Merciful 1/Merciful - Disc 1.iso/software/p/player_manager_ii/player_manager.txt

Text File | 1995-10-14 | 23KB | 449 lines

                            PLAYER MANAGER


CONTROLS : MANAGER - MOUSE Control
         : THE MATCH - JOYSTICK Control

INTRODUCTION
The newly appointed PLAYER MANAGER of a third division club, an
international class player, can use his skill and experience on the pitch
and help his club to be promoted swiftly. Further promotion and success in the
top division will require a balanced team and  winning tactics.

Four well proven tactics are provided and he can refine tactics or design
totally new tactics.The transfer market gives the opportunity to strengthen
his squad. There are over 1000 players in the league. Each player is an
individual with a unique mixture of several attributes and playing skills.

The financial control of the club rests with the board. The manager is kept
informed as to how much money he has available to buy players.If extra money
is required, he must seek the boards permission.The board may also ask him to
sell players in order to help the club's finances.

The actual match uses a refined version of KICK OFF, retaining the controls
and the game play. The match lasts five minutes each half and the manager if
he selects himself can play in the game.He can either control the player
nearest the ball or play in his designated position.Only in his assigned
position will he play as an international class player. In other positions he
will assume the attributes of that player.He can substitute the players and
change tactics when the ball goes out of play. If watching instead of playing
he has the option to watch any one player on the field and study his game play
in depth, an invaluable facility to study a player on the transfer market. He
has the option to watch an accelerated version of the game on the scanner,
still retaining the  options to substitute the change tactics.

The manager can greatly improve his chances of success by paying great
attention to the player info. The player attributes and skills change with
experience and training. A player improves his skills with his playing
position, yet his talents may lie elsewhere. The manager may experiment by
training a player in a different position and perhaps discover a hidden
talent.

The real task of a manager is to understand how events can effect the morale
of an individual,player or the whole team and the measures he must take to
counter the effect. The manager must be aware of his own contribution to the
team as a player. When to hang up his boots finally, is the single most
important decision he will make.

The manager must at all time pay due attention to the individual player morale
and the team morale notified in the coah report. The morale effects the
individual player performance and the team performance.

The MESSAGE screen appearing from time to time is used by the board and
coach to keep the manager informed. It also displays interesting NEWS items
which may or may not have a direct bearing on the managers decisions. He must
at all times pay attention to the messages from the board. His job security
rests with the board.

MANAGEMENT
NEW GAME
* WARNING * - DATA DISK is required to save a NEW GAME. You may use a
BLANK DISK or a disk with  previously saved PLAYER MANAGER GAMES. A BLANK DISK
or a disk with any other data will be FORMATTED for player manager format.

Insert the disk and press any key. The computer takes approx. 8 mins to initi-
lise. You will be asked to give the new game a filename. The next screen will
show the player managers name and his playing record. It wills also give the
club name. Use the keyboard to edit the player manager name and the club name.
You will also be asked to select whether the manager will

PLAY AS A TEAM - The option allows you to control all the players on the field
if the manager is playing.

PLAY IN POSITION - The manager plays in his selected position i.e. as a
forward. This option is the right and best way to play the player manager
game. A manager playing as a team is handicapped to compensate for the immense
versatility of a human player.

The next display allows you to see the teams in each div. of the league. You
can edit the names of the clubs using the keyboard. If the name you have
chosen for your team has already been used in one of the divisions, the name
in that division will be replaced with BURY. You will not be allowed to use
your club name in any of the other divisions. Please check the team name is
only provided at this stage.

You can also LOAD the division list from a previously played player manager
game or a SAVE the current list for use in a later games.

CONTINUE GAME: FILE NAMES of all previously played games are displayed.

MAIN MENU : The options on the main menu take you to various aspects of the
management. Select the option by clicking the mouse. The week No. of the
season is displayed on the main menu and advances by 1 after returning to it
from the match day.

THE SQUAD - The squad screen shows the name, Age, Position, Shirt # and
Status of all the players in the squad.

POSITION - There are four categories of players, namely Forward, Midfield,
Defence and Keeper.A player training and playing in a given category will
over a time acquire the skills associated with that category.

SHIRT # - With the exception of #1 shirt which is assigned to the keeper, all
the shirt numbers are dictated by the shirt numbers selected in tactics
design.

STATUS - The status shows the availability of the player for selection. If he
is injured or banned, letters I or B will appear. A player on the transfer
LIST(T) or requesting transfer(R) is also displayed. This information can be
useful to the manager. Click the status column for STATUS-SCREEN, a detailed
information on each player.

PLAYER INFORMATION : The details of a players attributes and skill levels are
obtained by clicking the mouse pointer at the player name. The attributes and
skill levels are rated on 100 being an average. A rating of 400 for pace e.g.
signifies four times the average pace.The ratings are on an absolute scale.
The information on each player should be studied with care by the manager and
especially the change in the skills and attributes over a period.

STATUS-SCREEN : Click on the status column for any player on the squad screen
to display the status information of that player.This screen provides the
following facilities

INJURY-REPORT: Gives the manager the extent of players injury and the approx.
period the player will not be available to play. If a player has been put
on light training after a serious injury, the manager can play him but runs
the risk of aggrevating the injury.

DISCIPLINARY-REPORT: A red card means suspension for the next two matches
To keep the behaviour record of a player , each red card equals 10 points.
Exceeding 10 points results in automatic suspension for 2 matches. Each yellow
card is equal to 4 disciplinary points.

TRANSFER-REPORT :  A players transfer request, the reason for the request and
the duration for which he is waiting for a reply is shown. The manager has the
option to ignore the request, take an action to cause the player to withdraw
the request or deny request. His action will determine the player's
performance. Info regarding a player put on the transfer list on his own
request or by the managerial decision and the duration on the list is shown.
If a player is not sold, the manager has the option to cancel the transfer or
re-value the player.

REVALUE : The manager has the option to revalue a player at an higher or lower
figure. The former is basically to keep a good player requesting transfer and
the other to unload an over-priced player.The manager can set his selling
price independent of the boards valuation.

OFFER-NEW-CONTRACT : A player coming to the end of his contract or
requesting transfer may be offered a new contract. The manager has the option
on duration but not the cost of the new contract. Long contracts are generally
more expensive. The cost of a new contract on a lump sum basis will be
deducted from the money available to him for buying new players.The manager
should keep a close watch on the players nearing the end of their contract.
The offer of a new contract should be made early as the player may refuse it.
At the end of the contract, the player is on a FREE and not a member of the
squad. The club is likely to get only a fraction of their valuation for a
player on a free transfer. A manager can offer a new contract to a player only
once in a week. He may accept or refuse the offer.

THE CLUB : The following options are available.

THE BOARD : The board informs the manager as to how much money he has
available to buy players or the money the board needs quickly, i.e.
instructing him to sell players. The board also informs the manager of their
views on the team's and manager's performance.
The club fixture list for the season and results.
The club record in the league over the past five years.

THE LEAGUE : The following options are available.
List of clubs in the league.
The division table.
The fixture list and the results week by week.

THE CUP : The cup matches are played in the same week as a league match. If
there is no result, the result is settled by a PENALTY-SHOOT-OUT. Each team
takes a penalty in turn. If after 5 penalties, there is a tie, the result is
decided on the basis of sudden death. The cup menu takes you to the draw and
the results.

TACTICS : This feature allows you to design your own tactics. You can design
and store as many tactics as you like. The screen is icon driven. The icons on
the top are instructions operators while the icons on the right are for set
pieces like corner kicks etc. The pitch divided in grids numb. 1 to 12 is also
shown. Highlighting a sector by clicking the left mouse button places the ball
in that sector. The tactics are designed for your team playing left to right
as indicated by the arrow at the bottom. When your team switches sides at
halftime a mirror image of the tactics with the players switched to the
opposite wing is automatically produced by the computer. The tactics  must be
designed with the following rules in mind.
 1. At kick off, the opponents must be outside the circle and each side in
    it's own half.
 2. No more than 6 players of any side excluding the keeper can be inside the
    18 yard box.
 3. No opposing players can be inside the 18 yard box during the goal kick.
 4. When a ball in grid numbers 1 or 5 or 9 no player except the keeper may be
    present in 4, 8 and 12. Similarly if the ball is 4 or 8 or 12, no player
    except the keeper can be positioned in 1,5 and 9.

Tactics not obeying these rules cannot be saved. One of the players in the
offending group of players will flicker if an attempt to save such tactics.

To move a player, point the pointer at the player and press the left mouse
button. Keeping the button pressed, place the pointer at the desired position
and release the button.
To exchange a player with another, place the pointer on the first player and
press the RIGHT MOUSE button.The player will start flashing. Carry out the
operation  on the player with which you want to exchange position.
The first 2 icons on top are SAVE and LOAD respectively. The next icon is flip
icon. This places all players on the opposite wing.The next icon is RAY TRACE.
RAY TRACE is very useful in testing the movement of the players as successive
sectors or set piece icons are highlighted. The manager should make sure that
his players have the pace to get to the required positions and that they're
line of movements have a minimum of crossings.
The best way to learn to design is to load any of the already provided and
experiment with them.

THE COACH : The coach menu provides the manager the opportunity to train his
squad. Following options are provided.

SQUAD TRAINING : The manager having studied the player information can now
decide to change the playing position of the player.

TACTICAL TRAINING : Though any number of tactics can be designed and stored,
the squad can only use four tactics in any one week. A list of the current
tactics in use is displayed. An option to replace one of the current tactics
is provided. Only one tactic in a week can be replaced. Select RETRAIN option.
Any of the current tacticsin use can be refined by selecting MODIFY TACTICS
option.

EXTRA TRAINING : The squad can be given extra training to improve their
performance. Too frequent a use is not advised.

HAVE A BREAK : This is a morale booster for the squad. This option can only be
exercised at the start of the week.NO other activity except playing a match is
possible if the squad and the manager are having a break.

TRANSFERS : This option is solely used for buying a player. Select the type of
player and the price range. All available players in that category are shown.
To give greater variety of available players, overseas players marked INT.
Under the club heading are also included. You can look at any players details
information by clicking the mouse button on the players name. The skill and
ability figures are an indication only and based on the average for the div.
and not absolute. Once you have decided on a player to buy, select BUY option
and the name of the player.
The asking price and your offer will appear.You can increase your offer and
the seller may reduce his price or quit dealing if your offer is to low. The
deal  is done only if your and the sellers prices match. If you need more
money then you can ask the board for extra cash. You can only bid for 2
players in a week.
The maximum size of the squad is 24 Players.
As an offer for your player on the transfer list can come at anytime, a
selling screen operating as above can appear at the start of the week.

MATCH DAY : The match day option takes you directly to a display on the
opponents squad. Click mouse to look at the players details. Once again, the
players skills and ability are based on the divisional average. The team
details are also shown.

SELECTING TEAM : The available squad and the current tactics are displayed.
Select the tactics to be used. Select the shot number and then the player. You
cannot exit until 13 players have been selected.
If you are not playing, you can select to watch a normal game or an
accelerated version of the scanner.
When the team has been selected the LINEUP of the 2 teams and the referee
is shown. The pitch conditions, the wind direction and strengt are shown
before the toss. The winner of the toss has the choice to play up or down
pitch. Now you can kickoff for the game of soccer on the pitch. On returning
from the game, the match report, the results of the other games are shown.
Returning from the match day to the main menu marks the end of the week.

SAVE GAME : The game so far can be saved at any time to be continued later.

THE MATCH
The match is played on one of the following surfaces

NORMAL - Normal playing conditions.

WET    - Increased ball speed and travel. Increased chance of player injury.

SOGGY  - Little ball bounce. Reduced ball travel. Reduced player pace and
         stamina.

HARD   - Increased ball bounce, speed and travel.

The manager has 2 options.

PLAY IN THE MATCH
 A manager on the field playing in position or playing as a team can :
 1. Select type of corner  kicks.
 2. Assume the control of the keeper while taking goal kick or defending a
    penalty.
 3. Take a penalty.

WATCH THE MATCH
 1. Focus the camera on the ball or any player on the field. The camera
    will follow the ball or the selected player.
 2. Watch an accelerated version of the game.

 The manager can change tactics only at half time or while making a
 substitution. The substitution can only be made at half time or when the ball
 is out of play.

PLAYER CONTROL

MOVEMENT - The player moves in all 8 joystick directions.

HEADERS  - If the ball is in the air, pressing the FIRE BUTTON will make the
           controlled player jump. Move the joystick in the direction in which
           you wish to head the ball when the player is in the air.

TACKLE   - There are 2 types of tackles.

BLOCKING TACKLE - The purpose of this tackle is to gain possession of the ball
                  from the opponent. You cannot tackle a player from behind
                  without fouling him.
                  You must intercept the ball by running beside the opponent
                  and get to the ball travelling ahead before he does or
                  tackle from the front.

SLIDING TACKLE -  This tackle can be done from any direction. A sliding tackle
                  from behind is a foul if seen by the referee.

KEEPER CONTROL
The keeper is controlled by the computer during the game. The control is
transferred to the player for PENALTIES AND GOAL KICKS only if the manager
is playing.

JOYSTICK DIRECTIONS
                                JUMP
                        DIVE     |      DIVE
                           \            /
                   DIVE------  CATCH  ------DIVE
                           /            \
                        DIVE     |      DIVE
                               STOOP

Press fire button to start the move. The longer the fire button is pressed
the bigger the movement.

The player is also given the control of the keeper for goal kicks. If he
so desires. To keep the game flow, if the player fails to excercise control,
the computer assumes the keeper control. The player must therefore exercise
the option quickly and well before the computer goes into default mode.

There are 9 types of goal kicks :

                                HARD AHEAD
                      HARD LEFT     |      HARD RIGHT
                            \               /
             MEDIUM LEFT ----- MEDIUM AHEAD ----- MEDIUM RIGHT
                            /               \
                      SOFT LEFT     |      SOFT RIGHT
                                SOFT AHEAD

Move the joystick to the required position before the keeper kicks or throws
the ball.
Press the fire button to quickly boot the ball up field to catch the opponents
out of position or to stop keeper wasting time. Use the scanner to select the
direction and type of goal kick.

BALL CONTROL
The ball controls have been specially designed for ease of use. In a fast
moving game and under pressure, there is no time to remember the complicated
joystick movements. The action has to be instinctive. You are advised to learn
the controls by using the practise skills option in the main menu.

DRIBBLE BALL - The ball travels in front of the player. The distance it
               travels depends on the speed of the player when he made
                contact with the ball.

SHOOT BALL    - Press fire button after touching the ball shoots the ball in
                the direction the player is facing.

STOP BALL     - Press fire button before touching the ball will stop the ball
                and give you total control.

PASS BALL     - You must STOP the ball before you can pass it. Keep the fire
                button pressed and move the joystick in the dirction you wish
                to pass and release the fire button.
                Releasing the fire button when joystick is centred and the
                ball is stationary takes you back into dribble action. The
                player will turn in the joystick direction and start dribbling
                the ball in that direction and if the fire button is pressed
                again, shoot in that direction. The ball will remain
                stationary as long as joystick remains centred.

CHIP BALL     - Reverse the direction of the joystick on making contact with
                the ball.

SET PIECES
CORNER KICKS  - There is a choice of 9 corner kicks. A selection panel
                appears. Look at the scanner to see position of your players
                and select The option by highlighting it and pressing fire
                button the computer takes the corner. The arrows on the ball
                show the direction of the ball movement relative to the goal.
                The options allow you to curl the ball in or out. A ball
                kicked at the top will travel along the ground, in the middle
                at half height and at the bottom to the bar height.

PENALTIES     - The angle and the height of the shot are controlled enabling
                the penalty taker to put the ball anywhere in the net.
                There is a bar with a pointer moving rapidly from left to
                right This indicates the horizontal position of the ball. The
                height of the ball is determined by how long the button is
                pressed before the contact with the ball is made. The longer
                the fire button is held down, the higher the ball will travel
                It is therfore possible to overshoot or hit the goalposts &
                bar. As soon as the button is pressed, the pointer in the bar
                freezes giving the keeper as split second chance to gauge the
                direction of the shot and a fighting chance to save.
                The penalty must be taken as soon as possible after the ref
                blows the whistle.

SUBSTITUTION  - Press F5 to bring player 12 on to field or F6 for player 14.
                Captions S12 or S14 will appear on the screen to indicate that
                the ref has noted your request. The game will stop when the
                ref decides to let you make a substitution. The number and
                name of the player last to touch the ball will appear. Use up
                & down CURSOR KEYS to change the player name. Press SPACE to
                make the substitution. the named player will be substituted
                and the game will restart.

CHANGING TACTICS
                If you wish to make a change of tactics while making a
                substitution, use keys F1 to F4 to select the new tactics
                BEFORE pressing the SPACE BAR.

HALF TIME     - You can make substitutions or change tactics or both at
                halftime. Follow the instruction detailed above. Press SPACE
                to start the next half.

CAMERA        - If watching the match, the manager can focus the camera so
                that it either follows the ball or any player on the pitch.
                Press 'F' to toggle between the 2 options. When the option to
                watch a player is selected, the players name and shirt # are
                displayed. Use UP & DOWN CURSOR KEYS to change name. Use LEFT
                & RIGHT KEYS to toggle between teams.

GOAL POSTS
To aid the playing in passing the ball quickly, a white dot appears at the top
or bottom of the screen, depending on which half of the pitch the ball is
present. The dot shows the position of the goal posts relative to the ball.

KEYBOARD OPTIONS
                        X = CHANGE SCANNER SIZE
                        D = SCANNER ON/OFF
                        P = PAUSE GAME ON/OFF
                        Q = SOUND ON/OFF
                        C = CROWD SOUND ONLY ON/OFF