10 of which were originally licensed. However, the manager was able to distinguish himself through realistic mountain stages and time trials , whereas sprint arrivals and classic races could produce the most absurd races. The game's racing calendar was limited to the most important races on the cycling calendar. The focus was on the three major country tours ( Giro d'Italia , Tour de France and Vuelta a España ) and the World Cup races , supplemented by a few stage races (e.g. the Tour de Suisse ) and one-day races . The game therefore received very negative reviews and ratings from the trade press. In spite of all this, the manager was fun for many cycling fans and a fan base quickly formed, so that a new edition could be produced every year. Up to RSM 07 the (well-functioning) tactics area of ​​the cycling manager was missing, which allowed team tactics to be determined before the start of the race.

Erik Zabels Cycling Manager 2

  • Publisher: Singularity Software
  • Release: August 22, 2002
  • Original title: Cycling Manager 2
  • Cover athlete: Erik Zabel

Compared to its predecessor, Erik Zabel's Cycling Manager 2 was considerably more extensive. The manager mode was greatly expanded, so drivers could now be bought and sold, and there was also a first sponsorship system. A training mode was also introduced, but it was made unnecessarily complicated and unsuitable for beginners. There were many other things that could be improved, some standards of contemporary manager games such as: B. an extensive area of ​​statistics. The graphics have been greatly improved, so a new graphics engine was used , and there were also curves in 3D mode from now on, which were missing in the predecessor. The number of teams rose to 63, some of them licensed. In this manager, the sports groups were for the first time realistically divided into different divisions ("Top Club", "GS I" and "GS II"), thus integrating the possibility of athletic ascent / descent. Furthermore, you were not automatically qualified for every race (unless you had the status of a top club), but had to apply to the organizer for a " wildcard ". The results in sprint stages and some classics (especially Paris – Roubaix ) were significantly improved, while the hilly classics sometimes still produced random results. As the number of teams increased, so did the number of races; some tours (such as the Deutschland Tour ) were later available as an official download . A first career mode was also introduced with this manager, but this did not change the fact that this version also lagged far behind contemporary manager games in other sports.

Cycling manager 2003/2004

The third part of the series had a new name in the German version. Due to the weak sales of its predecessors in Germany , the new German publisher dtp decided to change its name. Internationally, they stayed with "Cycling Manager" because sales were surprisingly good, especially in France . There were also noticeable changes in the game. The 3D and manager parts have been completely redesigned, and the new animations of the drivers were particularly noticeable. With this version different types of material ( frames , wheels , helmets etc.), training camps and the scouting of young riders were introduced all over the world. The number of teams was reduced to 40, the 30 GS-I teams of 2003 and ten of the best GS-II teams were represented in the game, around half of them with their original names. In the game, however, these teams were divided into two unrealistic divisions of 20 teams with different racing calendars. The invitation system of the predecessor was abolished, which led to great criticism of the makers of Cyanide from the players. However, the fun of the game was also significantly marred by a number of glaring bugs . The manager only became playable after various patches. The racing results have been improved again (in the patched version). By introducing new attributes such as " cobblestones " and " hills ", the classics could be made considerably more realistic, and the sprint system is also considered one of the best in the series. The time trials, which on the one hand produced an above-average number of surprise winners and on the other hand had unrealistically short time gaps, were particularly negative. In professional circles, the game is considered one of the weakest in the series. Despite all the criticism, the manager also sold quite well in Germany for the first time, aided mainly by the comeback of Jan Ullrich and his exciting duel with Lance Armstrong at the 2003 Tour de France .

Cycling Manager 2004/2005

  • Publisher: dtp entertainment AG
  • Release: June 25, 2004
  • Original title: Cycling Manager 4
  • Cover athlete: Jens Voigt

In the 2004/2005 Radsport Manager, manufacturer Cyanide focused primarily on the manager part. So was z. B. renewed the training part and introduced form highlights of the driver. In addition, "race points" were integrated so that top drivers could no longer be used for the whole season as they pleased. The sponsorship system was made more realistic and the scope of the material increased. They returned (in a similar form) to the invitation system of Cycling Manager 2, but the number of teams was not increased, but the players could look forward to more licensed teams than in their predecessors. However, the scope of the manager was still expandable compared to others at the same time. The graphics, on the other hand, have hardly been improved, only a few small details such as more realistic environmental elements, driver names written on the road and famous cycling venues (e.g. the circuit on the Champs-Élysées ) have been incorporated. Bugs were still very numerous, the retail version suffered from the pressure to finish the game on time for the 2004 tour .

Cycling Manager Pro 2005/2006

  • Publisher: Crimson Cow
  • Release: June 21, 2005
  • Original title: Pro Cycling Manager
  • Cover athlete: Jens Voigt

In contrast to the predecessor, the focus was now primarily on the graphics mode, the manager part remained largely identical. However, from now on it was possible to change teams within a career. For the 2005 season, the UCI reformed cycling with the introduction of the UCI ProTour . The cycling manager tried to implement the far-reaching changes in the best possible way, which succeeded quite well despite the possibility of promotion and relegation integrated in the game (to increase motivation for managers of Professional Continental Teams ). With the exception of the very large teams, almost all teams were represented in the game with their original names, the players could choose between all ProTeams and Professional Continental Teams, apart from the sportily irrelevant Wismilak International Teams from Indonesia .

The 3D mode has been completely renewed. The graphics were now very attractive for a manager, details such as different seating positions, start numbers, world and national championship stripes on the sleeves of the jerseys, as well as arm and leg warmers were integrated. There was also a route editor that enabled players to create their own stages. Cyanide made the editability of his game a lot easier, and it was easy for the now large fan community to add new races and teams to the game. Bugs were again not uncommon, but compared to the predecessors an upward trend was discernible. Thanks to an advertising campaign in TV and print media , the Radsport Manager is still the best-selling part of the game series in 2005.

Cycling Manager Pro 2006 - Tour de France

  • Publisher: Crimson Cow
  • Release: June 23, 2006
  • Original title: Pro Cycling Manager, Season 2006
  • Cover athlete: Ivan Basso

Cyanide was able to win the Tour de France as a partner for the cycling manager Pro 2006 . The ASO races are now represented in the game with their original names and leadership jerseys. B. Wear "Tour of France". Almost all teams are now originally licensed, of the large teams only Discovery Channel with fantasy names is on the way ("Lost Channel"). Many detail improvements were made in the manager part, B. a new manager goal and training system. The graphics are based on the same engine as the predecessor, but there are also HDRR , some details in the track design and, above all, the animation of spectators, who, especially during mountain stages, are now in large numbers at the edge of the track, forming lines and running alongside the drivers. Eurosport commentator Karsten Migels will comment on the racing events in this issue . The manager surprised with as few bugs as seldom and is considered to be the highlight of the game series so far, which can improve in any terrain with very realistic results. However, sales of the game were affected by the doping scandal involving the doctor Eufemiano Fuentes , in which the German cycling star Jan Ullrich is also involved. In the game itself, doping has not played a role since the first edition, as otherwise you would not get the coveted licenses of the cycling teams.

Cycling Manager Pro 2007

  • Publisher: Crimson Cow
  • Release: June 28, 2007
  • Original title: Pro Cycling Manager, Season 2007
  • Cover: A fantasy picture with cyclists on the Champs-Élysées

For the Cycling Manager Pro 2007, the management part has been heavily revised. Developer Cyanide responded to the community's wish to modernize the layout. Furthermore, the manager part is now more complex and easier to use. The race calendar is now visible on every manager screen and you can simulate the respective race right up to the desired date by clicking on it. A weekly newspaper presents the most important events in the cycling world every 7 days. The transfer system has been completely revised. The player can determine the team tactics before each race that he simulates. The AI of the drivers and the computer manager has been improved. A daily form was introduced which can significantly increase a driver's performance during a race, but also weaken it. You can have your own drivers watch opposing drivers to find out their daily form. The graphics were improved like every year. But since the main focus of the developers was on the revision of the manager part, there were only small improvements in the track environment, at the starts and the finish line. Most of the teams and tracks are again included in the game with their original licenses, and the Tour de France is still a partner of the game. For the first time, it was also implemented on a different platform. In addition to the usual PC version, there was a release on the PlayStation Portable . This mainly focuses on the 3D races.

Tour de France 2008 - The official cycling manager

  • Publisher: Koch Media
  • Release: PC: June 24, 2008; PSP: July 11, 2008
  • Original title: Pro Cycling Manager, Season 2008
  • Cover: A fantasy picture, with cyclists in green , dotted and yellow jerseys

The eighth manager in this series has now changed publisher for the fourth time after last year's manager did not meet the financial expectations Crimson Cows had hoped for. Crimson Cow announced in spring 2008 that it would publish its own manager. For the cycling manager Pro, this would have meant that there had been a competing product for years. The community hoped for two high-quality products through the competition, both of which are fighting for the small market.

There were two big changes in the manager part. On the one hand, the training system was revised and U-23 races were introduced. The training system was changed from the old one, in which the player had to monitor his drivers all year round and increase the workload before big events, to a fitness plan-based one. With these fitness plans, you set the training strengths for the entire season at the beginning of the year. You plan the races for the driver and then increase the workload there.

By introducing U-23 races, the developers promised a better recognition of talents in order to bring the game closer to real cycling. This race was also requested by a large part of the community. Unfortunately, the player cannot play them in 3-D mode, but can only evaluate the result lists. The parts of a manager that have been demanded by fans for years and that basically make him up are almost a tradition. Among them is a very pronounced financial section, which still only appears very sporadically in the game, as well as a clear menu. Because with RSM 2008 you always have to jump back and forth between several windows in order to make all the settings and make comparisons between drivers.

The 3-D mode had also seen some fundamental changes compared to the other years. The improvements in the graphic area were mandatory. The energy system was also changed. The three bars with total energy, which could be charged several times in the race, attack energy and a bar that increased at high effort and triggered a break-in by the driver when it was full, have been replaced by three new display bars. From this game on, there was a bar for total energy that decreased as the race progressed and could not be replenished, an energy bar for effort and an attack bar. When the effort bar was empty, the player could no longer keep up the pace. The attack bar empties when attacked, but fills up again quickly. In addition, the drivers now also had to be supplied with bottles. These do not have a direct influence on the energy, but if there is a lack of bottles, the driver suffers a so-called hunger bout . The community hoped for a further increase in the number of cycling managers in 2009 thanks to the many good innovations and the fact that they were largely bug-free.

As in previous versions, there is also a usable editor in which the data of the drivers, teams and races or stages can be changed.

Web links

Individual evidence

  1. ↑ Erik Zabel's Cycling Manager saves the reputation of Team Telekom Eurotour Cycling. In: PC Games . December 19, 2001, accessed September 9, 2019 .
  2. ↑ Erik Zabel's Cycling Manager. In: GameStar . Retrieved September 9, 2019 .
  3. ↑ Peter Grubmair: Erik Zabel's Cycling Manager in the Gamezone test. In: GameZone. August 21, 2002, accessed September 9, 2019 .