Amiga Collections: Topik/Topik - Disk 37 - Games 3 (19xx)(Topik Public Domain)(PD)[WB].zip/Topik - Disk 37 - Games 3 (19xx)(Topik Public Domain)(PD)[WB].adf/TinyBall/TinyBall.doc

Text File | 1991-02-24 | 17KB | 312 lines

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 |        *                                                               |
 |        *  ***             ABOUT TINYBALL 1.0             ***    **     |
 |        *  **                                              **   **      |
 |        ******             Copyright 1990 by             ********       |
 |           **                Jim Webster              *  * **           |
 |          ****            All Rights Reserved         ********          |
 |          *  *                                               **         |
 |          *  *        See end of this file for info           **        |
 |          ** **       on ordering TINYBALL 2.0!                ***      |
 |                                                                        |
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        More About TINYBALL, The World's Smallest Baseball Arcade Game
        ---- ----- --------  --- ------- -------- -------- ------ ----

   This isn't the Major Leagues, it's Tinyball, where you have to hit pixel
high fastballs and devilish curves.  So if you're tired of Earl Whats-His-Name,
take a step down into Nano Park, where only the Small with a quick mouse hand
survives...
   TinyBall replicates, in miniature, baseball's classic pitcher/batter
confrontation.  You can play against a computer or human opponent, or you can
let the Amiga play itself.  You can play Tinyball either by clicking on its
icon from Workbench, or from the CLI window simply enter TinyBall.  Either way,
TinyBall runs on the WorkBench screen, and is fully multi-tasking (although it
may slow down substantially with other applications running).  You may choose
to play it with or without sound effects, and as a standard window you can
rearrange it any way except resizing it.  Just think of Nano Park as the
"friendly confines" on your WorkBench screen.
  Upon running, Tinyball puts up a title screen and waits a while for a user
response (key pressed or mouse moved) before moving on to the options screen.
If, after about 20 seconds, it detects no response, it enters into "demo mode".
This plays the computer vs computer, and will continue until a user moves the
mouse or presses a key or a mouse button, at which the OPTIONS screen will
appear.


  OPTIONS SCREEN
  --------------
  Before play begins, you have several game play options to make; when
finished, click on the OK gadget to start the game.  To change an option, click
on its appropriate gadget until the option you want appears. Here are your
options:

    SOUND: ON or OFF.  If you dislike the crack of the bat, the whoops of the
crowd, the ump bellowing balls and strikes or the pop of a high hard one into
the catcher's mitt, or if you don't wanna wake the baby, set this to OFF.

    VIS FIELDING, HOME FIELDING: NORM is the default.  Set to GOOD if you want
fewer hits and errors, or to POOR for higher scoring contests.  Or if you want
to give your kid cousin a break, give her a good fielding team and set yours to
POOR.

    # PLAYERS: By default, you play against a computer opponent, who plays
controls the visiting team.  You have three other choices: the computer can
play the home team, both teams can be controlled by humans (2 players), or the
computer plays itself (0 players).

  After clicking on OK, the OPTIONS screen will disappear and the animated
players will appear, ready to play ball.  One final note before we delve into
game play:  At any time the pitcher is in the "ready to pitch position", you
may choose to either read an abbreviated set of directions by pressing the
letter "d", or start a new game by pressing "n".


  PITCHING
  --------

  Play starts with a player selecting pitch type (fastball or curve) and pitch
location.  You actually have three different ways to do this, and each method
works no matter HOW many players are playing.  These methods are described as
follows:

    AUTO PITCH: To let the computer select the pitch, simply click with the
left mouse button anywhere in the window except the gadgets on the far right
side.  Pitcher will wind up and deliver after just this one click.

    USING PITCH GADGETS: You may choose to select the pitch type and location
yourself.  To select pitch type, click w/left button on either the FB
(fastball) gadget or the CU (curve) gadget on the right side of the window.
Next you must select pitch LOCATION.  This is done with a left mouse click in
the area of the batter.  The higher you click relative to the batter, the
higher the pitch will be.
    This second mouse click also determines how far INSIDE or OUTSIDE the pitch
will be.  TinyBall doesn't try to emulate three dimensions, so it uses another
technique to indicate the relative sideways motion of the pitch.  Notice that
the batter is standing over a white line; this represents home plate.  During
the flight of the pitch, a white blip appears underneath this line.  The
farther the blip is to the RIGHT, the more INSIDE the pitch will be.  So if you
want to throw a pitch way inside, click to the RIGHT of the batter.  Clicking
directly over home plate will send the pitch over the plate, and clicking to
the left of the plate will send the pitch outside.  Thus, to aim for a pitch at
the knees on the outside part of the plate, click with the mouse pointer at the
batter's knees, on the LEFT edge of the plate.  To be a strike, the blip must
be UNDER the plate,and the height of the pitch as it crosses home plate must be
between the batter's knees a level just above his waist.
    This second mouse click will set the pitcher in motion.  If you're throwing
pitches that you swear look like strikes, check where the blip is then the ball
crosses the plate!  With curves, the blip will generally move from right to
left, i.e. from inside to outside, while with fastballs it will change little
if any.

    USING KEYBOARD: The third way to select a pitch relies entirely on the
keyboard, specifically the number keys 1 through 9.  This makes it easier to
conceal your choice if you're playing a 2 player game.  If you choose this
method, however, you will not be able to "spot" your pitches quit so precisely.
Unlike using the mouse, three keys must be pressed:
    1) the first key is a 1 or 2 only, indicating fastball (1) or curve (2).
    2) the second key indicates general location.  If you use the numeric
keypad, this is easy to visualize:

         7 - high outside  8 - high          9 - high inside
         4 - outside       5 - down middle   6 - inside
         1 - low outside   2 - low           3 - low inside

    3) the third key is 1 through 8 only, and "modifies" the second key as
follows: the lower the number, the closer the pitch will be to a pitch down the
middle.  A 1 will be more or less over the plate, an 8 will be way off the
plate for a certain ball, and 2 through 7 represent shades in between.  If your
previous, "general location" selection was a 5, however, this third key
selection will have no effect, pressing any key 1-8 will result in a pitch down
the middle in this case.  Here are a few examples:

    Keys pressed: 1-3-1: Fastball low inside, but almost certainly in the
strike zone.
    Keys pressed: 2-1-8: A curve low outside, but almost certainly a ball; in
fact, this pitch will likely be in the dirt and is not recommended with runners
on base, since it could lead to a wild pitch.
    Keys pressed: 1-5-8: A fastball down the middle.  Since second key is a 5,
indicating a pitch down the middle, third key pressed has no effect other than
to put the pitcher into motion.
    Keys pressed: 1-7-8: A fastball way high and outside.  Use this as a
"pitchout" if you suspect the other team of trying to steal or hit and run, as
it is impossible to hit and gives your catcher a better chance to throw out the
baserunner.

    GAME SPEED GADGET:  Under the "FB" and "CU" gadgets on the right side of
the window is a slider labeled "game speed"; this affects how fast the pitches
go.  Drag the slider button to the left to slow pitches down, or to the right
to speed them up.  What's that, your kid cousin doesn't NEED your pitches any
slower?  You can adjust this slider any time, before any pitch, to get a speed
that suits you.


  HITTING
  -------

  Ok, on to the next major topic, namely how to blast the raster out of that
bleepin' little ball.  This is the true challenge of Tinyball, for unlike other
baseball arcade games, both timing AND swing location are important.  Where the
mouse pointer is located when you swing determines both the swing level (there
are 8 different levels) and how far inside or outside the barrel of the bat is.
Not only that, you have a choice of a normal (contact) swing or a power swing
if you want to go for the long ball.  Power swings will produce more home runs
if you make contact, but you'll also miss the ball more often, so unless you
really "draw a bead" on a pitch, avoid power swings with two strikes because
there's a good chance you'll hit nuthin' but air.
  To take a normal swing, press the left mouse button when the ball has nearly
reached home plate to start the batter's swing in motion.  IMPORTANT: keep the
mouse button DOWN to complete the swing, or RELEASE button to check the swing.
Checking your swing is difficult since it requires split-second timing (this IS
the Nano League, Partner!), but it could mean the difference between a ball and
a strike.  Once the bat has reached home plate, however, you will be credited
with a swing whether you like it or not.
  To take a power swing, click the RIGHT mouse button.  Unlike a normal swing,
you cannot check a power swing.
  A few more words on swing location.  If you click with the mouse pointer
above the left (outside) part to the plate, that's where the barrel of the bat
will be, meaning that if the pitch comes inside you'll be hitting the ball on
the bat handle with less gratifing results.  Likewise, putting the bat barrel
on the inside part of the plate against an outside pitch will result in a ball
hit off the end of the bat at best.  This means you gotta KEEP AN EYE on that
little blip under the plate and at the same time, of course, follow the flight
of the ball.
  Nobody said it was easy.
  Also, if you're like me, curves will present a real challenge.  Since they
drop down, you may have to swing BELOW the level where you think the ball is
going in order to make contact.
  And don't lose heart if your kid cousin blows you out of the batter's box.
Just slow the game speed down when she isn't looking.


  OTHER OFFENSIVE STRATEGY
  ----- --------- --------

  OK, so you make contact, the ball whizzes over the pitchers head and...wow!
a base hit!  Your base runner will be indicated by a little figure next to one
of the three base indicators at the bottom of the window.  A runner on first
will be shown by a little runner figure over the leftmost base indicator, a
runner on second by a figure over the base in the middle, and a runner on third
by a figure over the rightmost indicator.
  When the next batter steps into the box, you can choose to have him just hit
away, but TinyBall is more than just hit and miss affair.  You can steal, hit
and run, even bunt, just like the Big Boys do.
  To send the lead baserunner on a steal or hit and run, click the left mouse
button during the pitcher's delivery (notice that, with runners on base, the
pitcher delivers from the STRETCH rather than from a full windup).  It's
important to get a good jump by clicking early in the delivery, but if you
click too soon you'll be picked off base.  As the batter, you can choose to
swing (hit and run) or not swing (steal).
  Bunting is similar to a normal swing, but can be done any time during the
flight of the pitch.  To bunt, first signal your intention by pressing the "b"
key, either before or after the pitcher releases the ball.  Position the mouse
pointer as you would for a swing and click the left mouse button.  Timing is
not important, but positioning is.
  BASERUNNING: Most of the time, baserunning is automatic.  Occasionally,
however, you will be asked whether you want to send or hold the lead
baserunner.  If you want to take the risk of sending the runner, click the LEFT
mouse button; otherwise click the right button.  If you go for it, you will be
informed as to whether runner is safe or out.  Sorry, I can't give you any odds
of success - you just have to use experience as your guide.


  STATS
  -----

  The computer keeps track, not only of relevant stats such as at bats, hits,
runs, etc., but of individual pitches.  That way you can see how many
fastballs you've thrown, how many pitches have been for strikes, etc.  All
stats are shown, along with the line score, between innings.  Stats can also be
seen anytime during game by pressing the "s" key.


  WHY TINYBALL?
  --- --------

  Why TinyBall, you might very well ask.  Indeed, I have had friends point out
to me that larger graphics, use of the full screen, etc. would make for a more
enjoyable game.  My answer to them is basically threefold.  First, I did
TinyBall because I wanted to create the World's Smallest Baseball Arcade Game.
In this case, I'm limiting "baseball arcade game" to mean games on full-fledged
computer systems, not such things as hand-held LED games that sound and play
horribly anyway.
  Secondly, in keeping with the spirit, I wanted a WorkBench game that I could
play any old time, that wouldn't keep me from easily returning to other more
pressing work, that could be moved around or hidden from view.  If you wanted
to, you could play three TinyBall games simultaneously, keeping all or any of
them in view at once -- and how many games can you say THAT about?  Using small
graphics reduces the amount of system overhead, making it feasible to keep a
game going in the background.  I had originally conceived of TinyBall being
about 50K or so in size, but it kept growing as I added features.  As of now
(April 1990) it is written entirely in Manx C 3.6a, but I'm planning to start
converting at least some of it to assembler.
  Thirdly, if there's interest out there, I hope to use the techniques I
employed writing TinyBall in the creation of a larger, souped up Commercial
version, with larger and more varied graphics sequences as well as rosters and
individual player performances.  Which leads me to


  TINYBALL 2.0
  ------------

  Yes, YOU can be the proud owner of TinyBall 2.0 for the measly cost of $15.00
U.S. currency!  Tinyball 2.0 will feature:

    *** INDIVIDUAL PLAYER PERFORMANCE: Use the sample teams provided or create
your own teams of players with different pitching, hitting, fielding and
running capacities!  Make certain hitters better fastball hitters, or suckers
for the low outside curve.  Make certain players super baserunners or others
butchers with the glove.  Pitchers will get tired, and some will be wilder than
others.

    *** INDIVIDUAL PLAYER STATS: TinyBall 2.0 will keep track of individual
stats and save them to disk if you like!  You will even be able to keep a
play-by-play or pitch-by-pitch journal of the game in a separate file,
automatically!

    *** MORE PITCHES: In addition to the fastball and curve, experiment with a
change-up, screwball, sinker, or a knuckler that will have your opponents
jumping out of their socks!

    *** MORE GRAPHICS: I ain't sayin' what they are.  But they will add to game
play immensely.

    *** CONFIGURE YOUR OWN AUTO MANAGERS: You will be able to tell the computer
what kind of manager you want for a particular team.  You can have a team bunt
more, steal less, swing more for the fences, or run more conservatively -- all
automatically!

    *** ADDED REALISM: As if this weren't enough, TinyBall 2.0 will have rain
outs and rain delays, injuries, even ejections by one ticked off umpire!  Play
entire schedules in a matter of days with the auto manager.

    *** Send yer hard earned 15 bucks to:

                   *-------------------------*
                   |                         |
               |  James S. Webster       |
                      |  c/o Webster Companies  |
                   |  275 Lytton Ave         |
                   |  Palo Alto, CA 94301    |
                   |             |
                   *-------------------------*


    If you like TinyBall, you're gonna LOVE TinyBall 2.0!

    P.S. If you doubt TinyBall's statistical accuracy, try playing a number of
games in computer vs. computer mode.  The total stats should be surprisingly
close to the performance of an average major league ballclub.  I have literally
spent weeks fine tuning this aspect of the game.

                                          -- Best Regards,
                                             Jim Webster

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*          *** GO SMALL *** GO TINYBALL **** NANO NANO NANO ***             *
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