This year the objective was to start with a clean slate in terms of a system for creating and scouting new talent. In fact, we have completely revised two closely-linked game systems. We will of course be talking about their creation in an upcoming article, but for now let's talk about scouting.
Presentation of the mechanics
From the outset scouting has been tied to the youth movement that has been obvious in cycling for several seasons. For the game, we decided to stagger the categories by targeting the scouting of junior riders, meaning 17- and 18-year-olds, instead of young hopefuls (19 to 22).
After looking at the system used in PCM21, we established several objectives: developing the system, increasing the player’s impact and creating mechanics that add to the game while regularly providing information.
Adding to the system
With the increasing globalisation of cycling, the starting point involves offering scouting with a worldwide scope, covering a total of about thirty regions (a region can be comprised of one or more countries).
By way of comparison, the old system was limited to about fifty countries when it came to generating new riders, versus 129 in PCM22.
The number of riders has changed, too, going from about 430 to 2,500 new riders generated each season!
Strategic choices
This was an important aspect of the redesign: we wanted the player to have more ''weight' when making choices, compared to the old system, which didn't allow the player to implement a regional strategy.
Now, at the start of each season you have to decide which regions your scouts are going to keep an eye on during the year.
Your scouts' knowledge of the regions they are watching will develop little by little, and some of the riders in your squad may also improve regional effectiveness.
Progressive discovery
During the season, once the missions start you will receive updates from your scouts every two weeks, providing you with new information about interesting riders in the regions covered. The scouts work independently and will automatically send you reports about the riders they consider to be interesting; it is therefore important to have good regional knowledge to ensure that the scouting results are relevant.
There are 10 levels of discovery that provide information about the current level of the riders, their approximate potential (+/- 1 pt), potential, characteristics when scouted and potential in the different areas (stage races, sprints, etc). The player can request a scouting report on a specific young rider, choosing the rider from a list sent in by the scout, which will provide you with more information about that rider the next time.
Miscellaneous
Each region is graded using two characteristics on a scale of 1 to 10: cycling popularity and the level of training structure. The first affects quantity, and the second quality. For small countries, developments may occur during or between seasons, but we'll go into more detail about that in an article on 'Regeneration'.
Finally, for each region there is a knowledge grade, which goes up to 10. The higher the score, the more effective the scouting. To achieve a good score, you need scouts that know the region; at the same time, the longer they work there, the more their knowledge can progress (5 levels). Having a team and riders located in a region can also affect knowledge development.
To finish off this section on scouting, we'd like to add that we have developed possibilities with the U23 team, so there is now a recruitment draft at the end of the season.
