S T I C K Y W I C K E T v2.51 CONTENTS 1) Intoduction 2) Hardware requirements 3) What files should be on this disk 4) Features 5) Starting up 6) The Game - "Sticky Wicket" i) Menu ii) Team Selection iii) Playing Sticky Wicket iv) If you elect to bat or are put into bat v) If you elect to field or are put into field vi) The Sticky Cup 7) Quiting the game 8) Changing the speed 9) Changing the difficultly 10) How to add new teams 11) Information on changing player data 12) Game history - including what's new in this version 13) Information for registered users 14) World Cup Cricket - another cricket game by Mark Carter 15) The brand new Sticky Wicket & World Cup Cricket WWW homepage! 16) Copyright 17) Disclaimer 18) Distribution 19) Author contact details ------------------------------------------------------------------------------- 1) Intoduction -------------- Sticky Wicket is a freeware DOS cricket game for the PC. Sticky Wicket is based on one-day matches in both league and cup competitions played between english county teams. This is one of the very few cricket games to combine strategy and statistics with interactive match action. Matches are shown through a birds-eye view of the field where ball movement, fielding and batsmen running can be followed. By careful team selections, choosing field placings, rotating bowlers, changing batting order and deciding when batsmen run, you aim to win the league and cup trophies. Sticky Wicket is the first of two cricket games I have written for the PC. The other is called World Cup Cricket and is based on international one-day tournaments. 2) Hardware requirements ------------------------ Sticky Wicket should work on any IBM compatible PC with EGA or better graphics card and at least 512K of RAM. This should be ok for any PC purchased after 1990! 3) What should be on this disk ------------------------------ The following files should be on your disk: [main directory] SW .dat - Data file - general SW .exe - The executable game SW .key - Key file to unlock all features SW .txt - Main documentation SW_Teams.dat - Data file - available teams to be used ["Teams\" subdirectory] - Team data files Derbyshi.dat Durham.dat Essex.dat Glamorga.dat Gloucest.dat Hampshir.dat Kent.dat Lancashi.dat Leiceste.dat Middlese.dat Northamp.dat Nottingh.dat Somerset.dat Surrey.dat Sussex.dat Warwicks.dat Worceste.dat Yorkshir.dat When you save your position, a file called "SW_Saves.dat" is created in the main directory and a subdirectory called "SW_Saves" is also created. The saved position is stored in the "SW_Saves\" subdirectory in a file called "SlotX.sav" where X is a number from 1 to 8 depending on which slot you used. 4) Features ----------- * Database of 288 players, 18 teams each with career statistics and batting and bowling abilities * 8 teams take part in any season * Possible to add extra teams (up to 36 in total) to the 18 already present * Seasonal and career averages * Unlimited number of seasons * Each season consists of the Sunday League and Sticky Cup competitions * Sunday League consists of seven 40-over matches including league table, fixture list and results service each week * 40 over Sticky Cup competition involving all 8 teams * Edited highlights of the game including action shots, LBWs, run outs etc * Match interactivity - when to run, who to bowl, batting order, field placings etc * Umpire decisions in response to appeals * Team selection - choose 11 from 16 before each match * 5 different built-in field settings * Save / restore facility - up to 8 different save positions * Career page showing your teams records and comparisons with other teams * 2-player matches between any 2 teams of your choice Please note: * The squads are accurate as of the end of the 1996 season * The career averages stored in the data files are in fact the final 1996 Sunday League averages 5) Starting up -------------- To start Sticky Wicket, first change to the directory where Sticky Wicket is stored and then type "SW". (Best to run from the DOS prompt). You should be greeted by the title page followed by a list of 8 teams. Using the 'up' and 'down' cursor keys change the highlighted team to the one that you wish to control and then press "space". You will then be presented with the Main Menu page. 6) The Game - "Sticky Wicket" ----------------------------- i) Menu By pressing any number from 1-7 you will be able to access the option you want. The fixture list and league table are self-explanatory , press any key to return to the menu. The averages section begins with a list of the 8 teams plus an option to view the top averages combining all teams together. Note, that seasonal averages are not available in the Week 1 because no matches have been played! ii) Team selection Naturally for those who wish to get 'stuck in' the first 11 players will be automatically selected. However, you can select eleven of your choice by pressing 2 in the main menu. The criteria for selection is that you can only have 1 wicket keeper, 5 bowlers and 5 other players. Until this is achieved you will be unable to return to the main menu by pressing 'e'. Wicket Keepers - There are 2 wicket keepers per team. One must play in that role but there is nothing to stop you playing the other as a batsman. To select, use the highlight bar to move to the player by using the cursor keys and press 'w'. The player name should become green. Bowlers - There are approx. 8 bowlers per team. To select use the highlight to move to the player and press 'b'. The computer will not allow a bowler with 0 (Zero) bowling ability to be selected. Batsmen - Use highlight bar as above and press 'o' to select any player for the sole purpose of batting. The following qualities (On a scale of zero to ten) act as a guide to which players should be selected and gives a brief statement of their preferred positions. Fitness - This declines rapidly for bowlers, less so for batsmen. To counter this you should make regular alterations to the side enabling the players to recouperate. Over-use of players makes them become stale and will affect their performance (ie a player of 1 (one) fitness is useless.) Ability - This changes from season to season unlike fitness which varies every game. It is determined by the player's personnal success over the season. Bowling and Batting figures are given. The higher the value the more likely he is to be successful when wielding the bat or bowling, fitness permitting. Form - This changes from match to match and is an indication of the players current form. High values will mean he is very confident and has been successful with the bat or ball. A loss in form may result in poor performances. iii) Playing Sticky Wicket Pressing '1' in the main menu will take you to the next match. The opposition and your teams strengths and weaknesses are compared. If your fitness is significantly low the likelyhood of catches being dropped , fielder mistakes and a general lethargic performance overall are increased. Alterations should be made when you next retun to the main menu. A coin is tossed and the opposition will inform you of its intention to bat or field. If it wins, press 'space' to continue. If you win use 'b' to bat or 'f' to field. iv) If you elect or are put into bat Select your two openers. They should be chosen to see off the new ball to enable the middle order to hit out. Openers are specialist batsmen and by looking at player qualities when choosing the team you can see which normally do the job. Enter the batsman number and press return. Edited Highlights will be displayed.... Make sure your finger is poised over the 'r' button. If the ball doesn't cross the boundary as a 4 or 6 it will be fielded by the opposition. By pressing 'r' will enable your batsmen to run, you must decide if it is safe to do so. Failure to keep the score- board ticking over by taking quick runs will reduce the overall team score. However, run outs can be equally disasterous. Even if you are outside the crease there is still a possibility that the opposition fielder will miss the stumps. If a decision is close the umpire will be called upon to adjudicate. Unfortunately this is open to human error and may be dubious, but that's cricket! v) If you elect to field or are put into field Utilising your bowlers to the optinum performance is an acquired skill. With practise you will discover which can conserve runs and which will take wickets. When in the scorecard (ie at fall of Wicket or at the end of each over) by pressing 'f' you will be able to select from five fields - orthodox, defensive, attacking, highly attacking and unorthodox, each with their own merits. The first 10 overs with the new ball and the last are the most critical. Bowlers are restricted to 8 overs, none of which can be bowled consecutively. If you are unable to select a particular bowler, or the computer automatically selects someone else, this is to enable the above rules for bowling to apply. This can be remedied by trying another bowler who hasn't completed his spell. The result of your match will be displayed as will any other results in the week (including high scores and best bowling figures). After seven league matches the final table will be shown. vi) The Sticky Cup If you are unsuccessful in the league, you can remedy your situation by doing well in the Sticky Wicket cup, hopefully progress on to the final. All 8 teams take part in this tournament which begins at the quarter final stage. Summaries of every match are automatically shown after each round. On completion of the cup you can have one final glance at the averages. All league and cup wins are recorded for posterity under career records in the menu, as are the successes of your nearest rivals in the Hall of Fame. Will you climb to the heights of W.G Grace ? 7) Quiting the game ------------------- You can exit Sticky Wicket at any time by pressing the function key F9. 8) Changing the speed --------------------- The speed at which the game runs should be the same for both fast and slow PC's. However, if you wish to make the game faster or slower, you could try typing the following (instead of just "SW") when you next run Sticky Wicket: SW X (Where X is a whole number from 1 to 30000) The LOWER the number the FASTER the game will run. As a rough guide, a 286-12 machine should run perfectly using SW 50 to begin the game. and a 486DX2-66 should run about right using SW 500 to begin the game. You may have to play around with finding the best value for you. 9) Changing the difficultly --------------------------- There are two ways to change the level of difficulty. Firstly, by changing which team you take charge of, you are affecting how easy or difficult winning will be. For example, if you choose Durham, you will have a tough job on your hands! Secondly, by changing the speed of the game (see above) running between wickets will be more or less difficult. Increasing the speed will probably result in more of your batsmen being run out, since judging when to go for that tight single is that much more difficult. Try running Sticky Wicket by typing "SW 1" (at the DOS prompt) on a Pentium PC! 10) How to add new teams ------------------------ When you first receive this game, there should be 18 team data files in the "Teams\" subdirectory. You can add entirely new teams to this directory (up to 36 teams in total). The best way to do this is to copy an existing data file (eg ESSEX.DAT) naming it something else (eg MYTEAM.DAT). Then use a text editor to rename player names within the file. However, for Sticky Wicket to recognise this new team you need to add a new entry to the SW_Teams.dat file. The format of this file is as follows: [Team1 Name],[Team1 Filename],[1 if selected, or 0 if deselected] [Team2 Name],[Team2 Filename],[1 if selected, or 0 if deselected] .... .... .... (Only 8 teams should ever be selected - these are the default 8 teams.) Simply add the new team to the end of this file (using a text editor) For example, to add a team called "Superstars" with filename "SUPER.DAT" add the following line to the end of SW_Teams.dat Superstars,Super.dat,0 This will not make the Superstars team one of the default 8 teams. You will have to use the Sticky Wicket game to change the default 8. 11) Information on changing player data ---------------------------------------- If you decide that you want to change some of the names you can easily change the data files in the "Teams\" subdirectory, using a text editor. However, if you do this you must make sure that you have backed up this program in case anything goes wrong. 12) Game history - including what's new in this version ------------------------------------------------------- October 1991 - Version 2.00 * First release into the shareware market February 1993 - Version 2.20 * Sorry, forgot to keep track of the changes! March 1993 - Version 2.25 * Games are now more realistic. Less likely to get matches with ridiculously few dismissals/runs etc * A very strange bug where the '8' key on the numeric key pad did not work has now been located and corrected * A few other bug fixes 8th April 1995 - Version 2.26 * Updated documentation to include e-mail addresses and registration fees/procedures for overseas users 15th September 1996 - Version 2.50 * New "key file" registration system. See below for more details * New save/restore position page - can now have up to 8 different saved positions (registered version only) * Improved method for getting game to run at correct speed * New quit facility - ability to quit at ANY moment in the game * Career averages now updated after every match * New option to enable/disable sound * Your team's players are now highlighted in the combined averages * Restructured how the data files are organised. Now its possible to add new teams (up to 36 in total) to the 18 teams already present * Data files for ALL 18 county teams now included with up-to-date squads * New disk error handling routines * New page to change which 8 teams are to be used as default (registered version only) * Cleaned up the entire code - this was the hardest bit! * Improved Career page - the captain comparison is now more variable * Improved the Sticky Cup - can now see the results/fixtures of the other matches * Opposition now varies its team selection * 2-Player game is now incorporated in the main game. Simply press P when you select which team to take charge of (registered version only) * Vaslty improved on-disk documentation - now over twice the size! * A few minor bug fixes * New facility to print registration form within the game (shareware version only) 23rd August 2001 - Version 2.51 * Game is now freeware and so a default key file is included in the distribution to unlock all features * Updated documentation with new contact details and removed references to registration etc 13) Information for registered users ------------------------------------ The game is no longer shareware so there is no need to register. Thank you very much to those (300+!) of you who registered for one or both of my cricket games. Your support is much appreciated. Although these games are now freeware, your details are kept on record and I will try my best to ensure you receive discounts on any future games I write. 14) World Cup Cricket - another cricket game by Mark Carter ----------------------------------------------------------- World Cup Cricket is based on international one-day matches played between the nine test playing countries. You choose a team and guide them through a series of international tournaments each with their own unique format. After three tournaments you play in the ultimate competition - the World Cup (thats assuming you qualify, of course). The format of the actual matches is similar to that of its predecessor, Sticky Wicket but with some additional features such as umpire images and advanced strategy within the match situation. These are the features: * Database of 225 players, 9 teams each with career statistics and batting and bowling abilities * User can take charge of any one of the 9 teams * Seasonal and career averages for your team * World Cup averages for all teams involved * Qualification period of 3 years where England plays in 3 out of 5 different events. The "World Cup" is played the following year. (For more info on the tournaments, see 7(i) "The Main Menu" * Unlimited number of seasons * Edited highlights of the game including action shots, LBWs, run outs etc * Match interactivity - when to run, who to bowl, batting order, field placings etc * Your strategy can be changed throughout the match * Comments on the shots played and dismissals * Umpire decisions in response to appeals * Squad selection - pick a squad of 16 from 25 to take to each tournament * Team selection - choose 11 from 16 before each match * 5 different built-in field settings * Save / restore position after each tournament * Career page showing your teams records and comparisons with other teams * Choice of five levels of difficulty 15) The Sticky Wicket & World Cup Cricket WWW page! ------------------------------------------------------------- I have just put the Sticky Wicket & World Cup Cricket homepage back on the internet after a few years absence. This contains all the information you need to know about the games. You can even download the latest versions of the games although I am not intending to write any updates. Point your web browser to: http://uk.geocities.com/mark_j_carter/old/cricket 16) Copyright ------------- Sticky Wicket is written and copyright by Mark Carter. No parts of this program may be altered by any means (this includes editing, reprogramming, crunching, resourceing etc.), except archiving. 17) Disclaimer -------------- The author is in no way liable for any changes made to any part of the program, or consequences thereof as he is in no way liable for damages or loss of data directly or indirectly caused by this software. 18) Distribution ---------------- Profits may not be made by distributing this piece of software - only a nominal fee may be charged to cover postage, packing, materials etc. All files may be copied so long as they are copied in their entirety and are not seperated from each other. The files may be compressed into a .ZIP format (I recommend naming the zip file SW251.ZIP) in which case the directory structure should be preserved. 19) Author contact details -------------------------- Please send comments & suggestions to: E-mail: mark_j_carter@yahoo.com URL: http://uk.geocities.com/mark_j_carter/old/cricket ...but bear in mind that this game is no longer being developed... Enjoy! 23 August 2001