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F I E L D G E N E R A L version 7.0 "UNEQUALLED in Pro Football Simulation!" "It's a great game for armchair quarterbacks because it lets you try out plays you always knew would work but nobody had the guts to call . . . There are options galore . . . And the game keeps stats like you wouldn't believe . . . My favorite feature was the Tendency Tracking System . . . this game does an excellent job of recreating the drama, strategy, suspense, and frustration of real football . . . the computer, incidentally, calls an excellent game and makes a very challenging opponent . . . If you would rather outwit than outmaneuver an opponent, you'll enjoy FIELD GENERAL . . . it's a lot of fun." - Bud Sadler, Shareware Update, October '92 ". . . a quick, thorough way for two pigskin nuts to lock their strategic horns over a couple frosties (drinking with the A.I. is NOT recommended)." - Computer Gaming World, August 1, 1992 "FIELD GENERAL brings the gridiron, in all its gory glory, to computer . . . We learned a lot about the game and had a good time in the process." - Noah Matthews, Knight-Ridder News Service rbm software's FIELD GENERAL version 7.0 "UNEQUALLED in Pro Football Simulation" __________________________ USER'S MANUAL AND PLAYBOOK __________________________ Copyright (C) rbm software 1992 All rights reserved. Release Date: 9-01-92 13117 Broughton Way, Austin Texas 78727-3147 _________________________________________________________________ TABLE OF CONTENTS _________________________________________________________________ PAGE General Disclaimer............................................. 1 Unlawful Software Duplication and Use.......................... 1 Introduction to FIELD GENERAL.................................. 3 Installing and Running FIELD GENERAL........................... 5 Installation.............................................. 5 Running FIELD GENERAL..................................... 5 Playing a Season vs. Playing a Single Game..................... 7 Playing Options................................................ 9 Automation................................................ 9 The Super-Quick and Quick Game Options.................... 9 Weather Elements.......................................... 9 Precipitation........................................ 9 Wind................................................ 10 The Turnover Reduction Variable.......................... 10 Regulation Length Game vs. Short Game.................... 10 Normal Playing Conditions................................ 10 The Real-Time Clock ..................................... 11 The Play Clock........................................... 12 Using the Real-Time Clock Only During the Final Minutes of a Half..................... 12 The Two-Point Conversion................................. 13 The Home Field Advantage Factor.......................... 13 Team Characteristics Files............................... 13 Restoring Interrupted Games.............................. 14 Game Features - Miscellaneous................................. 15 Hashmarks................................................ 15 Out of Bounds............................................ 15 Penalties................................................ 15 Kickoffs................................................. 16 Kickoff "Hands" Team................................ 16 Field Goals.............................................. 16 Fake Field Goals.................................... 16 Field Goal Defense.................................. 16 Punts.................................................... 17 Angle Punts......................................... 17 Fake Punts.......................................... 17 The No-Huddle Offense.................................... 17 Wearing Down the Defense................................. 18 But the Defense Gets Wiser............................... 18 Time Outs................................................ 19 Grounding the Ball....................................... 19 QB Kneel-Down............................................ 20 Overtime................................................. 20 All-Time Game Records.................................... 20 Utilities................................................ 20 Viewing Team Ratings................................ 20 Accessing TTS Reports............................... 21 Game Exit Function.................................. 21 Accessing Game Statistics........................... 21 Activating/Deactivating Quick Play Modes............ 21 Activating/Deactivating Sound....................... 21 Adjusting game speed................................ 21 Activating/Deactivating Encryption.................. 21 Statistics.................................................... 23 Tendency Tracking System (TTS)................................ 25 Strategy................................................. 25 The Plays..................................................... 27 Terminology.............................................. 27 Choosing and Entering a Play............................. 28 Play Results............................................. 28 A Final Note.................................................. 29 Computer Football Tournaments............................ 29 Product Support Policy................................... 29 Appendices.................................................... 31 Appendix A: Packing List................................ 31 Appendix B: Weather Elements............................ 35 Appendix C: The Game Clock.............................. 37 Without Real-Time Clock Option......... 37 Normal Time....................... 37 Two Minute Warning Time........... 37 With or Without Real-Time Clock........ 38 With Real-Time Clock Option............ 39 Appendix D: Field Goals................................. 41 Appendix E: Special Teams' Options...................... 43 The "Hands" Team....................... 43 Kick Return Wedge vs. Direction of Kickoff........................... 43 Blocking Punts......................... 43 Maximizing Punt Returns................ 43 Blocking Field Goals................... 43 Appendix F: Format for the Team Strength Characteristics File...................... 45 How to Interpret Play Calling Balance Values....................... 47 How Team Strength Ratings Affect Play Outcomes........................ 48 Appendix G: The Playbook................................ 51 Defenses............................... 51 Offenses............................... 58 Appendix H: Play and Utility Listing.................... 79 Defenses............................... 79 Utilities.............................. 79 Offenses............................... 80 Lexicon....................................................... 81 User Response Form _________________________________________________________________ GENERAL DISCLAIMER _________________________________________________________________ Users of FIELD GENERAL must accept this disclaimer of warranty: FIELD GENERAL is supplied as is. All warranties of merchantability and fitness, including suitability for a particular purpose, and incidental or consequential damages, are hereby denied. !!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!! UNLAWFUL SOFTWARE DUPLICATION AND USE rbm software's FIELD GENERAL Software and User's Manual are protected under copyright law. Unlawfully copying, duplicating, selling, or otherwise distributing these products is hereby expressly forbidden. rbm software's FIELD GENERAL Software may be made for backup purposes only. Warranties, updates, and user support will not be honored for any program which has been unlawfully copied. Copyright 1993 by Rodney B. Markert, 13117 Broughton Way, Austin, Texas. All rights reserved. This work may not be reproduced, in whole or in part, in any way or by any means, electronic or mechanical, including photo-copying, recording or through storage and retrieval mechanisms, without prior written consent of rbm software. !!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!! _________________________________________________________________ INTRODUCTION TO FIELD GENERAL _________________________________________________________________ FIELD GENERAL (FG) simulates the game of professional football as closely as possible by comprising nearly everything which can happen on a football field. By simulating much of the strategy existing in pro games, rbm software creates an atmosphere in FG where the players can experience the pressure and the excitement of a pro football game from a coach's point of view. By playing FG, you may even learn a few things about the professional game. As a player of FG, your main concern is to determine and act upon your opponent's play calling tendencies and team strengths. FG puts you up close to professional football action by letting YOU call the plays! As you will see, you must not only battle against the wits of your opponent, you must also race against the clock! Like other computer football games on the market, FG is entertaining, but FG is also challenging (especially when played by two people), somewhat sophisticated (requiring a relatively good understanding of the game of football), unpredictable (many possible results and outcomes), and realistic (a true football simulation where the results mirror those of actual pro football games). The big difference between two competing teams are their play callers - YOU! Winning might take a little luck, but winning mostly depends on a sound play calling strategy and game plan! _________________________________________________________________ INSTALLING AND RUNNING FIELD GENERAL _________________________________________________________________ INSTALLATION: Welcome to FIELD GENERAL! FG is a professional football simulator programmed for IBM computers and compatibles with VGA. A hard disk is needed to unpack and run this software. The VERY FIRST thing you need to do is make at least one backup of the FG distribution disk. This simple action will guard against the loss of information needed to run FG. Consult your DOS manual on how to use DOS's "diskcopy" command if you have any questions on how to make a backup disk. FG's executable and data files have been archived so they would fit on a 360K distribution disk. These files are archived in the self-extracting files "ARCHIVE1.EXE", "ARCHIVE2.COM", "ARCHIVE3.COM", and "ARCHIVE4.EXE". To install FG, type "install" at the system prompt and follow directions. The installation program will unpack and copy all files to the desired directory on your hard disk. (NOTE: Be sure to instruct the installation program to copy the FG files to your hard disk - usually drive C). RUNNING FIELD GENERAL: 1) Be sure you have read the description for the file "SCR_MELT.COM". This description is found in Appendix A and contains important information which may pertain to you and your computer system. 2) Make sure the hard disk you are running FG from has some extra memory, about 80K, so FG has room to create files for record keeping purposes. 3) Type "FOOTBALL" at the system prompt to begin play. 4) Type "CHALKBOARD" at the system prompt to run the program which diagrams all offensive and defensive plays.----------------------------------------------------------------- PLAYING A SEASON VS. PLAYING A SINGLE GAME ----------------------------------------------------------------- Users may set-up FG for a single game or for a whole season. Single games may be played between 2 human players or between a human player and an automated team, but season play is designed to match users with a series of automated teams. Single games are set-up through the FG program, but season play must be initiated through the program "SCHEDULE.EXE". "SCHEDULE.EXE" must be executed to create a season schedule for the user. Once inside "SCHEDULE.EXE", the instructions for creating a season are fairly self-explanatory and are similar to those for setting-up a single game. Once a season schedule has been created, the user may return to FG to start season play. When the user selects season play, FG will automatically set-up the user's next scheduled game. After the completion of each game, the results will be written to the file "SCHEDULE.TXT" which may be viewed by the user to chart his progress through the season. The user may then return to FG at any time in the future to play the remaining games on the schedule. FG takes users through a short 8 game season or through a long 16 game season and then through the playoffs and championship game if users qualify for post-season play. A record of 5-3 or better is needed to qualify for the playoffs when playing a short season and a record of 10-6 or better is needed to make the playoffs when playing a long season. Only 1 season may be active at any one time. If "SCHEDULE.EXE" is executed again and a new schedule is created, the old schedule will be erased and lost. When running "SCHEDULE.EXE", users will be asked to choose the team they wish to represent. Teams numbered 1-28 represent the 28 professional football teams and already have corresponding team characteristic files where their team ratings are stored. Teams numbered 29-35 are for users who wish to create team characteristic files for other teams (all-star, fantasy, college, etc.). (See Appendix F for instructions on editing these files.) Users may choose to have FG ignore team ratings and simulate games where both teams are even in every team characteristic category. Users will be prompted for this option. While creating a season schedule, users will be asked for the division in which to place the user's team. Choice of division is important because teams must play every team in their division twice during long seasons and once during short seasons. The other scheduled opponents are selected at random. Possible playoff opponents are also dependent upon the division users select. _________________________________________________________________ PLAYING OPTIONS _________________________________________________________________ FG is programmed with many built-in options so you may tailor the game to your individual liking. Variations include: AUTOMATION: You have the choice of automating one or both of the participating teams. By automating one of them, you have the capability to play against the computer - a worthy opponent. The computer uses "smart" random play options to call its plays semi- intelligently. After the 1st quarter, the computer plays even more intelligently by considering its opponent's play calling tendencies when choosing its play! THE SUPER-QUICK AND QUICK GAME OPTIONS: For fastest possible play, choose the super-quick game option. This option eliminates all ball movement and time delays which occur during normal play. The quick game option produces fast ball movement and eliminates SOME time delays - time delays after important messages remain active. WEATHER ELEMENTS: You may choose to play under "perfect playing conditions", where there is no precipitation or wind to affect play outcomes. If you wish to have the weather elements be a part of the game, you may set these elements in one of two ways. You can let the computer set the elements in a random manner, or you can set the conditions yourself. As the weather worsens, weather elements play a greater part in your play calling strategy. Precipitation: "Drizzle" is slightly disruptive, "rain" is moderately disruptive, and "snow" is very disruptive. As precipitation conditions worsen, it will be a bit harder to complete medium and long range passes. Precipitation affects medium range passes only slightly, and affects long range passes a bit more. Precipitation also affects the kicking game, but only slightly. Precipitation has its greatest effect on the outside running game. As precipitation worsens, it will be difficult to get good rushing yardage to the outside (sweeps, quick pitches). On a slippery field, it is difficult for running backs to cut up field quickly, allowing the defensive pursuit to catch up to them. Wind: "Good breeze" is slightly disruptive, "windy" is moderately disruptive, and "strong wind" is very disruptive. Wind direction will be either against or with the offense; there are never cross-winds. Wind only affects passes which are thrown against the wind. Wind does not affect short passes, but does affect medium and long range passes. As wind conditions worsen, completing medium range passes will become slightly more difficult and completing long range passes will become considerably more difficult. Wind has its greatest effect on the kicking game. Thus, wind direction becomes a VERY important strategic element as wind conditions worsen. Weather information is displayed to the left of the scoreboard. The symbols used for weather elements are: > good breeze + drizzle >> windy ++ rain >>> strong wind ++* snow THE TURNOVER REDUCTION VARIABLE: The Turnover Reduction Variable (TRV) controls the number of fumbles and interceptions generated during plays run from scrimmage (fumbles may still be generated on punts and kickoffs). If you find the number of turnovers to be excessive during normal play (when TRV = 0), you may change the TRV to reduce the amount of turnovers. By setting the TRV to 100 (a 100% reduction), no turnovers will be generated during plays run from scrimmage. Likewise, if you set the TRV to 50, you may expect the number of turnovers to be reduced by half the number normally generated. REGULATION LENGTH GAME VS. SHORT GAME: Regulation length games have 15 minute quarters while short games have only 7 minute quarters. The only other difference is separate files are maintained for each type of game's all-time game records and won-loss records. NORMAL PLAYING CONDITIONS: This is where the real-time game clock and play clock are inactive. In this variation, players have as much time as they wish to call their plays. Each type of play and game activity is assigned a predetermined amount of time it will take off the game clock. These predetermined times do a good job of simulating actual pro football game conditions, but limit the players' ability to manipulate the game clock through their play calling. Under these conditions, expect the following: * The more yardage gained, the more time will be subtracted from the game clock. * Runs take more time than passes. * Plays take less time during the two minute warning period. * Plays take less time when they go out of bounds (see "Out of Bounds"). THE REAL-TIME CLOCK: This option is only for the most experienced FG players! This option provides players with a truly advanced version of the game. The real-time clock provides you with action under conditions closest to those of an actual professional football game! The game clock works like the clock in a pro game; the clock is stopped when a pass is incomplete, when there's a change in possession, etc.. The play clock is also activated when this option is chosen. Plays and game activities still subtract a small predetermined amount of time off the clock, but players do have control over how much time ticks off the clock while they decide on their plays. The real-time game clock makes for some very interesting two minute drills! Only the most experienced and cool-headed FG players can lead their offense in beating both the defense and the clock for a TD during the closing seconds of a half!. The game clock can be seen running while the offense is deciding on its next play, but the game clock does not run while the defense is deciding on its play. Of course, the game clock does not ALWAYS run while the offense is deciding upon its next play. In a similar fashion to pro football, the game clock will stop after these events: * Incomplete passes * Plays which go out of bounds during the final two minutes of the first half and the final five minutes of the second half and overtime quarters * Changes of possession * Scores * Penalties (exception: clock will run after all declined penalties which occur outside the final two minutes of the first half and the final five minutes of the second half and overtime quarters) * Time outs * Two minute warnings * Ends of quarters * Injuries When the real-time clock is in use, the offense's play clock is automatically set to 25 seconds. Normally, the offense would receive more time to call their play, but under real-time clock conditions, time is subtracted to account for the time the offense needs to break their huddle, line up, and snap the ball. However, during the last two minutes of each half, less time will be attributed to snapping the ball. Instead of setting the play clock to 25 seconds, the offense will have 30 seconds to call its play (we think less time should be subtracted for snapping the ball within the two minute warning period because offenses are usually in a hurry-up type situation during this time). THE PLAY CLOCK: The play clock restricts the amount of time the offense and defense may take to call its play. The play clock will somewhat guard against slow play as well as introduce a more interesting play calling strategy. If the offense or defense cannot get their play called before their play clock expires, then they are assessed a 5 yard DELAY OF GAME penalty. There are 2 play clocks - one in the back of each end zone. Once the offense has entered a VALID play, the play clocks are reset for the defense. The play clock is automatically activated when the real-time clock option is chosen, but when the real-time clock is not activated, players may choose the number of seconds (10-45) to be placed on the offense's play clock. The defense always has 6 seconds placed on its play clock. The play clock can be stopped with a time out. When a team calls a time out, the play clocks are removed from the screen and the offense may take as long as it wishes in entering its next play. We recommend a hard copy of the list of plays when the play clock is activated. This will eliminate the time needed to access help screens for a list of plays. USING THE REAL-TIME CLOCK ONLY DURING THE FINAL MINUTES OF A HALF: When using this option, the option we prefer, the real-time clock is deactivated except for the final 2 minutes of the 1st half and for the final 5 minutes of the 2nd half and overtime quarters. NOTE: If you choose the PLAY CLOCK option, set the play clock for 15 seconds, and THEN choose to have the real-time clock run during the last minutes of each half, a 15 second play clock will be used throughout the game EXCEPT when the real-time clock is in use. THE TWO-POINT CONVERSION: When this option is chosen, each team has the option, after each TD it scores, to either attempt an extra point kick for 1 point or to attempt a 2-point conversion from 3 yards out. The offense may run its 2-point conversion attempt from the middle of the field or from either hash mark. The 2-point conversion is similar to other offensive downs except the offense is allowed only 1 down to reach the end zone. THE HOME FIELD ADVANTAGE FACTOR: If this factor is chosen to be active, the home team will have a SLIGHT advantage in the following areas: * Penalties * "Chaingang" measurements * Play reviews by officials * The coinflip * Field goals - home team will get 5 yards added to their field goal attempts * Kicking game - home team will get 3 yards added to their kickoffs and punts * The play clock - visiting team will have 7 seconds less than the home team to call their offensive plays. However, this advantage is taken away once the visiting team has a lead of 10 points or more. * Wearing down the defense - the home team will need 1 rush and 75 seconds less than the visiting team to reach bonus levels during short games, and 2 rushes and 2.5 minutes less to reach bonus levels during regular length games In the first 4 areas mentioned, the advantage is only slight. This factor tries to simulate the home field advantage: home field is usually worth a few points, the visiting team must contend with crowd noise, close calls tend to favor the home team, and the visitors have the disadvantage of having to travel. TEAM CHARACTERISTICS FILES: These files contain player names for several team positions, characteristic information on play calling balance (% of runs to passes), and team strength factors for several parts of the team's game. The 1st 28 files reflect the characteristics of the 28 professional football teams from the last completed season. The next 7 files can be edited by the user to set up the user's own customized team file. The user can customize these files to reflect the characteristics of college, fantasy, all-star, or any other football teams. The user can even edit one of the first 28 files if the user doesn't like how rbm software rated his favorite pro team! These team files create game situations in which one team might have an advantage over the other. These factors will have a great effect on a user's play calling strategy. However, users may want to play a game in which teams are even and where the outcome is more determined by the quality of play calling instead of influenced by team ratings. FG will prompt users for making teams even. RESTORING AN INTERRUPTED GAME: When a user exits FG by entering "74" at the "Call offense:" or "Call defense:" prompt, a file is created to save crucial game information ("OLD_GAME.DAT"), but not ALL game data. This is not a GREAT game saving feature, but it does allow users to finish an interrupted game. This feature falls well of a true game saving feature because most statistics accrued to the point of interruption are lost. Further more, failure to restore all stats will have a negative impact on the decision making of automated teams. However, due to the program's large size and many variables, a true game saving feature is not possible at this time. Old games may be restored at the beginning of the FG program._________________________________________________________________ GAME FEATURES - MISCELLANEOUS _________________________________________________________________ The game is very easy to play, prompting you for any information it needs. However, there are a few features needing further explanation. HASHMARKS: On each play, the ball is snapped from either the left or right hashmark, or from the middle of the field. This is one important strategic aspect of FG because the offense may be in a position where it has more room to run a play to one side of the field. Since it is better to run plays to the widest side of the field (because the defense has more field to cover), the offense may elect to go to the wide side most of the time. However, the defense also knows this and will probably call its defenses to guard against plays to the wide side. Thus, the offense may, in turn, try to fool the defense by running a play to the short side of the field. The decision is yours to make! OUT OF BOUNDS: A play goes out of bounds if the play starts AND ends at the right OR left hashmark. Use the out of bounds to your advantage when trying to score late in the half when time is a factor. "Out of bounds" is another good reason to keep track of which hashmark your on! REMINDER: Plays which go out of bounds take less time and stop the real-time game clock. PENALTIES: Penalties can occur at almost any time. When they do, the computer will usually give you a choice of either taking the penalty or taking the down (obviously, if the penalty is against the offense, the defense makes the choice, and vice versa). Your choice is made my entering a "P" for penalty or a "D" for down. If there is a question of who the offense is at the time of the penalty, look at the scoreboard. The team which has the brown "<>" characters to the left of its name is the offense. When a penalty occurs during a field goal attempt, the field goal kick is given in yardage from the line of scrimmage to the goal post. For instance, if the computer displays "FG attempt is 30 yards long", then the field goal kick would be good if the line of scrimmage is at the 20 yardline or closer to the goal post. KICKOFFS: There are 3 types of kickoffs to choose from. The two we are sure you have heard about are onside kickoffs and deep kickoffs (regular kickoffs). The third type of kickoff is called a squib kick. This is where the the ball is kicked down field along the ground - not in the air. This kick will not travel as far as a deep kick, but it will cut down on yardage gained on the kick return. This kick is used is to keep the ball away from the return team's best return man, the player positioned deepest on the return team. In this manner, the kicking team can guard against a big return near the end of a half. The squib kick is also a good alternative to the deep kick when kicking into a strong wind. When a team chooses to kick deep, they must choose where to aim the kickoff (left, middle, or right side of the field). In turn, the receiving team must choose what type of return to run (wedge left, middle wedge, or wedge right). The combination of these 2 choices will determine the success of the return. For instance, if the kickoff is directed to same side of the field the return is called, the return will be longer than usual. If the kickoff is aimed to the opposite side of the field to where the return is called, the return will be shorter than usual. Kickoff "Hands" Team: When receiving a kickoff, the receiving team has the choice of putting in their regular receiving team or their "hands" team. The "hands" team is used in situations where the receiving team is expecting an onside kick. Choosing the "hands" team will cut down on the return yardage, but will improve the odds of recovering an onside kick. FIELD GOALS: Field goal attempts may come up short of the end zone. In this case, the defense has the option to return the kick. If the defense decides not to return the kick, the defense gets the ball at the place of the kick, or at their 20 yardline if the kick was attempted from inside their 20. Field Goal Defense: There are 2 types of field goal defenses. A defense can go for the block or they can guard against a fake. When going for the block, they are more susceptible to a fake. When defending against a fake, they have less chance for a block. Defending against a fake will ALMOST ALWAYS stop a fake. Fake Field Goals: Field goals may be faked, but the chances of converting a fake field goal for a first down or touchdown are slim. Chances for success are best when the defense chooses to try to block the field goal rather than guard against a fake and when only a couple of yards are needed. PUNTS: When the offense has elected to punt (but not angle punt), the defense has the option to try to block the punt, maximize a punt return, or check for a fake punt and then set up a punt return. A punt can be blocked even if the defense decides to set up a return, but a defense can improve its chances of blocking a punt by almost 3 times if it decides to go for the block. The odds of blocking a punt are even better if the punting team is within their own 5 yardline (the punter has less room). However, if the defense goes for the block, punt return yardage is decreased significantly and the defense is vulnerable to fake punts. When a defense decides to maximize a punt return, it makes itself very vulnerable to faked punts and it will not have a good chance at blocking the punt, but it will get maximum punt return yardage. By checking for a fake punt before setting up a return, the defense will greatly improve its chances of NOT getting burned on a fake, and it will still insure good return yardage. Angle Punts: An angle punt is when the punter tries to kick the ball out of bounds near his opponents goal line. In this game, the punt may indeed go out of bounds, but it may also go into the end zone for a touchback or stay in bounds and be fielded by the punt return team. A team may choose to angle punt only when it is at or inside its opponent's 40 yardline. Fake Punts: The odds for a successful fake punt are better than the odds for a successful fake field goal. Naturally, the best chance an offense has at pulling off a fake punt is when the return team is setting up to maximize a punt return or setting up to block the punt. THE NO-HUDDLE OFFENSE: The no-huddle offense can only be run when the play clock is active. The no-huddle offense is simulated when the offense calls its plays quickly, giving the defense little time to think about its next play. Besides the possibility of the defense calling a bad play or being accessed a delay of game penalty, there is an added bonus to running the no-huddle offense. If the offense calls its play before 3 seconds tick off the play clock, the offense will prohibit the defense from making player substitutions. Thus, the defense will not be able to go into its nickel defenses (in the nickel defense, a LB or lineman is substituted for another defensive back, this includes the 4-0 2-Deep Zone defense). When this happens, the prompt "NO SUBSTITUTIONS!" will appear with the prompt "Call defense:" to warn the defense of this restriction. However, the offense cannot always keep the defense out of its nickel defenses. The exceptions are: * The 1st play of a drive. * When the defense was in a nickel defense the play before. * The first play following a time out or the two minute warning. * The first play of a quarter. * The first play after a penalty. * The first play after an official's timeout. WEARING DOWN THE DEFENSE: An offense can wear down the defense by running the ball and keeping possession of the ball for great lengths of time. By keeping the defense on the field, the offense will tire the defensive team. A small bonus is given to the offense which accomplishes this. An extra yard will be added to the result of a running play if the offense has run the ball at least 27 times (13 times for short games) and has had possession of the ball at least 27 minutes (13 minutes for short games). An extra 2 yards will be added if the offense has run the ball at least 32 times (16 times for short games) and has had the ball at least 32 minutes (16 minutes for short games). The computer will prompt a team and put yellow "*"'s next to the team's name on the scoreboard when bonus levels have been reached. This bonus isn't much, but it could make a big difference late in the game when the offense is in short yardage situations or is trying to run out the clock. BUT THE DEFENSE GETS WISER: Everyone has their favorite plays, plays they like to go to in "crunch time", but going to the same play again and again could get you into trouble. The defense has a good memory, so when it sees the same play over and over again, it will tend to better defend against the play as the game wears on. In FG, plays tend to be less effective AFTER the 3rd time they're called in short games, and less effective AFTER the 5th time they're called in long games. For example, the 4th time a pass play is called during a short game, the play has a 10% greater chance to fall incomplete. The 5th time its called, it has a 20% greater chance to be incomplete. The trend continues up to the 8th time it's called when the play has a 50% greater chance to be incomplete. For running plays, yardage gained is 10% less on the 4th time they're called during short games and 20% less on the 5th time they're called. This trend also continues up to the 8th time they're called when the yardage gained is 50% less than normal. TIME OUTS: Time outs are used to keep the clock from running during the proceeding play. For instance, if on offense, enter "89" at the prompt "Call offense:" to call a time out, then enter the desired play. By doing so, the clock will not run during the called play. When the real-time clock is in use, time outs will not only keep the clock from running DURING the proceeding play, but they will also stop the game clock AFTER the proceeding play. Thus, the game clock will not start until the play after the proceeding play is called. Time outs cannot be called to keep the clock from running during extra points, field goal attempts, kickoffs, and punts. If the offense has called a time out and the defense is called for a delay of game penalty, the offense is not charged for a time out. This rule prevents the defense from sacrificing a 5 yard penalty for causing the offense to waste one of its time outs. The defense may not only call time outs at the "Call defense:" prompt ("89"), but it may also call time outs at the "Call offense:" prompt ("86"). This feature was added so the defense could use its time outs when the offense is "milking" the clock. The defense can only call time out "86" when the real-time game clock is active AND running. The defense must also make this call quickly, before 3 seconds expire off the play clock. Problems will arise when the offense wants to call a play quickly at the same time the defense wishes to call a time out "86". It is the responsibility of the defense to inform the offense before the play clock starts of its wishes to use a time out "86". GROUNDING THE BALL: Grounding the ball, offensive play #88, may be used when the offense needs to stop the game clock within the two minute warning period, but has no time outs left. The play simply has the QB intentionally ground the ball after taking the snap. The offense loses a down, but the game clock is stopped. QB KNEEL-DOWN: QB Kneel-Down, offensive play #87, may be used when the offense wants to run time off the game clock near the end of the half with no risk of turnover. The play simply has the QB kneel down after taking the snap. The result is a loss of 2 yards, no turnover, and no stoppage of the game clock. OVERTIME: If a game ends in a tie, the game will go into sudden-death- overtime and will not end until there is another score. ALL-TIME GAME RECORDS: FG creates the files "TOPSTATS.TXT" and "TOPSHORT.TXT" so you can view the all-time FG records made using your copy of FG. These files are dependent on the information in the data files "TOPSTATS.DAT" and "TOPSHORT.DAT". By erasing these data files, you may renew the record keeping process. When viewing the all-time records, you may see the characters "**" appearing before a record. These characters indicate the given record was set during the most previously played game. FG only keeps track of the best or worst performance in each category. To break a record, a team must SURPASS or EQUAL the given record. In this manner, the name of the most recent team to break or equal a record is recorded. Also, if opposing teams break the same record in identical fashion, the VISITING team will be honored with the record. Yes, this isn't fair, but this must be done since FG matches only one team to every record. Won-loss records are kept in the files "REG_REC.TXT" and "SHORTREC.TXT". By erasing their corresponding ".DAT" files, you may also renew this record keeping process. UTILITIES: The help screen with the list of available utilities can be accessed by entering "97" at the "Call offense:" or "Call defense:" prompt. The utilities available to you are: Viewing Team Ratings: By entering "70", team ratings on several team characteristics for both teams will be shown on screen. Accessing TTS Reports: By entering "71", the TTS report for the home team will be shown on screen. Enter "72" to access the visitor's TTS report. (See "Tendency Tracking System (TTS)".) Game Exit Function: Select "74" to exit FG before normal program termination. Pertinent game data will be saved for future restoration of the interrupted game. Accessing Game Statistics: The game statistics consist of 4 screens. All screens can be accessed by entering "76" at the play prompts. Activating/Deactivating Sound: Sound can be activated/deactivated by entering "77" at the play prompts. Activating/Deactivating Quick Play Modes: Enter "79" to toggle between regular play, quick play, and super-quick play modes. Adjusting Game Speed: At the pre-game screen, you will be asked if you wish to change the game speed. Game speed defaults to a factor of 4. To slow the game down, pick a value greater than 4. To speed the game up, pick a value between 1 and 3. You may also adjust the game speed during the game by entering "80" at the play prompts. The speed factor controls the speed for sounds and ball movement. Use this utility to adjust FG to your computer's CPU. Activating/Deactivating Encryption: When encryption is deactivated, FG echoes all offensive calls to the screen. When encryption is activated, offensive calls are hidden during entry. At the "Call offense:" prompt, "*"'s will appear in place of the numbers being entered. In this manner, the integrity of the offensive call will be better protected from the defensive player. Encryption is activated/deactivated by entering "81" at the play prompts._________________________________________________________________ STATISTICS _________________________________________________________________ Most of the statistics are self-explanatory. The ones which need some explaining are listed below: Passing Yardage (Average): The passing average statistic has been proven to be very important in determining the winner of pro football games (even more so than yardage and time of possession). Number of turnovers is also very important. It is interesting to take note of in which statistics the winning team is ahead. Return Yardage: The yardage gained on punt returns plus the yardage interceptions were returned past the line of scrimmage. NOTE: This isn't the technical definition of "return yardage". Third Down Efficiency: The first number is the number of 3rd downs converted for 1st downs, and the second number is the total number of 3rd downs the offense faced. This statistic also includes 4th down attempts. Average Field Position: The average distance, in yards to your opposition's goal line, from which your team started each of its drives. Punts - Average: This category does not include angle punts or blocked punts. Average First Down Yardage: This is the average amount of yardage gained on first down plays. High averages are best. Average Yards to Go on 3rd Down: This is the average amount of yardage a team had to make on third down plays to achieve a first down or touchdown. Low averages are best. Red Zone Shots - Points: This statistic shows how each offense fared in the red zone (inside your opponent's 20 yardline). The first number is the number of times the offense entered the red zone (in other words, the number of drives an offense had in which they ran at least 1 play from inside their opponent's 20 yardline). The second number is the number of points scored on drives which entered the red zone. It's great if an offense is good at moving the ball between the 20's, but it's crucial for an offense to score when it's in the red zone. _________________________________________________________________ TENDENCY TRACKING SYSTEM (TTS) _________________________________________________________________ At halftime, during professional football games, the head coach gets VALUABLE information, from his assistants, on his opponent's play calling tendencies. This information is vital in formulating the team's second half strategy. The halftime report made by the coaching assistants could be the difference between winning and losing! In a similar manner, FG provides you with this information at halftime. Acting as your team of assistant coaches, FG tracks your opponent's, as well as your own, play calling tendencies. If you wish, you may, at halftime, get a TTS printout of your opponent and your team to help you in devising your second half strategy. TTS reports are also available during the game (see "Utilities"). Also, at the end of the game, you may view the files "HOME_TTS.TXT" and "OPP_TTS.TXT" to see the TTS reports which cover the entire game. This information can be stored and used as a reference for future games with the same opponent. The TTS reports include both offensive and defensive play calling tendencies, totals of how many times each specific play was called, the success of each specific play, and statistics on what type of plays were called in different situations. STRATEGY: How do you devise a game-winning strategy? It's not easy, especially when playing an opponent for the first time, because all teams are different. However, each team does have tendencies. It's just a matter of determining and acting upon them. The following suggestions will start you on the right track. One of the most important things you can do during game play is to keep close track of where you are on the field relative to the hashmarks. Sometimes you'll want to call a play which will stop the clock by going out of bounds. Sometimes you'll make a call to simply position yourself to run the play you really want. The other important thing you must do to improve your chances of winning is to keep track of your opponent's as well as your OWN play calling tendencies! By knowing your opponent's habits, you can make smarter play selections. By knowing your OWN habits, you can set-up and cross-up your opponent by varying from your tendencies. Your opponent's strengths will also influence your play calling. Know what your defenses are good for and what type of offenses can give them trouble. Is the offense you're facing the conservative, ball-control type or are they gamblers looking for the quick strike? Does your opponent's offense play the percentages or do they try to be clever by running to the short side of the field or by calling draws on 3rd and long? On the other side of the ball, know what offenses are good for attacking each defensive play. Does the defense you're facing play very safe and conservative by playing the percentages, like playing the run on 1st downs, or are they always gambling with blitzes and tight defenses? What kinds of plays does your opposing defense call when they're backed up inside their own 20 yardline and do they consistently come at you hard on 1st downs? By answering these questions and raising some of your own, you will be well on your way to becoming a Four-Star FIELD GENERAL! _________________________________________________________________ THE PLAYS _________________________________________________________________ A list of all plays can be found in the file "PLAYS.TXT". Some plays have restrictions on their use. For example, deep pass routes cannot be used within your opponent's 20 yardline. These restrictions are cited on the help screens and in the "PLAYS.TXT" file. TERMINOLOGY: The offensive plays use numbers and letters to signify certain positions. X is the receiver lined-up to the left, Y is the tight- end, etc.. Numbers can signify where the play is aimed at in the line of scrimmage (holes), which back will be carrying the ball (2 is the HB, 3 is the FB), or in the case of pass plays, what the running backs are assigned to do. Pass plays are either in the 50's or the 80's. Running backs stay in the backfield to help pass protect when the pass play is called in the 50's, while the backs are outlet or secondary receivers when the pass play is called in the 80's. WEAK SIDE STRONG SIDE HOLES -> 9 7 5 3 1-0 2 4 6 8 ----------------------------------------------- X T G C G T Y Q Z A B ----------------------------------------------- BACK POSITIONS -> 2 3 4 2 Examples: "20 Fold" - halfback from the 2 position takes and runs the ball into the 0 hole. "83 X Curl" - "83" tells the running back on the weak side to run an outlet pass route. "X Curl" tells X he is the primary receiver and is running a curl pattern. All other routes are implicit. When an offensive play is diagrammed on the screen using the "CHALKBOARD.EXE" program, "O"'s are used for all the players on the offense except for the center which is represented by a "C". The defensive play calls convey information on formation, line action, and pass coverage. i.e. In the "4-3 Over Key Strong Zone" defense, the formation is a 4-3 (4 linemen, 3 LB's), the linemen OVERshift and KEY the offensive linemen, and the DB's use a STRONG ZONE pass coverage. When a defensive play is diagrammed on the screen, "X"'s are used to represent the players except for the down linemen which are represented by "V"'s. (See "LEXICON" for more definitions.) CHOOSING AND ENTERING A PLAY: There are two ways to get a list of available plays. You can get a hard copy by printing the file "PLAYS.TXT" before you start, or you may pull up a help screen during play. To get a help screen while on defense, enter "99" at the prompt "Call defense". To get a help screen while on offense, enter "98" or "99" at the prompt "Call offense". Once you have chosen a play, enter the number corresponding to that play when the computer prompts you. The offense is always asked to choose its play first. While the offense is entering the number corresponding to its chosen play, the defensive player should turn his head so as not to see what offense is being called. The computer will produce a unique sound to signal when a valid offensive play has been chosen. At this time, the computer will erase the number corresponding to the chosen offensive play from the screen and the defensive player may turn around and enter his selection. This procedure should be followed on kickoffs and two-point conversions as well. NOTE: If an offensive play's corresponding entry number is a single digit (1-9), it is best to enter the number with a leading 0 (01, 02, etc.) so not to give the defense any hint at the play being called. PLAY RESULTS: Results are based on the chances of a particular offense succeeding against a particular defense. Each offense-defense combination has many possible results. In total, FG has over 37,000 possible play results! The success of a play is somewhat dependent on what side of the field the play is aimed. Obviously, running a play to the wide side of the field could mean more success, but since the defense also knows this, it may be a better idea to run to the short side of the field. Play results are based on percentages. If the perfect offense is run against a defense, the percentages will be in favor of the play doing well. However, every play has a chance, if ever so slim, to fail. Conversely, an offensive play which seems to be doomed, could, surprisingly, get good yardage. _________________________________________________________________ A FINAL NOTE _________________________________________________________________ We must warn you about strange things occurring during game play! Because beer is sold at FG stadium, there is the possibility of fans over-indulging themselves and becoming boisterous. Thunderstorms and the referees may even interrupt play momentarily, so be on the lookout! COMPUTER FOOTBALL TOURNAMENTS: The list of FG players is steadily growing. There has been increasing interest in rbm software sanctioned FG computer football tournaments to recognize the BEST FIELD GENERALS. rbm software has prepared a list of requirements for those who wish to hold an rbm software sanctioned tournament of their own (see "TOURNEY.TXT"). The winner of these tournaments will receive a certificate recognizing such winner as achieving the status of FG, ONE STAR FG, or whatever title is appropriate. Also, all won-loss records and all-time game records generated from these tournaments will be combined with records from other tournaments to form a national FG database. If you know others who might like to be registered users, contact us for complete details about holding your own tournament. If you don't know any registered users, but wish to participate in such a tournament, contact us and we'll let you know when there are any other interested users in your area. PRODUCT SUPPORT POLICY: Please feel free to contact us at any time. Send any comments and questions you have on the game -- features you like/dislike, suggested improvements, bugs you may have found, etc.. Through users' comments, FG is "UNEQUALLED in Pro Football Simulation"! We'll let registered users know of any improvements to the game. We know FG will give you many hours of entertainment whether you're matching football wits with a friend or against the computer. Have fun and thank you for your support of FIELD GENERAL! rbm software_________________________________________________________________ A P P E N D I X A PACKING LIST _________________________________________________________________ TEXT FILES: General.doc - FG documentation and playbook in ASCII format. Tourney.doc - rules for rbm software sanctioned FG football tournaments. Plays.txt - the list of defensive and offensive plays you may choose from while playing this version of FG. A hard copy of this file serves as a good quick reference during game play. FILES NEEDED TO RUN FIELD GENERAL: ?.92 - each file contains data on one team - player names and team characteristics. The first 28 files reflect data on all professional football teams for the 1992 season. The next 7 files ("FG?.92") can be used to store data for other teams (college, high school, all- star teams, etc.). See appendix F for information on the format of these files. Chalkbrd.exe - the FG chalkboard. Run this program to get diagrams of all offensive and defensive plays. List.com - a simple text editor used for viewing FIELD GENERAL text files. This program is called by "GENERAL.EXE" and "PRT_UTIL.EXE". Scr_melt.com - this utility clears the computer screen by making the characters look like they're melting away! On some IBM compatibles, this program has caused the system to hang. If this happens to you, simply reboot the system and remove this file from the directory you're running FG from. The system will output the "BAD COMMAND" error message when FG tries to run "SCR_MELT.COM", but other than that, the game will function perfectly well. General?.dat - the data files used to determine play results. There should be 10 of these files. Football.exe - FG is started through this program by typing 'FOOTBALL'at the system prompt. General.exe - rbm software's FIELD GENERAL version 7.0. This program will only execute through the running of "FOOTBALL.EXE". Halfshow.exe - the halftime show. This file can also be replaced with a halftime show of your choice. Prt_util.exe - FG view & print utility. Use this program to view or print any FG text file. This utility must be present in the same directory as the file to be printed. Schedule.exe - the FG scheduler. Run this program to create a season schedule for your team. OTHER EXECUTABLE FILES: Archive1.exe - this file contains FG's main program in archived form. Run this file to UNarchive, unpack, these files. Archive2.com - this file contains all of FG's support files in archived form. Archive3.com - this file contains all of FG's data files in archived form. Archive4.exe - this file contains all of FG's documentation in archived form. FILES TO BE CREATED - GAME RECORDS: The following files are NOT present on the FG distribution disk, but will be created during play. View these files at the end of a game to see the many statistics and records FG keeps for you! Old_game.dat - the data file containing information on last interrupted game. This file is used to restore interrupted games. Record.dat - the data file used to track a team's progress through a season. Reg_rec.dat - the data file containing won-loss records for regulation length games. This file is used to generate the file "REG_REC.TXT" and is created by the file "GENERAL.EXE". Schedule.dat - the data file containing a team's season schedule. Shortrec.dat - the data file containing won-loss records for short games. This file is used to generate the file "SHORTREC.TXT" and is created by the file "GENERAL.EXE". Topshort.dat - the data file containing game records for short games. This file is used to generate the file "TOPSHORT.TXT" and is created by the file "GENERAL.EXE". Topstats.dat - the data file containing game records for regulation length games. This file is used to generate the file "TOPSTATS.TXT" and is created by the file "GENERAL.EXE". Game_log.txt - this file is updated throughout the game to give you a log of game highlights and statistics. View this file at the completion of a game. This file is created by the file "GENERAL.EXE". Home_tts.txt - this file is created at the end of each game to give you a report on the home team's play calling tendencies during the most previously played game. This file is created by "GENERAL.EXE". Opp_tts.txt - this file is exactly like "HOME_TTS.TXT" except it gives you a report on the visiting team's play calling tendencies. Reg_rec.txt - this file is updated at the end of every game to give you a listing of won-loss records for regulation length games. This file is created by the file "GENERAL.EXE". Records for up to 40 teams will be kept in this file. Schedule.txt - this file is updated as a season progresses. It contains a history of the season being played. Shortrec.txt - this file is like the file "REG_REC.TXT" except it lists the won-loss records for short games. Records for up to 40 teams will be kept in this file. Topstats.txt - this file is updated at the end of every game to give you a listing of all-time game records for regulation length games. View this file at the completion of a regulation length game to see if your team has set any records! This file is created by the file "GENERAL.EXE". Topshort.txt - this file is like the file "TOPSTATS.TXT" except it lists the all-time game records for short games. !!!!!!! WARNING !!!!!!!! WARNING !!!!!!!! WARNING !!!!!!! All data files (files with the extension ".DAT") are VERY IMPORTANT to the proper operation of this program. Changing these files will result in improper results and may even cause the program to crash. Make backups of all files! !!!!!!! WARNING !!!!!!!! WARNING !!!!!!!! WARNING !!!!!!!_________________________________________________________________ A P P E N D I X B WEATHER ELEMENTS _________________________________________________________________ This appendix shows exactly how much precipitation and wind affect play outcomes. The percentages given below are interpreted as follows: For RUNS and KICKS, the percentage is a comparison between the amount of yardage which would have been gained under perfect playing conditions and the yardage which would have been gained under the specified weather condition. For instance, a kick which would travel 50 yards under perfect playing conditions would only travel 47 (50 * .94) yards in the rain. For PASSES, the percentage stands for the percentage of passes which would have been completed under perfect playing conditions, but would fall incomplete under the specified weather condition. For instance, for every LONG pass which would be completed under perfect conditions, there would be a 30% chance it would fall incomplete under windy conditions. Weather elements have a quantitative effect. For instance, snow would offset the distance gained by kicking with a good breeze behind you. WEATHER CONDITIONS > good breeze + drizzle >> windy ++ rain >>> strong wind ++* snow EFFECTS KICKING CONDITION PASSING RUNNING AGAINST WITH MED. RANGE LONG RANGE OUTSIDE 97% 97% + 2% 4% 85% 94% 94% ++ 4% 8% 70% 91% 91% ++* 6% 12% 55% 92% 108% > 5% 15% - 84% 116% >> 10% 30% - 76% 124% >>> 15% 45% - _________________________________________________________________ A P P E N D I X C THE GAME CLOCK _________________________________________________________________ WITHOUT REAL-TIME CLOCK OPTION: The following table shows how much time will be subtracted from the game clock for various plays when the real-time clock is deactivated. The "TWO MINUTE WARNING TIME" table shows how much time will be taken off the game clock during the last two minutes of the second, fourth, and overtime quarters. NORMAL TIME runs for < 1 yard 32 seconds runs for 1-20 yards 40 seconds runs for > 20 yards 48 seconds incomplete passes 12 seconds passes for < 21 yards 22 seconds passes for > 20 yards 32 seconds delay of game penalty 12 seconds TWO MINUTE WARNING TIME runs out of bounds 18 seconds runs for < 1 yard 28 seconds runs for 1-20 yards 34 seconds runs for > 20 yards 40 seconds incomplete passes 10 seconds passes out of bounds 10 seconds passes < 21 yards 20 seconds passes > 20 yards 28 seconds delay of game penalty 10 seconds WITH OR WITHOUT REAL-TIME CLOCK OPTION: The next table shows how much time special team plays take whether the real-time clock is activated or deactivated. Extra points & two point conversions (dead ball) 0 seconds Field goals 4 seconds Blocked field goals/punts 7 seconds Punts 9 seconds Punt returns 6 seconds Kickoffs 13 seconds Kickoffs out of bounds or not returned 5 seconds * Kickoffs (within 2 minute warning) 8 seconds * Kickoffs out of bounds or not returned (within 2 minute warning) 0 seconds * During the last 2 minutes of each half, the game clock does not start on a kickoff until the ball is touched after the kick. WITH REAL-TIME CLOCK OPTION: When the real-time clock option is activated, you can expect the following plays and activities to take the following amount of time off the game clock: runs for < 1 yard 5 seconds runs for 1-9 yards 6 seconds runs for 10-19 yards 8 seconds runs for 20-39 yards 10 seconds runs for 40-59 yards 12 seconds runs for 60-79 yards 14 seconds runs for > 79 yards 16 seconds incomplete passes 5 seconds passes for < 0 yards 5 seconds passes for 1-9 yards 6 seconds passes for 10-19 yards 8 seconds passes for 20-39 yards 10 seconds passes for 40-59 yards 12 seconds passes for 60-79 yards 14 seconds passes for > 79 yards 16 seconds At the end of a play, the time taken to unpile and start the play clock during: * Normal time is 7 seconds * Two minute warning time is 5 seconds This amount of time is subtracted at the end of a play if the game clock is still running. The time taken to break the huddle, line up at the line of scrimmage, call signals, and snap the ball during: * Normal time is 10 seconds * Two minute warning time is 5 seconds This amount of time is subtracted after plays are called and before the plays are run if the game clock is running. Thus, the time you are given to call your offensive play before the play clock expires during: * Normal time is 25 seconds * Two minute warning time is 30 seconds NOTE: Time can only be subtracted from the game clock if the game clock is running while the play or activity is being run. For instance, if the game clock is stopped because of an incomplete pass, the time subtracted for breaking the huddle, lining up at the line of scrimmage, and calling signals is NOT taken off the game clock. _________________________________________________________________ A P P E N D I X D FIELD GOALS _________________________________________________________________ The following table shows the percentages of making field goals from certain distances (up to 19 yards = line of scrimmage is at the 9 yardline or closer to your opponent's goal). DISTANCE CHANCES OF MAKING (FROM LINE OF SCRIMMAGE) FIELD GOAL From right hash up to 19 yards 91.9% 20-23 yards 89.2% 24-28 yards 78.4% 29-31 yards 67.6% 32-37 yards 54.1% 38 yards 48.7% 39-44 yards 35.2% 45-50 yards 19.0% 51-55 yards 7.9% From middle up to 18 yards 91.9% 19-26 yards 89.2% 27-30 yards 78.4% 31-35 yards 67.6% 36-41 yards 54.1% 42 yards 48.7% 43-47 yards 35.2% 48-53 yards 19.0% 54-58 yards 7.9% From left hash up to 20 yards 91.9% 21-24 yards 89.2% 25-27 yards 78.4% 28-33 yards 67.6% 34-39 yards 54.1% 40 yards 48.7% 41-42 yards 35.2% 43-46 yards 27.1% 47-51 yards 19.0% 52 52-56 yards 7.9% If you consider your kicker is actually kicking from 7 yards behind the line of scrimmage, your kicker has enough leg to kick a 65 yard field goal from the middle of the field. If with the wind, your kicker could kick farther still. For instance, if your kicker kicks the ball with enough force to carry it 65 yards under normal conditions, and a strong wind is behind him, he would kick the ball an amazing 80 (65 * 1.24) yards! _________________________________________________________________ A P P E N D I X E SPECIAL TEAMS' OPTIONS _________________________________________________________________ This appendix describes how the many special teams' options affect play outcomes. THE "HANDS" TEAM: * Cuts kickoff return yardage by 33%. * Increases chances of recovering an onside kick by 11.1%. KICK RETURN WEDGE VS. DIRECTION OF KICKOFF: * If wedge is called to the same side of the field the kickoff is aimed, return yardage increases by 25%. * If wedge is called to the left side of the field and the kickoff goes to the right, or the wedge is called to the right and the kickoff goes to the left, return yardage decreases by 25%. BLOCKING PUNTS: * Decreases return yardage by 50%. * Makes defense very susceptible to faked punts needing 1-7 yards for a first down. * Increases chances of blocking the punt by 8.3%. If punting team is within their own 5 yardline, chances of blocking the punt are increased by an additional 2.7%. MAXIMIZING PUNT RETURNS: * Leaves return team with NO chance of blocking the punt. * Makes defense very susceptible to faked punts needing 1-7 yards for a first down. * Increases return yardage by 25%. BLOCKING FIELD GOALS: * Makes defense very susceptible to faked field goals needing 1-2 yards for a first down or touchdown. * Increases chances of blocking the field goal by 2.8%. _________________________________________________________________ A P P E N D I X F FORMAT FOR THE TEAM STRENGTH CHARACTERISTICS FILE _________________________________________________________________ Team strength characteristics files are the files with file extension ".92". FG comes with 28 files which correspond to the 1992 professional football teams and 7 more files for users to edit so they will reflect the teams of their choice (college, fantasy, all-pro teams, etc.). For each team, FG allows users to match 10 player positions with player names and to set several team characteristic values. Customizing of these files is NOT done through FG, but must rather be done through the file editor program of your choice. Users may edit these files as they wish, but the files MUST be in the following format. An example file might look like the following (comments in " "'s): --------------------------------------------------------- "line 1" 50 "Play calling balance (1-200)" "line 2" 5 "Rushing offense rating (1-5)" "line 3" 4 "Passing offense rating (1-5)" "line 4" 5 "Rushing defense rating (1-5)" "line 5" 4 "Passing defense rating (1-5)" "line 6" 4 "Kicker rating (1-5)" "line 7" 3 "Punter rating (1-5)" "line 8" 5 "Kick return rating (1-5)" "line 9" 3 "Pass protection rating (1-5)" "line 10" 3 "Defensive pass rush rating (1-5)" "line 11" 3 "Off. turnover rate (1-5)" "line 12" 2 "Takeaways (1-5)" "line 11" AIKMAN, "QB - 14 characters max." "line 12" SMITH, "HB" "line 13" JOHNSTON, "FB" "line 14" IRVIN, "X" "line 15" NOVACEK, "Y" "line 16" HARPER, "Z" "line 17" MARTIN, "H" "line 19" ELLIOT, "K" "line 20" SAXON, "P" "line 21" MARTIN, "KR" --------------------------------------------------------- ^ ^ ROW #1 ROW #14 - LIMITTake note of the following format rules for these files: * Play calling balance value comes first and must be between 1 and 200 (see chart below) * The 11 team strength characteristics values come next in the given order and must be between 1 and 5 * The first 12 characteristic values should be listed on separate, successive lines, beginning on line 1 of the file * Names must be 14 characters or less in length - use only alphanumeric and punctuation characters * Names must be separated by a comma (",") * The first name must appear on line 13 of the file * Names must occur on separate, successive lines * Names must start in the first column of a line * Names must be in the given order: QB first thru KR last I prefer to use all caps to make the names stand out more, but you may use lower case letters as well. Users may want to put in player names for teams which do not use all the positions mentioned above, but you must still list 10 names. For example, the '92 Houston Oilers used only 1 back, WHITE. In this case, you may wish to list WHITE twice, once on the HB line and once on the FB line. Also, Houston didn't use a TE (Y). In this case, you may wish to list a receiver on the Y line (i.e. SLAUGHTER). WARNING: You may get weird results if commas are not placed after each name and you do not adhere to the given format rules.HOW TO INTERPRET PLAY CALLING BALANCE VALUES: The following chart shows what effect each balance value will have on the corresponding team's play calling. EXAMPLE: If you give a team a balance value of 50, the team will call running plays about 28.9% of the time under normal circumstances (i.e. if they're not 20 points behind). BALANCE % OF RUN CALLS BALANCE % OF RUN CALLS 1 1.0% 110 47.2% 10 7.5% 120 49.4% 20 14.0% 130 51.4% 30 19.6% 140 53.2% 40 24.5% 150 54.9% 50 28.9% 160 56.5% 60 32.8% 170 58.0% 70 36.2% 180 59.4% 80 39.4% 190 60.7% 90 42.2% 200 62.0% 100 44.8% NOTE: You may set the balance value anywhere between 1 & 200, not just at the given values.HOW TEAM STRENGTH RATINGS EFFECT PLAY OUTCOMES: Kicker, punter, and kick return ratings: A rating of 3 causes FG to produce normal results in these categories. A rating of 4 will add 2 yards to the result and a rating of 5 will add 4 yards to the result. A rating of 2 will subtract 2 yards from the result and a rating of 1 will subtract 4 yards from the result. Run offense (RO) vs. run defense (RD): If the difference between RO and RD is 0 (they're equal) normal results will be produced for all runs. Other possibilities of RO and RD values are: RO - RD = -4: Defense has biggest possible advantage. Yardage of runs reduced by 44% and .8 additional yards. EXAMPLE: If run yardage under normal conditions = 10, actual result would be (5.6 - .8) = 4.8 yards. RO - RD = -3: Yardage reduced by 33% and .8 additional yards. RO - RD = -2: Yardage reduced by 22% and .5 additional yards. RO - RD = -1: Yardage reduced by 11% and .5 additional yards. RO - RD = 1: Yardage increased by 11% and .5 additional yards. RO - RD = 2: Yardage increased by 22% and .5 additional yards. RO - RD = 3: Yardage increased by 33% and .8 additional yards. RO - RD = 4: Offense has biggest possible advantage. Yardage increased by 44% and .8 additional yards. Passing offense (PO) vs. passing defense (PD): If the difference between PO and PD is 0 (they're equal) normal results will be produced for all passing plays. Other possibilities of PO and PD values are (REMEMBER: all these results are produced internally and are not visible to the user): PO - PD = -4: Defense has biggest possible advantage. The chance a completed pass under normal conditions will be changed to an incomplete pass is 39%. PO - PD = -3: The chance for change to an incomplete pass is 29%. PO - PD = -2: The chance for change to an incomplete pass is 19%. PO - PD = -1: The chance for change to an incomplete pass is 9%. PO - PD = 4: Offense has biggest possible advantage. The chance the offense will get a 2nd chance to complete an incomplete pass is 95%. Meaning, if the offense throws an incomplete pass, there's a 95% chance the offense will get a 2nd chance by having the computer recompute the result in an attempt to get a completed pass. PO - PD = 3: The chance for recomputation is 71%. PO - PD = 2: The chance for recomputation is 47%. PO - PD = 1: The chance for recomputation is 23%.Pass protection (PP) vs. defensive pass rush (PR): If the difference between PP and PR is 0 (they're equal) normal results will be produced for all passing plays. Other possibilities of PP and PR values are: PP - PR = -4: Defense has biggest possible advantage. The chance an incomplete pass under normal conditions will be changed to a sack of 4-8 yards is 31%. PP - PR = -3: The chance for change to a sack is 23%. PP - PR = -2: The chance for change to a sack is 15%. PP - PR = -1: The chance for change to a sack is 7%. PP - PR = 4: Offense has biggest possible advantage. The chance a sack under normal conditions will be changed to an incomplete pass is 92%. PP - PR = 3: The chance for change to an INC is 69%. PP - PR = 2: The chance for change to an INC is 46%. PP - PR = 1: The chance for change to an INC is 23%. _________________________________________________________________ A P P E N D I X G THE PLAYBOOK _________________________________________________________________ This appendix lists the offensive and defensive plays' weaknesses and strengths. By playing the game, you will get a better feel for which plays work against which offenses or defenses most of the time. DEFENSES: 1) 4-3 Key Man-To-Man: Basic defense, with more attention given to stopping the run than the pass. Linemen key to defend against run. Man-to-man coverage and a lack of a pass rush makes it difficult to defend against long bombs. X X X X X X V V V V X 2) "46" Weak Side Blitz: Works best on weak side runs and short pass routes. The blitzing weak side LB could give the QB trouble, but down field coverage, especially up the middle, is weak. This defense uses bump and run, man-to-man coverage and is susceptible against runs going wide to the strong side. X X X X X X X V V V X 3) 4-3 Blast Man-To-Man: Basic defense, but with more attention given to stopping the pass than the run. Linemen go for QB immediately and react to the run if needed. Man-to-man coverage, with secondary and LB's looking for the pass first. Runs, especially up the middle, and quick passes could cause trouble for this defense. The free safety provides good weak side coverage by helping the CB with X or helping the LB's with Y or the halfback. X X X X X X V V V V X 4) 4-3 Over Key Strong Zone: This defense is geared to stop strong side runs, the Z receiver, and long bombs. Linemen look for runs first (key), so this defense will not provide as good a pass rush as defense #5. X X X X X X V V V V X 5) 4-2 Nickel Twist Strong Zone: Much like defense #4 except the linemen go right for the QB by using a crisscrossing action, reacting to runs if need be. Consequentially, this defense will not work as well against strong side runs as defense #4. X X X X X X V V V V X 6) 3-4 Plug Weak Zone: This defense is geared to stop weak side runs and passes, especially long bombs and passes to the X receiver. The blitzing LB ("plug") could drill the QB on play action passes to the weak side. X X X X X X X V V V X 7) 4-3 Under Key Double Zone: This defense is very good against runs to the weak side and runs outside the tackles. Secondary provides double coverage on X and Z receivers while LB's are responsible for any other receivers. Big, obvious weakness is passes up the middle. X X X X X X V V V V X 8) 4-2 Key Safety X Combo: Runs and short passes, especially to the weak side, is what this defense is geared to stop. Double coverage is provided for the X receiver, but only man-to-man coverage on the strong side. The strong side is susceptible to the long bomb. This tight defense is useful when defending deep in your end of the field. X X X X X X V V V V X 9) 3-4 Key Mombo: This is another tight defense which works well in the red zone. Runs and short passes, especially to the strong side, find the going tough against this defense. Double coverage on the Z receiver if Y takes an inside route, but little help on the weak side and in the deep zones. Watch out for the long bomb! X X X X X X X V V V X 10) 4-3 Outside LB Blitz: This defense gives you a 6 man pass rush. Outside LB's blitz to kill runs and passes before they start. Man-to-man coverage, so you better hope the LB's trap or hurry the QB on passes. If a run breaks through, it'll get good yardage. Quick passes, like screens, could embarrass this defense. X X X X X X V V V V X 11) 4-3 Max Blitz: This defense will stop almost all runs most of the time, especially runs designed to pick up 1 or 2 yards. This defense is also good when the QB drops back deep to pass (as on bombs) because the QB is pressured by an 8 man pass rush. Man- to-man coverage with the LB's responsible for the running backs. X X X X X X V V V V X 12) 3-4 Nickel Prevent: This defense is designed to protect against the long pass. This defense works well when the offense needs a lot of yardage quickly. The deepest DB's make sure all passes are thrown in front of them. X X X X X X X X V V V 13) Short Yardage: This defense is good when the offense is going for only 1 or 2 yards. This defense stops short runs and is better at defending against the quick passes than the maximum blitz because it leaves 5 players watching for the pass in the secondary rather than just 3 players. X X X X V V V V V V X 14) "53" Strong Zone: This defense is used to stop runs to the strong side and short passes. This defense resembles a 3-4 with the outside linebackers positioned at the line of scrimmage. Strong side linebacker covers tight end as a down lineman while strong safety fills strong side LB's position to cover strong side flat or to force runs on the strong side. X X X X X X X V V V V 15) 4-3 Weak Zone: This defense is designed to stop the I formation. Very good against runs and passes to the weak side. X X X X X X X V V V V 16) Flex Strong Man-To-Man: This defense is geared to stop runs, especially those to the strong side, by corrupting offensive blocking. The "right" people are in the "wrong" places to be blocked. By positioning the left end and right tackle a yard off the line of scrimmage, offensive linemen have trouble getting to them. The picket effect covers all the running holes. This defense can cover short passes fairly well, but longer passes are trouble because of the lack of a pass rush out of this formation and because of the man-to-man coverage. X X X X X V X V V V X 17) Flex Weak Man-To-Man: This defense is like Flex Strong except it is especially effective against weak side runs. Here, the left tackle and the right end are 1 yard off the line of scrimmage. X X X X V X V X V V X 18) 4-0 2-Deep Zone: This defense features 7 defensive backs (the 3 LB's are substituted for 3 more DB's) This defense is geared to stop long and, especially, medium range passes. This defense will have trouble stopping short passes and runs before they get good yardage. The 2 safeties play deep, keeping everything in front of them, and the CB's play soft at the corners. The DB's who replaced the LB's drop back to form a virtual wall about 10-15 yards from the line of scrimmage, forcing the offense to throw in front of them. By using 4 down linemen instead of 3, this defense will rush the passer better than the "Nickel Prevent", but won't stop long bombs quite as well. X X X X X X X V V V V OFFENSES: Most offensive plays can be run from a variation of sets and with various players in motion, but for simplification, only 1 set for each play is diagrammed. 1) 24 Iso: The basic, hard hitting, muscle play from the I formation. No tricky blocking here. Linemen and FB try to get a big push up front. Lead running back, FB, is ISOlated on LB. O O O C O O O O O O O 2) 28 Toss Sweep: Quick hitting sweep to the strong side. Could work well against the "keying" defenses. Here, the pulling right guard is responsible for stopping pursuit from the inside, Z is responsible for the SS, and the FB's target is the cornerback. O O O C O O O O O O O 3) 29 Quick Pitch: Quick, QUICK hitting play to the weak side. This play has the potential to hit it big, especially against the "Max Blitz". Here, the left tackle and X are crossing to get good angles for blocking the cornerback and outside LB. O O O C O O O O O O O 4) 49 Sweep Weak: Power sweep for the FB to the weak side. Watch out for the blitz because this play needs time to develop. Can't let defense string this play out to the sideline, FB needs to cut up field as soon as he sees daylight. Both guards lead FB on this play. O O O C O O O O O O O 5) 28 Sweep: Power sweep to the strong side. Watch out for the blitz! Right tackle releases to block down field, leaving the defensive end for the FB. Here, HB cuts off of TE's block on the LB. O O O C O O O O O O O 6) 24 Trap: Good, basic running play. Works best when the defense is coming hard. Here, the defensive tackle is doubled by the right guard and tackle while the defensive end is pounded ("trapped") by the pulling left guard. The HB cuts off the pulling guard's block. O O O C O O O O O O O 7) 37 Slant: A good, sound play for the FB. Potential for big gain to the weak side. Here, it's important for the left tackle to take the defensive end to the inside, leaving the FB to cut off the HB's lead block on the LB. O O O C O O O O O O O 8) 26 Belly: A muscle play for the HB off right tackle. This play double teams the defensive end by using the right tackle and TE, leaving the pulling left guard to seal against the inside LB and the FB to cut down the outside LB. O O O C O O O O O O O 9) 20 Fold: A good running play against the 4-3 defense. The key is to get their left defensive tackle to think we're running wide to our strong side by pulling our right guard that way ("false key"). This play bulls right over the tackle and center's FOLD block on the tackle and MLB. FB's role is to block left defensive tackle to the outside as he's tricked to pursuing that way. O O O C O O O O O O O 10) 45 Blast: A punishing, muscle play for the FB to the weak side. This play works especially well when the defense overshifts to the strong side. HB's role is to kick out outside LB. O O O C O O O O O O O 11) 45 Counter: Misdirection play. Showing strong side sweep (pulling guards and HB), but sending the FB off weak side guard. This play could explode for big yardage if the defense is fooled and over pursues, but the FB gets slammed if they don't bite. Left tackle is responsible for sealing the defensive end to the outside and not on a collision course with the FB. O O O C O O O O O O O 12) Y Reverse Left: Another misdirection play which depends on fooling the defense. A blitz could wreck the reverse. Left tackle is responsible for sealing off inside pursuit. O O O C O O O O O O O 13) 42 Dive: FB dives over the line for short yardage as linemen pinch in hard, pushing the defense back. O O O C O O O O O O O 14) 20 Quick Trap: HB hits the line quickly and powerfully for short yardage. Center crosses to take out right defensive tackle while left guard crosses to trap left defensive tackle. This play has the potential to burn the "Max Blitz". O O O C O O O O O O O 15) Shotgun X Cross: This offense is designed to give the QB more time to pass. This offense works well if the X receiver is facing man-to-man coverage and can outrun his defender. Against zone defenses, QB must hit X in the seams. Z is responsible for clearing the DB's from the right side of the field for X. O O O C O O O O O O O 16) 54 Y Go: This offense works best when the safeties are stunting or helping in double coverage. X and Z must stretch the defense toward the sidelines. O O O C O O O O O O O 17) 85 Z Fly: Long bombs will stretch the defense out. Zone to the weak side, mombo, combo, or man-to-man are the best defenses to run this offense against. QB must be careful not to under-throw or throw the ball too far inside. O O O C O O O O O O O 18) Pass 28 X Fly: Much like offense #17, but with the QB faking the run and rolling out to the weak side to pass. The "Max Blitz" and the weak zone defenses are the defenses to watch out for when running this play. O O O C O O O O O O O 19) 50 Z Post: This offense will work best when the safeties are playing up tight. By looking to go left, the QB can freeze the FS and help clear the middle for Z. O O O C O O O O O O O 20) 82 Z Corner: This offense will get the best results when the Z receiver has man-to-man coverage or when the weak side safety is in a combo. O O O C O O O O O O O 21) 82 Z Pop: A quick, hard pass to the Z receiver. This offensive play has the potential to go all the way against a blitz. This is a solid 5-6 yard pass play, but going through the middle is tough on Z's concentration. O O O C O O O O O O O 22) 50 X Quick Out: A VERY quick pass to the X receiver. This pass could get you 5 yards and out of trouble against the blitz. On quick passes such as this one, offensive linemen must fire out quickly and low to bring the defensive linemen down to create a clear throwing lane for the QB. O O O C O O O O O O O 23) 84 Z Square Out: While a mombo or strong zone could be trouble for this pass, it can usually get you 10-15 yards against man-to-man coverage. Like all out patterns, this pass must be gunned to the receiver's outside. O O O C O O O O O O O 24) 80 Y Cross: Passes straight up the middle are a big risk, but this pass is pretty effective against man-to-man and zone coverage. Y is the primary receiver on this play, but, depending on the coverage, Z could be safer to go to. The backs flare out wide to draw LB coverage. If the LB's don't bite, they will clog up the middle. O O O C O O O O O O O 25) 84 Y Straight: This play is designed to work against zone defenses with Y heading straight down the seam between the LB and SS. Man-to-man coverage is a problem. O O O C O O O O O O O 26) 83 X Curl: This play could get you 10-15 yards against man- to-man coverage, but is most effective against a strong zone. This is a timing pattern, and with all timing patterns, the QB must make his throw before or as the receiver makes his break. O O O C O O O O O O O 27) 88 A & B Slip: This is a high percentage pass over the middle for 5-7 yards. This pass usually works great against blitzes. The keys here are the LB's who are responsible for the backs when they run pass patterns. Y runs his route to the outside to draw the strong side LB and the QB reads LB's to see which back they pick up out of the backfield. O O O C O O O O O O O 28) 89 A Hook: Another high percentage pass which usually works well against a blitz. This pass also works well against strong zone coverage, but could be in trouble against the combo or weak zone. If A can't find an opening against the LB, QB can throw past A to X. O O O C O O O O O O O 29) Rollout Strong Flood: The flood pass patterns are for zone defenses. The receivers "flood" 1 or 2 zones with 2 or 3 receivers to get a receiver open. Here, the QB tries to hit Y between the short and deep zones. If Y is covered, QB must tuck the ball and get as much as he can out of the play. QB could be in trouble if defense blitzes. O O O C O O O O O O O 30) Delay Roll Middle Flood: Using the same concept as offense #29, this offense could work well against zone defenses. If the defense isn't blitzing, the delayed rollout by the QB will also give him enough time to pick apart man-to-man coverage. HB must cut off inside pursuit to buy the QB more time. O O O C O O O O O O O 31) Pass 24 B Flat: This play action pass works well against defenses geared to stop the run or defenses which use zone coverage. O O O C O O O O O O O 32) Pass 49 Throwback Left: The play of the QB makes this play go. Initial action is faking sweep to the weak side. The weak side safety coming up in a combo could intercept this pass for a TD. This is a dangerous play because the QB must pass the ball to the FB over several defenders. O O O C O O O O O O O 33) Pass 24 B Rim: This pass works best against man-to-man coverage when a LB must cover the FB. A zone defense will usually stop this play. O O O C O O O O O O O 34) Pass 37 A Squirt: This pass is good when the defense is in a short yardage type defense. In short yardage, the HB has a good chance to beat the LB covering him. If the LB is covering the HB short, the QB pump fakes, the HB cuts deep up field, and the QB hits the HB deep. This play is designed to fool a defense trying to defend the "37 Slant". O O O C O O O O O O O 35) Pass 28 X Square Out: This play could get 10-15 yards and will work especially well if the defense is in a strong zone, mombo, or looking for the run. The QB could be in trouble if the defense blitzes. The offense fakes the sweep to the strong side and throws to the weak side. O O O C O O O O O O O 36) HB Option Pass Right: This offense will have trouble against a mombo or zone, but has a good chance against man-to-man coverage. The HB has the option to run the ball if Z (primary) and Y (secondary) are covered. O O O C O O O O O O O 37) Flea Flicker: This is not a high percentage pass, but has the potential to hit it big. Works best against man-to-man coverage or if the defense is up tight. X must convince the secondary he is not involved in the play, then shoot down field. Ball movement goes as follows: QB to HB faking sweep right, HB to Z faking reverse, then Z back to QB. O O O C O O O O O O O 38) X Screen: Works well against defenses which charge the QB. The X receiver will get the ball quickly, giving him the opportunity to show his moves. Left guard and tackle move down field quickly to block for X. QB fakes "20 Fold" to freeze LB's. O O O C O O O O O O O 39) FB Screen Right: When the defense is blitzing or blasting, this play could cost them big. Linemen must fake pass protection and then get down field to block for FB. QB must drop deep to lure defensive linemen. O O O C O O O O O O O 40) Quick Screen Left: This screen won't get as much yardage as the FB screen, but it is a less risky pass and will still slow up a blitzing defense. Down field blockers must get off the line and to the outside quickly. QB fakes 34 FB Draw to hold the LB's. Remember, a incomplete backwards pass is a fumble. O O O C O O O O O O O 41) 20 Trap Draw: The defense can usually stop this play if their linemen under or over shift, but the offense will have the upper hand if the linemen are blasting or twisting to stop the pass. Linemen must fake pass block, then block for the HB. Center is responsible for taking out right defensive tackle while left guard "traps" left defensive tackle. O O O C O O O O O O O 42) 34 FB Draw: This play will find the going tough against a twisting front four, while a hard charging front four will most likely get burned. Right guard lets defensive tackle rush past him to the inside while the right tackle takes the defensive end to the outside, making room for the FB to pass between them. O O O C O O O O O O O 49) Shotgun X Comeback: This pass can get you 8-10 yards against man-to-man and especially zone coverage. Blitzes could cause trouble for the QB. X must sell deep pattern before making comeback. Z runs deep post to draw the safeties away from X. O O O C O O O O O O O 50) Ace 37 Shovel Pass: This play works like a draw. The QB shows pass and then shovels the ball to the FB. Right guard pulls to trap defensive end. Will work against defenses playing back to guard against the pass and against defenses where the linemen are coming in hard. O O O C O O O O O O O 51) 85 H Corner: On this pass, we try to force a LB into coverage on H. For this reason, this pass works great against man-to-man coverage, but will also work well against zones. X is responsible for driving DB's deep and away from H. O O O C O O O O O O O 52) Fake 21 Boot Strong: QB fakes the trap play and bootlegs to the strong side while X is freezing the defense by faking "X Screen". Left guard pulls to help guard the QB. The QB has the option to run or pass to Z depending on what strong side cornerback does. O O O C O O O O O O O 53) 25 Lead: On this play, the QB gets the ball deep to the HB in the backfield so the HB has plenty of time to read his blocks. Keying the guard, the HB can take the ball outside or inside, or cut back across the field. O O O C O O O O O O O 54) 26 Sprint Draw: Like offenses #41 & #42, this play will work well when the defense is expecting a pass. On this play, the QB is faking a rollout pass. HB cuts on right tackle's block. Y goes down field to block SS. O O O C O O O O O O O 55) 28 Triple Option: The 3 options the QB has on this play are: handing the ball off to the FB, keeping and running the ball around the end, or pitching the ball back to the HB for him to run the ball around the end. The 2 reads the QB must make are: the FB read area (area opposite the right tackle) to see if he should hand off to the FB, and the area vacated by the TE to see if he should keep or pitch the ball to the HB (the QB will pitch the ball if the DE or LB comes to tackle him). This offense could be in trouble if the safeties are in a mombo and could lose a QB if the outside LB is blitzing. A quick, fast, gutsy QB is needed to pull this play off. O O O C O O O O O O O 56) 36 G: This play calls for the right tackle and TE to block to their inside while the right guard pulls right and leads the FB through the 6 hole - a powerful push through the line. O O O C O O O O O O O 57) Counter Trey: This play counts on deceiving the defense the play is a Slant off left tackle. The HB looks like he's going off left tackle, but he then quickly cuts back to head wide right, hoping the strong outside LB took the bait. The HB gets the ball deep in the backfield so he can get a good view of the entire line of scrimmage. A quick, fast HB is needed for this play. O O O C O O O O O O O 58) Double-Tight 35 Slam: This play is good for short yardage. By adding a TE to the weak side in substitution for Z and having the other TE come in motion to unload a trap block on the DE, the offense gets lots of push up the 5 hole. O O O O C O O O O O O 59) 84 Z Out & Up: Just like "84 Z Square Out" except Z fakes the out to draw his defender in, the QB pump fakes to Z, and then Z quickly darts up field on a fly pattern. This offense has good potential against man-to-man and mombo coverage, but a strong zone could be trouble. O O O C O O O O O O O 61) Shotgun Hail Mary: The offense can call this play for a last second miracle. Here, one receiver, with good jumping ability, is called to tip the incoming, deep pass to one of the other 2 receivers. Cross your fingers for a pass interference call or one of your receivers actually coming down with the ball among all the bodies and confusion. This play is even less reliable than a fleaflicker, but will work best against zone defenses. O O C O O O O O O O O 62) QB Draw: Another good play when the offense only needs 1 or 2 yards. Faking a run wide right, the QB tries to sneak through the line off his center's block. Works particularly well when the defense leaves the center uncovered with a lineman. O O O C O O O O O O O 63) Flea Flicker Z Post: A variation of offense #37 with the HB running into the line with the ball and then pitching it back to the QB. A low percentage pass, but if the defense goes for the fake, the offense could hit the jackpot. O O O C O O O O O O O 64) Double-Tight Blind Bootleg Right: This play will work well when the defense is geared to stop the run. It's called a blind bootleg because the QB has no protection when he rolls right, hoping the outside LB gets caught going for the fake. The QB has the option to run or throw to his TE, depending on how the defense reacts. Call the medics for the QB if the outside LB is blitzing hard. O O O O C O O O O O O 65) H Middle Screen: Much like FB Screen Right, this screen is delayed until the defensive linemen overrun H and his blockers. Works best when defense is coming in hard. O O O C O O O O O O O 66) TE Screen Left: A hard pursuing defense will get burned going for the sweep being faked to the strong side. A Max Blitz could mess up this play, leaving the QB little time to set the play up. O O O C O O O O O O O _________________________________________________________________ A P P E N D I X H PLAY AND UTILITY LISTING _________________________________________________________________ This appendix lists all offensive plays, defensive plays, and utilities available to users during game play. Use this appendix or a hard copy of the file "PLAYS.TXT" as a quick reference when playing FG. NOTE: Some plays have restrictions on their use. DEFENSES: 1) 4-3 Key Man-To-Man 10) 4-3 Outside LB Blitz 2) "46" Weak Side Blitz 11) 4-3 Max Blitz 3) 4-3 Blast Man-To-Man 12) 3-4 Nickel Prevent 4) 4-3 Over Key Strong Zone *13) Short Yardage 5) 4-2 Nickel Twist Strong Zone 14) "53" Strong Zone 6) 3-4 Plug Weak Zone 15) 4-3 Weak Zone 7) 4-3 Under Key Double Zone 16) 4-3 Flex Strong M-T-M 8) 4-2 Key Safety X Combo 17) 4-3 Flex Weak M-T-M 9) 3-4 Key Mombo 18) 4-0 2-Deep Zone ++89) Time Out 99) Defense Help Screen 97) Utility Help Screen * Can only be used on third or fourth down and 1-2 yards, or on defense's 3 yardline or closer. ++ No time expires after next play. UTILITIES: 70) View team strengths 71) View HOME's TTS Report 72) View VISITOR's TTS Report 74) Exit FIELD GENERAL 76) Show statistics 77) Turn sound OFF or ON 79) Turn quick play OFF or ON 80) Adjust game speed 81) Activate/Deactivate encryption OFFENSES: RUNS: 1) 24 Iso 11) 45 Counter 2) 28 Toss Sweep 12) Y Reverse Left 3) 29 Quick Pitch 13) 42 Dive 4) 49 Sweep Weak 14) 20 Quick Trap 5) 28 Sweep 53) 25 Lead 6) 24 Trap 55) 28 Triple Option 7) 37 Slant 56) 36 G 8) 26 Belly 57) Counter Trey 9) 20 Fold 58) Double-Tight 35 Slam 10) 45 Blast PASSES: 15) Shotgun X Cross 25) 84 Y Straight +16) 54 Y Go 26) 83 X Curl +17) 85 Z Fly 27) 88 A & B Slip +19) 50 Z Post 28) 89 A Hook 20) 82 Z Corner 49) Shotgun X Comeback 21) 82 Z Pop 51) 85 H Corner 22) 50 X Quick Out +59) 84 Z Out & Up 23) 84 Z Square Out +61) Shotgun Hail Mary 24) 80 Y Cross ROLLOUTS, PLAY-ACTION PASSES, SCREEN, & DRAWS: +18) Pass 28 X Fly 40) Quick Screen Left 29) Rollout Strong Flood 41) 20 Trap Draw 30) Delay Roll Middle Flood 42) 34 FB Draw 31) Pass 24 B Flat 50) Ace 37 Shovel Pass 32) Pass 49 Throwback Left 52) Fake 21 Boot Strong +33) Pass 24 B Rim 54) 26 Sprint Draw 34) Pass 37 A Squirt 62) QB Draw 35) Pass 28 X Square Out 63) Flea Flicker Z Post 36) HB Option Pass Right 64) Double-Tight Blind 37) Flea Flicker Bootleg Right 38) X Screen 65) H Middle Screen 39) FB Screen Right 66) TE Screen Left SPECIAL TEAMS AND OTHERS: 43) Punt =87) QB Kneel-Down **44) Angle Punt ***88) Ground Ball 45) Field Goal ++89) Time Out 73) Fake Punt 97) Utility Help Screen 75) Fake Field Goal 98) Special Help Screen #86) Defense Time Out 99) Offense Help Screen + Cannot be used within opponent's 20 yardline. = Cannot be used on 4th down or within own 3 yardline. # Game clock must be running. Must be called by defense. ++ No time expires after next play. ** Cannot be used beyond opponent's 40 yardline. *** Cannot be used on 4th down. _________________________________________________________________ LEXICON _________________________________________________________________ Here are some terms you will come across in FG and in the game of professional football: A - the left running back on pass plays. Ace - formation where only 1 running back is present in the backfield. B - the right running back on pass plays. Bear Defense - the old "46" defense of Buddy Ryan with a six-man front, emphasizing the pass rush. Bite Down - a cornerback charging up to a wide receiver. Blast - defensive linemen go directly for QB before reacting to runs. Blitz - linebackers and/or safeties are used to rush the QB. Blue - offensive backfield set to tight end's side. Bootleg/Boot - QB fakes the run to one side, keeps the ball, and rolls out to the other side to either pass or run. Brown - offensive backs set to split end's side. Bump and Run - aggressive man-to-man coverage by legally jamming a wide receiver at the line of scrimmage. CB - cornerback. Combo - weak side cornerback and safety put double- team coverage on X. Comeback Pattern - pass route where receiver drives his defender back by faking a fly pattern, then breaks back toward the QB. Corner/Flag Route - pass route cutting toward the sidelines at a 45-60 degree angle. Crossing Route - pass route running across the field of play. Curl Pattern - pass route running straight down field, stopping sharply, and turning back toward the inside to face the QB. DB - defensive back. Difference Makers - players who make the big play. Double-Tight - formation utilizing 2 TE's. Draw - a play in which the QB drops back as to pass and then hands the ball off to a runner. FB - fullback. FG - abbreviation for FIELD GENERAL. Flex - defensive formation used by Tom Landry and the Cowboys, emphasizing run defense. Flooding a Zone - offense sends two or more receivers into one defensive zone. Fly Pattern - straight pass route, full speed ahead. Fold Block - this is where one guard blocks the MLB while the center blocks the DT over the guard. Also known as a cross block. Free Safety (FS) - weak side safety. H - slot back. A running back lines up outside and behind the left tackle to get down field easier and quicker on pass routes. Hail Mary - a play sending 3 or more receivers deep down field to the same spot to receive a lob pass from the QB in hopes of drawing an interference call or making a spectacular catch among the confusion of offensive and defensive players. HB - halfback. Hook Pattern - pass route running straight down field, stopping sharply, and turning to the outside to face the QB. I-formation - both offensive backs stacked. Key - defensive linemen watch moves of certain offensive linemen to detect what play is being run. Man-To-Man - defenders cover receivers one-on-one. Middle Wedge - term use on kickoff returns. Here, the kick return team sets up a return down the middle of the field by having its blockers form a wall (wedge) across the field for the return man to run behind. Misdirection Play - linemen and other offensive players go in the opposite direction of ball movement to deceive defenders. Also known as a "false key". Mombo - safeties combine to cover Y. If Y goes outside, strong safety covers. If Y goes inside, weak safety covers Y with strong safety helping on Z. Nickel Offense - lining up 3 or more wide receivers. Nickel Prevent - defense uses 5 or more defensive backs, instead of 4, to stop big gain. No-huddle Offense - continuous offensive plays without regrouping in a huddle. Designed to catch the defense out of position. Out Pattern - pass route cutting toward the sidelines. Out & Up Pattern - pass route cutting toward the sidelines to fake an out pattern and draw the defender up, then turning and running up the sidelines. Over - defensive linemen shift to strong side. Pancake - a crunching block which flattens a defensive player. Play Action Pass - offense fakes run, then passes. Post Pattern - pass route looking outside, then angling toward the goalpost. Primary receiver - the main receiver. The receiver for whom the play is intended. QB - quarterback. Red - offensive backfield in split formation. Red Zone - when offense is inside its opponent's 20 yardline. Safety X - weak side safety crosses to his outside. Screen Pass - short pass to running back in the flat. Secondary receiver - the receiver the passer checks off to if the primary receiver is not open. Short Side - side closest to the sidelines. Also known as the "tight side". Shovel Pass - a short forward pass thrown from the chest or hip instead of over the shoulder. Square Him Up - when a defensive back levels a wide receiver. Spread Formation - also known as the nickel offense or Run & Shoot formation. This formation utilizes 4 wide receivers. SS - strong (side) safety. Stinger - a sharp pain, often to the shoulder, after contact. Strong Side - the side to which the TE lines up. Stutter - in-and-out, zig-zag route of a wide receiver. TE - tight end. Tendencies - play calling habits. Tight Defense - a defense geared to stop runs and short passes by bringing the safeties up. Toast - a defensive back who gets burned. Trap - letting a defensive lineman come across line of scrimmage, then blocking him from the side. Turf Toe - jamming a toe into the ground, resulting in a sprain. Twist - stunt by defensive linemen. Linemen criss- cross to beat pass protection. Under - defensive linemen shift to weak side. Water Moccasins - stud linemen. Weak Side - the opposite side to which the TE lines up. Wedge Right (Left) - term used on kickoff returns. Here, the kick return team sets up a return down the right sideline by having their blockers form a wall (wedge) parallel to the right sideline and somewhere between the right hash and right sideline. The result is a running lane between the wedge and right sideline for the return man. Wide Side - side furthest from the sidelines. V - in the spread formation, the receiver which lines up in the slot on the left side (side opposite the TE). W - in the spread formation, the receiver which lines up in the slot on the right side (TE side). X - the wide receiver which lines up on the left side (side opposite the TE). Y - tight end. Z - the wide receiver which lines up on the right side (TE side). Zone - the pass defense where defensive backs are responsible for sections (zones) of the field instead of being responsible for a single receiver. _________________________________________________________________ USER RESPONSE FORM _________________________________________________________________ rbm software's goal is to provide you with the best and most affordable software available. Through the comments and suggestions of our users (our most valued product testers), we CAN achieve this goal! So after you've played this version of FIELD GENERAL several times, please take a few minutes to fill out this form, remove it from the manual, and send it to us. Please use the back of this form if you need more room. Your responses will help shape future and better versions of FIELD GENERAL! How else can we improve FIELD GENERAL to your liking unless we know what you think? Thank you! Your help is much appreciated! 1) How do YOU rate FIELD GENERAL v7.0? (1 = WORST, 10 = BEST) Ease of play _____ Documentation _____ Overall speed _____ Price _____ Presentation (screens, graphics) _____ Simulation (quality of play) _____ 2) What do you like BEST about FIELD GENERAL? ___________________ _______________________________________________________________ 3) What do you like LEAST? ______________________________________ _______________________________________________________________ 4) How did you discover FIELD GENERAL (please name specific catalog, BBS, store, etc.)? __________________________________ 5) Comments and suggestions: ____________________________________ _______________________________________________________________ _______________________________________________________________ _______________________________________________________________ ____________________________________________________________rbm FIELD GENERAL version 7.0 ___________________________________________________________________ FIELD GENERAL is "UNEQUALLED in Pro Football Simulation"! The plays, results, and statistics mirror those of actual pro football games! By letting you call the plays, FG creates an atmosphere where the players can experience the pressure and excitement of the great game of football! Do you play conservative and try to protect your lead or do you go all out until the final gun? Battle against the wits of your opponent and race against the clock! UNIQUE FEATURES: 61 offensive & 18 defensive plays producing hundreds of thousands of possibilities, auto or manual play, real- time game clock & play clock, 2-point conversion option, weather elements, penalties, angle & fake punts, onside & squib kicks, time outs, no-huddle offense simulation, EXTENSIVE game stats & records, Ground Ball & QB Kneel-Down plays, Tendency Tracking System, game restore feature, team strength & home field advantage factors, season play capability, chain-gang feature, player injuries, team strength files for each professional football team from the '92 season, and much, MUCH more! ///////////////////// QUOTES FROM USERS \\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\ "Excellent software! It's obvious that an incredible effort was put into this game, with great attention to details only a football fanatic would think off!" - Robin Lynn Kroll, Colorado user "Love the chalkboard screen! . . . It's the best game I've played." - Ted Lujan, Texas user "TTS [Tendency Tracking System] is great concept, so is TOPSTATS [all-time game records feature]" - Rob Marino, New Jersey user "GREAT PROGRAM . . . Every time I play FIELD GENERAL, I love it more and more . . . what a great game!" Matt Willms, Wisconsin user "I am delighted with my . . . copy of FIELD GENERAL . . . the game is great . . . FIELD GENERAL has the potential to be the best of all sports games" - Lawrence Pollane, New York user "FIELD GENERAL is the closest thing to pro football action off the playing field!" - Scott Bullock, Texas user "[T]he best football game I've seen yet!" - Robert Johnson, California user "Thanks for the GREAT game!" - Ray Ross, Maine user ---------------------- VITAL STATISTICS ----------------------- Hardware requirements: IBM or Compatible Computer, 580K RAM, Hard Disk, and VGA Graphics. -----------------------------------------------------------------