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STRATEGIC BASEBALL SIMULATOR Copyright 1988 David B. Schmidt (SBS) Version 2.5 October 1993 Target Computers: IBM or 100% Compatible. DOS 2.1 or later Color monitor is best but monochrome is fine. Hard drive and at least a 80286 recommended for large simulations Files included in this package: BASEBALL.EXE - the Strategic Baseball Simulator Version 2.5 BASEBALL.MSX - the announcer's play-by-play and comments BASEBALL.DOC - the file you are reading now BASEBALL.CFG - the configuration file BASEBALL.INF - theory of operation BASEBALL.ICO - icon for Microsoft Windows BASESTAT.EXE - statistics compiler program MANUAL.BAT - prints this document REGISTER.BAT - prints registration form REGISTER.FRM - the registration form FILE_ID.DIZ - brief program description VENDOR.DOC - information for distributors TEAMORDR.DOC - where to order more teams README.25 - last minute information Plus: old-timer .DAT files and sample .SCH (schedule) files To print this document: enter MANUAL To print the registration form: enter REGISTER Page 1 CONTENTS Page Introduction/Installation..................................... 2 About Shareware............................................... 2 Disclaimer.................................................... 3 Overview Manual Mode (single-game)..................................... 4 Two-Team Simulations.......................................... 4 Schedule File Simulations..................................... 4 Selected Topics Selecting Teams............................................... 5 Selecting Schedule Files...................................... 5 Selecting Starting Pitchers................................... 5 Designated Hitter............................................. 5 Record-Keeping Options........................................ 6 Statistics File............................................. 6 Box Score File.............................................. 6 Score Card File............................................. 6 Selecting Starting Lineups.................................... 6 Changing Defensive Positions.................................. 7 Management Options............................................ 7 Managing in Manual Mode..................................... 7 Double-Switch............................................... 8 Lazy Man's Method........................................... 8 Understanding Schedule Files.................................. 9 Command Line Examples......................................... 9 Option Switches List..........................................10 Analyzing the Statistics - BASESTAT...........................11 Maintaining teams.............................................12 Configuration File - BASEBALL.CFG.............................13 Microsoft Windows 3.1 notes...................................13 Support.......................................................14 Acknowledgements..............................................14 Registration..................................................15 Pedigree: 1981 - FORTRAN for IBM VSE/ICCF mainframes 1987 - Version 1.2 Microsoft QuickBASIC 4.0 1988 - Version 1.3 Microsoft QuickBASIC 3.0 1990 - Versions 1.4 & 1.5 - a few bug fixes - flexible DH 1993 - Version 2.01/02 Microsoft BASIC 7.1 - Major revision - new features including large simulation capability and ability to save and compile statistics 1993 - Version 2.5 More flexibility; Capability to save or print box scores/score cards/starbox's. Faster. Better display. Page 2 INTRODUCTION The Strategic Baseball Simulator (SBS) is a program with two personalities. It can be considered a game in which one plays against another human or against the computer. It can also be considered a simulation tool in which many games are played out rapidly in order to discover strengths and weaknesses in a particular line-up. This program is NOT an arcade-type game with slick graphics. But if you are a baseball fan it is FUN and, to some, addictive! SBS is very easy to use. It cuts through the nonsense to get you into the action quickly. A game can be played manually in few minutes. But the program's strength is its ability to simulate large numbers of games in a short time. A 162 game schedule can be simulated in 6 minutes (on a '386 / 25 mHz) and an entire SEASON for EVERY TEAM IN THE LEAGUE can be completed in about 35 minutes. (Older PC's will take somewhat longer, of course, but still perform well. A 486/25 does about 1 game/second). SBS works by reading in actual statistics for every player. The program then builds a statistical model to simulate baseball. This results is a good approximation, especially over a large number of games. For a typical player/season of 600 at-bats, about 40% of players will finish within 10 points of their actual average. About 75% will be within 20 points and about 95% will be within 40 points. INSTALLATION Nothing fancy. Just make a subdirectory and copy the files. 1] create a subdirectory: > md \sbs 2] log into the subdirectory you just created: > cd \sbs 3] copy the files into the subdirectory you just created: i.e., put source diskette in drive A [or B], then: > copy a:*.* [ or copy b:*.* ] Start the program by entering "baseball" at the DOS prompt. DEFINITION OF SHAREWARE This program is "Shareware", not "Freeware". Shareware distribution gives users a chance to try software before buying it. If you try a Shareware program and continue using it, you are expected to register. Individual programs differ on details -- some request registration while others require it, some specify a maximum trial period. With registration, you get anything from the simple right to continue using the software to an updated program with printed manual. Page 3 Copyright laws apply to both Shareware and commercial software, and the copyright holder retains all rights, with a few specific exceptions as stated below. Shareware authors are accomplished programmers, just like commercial authors, and the programs are of comparable quality. (In both cases, there are good programs and bad ones!) The main difference is in the method of distribution. The author specifically grants the right to copy and distribute the software, either to all and sundry or to a specific group. For example, some authors require written permission before a commercial disk vendor may copy their Shareware. Shareware is a distribution method, not a type of software. You should find software that suits your needs and pocketbook, whether it's commercial or Shareware. The Shareware system makes fitting your needs easier, because you can try before you buy. And because the overhead is low, prices are low also. Shareware has the ultimate money-back guarantee -- if you don't use the product, you don't pay for it. DISCLAIMER - AGREEMENT Users of Strategic Baseball Simulator must accept this disclaimer of warranty: "Strategic Baseball Simulator is supplied as is. The author disclaims all warranties, expressed or implied, including, without limitation, the warranties of merchantability and of fitness for any purpose. The author assumes no liability for damages, direct or consequential, which may result from the use of Strategic Baseball Simulator." Strategic Baseball Simulator is a "shareware program" and is provided at no charge to the user for evaluation. Feel free to share it with your friends, but please do not give it away altered or as part of another system. The essence of "user-supported" software is to provide personal computer users with quality software without high prices, and yet to provide incentive for programmers to continue to develop new products. If you find this program useful and find that you are using Strategic Baseball Simulator and continue to use Strategic Baseball Simulator after a reasonable trial period, you must make a registration payment of $9.95 to the author. The $9.95 registration fee will license one copy for use on any one computer at any one time. You must treat this software just like a book. An example is that this software may be used by any number of people and may be freely moved from one computer location to another, so long as there is no possibility of it being used at one location while it's being used at another. Just as a book cannot be read by two different persons at the same time. You are encouraged to pass a copy of Strategic Baseball Simulator along to your friends for evaluation. Please encourage them to register their copy if they find that they can use it. All registered users will receive a copy of the latest version of the Strategic Baseball Simulator system. Page 4 OVERVIEW AND THE OPENING MENU You are presented with three principle options here. MANUAL MODE Here you will select two teams. You can manage against the computer or against a friend or you can manage both sides if you want. Or you can tell the computer to manage both sides. "Manual Mode" puts you in control. TWO-TEAM SIMULATION Again you will select two teams. But in this mode, the object is to let the computer manage both sides in order to simulate as many games as you want as quickly as possible. This is great for trying to compare which team is really the "best" as baseball is a game where a great number of games must be played before the statistics can reveal the true picture. You will probably elect to save the statistics generated by your simulation so you can later review them. The simulation will start with the program running as fast as it can. (Delay factor = 0). If you want to slow it down, you can do so by popping up the Control window and changing the Delay. You can also type "R" during the run to check the Won-Lost results and highlight summary. SCHEDULE MODE This is similar to TWO-TEAM mode, but now the computer automatically cranks through an entire schedule. These schedules can be all 162 games for a given team or all the games for an entire league. When you select the Schedule Mode, you are presented with a list of "schedule files" to choose from. Schedule files are nothing more than ASCII text files which list the teams to play and how many games they are to play against each other. [V]iew one of these files to see how they are set up. Then you can create your own schedule files with your favorite teams using your favorite text editor or word processor. You will doubtless want to save statistics from your "Schedule Mode" simulations which you can later compile with the companion program BASESTAT. The simulation will start with the program running as fast as it can. (Delay factor = 0). If you want to slow it down, you can do so by popping up the Control window and changing the Delay. You can also type "R" during the run to check the Won-Lost results and highlight summary. Page 5 SELECTED TOPICS SELECTING TEAMS All the files in your current directory with the extension of .DAT are displayed. Just highlight the team you want by moving the arrow keys and hit ENTER. You may [V]iew or [E]dit these files by highlighting them and typing V or E. In order for the "E" to work, SBS must find a text editor on your system. If you are running MS-DOS 5 or 6, SBS will try to use the built-in Microsoft Editor. If you are running a version of DOS older than DOS 5.0 you will need to tell SBS where to find your text editor. This is done by entering the line EDITOR=[file specification] into the BASEBALL.CFG file. See the topic CONFIGURATION FILE - BASEBALL.CFG. SELECTING SCHEDULE FILES Just like selecting teams, except the computer displays files with the extension .SCH. You can [V]iew or [E]dit these files, too. SELECTING STARTING PITCHERS MANUAL MODE: Just enter a number from 1 through 5. TWO-TEAM / SCHEDULE MODE: You can go through the starting rotation sequentially, i.e. each pitcher in turn, or let the computer pick starters at random, or select one pitcher to start every game. I recommend that in schedule mode you use the sequential method. In two-team mode you may want to use the random method. That's because in two-team mode, if both teams used the same sequential rotation, the same pitchers would always be pitching against each other -- which might not be a desirable effect. Of course if one team uses a 4 man rotation and the other a 5 man rotation there's no problem. You select the starters in your rotation by typing "S" or "R" (for sequential or random) followed by a number from 2 to 5. For example S5 means a five-man sequential rotation. R3 means the computer picks at random from the first three listed starters. THE DESIGNATED HITTER RULE You are always given the option of whether to use the Designated Hitter. The default is NO (even for the American League) so watch closely on this one. Most of the American League teams of the last two decades will have the DH included in their .DAT files. For other teams, the computer will pluck the first player on the "bench" and insert him in the lineup in slot number 5 as the DH. If you are building your own schedule files it is always a good idea to include the /DH: switch on each line. But more about schedule files later. Page 6 RECORD-KEEPING OPTIONS When the "Record-Keeping Options" window appears, you have the opportunity to save STATISTICS, save the BOX SCORE at the end of each game, and/or save the SCORE-CARD at the end of each game. Leave the input fields blank if you do not want to save them. File-names should be from 1 to 8 characters long. You can keep adding information to the end of existing files or you can erase old files and start fresh. If you want to erase a file, type a "Y" beside the "Erase old file" prompt. Don't use a "file extension" for the statistics file -- if you do SBS will ignore it. SBS will actually generate four DOS statistics files. A summary file with extension of .STS, a batter file with extension .STB, a pitcher file with extension .STP, and a highlight file with extension .STH. These statistics files are used by the companion program, BASESTAT. THERE IS A LIMIT TO THE SIZE OF FILES WHICH BASESTAT CAN SORT WHICH COMES OUT TO ROUGHLY 1550 GAMES. THEREFORE DO NOT SIMULATE MORE THAN ONE LEAGUE-SEASON IN THE SAME STATISTICS FILE. For example you can simulate the entire 1992 N.L. schedule and save stats in a file called 92NL (972 games). And you can simulate the 1992 A.L. schedule and save stats in a file called 92AL (1134 games). But you would be ill-advised to try to save them both to the same file-name because that would be over 2000 games and choke BASESTAT! The BOX SCORE file is just an ASCII text file dump of the box score at the end of the game. You can view these box score files with any word processor, text editor or file viewer. Or, from DOS, just do more < filename where "filename" is the name of your file you want to view. The SCORE CARD file is an ASCII text "shorthand" log of the play-by-play, not an actual scorecard. I usually do not save the score card file because it tends to eat up quite a bit of disk space. You probably don't want to do this on long simulations. See the preceding paragraph on viewing text files. You may print out the box score or the score card immediately at game's end by entering LPT1 as the file name. Box scores for games in which outstanding performances occur may be automatically saved in a file called STARBOX.TXT (or whatever you wish to name it) in your current directory. See "CONFIGURATION FILE - BASEBALL.CFG" on page 13 for more information. SELECT STARTING LINEUPS For Manual Mode / Two-Team Simulations: The default starting lineups are displayed for each team. You have the opportunity to make changes in the lineup or batting order as you see fit. The changes you make are temporary. (The team .DAT files on disk do not change unless you edit them). You can swap players between the starting lineup and the bench. You can change the batting order also, as long as the game(s) has not started yet. Swapping is done by just typing the numbers of the players you want to switch, separated by a "-", i.e. 3-4. Page 7 For Schedule File Mode: Since schedule files usually involve many teams it was not feasible to allow manipulation of the lineups in the "Schedule Mode". However you can always go back and edit the .DAT files directly to change lineups to your liking. CHANGING DEFENSIVE POSITIONS For Manual Mode / Two-Team Simulations: Once your starting lineup is intact, you may switch defensive positions of the players if you like. This is done by typing the numbers of the players you want to switch positions, separated by a "-" (as above). Outfielders playing infield and vice-versa will be penalized! Middle infielders playing at the corners will be penalized as well as corner infielders playing in the middle. The penalty is not too severe but you will notice an increase in the number of errors committed by out-of-position players. This option is not available in "Schedule Mode". You must edit the .DAT file directly. SELECTING WHO MANAGES WHOM - OTHER "GROUND RULES" In the "Ground Rules" screen you decide whether the computer will manager either, both, or none of the teams. [For teams which are manually controlled, the player(s) use "pop-up" command windows throughout the game that let them control their offensive or defensive options]. You will also determine the "Delay Factor". This determines how long you have to read the announcer's comments which determines the speed of the simulation. Try "2" to start out with. If this is a little too slow for you, change it to "1" later. The last thing you are asked before the game starts is if you want the computer to HIDE the decisions you make within the pop-up command windows. You should only elect to HIDE if you are managing against another human player who might "steal" your signals. MANAGING IN MANUAL MODE If the computer is NOT managing the VISITING team, the visiting team's command window is activated by hitting "S". This displays a list of either offensive or defensive actions. W > Scroll through your options using the "W" and "X" keys. > "Mark" the options (On or Off) using the "A" and "D" A S D keys (A=On D=Off) > If both side are managed manually and HIDE was X selected, the computer WILL NOT DISPLAY the results of the "A" and "D" keys (on/off) in order to HIDE your decisions from your opponent. > Move the pointer to "READY/EXIT" and hit "A" when done. Or, if your opponent is the computer, just hit ESC. Page 8 If the computer is NOT managing the HOME team, the home team command window is activated by hitting the "5" key. (SBS attempts to turn on your numeric-lock so you can use your numeric keypad). 8 > Scroll through your options using the "8" and "2" keys. > "Mark" the options (On or Off) using the "4" and "6" keys. 4 5 6 (4=On 6=Off) > If both side are managed manually and HIDE was 2 selected, the computer WILL NOT DISPLAY the results of the "4" and "6" keys (on/off) in order to HIDE your decisions from your opponent. > Move the pointer to "READY/EXIT" and hit "4" when done. Or, if your opponent is the computer, just hit ESC. Remember, if you don't want to make a strategic move (which is most of the time) just hit ENTER. Just before the game started you were asked if you wanted the computer to HIDE the decisions you would make within the command windows. If you elected NOT to hide, then you CAN see the results of hitting the "on" and "off" keys. Not hiding makes it easier to see what's going on inside your command window. Also if there is only one team managed by a human, just hitting ESC will close your command window. No need to move the pointer back to READY/EXIT and hit "on". To quit the game, hit "Q". (You get a chance to change your mind.) To get the current "Box Score" hit "B". To check the "Score Card" hit "K". If you change your mind about which teams the computer should manage, hit "C" and the "Control Window" appears in the middle of the screen. You can also change the Delay Factor and turn the Sound Effects on or off. All of the options in your command window are self-explanatory, but you will need the following special instructions if you want to do a "double-switch" maneuver. "DOUBLE-SWITCH" (only valid with no DH): 1) Get new pitcher from bullpen. 2) Immediately pop up the "Substitute" window and switch in a new defensive player. THEN type "DS" while still in the Substitute window. This will place the new pitcher in the batting slot previously occupied by the outgoing player and the new defensive player into the old pitcher's batting slot. LAZY MAN'S METHOD - LETTING THE COMPUTER MANAGE BOTH SIDES (All you do is sit back and watch the show!) If you pick the automatic manager for BOTH teams, you will have no input into the game yourself...all you do is sit back and watch the game unfold. You may hit "C" (for Control Window) to halt the action at any time. Then you may choose to reset the "AutoManger" for either or both teams or change the "Delay Factor". If you want to follow the action you probably want to set the Delay at "2". Page 9 If you want to play the game out as quickly as possible, set it at "1" or even "0". With AutoManager on "Y" for both sides and a Delay of "0" the game will be played out in a matter of a second or two. UNDERSTANDING SCHEDULE FILES "Schedule Files" are the vehicle through which SBS knows to play certain teams a certain number of games. The schedule file is just a text file with a file extension of .SCH that you can build yourself with your text-editor program or word processor. It contains the teams and number of games they are to play and other information if necessary. Data is entered via "switches". The order of the switches should not matter. For example, one such schedule file might contain the following lines: /v:91mets.dat /h:91cards.dat /n:9 /v:91mets.dat /h:91cubs.dat /n:9 (etc. etc. through all the Eastern Division teams) /v:91mets.dat /h:91reds.dat /n:6 /hp:S4 /v:91mets.dat /h:91braves.dat /n:6 (etc. etc. through all the Western Division teams) The /v: means, as you probably guessed, the visiting team. And of course the /h: means the home team. The number following the /n: determines the number of games. You can also use the /vp: and /hp: switches to override the default starting pitching rotation scheme which was discussed earlier. But, at a minimum, each line in a schedule file must contain the /h: /v: and /n: switches. If you save statistics when you run a schedule file -- and you probably will -- please be aware that one set of statistics files can only hold enough data for about 1550 games. So when you build schedule files, you probably don't want to exceed 1550 games total! You can use these switches to override the normal starting rotation method you pick in the program. See the example above -- with the /hp: and /vp: switches. You can also override whatever you choose on the DH rule with the /dh: switch. (See listing of command-line options for more details). COMMAND LINE EXAMPLES You may never want to start SBS with "command line" options, but they are available. They would be useful if you intended to run SBS from a batch file. Note that you can use the same switches from either the command line or inside a schedule file. Here are a few scenarios showing the use of command line options. Example 1: You want to play 12 games with the 27 Yankees visiting the 61 Yankees. You don't want the DH. You want each team to cycle through a 4-man pitching rotation. You want to save the results to a statistics file named "styanks". >baseball /v:27yankee /h:61yankee /sp:S4 /dh:n /st:styanks /n:12 Page 10 The /V and /H switches load the visiting and home teams respectively. If you leave off the file extension on the team files, the program assumes .DAT. The /SP switch sets both teams to use S4 -- Sequential four-man rotation. If you omit the /SP switch the default is S5 for both teams - a five-man rotation. /DH:N forces NO DH, although if you leave if off the default is NO DH anyway. /ST gives the name of the statistics file you choose. (File extensions on /ST are ignored). The statistics file "styanks" will be created as four separate files - STYANKS.STS, STYANKS.STB, STYANKS.STP, STYANKS.STH. /N:12 says to play 12 games. Example 2: Same as above only we want the 27 Yanks to use a 3-man rotation. >baseball /v:27yankee /h:61yankee /vp:S3 /hp:S4 /st:styanks /n:12 Since the pitching rotation is different for each team, we have to use the /VP and /HP switches instead of /SP. Notice that if we don't want the DH we don't need to specify the /DH switch. Example 3: You want to simulate the entire 1991 season for the New York Mets. A five-man rotation is OK for all teams. Save statistics to "st91mets". >baseball /sch:91mets.sch /st:st91mets /bx:st91mets.box The /SCH switch specifies the name of the schedule file which must already exist. The /ST switch will save the statistics to three DOS files -- st91mets.sts, st91mets.stb, and st91mets.stp. All box scores saved to "st91mets.box". OPTION SWITCHES LIST Here is a list of all the switches that can be set from the DOS command line or inside a "schedule" file. You may enter as many switches as you need. Each one must be separated by a space. Each line in a schedule file must contain, at a minimum, the /H: /V: and /N: switches. /P:path If your .dat files reside in some other drive or directory other than the one where "BASEBALL.EXE" is, you need the /P: Example: >baseball /p:b: (.DAT files are in drive b) >baseball /p:\nat91 (.DAT files in \nat91 subdirectory) /H:team.dat /V:team.dat /DH:Y or N (default is N) /SCH:schedule file (command line only) /N:number of games (default is 1) /SP:S5-S2 or R5-R2 or 1-5 Default Starting Pitcher Selection Method: If you are simulating many games, there are different ways the computer uses to pick the starting pitcher. If you do not specify the /SP switch, program defaults to S5, sequential 5-man rotation. /VP: (same as SP) Override /SP for the Visiting Team entered in /V /HP: (same as SP) Override /SP for the Home Team entered in /H /S:Y or N Turns Sound Effects On or Off Page 11 /C:C or M Force Color or Monochrome display. The program should be smart enough to figure this out without relying on this switch. /ST:statistics file. This file name may be 1 to 8 characters long. Do NOT use a file extension. /BX:box score file. File extensions OK. /SC:score card file. File extensions OK. /STB:StarBox file. File extensions OK. /DEL:delay factor 0-9 How long (in seconds) you get to read the play-by-play ANALYZING THE STATISTICS - BASESTAT The companion stat program is called BASESTAT. BASESTAT will ask you to enter the name of your STAT FILE. It will then summarize the results and print them out directly or to a .PRN file on disk. Outputting to a .PRN file can save you some time for large simulations. You can view this file with any number of file viewing programs or you can load it into your word processor or text editor if you desire. You can also send the .PRN files to your printer at your convenience at a later time. - - - - - - - DOS commands you should know: - - - - - - | | | Viewing a file: type "filename.ext" | more | | more < "filename.ext" | | Printing a file: type "filename.ext" > LPT1 | | copy "filename.ext" PRN | | print "filename.ext" | | | - - - - - - (do not type the quotations marks) - - - - Simulating an entire season for one team (162 games) takes about 6 minutes on a fast 386. The statistics files for such a run will total around 250K -- easily fitting on a diskette. If you simulate a very large number of games in one stat file, you may need a hard disk. If you simulate an entire season for an entire league the game count goes to 972 for the National League (pre-expansion) and 1134 for the American League. This may take a while to run -- depending on your machine. A 386 PC should handle it in about 40 minutes. The statistics for such a run will require close to 2 megabytes of disk space. BASESTAT can sort files this big, but it may take several minutes. NOTE! THERE IS AN UPPER LIMIT ON THE SIZE OF STATISTICS FILES! That limit is 32,766 batter records which corresponds roughly to 1550 games. Therefore when you build schedule files and save statistics, do not exceed 1550 games in a single statistics file. TIP: A disk-caching program helps a lot! Try a cache size of 512K if possible. Use "write" caching if available. Page 12 MAINTAINING TEAMS (or build your own teams!) You can change information on the team files or make up your own teams using any text editor. Just about any word processor will do also, but make SURE you save the file in plain ASCII format. This is sometimes called DOS MODE or NON-DOCUMENT MODE or some-such thing. Make sure you follow the exact format used in the team files supplied. Everything has to be in its own particular column, etc. The best way is to copy one of the .DAT files you already have and then edit the new file. Slots 1 thru 9 are the starting lineup and batting order. If you do not want a DH in your default starting lineup, leave slot 9 blank like I have in my National League files. Slots 10 thru 14 are for starting pitchers. Relief pitchers begin in slot 15, although #14 can be used in relief if desired. You may have as few as 2 or as many as 8 relief pitchers. The man in slot 15 will be your "closer" -- the guy who comes in in the late innings to try to nail down a save. After the relief pitchers there should be a line beginning with a "*" and then the "bench". You may fill out the bench down to slot 25. If you have a lot of relief pitchers in your .DAT file your bench might be a little thin. If you do not include a DH in the default starting lineup, and then choose to use a DH in the program, the first player on the bench will be inserted as the DH into the number five spot. PLATOONING: "Platooning" is when a manager starts a right-handed hitting player against left-handed pitching, but benches him in favor of a left- handed hitting player against right-handed pitching. SBS supports this in the following manner by direct editing of the .DAT files. Type an "A" in column 5 of the .DAT file next to the player in the starting lineup. Then type an "A" in column 5 next to the player on the bench that you want to platoon with him. Neither player should be a switch hitter. If there are more players you want to platoon at the same time match them up with a "B" and so on. When SBS displays the starting lineup it will swap the marked players depending on the "handed-ness" of the opposing pitcher. SBS will NOT do "platoon-swapping" after pitching changes while a game is in progress. If column 5 of a player's record is marked, SBS assumes that his statistics were generated primarily against opposite-handed pitchers, so his average is not "boosted", as would be the case of straight lefties vs righties, and vice-versa. A REMINDER: If you are adding your own team files, you must use the file extension ".DAT" for your data file. You may have up to 300 teams in a given subdirectory. If your team .DAT files are in a different subdirectory than the BASEBALL.EXE, you must start the program with the path switch. For example, if your .DAT files are in a subdirectory called \bbal you would start the game with: baseball /p:\bbal Trust me, entering lots of teams from scratch can be a pain. So don't do last year's teams yourself. Register instead! Page 13 CONFIGURATION FILE - BASEBALL.CFG This is an important file, although SBS will run without it. The configuration file contains information about each league for a given year. This enables SBS to reduce any "bias" of one era versus another. These stats are used to compute "League Average" values for a given league/year -- see discussion in BASEBALL.INF. If there is no .CFG file, SBS uses some "hard-coded" values which reflect recent-era data. If the team you select is from a year or league that is not covered in the .CFG file, then SBS uses the default values contained in the file -- the DEF A and DEF N lines. If you choose to edit this file, keep the columns lined up correctly! You may also control the standards which determine when a game's box score is saved to your "STARBOX" file. This is done in the HILITE line. For example, if you want to save the box score if someone gets 5 or more hits you would enter "5" under Hits. If you want to save box scores of pitching gems of 3-hitters or better enter a "3" under the PHit column. Here are some sample lines from the .CFG file for reference and the columns in which these values must fall: columns 11-16 18-23 25-30 32-37 39-44 46-51 * | Hits| HR| RBI| SB| PHit| SO| HILITE | 5| 3| 7| 3| 2| 13| * *Yr L | Inn | Hits| 2B| 3B| HR| BB| * | | | | | | | 1902A | 9732| 10451| 1679| 569| 258| 2815| As mentioned earlier, this file may also contain the "path" to your text-editor. For example, suppose you use the popular editor Q.EXE which you might have in your \UTIL directory. Just enter the line: EDITOR=\util\q (no spaces, please) on any line in the .CFG file ("EDITOR=" must begin in column 1) and SBS should be able to find your editor. There has been a problem reported by a user on a Lantastic network where for some reason SBS would not "shell" to the built-in Microsoft Editor. Specifying another editor in the .CFG worked. MICROSOFT WINDOWS If you have a '386 or better, it can be very nice to run a long SBS simulation in the "background" under Windows. If you are familiar with Windows you can create a .PIF file that allows the application to run in the "background" while you run other programs. I used the default .PIF included with Windows, checked the "Background" box, and saved it as BASEBALL.PIF. I am using Windows 3.1. The only problem I had was sometimes the program would "freeze" when I tried switching back and forth between running in a window and running full-screen (alt+enter). The problem may be fixed now, but I would recommend staying in "full-screen" mode anyway. Included in this package is BASEBALL.ICO, an icon for SBS to use with Windows. Page 14 SUPPORT The author loves feedback from users! Write to the address below or contact me via CompuServe. Feel free to distribute the program in its original format. But if you are a registered user, please do not distribute the additional team .DAT files you received as part of your registration. Speaking of registration.... For $9.95, I will supply a diskette with data files for all American League and National League teams containing the PREVIOUS year's statistics. Also included will be the latest version of the program. The previous year's data diskettes should be available each year around April 1. For example, if it is now May 1994, the rosters and data for the 1993 teams would be available. They will reflect the rosters at the end of the 1993 season and will not include trades and/or new players which have arrived since the end of that season. (You will have to use your text editor or word processor and update the files yourself if you want to have current rosters which reflect the latest trades). If you register AFTER the regular season but before the time when the .DAT files become available -- i.e. October thru March -- then I will send you the latest .DAT files when they become available under a separate mailing. Here's the address: D.B. Schmidt If this doesn't match the address on R.R. 4 - Box 142 the opening screen, suspect tampering! St. Joseph, Missouri 64507 CompuServe: 76474,3116 ACKNOWLEDGEMENTS Microsoft's BASIC development team. Thomas Hanlin III for his excellent ADVBAS routines. Highly recommended. ADVBAS is a library of routines that is available by shareware. SBS makes good use of a number of these routines. Ethan Winer for his superb book "BASIC Techniques and Utilities". A modified version of his file sorting program is used in BASESTAT. Thomas Riggs of Longview, Texas who researched many teams for early versions of this program. Special thanks to Robert Logbeck of Topeka, Kansas for researching many old-timer teams, building schedule files for championship playoffs for each decade, researching all that data in the .CFG file and finding lots of program glitches which I failed to detect. Check out his file TEAMORDR.DOC for information on ordering specific teams from the past! Page 15 Registration form: D.B. Schmidt R.R. 4 - Box 142 St. Joseph, Missouri 64507 Name : _________________________________________ 3.5"___ 5.25"___ Address: _________________________________________ City : _____________________________ State: ____ Zip : _______________ Do you want a 5.25" or 3.5" diskette? ____________ [Please select 3.5" if at all possible!] If you absolutely require a 5.25", is High Density (1.2 meg) OK? ___ Just to satisfy my curiosity, please describe your computer system: ____________________________________________________________ Where did you get your copy of Strategic Baseball Simulator? ------------------------------------------------------------ Enclosed is a check or money order for $9.95. If you are already registered and just need the latest .DAT files that I have from the previous season, please enclose $7.00. See the file TEAMORDR.DOC for information about any other teams you may want.