Monster Media 1996 #15

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STRATEGIC BASEBALL SIMULATOR Copyright 1988-1996 David B. Schmidt (SBS) Version 3.01 June 1996 CompuServe: 76474,3116 INTERNET : 76474.3116@compuserve.com Target Computers: IBM or 100% Compatible. DOS 2.1 or later. Color monitor is best but monochrome OK. Hard drive and at least a 80286 recommended. Files included in this package: BASEBALL.EXE - the Strategic Baseball Simulator Version 3.0 EDRNDAC.EXE - the Schedule File Editor 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 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 SBS30.PIF - PIF for Windows README.30 - last minute information TE.EXE - Public Domain Text Editor 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............................................... 3 Disclaimer.................................................... 3 Overview Manual Mode (single-game)..................................... 5 Two-Team Simulations.......................................... 5 Schedule File Simulations..................................... 5 Series File Simulations....................................... 5 Statistics Reports............................................ 6 Selected Topics Selecting Teams............................................... 6 Selecting Series Files........................................ 6 Selecting Schedule Files...................................... 6 Selecting starting pitchers................................... 6 Manual Mode................................................. 6 Two-Team.................................................... 6 Schedule/Series............................................. 6 Spot Starters............................................. 6 Designated Hitter............................................. 7 Statistics recording options.................................. 7 Statistics File............................................. 7 Focusing option............................................. 8 Line Score File............................................. 8 Box Score File.............................................. 8 Score Card File............................................. 8 Selecting starting lineups.................................... 9 Auto-Lineup option............................................ 9 Changing defensive positions.................................. 9 Other "Ground Rules".......................................... 9 Management options............................................10 Managing in Manual Mode.....................................10 "Double-Switch" procedure...................................11 Lazy Man's Method...........................................11 Understanding Schedule Files..................................11 Schedule Filter.............................................12 Example of Manageing Inside a Schedule File.................12 Understanding Series Files....................................12 Command Line examples.........................................13 Option switches list..........................................14 Analyzing the statistics and printing reports.................15 Computer Performance Enhancement..............................15 MAINTAINING and ENHANCING your teams..........................16 Adding team nicknames.......................................16 Adding first names to players...............................16 Platooning..................................................16 Pitcher Hitting Codes.......................................16 Notes on constructing your own teams..........................17 Configuration File - BASEBALL.CFG.............................17 Microsoft Windows 3.1 notes...................................18 Support.......................................................19 Acknowledgements..............................................18 Registration..................................................19 Page 2 Program Pedigree: 1981 - FORTRAN for IBM VSE/ICCF 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. 1993 - Version 2.51 Fixed "missing runner" bug in 2.5. Fixed problem with detecting hitting streaks in BASESTAT. 1995 - Version 3.0 - Major revision Loads stat files in memory for immediate access New format Schedule Files by date Improved play-by-play 1996 - Version 3.01 - Minor bug fixes INTRODUCTION The Strategic Baseball Simulator (SBS) is a flexible, reasonably thorough, yet relatively simple baseball simulation program. It is a game in which one can play against another human or against the computer manager. 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. Or use it to simulate large numbers of games in a short time. SBS works by reading in actual statistics for each 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. With the new "focusing" option enabled, the numbers given above are significantly improved. INSTALLATION Nothing fancy. Just make a subdirectory and copy the files. 1] create a subdirectory: > md \SBS30 2] log into the subdirectory you just created: > cd \SBS30 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. Page 3 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. 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 Page 4 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. The accompanying text editor, TE.EXE, that is distributed with SBS 3.0X is an example of Public Domain Software. We did not write it, and claim no rights to it. We do not support TE. <F5>, followed by "Y" for yes and "1", "2", or "3" to indicate which parallel port your printer is attached to (usually "1") lets you print the file you are reading, and <F4> exits TE. Strategic Baseball Simulator makes NO references to actual professional teams or leagues. No team nicknames and no actual leagues or divisions are referenced. You may edit the supplied data files for your own use, but altered data files may NOT be distributed. Page 5 OVERVIEW AND THE OPENING MENU You are presented with several 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 "best". In baseball you need a great number of games to played out before the statistics can reveal a true picture. You will probably elect to create a statistics file for your simulation so you can later review all the stats. 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" (Results) during the run to check the Won-Lost results and highlight summary. SCHEDULE MODE In version 3.0X, "schedules" are a little database containing games to be played organized by dates. You may select one of the schedules provided or create your own. Generally the computer will play out these games as fast as it can, however you can select a team or teams that you wish to manage manually (which will temporarily put you in "manual mode"). You can interrupt the schedule after any game and pick up where you left off next time. You may also start and play the same schedule file multiple times. You just specify unique statistics files to do this. SERIES MODE This is similar to TWO-TEAM mode, but now the computer automatically cranks through a pre-determined list of games. These lists might be all 162 games for a given team or all the games for an entire league. When you select the Series Mode, you are presented with a list of "series files" to choose from. Series 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 series files for your favorite teams using your favorite text editor or word processor. You will doubtless want to save statistics from your "Series Mode" simulations which you can later examine. 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 Page 6 Delay. You can also type "R" during the run to check the Won-Lost results and highlight summary. STATISTICS REPORTS Select a statistics file you have built (or are currently using) and get a report. 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. The editor "TE" is included, but you can use other editors if you wish. This is done by entering the line EDITOR=[file specification] into the BASEBALL.CFG file. See the topic CONFIGURATION FILE - BASEBALL.CFG. SELECTING SERIES FILES Just like selecting teams, except the computer displays files with the extension .SER. You can [V]iew or [E]dit these files, too. SELECTING SCHEDULE FILES As above, except the computer displays files with the extension .SCH. You can [V]iew or [E]dit these files, too. SELECTING STARTING PITCHERS Manual Mode: Highlight the pitcher you want by moving the arrow keys and hit enter. Two-Team Mode: You can specify the exact pitching rotation. Highlighting the pitchers you want and hitting enter builds your rotation list. When you are done press ESC. Then you may press [O]k to accept, c[L]ear or [C]ancel. Schedule/Series 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. First, pick the number of starters in your rotation --- normally 4 or 5. Then select either the Sequential or Random method ["S" or "R"]. When you choose Sequential the pitching order is as it is recorded in the .DAT Page 7 file. You may edit the .DAT file with a text editor to change this default order of pitchers if you want. Spot Starters: If you select "Y" (yes) for this option, the computer will utilize all the pitchers in the .DAT file as occasional starters if the pitcher has a non-zero number of starts entered under his "Started" column. NOTE! The .DAT files for our OLD-TIMER teams probably will NOT include this data so, sorry, this option won't work for them. (Of course, you can always do your own research and fill in this data yourself!) THE DESIGNATED HITTER RULE You are always given the option of whether to use the Designated Hitter. The default is NO except when both teams are from the "A" League after 1974. Most of the "A" 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 series or schedule files it is always a good idea to include the /DH switch on each line. But more about building those files later. STATISTICS RECORDING OPTIONS When the "Statistics Recording Options" window appears, you have the opportunity to save STATISTICS, save the line-score, save the BOX SCORE, or save the SCORE-CARD at the end of each game (Or any combination of the above). If you save statistics you also have an option called "Focusing". Focusing let's the computer peek at a player's record during the current stat file and help or hinder him a bit accordingly. Leave the input fields blank if you do not want to save the information. 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" under the "Erase File?" heading. Statistics File: Don't use a "file extension" for the statistics file -- if you do SBS will ignore it. SBS automatically generates several DOS statistics files for each "stat" file you specify. A summary file with extension of .STS, a batter file with extension .STB, a pitcher file with extension .STP, a highlight file with extension .STH, a pitching rotation file .ROT, a standings file .STD, a "restart" file .RES (so SBS knows where in an associated schedule file to continue from). THERE IS A LIMIT TO THE SIZE OF FILES WHICH SBS CAN HANDLE 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 1994 "N" League schedule and save stats in Page 8 a file called 94NL (1134 games). And you can simulate the 1994 "A" League schedule and save stats in a file called 94AL (1134 games). But you would be ill-advised to try to save them both to the same file-name because that would be well over the limit and choke the program! Focusing: This option is only applicable if you are using a statistics file! If set to "Y" (yes), the program will look at how well each player is performing in the current stat file. It will then give a little extra "help" to players who are struggling and conversely make things a little tougher on players who are too "hot". Focusing allows the program to "cheat" a little in order to make the final results more closely parallel the original .DAT file. Focusing never goes into effect until a batter is more than 1/2 way through a season (his Sim AB / .DAT AB must be greater than .5 -- for pitchers IP is used). It is NOT necessary to use focusing in order to get good results. SBS's statistical model works very nicely in the "blind" mode as well! But for replaying an entire season schedule you'll probably want to use it. Line Score File: The LINE SCORE generated is just an ASCII text file containing the line score by innings and the total runs, hits and errors for each team. Box Score File: 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. Score Card File: 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 these reports automatically at the end of each game by entering LPT1 (or 2 or 3) 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. Page 9 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. For Schedule / Series File Mode: Since schedule and series files usually involve many teams it was not feasible to allow manipulation of the lineups in these modes. However you can always go back and edit the .DAT files directly to change lineups to your liking. One exception to this -- you may elect to manage selected teams MANUALLY under Schedule Mode. Then you can fiddle with their lineups prior to each game. Auto-Lineup: This feature allows the computer to pick various starting lineups, not just use the default lineup in the .DAT file. This way the bench is utilized much more realistically. For long, season-length simulations this is the way to go. This feature works best on the latest .DAT files that have Games By Position information on each player's line. But the program will make a good attempt at using this feature even on the old-timer teams where this data is not available. 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 "-". 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" or "Series" Mode. You must edit the .DAT file directly. SELECTING WHO MANAGES WHOM - OTHER "GROUND RULES" In the "Ground Rules" screen [Manual Mode] 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" or Page 10 "3" 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. 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 strategy 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". Page 11 If you change your mind about which teams the computer should manage, hit "O" and the "Options" 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 Options window are self-explanatory (except for "Focusing"), but you will need the following special instructions if you want to do a "double-switch" maneuver. "DOUBLE-SWITCH" - Only valid with no DH -- Sorry, don't try this in the AL :) 1) Get new pitcher from bullpen. 2) Immediately pop up the "Substitute" window and switch in a new defensive player. THEN type "DS" (for Double-Switch) 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 METHOD - LET THE COMPUTER MANAGE BOTH SIDES 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 "O" (for Option 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". 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 primary method you will want to use to play long, involved "schedules" of games. Normally you run these schedules as fast as possible except perhaps for games you want to manage manually. You can run and/or edit any schedule files provided or you may build your own. From the main menu, choose the Schedule Files option. You may pick an existing file or choose to edit/view one by pressing "E". If you choose to edit one of these .SCH files, notice that they are arranged by date. Highlight and enter a date or press INSERT to add a new date. Then you may specify the file names of the teams to play and any special "switches". See UNDERSTANDING SERIES FILES for more information about these options. Two switches (only valid for schedule files) are the /VM: and /HM: options. They allow you to manually manage teams of your choice. /VM:+ adds visiting team to manual manage list /VM:- removes visiting team from manual manage list /HM:+ adds home team to manual manage list /HM:- removes home team from manual manage list Page 12 Schedule Filter: You don't have to run all the games in a schedule file. After you pick your .SCH file, the "Schedule Filter" window pops up to allow you to run just the games for a single team and/or date range. Leave this blank to go ahead and run all the games. Fill in the .DAT file name for your favorite team if that's what you want. (Don't type the .DAT part here). The naming conventions for .DAT files are Year + League + 1st 5 characters of city/location. So the 1994 team from New York in the "A" League would be named 94ANEWYO.DAT. The team from St. Louis would be 94NSTLOU.DAT. Dates should be entered in MM/DD/YY format, e.g. 04/09/94. Make sure the dates inside your .SCH file are maintained in this format also. You probably won't want to run a long schedule file in one sitting. So, IF YOU HAVE SPECIFIED A STATISTICS FILE to save info for this schedule run, you can press Q (for quit) while a schedule file is running and the action will stop after the current game is completed. Next time you start SBS you can RESTART where you left off when you pick the schedule file and the same statistics file. Example of manageing inside a schedule file: EXAMPLE: You want to run the 94AL.SCH and manage Texas (94ATEXAS). 1. Highlight the .SCH file 94AL and press "E" to edit. 2. Highlight the date that you want to start manageing this team manually. Let's say 04/10/94. Hit ENTER. 3. Find 94ATEXAS -- use the arrow keys to get in the options area. 4. Since Texas is the visiting team here, type in /VM:+. Hit ESC. 5. If you want to remove Texas from the Manual Manage List at a later date, highlight that date and enter /VM:- or /HM:- UNDERSTANDING SERIES FILES "Series Files" are another vehicle through which SBS knows to play certain teams a certain number of games. The series file is just a text file with a file extension of .SER 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 desired. YOU CANNOT STOP AND THEN RESUME SERIES FILES LIKE YOU CAN SCHEDULE FILES! If you quit a series file before it completes, that's it. Data is entered via "switches". The order of the switches should not matter. For example, one such series file might contain the following lines: /v:91nnewyo.dat /h:91nstlou.dat /n:9 /v:91nnewyo.dat /h:91nchica.dat /n:9 (etc. etc. through all the "E" Division teams) /v:91nnewyo.dat /h:91ncinci.dat /n:6 /hp:S4 /v:91nnewyo.dat /h:91natlan.dat /n:6 (etc. etc. through all the "W" Division teams) Page 13 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 series file must contain the /h: /v: and /n: switches. If you save statistics when you run a series 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 series 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 using "command line" options, but they are available. They might be useful if you intend to run SBS from a batch file. Note that you can basically 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 A New York visiting the '61 A New York. 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:27anewyo /h:61anewyo /sp:S4 /dh:n /st:styanks /n:12 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: Suppose we want the '27 A NY to use a 3-man rotation. >baseball /v:27anewyo /h:61anewyo /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 '94 season for the NL. A 5-man rotation is OK for all teams. Save statistics to "st94nl". >baseball /sch:94nl.sch /st:st94nl /bx:st94nl.box Page 14 The /SCH switch specifies the name of the schedule file which MUST ALREADY EXIST. The /ST switch will save the statistics to DOS files -- ST94NL.STS, ST94NL.STB, ST94NL.STP, and ST94NL.STH. All box scores saved to ST94NL.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" or "Series" file. You may enter as many switches as you need. Each one must be separated by a space. Each line in a Series file must contain, at a minimum, the /H: /V: and /N: switches. On switches that take a "Y" or "N" argument, you can save space by omitting the :Y if you want "yes". For example: /DH is equivalent to /DH:Y. /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) /PW:path WRITE Saves all your OUTPUT stat files to the path you specify here. Useful if SBS is installed in a write-protected network directory. Also very handy to keep all your stat files in a separate directory for easy backup! Example: >baseball /pw:c:\mystats /H:team.dat (home) /V:team.dat (visitor) /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 in /V: /HP: (same as SP) Override /SP for the Home Team in /H: /S:Y or N Turns Sound Effects On or Off /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 /SPT Spot Starters /FOC Focusing /AUL Automatic Lineup Page 15 For Schedule Files Only: /VM:+ or - Inserts or Removes Visiting Team in Manual Manage List /HM:+ or - Inserts or Removes Home Team in Manual Manage List ANALYZING THE STATISTICS and PRINTING REPORTS Choose the stat file you want to analyze and SBS will then summarize the results and print them out directly or to a .PRN file on disk. 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) - - - - + If you simulate a very large number of games in one stat file, you need a hard disk. If you simulate an entire season for an entire league the game count goes to 972 for the "N" League (pre-expansion) and 1134 for the "A" League and post-expansion "N" League. This may take a while to run -- depending on your machine. A 386 PC should handle it in about 45 minutes (Series Files). Schedule Files take longer to execute because the computer has to run the games in their actual order which means a lot of reading team data on your hard drive. 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. COMPUTER PERFORMANCE ENHANCEMENT TIP: A disk-caching program helps a lot! Try a cache size of 512K if possible. Use "write" caching if available for better performance saving statistics. Example: In your AUTOEXEC.BAT: C:\DOS\SMARTDRV.EXE C+ Another performance enhancer, especially when running Schedule Files, would be to set up a RAM disk and copy all the .DAT files to it. Then you would set the path to your .DAT files with the /p: switch on start-up. See a good DOS manual for details on how to make a RAM disk. Page 16 MAINTAINING and ENHANCING YOUR 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. Or use TE, the included public-domain editor. 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 copy. Team Nicknames: Nicknames have purposely been omitted in deference to Professional Baseball, but you can add them yourself. The first line contains the codes for the team's league and division as well as the name of the team. If you want to change the name of the team (use its nickname for example), edit this line starting in column 11. Players' Names: Names of active players have been encrypted in deference to Professional Baseball. However, you can easily edit these names yourself also. 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. Pitcher Hitting Codes: SBS does not contain batting data for pitchers. If you are not satisfied with the default values (.120 average) for pitchers, you can edit the .DAT files and insert a special code into a pitcher's line. Just place an A, B, C, D or E in column 81 to represent the following batting averages for pitchers: A = .230 B = .180 C = .130 D = .080 E = .030 The higher ratings also produce slightly higher power results. Page 17 NOTES ON CONSTRUCTING YOUR OWN TEAMS Slots 1 thru 9 are the default 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 "N" 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 30. This allows a roster of 30 players if a DH is specified in the lineup or 29 players if not (that's because slot 9 is wasted if the DH is not used). 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. 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! 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. Page 18 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 Hiline line example: * | Hits| HR| RBI| SB| PHit| SO| HILITE | 5| 3| 7| 3| 2| 13| Year/League summary line example: *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) If your printer is on another port beside LPT1, you can specify this as follows: LPT=2 (or 3) If SBS is installed on a network, the statistics files generated will obviously need to be written to a space with "write" privileges. Just enter the lines: WRITE-PATH=c:\stats (or whatever path you want) PROTECT-SCH 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 recommend running the program in "full-screen" mode, although you can toggle to "windowed" mode with ALT+ENTER if you want. Included in this package is BASEBALL.ICO, an icon for SBS to use with Windows. I have also included a sample .PIF called SBS30.PIF. This .PIF assumes you have installed the program in a directory named \SBS30. How to set up an icon for SBS under Windows 3.1: (This also assumes the program is installed in c:\sbs30) From Program Manager Menu: 1) File 2) New 3) Program Item [OK] 4) Description: SBS 3.0 Command Line: c:\sbs30\sbs30.pif Working Directory: c:\sbs30 5) Click the "Change Icon" button Filename: c:\sbs30\baseball.ico Page 19 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 "A" League and "N" League teams containing the PREVIOUS year's statistics (names encrypted). Also included will be the latest version of the program. If possible I will e-mail you the package instead of using the mail. The previous year's data should be available each year around April 1. For example, if it is now May 1996, the rosters and data for the 1995 teams would be available. They will reflect the rosters at the end of the 1995 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 or you wish to de-encrypt the players' names). If you register AFTER the regular season but before the time when the .DAT files become available 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 2905 N. 39th Terrace the opening screen, suspect tampering. St. Joseph, Missouri 64506 CompuServe: 76474,3116 INTERNET : 76474.3116@compuserve.com ACKNOWLEDGEMENTS Microsoft's BASIC development personnel. Thomas Hanlin III for his excellent ADVBAS routines. Highly recommended. ADVBAS is a library of BASIC routines available by shareware. SBS makes good use of a number of these routines. Ethan Winer for his superb book "BASIC Techniques and Utilities". Thomas Riggs of Longview, TX who researched teams for early versions of this program. Craig J. Poff of Beaufort, SC who contributed team data and provided encouragement and support. SPECIAL thanks to Robert Logbeck of Overland Park, KS. He built most of the old-timer teams and and researched all that data in the .CFG file and found lots of program glitches which I failed to detect. Without his help SBS would not exist. And finally thanks to all the rest of you who wrote and offered suggestions and encouragement. Page 20 Registration form (3.01): D.B. Schmidt 2905 N. 39th Terrace St. Joseph, Missouri 64506 Name : _________________________________________ Address: _________________________________________ City : _____________________________ State: ____ Zip : _______________ Do you want a HD 5.25" or HD 3.5" diskette? ______ [Please select 3.5" if at all possible!] [DD 5.25" not available!] 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.