Hello everyone,
Welcome to this second Devblog for Pro Cycling Manager 26!
Today, we're going to dive into a central element of your gaming experience: the simulation of races.
Simulation: Going Fast… or Being Faithful?
As a reminder, simulation is an alternative way to get the result of a race in an instant, without going through the 3D race.
This is an essential feature in PCM: during a career, you can compete in several thousand stages, and not all of them necessarily need to be played manually.
The simulation is automatically used for races outside your calendar, but it can also allow you to progress more quickly through your game.
Behind this feature, the same dilemma always lurks:
Prioritizing speed
Prioritizing realism
Up until PCM 25, we had chosen an instantaneous simulation, primarily designed to offer an immediate result. It's not that the other approach didn't interest us, but as is often the case in development, choices must be made—and this one had not been questioned until now.
Your Feedback Evolved the Vision
This summer, your feedback was very clear:
Many of you wanted to be able to simulate races using the 3D engine, without necessarily having to watch them.
The goal behind this request was clearly formulated: to obtain more realistic and consistent results, especially for the major races on the calendar.
A Technical Challenge: Accelerating the 3D Race
We, therefore, explored this path... with one central question: can we use the 3D engine without it taking too long?
Our main concern was the calculation time. A simulation that would take several minutes would lose all its appeal.
The challenge was, therefore, to find the right balance:
How much to speed up the race
Without generating bugs or inconsistent behaviors
A New Detailed Simulation
After several iterations—and adjustments following beta tests—we found a satisfactory compromise.
The result: a race simulated via the 3D engine now takes between 5 and 15 seconds on a high-performance setup, depending on the length and type of the event.
Two Systems, Two Uses
Once this new simulation was ready, a question arose: should it replace the old one… or should we keep both?
Given the speed and convenience of the old system, we chose to maintain them side by side:
Instant Result (old system)
Detailed Simulation (new system based on the 3D engine)
The choice is entirely yours
A setting in the game settings allows you to define your preference among 6 possible choices (use detailed simulation for all races, only for certain races, for no races, etc.).
Finally, we have also included the option, from the pre-race page, to change this choice on a case-by-case basis. At the last moment, a race initially planned as an "instant result" can be switched to "detailed simulation." This gives you complete freedom in how you play!
Note: The fast-forward in the calendar (Tab shortcut) automatically forces the instant result mode.
Unexpected Benefits
Interestingly, the optimizations made for this new simulation didn't just benefit this mode.
During beta testing, several players reported an improvement in fluidity in the 3D race compared to PCM 25, even though the technical changes to the engine this year were existing but minor.
A positive side effect… particularly appreciated for more modest configurations.
What's Next?
The work done this year on the simulation has opened up new possibilities for the future.
Although these ideas are not planned for PCM 26, they are already part of our thoughts for what comes next. Among them:
Providing a race summary
Highlighting significant events (crashes, key moments…)
Adding more context to the results
As always, we have to balance numerous development priorities.
That's why your opinion interests us: would you like us to develop this part further in the future?
Thank you for reading, and see you very soon for the next Devblog.
