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-
- AMOS Cricket
- ------------
-
- This is Shareware , not Public Domain. It must be registered after 28
- days of use,if you wish to continue using it. Copyright of this
- program is held by Paul Robson.
-
- Distribution
- ------------
- The following files must be included in any distribution of this game
- :- Register,Cricket,Intro.Txt. Any REGISTER.INFO file or one containing
- similar data must NOT be distributed. These files may not be modified.
-
- Registration
- ------------
- Registration is 4 pounds (see Reg screen for details). The following
- changes are made when you register.
-
- (i) Save Game & Save Team are enabled
- (ii) The registration screen will not come up during the game.
-
- No other changes are made - you now have the complete game , it just
- makes life a lot friendlier if you have a registered copy !
-
- An easy way to tell if you are registered is by clicking on the
- title box on the main menu.
-
- Features
- --------
- Play with a friend or against the computer
- Full screen Graphics.
- Variable pitch types - can seam or turn,or both (or neither)
- Controllable main game speed
- Skill levels for batting , bowling.
- Control aggressiveness,accuracy,pace and movement.
- Overall skill levels independently adjustable.
- 6 Default bowler types to work with and invent your own (!)
- Preset teams (England v Australia) or create your own
- Play 10-60 overs or 3 or 5 day game.
- Play 7 different strokes.
- Bowling & Field placing automatic or player controlled.
- Game in progress can be saved at the end of an over.
- Full Scoreboards.
-
- Greetings
- ---------
-
- Hello and Welcome to AMOS Cricket. I wrote this game because,
- as a cricket fan, I got fed up waiting for a software house to
- produce a decent cricket simulation. When I wrote this I sat down
- and worked out what I wanted the game to be like , and then
- implemented that. The game is aimed at cricket fans who want
- to play their favourite game on silicon. I've written games before
- on various micros, but this is the first one I've played other than
- for testing (I can't beat it without bending the game in my favour
- yet) so I hope you like it too.
-
- AMOS Cricket has a 'Kick Off' [(C) Anco] look about it ,e.g.
- it is a top down view over the main pitch with a scanner for the
- rest of the ground. The bowler delivers from the bottom of the screen,
- the scanner is in the bottom left corner. In the top right corner is
- a summary scoreboard. You can see fielders near the wicket.
-
- Unlike many Amiga Games,AMOS Cricket is mostly actual code.
- There is about 130k of program code (if you take out the samples)
- which is about 2200 lines of AMOS, almost all of which is dedicated
- to the game,not to producing pretty graphic effects or sounds.
-
- If you have any good ideas for improvements send them to me and
- I will try to include them in future upgrades. You will not need to
- re register any subsequent versions of this program. I would also
- like to hear of any 'holes' in the Computer Batting - e.g. is there
- a way you can consistently get him out ? You can usually dismiss
- a batsman by pitching leg and hitting off with a good length ball,
- but this seams fairly reasonable to me !
- Many sports games can be 'found out' e.g. there is always a trick
- which results in a goal being scored for instance - this makes
- the game rather dull as the temptation is to use the trick.
-
- It's dead easy to cheat in this game because you can
- adjust the game in mid-game , which isn't really fair. I decided
- to allow this because it makes starting easier ! You can 'cheat'
- legally by playing your team of spinners against a team of pace
- bowlers on a turning wicket for instance.
-
- Contact me at: The Old Rectory,
- Bridgham,
- Norwich,
- Norfolk.
-
- Thanks to : Jane (Wife) for putting up with me writing it.
- Francois et.al. for AMOS and its compiler.
- Datel for the Mini Sampler.
- Other cricket simulations for inspiration
- (Sarcasm)
-
- How to Play
- -----------
- AMOS Cricket is not a pick up and play gane. While batting , it
- will take some time before you can hit the ball reliably at all off the
- square (defending isn't too difficult).
-
- However, the game controls themselves are not all that complicated.
- This is a quick guide to playing the game from cold.
-
- Select a 1 or 2 player game. (All menus are selected by clicking
- on the appropriate button). The Batsman is ALWAYS the Joystick,and the
- Bowler is ALWAYS the Mouse. The Mouse and Joystick go into their
- usual sockets.
-
- Select Play Game , and whether you wish to bat or bowl (if you
- win the toss). The scorecard should now be displayed.
-
- Bowling
- -------
- If you are bowling,you will first need to select a bowler. The
- possible bowlers will be displayed in a menu. The bowler who bowled
- the last over at that end will be at the top. After you select a
- bowler , a field will be automatically selected, the pitch will be
- displayed,and the cursor will change to a cross-hair. You can now
- change the field by pointing at the Scanner in the bottom left hand
- corner and pressing the Left or Right mouse button (which will
- change the field displayed). A left cancels out a right - it is
- like you are rotating the display using the appropriate button.
- When you are happy with the field,point at the pitch and press the
- LEFT mouse button. This will aim the ball at the appropriate
- point on the pitch . If you press the RIGHT mouse button,it will go
- where you aimed the last one (not for the first ball of an over).
- Unfortunately some of your bowlers aren't quite as accurate as
- you would like,especially if they are tired,so the ball may not
- go exactly where you intended.
- If you don't want to bother with aiming, put Automatic on and
- the computer will aim for you,but this can make playing a bit
- 'remote' if you are playing a 1 player game, because all you do
- is swap bowlers about. You can turn automatic off or on at the
- beginning of an over.
-
- Batting
- -------
- When you are about to receive a ball, there will be a cross on
- the pitch where it will bounce (not necessarily where the bowler
- aimed it !). The Bowler will run up to the wicket , and Grunt and
- deliver the ball,which will bounce or seam (possibly), and
- since I haven't told you how to control the batsman yet,may well
- hit the stumps.
- You can move the batsman in the crease by moving the Joystick
- Left or Right appropriately. If you pull the Joystick Up or Down,
- this will lock the batsman into position (useful for Driving,
- Cutting and Pulling). You then (as the ball arrives) select the
- shot by moving the Joystick in the appropriate direction and
- pressing the fire button. Start off with Forward and Backward
- Defensive shots , then try driving,cutting and pulling and
- finally try square of the wicket. The bounce is always consistent
- (but a fast bowler will get more bounce than a slow one), so you
- don't have to worry about shooters if you play back to a short ball.
-
- Cut Back Defense Pull
- \ | /
- \ | /
- \ | /
- \ | /
-
- Cover ---- Fwd Defense ---- Clip off Legs
- Drive
- / | \
- / | \
- / | \
- / | \
- Off Drive Fwd Def On Drive
-
- Configuration
- -------------
- It is possible to make the game easier or harder through the
- configuration menu - a set of 9 slider bars that allow you to
- change all aspects of the game. This is accessed either from the
- main menu or from the save game menu. Bowlers can access Save Game
- from the Select Bowler Menu (it is the bottom option). Batsman
- get to the menu by pulling the Joystick down when pressing fire
- to leave the scoreboard display (the menus are always controlled
- by the Mouse,even if you are batting). Adjust the
- sliders appropriately - you can change batsman or bowler skills
- for the Computer and Player , and the amount of deviation of the
- pitch each can get. You can also change the state of the pitch
- at the start of the game (it will take more spin on the last 2
- days of a 5 day game - some would say this actually isn't all
- that realistic !). Pushing the slider up increases the values
- (or makes the pitch take more seam/spin). The default turn is
- quite high , so you may want to bring that down initially
- Most useful when starting is the Speed control which changes
- the delivery speed for Human Players. This means you can slow
- batting down when you start ! It reduces the fastest bowler to
- a fairly gentle trundle. For a real challenge, put the speed up
- to high and try and see the ball !
- Note that skills are all values between 1 and 9. If you set
- a batsmans skills to 9, it will peak at 9 irrespective of the
- slider setting.
-
- Main Menu
- ---------
- The main menu is simple enough - you can edit teams (more later)
- switch between 1 or 2 player , swap the teams round,change the
- game type,start the game or continue an old game. Up to 9 games
- can be saved. Click on the appropriate button.
-
- AMOS Cricket is primarily designed to simulate 2 innings cricket.
- The Computers Batting Logic is in favour of not losing wickets rather
- than run scoring,so it plays better 2 innings than 1 innings cricket.
-
- Save Game
- ---------
- This is accessed either directly from the bowler selection menu,
- or by pulling the Joystick down when pressing the Fire button to
- exit the scoreboard. You can reconfigure the game,abandon it to
- start a new one,or save a game. Up to 9 games can be saved.
-
- Edit Team
- ---------
- You can create your own teams , or modify the provided ones here.
- When you start AMOS Cricket, the same two teams will always be there
- (England v Australia 1992). From here , you can Save or Load teams
- swap 2 players in the batting order , or edit a player. You also use
- Edit Player to change the Team Name and team short name (the one that
- is displayed on the scorecard). If you change a team , it will stay
- in memory until you re-run the program or load a different one.
- The wicketkeeper is either (i) the lowest person in the batting order
- who doesn't bowl and all bowling skills 9 or (ii) the lowest non-bowler in
- the batting order.
-
- Edit Player
- ----------
- This allows you to change the following. Note that high values in
- the skill fields = high skill ! Change a field by typing in it.
- Select a field either using the TAB key (changes to next field down)
- or by using the mouse to click on the appropriate box.
-
- Short name of team (displayed at top right of screen)
- Full name of team
- Player Name
- Batting Skill (1..9)
- Aggressiveness (1..9 1=Boycott on a bad day,9=Inzamam-Ul-Haq!)
- Bowler Delivery Type
- Accuracy (1..9)
- Pace (1..9) (Spin bowlers 1-3,Seam Bowlers 4-9)
- Leg Deviation (0..9) Degree to which bowler can move ball away from
- right hander.
- Off Deviation (0..9) Ditto, for moving ball in.
-
- The 6 buttons below predefine a bowler type . Ok or pressing return
- exits the display,clicking on cancel will forget all the changes
- made. You must have at least 7 bowlers. It is also possible to invent
- your own unorthodox bowlers. E.g. you could create an Iverson/Gleeson
- type of bowler,or a big inswing bowler (well inseam anyway) like Lance
- Cairns (NZ). Or you can create an 'all 9' bowler !
-
- Bugs
- ----
- I actually play this game a lot ! (something I have never done with
- any other game I have written).As a result of this, it is quite bug-free
- I would be grateful for any bug reports.
-
- However (theres always one isn't there !) the screen will flicker
- sometimes (especially the bottom line of text). Also the sprites get
- out of sync occassionally. I don't know why this is, but I have read
- recently that double buffering has been improved in AMOS release 1.34
- so I will try and get this and re-compile it sometime.
-
- Versions
- --------
- 1.0 : First Release
- 1.1 : Improvements to Bowler Selection Algorithm
- 1.2 : Fixed - Screen Flickering (occasional) now less common !
- If saved if mid over redisplays field on load
- CR on edit ctrl in dialog caused it to be cleared,
- player could be in an invalid state.
- Lots of little game improvements.
-
-
- PSR'92