+--- | | RUNCH +-|- EAGUE FOOTBALL VERSION 1.21 +--- Copyright 1991 by Stephen David An Introduction to Crunch League Football Press 'P' to pause scrolling. Press (SPACE) to abort. Introduction ~~~~~~~~~~~~ Crunch League Football is a unique on-line football simulator. It allows players on a bulletin board to coach teams against those of others using the bulletin board. The player can set up the roster and plays for his team and have the computer simulate a realistic game for him. Following is a brief discussion of how to play the Crunch League and how it works. For those of you who don't know much about football, there is another text file discussing the game itself. Starting Out ~~~~~~~~~~~~ As soon as the sysop has announced the beginning of a new season, it is a good idea to create a team as soon as possible, due to the fact that there are only a limited number of teams each season. The sysop may decide to have a password in order to log on. This is usually because he wants to keep the game within a select group, and in order to play it is necessary to ask him for the password. First time players are next asked if they would like to learn about Crunch League Football. If "yes" is selected, the help menu is displayed (see The Menus, below). The next option is to log on as a visitor. This is helpful for people who are not sure if they would like to make the commitment of having a team and would like to look around first. The visitor menu allows the caller to view the help, sports page, and, if Crunch League is registered, gambling menus (see The Menus, below). Once all the teams have been filled, it is also possible for non-players to use the visitor menu, but they cannot make a team until a team has been deleted or added (see How Crunch League Works, below). Once logged on, it is necessary to select a team name. Depending on how the game is configured, there are two ways that this might be done. Usually, the sysop has set it so the player may choose the name and city for his team. In special cases, however, he might decide to select the team names and cities beforehand. In this case the player must choose a team from the list of names given. The next step in creating a team is by far the most important - the draft. This is done in four rounds, each round with slightly less skilled players in it than the preceding one. The coach is allowed to choose two players in the first round, five in the second, eight in the third, and ten in the fourth. Different positions are abbreviated in the following way: Offensive Abbreviations: Defensive Abbreviations: QB Quarterback DB Defensive Back RB Running Back S Safety WR Wide Receiver LB Linebacker TE Tight End NG Nose Guard OT Offensive Tackle DE Defensive End OG Offensive Guard DT Defensive Tackle C Center K Kicker (Refer to the general football information file for more information about these positions.) There is a required number for each position during the draft in order to make it possible to have a starting player for each position in the game. Players' positions, however, can be changed by selecting "edit player positions" on the default setup menu (see below). The next step for creating a team is to set up its default plays. A team's plays usually depend on the skills of its players. Teams with better quarterbacks and receivers should use passing plays more often, while teams with better runners should use running plays. Defensive plays, although partially based on a team's ability, also depend on the strategy of the team it is playing. For the description of the different offensive and defensive Crunch League plays, refer to general football information. When choosing plays, it is possible to refer to a team's list of players at any time by pressing '?'. The remaining questions for default plays are more specific. They also depend a great deal on the team's statistics. The first question deals with when to substitute players. In order to switch players often, keeping them fresh, the stamina level at which they are switched should be high. This has drawbacks, however, because the better players on a team will not be able to play as much. Finally, there are two questions dealing with kicking. A team will drive until the fourth down and then decide whether to punt or continue driving. If a team had a good kicker and a mediocre offense, they would want to punt if they were more than a few yards away from the first down line at the fourth down. On the other hand, if they had a strong offense, they would want to set the determining line further back. The situation is similar for kicking field goals, except it puts the team in relation to the end-zone. A team with a strong offense would have no reason to attempt a field goal within twenty yards of the goal line, but a weak offense would. The distance should be too great either, especially if kicking or defense are not to good, because the ball could be lost close to the kicking team's own end-zone. The last step for creating a Crunch League team is to set up its offensive and defensive rosters. Each player who can play and has not been chosen already will be listed for each position. After each name and number, the player's abilities will be listed in parentheses in the same order they are in on team lists (i.e. pass/receive/kick, block/run, tackle, stamina, balance). If all the players for a certain position have been injured, a player from another position will be substituted with great penalties to his abilities. Once the roster has been set up, the team is complete and ready to play Crunch League Football! The Menus ~~~~~~~~~ Crunch League Football is set up on a system of menus to make playing it as simple a possible. A menu selection is made by pressing the first letter of the selection's title (e.g. press 'S' for the S>ports Page). The main menu has a selection of several sub-menus, each one described in detail below. Current and Default Setup ~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~ Choosing these options from the main menu allows a coach to view, and change if he wants to, his plays and rosters. The current setup is the setup for the next game. This can be used in order to use a special strategy in the next game. After that game, however, the current plays and rosters will be reset to the defaults. Changing the default setup will change what the current setup will revert to after the next game but NOT before then. Changing plays and rosters follows the same procedures as described above in setting up a team. Selecting defaults from the current setup menu allows you to reset the current plays, offensive roster, and/or defensive roster to their corresponding defaults. On the default setup menu is the additional option of editing player positions. If a player's abilities would fit a different position better than the one for which he is currently designated, his position can be changed here. It is not possible to go below the minimum number of players required for each position, but any player can otherwise switch to any position. Help ~~~~ Choosing the help option from the main menu will allow a coach to view either this or the general football text file. Choosing ANSI on/off will toggle ANSI color. The Sports Page ~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~ The sports page menu allows a coach to view important information about his and other Crunch League teams. It has several selections to choose from. Current rankings will display the rankings of Crunch League teams, by division, so far in the season. Latest scores will list the scores of the most recent games in the season (if any have been played). The record books are descriptions of Crunch League games played so far in the season, divided by week. By selecting the most recent week, the coach can see exactly what happened in each of the last games. Choosing the schedule option will display the schedule of games for the week specified. At first, only the regular season's schedules will be listed, but as the results of post-season games come in, later week's schedules will be set up and can be displayed. The final option, view team, allows a coach to view the statistics of his and other teams. After a team is chosen from the list, information about the team's record and players' abilities will be listed. This option is helpful in setting up the strategy to use when playing other teams. Press 'P' to pause the scrolling or space to abort any of these listings. Trade Menu (Available Only in Registered Versions) ~~~~~~~~~~ Use of the trade menu allows coaches to trade players from their teams with each other at any point in the season. The trading process can be done in basically two ways. Trades with which a team is involved can be listed from the trade menu using "L". The first method is if you have a certain player that you want to get rid of. Perhaps you already have to many players in that position or something. You do this by "M"aking an Offer. The player will be put on the list of players to be traded, and other coaches can make "C"ounter Offers if they want that player and are willing to offer another player for him. If you receive a counter offer, you can "A"nswer it. If you are satisfied with what the other coach has offered you, you can accept it. If you are not, you can refuse it. If you are note sure yet, you don't have to answer the counter offer immediately. The second, usually faster, method skips the second step of the first. A coach can simply "R"equest a player from another team and make a counter offer at the same time. The coach whose team the player is requested from can then answer this offer in the same way he would a counter-offer in the first method. Trade offers can be "D"eleted by either coach involved with them at any time. It is a good idea to be sure of a trade because, as soon as a counter- offer is accepted, the trade is final. It is extremely important not to lower the number of players for a given position beyond the minimum so the team does not suffer from a great handicap in later games by having to substitute in a player from another position. As soon as any trade is made, both teams involved must reset their rosters in order to make up for any player who might have been lost. Note that current rosters are reset to the new default rosters. Gambling (Available Only in Registered Versions for WWIV) ~~~~~~~~ If the sysop elects to do so, he may allow both players and visitors to bet on games. Depending on how it is configured, it is possible to bet on any game in which you are not involved, using either upload credit, gold, or your security level. You are not allowed to bet on a game in which you are involved, since you could purposely lose to win the bet. The sysop may decide to disable any or all of these media, however, from betting. Betting is quite straightforward and simple. Your sysop will have set a limit on the amount of gold, sec level, and U/L K that you can bet each week. You can not bet more than you currently have. When you bet something, 50 gold for example, it is taken away as soon as you place the bet. If you win the bet, you are given your gold back, in addition to any extra gold you won, depending on the odds of the bet. Odds are based on a team's current record for the season as well as past records. How the Crunch League Works ~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~ The games for the current week in the Crunch League season are played at midnight every day they are scheduled. During the regular season, each team will play every other team in its division twice, once at home and once away unless the sysop has implemented the shortened season option. In this case, each team will play each other team in its division once, randomly either home or away. The outcome of each game is based on several factors such as: the plays used by each team, the abilities of players on each team, trends, and luck. Each play is run individually, and important ones are recorded in the game record. As soon as the regular season has ended, the playoffs begin. The first place teams of each division play each other in a kind of single elimination tournament for the league championship. If two or more teams are tied for first place in their division, the team that will go on to the playoffs is determined by a points gained:points given up ratio. If there is an odd number of divisions in each league, a second place, wildcard team will be randomly chosen to play as well. If there is only one division, the first place team is automatically made league champion. The final game of the season is the Superbowl. The two league champions play one final game to determine the Crunch League champion team. If, of course, there is only one league, the champion of that league is automatically made the Crunch League champion as well. After the Super Bowl is over, the coveted Crunch League Most Valuable Player award will go to the player who contributed most in the game. At the end of the season, if your team has done especially badly, you may opt to have the sysop delete your team. The next time you log on after that, you will be able to draft a new team and start over again (Be careful not to let anyone beat you to the empty space, however!). Make sure you also play an active role in the game, or the sysop may decide to delete you even if you don't ask. Play Crunch League Football! ~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~ Enjoy playing the Crunch League, and please encourage your sysop to register. If he decides to register, you will be able to use the trading and gambling options existing only in the registered version. So don't miss out on these opportunities any longer! Have your sysop register soon if he hasn't already. And thanks for using this fine Crunchware product! Look for other Crunchware programs in your area.