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*** B-BALL ***
Pro Basketball for the Computer 1991-92
SINGLE GAME VERSION INSTRUCTION MANUAL
Copyright (C) 1989-1992 by BOBBALL, Inc.
Data and programming files copyright (C) 1989-1992 by BOBBALL, Inc.
All Rights Reserved
Instruction Manual Sections:
1 - Introduction to B-BALL
2 - Starting a Game
3 - Manually Played Game (Human Coach)
4 - Substitution Screen (Manually Played Game)
5 - Defensive Assignment Screem (Manual Game)
6 - Passing (Manual Game)
7 - Automatic Passing (Manual Game)
8 - Other Game Commands
9 - Computer Played Teams (Computer Mode)
10 - Computer Played Substitution Patterns
11 - Drafting Teams
12 - Copying a Pro League to a Draft League
13 - Team Possessions
14 - Starting a Team Possession
15 - Three Point Shots
16 - Fatigue Factor
17 - The Statistics Menu
18 - The Game Scoreboard
19 - The Player Statistics/Ratings Screen
20 - Changing Game Default Settings
21 - Managing Leagues
22 - B-BALL Software Support
23 - B-BALL License Agreement
24 - The Shareware Concept
B-BALL SINGLE GAME VERSION FILE EXPLANATIONS
The following files are needed to run the "B-BALL Pro Basketball for the
Computer" program, (i.e. the B-BALL Single Game Version):
LEAGUE.TXT contains listings of pro seasons to choose from
COMMANDS.TXT lists commands that can be used while playing the game
REGISTER.SGV for shareware users to register the program
ORDERFRM.SGV for users to order the program and teams
README.SGV a short text file explaining the single game version
READSGV.BAT a batch file to execute README.SGV
SHAREWAR.DOC a text file explaining the shareware concept
INSTRUCT.DOC the B-BALL Single Game Version instructions
FILESSGV.DOC lists all of the program files
BBALL.MCC registration information
PRO*.LGE pro team name listings
PRO*.CDE pro team three letter code listings
PRO*.DIV pro team division listings
SGV.EXE the B-BALL Single Game Version executable file
DELDFT.EXE a small utility for deleting temporary draft teams
INSTALL.EXE the installation program
ONEGAME.BAT the batch file that starts the program, executes SGV.EXE
BBALL.BAT a batch file, same as ONEGAME.BAT
CONFIG.DAT configures files to start the program
*.92 the 1991-92 team files
*.92S the 1991-92 team statistics files
BBALL command to start the B-BALL Single Game Version
SEASON command to start the B-BALL Full Season Version
PREDICT command to start the B-BALL Daily Games Version
BBALL92.ZIP BBS program file name - contains compressed files
1-INTRODUCTION TO B-BALL
B-BALL Pro Basketball for the Computer is an extremely statistically
accurate computer simulation of professional basketball. It is based on the
final regular season statistics from previous pro basketball seasons (the most
recent being the 1991-92 pro basketball season). Players will perform just as
they did in real life with some variation due to your coaching decisions. You
can play the actual pro teams versus one another or draft players to form your
own all-star teams and play them against the pro teams or against each other.
Aside from playing the pro teams as a single league you can also set up
individual leagues composed of teams of drafted players. Players on any single
drafted team can all be drafted from the same pro season or from different pro
seasons. You can have up to 28 drafted teams per any single draft league and
over 40 different leagues composed of drafted teams.
B-BALL Pro Basketball is very accurate statistically. Each player file is
based on that player's regular season statistics and also his team's
statistics. More importantly, each player is rated not only for what he did
once he got the ball (i.e. shoot, pass, get fouled, or turn the ball over), but
also for how often he handled the ball (his possession factor).
B-BALL is designed to give you the versatility of coaching a pro or drafted
team in any way you desire. In MANUAL MODE (i.e. human coach) you can choose
the starting five for one of the pro teams or a drafted team, make player
substitutions, change defensive assignments, even dictate who to pass to in
many situations. In COMPUTER MODE (i.e. computer coach) the computer plays one
or two pro teams or drafted teams according to set substitution patterns that
you can change at the beginning of the game. In these substitution patterns
players will automatically substitute at four or six minute intervals (each
1/3 or 1/2 quarter) and you can easily alter the pattern to play any players
in any four or six minute span you desire.
If when having the computer play a team (COMPUTER MODE) you choose to pause
the scrolling play by play narrative text between the team possessions you then
have the option, for that team, of switching back to MANUAL MODE (human coach)
at any point during the game by typing CTRL-S (hold down the CTRL key and at
the same time type the S key) at any pause between the team possessions. This
is great for playing games up through the 3rd or 4th quarter and then finishing
the game manually.
You can also play MANUALLY (human coach) but with all of your team's
passing and starting of possessions being performed by the computer (in the
manual mode with automatic passing) by typing "auto" at the ">" prompt on the
B-BALL game screen, then pressing the <ENTER> key, at any time during a game.
In this mode you are truly coaching as you have no control over passing but
still make player substitutions, defensive assignments, call timeouts, press
full court, double team an opponent, etc.
2-STARTING A GAME
To begin the B-BALL program from DOS type "BBALL" or "ONEGAME" at the DOS
prompt and press <ENTER>. To begin a game type "L" for League menu at the GAME
MENU screen to get to the LEAGUE MENU screen. At the LEAGUE MENU screen type
"C" for Choose League. To choose a league you must type in a seven character
league code. All of the pro league codes are seven characters long. Notice that
the seven dashed lines "-------" disappear as you type in a league code to
remind you that the code must be 7 characters long. As an example, after typing
PRO9091, the teams for the 1990-91 pro season appear in the upper portion of
the LEAGUE MENU screen. Should you mistype your league selection, the seven
dashes will reappear after typing seven characters so that you can re-enter a
league code.
Once you have chosen and accessed a league, type "R" to return to the GAME
MENU screen. Type "H" to choose a home team, then type in the three letter code
of a team. Type "V" to choose a visiting team, and again a three letter code of
a team. You do not need to press <ENTER> after typing in a team's three letter
code. Type "G" to begin a manually played game. To begin a computer played
game, type "C", choose the computer to play the home, visitors, or both ("H",
"V", or "B"), yes or no for the pauses between the team possessions, then "G"
to start the game. Once you type "G" to start the game, type "H" to use the
home court advantage or "N" for a neutral court.
To play a game between two teams in two different leagues (or different
seasons) such as a PRO9091 team versus a draft league team or a PRO9091 team
versus a PRO8990 team, first choose the league of one team by typing "L" and
then the league code, choose the team as home or visitors and then type in the
team's three letter code, then choose the other league by again typing "L",
the league code, and select the other team.
If you form a league of drafted teams that has a league code LESS then
seven characters long you must type over the remainder of the seven dashes by
pressing the <SPACE BAR> once for each remaining dash. Thus if you had a draft
league called the AABL, to access the league after typing "C" for the choose
league function you would type AABL and press the <SPACE BAR> three times to
delete the remaining dashes.
3-MANUALLY PLAYED GAME (human coach)
In a manually played game, after first choosing two teams, pressing "G" to
start the game, and choosing whether or not to use the home court advantage,
the first screen to appear is the SUBSTITUTION SCREEN. Here you can choose and
insert your starting lineup. The next screen to appear is the DEFENSIVE
ASSIGNMENT SCREEN. Here you can assign a man-to-man defense, double team an
opponent, or press fullcourt. These screens can also be viewed during a game at
any timeout or dead ball situation (after fouls or turnovers where play has
been stopped). From either screen you can also view your players ratings for
the actual pro season or statistics from the game presently being played. The
screen that follows these is the GAME SCREEN from which the game is actually
played.
NOTE: During the actual playing of the game at the GAME SCREEN all commands are
entered at the ">" prompt on the game screen followed by pressing the
<ENTER> key. All of these commands are shown as upper case letters in
these instructions with quotes for clarity, however during the game you
can enter them as upper or lower case (and without the quotes).
4-SUBSTITUTION SCREEN (manually played game)
Once you are in the substitution screen, to insert a player into the team
lineup, type "A" (for add a player). When the computer asks what number player
to add simply type the number you see next to the name of the player you wish
to add and press <ENTER>. Then type the position you want the player to play:
"C" for center, "SF" for strong (power) forward, "WF" for weak (small) forward,
"SG" for shooting guard, and "PG" for point guard and again press <ENTER>.
To move a player type "M". When you move a player to a new position the
player who was at that new position (the player whose name is covered over by
the moved player's name) is taken out of the game and the position the moved
player was originally at is then open and must have a player added to it. This
move procedure is useful when a player is shooting free throws and thus cannot
be taken out of the game but you would like to take out a player who plays one
position, put the free throw shooter at that position, and add a player to the
position the free throw shooter had originally occupied.
To see a current box score of the game you are playing type "G" and to see
your team's individual player ratings type "S". To leave these screens and
return to the substitution screen press any key.
5-DEFENSIVE ASSIGNMENT SCREEN (manual game)
Defensively the computer will automatically match your C against your
opponent's C, your SF against your opponent's SF, etc. in a man-to-man defense.
To change these defensive assignments, type "M" for a man-to-man defense or "D"
for a double teaming defense.
After typing "M" for a man-to-man defense the computer will ask you which
of your players will guard the opposing C, SF, etc. Just type in the position
of your player (C, SF, WF, SG, or PG) and press <ENTER>. Realistically a
player should be matched up against opponents of comparable height or guard
the opposing player of the same position or of a position one above or one
below his position (with the order of average player height from tallest on
down being C, SF, WF, SG, and PG) except for the PG who can also guard a WF. In
other words, when setting up your man-to-man defense, a SF can guard a SF, C,
or WF but not a SG or PG and a PG or SG should not guard a SF or C. These
latter matchups will occur numerous times throughout each game you play as a
result of defensive switches (when defenders switch positions on the game
screen) and any mismatch advantages or disadvantages are accounted for then.
The substitution screen does not, however, prevent you from setting up a
man-to-man defense with mismatches. If you set up a blatant mismatch (such as a
6'0" PG versus a 7'0" C) against a computer played team the computer does
NOT know who to assign the advantage to. Only when there is a defensive switch
during the course of a game does the computer understand that there is a
mismatch and to assign an advantage to one player or the other, so use common
sense when setting up man-to-man defenses against computer played teams.
To have your team press full court type "P". A full court press increases
your opponent's chances of turning the ball over while increasing your chances
of fouling. The lower your players defensive FG%s are (i.e. better defensive
players - see the player ratings screens) the more effective your press will
be, however the longer you employ a full court press during a game the quicker
your players will foul out. You cannot double team a player in the game while
your team is pressing full court.
Type "D" for a double teaming defense. The computer will ask you which of
your players will guard the opposing C, SF, etc. similar to when assigning a
man to man defense. Just type in the position of your players and press
<ENTER>. However, to leave an opposing player open (unguarded), type "O" for
open (the letter O, not zero 0). After typing in player positions and leaving
one (or more) opponents open, the computer will then ask which opposing player
you wish to double team for each defender who has not been assigned a player to
guard. Then type in that opponent's position and press <ENTER>.
A double teamed player's FG% decreases by 5% and his possession factor
decreases by one (except a zero who remains a zero). The open player's FG%
increases by 5% and his possession factor becomes a 3 (since he is open) and
because he is open he also has the option of immediately shooting the ball if
he gets it. If the open player gets the ball, a "Shoot or try to Pass (S/P)?"
prompt will appear. Typing an "S" at this prompt will always result in a shot
being taken by the open player but the open player will follow his normal
tendencies when you type "P". In other words a player who normally shoots alot
will more than likely shoot rather than pass if he is left unguarded during a
double teaming situation even if you type "P".
6-PASSING (manual game)
In B-BALL not only can you coach a team by making all player substitutions,
changing player defensive assignments, calling timeouts, etc. but you can also
dictate who to pass the ball to in many situations just as if you were the
player in the game handling the ball. However you can't ALWAYS pass the ball
to the player of your choice. Passing the ball is influenced (and sometimes
restricted) by the possession factors of your team's players.
The possession factor (PF) is a number (0, 1, 2, or 3) that measures a
player's ability to handle, or control, the ball during the course of a game.
Simply put, the more a player handled the ball in real life, the higher his PF
is. The more a player shot, passed, got fouled, and turned the ball over during
the time he played, the greater his PF. Thus this number also reflects a
player's ability to get open to receive a pass since receiving a pass leads to
another shot, pass, foul, or turnover. The greater a player's PF is, the
greater are his chances for creating an opportunity for himself or a teammate
to score.
During a game being played with manual passing, a PF is listed at the
beginning of each line of play-by-play narrative text where a pass is about to
occur. You as coach can have the player handling the ball pass the ball to any
teammate that has a PF GREATER THAN OR EQUAL TO the PF indicated, but NOT to a
player with a PF less. Simply type in the position (C, SF, WF, SG, or PG) or
the position number (PG=1, SG=2, WF=3, SF=4, and C=5) of the player whom you
wish to pass the ball to at the ">" prompt and press <ENTER>. If you try to
pass the ball to a player with a PF less than the PF indicated it will NOT be
accepted by the computer and the game will not continue until a player with a
PF greater than or equal to the PF shown is typed in. In other words those
players with PFs less than the PF indicated are not "open" to receive a pass
at that moment.
As an example, if PG Magic Johnson threw a pass indicated as PF 2, you
could have Magic pass the ball to your choice of either WF James Worthy (PF=2)
or SG Byron Scott (PF=2), but not to C Kareem Abdul-Jabbar (PF=1) or SF A.C.
Green (PF=0), because Jabbar's and Green's PFs are less then 2. If the pass was
indicated as PF 1, you could have Magic pass the ball to anyone but Green. If
Magic threw a pass indicated as PF 0, you could pass the ball to any teammate
(your choice).
During the playing of B-BALL on the game screen all player possession
factors are located in the column just to the right of the players positions
(C, SF, WF, SG, PG) and just to the left of the players names on the "offense"
side of the game screen so they can be easily read when manual passing is in
effect.
Most PGs have PFs = 3 since they handle the ball on most of their team's
possessions. However, any SG, WF, SF, or C, with a PF = 3 is usually a
superstar player - a great passer or a great scorer or both. All players with
PFs = 0 are either inside scorers with limited outside shooting and passing
ability , defensive specialists that are hardly involved in a team's offense,
or good rebounders with limited offensive skills, i.e. players who just don't
handle the ball very often on offense. They usually have limited dribbling
ability and usually score only after receiving passes at or near the basket or
after getting an offensive rebound. Thus a pass listed as PF = 0 (whether you
pass the ball to a player with a PF = 0 or with a PF greater) can be thought of
as a pass to a player when he is positioned inside (close to the basket) as it
is creating a good opportunity for him to score.
In a manually played game there is a disadvantage in playing a number of
players who are poor ball handlers (i.e. who all have low possession factors)
at the same time. Each time you see the computer passing the ball between
players where you did NOT have the option of choosing which player to pass the
ball to the computer was searching for a player with a PF greater than those
available. If the PFs of all of the teammates of the player passing the ball
are less than the PF the computer is searching for, it randomly chooses one of
the player's four teammates to pass the ball to, with the choice being weighted
towards the players with the higher PFs. As an example, if your PG has a PF=3
and throws a pass for a PF=2, but your SG, WF, SF, and C all have PFs= 0 or 1,
the computer randomly chooses one of them to receive the pass. The disadvantage
then is that by playing many players who are poor ball handlers (players with
low PFs) you will often NOT have the choice of who to pass the ball to because
these players with lower PFs have a tougher time getting open to receive a
pass. Also, players who are good passers will more often be able to pass the
ball to teammates with lower PFs than will players who are not good passers.
Thus in B-BALL you can dictate most of the time who to pass the ball to
similar to as if you were the player handling the ball, however you cannot
arbitrarily decide at any one moment who will shoot the ball (as in other
computer games). This is also similar to you as coach having your players
running set plays or hitting the "open" man, however once players get the ball
on offense they will either shoot, pass, get fouled, or turn the ball over in
the same proportion as they actually did in real life.
7-AUTOMATIC PASSING (manual game)
If you would rather not be so involved in your team's offensive play by
dictating individual passes, you can have the computer control all of your
team's passing and starting of team possessions while you, as coach, still make
player substitutions, player defensive assignments, call timeouts, etc. Simply
type "AUTO" (for AUTOMATIC PASSING) at the ">" prompt on the B-BALL game screen
before you begin one of your team's possessions (when the first line of the
play-by-play narrative text reads "Bring the ball upcourt PG or halfcourt
offense HC"), press <ENTER>, then begin the possession manually by typing in
the position of a player with a PF = 2 or 3 and pressing <ENTER>. From that
point on the computer will conduct all of your team's passing and will start
all of your team's possessions. In this mode the game will also play much
faster as the computer chooses who to pass to (based on the players actual
possession factors, i.e. the higher a player's PF the more passes he will
receive) quicker than a human coach could.
To change your team back to manual passing from automatic passing type
the CTRL-S key combination (hold down the <CTRL> key and at the same time type
the "S" key) at the pause between the team possessions. At that point your
team will be back in the manual passing mode so you can dictate your team's
passing. (Keep pressing the CTRL-S key combination until the manual passing is
back in effect).
When playing B-BALL in the manual mode with manual passing, player's PFs
are rounded off to whole numbers (0, 1, 2, or 3), but their actual PFs may be
slightly more or less. These actual PFs are used by the computer whenever the
computer plays a team or automatic passing is in effect.
8-OTHER GAME COMMANDS
Typing CTRL-S will also shut off computer control of a team being played by
the computer WITH pauses between the team possessions similar to the way it
turns off automatic passing. These pauses between possessions allow you to read
the play by play narrative of a game where both teams are being played by the
computer (because without the pauses the game plays too quickly to read the
text). To break off a game being played by the computer with pauses between the
team possessions and returning the game to manual mode you must type CTRL-S
just as a team finishes it's possession (i.e. the other team is just about to
start their possession). If at first the game does not break off into manual
mode, type CTRL-S a few times in sequence to be sure it's typed at the
beginning of a team's possession.
The speed at which the play by play narrative text scrolls in a manually
played game can also be adjusted by typing "SLOW", "MEDIUM", or "FAST" at the
">" game prompt at the beginning of a team's possession and pressing <ENTER>.
To call a time out in manual mode, type "T" at the ">" prompt at the start
of your team's possession and press <ENTER>. To call a 20 second time out, type
"20" and press <ENTER>. Only one player per team may be substituted for during
a 20 second time out. To change defensive assignments of your players after the
opposition has scored or after you get a defensive team rebound, type "D" and
press <ENTER>. To turn on or off the beep sound made for successful field
goals, type "SOUND" and press <ENTER> (if the beep is on, typing SOUND turns it
off and if its off it turns it on). To stop the pause in the narrative text
scroll and have continuous scrolling, type "SPEED" and press <ENTER>. Also, the
scrolling of the play by play narrative text will stop in the manual game mode
after a maximum of six lines of narrative text has appeared or play has stopped
because of a foul or turnover. Just press any key for the game to continue.
To stop a game, you can either type "QUIT" at the ">" prompt and press
<ENTER>, or type CTRL-Break (hold down the <CTRL> key and at the same time type
the <Break> key). Either way all statistics for that game are erased. At the
"Substitution or Defensive Changes (Y/N)?" prompt that appears at any dead ball
situation, type either "Y" for yes or "N" for no.
The following is a summary of what you can type at the game ">" prompt
during the playing of a game:
"C" or "5" - gets the ball to your Center
"SF" or "4" - gets the ball to your Strong Forward
"WF" or "3" - gets the ball to your Weak Forward
"SG" or "2" - gets the ball to your Shooting Guard
"PG" or "1" - gets the ball to your Point Guard
"WFX" or "3X" - if the WF shoots, it will be a 3pt shot, not a 2pt shot
(also PGX or 1X, SGX or 2X, SFX or 4X, or CX or 5X)
"AUTO" - converts game to automatic passing after you
manually get the ball to a player
"SLOW", "MEDIUM", "FAST" - adjusts the speed of the scrolling play by
play narrative text
"T" - timeout
"20" - 20 second timeout
"D" - change your team's defensive setup (only after the
other team has scored or after a def team rebound)
"SOUND" - to turn on or off the beep sound when a basket is made
"SPEED" - to stop the pause after 6 lines of play by play text
and have continuous scrolling
"QUIT" - abort the game and return to DOS
Remember after each command entered at the ">" prompt you must press the
<ENTER> key.
To print a hard copy of an order form from within these game instructions,
align your printer paper at the top of a page and use the Print Screen key or
shift-Pr Scr combination (hold down the shift key while typing the Print Screen
key) or you can print the complete instructions which has the order form as
it's last page.
If you choose a team to play in a game by typing in its 3 letter code and
the message "TEAM NOT FOUND... PRESS ANY KEY" appears, you do not have that
team on your diskette or hard drive. To get a listing of which teams you do
have you must go into DOS. All pro team files are stored by the team nickname
(the 8 letter file name) and year (the 3 letter file extension). Thus the
Boston Celtics of 1990-91 are stored on the diskette as "CELTICS.91" and
"NETS.78" would be the New Jersey Nets of 1977-78. All drafted teams have the
filename extension ".DF" thus a drafted team called the Laramie Longhorns would
be stored as "LONGHORN.DF".
Also all statistics files are stored in a similar fashion except an "S" is
added to the filename extension. The Celtics 1990-91 statistics file is stored
on disk as "CELTICS.91S" and any drafted team would have a statistics file with
the extension of ".DFS". Any drafted team with the filename extension of ".DFT"
(T for temporary) is a team that was drafted and not saved but was used as a
DFA or DFB draft team that you could only play against other teams in that
league but was erased once you switched leagues.
At the end of every game all of the play by play narrative text that was
displayed on the game screen during that game that described the shots, passes,
rebounds, steals, turnovers, etc. is stored in a file called "GAMEPLAY.TXT".
Using any word processor you can review what happened during that game by
scrolling through this file. However once you start a new game this file is
erased and replaced by the text of the new (most recently played) game.
9-COMPUTER PLAYED TEAMS (computer mode)
You can play two teams manually (manual mode), play one team manually
versus the computer, or have the computer play both teams. To play against the
computer or to have the computer play both teams, choose home and visiting
teams and type "C". You can then choose to have the computer play either the
home team, visiting team, or both teams by typing either "H", "V", or "B".
Again, type "G" to start the game and "H" or "N" for the home court advantage.
10-COMPUTER PLAYED SUBSTITUTION PATTERNS
The first screen to appear after selecting both the home and visiting teams
for a game and then choosing either one or both to be played by the computer is
the team(s) computer played substitution pattern. When the computer plays a
team it follows a substitution pattern where the players are automatically
substituted for at 4 or 6 minute intervals (your choice). You can change this
substitution pattern for a team being played by the computer to play any
players in any 4 or 6 minute interval that you desire just before the game
actually begins. In this substitution pattern the 1/3 and 1/2 quarters (4 and 6
minute intervals) are lettered A-L and A-H:
6 minute substitution pattern 4 minute substitution pattern
qtr 1/2 qtr game minutes played qtr 1/3 qtr game minutes played
1 A 0 - 6 1 A 0 - 4
1 B 6 - 12 1 B 4 - 8
2 C 12 - 18 1 C 8 - 12
2 D 18 - 24 2 D 12 - 16
3 E 24 - 30 2 E 16 - 20
3 F 30 - 36 2 F 20 - 24
4 G 36 - 42 3 G 24 - 28
4 H 42 - 48 3 H 28 - 32
3 I 32 - 36
4 J 36 - 40
4 K 40 - 44
4 L 44 - 48
To change the pattern to insert other players or simply to change which time
spans the players are presently in, first choose a 1/2 or 1/3 quarter by typing
its letter and press <ENTER>. Then choose the player you want to add by typing
his number (1-12) and press <ENTER>. Then add him to the position you want by
typing either C, SF, WF, SG, or PG and pressing <ENTER>. Continue this process
until you are satisfied with the substitution pattern. Type "X" to leave the
screen and continue with the game.
NOTE: This procedure does NOT prevent you from inserting the same player more
than once into the same 4 or 6 minute time interval (i.e. inserting the
same player twice or more at two or more different positions). If you
see a player play more than 48 minutes in a game that did not go into
overtime you undoubtedly have him playing twice (or more) in the same
time period but at different positions.
During a game the computer played substitution pattern is altered only when
a player fouls out of a game or reaches his fatigue factor, at which point the
computer will substitute the NEXT available player on the roster (searching
in the order of players 1 through 12) that can play the same position as the
player taken out of the game.
The computer played substitution pattern for any single team can be
changed from the LEAGUE MENU or GAME MENU screen (once you have chosen the
league that the team is in) by typing "S" or "U" for change Substitution
pattern. Any changes made to a team's substitution pattern at this point are
stored when "X" is typed to leave the screen and will remain in effect for that
team until you change the pattern again from these menus (i.e. it is that
team's default substitution pattern).
In a game being played with one or two computer played teams, after "G" is
typed to start the game at the GAME MENU screen, the computer played
substitution patterns will again appear. Any changes made at this point to the
computer played team's substitution pattern are in effect ONLY for that
immediate game played. At the next game played for that team you will see that
team's default substitution pattern appear once again.
To change a team's computer played substitution pattern from 4 to 6 minute
or from 6 to 4 minute, type "D" for "game Default settings" at the GAME MENU,
then "S" for "change 4 or 6 min sub pattern" at the DEFAULT SETTINGS MENU to
get to the CHANGE SUBSTITUTION PATTERN MENU. Here you can change the pattern
from 4 to 6 minute or vice versa by typing "A". To save 4 or 6 as the default
substitution pattern type "S". Typing "D" at this menu tells you which pattern
is currently the default.
Note that when you break off a team being played by the computer to play
the team manually using the CTRL-S key combination (in a game being played by
the computer with pauses between the team possessions) you must complete the
remainder of the game with manual passing. You cannot return to using a
team's computer played substitution pattern once you have initiated manual
passing.
11-DRAFTING TEAMS
In B-BALL you can create entire leagues composed of teams of players
drafted from the actual pro teams. You can draft any 12 pro players onto a
single team and play any 5 of them as starters. You can also play a drafted
team versus a pro team, another drafted team, even another drafted team in a
different draft league against each other. You can even draft players from
different pro seasons onto the same draft team and play them together as
teammates, or draft players from previously created draft teams. You can also
save all of the teams statistics and box scores similar to the way you do for
any of the pro leagues.
To draft a team first access the LEAGUE MENU, choose a league to draft
players from, then type "D" for Draft teams. Type in a first team name of up
to 12 characters, press <ENTER>, then a second team name of up to 12
characters and press <ENTER>. The characters you use in the second name must
be compatible with DOS filenames so do not use any of the following characters:
? . : \ / * < > , ; = + | [ ] " or a space. These team files are stored in DOS
by the team's second name followed by the file extension .DF.
To begin drafting players after having chosen a league, type in a pro team
three letter code, wait until the team roster appears, then type the letter of
the player you wish to draft. If after selecting a team you decide that you
do NOT want to draft a player from the team whose roster has appeared, press
the <ENTER> key at the "Draft which Player?" prompt, then "Y" or "N" at the
"Change Seasons?" prompt, and the "Draft from which team? ---" prompt
reappears. Continue this process until you have selected 12 players. Once you
have drafted 12 players a "Drafting sequence done...press any key to continue"
prompt appears. Simply type any key to continue the draft procedure.
Next a "Do you want to CHANGE members of this team (Y/N)?" prompt appears.
You now have the option of replacing any player on the team that you just
drafted. If you accidently chose a player that you did not want on the team, or
simply want to change the order of the players you drafted, you can do so now.
Type "Y" for yes or "N" for no. If you type "Y" for yes, then type "Y" or "N"
to change (or not to change) the season you are drafting players from, a three
letter code of a team to draft a player from, a letter (A-L) for the player you
want to draft, and a number (1-12) for the player you want to replace. Once
again, continue this process until you are satisfied with the drafted team,
then type "N" for no at the "Draft another player (Y/N)?" prompt.
You are then asked "Do you want to ERASE, then redraft this team (Y/N)?".
Redrafting ERASES the team that you just drafted and starts the drafting
procedure over using the same draft team name you typed in. Use this (type "Y"
for yes) when you find that after drafting the team you just don't want to save
it at all, either as a separate draft league team, or as a temporary draft team
to play against a pro league. After typing "Y" for yes the drafting procedure
starts over with that same draft team name. Type "N" for no if you are
satisfied with the 12 players you have drafted onto the team.
You are then asked if you want to SAVE the drafted team. If you choose
NOT to save the drafted team you must then designate it as either "A" or "B",
i.e. Draft Team A (DFA) or Draft Team B (DFB). You can then play that drafted
team against any of the teams in that league that you just drafted players from
(the last league to appear on the screen if you swithced leagues to draft
players from) but once you switch leagues to play other games and then return
to the league you last drafted players from that DFA or DFB team is ERASED.
Use this temporary DFA or DFB draft team when you want to "try out" a draft
team before saving it to a league.
If you choose to SAVE the drafted team you are then asked what league you
want the team to join. League codes for leagues composed of drafted teams must
be no more than 7 characters long and must be DOS compatible (none of those
characters mentioned above). Type in a league code of a preexisting draft
league or a new league code and press <ENTER>. If you want your new league code
to be less than 7 characters, use the space bar to delete the remaining dashes,
i.e. to create a league called ABL, type ABL and press the space bar 4 times.
(When you want to play teams in that league, go to the LEAGUE MENU and access
the league by typing ABL and pressing the space bar 4 times to delete the
remaining dashes).
Do NOT use the letters "PRO" or "ABA" as the first three letters of a new
draft league code as the B-BALL program will try to interpret that new league
of drafted teams as a pro league, which it is not.
If you do type in a new league code you can then give that new league a
league title of up to 30 characters in length. This is for the top line on that
league's GAME MENU screen. Type in a league title of 30 characters or less and
then press <ENTER> (you do not need to delete the remaining dashes if your
title is less then 30 characters). You must also give your new team a 3 letter
code. Be sure that this 3 letter code is NOT the same as any other drafted team
in that SAME draft league.
Be careful when choosing names and 3 letter team codes for drafted teams.
Do not name ANY two drafted teams with the same second name (as these teams are
stored in DOS by the second name and creating a second team with the same name
as another team overwrites that first team) and do not use the same 3 letter
team code or team first name for two teams in the same draft league.
In the drafting mode you can draft as many teams as you want and can place
a maximum of 28 teams in any one league that you create. You can create as many
leagues as you desire (as many as will fit on the LEAGUE MENU screen, about 40).
NOTE: B-BALL does NOT prevent you from drafting the SAME player onto two
different draft teams in the same draft league or even from drafting the
same player twice (or more) onto the same team. If you find that you have
drafted the same player onto two different teams in the same draft league
and do not want that you can delete one of the drafted teams using the
MANAGE LEAGUES MENU and redraft it without that player. However, if you
so desire, you can draft the same player more than once into the same
draft league, even more than once onto the same team, even draft a team
composed of 12 of the same player, and play that team against any other
drafted or pro team in any league.
When drafting a team the computer will place the first player you draft
in the Center (C) position in the team's computer played substitution pattern,
your second drafted player in the Strong Forward (SF) position, your third in
the Weak Forward (WF) position, your fourth in the Shooting Guard (SG)
position, and your fifth in the Point Guard (PG) position. Thus if you have a
starting five in mind for a team you are about to draft you will save yourself
some time in setting up your computer played substitution pattern by drafting
your first five players in the order of C, SF, WF, SG, and PG.
12-COPYING A PRO LEAGUE TO A DRAFT LEAGUE
You can also copy an entire pro league to a draft league. From the same
LEAGUE MENU where you draft teams you can type "P" for "copy PRO league to
draft league". This function will then make copies of each pro team in that
league to a separate league beginning with "DFT" instead of "PRO". Let's say
you wanted to create an entire league exactly like the 1991-92 pro teams, but
want to change some players on a few teams, or you want to delete a few teams
or even add teams. Simply access the LEAGUE MENU from where you draft teams
from and type "P". Then type in "PRO9192" when it askes for a league, and a
duplicate league called "DFT9192" is created.
Now you can treat all the teams in this new "DFT9192" league as draft
teams, meaning you can delete some, add others, even draft an all star team and
play it against the rest of the league. All of the functions available for
draft leagues from the MANAGE LEAGUES MENU can also be used for a "DFT" league
such as "DFT9192".
13-TEAM POSSESSIONS
A possession is defined as each time a team has the ball and either scores
or loses the ball to the other team. In B-BALL each pro team is rated for how
many possessions it averaged per quarter during the regular season (a number
between 21 and 33). In any single game the number of possessions played per
quarter for that game will be the average of the possessions per quarter of
the two teams playing. All teams composed of drafted players play their games
at 26 possessions per quarter (the average for the pro teams).
14-STARTING A TEAM POSSESSION
In a game being played with a human coach and manual passing a team
possession or out of bounds play can always be started with the PG bringing the
ball upcourt (or by a player who has PG listed as one of his positions but
normally does not play point guard). This is similar to a fast breaking
offense. To give the ball to your point guard to begin your team's possession
simply type "PG" or "1" at the ">" prompt and press the <ENTER> key.
Running a slow down half court offense (HC) is also an option to start
your team's possession where you can start, at most, every other of your team's
possessions with any player, other than your PG, who has a PF=2 or 3. Simply
type "HC" at the ">" prompt, press <ENTER>, and a list of players other than
your PG who have PFs=2 or 3 will appear. Choose one to start the possession by
typing his position or position number ("PG" or "1", "SG" or "2", etc. to "C"
or "5") and then pressing <ENTER>. In a manually played game a player with a
PF=0 or 1 cannot start a team possession.
Thus, starting a team possession with your PG (fast breaking offense) is
possible every possession and starting with a player other than your PG who
has a PF=2 or 3 (half court offense) is possible every other possession. You
can also start an out of bounds play the same way or type "R" (for Random)
where the computer randomly chooses a player with the choice being weighted
towards the players with the higher possession factors.
NOTE: If, in a MANUALLY played game with manual passing, you attempt to put a
player at the PG position who has a PF= 0 or 1 the game will lock up and
will have to be aborted (CTRL-Break). The point guard position MUST be
occupied by a player who handles the ball often in a game being played
with manual passing and thus the player must have a PF= 2 or 3. During a
game being played by the computer with automatic passing the computer
will search the five players in the game for a player(s) with a PF= 2 or
3 to start each possession and thus could have anyone at the PG position
so long as at least one teammate has a PF= 2 or 3.
15-THREE POINT SHOTS
Players who attempted a significant number of 3 point shots during the
pro season will attempt just as many in B-BALL. However, you can "force" a
player who shoots to take a 3pt shot rather than a 2pt shot if you want. When
you start a possession with, or pass the ball to, a certain player who you wish
to have attempt a 3pt shot, simply type an "X" or "x" after that player's
position and if that player shoots he will take a 3pt shot. Thus, if you wanted
your SG to attempt a 3pt shot, type "SGX" or "4X" instead of "SG" or "4" when
you pass the ball to him or start a possession with him and if he does indeed
shoot, the attempted shot will be a 3pt shot.
When "forcing" players to take 3pt shots in this manner you are having
them attempt more than they actually did in real life. Thus these forced 3pt
shots will be successful at a considerably lower percentage (less than 15%)
than the player's actual 3pt FG%. This is to prevent a good 3pt shooter from
taking ALL of his shots from 3pt range, which would be unrealistic. The only
exception to this rule is in the last two minutes of the fourth quarter and
the last two minutes of any overtime period in which ANY 3pt shot attempted
by a player will be successful according to that player's actual 3pt FG%.
Realistically this is the time that good 3pt shooters would be taking 3pt
shots.
There is no restriction to the number of 3pt shots a player can take in any
single game because each player will attempt just as many as he did in real
life over the span of a whole season. If you "force" a player to take many more
3pt shots than he did in real life over the span of a season he will shoot a
substantially lower 3pt FG% than he actually did because of the less than 15%
3pt FG% limitation on "forced" 3pt shots.
16-FATIGUE FACTOR
A player's fatigue factor (FF) is the maximum number of shots that player
can attempt during any 48 minute game. It is an approximation of the most
shots attempted by that player in any single game during the pro season. With
each shot the player takes his fatigue factor counts down by one until it
reaches zero. In overtime games, each player's FF increases by 5 shots for each
overtime period played.
When a player has his FF reach 0, the player is fatigued and will commit a
turnover whenever he touches the ball on offense. If you wish to allow a player
to continue playing once he has become fatigued (FF=0) without having him
automatically turn the ball over each additional time he handles it, go into
the substitution mode and take the player out of the lineup, substitute another
player in his place, type the CTRL-F key combination once, then reinsert him
back into the lineup using the 'A' add a player function, and the fatigued
restriction will be removed (i.e. he won't turn the ball over each time he
handles it).
The fatigue factor was designed so that players would not unduly affect the
outcome of a game through scoring that ordinarily would not in real life.
Some players can greatly change the outcome of a game if you consistently
allow their FF to be surpassed, such as players who are defensive or rebounding
specialists that rarely shoot but possess high field goal percentages. If you
allow players to surpass their FF in a significant number of games their
overall statistics will be greatly inflated over what they did in real life.
Through normal play you will not reach a player's FF very often. Players
with very low FFs rarely shoot and players with very high FFs are typically
superstar scorers or unconscience gunners. For a player to pass his FF in more
than just a few games you would have to consistently try to feed the ball to
him for a full four quarters game after game, or have a lineup of five players
who all have extremely low FFs and thus one or two would eventually pass their
FF in a game.
NOTE - Fatigue Discussion:
Players who normally do NOT play a lot of minutes per game in real life
don't because of two major reasons. Either there are better players on the
team that start and play substantial minutes and thus they are bench players
(who could possibly start for other teams) or they have the talent to play
starter's minutes but don't because they are consistently in foul trouble.
It is not because they are physically unable to play 35-40 minutes per game.
As B-BALL's designers we don't believe that a player's overall ability
drastically decreases just because he sometimes plays a high number of minutes
in a game. Just because a player averages 15-20 minutes a game during the
actual season doesn't mean he would "poop out" if forced to play 35-40 minutes
in a number of games due to other players fouling out or getting injured. There
are a number of pro teams who play their starters upwards of 38, 39, and even
40 minutes per game during the regular season (Golden State and Minnesota are
two examples in 1990-91) and during the playoffs each year a number of teams
have their starters average over 40 minutes per game who averaged far less
minutes per game during the regular season, and their effectiveness doesn't
drastically decrease in those games.
Consequently B-BALL does NOT decrease a player's FG%, rebounding ability,
shot blocking ability, etc. just because a player plays 15-20 minutes in a game
more than his average minutes per game. Pro basketball players are probably the
best conditioned athletes in all of professional team sports and are well
capable of playing substantial minutes in a number of games when called upon to
do so. If you adhere to using the fatigue factor in B-BALL players will not
play longer than their "effective" playing time over the span of an entire
season (82 games).
17-THE STATISTICS MENU
At the end of each game played by two teams in the same league you are
asked if you would like to save that game's statistics and box score. Each team
has a separate file for compiled statistics. For each time you answer yes to
saving the statistics and box score of a game the statistics will be added to
those teams separate statistics files and the box score added to that league's
cumulative box score file. (You cannot save the statistics or box score of a
game played between two teams of different leagues - i.e. two pro teams from
different seasons, a pro team and a draft team, or two draft teams from two
different draft leagues. The teams must be in the same pro or draft league to
save both).
To view a team's compiled statistics first choose the league that team is
in from the LEAGUE MENU screen, then go to the GAME MENU and type "S" for the
compiled STATISTICS MENU. At this menu you have the option of viewing up to
four different screens of compiled statistics for any team in the league. First
choose a team by typing "C", then type the three letter team code. The
statistics screens can be accessed by typing either S, F, G, or H, each of
which contains:
S. G, MIN, FGM, FGA, FG%
F. FTM, FTA, FT%, REB, PF, ST, BS, PTS
G. per Game statistics
H. single game Highs and Lows
To return to the STATISTICS MENU from one of the statistics screens press any
key. To print a hard copy of a team's statistics, first choose that team and
then type "P" for print stats at the STATISTICS MENU.
Before beginning the playing of games in any league, pro or drafted, in
which you want to SAVE statistics, you must first initialize (reset to zero)
all of the player and team statistics files. To do this, first access that
league and then at the STATISTICS MENU type "I" to initialize the team
statistics files. You can initialize each team separately (type "T") or the
entire league (type "A") at one time. This procedure must be done to any new
league teams before you can save statistics as it sets up each team's
statistics file. Be sure that the league you want to initialize is chosen and
in view in the upper portion of the screen before initializing the team
statistics files.
Each time you attempt to initialize a team's statistics file you are
prompted with an "ARE YOU SURE (Y/N)?" warning. This is your only warning. Be
careful NOT to initialize a team's statistics file if it has game data in it
(unless that is what you actually want to do). Once you initialize a team's
statistics file those statistics that were in that file are completely erased
and reset to zero.
To view any of the box scores of games played in a league, type "B" for the
BOX SCORE MENU. From this menu you can display or print the box score of any
league game in which the statistics and box score were saved. Box scores are
automatically saved when you answer "Y" for yes at the end of a game when you
are asked if you want to save the game stats and box score. You have to first
initialize a league's box score file by typing "I" for initialize at the BOX
SCORE MENU similar to the way you have to initialize team stat files at the
STATISTICS MENU when first setting up a league to compile statistics.
Only initialize a league's box score file when what you actually want to do
is to ERASE all of that league's previous box scores, such as when you are
beginning play in a league in which you are also initializing all of that
league's team statistics files. Once again, be careful because if there are
already game box scores saved for that league they WILL BE ERASED. Once you
delete the game box score file of a league all game box scores are erased and
the file reinitialized. Also if you try to save the game stats and box score of
a game played where the team statistics files were NOT initialized, the game
box score WILL be saved, but obviously the game stats will NOT be because the
team stat files were not initialized.
To view the team standings in any league first access that league from the
LEAGUE MENU. Then access the STATISTICS MENU by typing "S". Type "L" for
League standings and the won-lost records for the teams in that league will
appear in the order of won-lost percentage. Type a key and each team's home and
away record will also appear. Then press any key to get back to the STATISTICS
MENU.
Also from the STATISTICS MENU you can view a league's statistical leaders
by typing "D" for the LEAGUE LEADERS MENU. Here you can view the top nine
players in eight different statistical categories. Type "P" to view the league
leaders in rebounds, assists, steals and blocked shots and "S" to view the
league leaders in scoring, field goal percentage (2pt and 3pt), and free throw
percentage. At these screens type any key to return to the menu.
To view a listing of a team's game scores for those games the team has
played first choose a team, then type the letter "O" (not the number zero 0)
and a listing of that team's game scores will appear along with the three
letter code of the opponent for each game. Again type any key to return to the
STATISTICS MENU.
To view the top single game performances achieved by players in all of the
league games played where the game statistics and box scores were saved, type
"N" for the SINGLE GAME TOP TEN MENU. Here you can list the best efforts of
individual players in a single game for all of those statistical categories
found in a game boxscore such as points, FGM, FGA, rebounds (off, def, and
total), assists, etc. by typing any of the letters from "A" to "N". To return
to the STATISTICS MENU type "R".
To display a file that contains the complete pro statistics for that pro
season, type "T". To return to the STATISTICS MENU from the pro stats file
press the <ESC> key.
18-GAME SCOREBOARD
The game scoreboard keeps a running tally of points scored, the number of
possessions left in the quarter (or overtime period) for both teams, the time
left, the quarter, time outs, and team fouls (P is for the penalty or bonus
situation). Since two team fouls in the last two minutes of any quarter or
overtime period puts a team in the penalty situation, you will see the number
of team fouls on the scoreboard jump to "4" and then "P" in the last two
minutes even if your team has not committed 3 team fouls by that time. This is
so that you will know just how close your team is to being in the bonus or
penalty situation.
To the left and right of the scoreboard on the game screen are listings of
the seven players available as substitutes for both teams in a game. As players
are substituted for during the game these lists reflect those changes and also
keeps you informed as to the number of fouls committed by each player. However,
to actually take a player out of the game and insert another player into your
lineup you must access the substitution screen during a dead ball situation
(i.e. after a turnover, foul, or during a timeout).
19-THE PLAYER STATISTICS/RATINGS SCREEN
The following are definitions for some of the abbreviations used on the
player statistics/ratings screens:
%Shoot, %Fouled, %TO (turnovers) - how often a player, on the average,
shoots, gets fouled, and turns the ball over in relation to how
often he handles the ball.
%Foul, %ST (steals) - how often the defender, on the average, fouls
and steals the ball per minute he plays
Rebounding Ratings - these ratings are a player's offensive and defensive
rebounds per 48 minutes multiplied by factors to equate the two.
Since 1/3 of all rebounds are offensive and 2/3 are defensive, if
a player averaged 12 rebounds total per 48 minutes and 1/3 of his
rebounds were offensive (4) and 2/3 were defensive (8), his
offensive rebounding rating would be 12.0 and his defensive
rebounding rating would be 12.0. The ratings are calculated by
(offreb/min) x 48 x 3 and (defreb/min) x 48 x 1.5
The average player has ratings of about 8.7 for offensive
rebounding and 8.7 for defensive rebounding. Another way to look
at these ratings is the off rat x 1/3 plus the def rat x 2/3
equals the player's rebounds per 48 minutes played:
(off reb rat) x 1/3 + (def reb rat) x 2/3 = reb per 48 min
%BS (blocked shots) - the percentage of shots that the defender will,
on the average, block out of the total number of shots taken by
the opposing team while that player is on the court.
Def FG% (defensive field goal percentage) - this is how much the defender
will, on the average, increase or decrease the FG% of the offensive
player he is directly guarding.
20-CHANGING GAME DEFAULT SETTINGS
In B-BALL you have the option to change the colors of the game screens,
two of the rules by which the game of pro basketball is played, and also the
substitution pattern of a team from 4 to 6 minute or vice versa.
By typing the letter "D" for "game default settings" at the GAME MENU
screen, then the letter "C" for "change screen colors" at the DEFAULT SETTINGS
MENU, or by typing the word "color" at the ">" prompt during the playing of a
game (at the start of a possession) you will get to the CHANGE COLORS MENU.
At this menu you can change the screen backgrounds to any of 8 different colors
and the screen texts to any of 16 different colors. The scoreboard background,
text, and numbers can be separate colors from the player substitutes background
and text and the player game lineups and play-by-play narrative text. You can
also save as the screen default colors any combination of colors that you
desire.
At the CHANGE COLORS MENU type "C" to change a color, the letter of the
screen area you want to change (A-L), and the letter of the color that you want
to change the screen area to (A-P). The colors you choose will remain in effect
until you exit to DOS (the Disk Operating System). The next time you start
B-BALL the default colors will still be in effect. To change the default
colors, choose the colors you want at the CHANGE COLORS MENU and then type "S"
to save those colors as the default. (Be careful because if you choose any
screen area background and text as the same color in the same area you will not
be able to read the text). Only 8 colors (A-H) can be used as background
colors. All text and numbers can be any of the 16 available colors (A-P).
You can also change two of the rules by which pro basketball is played.
Before the 1981-82 pro season, if a team's opponent had 5 or more team fouls in
any quarter (i.e. the team was in the bonus or penalty situation), whenever one
of it's players was fouled in the backcourt or in the act of shooting (and
missed the shot) that player received an extra free throw if he missed either
of the first two. This was called the 3 to make 2 bonus. If a player was fouled
in the act of shooting, made the shot, and missed the free throw, he received
an additional free throw. Also, in the old American Basketball Association
(ABA), players did not foul out after committing six personal fouls. However
if a player with six fouls committed any more, the team fouled retained
possession of the ball after any attempted free throws.
To change either of these rules in B-BALL, type "D" for "game Default
settings" at the GAME MENU, then "L" for "change game rules" at the DEFAULT
SETTINGS MENU, or type the word "rules" at the ">" prompt during the playing of
a game (at the start of a team possession) to get to the CHANGE RULES MENU.
Here you can type either "A" or "B" to change the "No Foul Out" rule or the "3
to make 2" bonus rule. These rules will stay in effect until you quit the
B-BALL program, or change them again from the CHANGE RULES MENU. When you start
the B-BALL program again, the default rules will be in effect. To make the
rules the default rules after changing them, simply type "S" to save them as
the default settings.
Changing a team's substitution pattern from 4 to 6 minute or vice versa
is discussed in an earlier section entitled computer played substitution
patterns.
21-MANAGING LEAGUES
Once you have formed leagues of drafted teams you may find the need to
have to delete a team, change a team name, change a league name, or delete an
entire league. All of these changes can be done from the LEAGUE MENU by typing
"M" for the MANAGE LEAGUES MENU. You can use the MANAGE LEAGUES MENU on any
draft league, including a pro league copied to a draft league (such as a league
called DFT9192), but not on an actual pro league (any league starting with PRO
or ABA, such as PRO9192).
To delete a team, type "D", then type that team's three letter code. To
change a team's three letter code and name, type "C". You can then either
change the code and/or the name. After typing a new first or second name you
must press <ENTER>. You do not have to change the first name but you MUST
change the second name as the second name is used to store the file in DOS. To
change a league code and name, type "N", then a new league code (remember to
delete the dashes with the space bar if the code is less than eight
characters), then a new league title of 30 characters or less (you do NOT have
to type out the dashes for the league title). Be sure to change BOTH the code
and title. Press <ENTER> after typing in the new league title. Type "T" to
delete an entire league. Be SURE you want to delete teams before using both
delete procedures as each erases team files which once deleted cannot be
recovered.
The delete a team procedure comes in handy if you find that you have
drafted players onto a team that you did not want. Simply delete that team,
then redraft it and add it to that same league. When you delete a team you also
delete it's statistics file.
22-B-BALL SOFTWARE SUPPORT
B-BALL Pro Basketball for the Computer is designed to be extremely accurate
statistically based on the final regular season pro basketball statistics. We
at BOBBALL, Inc. hope you find the statistical realism appealing and B-BALL for
the Computer fun to play. We welcome any comments, suggestions, and criticisms
on the game.
This program is by no means finalized and as it will continue to be
improved your ideas are very important to us. Most of the features in this game
were originally suggestions from customers that have since been incorporated
into the B-BALL program so please do not hesitate to let us know what you would
like to see changed or what you would like to see added to the game and send
your letters to the BOBBALL, Inc. address located on the order form below or
call Bob Chaikin at 216-291-9243 (best between 8-12 pm eastern standard time).
Like any other software developer, we at BOBBALL, Inc. like to think that
whenever we send out the B-BALL software it is error free. Realistically this
never seems to be the case. If you should experience ANY problems with the
program in terms of the program aborting please call or write Bob Chaikin at
the above phone number and the address below. If the software bug is one that
has subsequently been corrected, you need only to send to BOBBALL, Inc. a
formatted high density floppy disk(s) and a return envelope with the proper
postage, along with your name, address, and the serial number found on the
introduction screen of your copy of B-BALL (i.e. your proof of purchase) and
the latest version of the program will be mailed to you free of charge. Keep in
mind this offer does NOT include those individuals who purchase the software
and attempt to use it on non-IBM compatible computers. It is the user's
responsibility to determine whether or not their computer is IBM compatible.
Also any individual who purchases the software can receive the latest
version of B-BALL with any new enhancements free of charge up to one calender
year (365 days) from the date of purchase by, again, sending a high density
floppy, return envelope with postage, and proof of purchase to BOBBALL, Inc.
(proof of purchase being the serial number on your copy of B-BALL).
Presently available (as of October 1992) for B-BALL Pro Basketball for the
Computer are the pro teams from 1977-78, 1979-80, 1985-86, 1986-87, 1987-88,
1988-89, 1989-90, 1990-91, 1991-92, and the ABA teams from 1975-76. Still in
the works are the pro teams from 1978-79, 1980-81 through 1984-85 and the ABA
teams from 1973-74 through 1974-75.
If you would like to order more diskettes, simply Shift-Pr Scr (Print
Screen) a copy of the order form below, fill in the necessary information, and
send it to the BOBBALL, Inc. address along with a check or money order for the
total amount. Or print out the file called ORDERFRM.SGV, which is the order
form for the B-BALL Single Game Version.
B-BALL is currently (10/92) looking for corporate sponsorship or an
individual venture capitalist to market, sell, and distribute the B-BALL
software. Any interested parties please contact Bob Chaikin at the above phone
number or address.
23-THE B-BALL LICENSE AGREEMENT
The B-BALL data and programming files (i.e. the software) are owned and
copyrighted exclusively by Bob Chaikin and BOBBALL, Inc. You as the single end
user are bound by this legal license agreement to use the program and data
files as a single end user. You can make copies of the program for your own
personal use only. As the program and data files are copyrighted you as the
single end user may not make copies of the program and/or data files for
distribution, sale, rent, or lease to other individuals or organizations. You
may use the data and programming files on only a single computer at any one
time and not on a network system or more than one computer at the same time.
You may copy the software from one computer to another so long as it does not
reside on more than one computer at any one time.
24-THE SHAREWARE CONCEPT
For those of you who have obtained the B-BALL Single Game Version
through shareware, the price of the B-BALL software is $29.95 with each
additional season selling for $9.95. To register the software please remit
this amount to BOBBALL, Inc. at the address located below on the order form
using either a check or money order. By registering the software you will then
receive full phone support and be able to purchase additional teams and also
can receive free B-BALL software revisions for up to one calender year
(365 days) after the date of registration.
There is no difference between the shareware version of B-BALL and that
purchased directly from BOBBALL, Inc. The shareware is a complete working
version of the B-BALL software with the 1991-92 pro teams included.
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.
THE SHAREWARE DISCLAIMER - AGREEMENT
Users of "B-BALL Pro Basketball for the Computer" must accept this
disclaimer of warranty: "B-BALL Pro Basketball for the Computer 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 B-BALL Pro Basketball for the Computer."
B-BALL Pro Basketball for the Computer 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 B-BALL and continue to use
B-BALL after a reasonable trial period, you must make a registration payment
of $29.95 for the B-BALL Single Game Version and $95.00 for the B-BALL Full
Season Version to BOBBALL, Inc. (when you register the B-BALL Full Season
Version you will receive the 1991-92 team and player files immediately and also
the updated 1992-93 team and player files once a week during the 1992-93 pro
season). The 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.
Commercial users of B-BALL must register and pay for their copies of
B-BALL within 30 days of first use or their license is withdrawn.
Site-License arrangements may be made by contacting BOBBALL, Inc. at the
aforementioned phone number and address.
Anyone distributing B-BALL for any kind of remuneration must first contact
BOBBALL, Inc. at the address below for authorization. This authorization will
be automatically granted to distributors recognized by the (ASP) as adhering
to its guidelines for shareware distributors, and such distributors may begin
offering B-BALL immediately (however BOBBALL, Inc. must still be advised so
that the distributor can be kept up-to-date with the latest version of B-BALL).
You are encouraged to pass a copy of the shareware B-BALL along to your
friends for evaluation. Please encourage them to register their copy if they
find that they can use it. All registered users receive a copy of the latest
version of the B-BALL software.
The B-BALL program is produced by a member of the Association of Shareware
Professionals (ASP). ASP wants to make sure that the shareware principle works
for you. If you are unable to resolve a shareware-related problem with an ASP
member by contacting the member directly, ASP may be able to help. The ASP
Ombudsman can help you resolve a dispute or problem with an ASP member, but
does not provide technical support for members' products. Please write to the
ASP Ombudsman at 545 Grover Road, Muskegon, Michigan 49442 or send a
CompuServe message via CompuServe Mail to ASP Ombudsman 70007,3536.
ORDER FORM
B-BALL Pro Basketball for the Computer
(for IBM PCs and Compatibles)
Please check the lines for those items you wish to order. Be sure to
indicate which size diskettes you prefer. Enclose a check or money order
payable to "BOBBALL, Inc." with this order form and send it to:
B-BALL Pro Basketball for the Computer
1523 Felton Road
South Euclid, Ohio, 44121
U.S.A.
___ B-BALL Pro Basketball for the Computer with the 1991-92 $29.95
pro teams (the B-BALL Single Game Version)
___ B-BALL Statistical Model for Pro Basketball with the 1991-92 $95.00
pro teams (the B-BALL Full Season Version) and updated
1992-93 pro teams and the B-BALL Predict Games Version
(a free copy of the B-BALL Single Game Version is included)
Each additional season for the Single Game Version is $9.95:
___ 1991-92 pro teams ___ 1987-88 pro teams ___ 1977-78 pro teams
___ 1990-91 pro teams ___ 1986-87 pro teams ___ 1975-76 ABA teams
($4.95 - only 7 teams)
___ 1989-90 pro teams ___ 1985-86 pro teams
___ 1988-89 pro teams ___ 1979-80 pro teams
------
total cost $
*** A hard disk or high density floppy disk drive is required for saving ***
*** statistics and creating draft leagues using both the B-BALL Single ***
*** Game Version and B-BALL Full Season Version (Predict Games Version) ***
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Size of diskettes desired (check one):
high density ___ 1.44M 3.5" ___ 1.2M 5.25"
low density ___ 720K 3.5" ___ 360K 5.25"
(360K low density disks contain compressed files only)
-------------------------------------------------------------------------------
Your name and address:
Name _________________________________________________
Address ______________________________________________
City _________________________________________________
State ________________________ Zip Code ______________
Phone Number _________________________________________
All prices include postage and sales tax.
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